SiobhanEire :
Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist murdered in 2018, had ties to investigations into Saudi Arabia's alleged role in the 9/11 attacks, which some attorneys for victims' families believe contributed to his killing as a means of silencing potential whistleblowing.In October 2017, Khashoggi—then in self-imposed exile in the U.S.—met with Catherine Hunt, a former FBI agent and investigator for 9/11 families suing the Saudi government. Khashoggi's background as a former Saudi intelligence operative under Prince Turki al-Faisal gave him deep knowledge of Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda networks, and potential Saudi support for the hijackers. The meeting was preliminary and yielded no specific disclosures, but attorneys later argued it exposed him to retaliation. Immediately after, Khashoggi texted senior Saudi officials, including then-Ambassador to the U.S. Khalid bin Salman (brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman), reportedly alerting them to the contact.James Kreindler, a lead attorney for the 9/11 plaintiffs, has publicly stated that Khashoggi's murder was motivated by these interactions rather than his general criticism of the Saudi regime: "Khashoggi was killed not because he was a dissident, but because of his contact with us." Kreindler speculated that Khashoggi's post-meeting communication may have included a desperate plea, such as warning that harm to his detained son in Saudi Arabia would force him to reveal more. In federal court filings, the families cited the episode as evidence of Saudi witness intimidation, though they stopped short of directly linking it to his death at the Istanbul consulate a year later. Khashoggi had also agreed to further meetings with the lawyers before his killing.U.S. intelligence intercepts confirmed the texts to Khalid bin Salman, who denied suggesting Khashoggi visit the consulate and claimed their last contact was that 2017 text. While Khashoggi did not publicly whistleblow on 9/11 specifics, his insider access and outreach from the families positioned him as a high-value source, amplifying suspicions that his elimination was preemptive. This narrative features prominently in the 2020 documentary Kingdom of Silence,
2025-11-19 01:05:23