CIA Blames Saudis for Khashoggi: Trump Says Saudis Good for Jobs and Business

MBS is great job creator for defense industry and American workers

L to R: Ordered man in the middle killed — dislikes CIA report — 

trusts and believes MBS

Update late today from here (Huffington Post):

Highlights: 

Trump is still praising Saudi Arabia as a “truly spectacular ally,” despite the CIA reportedly pinning blame for journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder on the Saudi royal family.

Before leaving to review the wildfire damage in California, Trump addressed a Washington Post report that, according to CIA officials, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) personally ordered the killing of Khashoggi, and he said: “We haven’t been briefed yet. The CIA is going to be speaking to me today. We have not been briefed yet. As of this moment, we were told that he did not play a role.” 

Trump concluded: “They give us a lot of jobs and a lot of business and economic development. They have been a truly spectacular ally in terms of jobs and economic development.”

Original post from here:

Trump on journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder in the Saudi counsel in Turkey (October 22, 2018 from Washington Post here): Trump has once again given away the game on Saudi Arabia and his reverence for authoritarians. 

But his soft stance on the Saudis' killing of Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi also betrays this irony: By going easy on them, he’s conceding his own weakness.

Despite ostensibly putting pressure on Saudi Arabia this weekend to come clean, Trump in an interview with The Post’s Josh Dawsey seemed to marvel at that same government’s ability to snuff out unrest saying: “He’s seen as a person who can keep things under check. I mean that in a positive way. I mean that in a positive way.”

This is a heckuva time to be promoting the Saudis' ability to “keep things under check” — a moment when their apparent killing of a well-known critic has created an international incident. Khashoggi’s detention and alleged murder sure seem like part of an emerging effort inside Saudi Arabia to silence dissent. And Trump is expressing admiration for that effort, at least at the macro level.

My Insert: Two days prior here from the Guardian: Trump said he found Saudi Arabia’s explanation about the death of Khashoggi credible and termed it an “important first step.”

Now this CIA assessment from CBS news – and Trump’s stance – he still favors and supports the Saudis in this Washington Post piece, saying in part seen in this short video – that he’ll talk to the CIA about their report:

And just like then, The Post is reporting Trump remains skeptical of the finding that that the prince was responsible (again not trusting our intelligence agencies — and that despite the evidence:

Trump resists blaming the Saudis for the killing, who has close relationship with Jared Kushner. Aides said that Trump has been shown evidence of the MBS involvement but remains skeptical that Mohammed ordered the killing. He asked the CIA and State where Khashoggi’s body was and remains frustrated that the CIA says they don’t know where his remains are.

My 2 cents: Trump persists the Saudis are good for business and our jobs and the economy despite the seriousness of this case – all the while, and again, not trusting believing his own intelligence agency reports as before when they reported en masse about Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

Stay tuned – this sort of Trump presidential “non-leadership” is apt to get crazier, even if that’s even possible.

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