Will press White House on eve of mandatory report on murder

The Committee to Protect Journalists is hosting an "outside the White House" press conference Feb. 7 to demand justice for murdered Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Khashoggi, an outspoken critic of the Saudi regime in opinion pieces in the Washington Post, was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Turkey. Though details of just how and why remain sketchy, it appears tied to that criticism. Khashoggi, a Saudi expatriot resident of Virginia, reportedly feared for his life but refused to let that silence his critiques.

President Trump has indicated there was doubt about the involvement of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, doubt not shared by many inside and outside the journalistic, diplomatic and intelligence communities.

Related: CPJ Will Honor Jamal Khashoggi at Awards Ceremony

The event comes the day before the Trump Administration is supposed to be delivering a report to the Senate on Khashoggi's murder and whether and to what extent the Crown Prince might have been involved.

The report was triggered by a bipartisan letter to the President back in October that triggered a Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act of 2016 requirement that the Administration report on the death within 120 days, including any possible sanctions.

CPJ is among a number of groups that have identified the President's treatment of the media as an existential threat to a free press. The President has labeled many in the mainstream media as enemies in league with his political foes to subvert his presidency through "fake news," a label often used to describe stories critical of him or that he says are unfair or inaccurate.