LONDON — The former UN investigator who wrote the authoritative report into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi told NBC News on Wednesday that she was “shocked and angry” President Donald Trump's rejection of intelligence saying that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the killing.
Agnès Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, said there was “no doubt” that the crown prince ordered the grisly killing of Khashoggi with a bone saw at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. American intelligence said that the Crown Prince personally approved operation to kill or kidnap a Washington Post columnist, which the de facto Saudi leader denies, despite his officials apologizing for the killing.
When the Saudi leader visited the White House on Tuesday, Trump contradicted his own intelligence agencies' findings, saying the crown prince “knew nothing about this and we can leave it at that,” even chiding an inquisitive reporter for trying to “embarrass our guests by asking a question like that.”
Trump called Khashoggi “extremely controversial” and said “a lot of people didn't like the gentleman you're talking about.” He added: “Whether you like him or don’t like him, things happen.”
The remarks surprised Callamard, who, as the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary killings, investigated Khashoggi's killing and in 2019 wrote perhaps the most detailed and authoritative account of what happened.
“I was surprised, shocked and angry,” Callamard said of Trump's comments. “The flight of 15 militants from Saudi Arabia to another country to commit murder is controversial.”
She said there was “no doubt” that Crown Prince Mohammed ordered Khashoggi's murder. “And frankly, anyone who knows Saudi Arabia has no doubt.”
Trump's statements sparked widespread outrage.
Khashoggi's widow, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, told Reuters she would like Trump to meet the “real Jamal” and that nothing could “justify what was simply a terrible crime.”
The Washington Post called Trump's “White House speech…weak, crude and of no strategic benefit to America.” And the National Press Club warned the remarks would have “real consequences,” including emboldening authoritarian states that “want to silence journalists.”
NBC News has contacted the White House and the Saudi Arabian Embassy in London for a response to the criticism contained in this article.
Some Middle East analysts say that despite the global outrage, Trump's comments reflect his desire to develop deep economic ties between Washington and Riyadh.
During the Saudi leader's visit this week, Trump announced he would sell F-35 fighter jets to the crown prince, treating his guest to a flyby of the high-tech jets and a gun salute.
Saudi Arabia is the world's largest buyer of American weapons. In May, the US announced it was selling nearly $142 billion of “advanced military equipment and services” to the Gulf state, part of a broader $600 billion investment package.
Despite the lavish welcome, Trump appears to have made little progress on his desire for Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords, a group of Arab countries that recognize the state of Israel. The crown prince told the Oval Office he didn't want to sign anything “until we provide the Palestinians with a clear path to a two-state solution.”
Trump “has always made it clear that the relationship with Saudi Arabia is important to him and that he gets along with Mohammed bin Salman,” said Michael Stevens, a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a think tank based in London. “I suspect Trump didn't want the trip to be disrupted.”
Noting Trump's past controversial statements, including calling Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky a “dictator” before backtracking, Stevens said such remarks should be taken “with a grain of salt.”
“I see it as relationship management, ensuring that Saudi Arabia and [bin Salman] I feel Trump’s personal support,” he said.
The crown prince himself on Tuesday called Khashoggi's killing “painful” and a “huge mistake,” while offering only a polite smile in response to Trump's suggestions.
He said his kingdom had taken “all the right steps to investigate” and “we have improved our system to make sure nothing like this happens again.”
Indeed, the crown prince is trying to transform the kingdom from a conservative, oil-rich theocracy. into a major economic power built on business, tourism, entertainment and sport.
Some reforms have been introduced, including the removal of the requirement for women to wear headscarves in public, allowing women to drive and attend football matches.
Saudi authorities have worked hard to wash away anger over human rights abuses and the killing of Khashoggi, who was lured to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain a document before being killed and dismembered by a 15-member Saudi team waiting there. His remains were never discovered.
2021 Office of the Director of National Intelligence Report. quoted “direct involvement of a key adviser and members of Mohammed bin Salman's security detail in the operation” and concluded that “it is extremely unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out an operation of this nature without the crown prince's permission.”
The kingdom continues to have a “dire human rights record” and has cracked down on political dissent and executed at least 300 people this year, according to Human Rights Watch.
Portraying 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 simply “the latest in a line of world leaders who have normalized and legitimized Mohammed bin Salman in the international community and international context.”
As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden called the kingdom a “rogue” but was widely criticized in 2022 for went to Saudi Arabia and punched the crown princean incident that Trump ridiculed on Tuesday.
“Saudi Arabia is recognized because of its geostrategic interests, because of its oil resources, because of the fact that it is the key to any attempt at peace in the Middle East,” she said. “I don't consider this a confession. [Crown Prince Mohammed] like anyone else but a murderer.”
