Kushner reportedly advised the Saudi crown prince on how to respond to news of Khashoggi's murder

President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner continued to privately advise Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, The New York Times reported Saturday.

The story says Kushner "has offered the crown prince advice about how to weather the storm" caused by the killing, for which the CIA has reportedly concluded with "medium-to-high confidence" MBS is responsible. Kushner also counseled MBS to "resolve his conflicts around the [Mideast] region and avoid further embarrassments," the Times report says.

This close relationship "constitutes the foundation of the Trump policy not just toward Saudi Arabia but toward the" entire Middle East, Martin Indyk, a former Middle East envoy and current Council on Foreign Relations fellow, told the Times. Indyk attributed decisions including the Trump administration's continued support for the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen to the Kushner-MBS "bromance."

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While National Security Council staff are supposed to sit in on all communications with foreign leaders, Kushner and MBS reportedly have informal, one-on-one chat and text conversations. The White House declined to comment on this apparent breach of protocol.