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The U.S President Donald Trump strongly criticized the explanation of Saudi Arabia for the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. He said that obviously there’s been deception and there have been lies. Trump defended the oil-rich monarchy as an incredible ally and kept open the possibility that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman didn’t order Saudi agents to kill Khashoggi. The kingdom’s claim Khashoggi was killed after a fistfight escalated inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul was met with a torrent of international skepticism on Saturday over how a team of Saudi agents could fly to Istanbul to meet Khashoggi and eventually kill him without the knowledge or consent of the crown prince, the de facto leader.

Trump informed reporters on Friday that the Saudi explanation was credible, but the U.S officials said he has privately grimaced that his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s close relationship with the crown prince has become a liability and left the White House with no good options. The Trump administration made its relationship with Prince Mohammed a linchpin of its Middle East policy, relying on him to help strike a peace deal between the Palestinians and Israelis and unite the Arab world against Iran. Now, the handling of the Saudi government regarding the killing of a Washington Post contributing columnist has tarnished the crown prince’s image as the Trump administration is questioning the value of its high-profile partnership with him.