David Bell

So when MBS first comes to power, Khashoggi's a big backer because he sees this guy as kind of the answer to his prayers, someone who will stick up to the worst and most conservative elements in our society, right?

Right.

This guy might be a sign of hope.

Khashoggi acted for a while as a dogged defender of the new king to international critics.

He was important enough to be included in a public meeting between Mohammed bin Salman and a group of clerics and intellectuals in 2016.

Right.

Ben Hubbard reports that MBS talked to the crowd about his plans for economic and political reform.

Khashoggi asked him, why don't you talk about any of this in public?

If you're in favor of all these reforms, why won't you tell people about them?

Why are we having this meeting in private?

And MBS says in short, you can just write about what I've said here.

Put it in the newspaper.

Tell everybody what I'm saying, right?

I'm giving you permission to make this public, right?

Okay.

So Jamal is like, all right, I fucking will.

And he takes this as an invitation to report openly on the Prince's crusade to modernize the kingdom.

This would prove to be something of a mistake.

Man.

Because it's like, yeah, go write it.