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is there a difference between these sentences:-

he knew what he was saying or he knew what he said.

Context: Guy A said something in past, he meant everything he said. Now, in the present, which sentence is the best to communicate that information?

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There is a slight difference.

“He knew what he was saying” emphasizes that he knew at the time he said it. This is mainly used when we really mean he knew the significance of what he was saying.

“He knew what he said” only says that he knew sometime between when he said it and now. This is mainly used if he later tried to deny saying it.

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