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“Incidents take place.” Just two words. That’s all it took for the US president to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most notorious journalist killing of the last decade – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his contempt for journalists, for the media – and for the truth.

Background Details

The US president’s dismissal of the murder of well-known reporter the Washington Post columnist came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA concluded in a recent assessment had orchestrated the abduction and murder of the journalist in that year. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to conclude the murder – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the late Khashoggi was drugged and dismembered – was approved at the highest levels. An investigation led by then UN special rapporteur, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a brief period, nations were unified in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The US enacted sanctions and visa bans in that year over the killing, although it refrained of penalizing the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

White House Remarks

Critics of the regime had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was on display at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump honor the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter history – and then blamed the victim. Prince Mohammed, he claimed when asked, knew nothing about the killing – in clear opposition to what his nation’s intelligence services concluded previously. Moreover, the president said: “Many individuals didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or didn’t like him, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This marks a fresh and shameful low for a leader who has made little secret of his contempt for the facts – or for the press. Trump has defamed journalists (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the question about Khashoggi at the media event “fake news”), berated them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the convicted sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein), sued media organizations for large amounts of money in vexatious law suits, and called for media groups he doesn’t like to lose their licenses.

He has forced veteran news services out of the White House press pool for refusing to use terminology of his choosing, and he has gutted funding for vital news services at domestically and vital independent media internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has fostered an environment in which reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the US, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“a lot of people didn’t like that gentleman”).

It is no surprise that that year was the most lethal year on file for the press in the more than 30 years the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been tracking this data: a ongoing neglect to hold those accountable for reporter murders has created a environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters are actually able to get away with murder and so persist in these actions.

In no place is this clearer than in Israel, which is accountable for the killing of more than 200 journalists in the past two years.

Effect on Society

The effect on society is profound. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are violations of our rights to know and on our freedom to live freely and safely.

This week, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its annual global journalism honors. The statement at the event is the same as my one for Trump: these things may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.