Now we know the real motive behind Donald Trump’s attacks on Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) have nothing to do with a 2020 campaign strategy or to solidify the GOP base in anticipation of next year’s election.
Instead, it’s clear that the president is terrified. And based on a report issued by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform that Cummings chairs, Trump has every reason to be worried about what comes next for him.
The report in question suggests that top Trump administration officials, as well as the president himself, were actively working behind the scenes to help Saudi Arabia in exchange for payoffs from business interests in the kingdom, Vanity Fair reports:
“A new House Oversight Committee report revealed the extent to which a private company and the Trump allies associated with it were able to use the administration to further their own financial interests in Riyadh. The new House report centers on how IP3, a private company described by one nuclear industry exec as ‘the Theranos of the nuclear industry,’ has been attempting to circumvent the obstacles stopping them from transferring U.S. nuclear technology to the Saudis—with the Trump team’s help. ‘With regard to Saudi Arabia, the Trump Administration has virtually obliterated the lines normally separating government policymaking from corporate and foreign interests,’ the House report alleges. “The documents show the Administration’s willingness to let private parties with close ties to the President wield outsized influence over U.S. policy towards Saudi Arabia.”
Remember how Trump downplayed the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi-born journalist who worked for the Washington Post, even though U.S. intelligence confirmed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the assassination? It would seem that the president did so because he knew people around him (and even the Trump Organization) stood to benefit financially if the Saudis were kept happy.
In a statement issued with the report, Rep. Cummings wrote:
“Today’s report reveals new and extensive evidence that corroborates Committee whistleblowers and exposes how corporate and foreign interests are using their unique access to advocate for the transfer of U.S. nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia. The American people deserve to know the facts about whether the White House is willing to place the potential profits of the President’s personal friends above the national security of the American people and the universal objective of preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.”
These connections between the White House and Saudi Arabia are just the latest evidence that this administration is out of control and that the president and his top advisers are only interested in enriching themselves, even at the expense of U.S. national security.
Congress doesn’t need to look any further for evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors by this president. It has more than enough to begin impeachment. It’s time to take the next step and hold this criminal accountable.