June 13th, 2016, Secretary of State John Kerry is hosting a Ramadan dinner at his home

in Georgetown for a special guest from Saudi Arabia, Muhammad bin Salman, or MBS, as he's

commonly called, then the country's new defense minister.

A tall bearded man wearing a sports coat and slacks instead of the traditional white

Saudi thobbe, MBS notices as he's walking in the grand piano in Kerry's living room.

After America's top diplomat gives his consent, the Saudi visitor sits down and proceeds to

start playing, much to the astonishment of the assembled guests, the moonlight sonata

by Ludwig von Beethoven.

I was just, you know, watching him show a considerable virtuosity on the piano, on the keys.

I mean, we're all surprised, somebody had trained them well.

The musical performance by the Saudi prince that night was just one element in an extraordinary

charm offensive that wooed American diplomats, members of Congress, business leaders, Hollywood

moguls, and journalists, and shaped a narrative that quickly took hold.

That this new young man was a breath of fresh air in the Middle East, a charismatic and

cultured reformer who would bring his country into the 21st century, who was a narrative

that at that point more than impressed the Secretary of State.

He's the only person I've met in 30 years of my involvement or more with Saudi Arabia

who has put that kind of a vision on the table for the transformation of the country.

But MBS's heralded swing through the carters of American power was also a diversion,

masking a Mr. Hyde side to this new Saudi Dr. Jekyll.

For just as Western elites and American officials were showering MBS with praise,

they were already brief glimpses of much darker impulses.

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