Page 185 - Mbs News Today

Going to be key today to see as the president, does he normalize the relationship with the saudis or does it mark a new chapter for the saudi arabian crown prince on the world stage. >> isnt that horse out of the barn? hasnt he normalized it by his actions by going out publicly and taking the side of the crown prince? so whatever he does down there today, whether he shakes his hand or turns his back to him, saudi arabia has to be pleased with the way they have approached this. >> i think youre r...

Down, have a couple sideline meetings and get out of town. no such luck. >> three mine fields, the russian one, the saudi one with mbs, the crown prince trying to make believe that everything is normal, and what might ultimately and economic and policy terms be the most consequential, the meeting between president trump and xi jinping. >> well get into all that in a moment. but first, in federal court, michael cohen, former executive vice president of the trump organization and the personal at...

Political analyst eugene robinson and times reporter richard schmidt. as we look in that large room where the president will sit in just a moment, what are you looking for in the next couple of days? obviously in the background is the news of michael cohen and another plea deal providing new information to the special counsels office about the activities of the trump campaign in 2016. what do you view as you sit here? >> nafta is not the centerpiece. i want to look at how the world sees and shak...

What happened to ka khashoggiing -- khashoggi was a horrible crime. there will be a punishment. i think they would have understood it but nobody did that. >> there was a weird hand shake between mbs and putin. the first thing that jumps to my mind, what do they have in common? they both had people killed in the last six months. but as a producer pointed out right before we got on, it was like, huh, i guess mbs doesnt care that americas number one backer around the world is vladimir putin. >> i s...

Did we know that the two of them were so chummy? >> well, they probably didnt know each other that they were so chummy. mohammed bin salman who looked like the aggressor there because he wants to get a bro handshake with putin was kind of forcing the issue, but it is as geoff said, its sort of like the pariahs corner, and mbs as hes known is trying to look for some kind of verification on the world stage that hes not a murderer. >> michael cohen, that development, how much do we surprise it is w...

Going to circle around the crown prince because we have this big strategic interest in continuing our strong relationship with saudi arabia. and i think this got all muddled up. as i said, i dont think listening to it was the issue. i think they mishandled the murder with the larger strategy in saudi arabia and got it wrong. they were accusing people who disagreed with him as somehow loving obama. i didnt understand any of that. >> can i just add to that? i totally agree with that. this is not a...

The dm domestic politics matters. again, this is not a smart strategic play. >> he will have a choice to shun mbs or shun putin. we know putin and mbs are meeting on their own. the optics are limitless. >> what he is saying, if you are my friend, as a foreign leader, if you murder a journalist or seize ukrainian ships, ukraine is our ally. ill give you a pass. that is what upsets lindsey graham. he is sending a message to the word lawlessness is fine. you can do whatever you want if you are my p...

Tonight, the senate defies president trump, voting overwhelmingly against white house policy on saudi arabia. the vote was 63-37 and it was to yank american support for saudi forces in yemen. the reason? bipartisan anger at president trump for backing saudi arabia and not his own cia assessment about the crown princes involvement in the murder of jamal khashoggi. heres senator lindsey graham, the republican, on why he joined 14 other senators in flipping their votes on saudi arabia against the p...

Better understand the role that mbs played in the killing of khashoggi. >> secretary of state mike pompeo and secretary of defense james mattis toed the line on the importance of the saudi and u.s. relationship. they noted there is no direct evidence that mohammed bin salman ordered the brutal murder. >> we have no smoking gun that the crown prince was involved. not the intelligence community. no smoking gun. we have not changed that accountability for the murder is our expectation of everyone i...

Capitol hill back firing on wednesday. white house was hoping to stop a resolution to end u.s. support for the saudi-led war against the houthis in yemen. instead, it sparked a backlash. senators furious over the preventing gina haspel from attending the meeting. >> i changed my mind because im pissed. the way they handled the saudi arabia thing is unacceptable. the briefing did not help me at all. better understand the role that mbs played in the killing of khashoggi. >> secretary of state mike...