Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday met with Saudi Prince Khalid bin Salman, who was linked to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, The Washington Examiner reported.
A State Department spokesperson confirmed Khalid bin Salman’s meeting with Pompeo in Washington, D.C., to TPM, pointing to a readout of the meeting, which described the discussion as a continued part of efforts to “advance the U.S.-Saudi partnership.”
According to the CIA’s assessment of Khashoggi’s murder, Khalid bin Salman encouraged Khashoggi to visit the embassy to retrieve documents so he get married. Khalid bin Salman denied that he helped lure Khashoggi to the embassy.
Khashoggi didn’t leave the embassy alive. Turkish investigators and the CIA determined that the Washington Post columnist was tortured, murdered and dismembered inside the facility.
Khalid bin Salman is not the first member of the royal family that Pompeo has played nice with since Khashoggi’s murder. He met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in October, just weeks after Khashoggi was murdered.
The crown prince and Khalid bin Salman have maintained that they were not aware of plans by top Saudi officials to murder Khashoggi, a well-known dissident of the Saudi kingdom.
