🔗 Share this article

“Incidents take place.” A mere phrase. That was enough for Donald Trump to brush off what is arguably the most notorious murder of a reporter of the last decade – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his contempt for journalists, for the media – and for the truth.

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 leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA found in a recent assessment had ordered the abduction and murder 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 diplomatic building in Turkey and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was sedated and dismembered – was signed off at the highest levels. An investigation led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a brief period, governments were unified in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The United States imposed penalties and visa bans in that year over the murder, although it stopped short of sanctioning the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington seemed to be the ultimate sign of that redemption.

White House Remarks

Opponents of the government had roundly condemned the meeting. But what was evident at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump honor the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter history – and then blamed the deceased. Prince Mohammed, he claimed when asked, was unaware about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s intelligence services determined previously. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, things happen.”

Established Conduct

This marks a new and abject low for a president who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the facts – or for the media. Trump has smeared reporters (he called ABC news, whose journalist asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the media event “fake news”), berated them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the convicted sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein), taken legal action against media organizations for eye-watering sums of money in frivolous cases, and called for media groups he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has forced veteran news services out of the White House press pool for refusing to use language of his choosing, and he has gutted funding for essential public media at domestically and crucial free press abroad.

Broader Implications

All of that has created an environment in which journalists are manifestly less safe in the United States, but one in which their targeting – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“a lot of people disliked that person”).

It is no surprise that that year was the most lethal year on record for journalists in the over three decades the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been tracking this information: a persistent failure to bring to justice those accountable for journalist killings has created a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are actually able to escape punishment and so continue to do so.

In no place is this clearer than in Israel, which is responsible for the killing of more than 200 journalists in the recent period.

Effect on Society

The effect on society 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 safely.

This week, CPJ meets for its yearly International Press Freedom awards. The statement at the event is the same as my one for Trump: these things may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.