In the weeks and months following Khashoggi’s October 2, 2018 killing, Trump repeatedly downplayed U.S. intelligence findings that pointed directly to the Crown Prince’s involvement. Key statements from that period include:
Washington, November 22, 2025 – BNN Web International Desk
Seven years after the brutal murder of Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the case has once again ignited global outrage, fuelled by an emotional statement from his widow, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi.
“No circumstances can ever justify abduction and torture,” Mrs Khashoggi said in a powerful new interview, her voice breaking with grief and anger. “Justice is still missing. We are still waiting.”
Her words have thrust former U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial 2018 defense of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) back into the spotlight, with many of his old statements now circulating widely on social media and in news reports.
Trump’s 2018 Remarks: “Maybe He Did, Maybe He Didn’t”
In the weeks and months following Khashoggi’s October 2, 2018 killing, Trump repeatedly downplayed U.S. intelligence findings that pointed directly to the Crown Prince’s involvement. Key statements from that period include:
- Dismissing CIA conclusions that MBS ordered the murder, Trump declared: “They say he didn’t do it… We have billions of dollars coming in from Saudi Arabia. I’m not going to destroy our economy.”
- On the phone with the Crown Prince shortly after the killing, Trump posted on social media (then Twitter): “Just spoke to the Crown Prince… He told me he had nothing to do with it.”
- When confronted with the intelligence community’s assessment, Trump famously shrugged: “Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t.”
- In a November 2018 White House statement, he called the murder “an unacceptable and horrible crime,” yet immediately added: “Our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia… They have been a great ally.”
Trump consistently refused to cancel billions of dollars in U.S.–Saudi arms deals, arguing that economic interests outweighed human-rights concerns and that a diplomatic guest should not be publicly humiliated.
A Stark Contrast with U.S. Intelligence
The CIA and other agencies concluded with high confidence that Mohammed bin Salman personally approved the operation that led to Khashoggi’s dismemberment. Despite this, Trump sided publicly with the Saudi leadership’s denials, providing what many analysts described as the strongest international shield the Crown Prince received at the time.
Seven Years On, the Wound Remains Open
Hanan Elatr Khashoggi’s fresh appeal has reignited calls for accountability and transparency. No one has been convicted at the senior level in Saudi Arabia, and the masterminds widely believed to have acted on orders from the highest echelons of power have never faced international justice.
As Mrs Khashoggi told reporters this week:
“I still wake up every day hoping for truth and justice. Seven years is too long for a family to wait.”
The renewed focus on the case serves as a grim reminder that one of the most shocking political assassinations of the 21st century remains, in the eyes of Khashoggi’s loved ones and human-rights defenders, unresolved.
