The disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist critical of the Saudi government, has rightly led to bipartisan outrage in Washington. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, for one, has vowed there will be hell to pay if, as has been reported, the U.S. resident was lured into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 and brutally murdered by Saudi agents.
As a news organization that understands the dangers journalists face at home and abroad, we agree with Graham and applaud the bipartisan effort of nearly two dozen U.S. senators led by Republican Bob Corker of Tennessee, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Democrat Bob Menendez of New Jersey calling for an immediate investigation into what are credible reports that the Saudi government is behind what is increasingly evident was Khashoggis death.
As Corker told the press last week after intelligence briefings on Khashoggi, Everything points at this juncture to Saudi Arabia, and, Unfortunately it would appear that hes been murdered.
President Donald Trump recently told 60 Minutes that, if reports of Khashoggis murder at the hands of Saudi authorities are true, there would be something really terrible and disgusting about that. He went on to say that, Were going to get to the bottom of it and there will be severe punishment. Yet last week, after dispatching Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Saudi Arabia and Turkey, Trump said he had spoken to Saudi King Salman and that he firmly denied any knowledge of Khashoggis disappearance.
Remarkably, the president then seemed to offer an alternative scenario that did not involve a direct order from the aging Saudi king or, more importantly, from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the country whom Khashoggi had strongly criticized in his writing for using an ongoing anti-corruption campaign as cover to imprison or disappear political opponents, journalists and human-rights activists within the Saudi kingdom.
I dont want to get into his mind, Trump said of the king, a former business associate of the erstwhile real-estate magnate. But it sounded to me like maybe these could have been rogue killers. Who knows? Were going to try getting to the bottom of it very soon, but his was a flat denial.
Whats remarkable about this statement is that, once again, Trump seems to be taking the word of an authoritarian leader in this case, granted, a longstanding U.S. ally over his own intelligence community.
According to a recent report by The Wall Street Journal, Turkish authorities have shared with U.S. intelligence officials an audio recording from inside the Saudi Consulate that makes it clear the Saudis killed Khashoggi.
Even more remarkable, Trump seemed to be parroting what may soon be the official Saudi line. Earlier in the week, CNN reported that the Saudis were preparing to admit that Khashoggis death was the result of an interrogation (at the Saudi Consulate) that went wrong. Now, the Saudi royal family reportedly has plans to pin the rogue operation on a senior Saudi intelligence officer.
Such a story, emanating from the White House and the House of Saud, conveniently distances the Saudi royal family from any direct involvement in the murder of a dissident Saudi journalist who sought exile in the U.S. and was highly respected among his peers.
Secretary of State Pompeo said before leaving Saudi Arabia that anyone involved in the journalists murder would be held accountable. But Turkish law enforcement, who claim Khashoggi was murdered then dismembered within the consulate, say Saudi authorities are obstructing their investigation.
Those of us not privy to intelligence briefings may never know definitively what happened to Khashoggi. Yes, Trump has promised severe punishment if Saudi involvement is proven. Yet he has also repeatedly said that any potential U.S. sanctions should not include killing a multibillion-dollar arms deal with the Saudis.
We applaud Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchins decision to withdraw from the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh this week, but hope the investigation can go forward without severing diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia or jeopardizing a longstanding strategic alliance in a volatile region.
As journalists, however, we would hope the truth about a human life is more important than any arms deal, and would urge our president to more boldly promote and defend free speech and human rights abroad.
As Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said last week, There isnt enough money in the world to purchase back our credibility on human rights if the White House and Congress fail to punish Saudi Arabia over its alleged involvement in the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi.
