The President's Dismissal on Journalist's Murder Represents a Disturbing Development.

“Stuff occurs.” Just two words. That was enough for the US president to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most infamous 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 dismissal of the murder of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the US intelligence found in a recent assessment had ordered the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the only ones to conclude the murder – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was sedated and dismembered – was approved at the highest levels. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, Agnès Callamard, reached comparable findings.

Global Reactions

For a brief period, nations were unified in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The United States enacted penalties and travel restrictions in 2021 over the killing, although it refrained of sanctioning the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been gradually restoring itself – and the crown prince’s visit to Washington seemed to be the ultimate sign of that rehabilitation.

Presidential Comments

Critics of the government had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was on display at the White House was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump honor the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter the facts – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. The crown prince, Trump claimed when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in clear opposition to what his country’s own spy agencies concluded previously. 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, things happen.”

Pattern of Behavior

This represents 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. He has defamed reporters (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the inquiry about the journalist at the media event “fake news”), scolded them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the convicted sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein), sued media organizations for large amounts of money in vexatious law suits, and called for news outlets he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has forced established media out of the White House press pool for declining to use language of his choosing, and he has gutted funding for essential public media at domestically and crucial free press internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has created an environment in which journalists are clearly more vulnerable in the US, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“many individuals didn’t like that person”).

It is no surprise that 2024 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 responsible for reporter murders has established a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are actually able to get away with murder and so continue to do so.

In no place is this more evident than in Israel, which is responsible for the killing of more than 200 journalists in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The impact 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 securely.

This week, CPJ gathers for its annual International Press Freedom awards. The statement at the event is the identical as my one for Trump: such events may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.