While President Donald Trump welcomed Saudi Arabia’s new statement confirming that journalist Jamal Khashoggi is indeed dead, blaming some kind of physical altercation in the kingdom’s consulate in Turkey, others in Washington and beyond expressed their stunned incredulity.

Saudi leaders had initially denied any part in the Washington Post columnist’s Oct. 2 disappearance. Intent on protecting the top tiers of the royal family, they had reportedly discussed blaming the incident on an interrogation accidentally gone wrong.

According to the kingdom’s official explanation, the dissident journalist was strangled in a fistfight involving 15 men sent to confront him.

Asked whether he thought the story was credible, Trump said, “I do.” He hailed the new information as a “good first step.”

Many others disagreed.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said the explanation was “preposterous” and called for U.S. action against the Saudis.

“America’s moral compass has come completely unmoored if we don’t take action,” Murphy said in a tweet.

For two weeks, Saudi Arabia has been lying to the world, telling us that Jamal was alive when they knew, the whole time, he was dead.



The new explanation is preposterous, and America’s moral compass has come completely unmoored if we don’t take action. — Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) October 20, 2018

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) felt the story was “insulting.” His colleague Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said it defied “credibility and common sense.”

Saudi actions & explanations continue to defy credibility & common sense. No way should the world wait 30 days for a Saudi whitewash or cover up. U.S. must call for an international investigation that holds accountable all responsible—not just Crown Prince's fall guys. — Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) October 19, 2018

Like many on Twitter, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) wondered why the crew of men sent to meet Khashoggi at the consulate would bring a bone saw with them. Turkish officials claim that Khashoggi was tortured, murdered and dismembered with a bone saw by a hit squad sent from Riyadh under government orders.

The Saudi Arabia story that Khashoggi would get into a fist fight with up to 18 Saudis, many of whom are trained killers, is ridiculous on its face.



Oh, and there's that whole bone saw thing. https://t.co/k9hrIJAQRU — Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) October 19, 2018

Similarly, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, wondered why anyone would start a fistfight with 15 people likely out to kill him.

The claim that Khashoggi was killed while brawling with 15 men dispatched from Saudi Arabia is not at all credible. If he was fighting with those sent to capture or kill him, it was for his life.



The Kingdom must be held to account. If Administration doesn’t lead, Congress must. — Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) October 19, 2018

Members of Trump’s own party didn’t buy the Saudi narrative, either.

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) complained that the explanation for Khashoggi’s disappearance “continues to change with each passing day, so we should not assume their latest holds water.” He called for an independent U.S. investigation.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) scoffed at the latest version of events.

“To say that I am skeptical of the new Saudi narrative about Mr. Khashoggi is an understatement,” he said over Twitter, where he questioned how this could happen without Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammad bin Salman’s knowledge.

To say that I am skeptical of the new Saudi narrative about Mr. Khashoggi is an understatement. https://t.co/am4fraUL6H — Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) October 19, 2018

First we were told Mr. Khashoggi supposedly left the consulate and there was blanket denial of any Saudi involvement. Now, a fight breaks out and he’s killed in the consulate, all without knowledge of Crown Prince. — Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) October 19, 2018

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) simply ignored the Saudi explanation and jumped right to calling for “severe” sanctions against the kingdom, urging a halt to all military sales, aid and cooperation.

The Washington Post’s global opinions editor, Karen Attiah, who worked with Khashoggi, called the Saudi statement “almost insulting.”

She, like many, wondered what happened to the journalist’s body.

2 weeks later, and this is the best explanation they could give? It’s almost insulting. But here goes:



1) Then what happened to the body?

2) Why did officials lie say and he left the consulate?

3) What evidence do they have to support that there was a fistfight? #Khashoggi https://t.co/SMZiV51sz1 — Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) October 20, 2018

Global leaders were dissatisfied with the kingdom’s version of events, too.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the narrative amounted to an assault on democratic freedoms, demanding that the facts of the case be cleared up. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen both indicated they would support an independent investigation like the one proposed by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Guterres called for a “prompt, thorough, transparent” probe into Khashoggi’s death.

The United Kingdom’s Foreign Office said it was considering its “next steps” and “those responsible must be held to account.”

The last person to see Khashoggi alive before he entered the Saudi consulate to obtain marriage documents ― his fiancee, Hatice Cengiz ― posted a brief note to Twitter about her would-be husband after the kingdom confirmed his death.

“God have mercy on you my love Jamal, and may you rest in Paradise,” Cengiz wrote.

وَإِذْ قَتَلْتُمْ نَفْسًا فَادَّارَأْتُمْ فِيهَا ۖ وَاللَّهُ مُخْرِجٌ مَّا كُنتُمْ تَكْتُمُونَ

البقرة (72)

رحمك الله يا حبيبي جمال وجعل مثواك الفردوس الأعلى مع سيد الشهداء حمزة#السعودية_قتلت_خاشقجي#شهيد_الكلمة#الشهيد_جمال_خاشقجي#ولكم_في_القصاص_حياة#أين_جسد_الشهيد_خاشقجي — Hatice Cengiz / خديجة (@mercan_resifi) October 20, 2018

Sara Boboltz contributed to this report.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article said Richard Blumenthal is a senator representing Oregon. He is a senator representing Connecticut.