U.S. announces sanctions for Saudis involved in Khashoggi murder, except Crown Prince; Senate ruling: $15 minimum wage can’t be included in bill; WH faces backlash from Dems after Biden ordered Syria strikes without Congressional approval; CPAC’s conservative stars continue to idolize Trump; Supreme Court considers case of Army reserve vet who says military “burn pit” in Iraq made him sick;
The Lead with Jake Tapper
CNN
3.5 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 26 February 2021
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
U.S. Intel Report: Saudi Crown Prince approved operation to kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi; U.S. Intel Report: Saudi crown price viewed Khashoggi as a threat and supported using violence to silence him; U.S. publicly asserts Saudi Crown Prince ordered Khashoggi murder, but imposes no penalties to him; Tonight: House votes on Biden’s $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill; Senate ruling on minimum wage hike provokes progressive anger; Several GOP lawmakers claim they can’t attend votes due to “public health emergency;” They’re scheduled to be at CPAC; Soon: FDA cmte to vote on Johnson & Johnson vaccine, could be in arms as soon as next week if approved; U.S. carries out air strikes in Syria targeting Iranian backed militias; First military action of Biden presidency; Soon: Biden to speak as Texas recovers from power & water crisis; Biden visits emergency crews & volunteers in Texas after winter storm left millions without power, water; Trump plans to resurrect false claims in CPAC speech; GOP Presidential hopefuls overshadowed by Trump; McConnell would “absolutely” support Trump as 2024 nominee; CPAC spotlight on cancel culture, religious freedom, the big lie, and downplaying insurrection; Comedian Jon Stewart: U.S. has endless funds to wage war, but no funds for the consequences; Remembering 65-year-old Richard Garrett;
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | And welcome to the lead on Jake Tapper. We begin with breaking news in the world lead |
| 0:08.8 | this afternoon. The Biden administration released a long-awaited intelligence report |
| 0:13.4 | on the grizzly 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, confirming |
| 0:19.1 | the U.S. assessment that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman or MBS personally |
| 0:25.9 | approve the Saudi operation to capture or kill Khashoggi, who was a critic of the Saudi |
| 0:30.4 | royal family. The report from the director of national intelligence asserted that its |
| 0:34.7 | quote, highly unlikely that such an operation could have been carried out without the Crown |
| 0:39.8 | Prince's authorization. The release of the report represents a shift from former President |
| 0:44.5 | Trump, who as you may recall, refused to fully accept or even acknowledge the assessment, |
| 0:49.3 | which had been leaked to journalists, the assessment that the Crown Prince ordered the |
| 0:52.6 | assassination, which involved use of a bone saw. In fact, Trump was quoted in Bob Woodward's |
| 0:57.5 | book, Rage Bragging about protecting the Crown Prince from U.S. outrage over the killing, |
| 1:03.0 | saying, quote, I saved his ass, unquote. The Biden administration has said the president |
| 1:08.6 | will recalibrate the relationship with the U.S. ally. This afternoon, the administration |
| 1:13.7 | said it is banning 76 Saudi individuals from visiting the U.S. and sanctioning those |
| 1:19.1 | involved in the Khashoggi murder, including the Crown Prince's rapid intervention force, |
| 1:25.1 | except notably, President Biden is imposing no restrictions and no sanctions against Crown |
| 1:33.9 | Prince MBS himself, even though MBS is the man that the Biden administration says ordered |
| 1:42.0 | this murder of a Washington Post journalist. MBS will not be punished, the Biden administration |
| 1:48.1 | says, which prompts this uncomfortable question is the only difference between Trump bragging |
| 1:54.9 | about saving MBS's ass and Biden, acting as if he has no choice but to save MBS's ass, |
| 2:04.8 | is the only difference the words surrounding the decision? Either way, the ass of the man |
... |
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