US moves to shield Saudi crown prince in journalist killingWASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration declared Thursday that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince should be considered immune from a lawsuit over his role in the killing of a U.S.-based journalist, a turnaround from Joe Biden’s passionate campaign trail denunciations of Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the brutal slaying.The State Department on Thursday called the administration’s call to shield the Saudi crown prince from U.S. courts in Khashoggi’s killing “purely a legal determination.”What to know if you've applied for student loan forgivenessOath Keepers Jan. 6 sedition case moves to closing argumentsMan gets 20-year term for stabbing at Albany Jan. 6 protestUS VP Harris arrives in Thailand for Asia-Pacific summitThe State Department cited what it said was longstanding precedent.Despite its recommendation to the court, the State Department said in its filing late Thursday, it “takes no view on the merits of the present suit and reiterates its unequivocal condemnation of the heinous murder of Jamal Khashoggi.”Saudi officials killed Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.The U.S. intelligence community concluded Saudi Arabia’s crown prince had approved the killing of the widely known and respected journalist, who had written critically of Prince Mohammed’s harsh ways of silencing of those he considered rivals or critics.Biden, speaking after he authorized release of a declassified version of the intelligence community’s findings on Prince Mohammed’s role in the killing, argued at the time there was no precedent for the U.S. to move against the leader of a strategic partner."