‘I Was in the Room’: White House Energy Adviser Backs Up Biden Account of Challenging MBS on Khashoggi Murder

Biden administration Senior Advisor for Energy Security Amos Hochstein backed up President Joe Biden‘s account of challenging Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, telling CNN “I was in the room.”

President Biden took questions from reporters Friday after he described what happened during his meeting with MBS and other leaders after reporters were led away. The president told reporters that he raised the issue of Khashoggi, whose murder is believed to have been ordered by MBS, and said he stood by his views on the subject. He also said that MBS denied responsibility.

But Saudi sources tried to vaguely dispute that characterization, first anonymously through CNN reporters, then on the record to a Fox News reporter. Saudi Minister Of State For Foreign Affairs Adel Al-jubeir told Fox’s Alex Hogan “I didn’t hear that particular phrase” when asked about Biden saying MBS was “responsible” for the murder.

As the president arrived back at the White House Saturday, the pool reporter shouted “Is the Saudi foreign minister lying, President Biden? The Saudi foreign minister says he didn’t hear you accuse the Crown Prince of Khashoggi’s murder. Is he telling the truth?”

“No,” Biden replied.

On Tuesday morning’s edition of CNN’s New Day, co-anchor John Berman mentioned the trip — specifically the “fist-bump” — to Hochstein as a preface to a question about gas prices and “deliverables” from the trip, but Hochstein made a point of backing up Biden’s account of the meeting:

JOHN BERMAN: You were part of the president’s trip to Saudi Arabia where the president, you know, did fist-bump the Saudi crown prince, which there are questions about. There are human rights concerns about that. But that aside, when can consumers start to see deliverables from the Saudis from this trip?

AMOS HOCHSTEIN: Well, first, I’m not going to, just, fist-bump. I mean, that’s, this was about substance, and on human rights, I got to tell you, I was in the room and the president raised both [the] Khashoggi murder, as well as overall human rights concerns as, and expressed it very candidly, very openly and very directly.

Watch above via CNN.