{"slug":"trump-first-term-khashoggi-mbs-defense","title":"Khashoggi Assassination: Trump Defends MBS, Suppresses CIA Findings, Blocks Accountability","date":"2018-10-02","lastUpdated":"2021-02-26","description":"On October 2, 2018, Washington Post journalist and Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, by a Saudi hit team. The CIA concluded with high confidence that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) had ordered the killing. Trump refused to impose meaningful sanctions on MBS, issued a statement defending Saudi Arabia as an ally, and described the CIA assessment as uncertain. The Biden administration later declassified the intelligence assessment concluding MBS ordered the killing. Trump's response was widely condemned as prioritizing arms deals and personal relationships over accountability for the murder of a U.S. resident and journalist.","summary":"Khashoggi, a permanent U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist, entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain documents for his upcoming marriage. He was killed and his body dismembered by a 15-member Saudi team that included members of MBS's personal security detail. Turkish intelligence recorded audio of the killing and shared it with the CIA. The CIA concluded MBS ordered the operation. Trump's November 2018 statement defending Saudi Arabia cited the CIA assessment as uncertain and emphasized arms sales: '$450 billion of jobs, 450 billion dollars.' Trump resisted congressional pressure for Magnitsky Act sanctions against MBS. The administration characterized MBS's culpability as inconclusive despite CIA findings.","category":"foreign-policy","severity":"critical","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/02/world/middleeast/jamal-khashoggi-missing-saudi-journalist.html","title":"Jamal Khashoggi: Saudi Dissident Journalist Disappears","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-defends-saudi-arabia-khashoggi/2018/11/20/story.html","title":"Trump defends Saudi Arabia after Khashoggi killing","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-khashoggi-mbs-cia-arms-sales","title":"Trump sides with Saudi Arabia over CIA on Khashoggi","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Assessment-Saudi-Gov-Role-in-Khashoggi-Death-20210226v2.pdf","title":"Assessing the Saudi Government's Role in the Killing of Jamal Khashoggi","publisher":"Office of the Director of National Intelligence"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Khashoggi","MBS","Saudi-Arabia","first-term","foreign-policy","press-freedom","arms-sales","CIA"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2018-10-02","title":"Khashoggi enters Saudi consulate — killed","summary":"Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist and permanent U.S. resident, enters the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain marriage documents. He is killed by a 15-member Saudi team. His body is dismembered. Turkish intelligence captures audio of the killing."},{"date":"2018-10-20","title":"Saudi Arabia acknowledges killing — claims it was a fight","summary":"After days of denial, Saudi Arabia acknowledges Khashoggi died inside the consulate. Initial explanations claim he died in a fight. The explanations shift multiple times before eventually acknowledging premeditation."},{"date":"2018-10-26","title":"CIA concludes MBS ordered killing — high confidence","summary":"The CIA reaches a high-confidence conclusion that MBS ordered the killing. Turkish audio recordings and the composition of the hit team — including members of MBS's personal security detail — are cited. The assessment is shared with the White House."},{"date":"2018-11-20","title":"Trump issues statement defending Saudi Arabia — cites arms sales","summary":"Trump issues a written statement declining to hold MBS accountable, citing arms sales, the alliance, and characterizing CIA findings as uncertain. The statement explicitly treats commercial relationships as more important than accountability for the state murder of a U.S. resident."},{"date":"2021-02-26","title":"Biden declassifies ODNI assessment — MBS approved killing","summary":"The Biden administration releases the declassified ODNI assessment concluding MBS approved the operation to capture or kill Khashoggi. The document confirms CIA findings Trump had treated as uncertain. Biden imposes sanctions on individuals but not MBS personally."}],"location":{"name":"Istanbul, Turkey / Washington, D.C.","lat":41.0082,"lng":28.9784},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"UN Convention Against Torture","article":"Article 1 / Article 12","provision":"The United States has obligations to investigate torture and cruel treatment by state actors; Trump's refusal to impose meaningful accountability for a state-ordered murder of a U.S. resident violated the spirit of this obligation"},{"statute":"Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act","article":"Section 1263","provision":"Authorizes sanctions on persons responsible for gross human rights violations; Congress argued MBS met this standard; Trump declined to impose individual sanctions on MBS"}],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Jamal Khashoggi, murdered by Saudi state agents in an extrajudicial killing; his family; free press worldwide; dissidents who faced increased risk from emboldened state actors after Trump's response signaled limited accountability","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President; refused to impose meaningful sanctions on MBS despite CIA conclusions; issued statement defending Saudi Arabia; characterized CIA findings as uncertain; prioritized arms sales over accountability","institution":"White House"},{"name":"Mohammed bin Salman (MBS)","role":"Saudi Crown Prince; CIA concluded with high confidence he ordered the killing of Jamal Khashoggi; personally praised and defended by Trump after the murder","institution":"Kingdom of Saudi Arabia"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2021-02-26","summary":"Updated with Biden ODNI declassification."}]}}