President Donald Trump is dismissing U.S. intelligence findings that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman likely had some culpability in the the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

 

The comments came Tuesday as Trump warmly welcomed the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia on his first White House visit in seven years.

 

The Associated Press spoke with Jamal Khashoggi’s widow on Wednesday, who said she was shocked by what President Trump said in the Oval Office meeting.

 

“It very upsetting and very disappointing and he basically described someone else, not Jamal Khashoggi,” Hanan Elatr Khashoggi said.

 

The U.S.-Saudi relationship had, for a time, been sent into a tailspin by the operation targeting Khashoggi.

 

But now, years later, Trump has tightened his embrace of the 40-year-old crown prince, who he said is an indispensable player in shaping the Middle East in the decades to come.

 

Prince Mohammed, for his part, denies involvement in the killing of Khashoggi.

 

“I did not receive an official apology, I did not receive a financial compensation, and I'm also seeking to get the remain of my husband's body back to bury him in a good dignity way,” Hanan Elatr Khashoggi said.