Former Trump White House staffer Sebastian Gorka Sebastian Lukacs GorkaSunday shows preview: Trump, lawmakers weigh in on COVID-19, masks and school reopenings amid virus surge Trump taps Gorka for national security advisory board Sunday shows preview: Coronavirus poses questions about school safety; Trump commutes Roger Stone sentence MORE echoed conservative conspiratorial criticisms of the late journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul earlier this month.

Khashoggi “was not just some innocent journalist. He was a columnist, and opinion rider, who was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. He joined in the 1970s. Went to school with bin Laden. Was close to the bin Laden family,” Gorka said on John Catsimatidis’s radio show in an interview that aired Sunday.

ADVERTISEMENT

“He was an Islamist. He believed in the theocratization of countries in the Middle East. … He didn’t deserve to die, but the idea that he was some champion of liberty was not factual,” he added.

Khashoggi, a Saudi-born columnist who was a U.S. resident and wrote for The Washington Post, was last seen entering the consulate on Oct. 2. Saudi officials said yesterday that he died during a fistfight, but that claim was met with widespread speculation.

Mounting evidence suggests that Khashoggi, who was critical of the Saudi royal court, was killed at the order of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as part of his crackdown on dissent.

Some conservatives have come out with similar criticism of Khashoggi, pointing to affiliations they say suggest Khashoggi had a darker side than many knew, according to a story in The Washington Post.

But experts say that while Khashoggi was interested in Islamist movements in his youth, he adopted more secular and liberal stances as he aged. He also interviewed Osama bin Laden as a journalist, yet the two were not friends.

Fred Hiatt, the Post’s editorial page editor who published Khashoggi’s work, sharply criticized the claims.

“As anyone knows who knew Jamal — or read his columns — he was dedicated to the values of free speech and open debate. He went into exile to promote those values, and now he may even have lost his life for his dogged determination in their defense,” Hiatt said in a statement.

“It may not be surprising that some Saudi-inspired trolls are now trying to distract us from the crime by smearing Jamal. It may not even be surprising to see a few Americans joining in. But in both cases it is reprehensible,” he added.

The claims against Khashoggi emerge as President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE appears hesitant about punishing Saudi Arabia for the death.

Advocates of Khashoggi have said the allegations against the late journalist are intended to provide the president cover should he issue a penalty that is viewed as too soft. He has already said reducing or eliminating arms sales to the kingdom was off the table.

“The media really doesn’t care about this person. … This is about battering the president. This is the narrative they are using to go against the president and his use of the term fake news,” Gorka said.

After Saudi Arabia said that it had arrested 18 suspects in Khashoggi’s death and fired several intelligence officials, Trump called the response “a big first step. It’s only a first step, but it’s a big first step.”

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement Friday that the White House would advocate for justice that is “timely, transparent and in accordance with all due process.”