Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was a “huge mistake”.

Trump described Khashoggi as “extremely controversial,” adding “a lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about.

“Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happened. But he (the prince) knew nothing about it.”

Prince Mohammed said of the murder by Saudi agents “it’s painful and it’s a huge mistake, and we are doing our best that this doesn’t happen again.”

Khashoggi was killed in 2018 inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

The murder and dismemberment of the journalist, who’d been critical of the Saudi rulers, briefly caused a diplomatic crisis and prompted criticism from Trump, who was then serving his first term.

Saudi officials later said his murder was a rogue operation, rather than something ordered by the leadership.

Prince Mohammed said at the White House that the murder was “painful and it’s a huge mistake, and we are doing our best that this doesn’t happen again.”

Trump chided the reporter who asked about the scandal, ordering to “leave it at that.”

“You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that.”