Biden administration facing criticism for giving Saudi prince a ‘pass’ for Khashoggi killing
Former State Dept. spokesperson Morgan Ortagus discusses the Biden administration’s response to the Saudi Arabia's role in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.
Journalist Matt Taibbi has taken The New York Times to task over its reaction to President Biden's lack of action against Saudi Arabia following the death of Washington Post writer Jamal Khashoggi, especially after the paper expressed outrage towards the similar response President Trump had when he was in office.
In a piece published on his Substack titled "The Sovietization of the American Press," Taibbi argued that the mainstream media has transformed itself from espousing "phony 'objectivity'" to openly embracing a "one-party orthodoxy."
"Coverage of Biden increasingly resembles official press releases, often featuring embarrassing, Soviet-style contortions," Taibbi wrote.
As an example, he cited the Times' recent coverage of the Biden administration's lack of punishment for Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom U.S. intelligence reports indicate ordered the 2018 murder of Khashoggi.
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"When Biden decided not to punish Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the murder of Washington Post writer Jamal Khashoggi on the grounds that the 'cost' of 'breaching the relationship with one of America’s key Arab allies' was too high, the New York Times headline read: 'Biden Won’t Penalize Saudi Crown Prince Over Khashoggi’s Killing, Fearing Relations Breach,'" Taibbi wrote.
"When Donald Trump made the same calculation, saying he couldn’t cut ties because 'the world is a very dangerous place' and 'our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,' the paper joined most of the rest of the press corps in howling in outrage."
Taibbi then cited a Times report with the headline, "In Extraordinary Statement, Trump Stands With Saudis Despite Khashoggi Killing," which called Trump's decision "a stark distillation of the Trump worldview: remorselessly transactional, heedless of the facts, determined to put America’s interests first, and founded on a theory of moral equivalence," and added that, "Even Mr. Trump’s staunchest allies on Capitol Hill expressed revulsion."
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"This week, in its 'Crusader for the Poor' piece, the Times described Biden’s identical bin Salman decision as mere evidence that he remains 'in the cautious middle' in his foreign policy," Taibbi contrasted the Times' coverage. "The paper previously had [Times correspondent] David Sanger dig up a quote from former Middle East negotiator Dennis Ross, who 'applauded Mr. Biden for ‘trying to thread the needle here ... This is the classic example of where you have to balance your values and your interests.’"
"It’s two opposite takes on exactly the same thing," Taibbi stressed.
The Times did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
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