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Donald Trump takes credit for having kept the crown prince of Saudi Arabia under further investigation after the murder of writer Jamal Khashoggi, according to Bob Woodward’s new book.
President Donald Trump during a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House in March 2018. Evan Vucci / AP / NTB Scanpix
In one of the interviews for the book, due to be released next week, Trump takes credit for the Crown Prince disappearing after Khashoggi was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.
Here, Trump also defends Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in connection with the horrific murder, which was carried out by Saudi intelligence personnel against a compatriot who criticized the crown prince.
– I saved him. I managed to get Congress to let him go. I got them stopped, Trump says in the book, due out Sept. 15.
The president also notes that the crown prince himself refuses to participate.
– He’ll always say he didn’t. He tells everyone and honestly I’m glad he’s saying it. But he will tell you, he will tell Congress and he will tell everyone. He will never say he did it, says Trump.
Outraged americans
The assassination of Khashoggi, who lived in the United States for a year and had written critical comments about the Crown Prince in the Washington Post, upset American politicians. But the Trump administration strongly supported Saudi Arabia and, among other things, made sure to sign an arms deal worth $ 8 billion, without it being discussed in Congress.
In the interview with Woodward, Trump defends himself by pointing out that Saudi Arabia is a major importer of American goods, including weapons.
– He says very clearly that he did not. Bob, they spent $ 400 billion in a very short time, he says in the interview, which is one of 18 Woodward has had with Trump since December of last year.
Drowned and separated
Khashoggi was at the consulate to arrange the documents she needed to marry her fiancé, who was outside waiting. Minutes after entering the building, he was strangled, after which the body was dismembered and transported out of the building, according to Turkish and US officials.
On Monday, a Saudi court overturned the death sentences of five people found guilty of the murder. Instead, they were sentenced to long prison terms. The journalist’s fiancé says the verdicts are a sham, and a UN rapporteur believes they completely lack moral and legal legitimacy.
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