Thomas J. Barrack, a confidant of President Trump who served as chairman of his inaugural committee, apologized on Wednesday for statements he made defending Saudi Arabia after the killing of the journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi.

Mr. Barrack suggested at a conference on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi that the United States was not in a position to lecture other countries.

“Whatever happened in Saudi Arabia, the atrocities in America are equal, or worse,” Mr. Barrack said at the event, responding to a question from Becky Anderson of CNN about the effect that the killing of Mr. Khashoggi inside a Saudi consulate in Turkey had had on the Saudis’ reputation.

Mr. Barrack, a financier who has long done business in the Middle East, said that “atrocities” in all countries “are dictated by the rule of law.” Referring to the Saudi crown prince, the de facto ruler of the country and a close ally of the Trump White House, Mr. Barrack added, “For us to dictate what we think is the moral code there, when we have a young man and regime that is trying to push themselves into 2030, I think is a mistake.”