🔗 Share this article The President's Casual Remarks on Khashoggi Killing Signals a Disturbing Development. “Things happen.” A mere phrase. That was enough for the US president to brush off what is arguably the most infamous journalist killing of the past ten years – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward journalists, for journalism – and for the truth. Background Details The US president’s dismissal of the murder of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a press conference with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA found in a recent assessment had ordered the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (The crown prince has denied involvement.) The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to determine the murder – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the late Khashoggi was sedated and dismembered – was signed off at the top echelons. An inquiry led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings. Global Reactions For a short time, governments were in agreement in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States imposed penalties and travel restrictions in that year over the killing, although it stopped short of sanctioning the crown prince himself. Since then, the nation has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the crown prince’s visit to Washington seemed to be the ultimate sign of that redemption. Presidential Comments Critics of the regime had roundly condemned the visit. But what was evident at the presidential residence was worse than could have been anticipated. Not only did the president honor Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote the facts – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. Prince Mohammed, he claimed when asked, was unaware about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s spy agencies concluded previously. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people didn’t like that person that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen.” Established Conduct This marks a new and abject point for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the truth – or for the press. Trump has defamed journalists (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “false information”), berated them in public (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his connection with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against news outlets for eye-watering sums of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he doesn’t like to lose their licenses. He has pressured veteran news services out of the White House press pool for declining to use terminology of his choosing, and he has gutted funding for essential public media at domestically and vital independent media internationally. Wider Consequences All of that has created an atmosphere in which journalists are clearly more vulnerable in the US, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“many individuals disliked that person”). It is no surprise that 2024 was the most lethal year on record for the press in the more than 30 years the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been documenting this information: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those accountable for journalist killings has created a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are literally able to get away with murder and so persist in these actions. 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 effect on the public is profound. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our liberty to exist without fear and securely. This week, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its yearly global journalism honors. My message there is the same as my one for the president: such events may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.