President Trump’s “maybe he did and maybe he didn’t” proclamation on the Saudi crown prince’s involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi isn’t going to suffice, as the leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are now demanding he provide a definitive determination on the incident.
Legally, this is no longer down to simple presidential stubbornness, as the Magnitsky Act obliges the president to make determinations about the violation of human rights by global leaders within 120 days of a committee request. The first request from the committee was made on October 10, so the clock is running.
The committee likely didn’t intend to have to force Trump’s hand like this, as the president had previously suggested the US would be making a determination. Yet in the end, this final determination boiled down to dismissing the CIA assessment that the crown prince was guilty, and arguing that Saudi business interests are too important to risk whether they murdered a journalist or not.
Both houses of Congress are increasingly critical, both of the Saudis and of the administration for helping the Saudis cover up what they did. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) in particular noted on Wednesday that “being Saudi Arabia’s bitch” did not align with Trump’s stated goals of America First.
President Trump is showing no signs he expects this to die down in the future. Instead, he continued to loudly praise the Saudis on Wednesday, crediting them for bringing down the price of oil.
Trump is going to be forced to decide if the murder of the journalist can be connected to the crown prince . This would be a crime against humanity and a international globalist crime . When gas was used in Syria It was just assumed Assad forces did this .Now that more evidence has been found it looks like the forces the United States supported used the gas on themselves and crossed Obama’s red line . Why didn’t they force Trump to decide that ?
As I recall the CIA never authenticated the claim against Syria so Obama went to the Congress which wouldn’t authorize a strike on Syria. There is evidence that all the “gas attacks” in Syria were US/UK sponsored.
You understand that means our government and fake news service has been misleading us all along . The American people seem to have figured that out . So they elected a anti establishment president .thinking we might see changes .
Trump did not bother to go before congress He just bombed Assad right away . Do you suppose Trump and Obama don’t really know the facts either . In this instance I would say Trump did worse than Obama ./
Hurriyet Daily News
It is interesting that the Russians in coordination with the Saudi oil minister for months at least have been working to keep the price of oil steady, but of course to mention that would be giving credit to the Russians, and that would never do.
As for “the Magnitsky Act obliges the president to make determinations about the violation of human rights by global leaders” as if of all people the USA can judge this, using the lies of a tax evader who has now become a Brit to bring in a law against other countries’ heads of state. Bill Browder is wanted by Russia for fraud, so now Russia is denied the right to have its candidate head Interpol.
They are honestly going to trust HIM to rule legitimately? An independent commission would be far more trustworthy. He is too busy pandering to those who want oil prices low and Yemeni citizens dead.
Prez. Trump is being pragmatic, just as a bzzness man would concerning all on the line with S.A. and our relations with them. The truth is Khashoggi was no U.S. citizen, was not murdered in the U.S. but in Turkey, so it is NONE of our bizzness. (How many jobs do you want to lose and how many more dollars per gallon do you want to spend for virtual signalling Khashoggi?) S.A. saw him as a threat, just as U.S. politicians have seen Assange as a threat and called for his death!!! The U.S. ghouls in D.C. are HYPOCRITES of the highest order. This is none of our Bizzness and Prez. Trump is just telling the truth, and most just can’t handle the truth!! Trump 2020. Onward and upward!
On the other hand one can argue that Trump was elected to change the status quo and why draw lines for financial purposes, which has been the custom. The Saudi government is more terrible than most other governments. The latest news is that it is torturing and paralyzing female activists.
Don, What a better reason in this instance than for financial reasons? Honestly,,,, who is ready to put their financial position on the line for Khashoggi???,,,surely no one I know!
Unlike Trump, I’m ready to put weapons manufacturers financial position on the line.
Don, May you be the first one on the unemployment line, explain that to your wife and children,,,while China and Russia pick up the contracts, and worse….
Maybe we should just assassinate all of Cheeto’s opponents in the press so you can keep your cheap gas ? If it saves one job in the oil sector should we just kill a journalist ?
Dave, Well we do know our great leaders in D.C. have expressed just that desire,,,to kill Assange!! Hypocrites all!!
Speaking of hypocrites, I thought you were a Christian? What would Jesus do?
Are you implying Jesus didn’t come to save us all from expensive fuel and relieve us of the burden of having to share resources with people who don’t look or pray like us ?? Blasphemy !!
wars, I would let the Creator judge, and I will not destroy my fellow citizens welfare for a murder none of us are responsible for. But you do raise a good point, about true Christians supporting the mass murders committed by the foreign policy of the U.S. and the ghouls of D.C.,,,,I fear the Creator may judge harshly, just as he will for abortion,,,,tears and beating of the chest for idiot Khashoggi,,,none for the millions of babies ripped from the mothers wombs in this nation……HYPOCRISY running wild!
So that’s a big “no” on acting Christian like. Your supply side creator must be proud.
Now there’s one of the most self centered, self seeking, and selfish outlooks on political assassinations you’d ever want to hear.
Who cares who dies, I want my cheap gas !
I doubt the Kashoggi murder affected the price of gas.
Dave, Do you want to pay $5 a gallon and go into a recession and have 9% unemployment because a grown man did a very stupid thing and got himself killed?? Really…I don’t give a shj# about dumb azz Khashoggi ,BUT, I do care a great deal about the economy and welfare of my fellow U.S. citizens. Prez Trump 2020!
Magnitsky Act = Maybe every country should pass a similiar bill and hold EVERY NATION accountable, including ours.
In 2016, Congress enacted the Global Magnitsky Act which allows the US Government to sanction foreign government officials implicated in human rights abuses anywhere in the world.
These human rights abuses apply only to alleged abuses in other countries than the US, and they only apply to abuses allegedly conducted by a government on its own citizens.
Human rights abuses DO NOT apply to abuses by the US government in the US nor elsewhere. American and foreign abuse targets of the US government are not human, one might say. Like the assassination of a man running while black is not a human rights abuse, and neither is the killing of hundreds of thousands of Asians.
It’s a damned shame.
MBS and the Saudi regime execute hundreds of people every year. The practice of imprisoning and torture of anyone who disagrees with MBS is common. (Women who want to drive are targeted at present.)
Recently however MBS has started to reach out internationally to kidnap and murder so this is a serious problem considering how close MBS is to the Trump organization and is considered an ally in the region.
The simple solution is replace MBS with his brother who by all reports is a much more reasonable fellow.