In one of the scariest moments in modern history, we're doing our best at ScheerPost to pierce the fog of lies that conceal it but we need some help to pay our writers and staff. Please consider a tax-deductible donation.
By Joshua Scheer
Before we get to Rep. Eugene Vindman, earlier today Representative Ilhan Omar tweeted her concerns about continued dealings with the Saudi government with this tweet:
Now in the video below it’s Rep. Vindman asking Trump to release the transcript of a “shocking” phone call that took place with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the aftermath of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination in 2018. From The Hill :
Trump seemingly defends murder in meeting in the White House
When I woke up this morning, I thought Trump was just stepping in it by pushing an F-35 deal with a brutal regime — selling them our overhyped, dare I say junk, fighter jet. According to the Project on Government Oversight, “the F-35 fleet can perform its full range of combat roles only about 30% of the time, making the entire program effectively unreliable.”
But then Trump went further today, downplaying U.S. intelligence linking the Saudi crown prince to the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. He even called Khashoggi “extremely controversial” and said that “a lot of people didn’t like that gentleman,” adding for good measure: “Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen.”
Seven years later, the message seems clear: the United States needs to sell planes and other goods — so let bygones be bygones, especially when the Saudis are using their investments. According to the AP, “The crown prince, for his part, announced Saudi Arabia was increasing its planned investments in the United States to $1 trillion, up from $600 billion that the Saudis announced they would pour into the United States when Trump visited the kingdom in May.”
The Saudis and the United States have had a cozy relationship for many years. While the Biden administration did not adequately address the murder of U.S. citizens and journalists, hopefully now we may pause our war-addicted tendencies long enough to reconsider these dangerous entanglements.
To demonstrate Biden’s culpability in the region, here is journalist Abby Martin calling out Antony Blinken in 2022 over the murder of Khashoggi by Saudi Arabia and the murder by Israel of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
more can and will be said thanks for reading.
Editor’s Note: At a moment when the once vaunted model of responsible journalism is overwhelmingly the play thing of self-serving billionaires and their corporate scribes, alternatives of integrity are desperately needed, and ScheerPost is one of them. Please support our independent journalism by contributing to our online donation platform, Network for Good, or send a check to our new PO Box. We can’t thank you enough, and promise to keep bringing you this kind of vital news.
You can also make a donation to our PayPal or subscribe to our Patreon.