All posts tagged "Saudi"

President Donald Trump shocked and disgusted many by purportedly suggesting Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi deserved to be brutally murdered by Saudi agents, but Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA) claimed what he said to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a private phone call was even more "deeply disturbing and frankly shocking."

The Virginia Democrat called on the president to release the transcript of a 2019 phone call with the Saudi crown prince following the dissident journalist's grisly assassination, and Vindman tried to reveal as much as he could on "CNN News Central" about the call that he was privy to while serving on Trump's national security council during his first term.

"Look, as I mentioned last night on the floor of the House of Representatives, there were two calls among many with foreign leaders that particularly disturbed me, and one we know was with President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy of Ukraine, the extortion call, and that resulted in the president's first impeachment," said Vindman, who testified against Trump during that inquiry. "This was the second one that really bothered me because this was about the murder of an American resident, a Virginia resident, and a Washington Post reporter, and the president, the conversation he had, obviously, I can't get into the details but it was counterfactual to what the president was claiming last night."...

Donald Trump has long been criticized for what some have called corrupt foreign practices involving money coming from foreign nations, but those issues are only growing deeper, according to a new report.

Before, during, and after his presidency, Trump benefited from foreign deals that largely flew under most citizens' radar.

But those deals are ramping up, "likely in preparation for a second term," according to a report from the Intelligencer....

Former President Donald Trump had a recent discussion with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

According to The New York Times, "It was unclear what the two men discussed and whether it was their only conversation since Mr. Trump’s departure from the White House. Neither representatives for Mr. Trump nor an official of the Saudi government responded to requests for comment. But news of their discussion comes at a time when the Biden administration is engaged in delicate negotiations with the Saudis aimed at establishing a lasting peace in the Middle East, building on diplomatic ties between Israel and a number of Arab states forged through the work of the Trump administration."

This comes amid suspicion that the Saudi government intends to work against Biden's re-election. It also comes as a major Saudi real estate developer has inked a deal with the Trump Organization for a villa and golf project worth $4 billion....

Washington (AFP) - A US judge dismissed Tuesday a lawsuit against Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his alleged role in the 2018 murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Washington federal judge John Bates accepted a US government's stance that Prince Mohammed, who was designated prime minister of Saudi Arabia in September, enjoys immunity in US courts as a foreign head of state. Bates said the civil suit filed by Khashoggi's widow Hatice Cengiz and his activist group DAWN made a "strong" and "meritorious" argument that Prince Mohammed was behind the murder. But he rul......

Washington (AFP) - US President Joe Biden said Saturday he aims to "strengthen a strategic partnership" with Saudi Arabia during a controversial visit there next week, but added that he will hold true to "fundamental American values." "I know that there are many who disagree with my decision to travel to Saudi Arabia. My views on human rights are clear and long-standing, and fundamental freedoms are always on the agenda when I travel abroad, as they will be during this trip," Biden wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece published Saturday. While Biden is expected to press for increased Saudi......

Washington (AFP) - President Joe Biden distanced himself Friday from an upcoming encounter with controversial Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman, saying the reason for his trip to the oil-rich nation was not to meet the crown prince. Biden is attending a regional Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Saudi Arabia in mid-July. The White House says he will meet the formal leader, King Salman, but also his team, notably de facto leader Prince Mohammed, commonly known as MBS. US intelligence blames MBS for the horrific 2018 murder of Saudi-born critic Jamal Khashoggi, a US resident who wrote for The Wa......