Trump’s Corruption Business Officially Expands in Saudi Arabia

The Trump Organization on Wednesday announced a new project in Saudi Arabia: Trump Tower Jeddah.

Eric Trump announced the move in a post on X, writing, “Incredibly proud to officially launch a project that has been underway for many months, Trump Tower - Jeddah!” He thanked the project’s partner, Dar Global, a real estate developer headquartered in Dubai but under the umbrella of Dar Al Arkan, the largest developer in Saudi Arabia.

Trump added that the tower will be the company’s fifth project with Dar Global. The two companies have spent about $532 million on this residential apartment site, which is expected to be completed in four years. The Trump Organization relies a lot on Saudi Arabia, as the company’s real estate deals in the United States have fallen off since Donald Trump’s first presidential term ended amid a backlash over the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots.

The tower is a long-stalled project for the Trumps, as they had planned to build one of their signature towers in the Middle East before Donald Trump was elected president in 2016. After that, the Trump family pledged not to sign new international deals while he was president. But now, after being elected a second time, the elder Trump doesn’t seem to care about the appearance of a conflict of interest, raising questions of corruption.

The president-elect has a long business relationship with Saudi Arabia and claimed in a deposition that he could sell his properties to buyers in the country for any amount he wants. Trump has hosted Saudi-backed LIV Golf tournaments at his clubs, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s investment fund accepted $2 billion from Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund but has yet to turn a profit itself.

Kushner and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have spoken several times in the last four years, continuing a close relationship that began when Kushner advised his father-in-law on the Middle East during Trump’s first term.

At the moment, Kushner has not accepted a formal job in Trump’s new administration, but his business interests still don’t look good for the president-elect. Coupled with the Trump Organization’s Saudi deals, it seems that Trump isn’t worried about being accused of corruption, or being beholden to a foreign state.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a staunch critic of the U.S. health care system, offered a blunt assessment of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s assassination and the discourse that followed.

“The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the health care system,” Senator Warren said in an interview with HuffPost Tuesday. “Violence is never the answer, but people can be pushed only so far.

“This is a warning that if you push people hard enough, they lose faith in the ability of their government to make change,” Warren continued. “[They] lose faith in the ability of the people who are providing the health care to make change, and start to take matters into their own hands in ways that will ultimately be a threat to everyone.”

Luigi Mangione, 26, from Baltimore County, Maryland, was apprehended at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s on Monday for Thompson’s murder. Mangione’s motives seem motivated by personal trauma, as he suffered a significant back injury that he sought serious relief for. After his arrest, police reportedly found a notebook explaining Mangione’s rationale for the shooting, including a manifesto citing the exorbitant costs of health care in the United States.

Warren’s comments immediately drew criticism from some Democrats and Republicans, forcing her to clarify.

“Violence is never the answer. Period,” Warren told HuffPost. “I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.”

Senator Bernie Sanders, who also initially spoke with the publication, echoed Warren.

“I think what the outpouring of anger at the health care industry tells us is that millions of people understand that health care is a human right and that you cannot have people in the insurance industry rejecting needed health care for people while they make billions of dollars in profit,” he said.

Congress members might soon come face-to-face with one of their attackers.

Republican members of Congress have invited Russell Taylor, a January 6 protester who stormed the Capitol with a tactical vest and a knife strapped to his chest, to attend Trump’s second inauguration, Politico reported Wednesday.

Taylor pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six months’ home detention and three years’ probation in May for his role in ransacking the building. Ahead of the riot, Taylor organized a group of “fighters” to attend pro-Trump events, planning for chaos. Some of Taylor’s “fighters” included individuals who identified as Three Percenters, or people who subscribe to the Three Percent ideology, which the Southern Poverty Law Center identifies as an “antigovernment militia movement.”

At the time of Taylor’s sentencing, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said that he believed Taylor had testified truthfully and expressed sincere remorse, noting that the Californian could become a “poster child” for how January 6 cases “should be done.”

Chris Stewart, a former Republican representative from Utah, also asked that Taylor be allowed to attend the ceremony. “He is [a] caring father and reveres his family, his faith, and his love of our Country as his highest priority in life,” Stewart wrote in a letter to Lamberth. “I am honored to extend this invitation for him to attend the Inauguration as my guest.”

Stewart’s letter did not refer to Taylor’s actions on January 6 or their effect in delaying the certification of the 2020 presidential election results. It did, however, make mention of three other Utah lawmakers who are requesting Taylor’s presence at Trump’s inauguration, but did not specify which ones.

Donald Trump went on a wild social media tirade Wednesday after FBI Director Christopher Wray resigned from his position.

“The resignation of Christopher Wray is a great day for America as it will end the Weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I just don’t know what happened to him.”

What happened to Wray was actually really simple. Last week, Trump nominated Kash Patel, a sycophantic fascist eager to go after a list of the president-elect’s “deep state” enemies, to lead the FBI. Rather than be formally dismissed or chased out by the president-elect after he was sworn in, Wray—a Trump appointee who was slated to hold the position for three more years—resigned Wednesday.

“We will now restore the Rule of Law for all Americans. Under the leadership of Christopher Wray, the FBI illegally raided my home, without cause, worked diligently on illegally impeaching and indicting me, and has done everything else to interfere with the success and future of America.” Trump wrote. “They have used their vast powers to threaten and destroy many innocent Americans, some of which will never be able to recover from what has been done to them.”

Trump was referring to the 2022 FBI raid of his residence at Mar-a-Lago, which was part of the investigation and eventual indictment into his alleged mishandling of classified documents. Judge Aileen Cannon tossed out the 42 felony charges against the president-elect in July, ruling that special counsel Jack Smith’s appointment to the case was unconstitutional, a decision criticized by legal scholars as unprecedented.

Trump continued, “Kash Patel is the most qualified Nominee to lead the FBI in the Agency’s History, and is committed to helping ensure that Law, Order, and Justice will be brought back to our Country again, and soon. As everyone knows, I have great respect for the rank-and-file of the FBI, and they have great respect for me. They want to see these changes every bit as much as I do but, more importantly, the American People are demanding a strong, but fair, System of Justice. We want our FBI back, and that will now happen. I look forward to Kash Patel’s confirmation, so that the process of Making the FBI Great Again can begin. Thank you!”

Wray announced his decision to step down Wednesday, telling his FBI employees that resigning was “the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work.” He will leave his position once Trump takes office in January.

Senator Kyrsten Sinema briefly showed up for work Wednesday to tank a Democratic nominee to the National Labor Relations Board, using her last days in office to hurt workers’ rights before Donald Trump is sworn in as president.

Sinema was joined by fellow departing Democrat turned independent Senator Joe Manchin in voting against Democrat Lauren McFerran’s appointment to a third term as chair of the board, resulting in a 49–50 vote. Two of the NLRB’s five members are Republicans, and two are Democrats, and its chairperson is chosen by the sitting president and breaks partisan ties.

If McFerran was confirmed, a Democratic board would have been in place until late 2026, able to uphold the NLRB’s mission of protecting the right to form a union and enforcing labor law. The appointment would have also allowed for more pro-worker decisions and policies, and protected against right-wing attacks on unions and labor rights.

Sinema’s vote came out of nowhere, as she had missed every single Senate vote in the past week through Tuesday, suggesting she had specific ideas about this appointment. Manchin told reporters after the vote that he opposed McFerran’s nomination because she supports the “joint-employer rule,” which states that an entity can be considered a “joint-employer” of another company’s employees if it has or influences control over the employees’ wages, hours, and working conditions, even if it is not the main employer.

“This is not a surprise to anyone,” Manchin said. Both Manchin and Sinema have a history of opposing pro-labor and pro-worker bills, from the Build Back Better Act to raising the minimum wage. Now, in their last month in office, they’ve paved the way for the right wing under Trump to gut labor protections with a compliant NLRB.

“It is deeply disappointing, a direct attack on working people, and incredibly troubling that this highly qualified nominee—with a proven track record of protecting worker rights—did not have the votes,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.