The White House is facing pressure to declassify a phone call between President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. A former national security official claims the call contradicts Trump’s defense of the Saudi leader regarding the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Virginia Congressman Eugene Vindman, who served on Trump’s National Security Council during his first term, examined the 2019 call between Trump and the crown prince following Khashoggi’s killing. Vindman described the call as one of the two most concerning he reviewed while in the White House, likening it to the Trump-Zelensky call that led to Trump’s first impeachment.
“During my tenure on Trump’s White House National Security Council staff, I reviewed many of Trump’s calls with foreign leaders. Of all the calls I reviewed, two stood out as the most problematic,” Vindman told the House. The first was the call with Ukraine’s president that resulted in impeachment. The second was the conversation with bin Salman.
Calls for transparency emerged just a day after Trump hosted bin Salman at the White House on November 18, 2025, with full military honors. This visit marked the crown prince’s first trip to the United States in seven years. During the meeting, Trump played down questions about Khashoggi’s murder, referring to the journalist as controversial and saying many people disliked him. When asked directly about the murder, Trump said things happen and insisted bin Salman was unaware of it.
Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist residing in Virginia, was killed and dismembered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, while obtaining documents for his upcoming wedding. In February 2021, U.S. intelligence released a report concluding that bin Salman approved an operation to capture or kill Khashoggi.
Vindman stated that after the journalist’s murder, he reviewed a call between the president and the Saudi crown prince. He argued that the American public and Khashoggi’s family deserve to know what was discussed on that call, adding that if history is any guide, the details will be shocking. He cannot disclose specifics due to the call’s classified status.
Vindman, along with 37 House members, wrote to Trump, requesting the transcript’s release. The letter highlighted that U.S. intelligence found bin Salman personally ordered the murder and argued that strategic interests do not justify overlooking human rights abuses.
Trump’s close association with the Saudi crown prince has been scrutinized for years. In journalist Bob Woodward’s book “Rage,” Trump reportedly said during a January 2020 call that he had saved bin Salman, convinced Congress to back off, and gotten them to stop. When Woodward asked if Trump believed bin Salman’s denial of ordering the murder, Trump responded by highlighting Saudi Arabia’s financial commitments, noting that bin Salman strongly denied involvement and that Saudi Arabia spent $400 billion over a relatively short time.
During bin Salman’s November 2025 White House visit, Trump and the crown prince signed significant agreements. Saudi Arabia increased its investment pledges in the United States to nearly $1 trillion, up from $600 billion promised during Trump’s earlier visit to Saudi Arabia in May 2025. Trump also approved the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, making it the first Middle Eastern country besides Israel to receive the advanced aircraft. He granted Saudi Arabia major non-NATO ally status as well.
Scrutiny has been directed at the Trump family’s business ties with Saudi Arabia. After leaving the White House, Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, received $2 billion from a Saudi sovereign wealth fund managed by bin Salman for his private equity fund. The Trump Organization is also working on several Trump-branded projects in Saudi Arabia.
Bin Salman has denied ordering the murder but accepted responsibility as Saudi Arabia’s leader. At the White House, he called the killing painful and stated that Saudi Arabia conducted proper investigations and improved systems to prevent similar incidents.
Vindman joined Khashoggi’s widow, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, and other lawmakers to advocate for the transcript’s release. He described the call as indicative of a quid pro quo arrangement in which Trump offered something in return for something else. Vindman acknowledged that releasing the transcript would require bipartisan support, but noted that his Republican colleagues lack a trait called bravery.
The White House rejected Vindman’s request through spokesperson Steven Cheung, who labeled Vindman a bitter back-bencher and a serial liar involved in the “perfect Ukraine call” hoax. The phone call occurred around June 2019, approximately eight months after Khashoggi’s murder. A White House summary from that period stated the leaders discussed Iran tensions and Saudi Arabia’s role in Middle East stability, without mentioning Khashoggi.
The November 2025 White House visit included an evening dinner attended by guests such as Elon Musk, soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and other business leaders.
