Trump does not want to hear tape of 'vicious' Khashoggi murder

 

U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters about the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey during a bill signing ceremony at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 23, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said he does not want to listen to an audio recording of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi despite facing mounting pressure to punish Saudi Arabia for the killing.

 

Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, and Turkey has given the U.S. government a recording of the murder, but Trump said he would not listen to it "because it’s a suffering tape, it’s a terrible tape."

 

"I don’t want to hear the tape, no reason for me to hear the tape," Trump said in an interview with "Fox News Sunday."

 

"I know everything that went on in the tape without having to hear it ... It was very violent, very vicious and terrible."

 

Trump also said he wants to maintain a close alliance with Saudi Arabia despite Khashoggi's death and questioned the alleged role of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is known as MbS and is the kingdom's de facto ruler.

 

"He told me that he had nothing to do with it," Trump said, adding that "many people" also said the crown prince had no knowledge of the killing.

 

The interview was taped on Friday, hours before government sources said the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had briefed the Trump administration on the murder and its belief that MbS ordered it.

 

Trump said on Saturday that the CIA assessment was "very premature" and in the interview that aired on Sunday he said it may never be possible to know who ordered Khashoggi's murder.

 

Trump faces intense pressure from senior Democratic and Republican lawmakers to take tougher action against Saudi Arabia. Some have said Trump should suspend arms sales to the kingdom and drop his support for MbS, but Trump has so far resisted that pressure.

 

The administration on Thursday imposed economic sanctions on 17 Saudi officials for their alleged role in the killing, but they did not target the Saudi government.

 

Saudi Arabia is a major oil supplier and a close ally of the United States in countering Iranian power in the Middle East.

 

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Trump, said on Sunday he had no doubt about MbS' involvement in ordering the murder of Khashoggi.  

 

"They are an important ally but when it comes to the crown prince, he's irrational, he's unhinged and I think he's done a lot of damage to the relationship (between) the United States and Saudi Arabia. And I have no intention of working with him ever again," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

 

(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-11-19

Can't blame him. Makes having to continue to do business with the Saudis less palatable. Hopefully the USA can continue to increase oil production. It has been a miracle lately with Iranian sanctions that the price has been kept so low. As far as arms deals go selling weapons to a murderer is par for the course. Goes with the territory.

 

Letting the prince get away with murder is just the cost of doing business. Trump knows this and accepts it. It is so creepy and surreal but not worth destroying the economy over. 

The "Sargent Schultz" Defense. 

 

 

3 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

Can't blame him. Makes having to continue to do business with the Saudis less palatable. Hopefully the USA can continue to increase oil production. It has been a miracle lately with Iranian sanctions that the price has been kept so low. As far as arms deals go selling weapons to a murderer is par for the course. Goes with the territory.

 

Letting the prince get away with murder is just the cost of doing business. Trump knows this and accepts it. It is so creepy and surreal but not worth destroying the economy over. 

Land of the free, home of the brave.

Land of the fee, home of the knave!

1 hour ago, webfact said:

"I know everything that went on in the tape without having to hear it ... It was very violent, very vicious and terrible."

He doesn't want to hear evidence of the violence that he is inadvertently promoting via his Twitter rantings against the media, against immigration, against women and against free trade.

1 hour ago, Cryingdick said:

Can't blame him. Makes having to continue to do business with the Saudis less palatable. Hopefully the USA can continue to increase oil production. It has been a miracle lately with Iranian sanctions that the price has been kept so low. As far as arms deals go selling weapons to a murderer is par for the course. Goes with the territory.

 

Letting the prince get away with murder is just the cost of doing business. Trump knows this and accepts it. It is so creepy and surreal but not worth destroying the economy over. 

Didn't know that would stood between prosperity and disaster for the USA is trade with Saudi Arabia. Thanks for sharing that insight.

tape would be in Arabic. homeboy wouldn't listen to anything in Mexican, now would he?

Trump once more showing he is a coward. Maybe afraid he'll get germs from listening to murder? And he accuses opposition of being 'snowflakes'. He hasn't the cojones to even fire people (tho somehow got famous for mouthing line "you're fired".

Of course he doesn't want to hear the incriminating tape or see/hear other incriminating evidence.

Trump always supports the tyrants.

Why should it be any different this time around?

 

(But he's a good man, a good friend of mine. And he spends a lot of money with us.)

Not sure many people would like to hear such a tape

5 minutes ago, AGareth2 said:

Not sure many people would like to hear such a tape

 

Agreed.

 

But one assumes the President needs to hear this tape?

 

Or just "do the easy stuff", like hold rallies, answer Mueller's questions and insult another decorated military veteran...

 

 

Trump blasts retired Navy SEAL critical of him, suggesting he should've caught bin Laden sooner

 

President Donald Trump derided retired Adm. Bill McRaven — the Navy SEAL who led the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden — calling him a "Hillary Clinton fan" during an interview with Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday." He also said bin Laden should have been captured much sooner, though he did not explain how the Obama administration should have done so.

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-blasts-retired-navy-seal-critical-him-saying-he-should-n937716

 

 

 

 

Trump believes MbS, just as he believes Putin. He doesn't believe in his fellow Americans working in the various intelligence and investigation agencies. Orwell's doublethink is on display with someone who is arguably the most powerful man in the world. Scary.

30 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

Hopefully the USA can continue to increase oil production.

Why would they do that when they are buying Canadian Crude for less than $15 per barrel. 

5 minutes ago, Prairieboy said:

I believe all of the above were and are in response to Trumps ranting and raving.  I thank God every day that I am not a citizen of the USA.  I hope someday that cooler heads, (on both sides of the political spectrum), will prevail.

Actually, a lot of this stuff that radiochaser listed is false or misleading.

2 minutes ago, Prairieboy said:

Why would they do that when they are buying Canadian Crude for less than $15 per barrel. 

You are actually quoting cryingdick. The party who apparently believes that all that stands between the USA's economy and disaster is trade with Saudi Arabia.  I just cited his quote about hoping for increased oil production in the USA.

And where did you come up with the factoid that Canadian Crude is being sold for less than $15 a barrel? That's just plain false.

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=candian+crude+oil+price&oq=candian+crude+oil+price&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.4096j1j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

18 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

"

"The New York Times is currently sponsoring a play that features the assassination of President Trump."

This is false.

Thank you for the correction.

 

16 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Trump believes MbS, just as he believes Putin. He doesn't believe in his fellow Americans working in the various intelligence and investigation agencies. Orwell's doublethink is on display with someone who is arguably the most powerful man in the world. Scary.

 

Trumps knows what went on. Nobody in the USA thinks anything otherwise. It is pretty much accepted that he is taking this position because he believes that doing business with the Saudis is still good for America.

 

I am not going to get dragged into a senseless debate about if that is right or wrong. It is just my opinion of what is going on. If he is in denial or just doesn't care enough to call the prince out isn't here nor there. He is putting America first in his mind.

 

Every admin in the USA in our lifetimes so far has had to deal with the Saudis. Nobody loves it but their money spends. Just like the Russians poison people to death on foreign soil and the Germans  need their energy resources. 

 

 

2 hours ago, webfact said:

"because it’s a suffering tape, it’s a terrible tape."

 

"I don’t want to hear the tape, no reason for me to hear the tape,"

Do they REALLY still use tape?   I know it's just a word that has been passed down meaning audio recording. A bit like on TV News they say 'Roll VTR' (video tape recording) but it's not on tape. I suppose using the word 'footage' for videos is incorrect these days as well. Sorry Mr Trump.

He is afraid if he hears the tape he will have nightmares and have to sleep with his teddy.

To what point would listening to the tape be? The guy is dead which everyone acknowledges. 

1 minute ago, Boon Mee said:

To what point would listening to the tape be? The guy is dead which everyone acknowledges. 

And what's the point of prosecuting people for murder? The victims' deaths are acknowledged by everybody.

18 minutes ago, Prairieboy said:

Why would they do that when they are buying Canadian Crude for less than $15 per barrel. 

 

I would like a source for that figure. Trump told the Saudis to produce more the Saudis knew this was in return for him pretending he doesn't think the prince ordered the hit.

 

Meanwhile they allowed 8 countries waivers from sanctions dealing with Iran. That kept our allies South Korea and Japan in cheap gas. This year the USA was able to become the world's largest oil producer and produced record amounts. One analyst was saying that the USA surpassed what was expected by 500,000  barrels a day totaling 11 million barrels per day.

 

Bare in mind Venezuela isn't producing much and is largely untapped at the moment. 

 

 

It was a calculated move that caught OPEC with their pants down. If you saw this price decline coming I hope you put in a short on crude.

 

There is a bottleneck in moving the oil. But nothing is in the way from ramping up more production if the price isn't to our taste. Methods of extraction are also becoming increasingly more efficient. 

 

Americans are weird when it comes to gas prices. We may scream and cry about injustices in the world but we like gas under two dollars a gallon. 

 

This time it is the Saudis that are bent over the barrel. 

1 minute ago, Cryingdick said:

 

I would like a source for that figure. Trump told the Saudis to produce more the Saudis knew this was in return for him pretending he doesn't think the prince ordered the hit.

 

Meanwhile they allowed 8 countries waivers from sanctions dealing with Iran. That kept our allies South Korea and Japan in cheap gas. This year the USA was able to become the world's largest oil producer and produced record amounts. One analyst was saying that the USA surpassed what was expected by 500,000  barrels a day totaling 11 million barrels per day.

 

Bare in mind Venezuela isn't producing much and is largely untapped at the moment. 

 

 

It was a calculated move that caught OPEC with their pants down. If you saw this price decline coming I hope you put in a short on crude.

 

There is a bottleneck in moving the oil. But nothing is in the way from ramping up more production if the price isn't to our taste. Methods of extraction are also becoming increasingly more efficient. 

 

Americans are weird when it comes to gas prices. We may scream and cry about injustices in the world but we like gas under two dollars a gallon. 

 

This time it is the Saudis that are bent over the barrel. 

And the Saudis aren't happy that Trump lied to them about it. 

 

And of course there is a huge barrier to ramping up more production if the price isn't to one's taste. It's called the free market. Unless you're proposing nationalizing the US petroleum industry.

2 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

And the Saudis aren't happy that Trump lied to them about it. 

 

And of course there is a huge barrier to ramping up more production if the price isn't to one's taste. It's called the free market. Unless you're proposing nationalizing the US petroleum industry.

 

Yes that is true about the market. Before it was at the whim of of a cartel that dictated prices. Now the market can do that job. We don't have to ramp up production but it's nice we have the option. The game has completely changed.

Donald doesent want to listen to anything that interfears with his version of reality I doubt he gives a rats rear end about the morality of the Saudis murdering that dude probably jealous all his idols do it with impunity 

46 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

Actually, a lot of this stuff that radiochaser listed is false or misleading.

Yeah, this radiochaser guy may be a typical Trump supporter who would believe any online nonsense that he read if it fits his narrative. 

Funny that I just read an article about a guy who makes up fake news.  And right wing idiots eat it up...

 

[He had launched his new website on Facebook during the 2016 presidential campaign as a practical joke among friends — a political satire site started by Blair and a few other liberal bloggers who wanted to make fun of what they considered to be extremist ideas spreading throughout the far right. In the last two years on his page, America’s Last Line of Defense, Blair had made up stories about California instituting sharia, former president Bill Clinton becoming a serial killer, undocumented immigrants defacing Mount Rushmore, and former president Barack Obama dodging the Vietnam draft when he was 9. “Share if you’re outraged!” his posts often read, and thousands of people on Facebook had clicked “like” and then “share,” most of whom did not recognize his posts as satire. Instead, Blair’s page had become one of the most popular on Facebook among Trump-supporting conservatives over 55.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/‘nothing-on-this-page-is-real’-how-lies-become-truth-in-online-america/ar-BBPOoIi?ocid=wispr

13 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

Yes that is true about the market. Before it was at the whim of of a cartel that dictated prices. Now the market can do that job. We don't have to ramp up production but it's nice we have the option. The game has completely changed.

And it's also true that Trump lied to the Saudis to get them to ramp up production. Now, few people are going to pity the Saudis for being fools enough to trust Trump. But why would any other nation negotiating with the USA trust Trump's promises?

3 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

Can't blame him. Makes having to continue to do business with the Saudis less palatable. Hopefully the USA can continue to increase oil production. It has been a miracle lately with Iranian sanctions that the price has been kept so low. As far as arms deals go selling weapons to a murderer is par for the course. Goes with the territory.

Letting the prince get away with murder is just the cost of doing business. Trump knows this and accepts it. It is so creepy and surreal but not worth destroying the economy over. 

He pretty well screwed the Saudi's over the price of oil, he reintroduced sanctions with Iran, asked Saudi to open up the taps to make up for the shortfall, then gave a "pass" to eight countries to continue buying Iranian crude for another six months (India and China in that number) costing the Saudi's dearly and he had cheap oil for the mid term elections!

6 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

And it's also true that Trump lied to the Saudis to get them to ramp up production. Now, few people are going to pity the Saudis for being fools enough to trust Trump. But why would any other nation negotiating with the USA trust Trump's promises?

 

That's all good and well. The point remains that no country can really threaten the energy security of the USA now. That's big news. Not only did he trick the Saudis he was able to funnel some oil off and keep our Asian allies happy. 

 

Don't worry Trump will leave the Saudis to hang as soon as he can. It's just business. 

4 minutes ago, CGW said:

He pretty well screwed the Saudi's over the price of oil, he reintroduced sanctions with Iran, asked Saudi to open up the taps to make up for the shortfall, then gave a "pass" to eight countries to continue buying Iranian crude for another six months (India and China in that number) costing the Saudi's dearly and he had cheap oil for the mid term elections!

 

Not bad for a days work.