LONDON — A former United Nations investigator who wrote the authoritative report on the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi told NBC News on Wednesday that she was “shocked and angry” at President Donald Trump’s dismissal of intelligence saying Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the killing.
Agnès Callamard, the secretary general of the watchdog Amnesty International, said there was “no doubt whatsoever” that the crown prince ordered Khashoggi’s grisly bone-saw killing inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018. American intelligence said that the crown prince personally approved the operation to kill or kidnap the Washington Post columnist, something the de facto Saudi leader has denied despite apologizing for the murder by his officials.
As the Saudi leader visited the White House on Tuesday, Trump disavowed the findings by his own intelligence agencies, saying the crown prince “knew nothing about it, and we can leave it at that,” even chiding the enquiring reporter for trying to “embarrass our guests by asking a question like that.”
Trump called Khashoggi “extremely controversial” and claimed that “a lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about.” He added, “Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen.”
The remarks surprised Callamard, who while serving as the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary killings investigated Khashoggi’s murder and in 2019 wrote arguably the most detailed and authoritative report about what happened.
“I was astonished, shocked and angry,” Callamard said of Trump's comments. “What’s controversial is flying 15 operatives from Saudi Arabia to a foreign country to commit a murder.”
There is “no doubt whatsoever” that Crown Prince Mohammed ordered Khashoggi’s murder, she maintained. “And frankly, there is no doubt in the mind of anyone who knows Saudi Arabia.”
Trump's remarks have provoked widespread outrage.
Khashoggi’s widow, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, told Reuters that she wished Trump could meet “the real Jamal,” and that nothing can “justify just a horrible crime.”.
The Washington Post called “Trump’s performance at the White House … weak, crass and of no strategic benefit to America.” And the National Press Club warned the remarks would have “real-world consequences,” including emboldening authoritarian states that “wish to silence reporters."
NBC News has contacted the White House and the Saudi Embassy in London for a response to the criticisms contained in this story.
Some Middle East analysts say that despite the global outrage, Trump’s comments reflect his desire to build on the deep economic ties between Washington and Riyadh.
During the Saudi leader’s visit this week, Trump announced he would sell the crown prince F-35 fighter jets, treating his guest to a flyover of the high-tech planes, as well as a gunfire salute.
Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest buyer of American weapons. In May, the U.S. announced it was selling the Gulf state almost $142 billion of “state-of-the-art warfighting equipment and services,” part of a wider $600 billion investment package.
Despite the lavish welcome, Trump did not appear to make headway on his wish for Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords, a group of Arab nations that have recognized the state of Israel. The crown prince told the Oval Office he did not want to sign anything “until we secure a clear path of two-state solution” for Palestinians.
Trump has “always been pretty clear that the relationship with Saudi Arabia is important to him and that he gets on with Mohammed bin Salman,” said Michael Stephens, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a think tank based in London. “I suspect Trump did not want the trip to be derailed.”
Noting past controversial statements from Trump — including calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator,” before retracting it — Stephens said such remarks should be taken with a “pinch of salt.”
“What I view this as is relationship management, making sure that Saudi Arabia and [bin Salman] feel personally supported by Trump,” he said.
The crown prince himself called Khashoggi’s killing “painful” and a “huge mistake” Tuesday, while offering little encouragement other than a polite smile to Trump’s overtures.
He said his kingdom had taken “all the right steps of investigation” and “we’ve improved our system to be sure that nothing” similar happens again.
Indeed, the crown prince has been attempting to transform the kingdom from a conservative, oil-rich theocracy into a major economic power built on business, tourism, entertainment and sports.
There have been some reforms, including removing the requirement for women to wear headscarves in public, allowing them to drive and to attend soccer matches.
Saudi authorities have worked hard to wash away the anger over human rights abuses and the killing of Khashoggi, who was lured into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul to obtain a document, before being killed and dismembered by the 15-member Saudi team waiting there. His remains have never been recovered.
A 2021 report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence cited "the direct involvement of a key adviser and members of Muhammad bin Salman's protective detail in the operation" and concluded it was "highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out an operation of this nature without the Crown Prince's authorization."
The kingdom still has an “abysmal human rights record,” according to Human Rights Watch, crushing political dissent and executing at least 300 people this year.
Presenting Crown Prince Mohammed as "a beacon or an icon of modernity for his country is a joke," Callamard said, calling the kingdom's reforms "very superficial."
She noted that Trump was merely "the latest in a succession of global leaders who have normalized and legitimized Mohammed bin Salman within the international community and the international context."
While he was a presidential candidate, Joe Biden called the kingdom a “pariah,” only to receive widespread criticism in 2022 for traveling to Saudi Arabia and fist-bumping the crown prince, an incident derided by Trump on Tuesday.
"Saudi Arabia is being acknowledged because of its geostrategic interest, because of its oil resources, because of the fact that it is key to any attempt of bringing peace to the Middle East," she said. "I don't see that as a recognition of [Crown Prince Mohammed] as anything other than a killer."
