🔗 Share this article

“Stuff occurs.” A mere phrase. That’s all it took for the US president to effectively dismiss what is probably the most notorious journalist killing of the past ten years – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his contempt for journalists, for journalism – and for the truth.

The Context

The US president’s dismissive attitude of the killing of well-known reporter Jamal Khashoggi came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the US intelligence found in a 2021 report had ordered the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (Prince Mohammed has rejected accusations.)

The American spy agencies were not the only ones to conclude the murder – which occurred in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the 59-year-old journalist was sedated and cut apart – was approved at the highest levels. An investigation led by then UN special rapporteur, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a short time, nations were in agreement in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States enacted sanctions and travel restrictions 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 final confirmation of that redemption.

Presidential Comments

Critics of the government had roundly condemned the meeting. But what was evident at the presidential residence was worse than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump honor the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter history – and then pointed fingers at the victim. The crown prince, he claimed when asked, was unaware about the murder – in clear opposition to what his nation’s spy agencies determined four years ago. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals didn’t like that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or didn’t like him, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This represents a fresh and shameful point for a president who has made little secret of his contempt for the facts – or for the press. Trump has defamed reporters (he called ABC news, whose reporter asked the inquiry about the journalist at the media event “fake news”), berated them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the convicted sex offender financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against media organizations for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for media groups he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has pressured veteran news services out of the official briefing group for refusing to use terminology of his preference, and he has slashed financial support for vital news services at home and vital independent media abroad.

Broader Implications

All of that has created an environment in which journalists are manifestly less safe in the US, but one in which their targeting – and indeed murder – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but tolerated (“many individuals didn’t like that gentleman”).

It is no surprise that 2024 was the most lethal year on file 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 environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters are actually able to escape punishment and so continue to do so.

Nowhere is this clearer than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is accountable for the deaths of over two hundred media workers in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The impact on the public is profound. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. They are attacks on facts. They are violations of our rights to know and on our freedom to exist without fear and safely.

This week, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its yearly International Press Freedom awards. The statement there is the same as my one for the president: such events may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they do not.