President Trump defended Prince Mohammed bin Salman when ABC News White House correspondent Mary Bruce asked about the Saudi crown prince’s involvement in the 2018 murder of Washington Post opinion columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

President Donald Trump: “As far as this gentleman is concerned, he’s done a phenomenal job. You’re mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about. Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. And we can leave it at that. You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that.”

Trump’s comments contradict a U.S. intelligence report which found that Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s killing. Back in 2018, Khashoggi was lured into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, where a 15-person team led by a close associate of Prince Mohammed drugged, murdered and dismembered Khashoggi with a bone saw. Following the press conference, Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, issued a statement saying, “Trump’s shameful and disgusting comments about the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi cannot be separated from Trump’s personal business interests with the Saudi regime. Trump and his family are receiving, at a minimum, tens of millions annually from branding deals with Saudi Arabia — payments for doing nothing more than permitting their name to be attached to Saudi projects.”

On Tuesday night, Trump held a black-tie dinner for MBS at the White House. Dozens of CEOs attended, including Elon Musk, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Apple CEO Tim Cook.