Murder Mayhem, Oil and Gas

Oil is trying to make a comeback against a backdrop of murder, and mayhem, not to mention some winter weather thrown in. While the oil rally Friday was slowed by a report that  Iraq had restarted exports of Kirkuk oil, halted a year ago due to a standoff between the central government and Kurdistan’s semi-autonomous region. Fears that the Kurds would see independence caused a shutdown of oil exports to Turkey. Yet, the new government in Baghdad agreed on a tentative deal with Erbil to get the oil flowing.

As difficult of a position that might have been from a political viewpoint, it is not any more difficult than the evidence that is coming about the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. The Washington Post reported that the CIA has concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul last month, contradicting the Saudi government’s claims that he was not involved in the killing, according to people familiar with the matter.

Fox News Sunday reported that President Trump told Fox News’ Chris Wallace that there was “no reason” for him to hear a tape recording purported to be of the murder of Saudi activist Jamal Khashoggi inside the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate last month. “We have the tape, I don’t want to hear the tape, no reason for me to hear the tape.” When Mr. Wallace asked why he did not want to hear the recording, Trump said: “Because it’s a suffering tape, it’s a terrible tape. I’ve been fully briefed on it. There’s no reason for me to hear it” The president added that he knew “everything that went on in the tape without having to hear it” before calling Khashoggi’s death “very violent, very vicious and terrible.”

Fox News says that the interview was broadcast one day after Trump vowed that his administration would “be having a very full report over the next two days, probably Monday or Tuesday.” It was unclear whether the document would be made public.