October 21, 2018: Trump Doesn't Care about a Murder, if the Murderers Buy Enough U.S. Goods

 

10/21/18: Slowly but surely it dawns on the president. The Saudis have been lying about Jamal Khashoggi. He wasn’t killed by “rogue actors” as Trump originally posited. Saudi statements on Saturday weren’t really “a good first step,” as the president had indicated. 

Saudi oil has long been an interest in U.S. foreign policy.

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Am I the only one who thinks that sounds like the logic Siemens applied when the company decided to build the gas chambers needed for the Holocaust?

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Asked then if he believed the Saudi claim that Khashoggi died in a fist fight, Mr. Trump replied, “I do. I do. Again, it’s early. We haven’t finished our review, our investigation. But I think it’s a very important first step.” 

By Sunday, pretty much everyone else insists Saudi explanations are ridiculous. “They would have been better off saying that Colonel Mustard did it in the library with the candlestick,” one observer insists. 

On Fox News, even Newt Gingrich argues Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman can’t be allowed to get away with murder. “First of all, their explanation is insultingly stupid,” he tells Fox News host Chris Wallace. “The idea that this guy walked in the room with 15 security people, got in a fight, and was accidentally killed, and then they happened to have apparently an ability to dismember him and get rid of him that happened to be there?” 

Who could possibly fall for anything so insultingly stupid? 

Trump!

 

Amid a storm of criticism of the Saudis and himself, President Dimwit admits there has been “deception” in the matter. 

Nevertheless, he continues to insist the U.S. shouldn’t be too hard on Saudi Arabia, just because they murdered a journalist and cut off his head. Hey, the Saudis are going to buy a whole bunch of U.S. weapons! (Am I the only one who thinks that sounds like the logic Siemens applied when the company decided to build the gas chambers needed to keep the Holocaust going?) 

Well, Trump is all about jobs, jobs, jobs, and not paying any taxes on the profits he makes from the jobs, jobs, jobs he creates with his companies. 

Last March, he said new Saudi business with the U.S. would create 40,000 jobs here in the U.S. On October 13 he upped that number “slightly,” to 450,000. Four days later the number jumped to 500,000. On Friday, at lunchtime, the number jumped again to 600,000. By the time the president digested his peanut butter and jelly sandwich, he was claiming the actual number was “over a million jobs total.” You almost got the idea he was making it all up.

 

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SUNDAY MORNING, Carl Bernstein weighs in on Trump and his penchant for ignoring facts and realities. In an interview on CNN, Bernstein cites Nixon’s lying during Watergate. Trump is different: 

We have had presidents in the past who have lied, there’s no question about that, but what we have never had is a president of the United States who uses lying and untruth as a basic method to promote his policies, his beliefs and his way of approaching the American people and engaging in the world.

October 24, 2018: A Savage Murder Strikes President as a "Bad Deal."

 

10/24/18: If you missed it, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, usually referred to by his initials M.B.S., continues to deny involvement in what the president of Turkey has called the “savage murder” of Jamal Khashoggi. 

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“Where it should have stopped is at the deal standpoint.” 

President Trump

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To prove that he had no role and doesn’t control everything that happens in Saudi Arabia, M.B.S. was filmed offering condolences and shaking hands with Salah Khashoggi, the victim’s son. The son looks “pained” in the film clip, The New York Times notes, but has no choice but to shake the prince’s red hand. He’s forbidden from leaving the kingdom right now. 

Critics say M.B.S. now stands for “Mr. Bone Saw.” 

Diplomacy, as I constantly repeat, can be a bitch. So, it’s not clear what the U.S. should do to punish the Saudis for this heinous murder. This much is clear. Trump often sounds like a blathering idiot. 

First, he complained because people were blaming M.B.S. for the crime without all the facts available, “guilty until proven innocent,” as he put it.

 

Later President Trump said that Saudi explanations for what happened to Khashoggi were “credible.” 

Now he says the Saudis are guilty of the “worst cover-up ever.” In an Oval Office talk with reporters he describes the murder like a business deal gone sour. “They had a very bad original concept,” he says of the Saudis, “it was carried out poorly, and the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups…Bad deal; should never have been thought of. Somebody really messed up. And they had the worst cover-up ever. And where it should have stopped is at the deal standpoint.” 

Yes, Mr. Trump, murder is a bad deal. And you, sir, sound like a clueless, heartless, soulless ghoul.

One kind of bone saw used by doctors.

November 18, 2018: Is There an Authoritarian Leader Trump Has Ever Doubted?

 

11/18/18: On the international front the Saudis now admit they not only murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but also dismembered the body. 

Trump promptly labels Saudi Arabia “a spectacular ally.” 

Trump also admits he hasn’t bothered to listen to a tape of the Khashoggi killing, which the Turkish government shared with the C.I.A. Trump calls it “a suffering tape, it’s a terrible tape.” 

Meanwhile, almost every country in the world and almost every expert in foreign affairs insist the killing could not have occurred except on orders from the Crown Prince. Trump tells reporters that he has talked to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman five times, and he denies a role.

Says he didn't do it; Trump believes him.

November 22, 2018: The President Kisses Up to Prince Mohammed bin Salman - And Says He's Thankful for...Himself

 

11/22/18: While most Americans spend the holiday dumping gravy over their mashed potatoes and stuffing, some are trying to choke down Trump’s explanation for how he intends to address the Saudi murder of Jamal Khashoggi. 

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On this Thanksgiving Day, Trump is thankful for himself.

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According to multiple news organizations, the C.I.A. has concluded that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing. An intercepted phone call is said to provide one link. A brother of the prince contacts Khashoggi and tells him to go to the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. 

A hit squad lies in wait. 

According to one U.S. official, the C.I.A. has little doubt the Crown Prince had a hand in the planning. “The accepted position is that there is no way this happened without him being aware or involved.” 

A newspaper with close ties to the Turkish government also reports that a recording from a C.I.A. wiretap captures the Crown Prince ordering agents to get rid of Khashoggi as soon as possible. 

 

Historians will try to distill the Trump Doctrine. 

So, what will Trump do? Khashoggi was a permanent resident of the United States and has children who are U.S. citizens. 

Historians will likely hark back to this and similar moments and try to distill the “Trump Doctrine.” They will place this president in historical perspective, and if our nation is still free, they will cringe. 

Unless others stand up to Trump, unless institutions like an independent judiciary hold, this will be the moment America begins stumbling into authoritarianism. The history books will record that under our current president the nation ceased to be a beacon of hope for the rest of the world. America – flaws and all – will have abdicated its role as a defender of democracy and democratic institutions, a bulwark against injustice and the model for a society based on the rule of law. The United States, under Trump, will stand with Russia and Putin, with the Philippines and Rodrigo Duterte, with Saudi Arabia and Mohammed bin Salman. 

The U.S. will oppose a free press and support the murderers. 

Under the “Trump Doctrine,” the essence of our foreign policy will be this: America is on the make. Profit trumps all. It’s the philosophy that gave us Trump University, brought to the world stage.

 

The president decides to issue a statement outlining the new Trump Doctrine. Clearly, he wrote it himself, complete with his trademark exclamation points. It’s imbecilic from first to last. We provide it in full: 

The world is a very dangerous place! 

The country of Iran, as an example, is responsible for a bloody proxy war against Saudi Arabia in Yemen, trying to destabilize Iraq’s fragile attempt at democracy, supporting the terror group Hezbollah in Lebanon, propping up dictator Bashar Assad in Syria (who has killed millions of his own citizens), and much more. Likewise, the Iranians have killed many Americans and other innocent people throughout the Middle East. Iran states openly, and with great force, “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” Iran is considered “the world’s leading sponsor of terror.”

 

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia would gladly withdraw from Yemen if the Iranians would agree to leave. They would immediately provide desperately needed humanitarian assistance. Additionally, Saudi Arabia has agreed to spend billions of dollars in leading the fight against Radical Islamic Terrorism.

 

After my heavily negotiated trip to Saudi Arabia last year, the Kingdom agreed to spend and invest $450 billion in the United States. This is a record amount of money. It will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, tremendous economic development, and much additional wealth for the United States. Of the $450 billion, $110 billion will be spent on the purchase of military equipment from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and many other great U.S. defense contractors. If we foolishly cancel these contracts, Russia and China would be the enormous beneficiaries - and very happy to acquire all of this newfound business. It would be a wonderful gift to them directly from the United States!

 

The crime against Jamal Khashoggi was a terrible one, and one that our country does not condone. Indeed, we have taken strong action against those already known to have participated in the murder. After great independent research, we now know many details of this horrible crime. We have already sanctioned 17 Saudis known to have been involved in the murder of Mr. Khashoggi, and the disposal of his body.

 

Representatives of Saudi Arabia say that Jamal Khashoggi was an “enemy of the state” and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but my decision is in no way based on that – this is an unacceptable and horrible crime. King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder [emphasis added throughout] of Mr. Khashoggi. Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn’t! 

(My god, the C.I.A. says he did. You’re the president; you must make up your mind.)

 

That being said, we may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi. In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They have been a great ally in our very important fight against Iran. The United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia to ensure the interests of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region. It is our paramount goal to fully eliminate the threat of terrorism throughout the world!

 

I understand there are members of Congress who, for political or other reasons, would like to go in a different direction - and they are free to do so. I will consider whatever ideas are presented to me, but only if they are consistent with the absolute security and safety of America. After the United States, Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producing nation in the world. They have worked closely with us and have been very responsive to my requests to keeping oil prices at reasonable levels – so important for the world. As President of the United States I intend to ensure that, in a very dangerous world, America is pursuing its national interests and vigorously contesting countries that wish to do us harm. Very simply it is called America First!

 

Sen. Rand Paul, to cite just one example, is horrified by the president’s feckless response. “I’m pretty sure this statement is Saudi Arabia First, not America First,” he says.  

(The blogger is reminded of the time Trump said he believed Putin, not U.S. intelligence.)

 

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IN KEEPING WITH A Thanksgiving tradition, the president takes time out of his day to speak with service members around the world. During a teleconference with the troops Trump makes a fool of himself again. 

Rather than stick with the basics: thank them for their service, ask how they’re doing spending the holiday away from home, tell them he knows their families must miss them, Trump turns to his favorite subject. 

Himself. 

 

Fighting to keep unemployment low and stocks high. 

“We’re doing well at home. The economy is doing really great. When you come back, you are going to see with the jobs and companies coming back into our country and the stock market just hit a record high,” Trump tells our men and women wearing the uniform overseas. 

He’s plunked down at Mar-a-Lago and reading from a prepared script because he’s not really interested in what the troops might say. He’s only interested in talking about how great he is. “Unemployment is the lowest it’s been in 17 years,” he adds. “So you’re fighting for something real, you’re fighting for something good.” 

Did this idiot just tell our soldiers, sailors, Marines, and air crews they’re risking their lives to bring down unemployment? 

Good god.

 

Reporters watching the president work the phones, eventually have a chance to ask Mr. Trump a few questions. Who does he blame for the Khashoggi killing? 

He actually replies, “Maybe the world should be held accountable because the world is a vicious place.” 

If that doesn’t sound moronic enough, he adds: “So I hate the crime and I hate what is done and I hate the cover-up. And I will tell you this, the Crown Prince hates it more than I do.” 

You really can’t make this dumb shit up; but reporters ask the president, who is celebrating with his family at his ritzy private club, what he’s thankful for on this day. 

It’s probably the easiest question in the world to answer without sounding like a complete ass. 

The president blows it.

 

He says he’s thankful for his “great family [which is fine] and for having made a tremendous difference in this country [which is Trump bragging about himself, which for Trump is almost a fulltime job]. “I made a tremendous difference in this country,” he continues. “This country is so much stronger now than it was when I took office and you wouldn’t believe it and when you see it, we’ve gotten so much stronger people don’t even believe it.” 

On this Thanksgiving Day, Trump is thankful for himself.

Jamal Khashoggi.

BLOGGER’S NOTE (4/1/19): Under Saudi law, if a criminal will pay “blood money,” acceptable to a victim’s family, that criminal’s punishment is forgiven. Khashoggi’s two sons and two daughters realize they will never get full justice; and accept monthly five-figure payments, and homes in Jiddah, worth $4 million each. Only one of the children plans to live in Saudi Arabia. 

The other three will sell their homes. 

Saudi Arabia is hoping to buy silence on the world stage – and since no one is going to hold the Crown Prince accountable, they have little real choice.

June 28, 2019: President Trump Disgraces Himself on the World Stage

 

6/28/19: Once again, President Trump steps onto the world stage and disgraces himself, this time repeatedly. At the G-20 Summit in Osaka he sits down for breakfast with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and helps burnish the prince’s image. Trump describes MBS him as “a friend of mine.” Speaking to a group of Saudi men seated across the table, Trump describes the prince as a man who has “opened up things…especially what you’ve done for women.” 

Our president has been watching what is happening in Saudi Arabia. It’s a “revolution,” but “in a very positive way.”

Trump gets along well with murderous leaders.

 

“I want to thank you,” the president continues, as reporters and TV crews look on. “You’ve done a really spectacular job,” he tells bin Salman. And, oh, the meetings they’ve had! “They’ve been terrific!” Saudi Arabia – boy, the president says – they buy U.S. military equipment, “the best in the world,” and those purchases, he claims, “create a million jobs” in the U.S.A. 

There are only a few problems with Trump’s take: 

1.     Saudi women may not apply for passports without permission from male relatives. 

2.     Child marriages and arranged marriages are the rule. 

3.     Husbands can unilaterally divorce wives. 

4.     A woman was recently stoned to death for adultery. 

5.     The Crown Prince has instituted a crackdown on “dissidents, human rights activists, and independent clerics [emphasis added],” often accusing critics of treason. 

6.     Jamal Khashoggi, a fierce critic of MBS, a permanent resident of the United States, with children who are U.S. citizens, was brutally murdered by Saudi agents last year. 

7.     Trump makes jobs numbers up. In March 2018 he claimed Saudi arms sales would create 40,000 jobs in the U.S. That didn’t impress. He upped his claim to 450,000, to 500,000, then 600,000. 

8.     Finally, he decided a round million sounded right. 

 

“You don’t have the problem in Russia.” 

The disgrace only grows worse. During a photo opportunity with Putin, Trump looks at the reporters filling the room and jokingly says to the murderous Russian autocrat, “Get rid of them. Fake news is a great term, isn’t it. You don’t have the problem in Russia. We have it; you don’t have it.” 

“Yes, yes, we have it,” Putin responded. “The same.” 

Only, they don’t. In Russia, critics get bludgeoned, strangled, stabbed, gassed, hanged, gunned down, thrown off balconies, poisoned, and tortured and killed while in police custody.

 

Soon after, a reporter asks Trump if he has told the Russian Killer not to interfere in the next U.S. election. Trump has already said he’d be willing to take foreign help in 2020. He laughs off the question. 

Here’s how the Associated Press describes the scene: 

“Of course,” the president replied.

 

Then he turned to Putin and facetiously said, “Don’t meddle in the election.” He playfully repeated the request while pointing at Putin, who laughed. 

For a handy refresher, here’s what the Mueller Report says:

  

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NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC notes that Europe has experienced five “500-year” summers since 2003. Now 2019 may make six. In other words, the continent’s six hottest summers in five centuries, have all come in the last fifteen years. 

New heat records have been set this month in France, Germany, Poland, and Spain, with temperatures easily topping 100° F across a continent where air conditioning is rare. 

According to scientists, melting Arctic ice and a general warming in the far northern regions are affecting jet stream currents that have always moved cooler polar air across the Northern Hemisphere. 

These extreme heat events are all connected to a slower jet stream that locks weather systems into place, says Michael Mann of Penn State University. Mann co-authored a study last year that linked the slowdown in the jet stream – the band of high-altitude winds that sweep around the globe from west to east – to last summer’s unprecedented droughts, heat waves, wildfires, and flooding events across the entire Northern Hemisphere. And it is likely behind India’s weak monsoon rains and the widespread flooding in the U.S. Midwest this year.

 

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THE DALI LAMA sums up his opinion of President Trump, telling BBC News, he thinks the man lacks a “moral compass.”

February 26, 2021: One Year Ago - 15 COVID Cases, No Deaths

 

2/26/21: One year ago today, now Rejected-President Trump reported that the U.S. had only fifteen cases of COVID-19 and no one had died. 

He said we were “headed for zero” soon. 

Naturally, he bragged about what an awesome job he and his administration (mostly just he) were doing handling the annoying new kind of flu.

Yeah, he did it.

 

As of today, the U.S. leads the world by a margin of more than 2-1 in cases, over the next most infected nation (India) or the third (Brazil). According to CDC, we have racked up 28,285,554 cases. 

We also lead the world, by a wide and depressing margin, in most persons killed by the coronavirus, and that despite conservatives’ claims to have the best medical system in the world (not counting Obamacare). 

We also have the most expensive care of any industrial nation; and still, CDC notes, a total of 508,949 Americans have died. Still, many Trump fans continue to ignore the danger. (See: 2/27/21.)

 

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WE ALSO SEEM to be raising a healthy crop of right-wing nuts (see: 3/2/21). Ryan Holzer, an avowed white supremacist, is sentenced to 19 ½ years in prison for plotting to blow up a Pueblo, Colorado synagogue. 

 

FUN FACT: United Airlines has agreed to pay a $49 million fine for scamming the United States Postal Service. 

No cop chokes out any United Airlines’ executive, until they die, as happened with Eric Garner. The African American gentleman died after police tried to arrest him for selling single cigarettes out of packs without tax stamps. 

 

FUN FACT #2: In 2019, Congress passed a law, ordering the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to release a report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist for the Washington Post. 

Everyone with any brains understood that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman must have approved the killing, although the killers may have come up with the idea of cutting up their victim with a bone saw on their own. 

The Trump administration ignored the law. And we know our former president never once considered human rights when shaping U.S. relations with other countries. He didn’t want to make the Crown Prince look bad, when he and MBS were so good at working out deals. 

The long-suppressed report came out today. And you’ll never guess. U.S. intelligence can now officially say: “We assess that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.”

Detective Donald and the Case of the Missing Reporter

As long as Trump remains in office there will never be a day where something idiotic or dangerous to democracy does not transpire. (See: Anything New? The Daily, Hourly Craziness of Donald J. Trump; Part V.) 

This week, we learn that the president is putting his detective skills to work again. He’s tracking down the story of the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

What could go wrong?

10/15/18: Detective Donald is hard at work. This is the same Detective Donald who once grilled Vladimir Putin. Did you interfere in the U.S. election?” he demanded. I think he shined a bright light in Putin’s face.

“No, Detective Don! I did not,” Vladimir said.

“Okay, I believe you.”

That’s how you close a case, folks.

Later, Kim Jong-un promised to get rid of all his nuclear weapons. Don was on it like a cat on a three-legged mouse. “North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat,” he announced.

(North Korea still had all its nukes.)

You may recall: Detective Donald first made a name when he insisted the Central Park Five were guilty and we should fry them.

(Eventually, DNA evidence cleared them.)

Still, you couldn’t keep Detective Don down. He was on the case again in 2011, promising to get the goods on President Obama. He would show the American people their president was not really an American!

(After five years, he “cracked the case.” “Okay, he was,” said Don. You could even read that story on Fox “Never Fake” News.) 

Now Don’s on the case once more. Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi-born journalist, permanent resident of the United States, and reporter for the Washington Post, walks into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. You can watch him enter on surveillance cameras. No one ever sees him leave. The Turkish government soon claims it has evidence Khashoggi was murdered and dismembered and snuck out of the consulate in diplomatic pouches. Detective Don calls King Salman of Saudi Arabia. He grills the poor royal, just like he grilled Vladimir this past summer in Helsinki. This is the most feared grilling any dictator or royal potentate can ever face.

“Did you do it?” Don demands

“No. Never!!!” King Salman swears.

Detective Don tells reporters the king “vehemently” denies having Khashoggi, a frequent critic of the royal family, murdered. Don posits the theory that the journalist might have been killed by “rogue actors.”

Naturally, Detective Don has several theories to work through. It might have been Hillary. It could have been Obama.

It might have been that same “400-pound guy sitting on his couch,” who might have hacked the 2016 election. Yes, that might be who it was. Old Fatso hoisted himself off his couch, jumped on a plane to Turkey and managed to slip past security cameras. He entered the Saudi consulate. He killed the journalist. No one saw him do it. No one heard the victim screaming. Next, Old Fatso grabbed the body without anyone noticing and ran down the street, although no security footage shows a 400-pound guy lugging a body out of the building.

Well, Detective Don isn’t jumping to conclusions. He’s a legend in the crime-busting community, for his investigative precision. When Judge Roy Moore was accused by five women of sexual harassment, Don cleared him! Don cleared Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly and Judge Kavanaugh too.

Detective Don even cleared himself when more than a dozen women accused him of unwanted groping.

Anyway, enough about that! Don’t forget, the Saudi’s buy U.S. weapons! Detective Don has already made it clear. He doesn’t care who they murder and he doesn’t like journalists in the first place.

He just wants to sell weapons. 

  

10/16/18: Detective Donald is still hard at work. He’s leaving no pebble unturned in his investigation of the disappearance of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi. First, he sends Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Riyadh, to meet with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman—suspected by most of the known world as having ordered the reported killing.

Pompeo spends most of his time on camera grinning beside the prince like some rube who just met a Victoria’s Secret model. 

Fun with killers!

Detective Don can’t be fooled, either. He calls the Crown Prince on the phone. The Crown Prince says he didn’t have anything to do with the alleged crime. Detective Don, who has all the resources of the American intelligence-gathering community at his beck and call, seems satisfied.

In other words, it’s time to tweet!

Detective Don buys the Saudi story.

Unfortunately, Detective Donald can never get a moment’s rest. Reporters as various “Fake News” media outlets go digging for evidence and uncover details that the government of Saudi Arabia would like to remain buried.

Sorry, poor word choice.

Don decides he must comment publically. It’s very sad that people are blaming the Saudis—just because a journalist walked into their consulate two weeks ago and has not been seen since.

“Here we go again with, you know, you’re guilty until proven innocent,” Detective Don grouses. “I don't like. We just went through that with Justice Kavanaugh and he was innocent all the way as far as I’m concerned. So we have to find out what happened.”

So what do we know?

On one side, King Salman and the Crown Prince deny involvement in whatever happened. And you can’t fool Don. He believes them. “Innocent until proven guilty” has always been his mantra—which is why he enjoys it when crowds at rallies shout, “Lock her up! Lock her up!” in reference to rival politicians who have never—minor technicality—been indicted or tried or sentenced.

What else do we know? Khashoggi was a fierce critic of the Crown Prince. He entered the Turkish consulate on September 28 to get documents necessary to marry his fiancé. Officials told him to return October 2 to pick up his paperwork. Khashoggi did so. He hasn’t been seen since.

Originally, the Saudis denied any knowledge of what happened to the reporter. They insisted he left the consulate freely soon after. Maybe he tripped over a rosebush after leaving.

The Turkish government wasn’t buying it. They announced they had evidence Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate and his body sliced up like flank steak.

The Turks soon produced video of two Saudi planes landing in Istanbul on the day Khashoggi disappeared. Fifteen Saudis debark. They include “Saudi special forces officers, intelligence officials, national guards and a forensics expert.” They head for the consulate. Who knows? Maybe they are going to try to catch some “rogue actors” who might want to harm the journalist.

The Turks provide evidence to show that the same 15 Saudis depart later that day, but fly in two directions, one plane landing in Dubai and then flying on to Riyadh. The other goes by way of Cairo, then on to Riyadh. Maybe agents were using some frequent flier miles to get good deals.

Remember: We don’t want to think these people are “guilty until proven innocent!” Although, there are reports that Khashoggi managed to record his interrogation and murder on an Apple watch he owned.

On October 9, the “failing Fake News” New York Times runs a story, citing an unnamed Turkish official. Khashoggi was killed and cut up within two hours of arrival at the consulate he says. “It’s like Pulp Fiction.”

The Times notes that Saudi officials, including the Crown Prince insist the reporter left the building shortly after his arrival.

He was probably really happy to have those marriage documents, too. Oh, boy! Next comes the honeymoon.

The Times reports that various Turkish officials had been hinting that a video of the murder is already in their possession:

A commentator close to Mr. Erdogan’s government said so publicly on Tuesday.

“There is a video of the moment of him being killed,” Kemal Ozturk, a columnist in a pro-government newspaper and the former head of a semiofficial news agency, said in an interview on a pro-government television network, citing unnamed security officials.

On October 10, Sabah, a Turkish paper, posts airport and customs videos and photos of all fifteen Saudis entering the country. One is a forensic doctor who specializes in autopsies. Among other items in his baggage, he’s carrying a bone saw. Two others are identified as Saudi Air Force officers.

Caught with their thawbs half down, the Saudis do some serious alibiing. First, they claim the consulate cameras, which show Khashoggi entering, are a “live feed” and don’t record. Robert W. Jordan, a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia under President George W. Bush, takes a giant step down the “guilty until proven innocent” road. “Their explanation that their closed circuit TV is only a live feed and not recording makes no sense at all and would be absurd in terms of security tradecraft.” It is “95 percent certain,” he says, the Saudis bumped off the reporter.

The “Fake News” folks aren’t done faking stories. On October 16, with Detective Don already swallowing Saudi excuses, and Pompeo having enjoyed his Grinfest with the Crown Prince, the Washington Post starts to pin down the roles of the fifteen Saudi travelers and their ties to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Khalid Aedh Alotaibi is a member of the Saudi Royal Guard. He often flies to the United States when the Crown Prince or other members of the royal family visit. Seven others appear to have identified themselves on social media as Saudi security agents. Several appear to be members of the Royal Guard or employees of the royal palace. Naif Hassan S. Alarifi and Saif Saad Q. Alqahtani are reportedly “even closer to the royal family—specifically as employees of the ‘Crown Prince office.’”

For some odd reason, and despite repeated requests from the “Fake News” folks at the Post, the Saudi Embassy in Washington declines to comment on any of the men. They have been described in pro-government Saudi newspapers as “tourists”. All newspapers, by the way, in Saudi Arabia are “pro-government.”

It’s as if all American media outlets were “Fox News.”

In any case, journalists keep digging. Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, one of the fifteen, shows up in photos on numerous occasions, getting off planes with the Crown Prince, walking behind the Crown Prince, hanging around as the Crown Prince talks to a lady in Houston or shakes hands in Boston.

Finally, the Post explains: 

Among the most prominent names on the Saudi team list is Salah Muhammed al-Tubaigy, a forensic expert known for pioneering rapid and mobile autopsies, who flew into Istanbul shortly after Khashoggi entered the Saudi Consulate and flew out nine hours later, Turkish officials say.

In closing, reporters note: “Tubaigy has not responded to email and phone messages left at three numbers associated with the profile he had set up on an Arabic subscription phone app.”

And when we take all this evidence together, we can see exactly why Detective Don is so anxious to accept the Saudi government when they say they had nothing to do with the killing.

If there was a killing, that is. So far they haven’t admitted there was.

I think the moral of the story, if we asked Don would be, “Don’t forget your bone saw next time you plan a vacation.”