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Many words could be used to describe Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.<\/strong> Dangerous<\/a>. Authoritarian<\/a>. The man who US intelligence concluded<\/a> approved the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was kidnapped, murdered, and dismembered by bone saw in 2018. But for Jared Kushner,<\/strong> there is just one: visionary.<\/em><\/p>\n Asked about Khashoggi\u2019s murder at the\u00a0Axios BFD\u00a0conference on Tuesday, Kushner initially responded with \u201cexasperation\u201d\u2014apparently, he\u2019s so<\/em> over this topic\u2014reportedly<\/a> saying, \u201cAre we really still doing this?\u201d Then he claimed to have not seen the US intelligence report<\/a> released in 2021 that concluded MBS had approved the gruesome killing, and insisted that, in his experience, MBS is a great guy. Maybe even the greatest!<\/p>\n \u201cI know the person who I dealt with,\u201d Kushner said of the crown prince, according to Axios. \u201cI think he\u2019s a visionary leader. I think what he\u2019s done in that region is transformational.\u201d And MBS\u2019s buddy<\/a> boy<\/a> didn\u2019t stop there. \u201cI think he\u2019s done a lot of things that are in America\u2019s interest,\u201d Kushner added. \u201cAnd I think he\u2019s done a lot of things that have made the world a better place.\u201d Does he \u201cunderstand why people are upset about\u201c Khashoggi\u2019s killing? Sure. Does he think \u201cwhat happened there [to Khashoggi] was absolutely horrific\u201d? Yes. But \u201cour job,\u201d he told Axios\u2019s Dan Primack,<\/strong> \u201cwas to represent America, to try to push forward things in America.\u201d<\/p>\n Kushner\u2019s remarks echoed those he made in his memoir released in 2022, in which he wrote<\/a>, \u201cWhile this situation [concerning Khashoggi\u2019s brutal murder, after which he was chopped to pieces] was terrible, I couldn\u2019t ignore the fact that the reforms that MBS was implementing were having a positive impact on millions of people in the kingdom\u2014especially women. All of these reforms were major priorities for the United States, as they led to further progress in combating extremism and advancing economic opportunity and stability throughout the war-torn region. The kingdom was poised to build on this historic progress, and I believed it would.\u201d<\/p>\n As for the $2 billion the main Saudi sovereign wealth fund deposited into Kushner\u2019s investment firm not long after he left the White House\u2014despite the panel that performs due diligence for the Saudi fund concluding it was a terrible idea<\/a>\u2014the former first son-in-law insisted there were absolutely no conflicts of interest there. \u201cIf you ask me about the work that that we did in the White House, for my critics, what I say is, point to a single decision we made that wasn\u2019t in the interest of America,\u201d Kushner said<\/a>. And there you have it!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n