# Trump Defends Saudi Prince, Shifting U.S. Stance on Khashoggi Murder.

1 Opinion November 19, 2025 Forbes ![Michael Posner](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/con_046658.jpg?itok=t24nqftK)By Michael Posner

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On October 2, 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi journalist and outspoken critic of his government, visited the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Türkiye to obtain official documents. He never emerged.

When Khashoggi entered, Saudi security officials ambushed him, killed him in cold blood, and dismembered his body. The brutality of his murder reverberated around the world and sparked urgent calls for justice and accountability.

During President Trump’s first term, the U.S. government undertook an exhaustive investigation under the auspices of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). Their report was produced on February 11, 2021, and made public two weeks later. It concluded that seven members of Muhammad bin Salman’s (MBS) elite personal protective detail, known as the Rapid Intervention Force (RIF), were involved in the murder and had acted with the crown prince’s approval. Yesterday, as Trump hosted MBS during his first White House visit since the Khashoggi murder, the president sought desperately—and shamelessly—to whitewash this history.

Read the full [*Forbes* article](https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelposner/2025/11/19/trump-defends-saudi-prince-shifting-us-stance-on-khashoggi-murder/).
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*Michael Posner is the Jerome Kohlberg Professor of Ethics and Finance, Professor of Business and Society and Director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.*

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