JUDY WOODRUFF: Later tonight on PBS, "Frontline"
presents "The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia."
In the documentary film, Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman addresses for the first time his
role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
In a moment, we will hear from "Frontline"
reporter Martin Smith, but first a clip from
the film.
In this scene, Smith has tracked bin Salman
down at a racetrack to ask him about Khashoggi.
MARTIN SMITH: It was reported that on the
day of the murder, Maher Mutreb made a call.
He said, in effect, tell your boss the deed
was done.
BRUCE RIEDEL, Former CIA Analyst: The phone
number that was being called in Riyadh was
the crown prince's office.
It doesn't get much better than that.
If you call the White House Situation Room,
I come to the conclusion the White House knows
what is going on.
MARTIN SMITH: Last December, I talked to Prince
Mohammed at the racetrack.
He spoke about his role in the Khashoggi murder
for the first time.
My camera was outside, but he said: "It happened
under my watch.
I get all the responsibility because it happened
under my watch.
I really take it very seriously.
I don't want to tell you, no, I didn't do
it or I did do it or whatever.
That's just words."
I asked how it could happen without him knowing
about it.
"Accidents happen.
Can you imagine?
We have 20 million people.
We have three million government employees.
I am not Google or a supercomputer to watch
over three million."
"They can take one of your planes?"
I asked.
"I have officials, ministers to follow things,
and they're responsible.
They have the authority to do that."
"But during it, Qahtani is texting you, right?"
I asked.
"Yes, he texts me every day."
MARK MAZZETTI, The New York Times: After Khashoggi
is killed, the United States intelligence
community starts looking backwards, grabbing
intercepts that they had picked up over years.
MARTIN SMITH: And they find MBS chatting with
Qahtani back in 2016.
MARK MAZZETTI: Mohammed bin Salman is expressing
frustration and annoyance about Khashoggi,
saying he's becoming more influential.
MARTIN SMITH: Qahtani cautioned the prince
that any move against Khashoggi was risky
and could create an international uproar.
MBS scolded Qahtani for being too cautious.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And to explore more of what
"Frontline" uncovered, I'm now joined by Martin
Smith.
Martin Smith, welcome to the "NewsHour."
Explain to us, first of all, why you weren't
able to get closer to the crown prince with
a camera.
MARTIN SMITH: Well, it's -- this is an enormously
opaque country, to begin with.
We were able to -- I was able to stand next
to him on the rooftop at this event that took
place.
But he is tremendously guarded about -- and
chooses how he is going to be portrayed very
carefully.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Why do you think he explained
his role in this as he did?
MARTIN SMITH: Well, I think that what he said
has been something that his advisers, I know,
have been telling him he should say for a
long time.
That is that: It happened on my watch and
I get the responsibility for it.
That had been worked out.
He used similar language when he did an interview
later with "60 Minutes."
So he's wanting to get this past him.
I think he's been frustrated that it hasn't
passed.
I think, when I saw him in December of 2018
at the big sporting event, this big race,
I think he thought that this was going to
pass much sooner.
Now we're a year down the road, and still
this is something that haunts him.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Is it your sense, Martin Smith,
having spent as much time as you have knowing
and interviewing Jamal Khashoggi, and then
working on this, that one day we are going
to know for a fact the connection between
what happened and the crown prince?
MARTIN SMITH: That's a good question, that
there are people that know what happened.
Some of those people are on trial, although
that trial is closed to the public and to
reporters.
There's a big question about where his closest
aide, Saud al-Qahtani, is.
If I had one more chance to sit down with
the crown prince, I would ask him, where is
Saud al-Qahtani?
They won't say.
I have sent many messages to them asking.
And he's not on trial.
That's what we know.
So he certainly knows what's going on.
You know, I wouldn't give up on this.
I think that, if anything, this deserves a
lot more attention from the United Nations.
And I think it is important to remember that
this isn't just about Jamal Khashoggi.
There are women in prison for asking for equal
rights.
There are academics, writers, others that
have been rounded up and put in jail, businessmen
as well.
So, Jamal Khashoggi's murder opened a window
on Saudi Arabia.
And it's up to us to make sure we look into
that and find out just what is going on.
This is major U.S. ally.
JUDY WOODRUFF: No question.
But I think people probably can't fully understand
the kind of roadblocks that that government,
that that -- that they have put up to prevent
the press from figuring anything out here.
MARTIN SMITH: Well, they're not letting a
lot of reporters in.
It's very difficult to get in and work there.
I was fortunate enough to have had a long
association with Saudi Arabia and had gone
back many times.
I don't think, after this documentary airs,
I will be getting any invitations in the mail.
It's a tremendously Kafkaesque, closed place,
tightly controlled.
But the crown prince is trying to open the
country up for foreign investment.
He's trying to open it up socially, to some
degree.
He doesn't want to grant political rights.
That's clear.
But he is going to have to have a difficult
time opening the -- continuing to open the
country up and preventing journalists from
getting in there and asking questions.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And they have, I guess, a major
international business conference coming up
very soon that a number of American business
leaders are going to be attending.
How much do you think Saudi Arabia's ability
to operate in the world, to function as a
major power is impaired or affected by this?
MARTIN SMITH: I have to think it's fairly
serious, although I did attend a financial
sector conference, another one, that was held
at the Ritz-Carlton in April.
And the businessmen there were saying: We
don't really worry about the executions that
are ongoing and the imprisonment of activists.
We're interested in the opportunities that
are here.
And I suppose that will continue with this
upcoming conference.
They're going to have a G20 meeting in Riyadh
next year.
At least, that's what's scheduled.
But all of this, opening the country up to
businessmen and others, is a risky proposition,
if they're going to continue to clamp down
on the ability of anybody to really see into
what they're doing.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Martin Smith with "Frontline"
and, again, another extraordinary documentary,
"The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia."
Martin, thank you very much.
MARTIN SMITH: Thank you, Judy.
JUDY WOODRUFF: "The Crown Prince of Saudi
Arabia" will air tonight on PBS, and can be
watched online at PBS.org/Frontline.
