HOUSE WILL DO SOMETHING SITUATION
SITUATION SIGNIFICANT.
SIGNIFICANT. >> SENATOR MARCO RUBIO, THANK
YOU FOR COMING IN.
>>> JOINING ME NOW FORMER
DIRECTOR OF THE CIA JOHN
BRENNAN, A ONE-TIME STAKES CHIEF
IN SAUDI ARABIA.
WELCOME BACK.
WELCOME BACK. >> GOOD MORNING, CHUCK.
>> IT SEEMS AS IF IN THE EARLY
PARTS OF THE OBAMA
ADMINISTRATION
ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATION, IF THERE WAS A
PROBLEM BETWEEN THE OBAMA
ADMINISTRATION AND SAUDI ARABIA,
YOU WERE THE ONE SENT TO TRY TO
MEDIATE THE SITUATION.
SO LET ME ASK YOU THIS, WHAT IS
THE YCIA DOING -- WHAT WOULD YOU
DO DOING RIGHT NOW TRYING TO
FIGURE OUT THIS MYSTERY?
>> WORKING WITH OUR LONGSTANDING
PARTNERS, THE TURKISH
INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS AS WELL AS
SAUDI INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS AND
OTHERS, TO SEE WHAT INFORMATION
THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO SHARE WITH
US, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT WHAT
OTHER TYPES OF COLLECTION
CAPABILITIES WE HAVE AND GOING
BACK INTO SYSTEMS AND DATABASES
AND SEEING IF THERE ARE ANY
INDICATIONS OF WHAT MAY HAVE
HAPPENED WHEN JAMAL KHASHAGGI
WENT TO THE SAUDI CONSULATE.
>> WE HAVE TIGHT INTELLIGENCE
SHARING WITH THE SAUDIS, DO WE
NOT?
NOT? >> YES.
>> YES. >> HOW LIKELY IS IT THAT WE
WOULD HAVE A HINT THAT THEY HAD
SOME ISSUE WITH KHASHOGGI, THAT
THEY WERE GOING ARREST HIM,
DETAIN HIM?
DETAIN HIM? >> I THINK IT WAS PRETTY OPEN
THAT THE SAUDI GOVERNMENT HAD
ISSUES WITH JAMAL KHASHAGGI
BECAUSE OF HIS WRITINGS.
I WOULDN’T BE SURPRISED IF U.S.
DIPLOMATS, INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS
WERE MINDFUL ABOUT THE POTENTIAL
FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN TO JAMAL
KHASHAGGI.
KHASHAGGI. >> IF YOU HAVE THIS INFORMATION,
YOU KNOW THE SAUDI GOVERNMENT
MIGHT GETTING AAGGRESSIVE WITH Y
WAS A U.S. RESIDENT, BUT A SAUDI
CITIZEN.
CITIZEN. DO WE HAVE A DUTY TO WARN HIM?
>> IF THERE’S CREDIBLE
INTELLIGENCE THAT SOMEBODY IS
UNDER THREAT OF VIOLENT ATTACK,
NAH WOULD TRIGGER A PROCESS TO
DECIDE ABOUT THE ABILITY TO WARN
THAT INDIVIDUAL.
THAT INDIVIDUAL. I DON’T KNOW WHAT TYPE OF
INTELLIGENCE WE HAD BEFORE HIS
DISAPPEARANCE.
DISAPPEARANCE. BUT IT WAS ARREST OR DETENTION
OR CAPTURE OF JAMAL KHASHAGGI,
HE IS A SAUDI CITIZEN, EVEN
THOUGH HE’S AN AMERICAN
RESIDENT.
RESIDENT. SO I AM UNCLEAR EXACTLY WHETHER
OR NOT THAT THRESHOLD FOR DUTY
TO WARN WAS TRIGGERED.
IT WOULD HAVE TO HAVE SOME TYPE
OF THREAT OF VIOLENCE ASSOCIATED
WITH IT.
WITH IT. >> I’M CURIOUS.
THE RELEASE OF PASTOR BRUNSON BY
THE TURKS.
THE TURKS. THE PRESIDENT SAID THERE WAS NO
CONNECTION.
CONNECTION. ANY CONNECTION HERE?
COULD IT BE THIS IS THE TURK’S
WAY OF TRYING TO GET ON THE U.S.
SIDE BECAUSE THEY WANT THE
UNITED STATES TO BELIEVE THEIR
VERSION OF EVENTS HERE.
>> I THINK ONE CAN MAKE THE
ARGUMENT THAT THE TURKS ARE
TRYING TO IMPROVE RELATIONS WITH
THE UNITED STATES, NOT JUST FOR
THIS ISSUE, BUT ALSO MORE
BROADLY, PARTICULARLY ON THE
ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL FRONT.
THE COINCIDENCE OF THE TWO IN
TERMS OF KHASHOGGI’S
DISAPPEARANCE AND BRUNSON’S
RELEASE IS INTERESTING.
I DON’T KNOW WHAT IT WAS THAT
MIGHT HAVE BEEN BROKERED BETWEEN
ANKARA AND WASHINGTON.
>> THERE’S A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO
SEEM TO BE PRETTY CONFIDENT THAT
THIS WAS LIKELY AN ORDER FROM
MDS AND THE GOVERNMENT IN SAUDI
ARABIA.
ARABIA. WHERE ARE YOU ON THAT?
>> TWO POINTS.
IF HE HAD DISAPPEARED IN TURKEY
WHEN AT A HOTEL OR PUBLIC
RESIDENCE, I THINK THERE’S
PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY, BUT HE
DISAPPEARED WHEN THERE’S VIDEO
EVIDENCE OF HIM BEING AT THE
SAUDI CONSULATE, A DIPLOMATIC
MISSION UNDER THE FULL CONTROL
OF SAUDI ARABIA.
THEIR DENIALS VERY MUCH RING
HOLLOW.
HOLLOW. TO GO AFTER A PERMANENT RESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES WHO WRITES
FOR "THE WASHINGTON POST" AND
DOING IT ON FOREIGN SOIL AT A
DIPLOMATIC MISSION, TO ME IT
WOULD BE INCONCEIVABLE THAT SUCH
AN OPERATION WOULD BE RUN BY THE
SAUDIS WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF
THE DAY-TO-DAY DECISION MAKER OF
SAUDI ARABIA, CROWN PRINCE
MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN.
I THINK IT’S UP TO THE SAUDIS
NOW TO EXPLAIN WHAT ACTUALLY
HAPPENED.
HAPPENED. >> WOULD IT MATTER IF THEIR
EXPLANATION IS THIS WAS AN
RENDITION GONE WRONG, WE DIDN’T,
QUOTE, MEAN TO KILL HIM?
>> I THINK THERE HAS TO BE A
FULL ACCOUNTING OF IT.
THERE HAVE BEEN CALLS FOR
INVESTIGATIONS.
INVESTIGATIONS. KING SALMAN’S FATHER HAS HAD A
LONG-STANDING REPUTATION OF
BEING FAIR, PIOUS, BUT ALSO
MEETING OUT JUSTICE TO MEMBERS
OF THE ROYAL FAMILY.
THERE HAVE BEEN PRINCES IN THE
PAST WHO HAVE BEEN HELD TO
ACCOUNT FOR TRANSGRESSIONS OF
THE LAW, INCLUDING EXECUTIONS.
IT’S GOING TO BE UP TO KING
SALMAN, IF HE HAS THE MENTAL
CAPACITY AND POLITICAL
STRENGTH --
STRENGTH -- >> YOU SAID IF.
YOU DON’T THINK THE KING HAS
MENTAL CAPACITY RIGHT NOW?
>> WELL, HE IS AGING, AND THERE
ARE INDICATIONS THAT HE HAS
FAILED A BIT.
WHETHER OR NOT NOW HE’S ABLE TO
MUSTER THE STRENGTH AND THE
CAPACITY TO FIND OUT WHAT
HAPPENED, INCLUDING THE ROLE OF
HIS SON --
>> THE ISSUE WITH SAUDI ARABIA,
IT SEEMS IT’S ALWAYS BEEN A
TRANSACTIONAL RELATIONSHIP, NO
MATTER WHICH PARTY HAS BEEN IN
THE WHITE HOUSE.
ISN’T IT UNDERSTANDABLE THAT
SAUDI ARABIA ALWAYS THINKS AT
THE END OF THE DAY THE U.S.
NEEDS THEM MORE AND WILL
OVERLOOK THESE THINGS.
IS THAT WHAT MBS WAS POSSIBLY
GAMBLING ON?
GAMBLING ON? >> THE STRENGTH OF THE
U.S.-SAUDI RELATIONSHIP GOES
BACK MANY YEARS.
I THINK MBS HAS BEEN ’EM BOLD
END.
END. HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE WHITE
HOUSE, WITH DONALD TRUMP AS WELL
AS WITH JARED KUSHNER I THINK
PROBABLY GAVE HIM INCREASED
CONFIDENCE TO DO SOME OF THESE
THINGS IN A MORE AGGRESSIVE WAY.
LOOK WHAT’S HAPPENED IN YEMEN
AND THAT AWFUL, AWFUL TRAGIC
WAR.
WAR. I ALSO THINK DONALD TRUMP’S
SIDING UP TO AUTHORITARIAN
LEADERS AROUND THE GLOBE, DONALD
TRUMP’S CONDEMNATION OF THE
PRESS THAT’S CRITICAL, HIS
CONTINUED DISHONESTY AND DENIAL
OF REALITY, I THINK THAT’S
ENCOURAGED MBS TO GO ALONG THIS
ROAD.
ROAD. >> WOULD YOU PUT MBS IN THE SAME
COLUMN AS PUTIN.
>> CLEARLY IN THE AUTHORITARIAN