In case anyone is unaware, the BBC provides the following: Jamal Khashoggi: All you need to know about Saudi journalist’s death.
Investigators concluded that Khashoggi was forcibly restrained after a struggle and injected with a large amount of a drug, resulting in an overdose that led to his death, Mr Shalaan said. His body was then dismembered and handed over to a local “collaborator” outside the consulate for disposal, he added.
And the NYT, Saudi Crown Prince Is Held Responsible for Khashoggi Killing in U.S. Report.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia approved the assassination of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, according to an intelligence report that the Biden administration released on Friday that offered the world a reminder of the brutal killing.
[…]
The 2018 assassination of Mr. Khashoggi and the brutality of his death, detailed in news reports at the time, shocked the world. And it disgusted American officials, including the C.I.A. director at the time, Gina Haspel, according to current and former intelligence officials. Ms. Haspel and the other American officials listened to a recording obtained by Turkish intelligence that not only captured Mr. Khashoggi’s struggle against Saudi agents and his killing, but also the sounds of the saw being used on his body.
But, you know, what’s a murder and bone-sawing of a journalist between Very Powerful Men?
Trump today via Aaron Rupar:
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: “You’re mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about. Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don’t have to embarrass our guest.”
I am not naive and so understand that sometimes the US maintains relations with foreign governments that have done demonstrably evil things. I wasn’t thrilled with Biden’s fist bump with MBS nor with his subsequent handshake, nor did I like Trump’s state visit to Saudi Arabia (as per the photo above).
But hosting him in the Oval Office and making noises about how maybe Khashoggi had it coming is just another example of how Trump has no morals and all he cares about is being a Big Man with other Big Men.
After all, “things happen.”
