The son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has been meeting with members of the Bush administration in Washington this week, the U.S. State Department said.

Saif al-Islam Gadhafi's tour of the United States was called a "private visit" State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said during a Thursday news briefing.

"He is the leader of Libya's son," McCormack said. "Now, he does not hold an official government position. He's head, I think, of the Gadhafi Foundation. So one would reasonably expect, given just those two facts, that he will have some influence over the course that Libya as a state pursues over the next period of time."

The younger Gadhafi met with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Assistant Secretary of State David Welch while in Washington.

Human rights groups and Libyan opposition groups have criticized his visit, accusing him of having a major role in the country's civil and human rights abuses.