Schiff suggests Trump has 'financial motives' that influence Saudi Arabia policy

[mystery-ak]

Schiff suggests Trump has 'financial motives' that influence Saudi Arabia policy
By Brett Samuels - 10/21/18 10:35 AM EDT

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Sunday questioned whether the Trump administration's rhetoric and actions toward Saudi Arabia may be influenced by the Trump family's finances, and called for Congress to look into the matter.

Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on ABC's "This Week" that "we in the intelligence community" should look into the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

"We also ought to determine whether financial motives are motivating the president and the first family," he continued.

"This is the very problem with the president not releasing his tax returns," Schiff said. "It leaves the American people wondering, is U.S.-Saudi policy being driven by something other than national interests."

more
https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/412430-schiff-questions-whether-trump-financial-motives-influence-policy

[austingirl]

From the Harry Reid school of political ethics. Actually like all democrats.

[Sanguine]

Schiff will make a great replacement for Pelosi. 

[Right_in_Virginia]

The Liberal Mob Must Be Stopped in November
Townhall, Oct 21, 2018, Derek Hunter

[...]

This week saw liberals obsessed with the disappearance, and now we know murder, of Jamal Khashoggi. The obsession was not over how he was killed, despotic governments kill their citizens all the time and no one bats an eye, it was a combination of two things – his job and the opportunity to attack President Trump.

Khashoggi was billed as a journalist, but he was more of a columnist. Either way, if he had any other job you never would have heard his name. But journalists love stories about journalism the way Hollywood loves movies about the movie business. Add in the ability to blame his murder on the President’s criticism and you’ve got the perfect media storm. And Democrats were more than happy to jump on board.

First, let me just say that I don’t care. I know you’re not supposed to say this, but I’m not interested in lying to you. It’s sad that a man was murdered, but it happens all the time. No one’s profession makes them special. He wasn’t an American and it wasn’t in this country, so I don’t care.

More importantly, I’m not interested in destroying or even damaging our relationship with Saudi Arabia over this. Our relationship as a nation is much more important than one of their citizens, even if he wrote for the Washington Post.  Democrats know this, yet they’re out calling for sanctions and worse. Why? Because they see a political advantage in it.  [...]


Read more:  https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2018/10/21/the-liberal-mob-must-be-stopped-in-november-n2530392

[Dexter]

It's not profitable to sour relations with Saudi Arabia, true, but is there value in refusing to mingle with those that refuse to be civilized? By not standing up to countries like Saudi Arabia we send the message that in the end we don't care as long as there's a buck to make. At what point should morality overpower economic expedience?

[aligncare]

It’s misplaced sentiment to put Saudi Arabia in the same category as regimes like Iran, Syria and Turkey. There is no comparison.

Benjamin Netanyahu has stated outright that Saudi Arabia is indispensable in keeping the crazies in the Middle East at bay and keep our democratic ally Israel secure.

So. Do we upset the balance of power in the Middle East over some phony journalist who was an apologist and mouthpiece for the Muslim Brotherhood, and risk strengthening other murderous Middle East regimes? That’s not in either Israel’s nor America’s long term best interest.

[Dexter]

It’s misplaced sentiment to put Saudi Arabia in the same category as regimes like Iran, Syria and Turkey. There is no comparison.

Benjamin Netanyahu has stated outright that Saudi Arabia is indispensable in keeping the crazies in the Middle East at bay.

So. Do we upset the balance of power in the Middle East over some phony journalist who was an apologist and mouthpiece for the Muslim Brotherhood, and risk strengthening other murderous Middle East regimes? That’s not in either Israel’s nor America’s long term best interest.

That journalist was a peaceful man that truly believed the things he said, and he was murdered horribly by people associated with the Saudi government. I don't think we should do anything drastic, but at least some strong words may be called for in my opinion.

[Wingnut]

Schiff is like the new day San Francisco treat.  Human feces that sticks to your shoe and even when you scrape the shit off, the stench remains.

[Sanguine]

That journalist was a peaceful man that truly believed the things he said, and he was murdered horribly by people associated with the Saudi government. I don't think we should do anything drastic, but at least some strong words may be called for in my opinion.

That "journalist" was a Muslim Brotherhood mouthpiece.

[libertybele]

Trump himself at this point I don't believe has any financial involvement with the Saudis, but I have little doubt that his sons do and have absolutely no doubt that his son-in-law does.

Perhaps the killing of the journalist was a warning sign to the Trumps ... just a thought. 

[mountaineer]

That "journalist" was a Muslim Brotherhood mouthpiece.

Indeed.

[Dexter]

That "journalist" was a Muslim Brotherhood mouthpiece.

Do you have an example of him doing that? I don't know that much about him. Either way I think killing journalists is bad. People shouldn't be afraid to speak their mind.

[mountaineer]

... The fate of Khashoggi has at least provoked global outrage, but it’s for all the wrong reasons. We are told he was a liberal, Saudi progressive voice fighting for freedom and democracy, and a martyr who paid the ultimate price for telling the truth to power. This is not just wrong, but distracts us from understanding what the incident tells us about the internal power dynamics of a kingdom going through an unprecedented period of upheaval. It is also the story of how one man got entangled in a Saudi ruling family that operates like the Mafia. Once you join, it’s for life, and if you try to leave, you become disposable.

In truth, Khashoggi never had much time for western-style pluralistic democracy. In the 1970s he joined the Muslim Brotherhood, which exists to rid the Islamic world of western influence. He was a political Islamist until the end, recently praising the Muslim Brotherhood in the Washington Post. He championed the ‘moderate’ Islamist opposition in Syria, whose crimes against humanity are a matter of record. Khashoggi frequently sugarcoated his Islamist beliefs with constant references to freedom and democracy. But he never hid that he was in favour of a Muslim Brotherhood arc throughout the Middle East. His recurring plea to bin Salman in his columns was to embrace not western-style democracy, but the rise of political Islam which the Arab Spring had inadvertently given rise to. For Khashoggi, secularism was the enemy. ...

Spectator (U.K.)

[Dexter]

Spectator (U.K.)

I don't think he deserved to be tortured and then cut into pieces while he was still alive, and I don't like the precedent it sets. Some of the stuff I just read suggests that he was attempting to reduce extremism within those groups rather than perpetuate it, and that's why he was killed, but who knows what's real anymore? If that's true though, if he was one of the ones trying to reign in the insanity from the inside, then people like him are necessary and useful.

[mountaineer]

I was not justifying the act of torturing him, just providing some information about his Muslim Brotherhood ties, as you asked.

[corbe]

   Trump should release his Tax Returns, like he said he would, and put an end to this BS   /s

[Emjay]

   Trump should release his Tax Returns, like he said he would, and put an end to this BS   /s

But @corbe Do you honestly think that Trump releasing his returns would put an end to the BS?  When history should tell you, it would just create more BS.  Obviously, it is a complicated return and we know darn well, the left would find some real or imagined ammo in there.

Maybe Hillary should release her returns... oh, wait, she doesn't have to pay taxes, all of her income is unearned.

[corbe]

    I rarely use the /s thing @Emjay I just figure with me everyone should know it's probably implied.  But you are correct at this point him releasing his dirty returns would create a piranha like atmosphere, oh well, $hit happens.