🔗 Share this article

“Stuff occurs.” Just two words. That’s all it took for the US president to brush off what is probably the most notorious murder of a reporter of the last decade – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his disregard toward journalists, for journalism – and for the truth.

The Context

The US president’s dismissal of the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA concluded in a recent assessment had orchestrated the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to conclude the murder – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Turkey and in which the late journalist was sedated and dismembered – was approved at the top echelons. An inquiry led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a short time, governments were in agreement in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US imposed penalties and travel restrictions in 2021 over the killing, although it refrained of sanctioning the crown prince himself. Since then, the nation has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the final confirmation of that rehabilitation.

Presidential Comments

Critics of the regime had roundly condemned the meeting. But what was on display at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did the president fete the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter the facts – and then blamed the deceased. Prince Mohammed, Trump claimed when asked, was unaware about the murder – in clear opposition to what his nation’s spy agencies determined four years ago. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people didn’t like that person 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 truth – or for the press. Trump has defamed reporters (he called ABC news, whose journalist asked the inquiry about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “fake news”), berated them in public (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his relationship with the convicted sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein), 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 be shut down.

He has pressured veteran news services out of the White House press pool for refusing to use language of his choosing, and he has gutted financial support for vital news services at home and vital independent media abroad.

Wider Consequences

All of that has fostered an environment in which journalists are clearly more vulnerable in the US, but one in which their targeting – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“things happen”) but tolerated (“many individuals disliked that gentleman”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the most lethal year on file for the press in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been documenting this data: a ongoing neglect to hold those accountable for reporter murders has established a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are actually able to escape punishment and so continue to do so.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Israel, which is responsible for the killing of more than 200 media workers in the recent period.

Effect on Society

The impact on the public is deep. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our freedom to live freely and securely.

This week, CPJ gathers for its yearly International Press Freedom awards. The statement at the event is the identical as my one for Trump: such events may happen. But it is our responsibility to make sure they do not.