The President's Dismissal on Khashoggi Killing Signals a Disturbing Development.

“Stuff occurs.” Just two words. That’s all it took for the US president to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most infamous murder of a reporter of the past ten years – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his disregard toward journalists, for journalism – and for the facts.

The Context

The US president’s dismissive attitude of the murder of well-known reporter the Washington Post columnist came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, MBS – a man whom the CIA found in a recent assessment had ordered the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the only ones to conclude the murder – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and in which the late journalist was sedated and cut apart – was signed off at the top echelons. An inquiry led by former UN expert, Agnès Callamard, reached comparable findings.

Global Reactions

For a short time, governments were in agreement in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States enacted penalties and visa bans in that year over the killing, although it refrained of sanctioning the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the ultimate sign of that redemption.

Presidential Comments

Critics of the regime had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was evident at the presidential residence was worse than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump fete Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter history – and then blamed the victim. Prince Mohammed, Trump asserted when asked, was unaware about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s intelligence services concluded previously. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people disliked that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, things happen.”

Pattern of Behavior

This represents a new and abject low for a president who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the facts – or for the press. He has smeared reporters (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the question about Khashoggi at the media event “fake news”), berated them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against media organizations for eye-watering sums of money in vexatious law suits, and called for news outlets he doesn’t like to be shut down.

He has forced veteran news services out of the White House press pool for refusing to use terminology of his preference, and he has gutted funding for essential public media at home and crucial free press internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has fostered an environment in which journalists are manifestly less safe in the United States, but one in which their targeting – and indeed killing – becomes not just unimportant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“a lot of people didn’t like that gentleman”).

It is no surprise that 2024 was the deadliest year on file for journalists in the more than 30 years the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been tracking this information: a persistent failure to bring to justice those responsible for journalist killings has established a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are literally able to escape punishment and so continue to do so.

Nowhere is this clearer than in Israel, which is accountable for the killing of more than 200 journalists in the past two years.

Effect on Society

The impact on society is deep. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. They are attacks on facts. They are violations of our entitlement to information and on our liberty to live freely and securely.

This week, CPJ meets for its annual global journalism honors. My message at the event is the identical as my one for the president: these things may occur. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.