President Joe Biden found himself on the receiving end of extreme criticism coming from CNN anchor Jake Tapper this past Sunday in which the anchor put the president on blast for letting Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman officially cry claim immunity regarding the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist for The Washington Post.
Tapper put the capstone on the Sunday edition of his “State of the Union” broadcast by issuing a monologue speaking out about the fact that officials within the Biden administration had declared — under international law — that the crown prince has total immunity for the murder from 2018, which Biden claimed was directly ordered by the prince himself.
WATCH:
A Biden administration court filing states the office held by Saudi Arabia's crown prince shields him from a lawsuit filed by the fiancée of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi. CNN's @jaketapper questions President Biden's previous pledge to address the killing. @CNNSotu #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/cPHygn6ZZc
— CNN (@CNN) November 20, 2022
“A few weeks ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that MBS ‘mocks President Biden in private, making fun of the 79-year-old’s gaffes and questioning his mental acuity,’ according to people inside the Saudi government. Nothing gets leaked by the Saudi government to The Wall Street Journal without MBS signing off on it, President Biden,” stated Tapper to kick off his monologue.
“What are you — what are we — getting in exchange for letting this thug get away with murder, Mr. President?” questioned the anchor. “Other than the stink of complicity?”
Fred Ryan, a publisher with The Washington Post, heavily criticized the president when the news was first made public, accusing the president of, in essence, giving the prince a full-scale “license to kill” in a highly critical statement put out on Friday.
New statement from Washington Post Publisher Fred Ryan pic.twitter.com/D0Cbt6Cpg2
— Washington Post PR (@WashPostPR) November 18, 2022
“In granting legal immunity to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, President Biden is failing to uphold America’s most cherished values. He is granting a license to kill to one of the world’s most egregious human-rights abusers who is responsible for the cold-blooded murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist,” stated Ryan.
Ryan continued on to note that King Salman had declared his son — the crown prince — the nation’s prime minister in a bid to utilize international law to block the prince from the consequences of his actions.
“By going along with this scheme, President Biden is turning his back on fundamental principles of press freedom and equality. The American people – and those wronged by MBS in Saudi Arabia and around the world – deserve better,” he finished.
As reported by a filing from the Justice Department in reference to a lawsuit put forth by Khashoggi’s fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, “Mohammed bin Salman, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is the sitting head of government and, accordingly, is immune from this suit.”
