On October 2nd, Jamal Khashoggi, an outspoken Saudi Arabian dissident and a Washington Post columnist, was brutally murdered by the Saudi government. Khashoggi was an influential advocate for democracy and human rights in the Middle East; fearing for his safety, he had been living in self-imposed exile in the United States since 2017. An ordinary American President would have condemned Khashoggi’s killing—but Donald Trump has defended Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, who is widely believed to have orchestrated it. “The world is very a dangerous place!” he wrote, in an extraordinary two-page statement. “It could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event—maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!”

The Khashoggi affair has alarmed and outraged Republicans and Democrats in equal measure. (In response, on Thursday, the Senate resolved to withdraw support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen and to condemn the crown prince for his role in the murder.) It exists at the intersection of two fault lines in the Trump Presidency: the President’s fondness for autocrats and his family’s widespread conflicts of interest. This week, we’re bringing you pieces that put the case in its broader context. Robin Wright and Susan B. Glasser survey the facts of the case and the ramifications of Trump’s response. In “The Ascent,” Dexter Filkins profiles the Saudi crown prince, chronicling his unusually close relationship with Jared Kushner. Lizzie Widdicombe explores the Trump and Kushner families’ real-estate businesses, in “Family First”; Adam Entous and Evan Osnos show how Kushner’s financial vulnerabilities present opportunities for foreign governments, in “Soft Target.” Finally, John Cassidy chronicles the mounting concern about Kushner among national-security experts, in “Jared Kushner’s Conflicts of Interest Reach a Crisis Point.” Together, these pieces explain why the case of Jamal Khashoggi is so uniquely disquieting.

—David Remnick

“The Ascent”

Illustration by Matt Dorfman; photographs by (clockwise from top left): Fayez Nureldine / AFP / Getty; Javier Soriano / AFP / Getty; Olivier Douliery / Pool / Bloomberg / Getty; Sean Gallup / Getty

“Experts on the Saudi system, including those who admire Mohammed bin Salman, say that his efforts are being carried out with one overriding goal: to preserve the House of Saud.” Read more.

“The White House Coverup of the Saudi Coverup of the Jamal Khashoggi Murder”

Photograph by Kevin Dietsch / Getty

“The U.S. response to Khashoggi’s death is now the one issue on which the majority of Republicans and Democrats in deeply divided Washington come together.” Read more.

“The President Is Acting Like Saudi Arabia’s Lawyer in the Khashoggi Affair”

“It is the predictable outcome of a President who not only dismisses human rights but actually encourages others to flout them.” Read more.

“Soft Target”

Illustration by Barry Blitt

“The President’s children resist the argument that their undivested assets, their behavior, and their willingness to mix government service and personal profit present a target to adversaries and allies alike.” Read more.

“Family First”

“Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are an unlikely couple to represent the ticked-off populism that has emerged as Trump’s Presidential theme.” Read more.

“Jared Kushner’s Conflicts of Interest Reach a Crisis Point”

“Not only has Kushner’s presence in the White House made a mockery of federal guidelines designed to prevent nepotism and conflicts of interest, it has also raised national-security concerns.” Read more.