Trump's Complicity in the Khashoggi Murder -- Alexander Vindman

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https://www.avindman.com/p/trumps-complicity-in-the-khashoggi

How Donald Trump’s cover-up of Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination revealed the pattern of corruption that still defines his relationship with Saudi Arabia... and the world

As the world revisits the relationship between Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), it’s worth recalling one of the most chilling episodes of modern diplomacy that marked a turning point for American credibility. The 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was not only a grotesque act of political violence, it was also a test of moral leadership. Trump failed that test spectacularly and chose personal gain and political convenience over truth and justice.

I write this as someone who served on the White House National Security Council (NSC) at the time. Crisis management for this episode was jointly conducted by the Middle East and European Affairs directorates, the latter overseeing Turkey, where the crime occurred. From inside government the episode was recognized for what it was: a clear test of whether the United States would uphold its values when confronted with an autocrat’s brutality.

The Murder and the Cover-Up

The killing took place in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 2, 2018, inside the Saudi consulate. Despite overwhelming evidence — including audio recordings captured by Turkish intelligence and forensic proof tying the murder squad directly to senior Saudi officials that was later transmitted to the CIA — Trump publicly exonerated MBS, insisting the Crown Prince “knew nothing about it.”

Trump absolved MBS despite the CIA’s internal conclusion that he had personally approved the killing. Both contemporaneous media reports and a later declassified 2021 Office of the Director of National Intelligence report confirm that Trump was aware of MBS’s complicity and still participated in the cover-up.

He ignored all of it. Trump dismissed the CIA’s assessment with his characteristic shrug — “Maybe he did and maybe he didn’t” — and dictated a formal White House statement asserting that America would remain a “steadfast partner” of Saudi Arabia, citing arms sales and investment. That statement, issued on November 20, 2018, was a transactional absolution, broadcast to the world.

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