Tag Archives: Saudi Arabia

Trump Shrugs Off Saudi Arabia’s Role In 9/11 Attacks

Mediaite reports: Former President Donald Trump told ESPN that “nobody’s gotten to the bottom of 9/11” as he defended his decision to host the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series at his Bedminster course. Trump faces outrage from the families of 9/11 victims. He told ESPN the tournament’s Saudi sponsors “have been friends of mine for a long time.” The September 11, …

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9/11 Families To Protest At Trump’s NJ Golf Course

Politico reports: Dozens of family members and survivors of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack will head to former President Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf club next week to protest the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf event there. Brett Eagleson, a founder of the group 9/11 Justice, told POLITICO the group will hold a press conference on Friday morning down the street from …

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9/11 Families Demand Trump Cancel Saudi Golf Event

The New York Times reports: Relatives of people killed on Sept. 11 are urging former President Donald J. Trump to cancel a Saudi-backed golf tournament set to be held this month at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey. In a letter dated Sunday, members of the group 9/11 Justice asked to meet with Mr. Trump and urged him …

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Biden: I Raised Khashoggi’s Murder To Crown Prince

The Associated Press reports: President Joe Biden said he raised the murder of Jamal Khashoggi at the beginning of his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday. “I said, very straightforwardly, for an American president to be silent on an issue of human rights is inconsistent with who we are and who I am,” Biden said. “I’ll …

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Biden Greets Saudi Prince With Fist Bump [VIDEO]

The New York Times reports: Mr. Biden emerged from the plane and made his way down the stairs for his first visit to Saudi Arabia as president, wearing his aviator shades, waving and looking serious. He was greeted by Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, the Saudi ambassador to Washington, and Prince Khalid Al Faisal. The president climbed into his …

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Trump Courses To Host Saudi-Funded Golf Tournament

NBC News reports: Money. Revenge. Disruption. International intrigue. These hallmarks of Donald Trump’s business brand are all colliding in his latest political controversy involving the world of professional golf. Later this month, Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey hosts its first tournament for the new LIV Golf series, funded by Saudi Arabia, which is upending the sport’s establishment …

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Biden: No Private Meeting With Saudi Crown Prince

Reuters reports: President Joe Biden said on Friday he was not going to have a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader Mohammed bin Salman during a trip next month and that he was only seeing the Saudi crown prince as part of a broader “international meeting.” Biden’s plan for talks with the crown prince, known as MBS, were part …

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Saudi Officials Seize “Homosexual” Rainbow Items

Agence France-Presse reports: Saudi officials are seizing rainbow-colored toys and articles of clothing from shops in the capital as part of a crackdown on homosexuality, state media reported. Targeted items include rainbow-colored bows, skirts, hats and pencil cases, most of them apparently manufactured for young children, according to a report broadcast Tuesday evening by the state-run Al-Ekhbariya news channel. “We …

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White House: Biden Will Meet With Saudi Crown Prince

Axios reports: After weeks of speculation, the agenda for President Biden’s mid-July Middle East trip is set, and it includes a visit to Saudi Arabia during which he expects to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a senior administration official told reporters. Biden on the campaign trail vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over the kingdom’s human rights record …

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PGA Suspends All Players Who Joined Saudi Golf Event

ESPN reports: The PGA Tour has suspended the 17 members who are competing in the inaugural LIV Golf event, it announced Thursday. Players who resigned their membership before starting the LIV Golf event being held outside London that began Thursday are also no longer eligible to compete in tour events or the Presidents Cup. “These players have made their choice …

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House Investigates Jared Kushner Over $2B Saudi Deal

The New York Times reports: A House committee said on Thursday that it was investigating whether Jared Kushner, former President Donald J. Trump’s son-in-law and former adviser, traded on his government position to land a $2 billion investment in his new private equity firm from a prominent Saudi Arabian wealth fund. Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, the New York Democrat who …

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Biden To Meet With Saudi Crown Prince In Riyadh Visit

The New York Times reports: President Biden, who as a candidate vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” in response to the assassination of a prominent dissident, has decided to travel to Riyadh this month to rebuild relations with the oil-rich kingdom at a time when he is seeking to lower gas prices at home and isolate Russia abroad. While …

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Saudi Prince Directed $2B Investment In Kushner Firm

The New York Times reports: Six months after leaving the White House, Jared Kushner secured a $2 billion investment from a fund led by the Saudi crown prince, a close ally during the Trump administration, despite objections from the fund’s advisers about the merits of the deal. A panel that screens investments for the main Saudi sovereign wealth fund cited …

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Botox Scandal Derails Saudi Camel Beauty Contest

The Associated Press reports: Saudi authorities have conducted their biggest-ever crackdown on camel beauty contestants that received Botox injections and other artificial touch-ups, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported Wednesday, with over 40 camels disqualified from the annual pageant. Saudi Arabia’s popular King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, which kicked off earlier this month, invites the breeders of the most beautiful camels …

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Furs Gifted By Saudis To Trump Turn Out To Be Fake

The New York Times reports: The Saudi royal family showered Donald J. Trump and his entourage on his first trip abroad as president with dozens of presents, including three robes made with white tiger and cheetah fur, and a dagger with a handle that appeared to be ivory. Little that followed went right. A White House lawyer determined that possession …

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FBI Releases Newly Declassified 9/11 Document

The Associated Press reports: The FBI late Saturday released a newly declassified document related to logistical support given to two of the Saudi hijackers in the run-up to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The document details contacts the hijackers had with Saudi associates in the U.S. but does not provide proof that senior Saudi government officials were complicit in …

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Biden Orders Declassification Of FBI’s 9/11 Documents

The New York Times reports: Making good on a campaign promise, President Biden directed the Justice Department and other federal agencies on Friday to oversee the review and declassification of documents related to the F.B.I.’s investigation into the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. In an executive order, Mr. Biden instructed Attorney General Merrick B. Garland to publicly release the declassified documents …

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Saudi Official Threatened To Kill Khashoggi Investigator

The Guardian reports: A senior Saudi official issued what was perceived to be a death threat against the independent United Nations investigator, Agnès Callamard, after her investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In an interview with the Guardian, the outgoing special rapporteur for extrajudicial killings said that a UN colleague alerted her in January 2020 that a senior …

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US Says Saudi Prince Approved Hit On WaPo Journalist

Vice News reports: Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman approved the operation that led to the 2018 murder of Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, a declassified US intelligence report says. “We assess that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi,” the report, from …

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Trump Admin Mulls Immunity For Saudi Crown Prince

Well, of course they’re thinking about it: The U.S. government is weighing a request to declare Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman immune from a federal lawsuit accusing him of targeting for assassination a former top intelligence officer who could disclose damaging secrets about the prince’s ascent to power, according to legal documents related to the case. A State Department recommendation …

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