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

“Things happen.” Just two words. That was enough for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is probably the most notorious murder of a reporter of the past ten years – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his contempt for the press, for the media – and for the facts.

The Context

The American leader’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 found in a recent assessment had orchestrated the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to conclude the homicide – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the 59-year-old journalist was sedated and dismembered – was approved at the top echelons. An investigation led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

Global Reactions

For a brief period, nations were unified in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The United States imposed 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 slowly rehabilitating itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

White House Remarks

Critics of the government had roundly condemned the meeting. But what was evident at the White House was worse than could have been imagined. Not only did the president honor the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter history – and then blamed the deceased. The crown prince, Trump asserted when asked, was unaware about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his country’s own spy agencies concluded four years ago. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people disliked 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 low for a leader who has made little secret of his disdain for the facts – or for the press. He has defamed journalists (he called ABC news, whose journalist asked the question about the journalist at the media event “false information”), berated them in open settings (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his relationship with the disgraced 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 established media out of the White House press pool 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 reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the United States, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“many individuals disliked that gentleman”).

It is no surprise that that year was the deadliest year on file for the press in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been tracking this data: a persistent failure to hold those responsible for reporter murders has created a environment without consequences in which journalists’ killers are literally able to escape punishment and so continue to do so.

Nowhere is this clearer than in Israel, which is accountable for the deaths of more than 200 media workers in the past two years.

Effect on Society

The impact on society is profound. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our freedom to live freely and securely.

This week, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its yearly global journalism honors. The statement there is the identical as my message for Trump: these things may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they do not.