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Undated:
The Magnitsky Act, formally known as
the Russia and Moldova Jackson–Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law
Accountability Act of 2012, is a
bipartisan bill passed by the
U.S. Congress and signed into law by President
Barack
Obama in December 2012, intending to punish Russian officials responsible
for the death of Russian
tax accountant
Sergei Magnitsky in a
Moscow prison
in 2009.
Since 2016 the bill, which applies globally, authorizes the US government to
sanction those who it sees as human rights offenders, freezing their assets, and
ban them from entering the U.S.[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnitsky_Act
-- 2017 --
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March 9:
Everything you need to know about the supposed forces within the federal
government that the President believes are out to get him
May 20: Trump in Saudi Arabia: First foreign
trip starts as home troubles mount
The eight-day trip comes as
Mr Trump faces uproar at home following his sacking of FBI director James
Comey.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39984903
May 20: President Trump got the royal
treatment in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, receiving a lavish welcome that he hopes
can erase two weeks of bad headlines, refocus his presidency and unite
allies against terrorism.
Day one of his nine-day foreign trip — his first as president — saw the signing
of arms sales agreements and discussions on trade, terrorism, Iran and the wars
in Syria and Yemen.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/05/20/sleepless-trump-arrives-saudi-arabia-beginning-9-day-foreign-trip/101913994/
May 20: What's the goal of America's arms
deal with Saudi Arabia?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-21/what-do-we-know-about-saudi-arabias-arms-deal-with-america/8544892
May 21: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates will donate a combined $100 million to a World Bank fund for women
entrepreneurs that was the brainchild of Ivanka Trump.
The announcement by World Bank President Jim Young Kim came during a visit to
Saudi Arabia by President Trump, who was accompanied by his wife, Melania,
daughter Ivanka and son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
"We thought it was a fantastic idea," Kim said. "But we had no idea how quickly
this would build. This is really a stunning achievement. I've never seen
anything come together so quickly, and I really have to say that Ivanka's
leadership has been tremendous." The money will help kick off a $1 billion
women's empowerment fund that the World Bank will announce in July, he said.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/05/21/529417148/saudis-and-the-uae-will-donate-100-million-to-a-fund-inspired-by-ivanka-trump
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May 21: As a presidential candidate, Donald
Trump railed against President Barack Obama for failing to utter the words
“radical Islamic terrorism.” He accused the foundation run by Bill and Hillary
Clinton of corruption for accepting charitable contributions from Saudi Arabia
and chastised first lady Michelle Obama for not covering her head during a visit
to the Kingdom.
Now that he’s president, Trump has changed his tune.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/saudi-visit-trump-contradictions-campaign
May 22:
Defense Stocks Hit All-Time Highs After Trump Sells $110 Billion in Weapons to
Saudi Arabia
https://gizmodo.com/defense-stocks-hit-all-time-highs-after-trump-sells-11-1795430216
June 5: President Trump's hotel received
$270,000 from Saudi Arabia
The Trump International Hotel recently took in about $270,000 in payments tied
to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the country fights to roll back a U.S.
terrorism law, according to newly filed lobbying reports.
The spending, which covered lodging, catering and parking expenses,
was disclosed in Justice Department filings last week by MSL Group Americas, a
public relations firm. The
filings detailed the work the firm engaged in between Oct. 1, 2016 and March
31, 2017 on behalf of the Saudis, Bahrain and other foreign governments.
In a statement Monday night, Trump Organization officials said they would donate
any profits from the transactions at the end of the year.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/06/05/saudi-payments-to-hotel-owned-by-president-trump/102536764/
June
8: “I have just returned from a trip overseas where we concluded nearly
$350 billion of military and economic development [with Saudi Arabia] for the
United States, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs.”
— President Trump, remarks in the Rose Garden,
June 1, 2017
[In fact,] most of the publicly announced items had been previously announced by
the Obama administration and ... there appeared to be few, if any, signed
contracts. Rather, many of the announcements were MOIs — memorandums of intent.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/06/08/the-trump-administrations-tally-of-350-billion-plus-in-deals-with-saudi-arabia/?utm_term=.320cf93764e3
June 8: ... the Defense Security Cooperation
Agency
referred to the Saudi announcements as “intended sales” and listed six
specific items that add up to $28 billion. But these were all previously
notified to Congress by the Obama administration.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/06/08/the-trump-administrations-tally-of-350-billion-plus-in-deals-with-saudi-arabia/?utm_term=.320cf93764e3
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June 14: Trump’s Conflicts of Interest in
Saudi Arabia
President Donald Trump’s early entanglements with Saudi Arabia largely consisted
of wealthy Saudis buying his assets on the cheap as he veered time and again
into bankruptcy. In 1991, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal
purchased Trump’s yacht, Trump Princess, after Trump was forced to surrender
it to creditors because he was roughly
$900 million in debt. Talal’s purchase
provided Trump “with desperately needed cash” at the time, according to
Newsweek. In 1995, Trump’s lenders pressured him to sell the Plaza Hotel in
New York City, which Talal
purchased for $325 million, $65 million less than what Trump paid for it in
1988.
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/news/2017/06/14/433956/trumps-conflicts-interest-saudi-arabia/
July 5:
He used to trash the kingdom, but now the president is making it his first
foreign stop.
July 6: Trump and Saudi Arabia Against the
World ... This is a formula for disaster on a global scale.
Could there be a more perilous place on Earth, including North Korea? Not
likely. The planet’s two leading nuclear-armed powers backing battling proxies
amply supplied with conventional weapons; terror groups splitting and spreading;
religious-sectarian wars threatening amid a plethora of ongoing armed
hostilities stretching from Syria to Iraq to Yemen. And that was before Donald
Trump and his team arrived on this chaotic scene. If there is one region where a
single spark might start the fire that could engulf the globe, then welcome to
the Middle East.
https://www.thenation.com/article/trump-and-saudi-arabia-against-the-world/
November 4: The Yemeni Air Force targeted
King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Saturday
with a ballistic missile, according to Yemen's Houthi-controlled Defense
Ministry.
The missile [called the "Burqan 2H."] was intercepted over north-east Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defense said in a statement carried on Saudi-backed
Al-Arabiya television.
Saudi Arabia has been leading a coalition of states against the Iran-backed
Houthi rebels in Yemen, who toppled the country's internationally recognized
government in 2015.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/04/middleeast/saudi-arabia-ballistic-missile/index.html
November 4:
[While on his first Asian trip],
Donald Trump has
publicly pleaded with
Saudi Arabia to sell shares in its national oil
company, Aramco, on the New York Stock Exchange.
"Would very much appreciate Saudi Arabia doing their IPO of Aramco with the New
York Stock Exchange," the US President tweeted. "Important
to the United States!"
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-saudi-arabia-aramco-ipo-twitter-oil-new-york-stock-exchange-national-company-a8037411.html
November 5: Saudi authorities on Saturday
carried out a new wave of arrests, targeting royals and cabinet ministers in a
crackdown against alleged corruption that comes as the Saudi leadership is
seeking to consolidate power during a period of political transition.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-princes-former-ministers-arrested-in-apparent-power-consolidation-1509837798
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November 5: The list [of those arrested]
includes Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the billionaire businessman who owns 95% of
Kingdom Holding, which holds stakes in global companies such as Citigroup,
Twitter, Apple and News Corp.
Reports of his arrest saw
$750 million wiped off Prince Alwaleed's fortune Sunday.
At least 38 former, current, and deputy ministers [of Saudi Arabia], have been
arrested ...
King Salman [bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud] ordered the
new anti-corruption initiative ...
http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/05/middleeast/saudi-arabia-anti-corruption-list/index.html
November 6: Trump tweets his support for the
massive upheaval in Saudi Arabia, says those arrested have been 'milking' the
country for years
http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-saudi-arabia-tweets-2017-11
November 10:
Donald Trump Has Unleashed the Saudi Arabia We Always Wanted — and Feared
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has put the Middle East on a collision
course. And the White House will own the consequences.
http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/11/10/donald-trump-has-unleashed-the-saudi-arabia-we-always-wanted-and-feared/
November 17: A Trump-Endorsed Game of
Thrones in Saudi Arabia
Are corruption charges really the reason that Muhammed bin Salman has detained
nearly a dozen other members of the Saudi royal family?
https://www.thenation.com/article/a-trump-endorsed-game-of-thrones-in-saudi-arabia/
December 6: Trump asks Saudi Arabia to allow
immediate aid to Yemen [see January 22, 2018]
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-yemen/trump-asks-saudi-arabia-to-allow-immediate-aid-to-yemen-idUSKBN1E02X4
December 7: Saudi Arabia 'Deeply
Disappointed' by Trump's Jerusalem Speech
In the harshest statement published by the Sunni kingdom during Trump's tenure,
Saudi Arabia denounced the 'great bias' expressed by the decision to recognize
Jerusalem as Israel's capital
https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-saudi-arabia-deeply-disappointed-by-trump-s-jerusalem-speech-1.5628013
December 21: Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas
met on Wednesday with Saudi King Salman in Riyadh, seeking support for his
efforts to galvanize Arab, Islamic and international rejection of US President
Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital into sustained
backing for the Palestinian cause.
But Israeli analysts say the Saudis, given their close alliance with the United
States, are likely to press Abbas to halt his campaign against Trump’s move and
instead to show openness to discussing American ideas for peacemaking that are
expected to be presented soon.
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Is-Saudi-Arabia-pushing-Abbas-to-curb-campaign-against-Trump-519621
-- 2018 --
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January 4:
Trump on Saudi Leadership Shake-up: “We’ve Put Our Man on Top!”
When Saudi Arabia’s Mohammad bin Salman effectively launched a coup and
unseated his political rival in June, President Donald Trump took private
credit. “We’ve put our man on top!” Trump told his friends, writes Michael Wolff
in his forthcoming book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.”
https://theintercept.com/2018/01/04/trump-saudi-arabia-fire-and-fury-michael-wolff/
January 6: If Trump and Saudi Arabia tinker
with Iran as it teeters towards revolution...
The US president could convince Europe to join his cause and withdraw from the
2015 nuclear deal if the deadly crackdown escalates, but Iran’s leaders may gain
more power once the dust settles
http://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2127066/if-trump-and-saudi-arabia-tinker-iran-it-teeters-towards
January 15: President Trump’s ‘Friends’ in
Saudi Arabia
Is the United States becoming a patsy for the Kingdom?
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/president-trumps-friends-in-saudi-arabia/
January 22:
In a gesture inspiring both praise and scorn, Saudi Arabia announced
Monday that it would donate $1.5 billion in new humanitarian
aid to Yemen
[after devastating Yemen in bombing campaign], where almost three years of
war has devastated the country's infrastructure, tanked the economy and caused
widespread hunger and disease.
http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-global-saudi-yemen-aid-20180122-story.html
February 20: Why Trump might bend nuclear
security rules to help Saudi Arabia build reactors in the desert
For Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the reactors are a matter
of international prestige and power, a step toward matching the nuclear program
of Shiite rival Iran while quenching some of the kingdom’s domestic thirst for
energy.
For the Trump administration, the contest poses a thorny choice between
promoting U.S. companies and fighting nuclear proliferation. If the
administration wants to boost the chances of a U.S. consortium led by
Westinghouse, it may need to bend rules designed to limit nuclear proliferation
in an unstable part of the world. That could heighten security risks and
encourage other Middle Eastern countries to follow suit.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/why-trump-might-bend-nuclear-security-rules-to-help-saudi-arabia-build-reactors-in-the-desert/2018/02/19/4cc26cc6-e684-11e7-ab50-621fe0588340_story.html?utm_term=.343d4dbdfb73
March 8: Saudi Arabia Using Law Firm Tied to
Trump to Lobby U.S. for Nuclear Deal
http://www.accuracy.org/release/saudi-arabia-using-law-firm-tied-to-trump-to-lobby-u-s-for-nuclear-deal/
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March 9: Netanyahu said to ask Trump not to
sell Saudis nuclear reactors
And if you do go ahead, at least don't let Riyadh enrich its own uranium, PM
reportedly urged US president; Saudis want up to 17 reactors, Iran-style
enrichment rights
https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-said-to-ask-trump-not-to-supply-nuclear-reactors-to-saudi-arabia/
March 12: Divorced Saudi women win right to
get custody of children
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/12/middleeast/saudi-arabia-custody-law-intl/index.html
March 12:
Trump to Host Saudi Crown Prince at
White House on March 20
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-12/trump-to-host-saudi-crown-prince-at-white-house-on-march-20
March 12:
Muhammed bin Salman's U.S. visit marks 75 years of U.S.-Saudi ties
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/03/12/muhammed-bin-salmans-u-s-visit-marks-75-years-of-u-s-saudi-ties/
May 20: ... the Russians weren’t the only
foreign power trying to hook up with Donald Trump Jr. and give a boost to the
Trump campaign ahead of the 2016 election. The New York Times
reported on Saturday there was yet another secret Trump Tower meeting during
the campaign where the president’s son and aides met with shadowy foreigners
offering to help Make America Great Again. On August 3, 2016, instead of
Russians offering dirt on Hillary Clinton, an emissary for the crown princes of
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates said the de facto rulers were eager to
help Trump win the White House, and the offer reportedly got an approving
response from Trump Jr. An Israeli expert in “social media manipulation” was
there too, and explained how his company could give the Trump campaign an
advantage. Both offers, if accepted, would have violated U.S. election laws, and
special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators have already been looking into
this and other subsequent meetings.
... Mueller Knows About All This ...And at
Least Five Shady Foreign Firms are Now Linked to Trump
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/05/understanding-the-new-trump-campaign-collusion-story.html
July 9:
Disastrous Deal Staggers Trump Ally Thomas Barrack
Thomas Barrack has been one of the most prominent money men of the Donald Trump
era. In the past two years, Barrack has been in the public eye like never
before—fundraising for Trump’s presidential campaign, delivering a prime-time
television address at the Republican National Convention and serving as chairman
of Trump’s inaugural committee. Barrack introduced Trump to his former campaign
manager, Paul Manafort, and facilitated conversations that strengthened Trump’s
ties to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, helping to realign the Middle
East.
But during the exact time Barrack was busy helping his friend Trump, he was also
in the midst of the biggest deal of his business career, merging the real estate
investment firm he spent his life building, Colony Capital, with another firm to
form a $58 billion real estate colossus. The deal he struck in June 2016 has
been nothing short of a disaster, decimating Barrack’s net worth and sending him
scrambling to find a fix.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesdigitalcovers/2018/07/09/disastrous-deal-staggers-trump-ally-thomas-barrack/#a875e8e191af
October 12: Turkey has 'shocking' audio and
visual evidence of Saudi journalist's killing
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/12/middleeast/khashoggi-saudi-turkey-recordings-intl/index.html
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October 12: Trump administration sticks with
Saudis as business leaders back away
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/12/politics/mnuchin-imf-meeting-saudi-trip/index.html
October 15: Saudis preparing to admit Jamal
Khashoggi died during interrogation, sources say
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/15/middleeast/saudi-khashoggi-death-turkey/index.html
October 16: Trump tweeted he has no ties to
Saudi Arabia. A Fox News account proved him wrong.
https://www.vox.com/2018/10/16/17984212/trump-tweet-saudi-arabia-fox-news-jamal-khashoggi-mbs
October 16: Fox News Fact-Checks Donald
Trump on Saudi Arabia Business Denials
“Trump & Saudi Business:
1991: Sold yacht to Saudi Prince
2001: Sold 45th floor of Trump World Tower to Saudis
Jun 2015: I love the Saudis...many in Trump Tower
Aug 2015: “They buy apartments from me...Spend $40M-$50M”
2017: Saudi lobbyists spent $270K at Trump DC hotel
https://www.newsweek.com/fox-news-factchecks-donald-trump-saudi-arabia-business-ties-denials-1173161
October 16: 'Guilty until proven innocent': Trump defends Saudi
Arabia in disappearance of writer Jamal Khashoggi
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/guilty-until-proven-innocent-trump-defends-saudi-arabia-disappearance-writer-n920946
October 16: Trump Defends Saudi Arabia,
Vladimir Putin in Flattery-Filled Fox Business Interview
The president displayed his eagerness to believe denials from allies and
adversaries alike during his sit-down with Fox Business Network host Trish
Regan.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-defends-saudi-arabia-vladimir-putin-in-flattery-filled-fox-business-interview
October 17: A major evangelical leader has
spoken in defense of US-Saudi relations after the apparent
killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in
a Saudi consulate, saying that America has more important things — like arms
deals — to focus on.
Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian
Broadcasting Network, appeared on its flagship television show The 700 Club
on Monday to caution Americans against allowing the United States’ relationship
with Saudi Arabia to deteriorate over Khashoggi’s death.
“For those who are screaming blood for the Saudis — look, these people are key
allies,” Robertson said. While he called the faith of the Wahabists — the
hardline Islamist sect to which the Saudi Royal Family belongs — “obnoxious,” he
urged viewers to remember that “we’ve got an arms deal that everybody wanted a
piece of…it’ll be a lot of jobs, a lot of money come to our coffers. It’s not
something you want to blow up willy-nilly.”
https://www.vox.com/2018/10/17/17990268/pat-robertson-khashoggi-saudi-arabia-trump-crisis
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October 19: Investor and Trump friend Tom
Barrack not going to Saudi conference
Billionaire investor and one of President Donald Trump's closest allies Tom
Barrack will not be attending the Future Investment Initiative conference in
Saudi Arabia, CNBC has learned.
Barrack will no longer be attending as his speaking session was cancelled by the
conference hosts after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin pulled out of attending
on Thursday, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.
Mnuchin and Barrack were slated to be on a panel together next Tuesday in
Riyadh.
Barrack is the latest prominent business figure who have dropped out of taking
part in the conference, also known as "Davos in the Desert," following the
disappearance of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/19/investor-and-trump-friend-tom-barrack-not-going-to-saudi-conference.html
October 19: 18 Saudi citizens detained in
connection with murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi
https://abcnews.go.com/International/18-saudi-citizens-detained-connection-murder-journalist-jamal/story?id=58624279&cid=clicksource_4380645_2_three_posts_card_hed
October 19: Trump calls Saudi explanation
for journalist's death credible, arrests 'good first step'
Several lawmakers, including Sen.
Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rep.
Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), have said the Saudi government's explanation
released Friday for the death of Khashoggi is not credible.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/412354-trump-calls-saudi-explanation-for-journalists-death-credible-arrests
October 22: 'Where
is Jared?' no more: Kushner cornered on Saudi debacle
The president’s son-in-law has balanced his reputation with his desire to
maintain relations with a Saudi prince who has been accused of ordering a
journalist’s execution.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/22/jared-kushner-saudis-926646
October 23: “Jared Went from Running Point
on the Mideast to Running”:
With M.B.S. and the Khashoggi Murder, Trump Is in a Trap Kushner Helped Build
Insisting on thinking outside the box, Jared Kushner
pushed Trump to build his Mideast strategy on M.B.S. and the Saudis. Now the
West Wing is left with few good options. And some are joking that Kushner is
probably going to take off soon for a well-timed vacation.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/10/jared-kushner-mbs-khashoggi-murder-trump
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November 4: Report: Saudi investigators
worked to remove evidence
Members of a team from Saudi Arabia sent to help Turkish authorities investigate
the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi worked instead to remove evidence of
the slaying, a senior Turkish official said Monday.
The official said the fact that a clean-up team was dispatched suggests that
Khashoggi's killing "was within the knowledge of top Saudi officials." The
official spoke on condition of anonymity, in line with government rules.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/report-saudi-investigators-worked-to-remove-evidence?intcmp=ob_article_footer_text&intcmp=obnetwork
November 17: CIA concludes Saudi crown
prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi's death
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/16/politics/cia-assessment-khashoggi-assassination-saudi-arabia/index.html
November 20: Trump: U.S. stands by Saudis,
despite Khashoggi murder revelations
https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Trump-Despite-prince-knew-about-Khashoggi-murder-US-stands-by-Saudis-572370
November 20: Saudi Arabia tortured and
sexually harassed human rights activists, including several women, human rights
groups have alleged.
Prisoners in the kingdom's Dhahban Prison have allegedly been electrocuted and
flogged.
Saudi Arabia arrested several women's rights activists earlier this year and
influential clerics and intellectuals have also been detained.
The BBC has approached the Saudi authorities for comment.
Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued statements on Tuesday
detailing alleged torture of detained prisoners.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-46283364
November 20: The CIA has reportedly
concluded that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, an ally to the Trump
administration, ordered Khashoggi's death. On Tuesday, Trump cast doubt on that
assessment, saying in his statement "maybe he did and maybe he didn't!"
Democratic leaders lambasted Trump's statement on Tuesday.
"We should immediately end support to the Saudis in the war in Yemen and bring
that conflict to an end, suspend arms sales to the Kingdom, and diminish our
reliance on Riyadh regarding other matters in the region," said Rep. Adam Schiff
of California, the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/20/trump-says-breaking-with-saudi-arabia-would-send-oil-prices-through-the-roof.html
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November 20: Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.,
who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees accused
Trump of "siding with murderous foreign dictators over American intelligence
professionals."
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence
committee, said that in his view, it is "inconceivable" that Prince Salman was
not involved in Khashoggi's killing.
"To suggest 'maybe he did and maybe he didn't' or that we are incapable of
finding out the truth or that knowing the truth our silence can be bought with
arms sales undermines respect for the Office of the Presidency, the credibility
of our intelligence community and America's standing as a champion of human
rights," Schiff wrote.
https://www.npr.org/2018/11/20/669666348/trump-says-u-s-will-remain-steadfast-partner-of-saudis-despite-khashoggi-killing
November 21: President Trump’s embrace of
Saudi Arabia has exposed a foreign policy rift in the Republican Party, as some
of his GOP colleagues warn that not punishing the kingdom for its role in
killing a U.S.-based columnist will have dangerous consequences.
Many Republicans – even Sens. Lindsey Graham and Rand Paul, who share their
views on the matter with the president – have denounced Trump’s decision not to
levy harsher penalties on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the death
and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
“It is a delicate situation when we have a long-term ally that we’ve had for
decades, but we have a crown prince that I believe ordered the killing of a
journalist,” Corker told Chattanooga TV station WTVC in his home state of
Tennessee. “We don’t have a smoking gun. Everything points to the fact that he
knew about it and directed it.”
https://www.pressherald.com/2018/11/21/gop-breaks-with-trump-on-support-for-saudi-arabia-after-journalists-murder/
November 21:
The Invisible American in a Saudi Prison Cell
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
ordered scores of businessmen, princes, clerics, scholars and activists rounded
up. Among them was an American citizen, Walid Fitaihi.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/21/world/middleeast/saudi-american-prisoner-walid-fitaihi.html
November 21: The CIA has a recording of a
phone call in which Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is instructing
“silence Jamal Khashoggi as soon as possible,” according to a report Thursday in
a Turkish newspaper.
The order from the prince was captured by CIA wiretapping,
the Hurryiet Daily News reported.
The newspaper said CIA Director Gina Haspell,
who traveled to Turkey last month as part of the investigation into
Khashoggi’s killing at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, signaled
to Turkish officials that the agency has a recording of the call.
Prince made the comments in a call to his brother, Khaled bin Salman, Saudi
Arabia’s ambassador to the US, the report said.
https://nypost.com/2018/11/22/cia-has-recording-of-mbs-saying-silence-jamal-khashoggi-report/
November 22: Mr. Trump doubled down on his
Tuesday statement that he sides with the Saudis, saying the Saudi crown prince
and his father both "vehemently" deny a role in his death. The CIA, Mr. Trump
said Thursday, never "concluded" that the Saudi royals were responsible in the
death, although
CBS News has confirmed that CIA intelligence points to Saudi Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordering the murder. Mr. Trump has refused to listen
to audio of the killing.
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Asked who should be held responsible for Khashoggi's death, the president said
Thursday, "Maybe the world should be held accountable because the world is a
vicious place."
"So I hate the crime and I hate what is done and I hate the cover-up," Mr. Trump
also said. "And I will tell you this, the crown prince hates it more than I do."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-on-thanksgiving-defends-saudi-crown-prince-after-khashoggi-muder-2018-11/
November 22: Turkey's foreign minister has
criticized President Trump, saying the U.S. leader appears to want to "turn a
blind eye" to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents at the
kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. Mevlut Cavusoglu also described many European
nations' response to Khashoggi's killing as "artificial" and "cosmetic."
Cavusoglu was referring to bans imposed by some countries on the Saudi citizens
detained in Saudi Arabia over the killing, from entering European nations.
Cavusoglu spoke to Turkey's CNN-Turk television on Friday.
Mr. Trump on Thursday disputed that U.S. intelligence officials had
concluded that Saudi crown prince had ordered the killing of Khashoggi - a
U.S.-based journalist who was critical of his rule.
Cavusoglu says "Trump's statements amount to him saying 'I'll turn a blind eye
no matter what.'"
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jamal-khashoggi-killing-turkey-rips-president-trump-saudi-arabia-today-2018-11-23/
November 26: Jared Kushner pushed to inflate
Saudi arms deal to $110 billion: Sources
The state official described the five-page list of potential arms sales as items
the Saudi officials had signaled interest in or were deemed among their needs by
U.S. defense analysts.
Brookings Institute defense strategy expert Michael O'Hanlon, who has seen the
photograph of the letter of intent provided by ABC News, called it “amateurish
quality.”
“It acknowledges it's not binding,” O’Hanlon told ABC News.
“It's a multi-billion dollar transaction with three short lines of information
as if that's meaningful. It's like you're taking notes on the back of a napkin
over dinner. It's not a contract. It’s the idea of putting all of these numbers
in the interest for the biggest number you can find.”
Many of these deals were negotiated during the Obama administration, but U.S.
officials say Trump’s diplomatic pressure was effective in fulfilling the
pending orders.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/rake-america-great-finns-troll-president-trump-forest/story?id=59291034
November 28: Pompeo refuses to answer why
Gina Haspel didn't appear at Saudi Arabia briefing
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo deflected questions Wednesday about why CIA
director Gina Haspel did not appear at a Senate briefing on military aid to
Saudi Arabia, and claimed that there is "no direct reporting connecting the
crown prince to the order to murder Jamal Khashoggi."
en. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)
told reporters that Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis, who also
appeared before the Senate, explained in the briefing that Haspel's absence was
"a decision by the White House."
https://www.axios.com/pompeo-refuses-answer-why-gina-haspel-did-not-appear-before-senate-saudi-arabia-a8d376e4-421e-45e3-8f1d-23d9c9b8d39f.html
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November 28: Angry senators on Wednesday
accused the Trump administration of stonewalling in an effort to avoid linking
Saudi Arabia's crown prince to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
In a rare rebuke of the White House, even Republicans complained they weren't
getting the full story. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., threatened to withhold key
votes until he gets the answers he is looking for.
https://www.npr.org/2018/11/28/671613142/in-break-with-trump-senate-blames-saudi-crown-prince-for-khashoggi-killing
November 28: White House denies Haspel
prevented from briefing Senate on Khashoggi murder
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/27/jamal-khashoggi-murder-senate-briefing-saudi-arabia-gina-haspel-white-house
December 3: Khashoggi Friend Accuses Cyber
Security Firm Of Helping Saudis Spy On Their Messages
A Saudi dissident based in Montreal, Canada, filed a lawsuit this week against
the NSO Group, an Israeli cyber security firm. The suit alleges the Saudi
government used software from the company to spy on conversations with the
journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Omar Adbulaziz filed the case in Tel Aviv. He told NPR he had exchanged hundreds
of text messages with Khashoggi through encrypted messaging apps, before being
informed that their communication had been intercepted.
"Jamal was killed two months later. For sure the conversations between us played
a major role in what happened to Jamal," Abdulaziz said.
https://www.npr.org/2018/12/03/673105423/khashoggi-friend-accuses-cyber-security-firm-of-helping-saudis-spy-on-their-mess
December 5: Saudi-funded lobbyist paid for
500 rooms at Trump’s hotel after 2016 election
Lobbyists representing the Saudi government reserved blocks of rooms at
President Trump’s Washington, D.C., hotel within a month of Trump’s election in
2016 — paying for an estimated 500 nights at the luxury hotel in just three
months, according to organizers of the trips and documents obtained by The
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/
December 11: On Fox News, Kushner Ignores
the CIA and Glosses Over Saudi Crown Prince's Connections to Khashoggi Murder
Kushner 'advised' Saudi crown prince after Khashoggi killing reported the New
York Times this week
https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/fox-news-kushner-trump-cia-saudi-crown-prince-to-khashoggi-killing-1.6726838
December 13: The U.S. Senate delivered a
rare double rebuke to President Donald Trump on Saudi Arabia on Thursday, voting
to end U.S. military support for the war in Yemen and blame the Saudi crown
prince for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The votes were largely symbolic because to become law the resolutions would have
to pass the House of Representatives, whose Republican leaders have blocked any
legislation intended to rebuke the Saudis.
It was the first time either chamber of Congress had backed a resolution to
withdraw U.S. forces from a military engagement under the War Powers Act. That
law, passed in 1973, limits the president’s ability to commit U.S. forces to
potential hostilities without congressional approval.
... backers of the resolutions, including some Republicans, promised to press
ahead. On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of senators promised to push in the new
Congress legislation for humanitarian sanctions and a ban on weapons sales to
Saudi Arabia.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-yemen/u-s-senate-hands-trump-historic-rebuke-on-saudi-arabia-idUSKBN1OC2S3
-- 2019 --
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January 13: Pompeo travels to Saudi
Arabia amid fallout from new Trump-Russia revelations
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Saudi Arabia officials on the heels of
new revelations by the Washington Post that President Trump is actively working
to conceal details of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/andrea-mitchell-is-in-saudi-arabia-as-secretary-of-state-mike-pompeo-meets-with-officials-amid-fallout-from-new-trump-russia-revelations-1425069123733
February 4: Mohammed bin Salman Meets
Resistance—From His Own Bureaucrats
Saudi Arabian officials are trying to stall the crown prince’s economic
overhaul, including the planned IPO of Aramco and an Uber investment
https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-crown-prince-meets-resistance-on-economic-overhaulfrom-his-own-bureaucrats-11549295905
March 1: The first face-to-face meeting
between President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner and Saudi
Prince Mohammed bin Salman was denounced as “shameful” by an international human
rights group.
The meeting between Kushner and Crown Prince Mohammed, the day-to-day ruler of
Saudi Arabia, was the first between the two men since
the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in
Istanbul in October 2018. The Trump administration has maintained its support
for the Saudi crown prince in spite of U.S. intelligence agencies concluding
that Mohammed bin Salman most likely ordered the killing.
“It’s shameful that Jared Kushner met with the crown prince but failed to even
raise a single question about his role in ordering the murder of Jamal Khashoggi,”
Sarah Leah Whitson, the Executive Director for Human Rights Watch in the Middle
East and North Africa, told Newsweek via email.
Whitson also decried Kushner’s failure to challenge Crown Prince Mohammed over
Saudi Arabia’s continued war in Yemen or the government’s persecution and
torture of female activists. “Jared may think he can sweep the piles of cadavers
MBS is responsible for under some magic carpet, but neither the American people
nor the newly elected and very empowered Congress will tolerate this,” said
Whitson.
https://www.newsweek.com/jared-kushner-meeting-saudi-prince-mohammed-bin-salman-shameful-questions-1348899
May 24: Trump bypasses Congress to
push through arms sales to Saudis, UAE
Lawmakers from both parties criticized the move, with Democrats calling it an
abuse of presidential power.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-bypasses-congress-push-through-arms-sales-saudis-uae-n1010116
-- 2020 --
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