October 20, 2018

Trump Accepts Saudi Arabia’s Latest Story About Journalist Dying in a “Fistfight”

The president continues to ignore US intelligence.

Ron Sachs/CNP via ZUMA

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Saudi Arabia has again changed its official line on the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, marking its first admission since his October 2 disappearance that Khashoggi died in its consulate in Istanbul. The country’s new story, according to the Washington Post, is that Khashoggi was killed after a fistfight broke out in the consulate. Saudi Arabia also announced that it had made 18 arrests and fired five officials as a result of its initial investigation. For the last two weeks, Saudi Arabia has repeatedly insisted that Khashoggi had left its consulate before disappearing,

President Donald Trump, visiting a Luke Air Force base in Arizona on Friday, said, “I think it’s a good first step, it’s a big step. There’s a lot of people involved.” Asked if he accepts the new explanation offered by Saudi Arabia, Trump said, “I do,” adding that he would not want to see sanctions against the country, in order to maintain US arms sales.“Saudi Arabia has been a great ally, but what happened is unacceptable,” he added.

Throughout the past two weeks, Trump has opted to accept and repeat Saudi Arabia’s shifting explanations—ignoring US intelligence that the crown prince directed government agents to kill and dismember Khashoggi, who had been critical of the regime. A few days earlier, Trump had offered unsubstantiated speculation that “rogue killers” could be behind Khashoggi’s disappearance. 

Members of Trump’s party remain skeptical about Saudi Arabia’s evolving narrative. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) tweeted last night:

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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