Trump for the defense: A US president alibis for his Saudi ally
Two weeks into the investigation of a murder most foul of Saudi-born, America-residing journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Donald Trump can’t make up his mind whether he’s president of the United States — or defense attorney for a complicit Saudi regime with hands now stained with blood.
The story, according to Turkish officials and powerful emerging evidence: Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist and frequent critic of the plutocratic kingdom, entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. A 15-person squad — nearly all linked to Saudi security forces, and many directly tied to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — set on him immediately and slaughtered him within minutes, followed by a two-hour attempted clean up.
This is not speculation; Turkish officials have shared grueling audio of Khashoggi being tortured and killed, evidence that eviscerates Saudi attempts to sidestep responsibility.
Trump is incurious. Just as he has excused meddling and barbarity by Vladimir Putin and others, he is bending over backward to run interference for a brutal regime, to the predictable point of throwing utterly unsubstantiated theories against the wall.
When asked if the Saudis had told him whether Khashoggi was dead or alive, Riyadh-dispatched Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “I don’t want to talk about any of the facts.”
We do. We must. The world must learn whether a regime Americans support with our arms and diplomacy, a regime responsible for unspeakable crimes in Yemen, has murdered a journalist and covered it up.
America should lead that inquest, not get begrudgingly dragged into the light.
— New York Daily News
Help the heroes
When the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund — which aids the victims and heroes who suffered the toxic effects of the World Trade Center’s destruction — passed Congress in 2010, it had the backing of every House member from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Same when the VCF was renewed in 2015.
With the VCF due to close in two years even as the number of sick grows, it must be made permanent. We trust that New Yorkers Lee Zeldin, John Faso, Elise Stefanik, John Katko and Chris Collins will get on board. Ditto for Jerseyites Frank LoBiondo and Rodney Frelinghuysen and Connecticut’s John Larson, Joe Courtney and Jim Himes.
It is, plainly, the right thing to do.
— New York Daily News