Washington Post Editorial Board Blasts Saudi Arabia’s ‘Fable’ on Khashoggi: Trump Shouldn’t Call This Credible

The Washington Post editorial board is, rather obviously, not at all convinced of Saudi Arabia’s official story on what happened to Jamal Khashoggi.

Saudi Arabia confirmed his death last night and said he was killed after a fight. Many journalists and lawmakers are unconvinced, and that includes Khashoggi’s Post colleagues.

“The new account offered by the regime of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is utterly devoid of credibility,” the Post editorial board writes. “The latest version asks us to believe that Mr. Khashoggi died after becoming engaged in a ‘brawl’ with officials who had been sent to meet him. His body, Saudi officials told several journalists, was handed over to a ‘local collaborator’ for disposal. That President Trump would pronounce this fable credible only underlines his shameful intent to assist in the attempt of the regime — and, in particular, the crown prince — to escape meaningful accountability.”

Trump called Saudi Arabia’s announcement a “good first step” last night.

The President shouldn’t be so credulous, they write, for “the new Saudi cover story is contradicted not just by evidence collected by Turkish authorities and by journalists but also by the reporting of the U.S. intelligence community.”

And the Post editorial board is demanding a serious international investigation instead of a “coverup exercise”:

The only way to determine the truth of what happened to Mr. Khashoggi is a genuine international investigation, led by a U.N.-appointed panel. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres should take the initiative. Congress should launch its own investigation, including of whether the Trump administration is conspiring with Saudi officials to cover up the murder of a distinguished journalist.

Meanwhile, Post Global Opinions editor Karen Attiah tweeted this message this morning:

If Jamal’s murderers thought the @WashingtonPost or I would let this go, they were so, so wrong. #Khashoggi #JusticeForJamal. https://t.co/So0jC6c2Zk

— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) October 20, 2018

[photo via AFP / Getty Images]

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