Donald Trump condemns the cover-up, not the murder. In his language it is easy to hear — "if you're going to kill someone, make sure that your cover-up is full proof and invisible." Trump's "worst cover-up in history" and other comments have been mistaken (by media) for a denunciation of Khoshoggi's murder. And calling such acts or perpetrators "bad, bad" does not mean much of anything.
1
I'm not sure, does Trump get a commission on this deal he's promoting and protecting so hard? Are we really the United States of America, Inc. Are we in business or a nation? Do we have values or just a profit motive?
Oh, and when is some Democrat going to grow a pair and stand up and just flat out say on the Senate or House floor, "Mr. President, you're a f**king liar!" I'm sure that Dem would pop right to the top of the 2020 possible candidate list. I'd also tell him, you're wrong, we're not going to impeach you, first, we're going to contain you, then we're going to throw you out of office.
1
"Trump Says Saudi Account of Khashoggi Killing Is ‘Worst Cover-Up’ in History"
Do I understand this correctly? Is Mr. Trump mainly upset at the Saudis for not being able to come up with a better cover-up story?
Based on his remarks, he does not seem concerned at all that a Saudi journalist was savagely murdered by the Saudi regime. But he is apparently complaining about their inability to lie as well as he does. May be he is simply unhappy that they did not use the lie he offered them, which was to blame the murder on some outside "rogue" elements.
2
"Mr. Trump said he would reserve final judgment until American officials, including the C.I.A. director, Gina Haspel, returned from Turkey in the next couple of days."
What does Mr. Trump expect the Turks tell the CIA director? Does he expect they show her every piece of information they have from inside the Saudi embassy in Istanbul, which would indicate how they have collected the information?
The fact is the Turk do not trust the Trump administration. They believe, if they reveal their means of information gathering to the US, the next day Jarred Kushner will be calling MBS to pass on the information.
That would not be the first time that Mr. Kushner has passed on sensitive information to MBS. According to Washington Post, after receiving "briefing about a sensitive policy matter related to Saudi Arabia" Mr. Kushner conveyed sensitive Saudi-related information to the crown prince (See article: "How Jared Kushner forged a bond with the Saudi crown prince"; March 19, 2017). Other US sources were also reporting that, in a meeting in Riyadh, "Jared Kushner may have ... delivered a 'hit list', an enemies list, to the crown prince."
Turkish officials are well aware of the close relationship between Mr. Kushner and MBS. Indeed, after the Turkish authorities made details of Mr. Khashoggi's murder public, some Turkish journalists were asking whether the "hit list" provided to MBS contained Mr. Khashoggi's name, and whether Mr. Kushner has blood on his hands.
3
Don Trump is fueled by oil; Jared Kushner is a master of deception, having been tutored by his father-in-Law, Don Trump. You know,this is a family enterprise,Don’s primary interest. The Presidency is Don’s part/time job.
2
The fact that President Trump is focused on the cover-up and not the crime itself is telling. I'd prefer a President, who having sworn to uphold the US Constitution (including First Amendment freedom of the press), condemn the crime itself as the obscenity that it is. Perhaps if his Saudi friends had done a better job of covering up the assassination, he wouldn't be speaking out at all. You gotta wonder.
1
Considering the source...maybe the second biggest cover-up...
Trump will only condemn the Saudi royal family when public pressure forces him to do so. He longs to continue to personally enrich himself with Saudi money, so he is loath to antagonize his benefactors.
Not only does DJT have no problem with murdering journalists, he is jealous of those dictators who can do it with impunity. He admires the leaders of Russia, North Korea,
& the Philippines. He would love to be able to silence the voices of his political opponents the way those despots can.
Trump has called a free press " the enemy of the people. " No reaction of his to the Kashoggi murder should be interpreted as meaning that he has changed that opinion.
4
“They had a very bad original concept, it was carried out poorly, and the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups,” --Donald Trump
Seriously? Trump's dinging the Saudis on style points? Like, if they'd had a better murder concept and carried it out with more finesse and done a better cover-up, that would have been ok? Let's face it, not too far under the surface Trump is a jealous guy. Wouldn't he like to get rid of journalists that easily! Honestly, just when you think you've reached the limit of your capacity to be appalled....
3
Message to Donald... Yes, the coverup is bad, although your use of the superlative, yet again, is a bit too much. But the thing that is far worse, the murder itself, seems somehow less important to you. One would think you don't much care about it. Have you ever noticed something missing in yourself... like your soul?
3
Donald is known to be none too smart and to surround himself with dunderhead sycophants. So he has failed to recognize that this murder was arranged exactly to jeopardize the Saudi-USA relationship by implicating the Crown Prince in a hair-brained horrific scheme that has the earmarks of extraordinary stupidity.
1
Trump is actually saying this was the worst coverup ever, and if it was him, his coverup would have been perfect.
1
Like his coverup of Donald and Jarod's meeting with Russians -- the press release he dictated was so much better than the Saudi coverup.
1
... which is perhaps an indication of who contributed to the plan this time around as well.
Donald Trump finally speaking on a subject he knows about!
Cover ups...
...his taxes, his sources of income, the election meddling, his private meeting with Putin...the way he's conducted his entire existence...
..the list is too exhausting...
2
In hindsight, what do we make of it ?
Obviously, ‘it was beyond the pale’ !...unacceptable, unseemly, improper, unforgivable, disgraceful,
scandalous and shocking;
For, it was brutal, barbarous, savage, vicious, wicked, cruel, ruthless, merciless, heinous, monstrous, inhuman, infernal, dark and diabolical..
Which are the words used above to describe the horror and terror that swept the world, do not fit the context that one would like to expunge ? Can you ?
But, an average believer of any faith is better than that, Islam included !
"Whoever thought of that idea" includes knowing that Trump was the guy who would play along with wherever the big $$$ take him and that his "enemy of the people" stuff against the press would provide cover. And he did just that with all his stalling and lies.
Trump needs censuring by the spineless GOP Congress.
3
I fail to see how chopping-up a journalist is any different than dropping bombs a nation for a decade.
1
I suppose he was hoping for a better cover-up?
2
@Ken
Thanks, Ken... I needed that.
Worst cover-up ever? I don't think so. Saudi Arabia is a country built on cover ups. It's been years in the making that any person who cirtisizes this despotic regime is arrested, tortured, beaten, thrown in jail or executed by strongmen acting on the king's orders. The men behind the 9/11 killings in NY were almost all Saudis and, did the world bring these killers to judgment? That's the worst cover-up ever.
1
Trump thinks the Khashoggi murder was the worst cover-up ever and he should know about cover-ups since he worked with Russia and the Saudis to win the election.
Trump saying something is a cover-up.
That's rich.
2
Among all of his other attributes, Donald Trump is now a master of irony.
3
So Trump regrets the bad cover-up but not the murder? Oh, this is distressing.
6
Distressing, but totally predictable.
I’d say it’s the BEST coverup since Trump is exonerating MBS who surely ordered the murder.
2
Hmmm...that isn’t how he described it the week after it occurred. Just sayin’
1
Reading trump's statements (I avoid watching him in videos), I'm appalled and embarrassed by his misuse of the English language.
Heck of a job, UPenn / Wharton!
November 6.
2
Trump doesn't lament Khashoggi's death, just the ineptitude of the cover-up. Trump is not even human.
5
Say what you will about our president, but admit this: When it comes to lies, cover-ups, and cons, he is a true connoisseur.
5
Don’t mock him for cover-up hypocrisy or for the pre-school “big twubble” vocabulary, or for lacking a moral compass. Mocking him doesn’t work. Just vote. Voting still works. Better hurry though.
5
What a cover-up. On front pages around the world day by day.
Meanwhile some 14 million Yemenites are now being starved to death. That's the last expectation from UN.
2
“They had a very bad original concept, it was carried out poorly, and the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups,” Mr. Trump said.
Its not the murder that has Trump and others slightly annoyed. Its the Three Stooges Op, and coverup.
Its that the Sauds performed the planned murder on diplomatic soil, where any first year Special Ops operative would know there would be cameras outside, with a high probability of bugs on the inside! Duh!
Were the Sauds out that day when our military and/or intelligence agencies were teaching them covert ops and subsequent cover-ups?
Did JK catch them by surprise when he walked into the Consulate, so they reacted like freshman at a kegger? Did he spot the dozen or more non-diplomatic types, attempted to leave and they panicked? Not acting like professionals accepting the Op had been blown, and faded into the mist? (what would a month or two mattered in taking him out? unless they knew he had some information on MBS, the family, they absolutely needed to keep private)
Its starting to feel our "leaders" are more angry at the dumbassery of this operation, then they are the actual murder. That they are looking for any possible out for MBS, so to keep our "strategic" relationship intact.
The reality; contrary to Trump and Haley, et al, preaching about our "more respected" status in the world, Trump and Co. weak response to this incident proves otherwise.
We're beholden to the wrong nations.
5
Well, he should know all about cover-ups and how to mess them up. Amazingly, but not surprisingly, its the quality of the coverup that appalls him, not the murder. It was never about that for him, just about deniability. He manages to be both amoral and immoral. What a triumph.
3
...and Trump should know. He's an expert at lies and deception. Wait until you see his tax returns, Russian ad Saudi debt, Mafia connections, etc.
Stay tuned - there's lots more to come. Mueller is picking the locks as we speak.
5
Just remember; this has ALWAYS been Trump’s position, he has NEVER thought otherwise, and we CANNOT RISK $575 BILLION and ONE MILLION JOBS!!
Plenty of cover-ups have been worse. Just take a look at how many religions there still are.
Trump would have come with a much better cover up.
Perhaps the Prince ought to testify angrily and indignantly before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about how much his reputation has been damaged, and the harm to his family, because of these unproven allegations that he was involved in the murder of Khashoggi. That worked well for Kavanaugh.
4
As usual, Trump completely misunderstand the Khoshoggi murder. He sees it only as an impediment to the personal and political transactions involving him. With that as his only basis, he naturally sees it as a botched job, rather than the heinous and dastardly attack on the very principles forming the foundation of our society, not to mention the brutal death of Mr Khoshoggi himself.
Trump repeatedly demonstrates a lack of the decency, empathy, understanding and judgment necessary to lead this country. His base still remains blind to this. How base can a base be?
11
Trump: "What an embarrassing and lame cover-up that was...................I would have covered it up so much better"
November 6 2018
VOTE !
40
Trump could care less about the murder. He does care abut the optics.
It will be interesting to see how his followers react when he lets MBS skate.
5
I personally don’t find watching the suckers cheer and shrug all that intersting.
@Walter Ingram They will react as they always do. With slavish devotion to Dear Leader.
Can we believe him? His mouthpiece Scaramucci said today Trump should tone down the blatant lies.
"Washington (CNN)Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said Wednesday that President Donald Trump "is a liar" and that he "should probably dial down the lying.""
5
Well, one thing we can All agree on about Trump: he's well-versed in cover-ups, especially flawed cover-ups.
6
No, the worst coverup is the 2016 election
5
It's hardly as big and important a cover-up as the unending Trump coverage of his collusion with Russia in providing hacked emails and constant attacks against his opponents and their supporters during the 2016 election.
Or doesn't that matter in Trumpworld?
6
"Worst cover-up ever". Well, Trump should know.
20
There's no doubt that Trump's cover up is the "BEST cover up EVER!."
14
Trump's handlers apparently finally convinced him that his tacit approval of this grisly assassination was turning off some voters. Can't have that! So now he issues some namby-pamby pap about the ineffectiveness of the cover-up. Notice: not a word about MBS and his almost certain complicity. Can't endanger Trump income!
Trump could not be more disgusting.
Vote!
16
This cover up is comparable to Mr. Trump's
cover up of his tax cheating. He did it
successfully by persuading 62 millions to vote
for him.
5
Trump didn't finish his sentence, what he meant to say is "this is the worse coverup, ever. I would have done a much better job, what with all my experience in such matters".
4
JUST SHUT UP.
Seriously.
5
Yes! He is completely committed to repeatedly and eagerly driving the MAGA campaign bus over whatever handful of hapless, unsavoury foot-soldiers MBS decides to throw under it.
5
What "Mr. Trump" said is barely intelligible. Something about deals, sounds like.
Having adult reporters covering this stuff, trying to lend whatever mature dignity they can to the gibberish, is bordering more on the absurd each day, Onion-style. What about having kids report on it, instead? At least then the primary-school diction and content might be kind of charming, instead of horrifying.
6
Well, second worst cover-up anyways
5
Seems more disturbed by the idea of a poorly planned and implemented cover-up than by the underlying gruesome, premeditated murder. And enough, already, with the grand declarations of "best ever!" and "worst ever!" on all sorts of esoteric categories - where distinctions are incalculable and/or irrelevant, and as if he'd know the difference, anyway.
6
Trump would have done a MUCH better job of obfuscating.
3
Translation of Trump's comment: I wish they had done a better job because now I have to deal with it. Bad deal for me.
6
I find it funny that the US is cancelling visas for people already in prison! Anyone who is charged or connected with this murder is already in custody or has limited movement in Saudi Arabia.
I find it bizarre this thing our government is doing. Revoking visas for persons whose heads are going to get chopped off. Brilliant!!!
Revoke visa for that MBS who gave the orders, now that may be something.
2
In prison and likely soon departing this world to avoid any embarrassing admissions.
“They had a very bad original concept, it was carried out poorly, ...”
Did I really hear that man say those words, in reference to the murder of a fellow human being? This is just a bad dream, right? Right?
5
“The Saudis have not concluded a single major new arms deal since Mr. Trump took office, according to Bruce O. Riedel,...”
Bad enough that trump gives the impression that America has no morals and can be bought but now we know that it can be bought with mere propaganda story.
We need to get America out of the Yemen war. It’s a humanitarian disaster.
2
And Trump is a accessory after the fact working to confuse Americans about his good friend MBSs role in this grisly murder.
2
You think Trump got elected with Russian help or something, right? Well, almost two years and there’s still no real proof—that’s how you do a cover-up, he’s saying to himself (and to all the rest of us). Yep. He’s the best at everything, including cover-ups, he’s saying.
4
Donald Tramp is a raving liberal. First his administration goes after the carried interest loophole behind Congress's back. And now he gives a nod to human rights. What is this world coming to?
1
If it was such a bad cover up, how come he fell for it?
7
Trump would have been satisfied if nobody could attribute the death to the Saudis. What kind of man thinks that way? This murder was an affront to the most powerful democracy in history. The man was a legal resident in our country working on one of our most important newspapers. The Saudi Prince was thumbing his nose at our whole country. He was unconcerned about Trump because he felt that he owned him and Kushner, both, it would seem. Trump has no sense of being responsible for anything.
6
His bizarre choice of words reveals just how much he believes that ends justify the means. As when confronted about mocking Dr. Ford at his nationalist mob events, saying it didn’t matter, because he won.
6
Correction: 2nd worst cover-up ever, right behind Trump's attempt to sweep Stormy Daniels under the Oval Office rug.
3
So, if the cover up was successful, would that be good and make the murder acceptable?
8
It is utterly amazing how hesitant the leaders of the involved nations to stand up in unison to condemn the murder of Mr. Kashoggi. What makes matters worse is that they are all using this murder for political and economic gains for their country or for themselves. What is happening to humanity? When did the human values and moral standards were abandoned? When will we wake up and embrace them again?
I cannot think of a better time than NOW!
2
Am I the only one who sees a connection between the murder of Khashoggi and Trump’s drumbeat that the press is the enemy of the people?
4
By "worst cover up" Trump means "most inept." Time will tell us if his own foreign entanglements (political and financial) can surpass that sorry low bar.
2
Apparently the assanation was okay with Trump. But because Trump is the best cover up con artist in history he’s able to spot the worst cover up ever. If only the Saudis had listened better to 45 they would have had the best cover up ever.
3
Well now it's interesting now isn't it? He'd certainly be one to recognize a cover up.
3
Trump is upset about the execution of the execution. Not the murder itself. Unbelievable.
5
Sure, no one approves of a bungled coverup. Definitely worse than the crime itself - right?
4
The man who tried to claim the Trump tower meeting as about adoptions and then suggested that "rogue killers" murdered Jamal Khashoggi, is clearly an expert on "the worst coverups ever." And only someone who himself had something to hide would talk about a coverup instead of punishing the Saudis for a premeditated, gruesome murder of an American resident with two children who are U.S. citizens. We still need to know, Mr. President. why our intelligence agencies did not warn Mr. Khashoggi of the plot by the Saudis to "detain" him as is required.
18
@Paul Wortman
"We still need to know, Mr. President. why our intelligence agencies did not warn Mr. Khashoggi of the plot by the Saudis to "detain" him as is required."
In other words, Mr. Trump, The Accomplice---the new show to replace The Apprentice.
1
Hey, commenters suggest Trump is expert at cover-ups, so he knows one when he sees one. That is not Trump’s expertise. He is much better qualified. He is able to orchestrate the WORST cover-ups - since 2016 there are a dozen examples ranging from sex exploits to meetings with Russians.
2
Trump is quoted as saying: “They had a very bad original concept, it was carried out poorly, and the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups”
Although Trump has identified how inept the murder was, he didn’t ask the obvious question: “Is the Crown Prince a moron?”
At least from lore one imagines the Saudi aristocracy as replete with labyrinthine plots and counterplots, experts in subterfuge. Isn’t it implausible that the Crown Prince, presumably no slouch in this serpentine milieu, couldn’t find a less public approach to silencing a journalist? Do it in a Saudi Embassy? Use a huge 15 man hit team easily connected to himself? Make sure all is on security cameras and recorded?
Huh?
4
Thus spake the Connoisseur of Coverup.
12
'President Trump on Tuesday condemned Saudi Arabia’s account of the killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi as “the worst cover-up ever,” .. '
This is bad, bad, bad stuff!
Trump could have easily excused MBS for removing the membership of a pesky journalist visiting his consulate in a foreign country; in fact, Trump possibly would have loved to have this done to some of the fake journalists that that troll him.
But to come up with an excuse that makes even Trump blush - that is inexcusable.
2
And the Don knows a coverup when he sees one. So if it had been a good cover up, cutting up a dissident critical journalist while he was alive would be OK to the DON? Fake news, fake death, no one can question the boss; capice?
4
With Mr. Trumps history and his rhetoric, his disappointment comes that he has not yet achieved the same status as those 'Controlling Strong Men' he so admires. Give him a bit more time...
1
Another installment of trump’s meaningless bluster. Tough lip-flapping followed by gentle wrist-slapping is the order of the day for the grifter-in-chief, when it comes to interactions with his authoritarian bros. “We demand answers [and we’ll buy whatever they tell us]!” “There’ll be consequences [as long as the consequences don’t make me look bad in front of my base, offend any authoritarians, or affect any deals my family and I are involved in]!”
4
While I understand this murder warrants media coverage, the obsession with this story is way over the top.
A government killing a citizen is wrong and needs to be reported. But 3 - 4 articles per day for weeks on end in major newspapers is overkill.
We are not dealing with the assassination of a nation's leader, or the murder of the heir to the throne of the Austrian-Hungarian empire.
Other things like the economy, gang/drug related murders, illegal immigration, poverty, Iran, North Korea, etc. are all higher priority news items.
Once again, sensationalism and hysteria trumps real news.
2
The murder of a moderately dissident journalist on foreign soil and the ensuing cover up is a big deal, becaue it's indicative of the times in which we live. We see parallels to the authoritarian demonization of the press throughout the West.
14
@LarryGr what is over the top is the reaction from our government and how eager they are to minimize the death of a resident of the state of virginia in a brutal premeditated killing ordered by the head of a government that we are dealing with, but, oh, except they want to buy $100million of weapons, so it does not matter. does that matter to you?
1
@LarryGr You miss the point(s) terribly. Saudi Arabia s being pushed as a huge Middle East factor and so we have to think hard about just how much slime we want on our hands in formulating our own positions in that region. The situation's significance is amplified by the Trump organization's person wealth involvement in this. We have our nation's president -- who has had to be schooled about what's wrong with journalists being tortured and murdered.
2
This coming from the person who is the worst President in history. Seems appropriate.
3
Trump repeatedly calls murder a “deal”? How is it a deal?
If I didnt know better, I’d have thought our president was describing his Atlantic City Casinos and not a politically motivated hit job on foreign soil.
3
Spoken like a man who would know.
4
“Whoever thought of that idea, I think, is in big trouble, and they should be in big trouble,” Mr. Trump.
I can't stand Trump, but while we're parsing the words, these clearly point to holding the decision-maker accountable.
Why no focus on that?
Never mind, I know why. Pathetic.
Torturing, murdering and dismembering a journalist is just dandy. Lying badly about it is a crime. American Ethics 2018 from Professor Trump.
14
Trump won't do anything that would imperil the flow of Saudi money into the Trump and Kushner Crime Families real estate companies and Trump hotels, condominiums, or resorts. Priorities, priorities, after all.
8
Visas & diplomatic immunity have not been pulled from the Prince & those responsible. Pompeo pulled the visas of people like the get away driver, pathologist with the bone saw, & a few others. No real sanctions or political pressure on responsible parties. Saudi terrorists related to the royal family can still fly in & out of US with no restrictions. trump & kushner need the Saudi money to keep their businesses afloat. No real penalties will come from this. It is blowing over & passing into obscurity even now.
6
A few days ago Trump said he trusted and believed the Saudis and blamed "rogue killers." Do his followers not pay attention, and sense this man is an idiot?
4
@A. Jenkins His followers are 100% into "the ends justify the means". Do not expect Reason from Trump people.
1
Trump has put his finger on it. Why would the Crown Prince be so inept at silencing a journalist? Is he a moron?
3
What a Trumpian response! It's not that he's horrified and saddened by the murder of a fine journalist reporting on his country. No, Trump is disappointed in how poorly the murder was covered up. This man has No Moral Compass. We are in deep doo-doo.
2
Let's be honest here. Our President is a moron. What a joke, but there's nothing funny about this very disturbed clown.
6
Paging Dr. Mueller: Your patient is waiting in the Psychiatric Ward.
6
Funny - It sounds like Trump is posturing to finally slap a hard and overdue response on Saudi Arabia, and the liberal voices all seem to decry that our president has not sufficiently condemned the action.
First, note that Saudi Arabia is widely known to have been engaging in substantial human rights violations for at least decades. These include torture, censorship, and imprisonment or execution of anyone who dares to stand up to the government. Yet during that time they've been a principal middle east ally of the US during multiple administrations on both sides of the aisle.
Second, the narrative that Trump has not condemned the action is simply not true. Here, as is always the case, the media seizes on individual sentences taken out of context to suit its narrative irrespective of whether the narrative actually reflects reality. Trump has in fact condemned the action when, for example, he originally said upon learning of the allegations "it's bad, bad stuff" and in this interview he says essentially that the idea of doing what was done should never have been even thought of (presumably, much less acted upon) and that "whoever did this is in a lot of trouble and should be in a lot of trouble."
I think the reason he uses the words "worst cover-up in history" is because he is seeking to undercut the Saudi position when they try to make the case that there's insufficient evidence of high level involvement and therefore no basis for the imposition of strong sanctions.
8
Trump is not condemning anything. He is avoiding confrontations like an unarmed man trying to pass by lions out on the savannah. He has no clue what he can do and not make someone angry with him. It’s a disgrace.
2
@Bill, do you work in the White House? Your apology for the President is rather strained and sounds much like SHS in the press room.
2
Way too much thought-processing credit to trump, whose reasoning skills and use of language, at best, are those of an eight-year old.
1
Does Trump mean “worst” in the sense of egregious? Or does he mean poorly executed? One suspects the latter....
8
but Trump DOESN’T say that it should be excoriated. just that it was the “worst cover-up”, as if a better cover-up would have made it alright. He is an absolute horror-show.
5
What an insult to the intelligence of every rational, thinking U.S. citizen. Trump's 11th hour condemnation of Saudi
Arabia's initial, lame explanation of Mr. Kashoggi's murder, and his weak statement of it being 'the worst cover-up ever" is beyond the pale. Have we as a country just given up while Trump and his cohorts in mendacity continue to deceive and deflect? Two more years of this mean-spirited , brazenly immoral administration may sound the death knell for The United States as we used to know it. In the nearly two years this charlatan has been in office, he has done more damage to our country, and the world, then I originally thought could have been possible. I beg everyone with an ounce of responsibility, please, please vote Democrat on November 6th.
1
Worst in history? Hardly. CIA killing of Chilean President Allende and the murder of the princes in the tower of London by Richard III come to mind.
5
“They had a very bad original concept, it was carried out poorly, and the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups,” Mr. Trump said to reporters in the Oval Office.
It sounds like a critique of a reality TV contest vs. what it should be, a condemnation of a crime.
7
And he better than any would know from coverups.
2
When we finally get to the bottom what Donald Trump is really about that will, no doubt, reveal the real WORST cover-up in history. The good news we will UN-cover it!
5
Such a quick about face from just a few days ago! Where was all this indignation then, Mr. Trump, while you were singing the Saudis' praises? Well, it is true that you would be more severe on others than you are on yourself. Since you don't practice truthfulness, you really have no problem when others lie.
5
Knowing that Ms. Cengiz saw off her fiancé at the front gate, and counting on the consulate's back street CCTVs to corroborate a "double" to temporarily throw off the scent of their crime, the masterminds of this butchering wanted the world to know that they could get away with making the defiant journalist "disappear".
Much like the Skripal and Litvinenko poisonings by the Russian FSB, and the Kim Jong-Nam airport assassination - the Saudis were trying to send their dissidents a chilling message. They could've just killed Khashoggi anywhere in the world as he travelled unprotected widely and frequently. By snatching him right before his wedding under the eyes of his fiancé, they wanted to bring about that chill that the likes of Putin and Kim Jong Un are so adept at creating.
Facial recognition software would easily prove that the double was an imposter as Khashoggi had a completely different head shape and bone structure; not to mention the double's telltale shoes with the white bottoms. The hit squad's brain trust - al-Qahtani and Mutreb - would certainly have been aware of that. So the double was never really meant to throw the intelligent services of various countries off scent by more than a day or two. And then "bam", the savagery of his audacious snatch and disappearance sinks in. Absent the bugging of the consulate by the Turks, the world would suspect, but never find out with certainty Khashoggi's fate. This lingering fear and sense of dread was what MSB wanted.
5
Worst as in “least convincing”?
It’s a low bar set by our president.
4
21 Saudis will be sanctioned? Safe to say that the Crown Prince won't be on the list. This presidency has no diplomacy nor a semblance of foreign policy - it's merely another cheap reality TV show.
4
The president clearly does not like murderers who get caught, or anyone who gets caught for anything.
13
Trump is bothered by the cover-up, not the crime.
He would have had Sarah Huckabee Sanders and KellyAnne all over this story.
KellyAnne would have gone on CNN and said:
"How DARE you ask me why a pathologist with a bone saw and 14 other Saudis went to the Saudi consulate that day? How DARE you?"
And Sarah HS would have said: "I'll say it again, in case you didn't hear me the first time: The Crown Prince is a visionary. A visionary would never do something like this.
He's the one who let Saudi women drive. That is not the profile of a murderer."
5
And yet he very strongly believed it.
1
@Ken calvey
Bigly.
1
"Worst cover-up ever?"
If anyone knows anything about covering up, you do, donald. You've spent your life doing it.
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For a moment, when I read the phrase: "worst cover up ever" and they had a very bad original concept" I felt like Mr. President could have done better in covering up and creating concept.
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What do you mean by “for a moment”? He meant exactly that. Now all his underlings have to lie about what he really meant.
The remarks of POTUS are appalling. When he says “They had a very bad original concept, it was carried out poorly, and the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups,” POTUS is signalling (a) it is ok to assassinate a journalist and (b) cover-ups are ok. Is there such a thing as a "good concept" for suppressing dissent? Is there such a thing as a "best" coverup? Even when you think POTUS moving in the right direction, his words continue to show he is not on the same page as democracy and human rights.
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Worse cover ups than his? Not so sure about that. How many Trump soldiers have fallen in the last two years? Surely a good coverup would have given most of them protection from criminal conviction. What is even more telling about the mindset of Trump is that his presentation of the coverup claim seemed to infer that they should be ashamed of themselves for being so bad at it. As though a good coverup is something to be proud of. Typical street thug talk. Yes I am used to it and no I still don't view it as acceptable by any means. Our so called leader clearly is no better than the street bully who takes what he wants just because he can.
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@Rick Beck
Imply.
I think he means "worst cover-up in history" as opposed to the best cover-ups such as those of his doing?
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It's the "worst cover-up" because it's NOT a cover up at all. In fact, the message couldn't be more blatant.
The prince had a message to send and he sent it, warts and all. Why do you think he used the SAUDI consulate, of all places in the world where Khashoggi could have been dispatched?
For the same reason Putin used polonium for his murders. This isn't rocket science.
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His concern is so touching. He is concerned that the Saudi's were sloppy and got caught. Not that a man was killed, or free speech was assaulted.
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This is the one thing (cover-ups) that Trump has spent a lifetime in perfecting! He could have given the Crown Prince good advice on this and many other nefarious activities... if only the young prince had asked.
It was not the crime that Trump proclaimed objectionable, only the poor job of covering it up. Evangelicals in particular, and Republicans in general, should be so proud!
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"... It was carried out poorly, and the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups". One would not have to too much of a cynic to interpret Trump's "condemnation" as a criticism of the execution and not the action. Is the intended message to next time do a better job and don't get caught?
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Trump's real meaning ..."If I were doing it, nobody would have ever known the culprit".
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So let me get this straight, it's OK for Donald to lie "continuously" but it's bad if other people do the same.
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@Seabrook
No, it's still ok to lie, just do a better job of it.
Our president is describing a ghastly murder plot the way a food critic might describe a burrito, only with less outrage.
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Yes? Well, but there is the Bay of Tonkin and Iran Contra, but forget those. This is just the worst cover-up Mr.Trump could ever imagine. Amazingly, he was a good part of it! It would be nice if our president had a better knowledge of history and used a adjectives other than "great" or "worst" once in a while.
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It's easy to get disturbed by President Trump's comments on most any issue, but there's something I find particularly disturbing about these comments on Jamal Khashoggi ‘s murder. Our president is criticizing the Saudis for doing a bad job of murdering this man and then doing a bad job of covering up the murder, but what's absent is any outrage that what was "bad" is that a powerful government murdered an innocent human being in the first place.
In fairness, maybe in recent days he has expressed these sentiments also, and I just missed it. But is it really the job of our president to rate the performance of murderers? Come on, President Trump, you're not running a version of The Apprentice for murderers. You seem to want to say "you're fired" to these people, but doesn’t that go without saying? At least for me, that makes me even more eager to be able to say "you're fired" to you.
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So, Trump calls it the worst cover up. One can only imagine that he would have done a better job at it. Like the time he paid off the adult actress? Or the time he gave all sorts of excuses to not release his tax papers?
A natural question that arises through all this circus is why did he send Gina Haspel to Istanbul. Is it a fact finding mission? Or an evidence cover up negotiation mission?
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To be clear: Trump's problem is not with the killing. It is with the cover up being the worst.
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@JE
Of course if anyone knows about cover-up is Trump and his secret genius, Kushner. He is not concerned that JK was tortured, murdered and dismembered limb by limb. Trump already has given one or two cover-up story, "rouge killer".
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@JE
Credit where it's due... the man has a genius for being the worst.
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@JE That's not even it. He said his problem iwth this whole situation outright a few days ago.
"This one has caught the imagination of the world, unfortunately.”
He doesn't care about the murder, the dismemberment, or the cover-up. He ONLY cares about the fact that people are talking about this all over the world, which prevents him from being able to just completely ignore it.
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HE is raving about " worst cover-up ". About torture and Murder, not so much. The absolute King of Deplorables.
Seriously.
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Did you expect Trump to decry the disgusting deed of murdering a human being in cold blood? No, he's complianing about the follow up story to cover up this despicable act like a judge in a Talent show.
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What would Trump know about history?
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Took Trump a while to filter the evidence through his conspiracy addled head, of course. Not to mention the realization that his tribe was starting to believe the real news for once!
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What President Trump said: "the worst cover-up ever”
What a decent human would have said: "Unforgivable despicable barbaric contemptible deed"
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@MH
I agree....POTUS more concerned with how "it" was handled than the kidnapping, torture, and murder of a dissident journalist.
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Well if Trump thinks that it was the worst cover-up ever then it must be, because who knows more about cover-ups then the cover-up king himself.
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Trump is for well-conducted cover-up.
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Let’s see.
• So it’s no longer rouge killers.
• A miracle did not happen so the journalist is really dead this time, for realz. Which is bad stuff, bad.
• The cover up is the worst in history, the worst.
• The cover up is the crime, and Trump is very, very, very disappointed that MBS bungled up the cover up.
• Butchering an “enemy of the people” with a bone saw is OK, that’s why Trump, the coward that he is (bone spurs, fires his people by tweets) cannot directly say to MBS that he is a killer despite what the intelligence community says.
“We are the laughingstock of the world.
Everyone is laughing at us. Everyone.”
—Donald J. Trump
The 45th President of the United States
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Is it only me, who thinks that Trump thought, he would have covered it up better?
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@Two in Memphis It's not only you! It was his idea of the rogue agents.
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Of course this boor would say that.
When your horrific administration is an out-of-control dumpster fire 24/7/365 you can count on even the most egregious insults finding their way into the memory dustbin.
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Trump NEVER likes to be outdone so now we know he’s guilty because he’ll want to have the “worst coverup in history” at some point.
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"Bad deal," "somebody really messed up," person "should be in big trouble."
This is the President of the United States?
Sounds more like a preschooler at the playground when his milk spilled.
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We should all pay close attention to Trump and his thoughts on the Saudi coverup. Finally a subject where he has no equal in terms of expertise, that being coverups. Listen closely and learn the art of the coverup.
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Trump says the following:
“They had a very bad original concept, it was carried out poorly, and the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups"
“Very simple,” he continued, “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.”
“Whoever thought of that idea, I think, is in big trouble, and they should be in big trouble."
No mention of the criminality or heinousness of this act. To 45, it smells more like a failed business deal.
No matter how disgusted I am, I can't seem to keep up (paraphrasing Lily Tomlin.)
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Trump has done the right thing by calling out 5e saudis.. Every president in recent history has bowed down to them, literally or figuratively. Why we are still supporting their never-ending wars in Syria, Yemen and Libya (all started under the Obama administration) is a mystery.
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@cdisf His first trip abroad as POTUS was to Saudi Arabia and he did a sword dance with them. There are about 70 words in Arabic for sword. Swords are weapons. He did a dance about a weapon. Think about that.
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@cdisf
I am unclear how sending Mnuchin to Saudi Arabia, being forced to acknowledge the Saudis killed Kashoggi instead of "rogue" elements and begging to still be allowed to sell $100 billion in weapons to them constitutes "calling out" the Saudis.
This president admires the deed, just not the execution (no pun intended.)
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@cdisf Except he hasn't called out anyone. He has been telling the Saudis "Hey, I really don't care whether or not you murder journalists, but please try not to get caught next time."
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WRONG!
The worst cover up in history was Don Jr claiming the Trump Tower meeting with the Russians was about adoptions.
Then telling Hannity: This is it.
How many time has that story changed?
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If there is one thing Trump knows a lot about--it is the art of the cover up.
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Anyone else notice 45 didn't condemn the assassination, he just said it was poorly executed and covered up?
Donnie, your upbringing is showing......
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@peterI'm not trying to argue, but I disagree with your post and maybe understanding of this article;
The President also said way way down below the headline, according to the NY Times in this article;
“Very simple,” he continued, “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.”
My interpretation is that the President's main comments were not just about the cover-up, but also condemning the initial idea and execution (sorry, no pun intended) as well as the cover-up. That it should have never proceeded beyond an idea. But, the NY Times continues to edit articles and post headlines that promote a certain, can I say, agenda...
I am not a fan of our President. Not at all. I think he is dangerous and reckless. But, I'm also questioning many news sources today. (Including the NY Times). These news sources can be reckless and dangerous as well in what they want to promote.
Imagine this same article with the headline; Trump Says Khashoggi Killing "Should Never Have Been Thought Of" in The First Place
But, these type of headlines don't excite readers as much as what the NY Times seems to usually be using the past few years...
@john
Hi John- While I can appreciate your post and also not wishing to argue, many news sources have reported our current president as well as his administration's poor attempts, and in great detail, to walk back his/their prior 3 weeks of reckless and irresponsible attempts to discuss the topic of Saudi responsibility. (I left out the too often present "incoherent and mostly laughable" in their discussions).
My comment was less about the omission of the proposed suggestion of murder and more a statement of what a poor example of a human being he and they represent on an hourly basis.
I suspect there will be competition yet for “worst cover up in history”. Let’s see what Robert Mueller has to say.
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The Saudi cover-up is nothing compared to Trump's RUSSIA cover-up. Just wait for Mueller's revelations!
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So....Trump would’ve been fine with this if it had been carried out with more finesse? Really?!?
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But he didn't condemn the killing...
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