Day 630

[matt (Matt Kiser)]

Updated 10/11/2018 1:06 PM PDT

1/ U.S. intelligence intercepts indicate that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia ordered an operation to coax Jamal Khashoggi back to the kingdom in order to capture him. Khashoggi, a prominent critic of Mohammed bin Salman and the Saudi government, disappeared last week after he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. A bipartisan group on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee invoked the Magnitsky Act to force the Trump administration to investigate the disappearance of Khashoggi, which requires the administration to respond within 120 days of potential sanctions against officials responsible for human rights violations. Trump said he is reluctant to cut off arms sales to Saudi Arabia, believing it "would be hurting" the U.S. economy. (Washington Post / Politico / CNN / Bloomberg)

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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2018/10/11/day-630/

[dragonfly9]

@matt

Trump said he is reluctant to cut off arms sales to Saudi Arabia, believing it “would be hurting” the U.S. economy

T is soft peddling this situation and looks like he is going to look the other way due to his own growing stakes in Saudi Arabia, and Kushners. That first visit with T and MBS and the whole golden entourage was way to cement business relations with the Saudi’s. The billion dollar arms agreement was already decided upon prior to the visit.

Here’s some action from the US and International business community,standing up.

Western business leaders, including Virgin Group founder Richard Branson and tech investor Steve Case, on Thursday distanced themselves from Saudi Arabia over the disappearance and alleged murder of Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

Their statements are a setback for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has portrayed himself as a reformer intent on modernizing Saudi society and opening it to more foreign investment. The Turkish government has told U.S. officials it has audio and video recordings proving that Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul this month.

Virgin’s Richard Branson, tech investor Steve Case distance themselves from...

In his first trip abroad as president, Trump visited Riyadh and announced plans to sell the $110 billion in weapons to the Saudis, casting it as a boon to U.S. industry.

During additional comments on Thursday about Khashoggi, Trump dismissed the idea of abandoning that arms deal.

Senators warn Trump that Saudi relationship is on the line

[dragonfly9]

Big Money coming in from Sheldon Adelson for the Republicans during mid terms, while T is helping to negotiate a gambling license in Japan for him.

@chrislhayes

Chris Hayes Retweeted Anna Palmer

A day after @ProPublica revealed that the president personally lobbied the Japanese Prime Minister to grant Adelson a wildly lucrative gambling license.

Chris Hayes (chrislhayes)

Anna Palmer (apalmerdc)

Adelson drops tens of millions more to save the GOP Congress

[dragonfly9]

Big PR push coming from the WH…Bill Shine, the head of Communications and the former Fox exec, must be coordinating all of this…Op Ed for T in USA Today, Melania on ABC Friday nite, Kanye in the WH, and now…T is doing a 60 Minutes interview this Sunday.

See Brian Stelter (CNN’s Reliable) newsletter

EXCLUSIVE:
Trump on “60”

President Trump has turned down all “60 Minutes” interview requests… until now. The president taped an interview with Lesley Stahl on Thursday, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. The sit-down will air this Sunday.

Per one of the sources, crews were seen on Thursday taking gear into the White House, where aides were buzzing about the interview.

A CBS News spokesperson declined to comment. “60” types usually stay tight-lipped about pieces until they’re officially announced, and so far only one piece has been announced for this Sunday, a Bill Whitaker profile of a famed nature photographer. This suggests the Trump interview will be a two-parter…

– CONTEXT: “60” is the most-watched news program in the country, so it’s a high-profile platform for POTUS. His last interview on the newsmag was with Stahl, shortly after winning the presidency, well before inauguration day…

https://mailchi.mp/cnn/rs-oct-11-2018?e=f4e082627b

[Keaton_James]

Beto O'Rourke smashes record, raises $38.1 million in three months

Now that’s impressive! Go Beto!

[Keaton_James]

@dragonfly9

T is soft peddling this situation and looks like he is going to look the other way due to his own growing stakes in Saudi Arabia, and Kushners.

Agreed! Trump’s love affair with Saudi Arabia appears to be second only to his one with Russia. What kind of message did it send to the world that he selected this brutal regime as the destination for his very first diplomatic visit?

The recent horrifying allegations against the Saudi Crown Prince brought back for me some recollections of his visit here in March. Does anyone else remember the brazen self-promotional media blitz that coincided with his arrival? One memory in particular sticks in my mind. While waiting in line at the supermarket, I recall spotting a glossy “tribute magazine” that stood out from the others. It had the look and feel of one of those souvenir publications that commemorate a special event in the lives of our beloved celebrity class: the birth of a royal baby, a Kardashian wedding, etc. But the cover of this tribute magazine featured someone I’d never heard of: Mohammed Bin Salman. I thought this was very odd indeed. Who in the Hell would give a hoot about this guy? I leafed through it to discover that its hundred pages consisted of one continuous, slickly produced, unabashed advertisement for the “Man and His Kingdom.” The cost of purchasing this advertisement was $13.99. I thought now that is truly audacious.

It turns out the magazine was produced by Trump’s good buddy, David Pecker, who owns the National Enquirer and helps Trump quash stories about his extra-marital affairs. What a con job! And now it’s especially stomach wrenching to consider that the heartthrob of a Crown Prince smiling out at us from the cover may also be the monster who ordered the torture, execution, and dismemberment of a journalist who opposed him.

Message from Mohammed Bin Salman – If you’re a journalist and you value your life, you better publish stuff like this:

Yes, that’s the actual cover – it’s so over-the-top, you might mistake it for something dreamed up by The Onion.

Footnote: The Prince’s visit generated a lucrative emolument for Trump. Legions of Saudi officials accompanied the Prince; they all stayed at Trump’s New York hotel, temporarily reversing a steady two-year decline in revenues.

BTW, I thought emoluments were supposed to be illegal, but I guess that’s another law that, for some mysterious reason, doesn’t apply to Trump. Fortunately, we can rest assured that Trump would never allow the funds he receives from the Saudis to influence his decisions.

[dragonfly9]

Former director of the United States Office of Government Ethics, Walter Shaub describes the missing reporter Kashoggi, now presumed dead and the T response.

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