In the wake of the scandal of the pre-planned murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, chose to skip Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s long-planned business conference, but Mnuchin went to see MbS anyway.
Associate solitary reporter Larry Thompson attended their meeting, and this is what he just reported to us on their conversation.
“I’m very angry about how the US press — which your boss is unsuccessfully trying to control — is so preoccupied about what happened when one of my biggeest political enemies found himself on the wrong end of a fist fight in my consulate in Istanbul,” MbS began.
Mnuchin remained silent.
“So unless that stops, I will find it very easy to send my oil to my Arab brothers in Syria, rather than to Mr. Trump.”
Mnuchin, never trained in foreign policy, remained mute.
“You Americans crave my oil," MbS continued, “so what are you going to do when you don’t have our oil, which Allah provided us with because our religion is the only true faith?”
Mnuchin put his briefing papers in his briefcase and left the royal palace.