Trump says he knows 'nothing' about missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, hasn't asked the Saudis about it yet


Several high-ranking U.S. officials, including Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plus a bipartisan group of senators and House members, have expressed alarm over the disappearance of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi last week. Khashoggi disappeared Oct. 2 during a visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and Turkish authorities say they believe Saudi Arabia killed and dismembered or abducted the journalist, who's been critical of the Saudi government and powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Saudis deny this.
On Tuesday night, Khashoggi's fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, implored President Trump in an op-ed in The Washington Post, Khashoggi's employer, to "help shed some light on Jamal's disappearance." But Trump said he's in the dark like everyone else. "I know nothing, I know what everybody else knows," the president said Tuesday. He said he hasn't spoken to the Saudis about the disappearance yet, but he will "at some point." On Monday, Trump said he doesn't "like hearing about it, and hopefully that will sort itself out." Trump's "almost blasé tenor has concerned press advocates," who warn that his seeming disinterest in the case will be seen by the Saudis as a green light to continue targeting journalists and dissidents, Politico reports.
Turkish officials are taking the lead on investigating Khashoggi's disappearance, and while they haven't been able to find security camera footage of him leaving the building and the Saudis have not provided any proof he ever did, Turkish police do have footage of a Mercedes Vito van with tinted windows that entered and left the Saudi consulate hours after Khashoggi entered. The footage of the van has led investigators to "examine the possibility that — alive or dead — the journalist was spirited away," The Wall Street Journal reports, citing two Turkish officials briefed on the probe. "Before Khashoggi's disappearance," the Post reports, "U.S. intelligence intercepted communications of Saudi officials discussing a plan to capture him."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Today's political cartoons - May 10, 2025
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, and more
-
5 streetwise cartoons about defunding PBS
Cartoons Artists take on immigrant puppets, defense spending, and more
-
Dark chocolate macadamia cookies recipe
The Week Recommends These one-bowl cookies will melt in your mouth
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'
-
Trump is not sure he must follow the Constitution
speed read When asked about due process for migrants in a TV interview, President Trump said he didn't know whether he had to uphold the Fifth Amendment