Saudi Crown Prince Approved Operation Against Khashoggi, US Intelligence Report Shows

The Committee to Protect Journalists and other press freedom activists hold a candlelight vigil in front of the Saudi Embassy to mark the anniversary of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on Oct. 2, 2019. Sarah Silbiger/Reuters

WASHINGTON—Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved of an operation to capture or kill dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in 2018, according to a declassified intelligence assessment released on Friday in a manner choreographed to limit damage to U.S.-Saudi ties

Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who wrote opinion columns for the Washington Post critical of the crown prince’s policies, was killed and dismembered by a team of operatives linked to the crown prince in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.