Trump's Dismissal on Journalist's Murder Represents a New Low.
“Incidents take place.” A mere phrase. That’s all it took for the US president to brush off what is probably the most infamous journalist killing of the past ten years – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his contempt for the press, for journalism – and for the facts.
Background Details
The American leader’s dismissal of the killing of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a media briefing with the Saudi crown prince, MBS – a man whom the CIA concluded in a recent assessment had ordered the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (Prince Mohammed has rejected accusations.)
The US intelligence services were not the only ones to conclude the homicide – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the late Khashoggi was sedated and dismembered – was signed off at the top echelons. An investigation led by then UN special rapporteur, 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 enacted sanctions and travel restrictions in that year over the killing, although it refrained of sanctioning the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the ultimate sign of that rehabilitation.
Presidential Comments
Critics 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 the president fete Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote history – and then blamed the victim. Prince Mohammed, he asserted when asked, knew nothing about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his country’s own spy agencies determined previously. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people didn’t like that person that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, incidents occur.”
Established Conduct
This marks a fresh and shameful point for a president who has made little secret of his disdain for the facts – or for the media. Trump has smeared reporters (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the inquiry about the journalist at the Saudi press conference “false information”), scolded them in open settings (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his connection with the convicted sex offender financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against news outlets 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 official briefing group for refusing to use language of his choosing, and he has gutted financial support for vital news services at home and crucial free press internationally.
Broader Implications
All of that has fostered an atmosphere in which journalists are clearly more vulnerable in the US, but one in which their victimization – and indeed killing – becomes not just unimportant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“a lot of people disliked that gentleman”).
It is no surprise that that year was the most lethal year on record for journalists in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been documenting this data: a persistent failure to hold those accountable for reporter murders has created a environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters are actually able to get away with murder and so persist in these actions.
Nowhere is this more evident than in Israel, which is responsible for the killing of over two hundred journalists in the recent period.
Societal Impact
The effect on society is deep. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are violations of our entitlement to information and on our liberty to exist without fear and securely.
On Thursday, CPJ meets for its yearly International Press Freedom awards. The statement at the event is the identical as my one for the president: these things may happen. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.
