Fox's Outnumbered smears murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi as being “tied to the Muslim Brotherhood”

Harris Faulkner: “Khashoggi was tied to the Muslim Brotherhood. ... I just put it out there because it is in the constellation of things that are being talked about.”

Written by Nick Fernandez

Published

In a discussion of the alleged murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, Fox News host Harris Faulkner brought up the talking point that “Khashoggi was tied to the Muslim Brotherhood.” Faulkner's co-host Marie Harf pushed back, noting that “some people are using that ... to discredit him.” 

While Khashoggi reportedly attended Muslim Brotherhood meetings early in his career, according to those who knew him, “To say that Jamal was some kind of an extremist is all lies.” In an an August 28 column in The Washington Post, Khashoggi himself explained his perspective on the Muslim Brotherhood, which was, at its core, his support for Arab democracy, a concept the Saudi ruling family and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman deeply resent and fear. Additionally, as Harf pointed out, several right-wing media figures and trolls are using these facts to smear Khashoggi, saying that he was "not a good guy," that people should “not allow yourselves to be manipulated by the media into feeling sorry for Jamal Khashoggi,” and that the public should not “be disappointed by his disappearance.”

From the October 18 edition of Fox News' Outnumbered:  

HARRIS FAULKNER (CO-HOST): And now some things have come out, and we're just reporting the facts, Lisa, we don't have to fall down one way or the other on this, but Khashoggi was tied to the Muslim Brotherhood --

MARIE HARF (CO-HOST): That's iffy, Harris, to say that he was “tied to the Muslim Brotherhood.” 

FAULKNER: Well, what was it, then?

HARF: So, throughout his career, he was a government spokesperson for the royal family, he worked for Prince Turki [bin Faisal Al Saud] when he was in Washington, D.C., and, at times, had written and worked with some Muslim Brother (sic) members in Saudi Arabia --

FAULKNER: Muslim Brotherhood. 

HARF: But he was always a spokesman or a journalist, and so -- he's been tied up with a lot of people --

LISA BOOTH (CO-HOST): Didn't his tweets sympathize with the Muslim Brotherhood?

FAULKNER: I just put it out there because it is in the constellation of things that are being talked about. 

HARF: Some people are using that, though, to discredit him. I'm not saying you are, some are, and I don't like that. 

FAULKNER: No -- putting it in the mix. Lisa? 

BOOTH: I think some of his tweets showed sympathy to the Muslim Brotherhood as well.

Related:

NY Times: The Jamal Khashoggi Case: Suspects Had Ties to Saudi Crown Prince

Previously: 

Former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia corrects Fox host after attempted smear of Jamal Khashoggi

Fox Business keeps casting doubt on Saudi Arabia’s involvement in Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance

Fox host: US shouldn't take punitive action against Saudi Arabia for alleged murder of a journalist because they might retaliate