President set to sell F-35 stealth jets to the kingdom in crown prince’s first US visit since 2018 killing of regime critic Jamal Khashoggi
A senior official in Mohammed bin Salman’s entourage, who is expected to travel with the crown prince on this first trip back to the US in seven years, has previously been accused by US prosecutors of playing a central role in a conspiracy to infiltrate Twitter and identify users who were posting critically about the Saudi regime.
Bader al-Asaker, who has headed Prince Mohammed’s private office since before he became crown prince, has never been formally charged by the US government for his role in the 2014-15 scheme, but was accused in court in 2022 by a US government lawyer as having led the campaign to find a “mole” who would be able to extract sensitive information from the social media company, which is now known as X.
