Abbreviated Pundit Round-up: Two weeks and counting
newsdepo.com
Will Bunch/philly.com: Trump, Saudis, money … and a murder. We need a new Congress to find out what really happened In early 2017, as the world was still processing the geopolitical earthquake that had been the ascension of Donald Trump to the AmericaAbbreviated Pundit Round-up: Two weeks and counting
Will Bunch/philly.com: Trump, Saudis, money … and a murder. We need a new Congress to find out what really happened In early 2017, as the world was still processing the geopolitical earthquake that had been the ascension of Donald Trump to the American presidency, a high-ranking GOP congressman — California's Ed Royce, who chairs the House Foreign Relations Committee — rose to speak on the House floor. Royce's words about U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia entered the Congressional Record but made barely a ripple, except with his apparent audience — key, shadowy players in the connected inner circles of the rising Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, known to all as MBS … and of Donald Trump. Royce's obscure speech was celebrated in an email by Trump ally and fund-raiser Elliott Broidy — at the time, newly minted deputy finance chair of the Republican National Committee. Broidy had just maxed out in campaign contributions to the California Republican and boasted in his (later hacked) emails that not only had he influenced Royce to made a policy flip toward the Saudis and away from its rival neighbor, Qatar, but that he'd «caused» the congressman to mention a virtually unknown Saudi general in his address from the House floor. The world, by and large, did not know anything about that Saudi — Major General Ahmed al-Assiri — in early 2017. xWSJ: As Khashoggi case escalated into a diplomatic crisis, MBS was shocked by the backlash. He couldnâÂÂt understand why...such a big deal pic.twitter.com/B3Uosa5q1J— Laura Rozen (@lrozen) October 21, 2018 Read more