Sep 29, 2019

Saudi crown prince denies to CBS that he ordered Khashoggi's killing

Rebecca Falconer

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a meeting with the US secretary of state in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on September 18 — Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sept. 18. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) denied to CBS News' "60 Minutes" in an interview broadcast Sunday that he ordered the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. But he said Khashoggi's killing had been a "mistake."

Why it matters: Per CBS, this is the crown prince's first on-camera interview about Khashoggi's murder. A CIA report concluded with "high confidence last November that MBS did order the killing of Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Turkey in October 2018. A UN investigator recommended in June a further probe into the crown prince's role.

The big picture: President Trump and members of his administration have publicly stood by the Saudis, though several Republican and Democratic senators believe MBS was complicit in what happened.

AP notes that 11 people were charged in Khashoggi's killing and that Saudi Arabia put them on trial in a secret hearing, but nobody has been convicted for his death.
A judge in New York ordered federal agencies last month to urgently release thousands of pages of documents related to Khashoggi's killing.

Go deeper: Trump administration bars 16 Saudis from U.S. for role in Khashoggi murder

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Saudi crown prince denies to CBS that he ordered Khashoggi's killing

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