Tag Archives: Saudi Arabia

Kushner Convinced Trump To Lie About Arms Deals

He surely didn’t need very much convincing. ABC News reports: President Donald Trump’s reluctance to hold Saudi leadership accountable for the brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi stemmed from an aspirational $110 billion arms deal between the U.S. and Saudia Arabia that was inflated at the direction of Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, according to two U.S. officials …

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Trump Denies CIA Report Blaming Prince For Murder

Politico reports: President Donald Trump on Thursday said that the CIA did not reach a conclusion about Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s involvement in the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, adding during a teleconference with military members that Salman “regretted the death more than I do.” The president had previously declined to confirm or deny reports that …

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Rep. Tulsi Gabbard: Trump Is “Saudi Arabia’s Bitch”

NBC News reports: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesday slammed President Donald Trump as “Saudi Arabia’s bitch” in the latest scathing criticism of the commander-in-chief’s extraordinary statement this week to stand by the country’s rulers despite the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Hawaii Democratic congresswoman made the remarks in a brief and blistering tweet Wednesday afternoon. The tweet was in …

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Fox Host Shep Smith Blasts Trump On Saudi Arabia: The President Has Just Insulted The Murder Victim

“President Trump stands with Saudi Arabia, after the American intelligence community concluded that the Saudi crown prince ordered the murder of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Today the president insulted the murder victim and sided with the Saudis, who said our CIA is wrong. In his lengthy missive, riddled with exclamation points, Mr. Trump wrote, ‘We may never know …

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Trump Will Take No Action Against Saudi Crown Prince: “Maybe He Knew About The Murder, Maybe He Didn’t!”

The New York Times reports: President Trump declared his unswerving loyalty to Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, on Tuesday, declaring that the prince’s culpability in the killing of the journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, might never be known. “It could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event — maybe he did and maybe he …

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CIA Concludes Saudi Crown Prince Ordered Murder

USA Today reports: The CIA has concluded in an assessment that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince ordered the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, according to the Associated Press and Washington Post. The assessment comes weeks after the Saudi government admitted Khashoggi, a fierce critic of the royal family, was killed in its Turkish consulate at the hands of interrogators. …

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US Sanctions 17 Saudi Officials (But Not Crown Prince)

Politico reports: The Trump administration on Thursday imposed sanctions targeting 17 Saudi Arabian officials — but not the powerful crown prince — over the death of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi more than a month after the Saudi critic went missing. The Treasury Department designated the officials for sanctions over what it called “serious human rights abuse,” freezing any U.S. …

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Death Penalty Sought In Killing Of Saudi Journalist

The Guardian reports: Saudi Arabia’s top prosecutor is recommending the death penalty for five suspects charged with ordering and carrying out the killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, in a move that appears designed to protect the country’s powerful crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. A spokesman for Saudi Al-Mojeb told journalists in a rare press conference in Riyadh on Thursday …

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Michele Bachmann Leads Evangelical Meeting With Murderous Saudi Leader: “Pray For The Crown Prince”

Al Jazeera reports: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held a rare meeting with American evangelical Christians as the conservative kingdom seeks to open up more to the world and repair an image of religious intolerance. The delegation was led on Thursday by communications strategist Joel Rosenberg and included former US congresswoman Michele Bachmann, according to an emailed statement …

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Saudis Now Admit Journalist’s Murder Was Planned

The New York Times reports: Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor said on Thursday that new evidence indicated that the killing of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi had been “premeditated,” suggesting yet another shift in the kingdom’s official story of how he was killed. For weeks after Mr. Khashoggi disappeared on Oct. 2, Saudi officials insisted that he had left the Saudi …

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Kushner On Saudis: We’re Still In “Fact-Finding Phase”

CBS News reports: The Trump administration is still in a “fact-finding phase” to discover exactly what happened to Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, said Trump son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner. Kushner, who has been a crucial figure in bridging the U.S.-Saudi relationship and relationship with 33-year-old Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in particular, emphasized in a forum with CNN’s …

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Surveillance Video Shows Saudis Used Body Double

CNN reports: One member of the 15-man team suspected in the death of Jamal Khashoggi dressed up in his clothes and was captured on surveillance cameras around Istanbul on the day the journalist was killed, a senior Turkish official has told CNN. CNN has obtained exclusive law enforcement surveillance footage, part of the Turkish government’s investigation, that appears to show …

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Graham: I Feel Used By The Saudi Prince [VIDEO]

Law & Crime reports: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) doubled down on his condemnation of Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman Sunday, recalling his past admiration for the leader by whom he now feels played in light of the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. “MBS talks about reforming the country in a way that I liked,” Graham told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo. “I …

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Saudi Foreign Minister Claims Murder Was A “Rogue Operation” Done Without Prince’s Knowledge [VIDEO]

USA Today reports: Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said Sunday that a “tremendous mistake” was made when Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and pushed back against the idea that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was linked to the journalist’s death. Adel al-Jubeir told Fox News host Brett Baier that Khashoggi was killed in …

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Rand Paul Calls For Ending Arms Sales To Saudi Arabia: There’s “No Way” The Prince Didn’t Order The Murder

Reuters reports: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Sunday that he does not believe Saudi Arabia’s explanation of how dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi died earlier this month. “Absolutely not, it’s insulting,” Paul told Fox News Sunday, when asked if he believed the Saudis’ statement that Khashoggi died in a brawl gone wrong at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. …

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Trump Admits Saudi Arabia Lied About Killing Reporter, Praises “Strong” Leadership Of Crown Prince Anyway

The Washington Post reports: President Trump retreated late Saturday from his stance that Saudi Arabia’s story about the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside their Turkish consulate was credible but still gave a strong vote of confidence to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, arguing the United States’ relationship with the kingdom is key to his administration’s policy objectives in the …

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Trump Finds Saudi Murder Story “Credible” [VIDEO]

The New York Times reports: President Trump broke with his own intelligence agencies on Friday, appearing to accept Saudi Arabia’s explanation that the journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed by accident during a fistfight, while the United States’ spy agencies are increasingly convinced that he was assassinated on high-level orders from the Saudi royal court. Mr. Trump, who has cultivated Crown …

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Saudi Arabia Admits Jamal Khashoggi Is Dead [VIDEO]

The Guardian reports: Saudi Arabia has said the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who disappeared after visiting the country’s consulate in Istanbul on 2 October, is dead. The news, which cited preliminary findings from an official investigation, was announced on state television on Friday. It said a fight broke out between Khashoggi and people who met him in the consulate, leading to …

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Steve Mnuchin To Attend Saudi Anti-Terror Conference

The Washington Post reports: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has decided to take part in an anti-terror finance meeting with Saudi security officials and their Middle Eastern counterparts in Riyadh later this month, opting to attend despite growing global outrage over the suspected murder of a U.S.-based journalist at the hands of Saudi operatives, according to three people familiar with his …

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Trump Allies Conspire To Smear Murdered Reporter

The Washington Post reports: Hard-line Republicans and conservative commentators are mounting a whispering campaign against Jamal Khashoggi that is designed to protect President Trump from criticism of his handling of the dissident journalist’s alleged murder by operatives of Saudi Arabia — and support Trump’s continued aversion to a forceful response to the oil-rich desert kingdom. In recent days, a cadre …

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