Trump vows to unearth truth about Khashoggi disappearance

He is not going to do anything that causes the Saudis any pain. They spend too much money in his hotels. He doesn't want to jeopardise that.

Oh, and they have contracts with American companies. He will say he is protecting American jobs but really, Trump just wants the Saudis to keep spending money in his hotels.

 

To tell him , "well done! You know I hate journalists!!"

 

So 4 people are killed in Benghazi and there are crickets yet this journalist's killing is the end of the world.

 

making hypothetical claims about someone who is not in office is the epitome of a conspiracy theory.

that said, so far trump has done nothing, i have little confidence he will do anything.

 

You guys are so cute.

 

More bizarre conspiracy theories eh?

 

So cute, huh?

Saudis spent so much money at Trump's New York hotel that it was specifically mentioned as a major factor in their revenue stream.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...d911c784c38_story.html?utm_term=.80186512186b

Trump is completely transactional. This is a reason that presidents should have their investments in double-blind trusts.

He isn't being tough at all on Saudi Arabia over this. Why not? Is he putting America's interests first, or his own?

Almost everyone in Congress says this needs a strong response, and Trump is making America look weak. It is reasonable to conclude that the reason he is doing that, is because he earns big $$$ from the Saudis.

 

Or, the reason is because the World depends on this stuff that comes out of the ground there, and it needs to maintain a relationship with the one country in the region that is trying to keep countries mired in the Dark Ages within it, from taking control of that stuff.

Remember your guy bowing to SA leaders despite their abysmal record on human rights and the treatment of women?

The World is a complex place, and I can understand how that can escape people who need the liberal media to know what to be outraged over.

 

That could be it. But it hasn't prevented other leaders - including Congressional leaders - from being much tougher on KSA than Trump has been.

And this perfectly highlights Trump's conflicts of interest. The fact that Saudis spent enough money in his hotel this year to warrant a specific mention raises the question of whether his approach to this issue is being driven by America's best interests, or his own interests.

 

Ridiculous connections. Your claim perfectly highlights the dog whistles sent out by a desperate political propaganda machine.

Obama kissed SA's ass despite their dismal record. It's the unfortunate facts of the region and the World.

And think about it. Should anyone be surprised by what happened? The new guy on the throne rounded up former ministers and family members, shoved them into one place, and did god knows what to get them to release billions of personal assets to the government.

 

I don't know if there is a recording. It is speculation, and probably not true.

 

Here's the thing - the connections are not ridiculous. They show why presidents should have double-blind trusts for their investments.

It is a fact that Saudis spent so much in Trump hotels last year that it affected the hotel's bottom line. It is a fact that they spent so much that it was specifically worth mentioning.

Would Trump be taking exactly the same position if the Saudis had not spent that much in his hotels? Or if he had divested himself of all assets and placed them in a double-blind trust so he didn't know where the funds were invested? Possibly. But we don't know.

But it is also possible that he is taking a softer line than he otherwise would in order to protect his business interests. That is a huge problem. A country that spends 10s or 100s of thousands of $ in a Trump property being treated with kid gloves - that looks a lot like pay-to-play. It looks a lot like buying influence.

 

I'm not interested in engaging on this liberal meme about conflict.

Save that for your like minded friends.

What would you suggest the President do in response?

 

It is not a "liberal meme". He has real conflicts of interest. If he takes a strong line against KSA, that could directly affect how much money ends up in his pocket. I can understand why you want to avoid a discussion about Trump's conflicts of interest.

What would I suggest he do? Pledge that none of his business will do any business with foreign or domestic governments for the remainder of his term(s). He needs to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest.

But we know he won't do that. He is entirely transactional. He doesn't even make a secret of it. He will do what is best for him, above all else.

 

The question had to do with Saudi Arabia and this journalist, and not the NDP's obsession with Trump.

 

So get off you TDS throne for a second. The question is what would you do about Saudi?

 

This thread is about Trump "unearthing the truth" of what happened. He is in a conflict of interest. If he "unearths the truth", and that truth is ugly for KSA, he has a personal financial incentive to bury that truth.

You haven't even tried to deny it.

 

I'm not a middle east expert, but I sure as hell would not have been as obsequious as Trump has been. I would have sent the SecState with very clear instructions that you do not, under any circumstances, pose for smiling photo ops with the guy who almost certainly authorised the hit. I would tell Mnuchin that he will not attend the conference in KSA next week.

There - I've answered your question.

Now - what would you do about Trump's conflicts of interest?

 

I'm not required to carry the water of the New Democratic Party and obsess over BS nonsense.

The question is the President getting to the truth.

So far, he has got SA to admit their people killed Khashoggi. Rouge agents? I kind of doubt it, given the Crown Prince's style.

With SA's admission, the President has got the truth. Question answered.

Now, what should the President do about this truth?

Any thoughts, or does the Hate Trump narrative preclude commenting on anything else?

 

It is speculation, but all the evidence and the specificity of what's on those recordings makes it entirely probable to exist.

 

Trump most likely will not do anything.

The United States itself has a conflict of interest in Saudi Arabia, not Trump. Trump vowed to unearth the truth but I think everyone knows this will get swept under the rug because of the financial obligations the United States has with the kingdom. Every President we have had in recent memory has had to deal with this. We are stuck between a rock and hard place on this.

If you have actual evidence that Trump has "personal interests" and money tied up in Saudi Arabia, please bring it forward. I remember the same nonsense liberals touted when Reagan was in office. Supposedly, Reagan and the entire Republican party had trillions hiding in Saudi Arabia and they were jet setting over there every weekend for wild parties filled with booze and hookers.

Utter nonsense.

 

Really? What, exactly, has KSA admitted?

And if the vow is to "unearth the truth", that should not stop with a false explanation of "rogue agents". If the rot goes to the top, his vow to unearth the truth should go all the way to the top.

Nice deflection away from the conflict of interest issue. Again. Trump has a personal financial conflict of interest. It is in his personal interest NOT to annoy the Saudis. You can't deny that the conflict of interest doesn't:
- incentivise Trump not to dig too hard for the truth
- incentivise Trump not to doing anything too painful for KSA

Whatever he does, will you be able to prove that his behaviour / action wasn't influenced by the potential effect on his wallet?

 

I linked to this in an earlier post.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...d911c784c38_story.html?utm_term=.d48fafe39972
Trump has benefited from Saudi visitors at his hotel, and those visits generated enough revenue to affect the bottom line.
If he plays hardball he can kiss any future visits goodbye. This is not hypothetical. This is real money that the Trump hotel thought was significant enough to report.

 

Yes global economic financial considerations and geopolitical to consider. SA is about the only country standing between Iran and the rest of the middle east.

 

You'll want to be careful about hanging around conspiracy nuts, danger is, you'll start to sound like them.

Khashoggi Murder Suspect Dies In "Suspicious Car Accident"