![\"Jamal](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/460492708-GI.JPG\" "\\"Jamal")
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Jamal Khashoggi looks on during a press conference in the Bahraini capital Manama, on December 15, 2014.<\/p>\n
MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH<\/p>\n
AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
The state intends to reward a $19 million contract to burnish its national image<\/a> to a global communications agency that helped Saudi Arabia repair its reputation abroad after royal officials green lit the 2018 killing<\/a> of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.<\/p>\n The Governor\u2019s Office of Business and Economic Development intends to award Edelman the California Brand Campaign contract, according to a notification letter published last Wednesday.<\/p>\n Last month, the state issued a request for proposals to help shore up its image nationwide, with an emphasis on California\u2019s position as the world\u2019s 4th-largest economy and to \u201cshowcase its vibrant, diverse business community.\u201d The contract is anticipated to run through the end of the year, according to a fact sheet from the governor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n Edelman is one of the U.S.\u2019s largest communications firms with offices all over the world, including two in San Francisco and Los Angeles. In 2022, Politico reported that Saudi Arabia hired Edelman for a five-year contract to advise Saudi officials on partnering with celebrities and reshaping its image after the Khashoggi killing made the country a global \u201cpariah.\u201d<\/p>\n Edelman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was unclear if it still holds a contract with Saudi Arabia, who was paying the firm $787,000 a year, according to<\/a> Politico.<\/p>\n Former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa worked at one time for Edelman<\/a>, which has also advised the Saudi-backed LIV professional golf tour<\/a> and helped burnish the images of companies like Sara Lee goods<\/a>, Advil and the California Wine Institute, and promoted a young Maya Lin after she debuted the Vietnam War memorial.<\/p>\n Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the assassination of Khashoggi, a Saudi reporter who fled to the U.S. and began writing for The Washington Post<\/a> after the kingdom cracked down on public dissent by rounding up and arresting government critics.<\/p>\n Saudi operatives strangled and dismembered Khashoggi\u2019s body in October 2018 with a bone saw in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul after he went there to pick up a document to get married.<\/p>\n On the campaign trail, Joe Biden promised to make Saudi Arabia a \u201cpariah\u201d by isolating bin Salman but later met with him and softened his stance once<\/a> he became president.<\/p>\n Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, has been soliciting money for his private equity firm from Saudi officials<\/a> while acting as one of Trump\u2019s chief mediators for peace in the Middle East.<\/p>\n Spokespeople for Gov. Gavin Newsom emphasized that the contract had little to do with the governor, who is termed out of office at the end of the year and is mulling a run for president in 2028.<\/p>\n Newsom has publicly said very little about Saudi Arabia, other than sporadically criticizing the U.S.\u2019s dependence on it for oil exports.<\/p>\n \u201cThis effort is about California\u2019s success, not about politics. The Governor is not part of these campaigns and will not be featured,\u201d spokesperson Tara Gallegos said about the brand campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cAdditionally, marketing campaigns are common practice in economic development, in red and blue states alike.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published April 6, 2026 at 11:14 AM.<\/p>\n
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