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“Incidents take place.” A mere phrase. That was enough for the US president to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most infamous murder of a reporter of the past ten years – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his disregard toward journalists, for the media – and for the truth.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissal of the murder of well-known reporter the Washington Post columnist came during a media briefing with the Saudi crown prince, MBS – a man whom the US intelligence concluded 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 sole entities to conclude the homicide – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the late Khashoggi was sedated and cut apart – was signed off at the highest levels. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a brief period, governments were unified in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US imposed sanctions and travel restrictions in that year over the murder, although it refrained of sanctioning Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the crown prince’s visit to Washington seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

White House Remarks

Opponents of the government had roundly condemned the meeting. But what was evident at the presidential residence was worse than could have been imagined. Not only did the president honor Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter history – and then blamed the victim. Prince Mohammed, Trump asserted when asked, knew nothing about the killing – in clear opposition to what his nation’s spy agencies determined previously. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people disliked that person that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen.”

Established Conduct

This represents a new and abject low for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the truth – or for the media. He has defamed journalists (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the question about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “false information”), scolded them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the convicted sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein), sued media organizations for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for media groups he doesn’t like to be shut down.

He has pressured established media out of the official briefing group for refusing to use terminology of his preference, and he has slashed funding for vital news services at home and vital independent media internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has created an atmosphere in which reporters are manifestly less safe in the United States, but one in which their targeting – and indeed killing – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“a lot of people didn’t like that person”).

It is no surprise that that year was the deadliest year on record for journalists in the over three decades the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been documenting this data: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those responsible for journalist killings has established a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are actually able to get away with murder and so persist in these actions.

Nowhere is this clearer than in Israel, which is accountable for the deaths of over two hundred journalists in the recent period.

Societal Impact

The impact on the public is profound. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are violations of our rights to know and on our freedom to exist without fear and safely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its annual International Press Freedom awards. My message there is the identical as my one for the president: these things may happen. But it is our responsibility to make sure they do not.