Khashoggi Assassination Cover-Up: Trump's Protection of Saudi Arabia from Accountability

Overview

On October 2, 2018, Jamal Khashoggi — a Saudi dissident journalist and Washington Post columnist — entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, to obtain documents related to his upcoming marriage. He never came out. A 15-person Saudi government hit squad, including members of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's personal security detail, murdered and dismembered Khashoggi inside the consulate.

Turkey obtained audio recordings of the killing. Saudi Arabia initially denied any knowledge, then offered a series of escalating and contradictory explanations over several weeks.

The CIA Assessment

The CIA concluded with high confidence that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) personally ordered the assassination. The assessment was based on multiple streams of intelligence, including intercepts and the presence of MBS's personal security detail in the kill team.

When the CIA's conclusion was reported in November 2018, Trump publicly stated: "Maybe he did and maybe he didn't." In a written statement entitled "America First!" Trump listed Saudi Arabia's arms purchases — he cited "$110 billion" in deals — as the primary reason the United States would not rupture its relationship with Riyadh.

Trump Administration's Role

The Trump administration took no meaningful action against MBS personally. Trump:

• Refused to impose sanctions on MBS despite bipartisan Congressional pressure
• Stated publicly that the U.S. would "remain a steadfast partner" of Saudi Arabia
• Blocked the Senate from receiving classified briefings on the CIA assessment
• Had Jared Kushner maintain a back-channel with MBS throughout the crisis

The Senate passed a resolution holding MBS responsible for the killing in December 2018, but the House did not vote on it. The Trump administration also threatened to veto bipartisan legislation that would have suspended arms sales to Saudi Arabia over the killing.

International Legal Findings

The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, Agnes Callamard, issued a comprehensive report in June 2019 concluding that the killing was a "premeditated extrajudicial execution" for which Saudi Arabia bears state responsibility. She called for a criminal investigation of MBS and other senior Saudi officials, and criticized the United States and other Western governments for prioritizing arms sales over accountability.

Turkey prosecuted 26 Saudi nationals in absentia. Saudi Arabia conducted its own trial, convicting eight individuals of the killing — none of them senior officials — and later commuted five death sentences to 20-year prison terms. International human rights observers called the Saudi trial a whitewash.

Significance

Khashoggi's killing and Trump's protection of MBS sent a message to authoritarian governments worldwide that journalists could be murdered with impunity if their country maintained the right strategic partnerships with Washington. Freedom of the press organizations documented a sharp increase in the targeting of journalists by state actors in the years following Trump's response to the killing.