12/09/22 12/09/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! pres. biden: she is safe. she is on a plane. she is on her way home. brittney will soon be back in the arms of her loved one and shshould have been there all along. amy: wnba star brittney griner has landed back in the united states after nearly 10 months

jailed in russia. she was freed in a dramatic prisoner swap in exchange for viktor bout, a convicted russian arms dealer. we will speak to sportswriter zirin. then an arm trafficking investigator who tracked viktor viktor bout for years. we will look at the assassination of jamal khashoggi. the u.s. federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit because the saudi brown krantz -- saudi prince. >> there was the obligation from the biden administration. they could have remained mum on the matter. it was too difficult for them to weigh in but they chose not to do that. they chose to voluntarily respond to suggest immunity for mohammed bin salman. amy: we will speak with sarah leah whitson.

her group was a coplaintiff with jamal khashoggi's fiancé in the lawsuit. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. wnba star brittney griner landed in san antonio, texas, early this morning after her release thursday from a russian prison in exchange for notorious russian arms dealer viktor bout. the prisoner swap ends griner's 10-month ordeal, which started with her arrest at a moscow airport for possessing a small amount of cannabis oil. she had been sentenced to nine years in a russian labor camp. president biden and vice president, harris celebrated the news at the white house with brittney griner's wife cherelle. >> to say my family is hold, but as you are aware, there so many other families who are not whole and so bg is not here to say this but i will gladly speak on

her behalf and say that bg and i will remain committed to the work of getting every american home. amy: we will have more on this case, including a look at arms dealer viktor bout, known as the "merchant of death," after headlines. the house of representatives passed the respect for marriage act thursday in a 258-169 vote which entrance federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriage. the bill now heads to president biden's desk for his signature. while the law would not prevent states from banning same-sex marriage if the conservative-led supreme court overturns obergefell v. hodges, it would force those states to recognize marriages from another state. this is democrat pramila jayapal speaking thursday from the house floor. >> as the mother of an incredible trans daughter, i am here to fight for her rights and those of all lgbtq people who

for too long have been denie the digni and the respect that they deserve. and as someone who is myself in and interracl marriage, it is far past time to codify those rights. amy: 39 house -- 39 republican congress members joined with democrats in a supporting same-sex marriage. arizona senator kyrsten sinema says she is leaving the democratic party and has registered as an independent. her announcement comes just days after democrats clinched a 51-seat majority in the senate with georgia senator raphael warnock's run-off victory. sinema spoke to cnn's jake tapper thursday. >> both parties have kind of requirement or pull toward the edges, unthinkingly support all of one party's viewpoints. it has made it difficult to find folks who are willing to work together and solve problems. amy: senator sinema did not say whether she would continue to caucus with democrats as an independent, but said she

expects to keep her committee assignments, making that scenario appear likely. sinema, who started out with the green party, has gradually shifted further to the right. she was elected to the senate in 2018, and along with west virginia conservative democrat senator joe manchin, has blocked the democratic party from passing essential legislation, including the $3.5 trillion build back better act, tackling climate change and infrastructure. sinema also voted against changing filibuster rules to pass key voting rights legislation. a former conservative christian lobbyist testified before a house judiciary committee panel thursday, detailing how the far-right group faith & action systematically lobbied conservative supreme court justices, leading to the alleged 2014 leak by justice samuel alito of the landmark hobby lobby ruling before it was announced. the court ruled in favor of the craft store chain, which argued it could deny covering the cost of birth control to workers,

citing religious freedom. this is reverend robert schenck. >> operation higher court involved my recruitment of wealthy donors, stealth missionaries who befriended justices that shared our conservative social and religious sensibilities. throughout this ordeal, i have had to look deeply at what my cohorts and i did at the supreme court. i believe we pushed the boundaries of christian ethics and compromised the high courts promise to administer equal justice. amy: the house hearing came after schenck told "the new york times" last month that a wealthy conservative donor informed him about the court's yet-to-be-published decision after she and her husband had dinner with alito and his wife. alito has denied the claims. the house of representatives has voted overwhelmingly in favor of an $858 billion military spending bill. just 45 democrats and 35 republicans voted against the 2023 national defense

authorization act. among them was outgoing new york democratic congressmember mondaire jones, who wrote after the vote -- "while working families are being crushed by inflation, we shouldn't be spending $45 billion more than the president requested in the ndaa. certainly not on top of an already bloated $800+ billion dollar pentagon budget full of lobbyist giveaways." meanwhile, president biden warned thursday the u.s. will face disastrous consequences if lawmakers fail to pass a sweeping spending package by a december 16 deadline in order to avoid a government shutdown. a new report finds iranian security forces are targeting women protesters with shotgun fire to their faces, breasts, and genitals. "the guardian" spoke to doctors and nurses who've treated protesrs in secrecy to avoid arrest and who said women more -- frequently arrived with these wounds on their bodies. security forces have also been accused of firing shots into

protesters' eyes, blinding hundreds of women, men, and children who've participated in the mass protests. in qatar, a migrant worker from the philippines has died after a workplace accident at the training site for the saudi national soccer team. the death, reported on wednesday, came as qatar's government faces allegations of gross human and labor rights abuses at work sites associated with the world cup. on thursday, the chief executive of the qatar world cup nasser al-khater was asked by a reuters reporter about the latest death of a migrant worker. >> we are in the middle of a world cup and we had a successful world cup and this is something you want to talk about right now? death is a natural part of life, whether it is at work, whether it is your sleep. amy: in a statement, amnesty international condemned those remarks, adding that qatari authorities "continue to simply write off vast numbers of deaths as being due to 'natural cause''

despite the clear health risks associated with working in extreme temperatures." meanwhile, the family of an imprisoned whistleblower says he's been held in solitary confinement and tortured in a qatari prison during the opening weeks of the world cup. abdullah ibhais was serving as the deputy communications director for qatar's supreme committee, which organized the world cup, when he was arrested and accused of bribery in november 2021. he was sentenced to five years in prison on what his family says are trumped-up charges after he interviewed migrant workers who'd gone on strike over months of unpaid wages, including workers building stadiums for the games. this week, ibhais' family said in an en letter that he was subjected to torture after he contributed footage to the itv documentary "qatar: state of fear." this is james lynch, co-director of human rights group fairsquare, reading from the family's letter. >> abdo spent four of those days

incomplete darkness, solitary confinement after being physically assaulted by prison guards. he was in a cell with a hole in the ground for the bathroom and temperatures near freezing is the central air-conditioning was used as a torture device. amy: abdullah ibhais' family also blasted the fifa soccer federation, calling it complicit in abdullah's imprisonment. in honduras, human rights defenders warn of possible violations after the government of president xiomara castro enacted a state of exception, suspending some constitutional righ in honduras' two largest cities, the capital tegucigalpa and san pedro sula. the move is part of a massive crackdown on gangs and crime. thousands of police have been deployed to the streets in both cities to target people suspected of being involved in criminal activity with arbitrary arrests and searches. the measure is scheduled to be in place for one month, but honduran lawmakers have the power to extend it. a similar decree was imposed in

neighboring el salvador in march. meanwhile, a new report by human rights watch is condemning the ongoing abuses under el salvador's state of exception, enacted nearly one year ago by president nayib bukele to address gang violence. security forces are accused of mass arbitrary arrests and detentions, forced disappearances, and torture. salvadoran authorities have targeted low income neighborhoods with indiscriminate raids, arresting over 58,000 people, including more than 1600 children. at least 90 people have died in policeustody sce the state of exception began in march. this is juanita goebertus, americas director at human rights watch. >> we are convinced security policy is need to dismantle the gangs, but a policy based on the violation of human rights is not sustainable. policy that simply concentrates on sending marginalized without even the possibility of defending themselves and having their cases heard by a judge is not sustainable.

amy: here in new york, dozens of students at the new school have announced an indefinite occupation of one of the university's buildings in solidarity with some part-time 1500 faculty members who've been on strike since mid-november. they're demanding the university provide affordable and reliable health insurance, higher wages to match skyrocketing inflation, job security, and protections against discrimination and harassment. this week the new school said it had stopped paying wages and health care premiums to the part-time staff on the picket line, prompting outrage from the strikers. >> my name is kristen clifford and i am a member of the part-time faculty at the new school and we are currently on strike. yesterday the management at the new school said they were going to take away our health care. i am currently at the cancer center waiting for a biopsy. please, please, please give us our health care. please give us a fair contract. amy: striking workers received a

new offer from management thursday. they will remain on strike. and hundreds of striking "new york times goes what workers demanding the newspapers managers agreed to a new contract after more than a year-and-a-half of union negotiations. bill baker, a "new york times" worker and union leader, said actions taken by management do not comport with the pro-union and workers' rights sentiments often found in the pages of "the new york times." >> it is problematic for us -- about labor and organizing and fair wages and stuff. [indiscernible] amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. wnba star brittney griner is free. she is back in the united states after nearly 10 months jailed in russia.

she was freed thursday in a dramatic prisoner swap between the united states and russia. as part of the deal, the biden administration freed viktor bout, a convicted russian arms dealer who was sving a 25-year sentence. the prisoner swap took place on the runway of an airport in abu dhabi. early this morning, a plane carrying brittney griner landed in san antonio, texas, where she will undergo a medical evaluation at a military hospital. brittney griner had been held in russia since february when she was arrested at a moscow airport fopossessing a small amount of cannabis oil. president bin anunced the prisoner swap thursday morning. pres. biden: she is safe. she is on a plane. she is on her way home. she was held in intolerable circumstances. she will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones and she should have been there all along. amy: brittney griner's wife cherelle griner also spoke at the white house. during her remarks, she made reference to paul whelan, an

american and former marine who remains jailed in russia. >> to say my family is whole, that as you are all aware, there are 70 other families who are not hole and so bg is not here to say this but i will gladly speak on her behalf and say bg and i will remain committed to the work of getting every american home, including paul, whose family is in our hearts today as we celebrate bg being home. we do understand there are still people out here who are enduring what i endured the last nine months of missing tremendously their loved one. thank you, everybody, for your support. it is a happy day for me and my family. i'm going to smile right now. thank you. amy: the biden administration had initially proposed a 2-for-1 prisoner swap involving both brittney griner and paul whelan, but that was rejected by russia. on thursday, paul whelan's brother david told cnn he supported biden's decision to

secure brittney griner's freedom. >> i am absolutely supportive of it. i think to prolong the punishment of one american in a foreign hostage situation, the hope you might be able to bring home two, is absolutely -- an american in that situation who has the possibility of coming home, i think the president has to bring him home. unfortunately for my family, it is not our family member but from the perspective of americans, that is the right decision. amy: we begin today's show with dave zirin, a sports editor for the nation magazine and host of the edge of sports podcast. his latest article is headlined "a vindication for agitation: brittney griner is coming home." brittney griner is free, dave zirin. were you surprised by the news yesterday and the speed with which she has come home to san antonio, texas? she grew up in houston. talk about the significance of how you believe she was freed. >> thank you so much for having

me. when i heard brittney griner was going to be freed, i was floored. i had tears in my eyes. my phone was blowing up about this. i have been investigating and covering this story for months. this was not something i expected because earlier in that week, you heard the negotiations were again breaking down. i think it is so important as we discuss the ins and outs of this that we don't use the plot. and that is that brittney griner is coming home. brittney griner is going to be back with her family. whitney griner is going to be back with her family for the holidays, for goodness sakes. we have to remember this is a moment of celebration and a moment of joy during the time were celebration and joy are in short supply. amy: talk about what your title was about, the agitation. who was there for her and who wasn't? why you think she is free today? >> when brittney griner was

first imprisoned, when we first got word of it in late february and early march, the response from the sports world, you can really characterize it as existing into lanes. in one lane, get a sports world that is awash in racism, sexism, homophobia and brittney griner is a black queer woman. the deliberate ignoring of brittney griner's case was apparent anyone who listens to sports radio or watches sports television. if it was steph curry or tom brady imprisoned overseas in a russian prison facing nine years of hard labor, the earth would have opened up. the cacophony would have been so loud. with brittney griner, there was silence. there was another line of people as well who loved brittney griner, people in the wnba and nba due on advice from the state department, were silent because the state department said delicate negotiations e taking

place so we don't want any outcry about britney whatsoever. and that created this veil of silence and even shame about brittney griner being arrested. there was cherelle griner and her heroism speaking out saying the heck with this silence, we need to shine light on this and raise brittney griner's name so there is more of an efft to agitate to make sure that brittn griner's name and paul whelan's name are at the top of the to do list come of antony blinken's to do list. that agitation grew and grew in the sports world and among fans. people made buttons and t-shirts and tookhem tw games. the sports world could no longer be silenced. steph curry mentioned whitney griner at the ring ceremony for the golden state warriors and the cacophony did start to grow. i do believe that, along with, frankly, the fact that russia is losing to ukraine and vladimir putin felt like he needed a win of some kind, i think that is

why this trade took place. to what degree you could say the ukrainians are why brittney griner is coming home. amy: the white house secretary tonight comes by the united arab emirates and saudi arabia had any involvement in the mediation efforts that secured the release of brittney griner from a russian labor prison camp. >> the only country that negotiated this deal where the united states and russia. and there was no mediation involved. we are grateful for the uae and the president mentioned and i am mentioning now for facilitating the use of their territory for the exchange to take place. we are also grateful to other countries, including saudi arabia. amy: a joint statement by the uae and saudi arabia released thursday had said griner's release "highlighted the important role played by the leaderships of the two brotherly countries in promoting dialogue between all parties."

dave? >> so this was a tremendous effort by all corners to get brittney griner home. there is something that i think needs to be said about this that is so important. so many people on the right when -- i know you're going to talk about viktor bout in the next segment. my goodness, doing this trade for viktor bout when the u.s. is the biggest arms dealer in the world is a little tough to swallow. i know you're going to talk about that in the next segment. at the most important thing is that we fought for brittney griner to come home. i know a lot of people who say, well, we have these problems in this country, should we focus on them about prisons, the drug la in this country? but we have to have a global perspective about prison abolition, about the war on drugs, and that is why brittney griner's freedom should be seen as a victory for anyone gives a damn about social justice in

this country. amy: you have this announcement yesterday at the white house, cherelle griner smiling ear to ear, brittney griner's wife, and just hours later, have 39 republicans joining with the democrats in the house of representatives voting to support marriage equality. at the same time in russia, you have putin on monday signing a fiercely anti-lgbtq law into effect, making it dangerous to be lgbtq in russia. can you talk about what brittney griner faced as a lesbian, as an african-american woman in russia prison? >> according to reports by people who have been in the prison that she was going to be in for the next nine years, a labor camp, the racism, anti-americanism, and the homophobia are so intense that

we can say that brittney griner's life would have been hell. she may not have even survived. we know there are no medical services -- we don't even know it brittney griner and her six foot eight inch frame would have had a that she could sleep in. that is what she was facing over the next nine years. so getting her home was about the fact we don't know if she could have survived in such a situation. i encourage people to read the words of pussy ruiot who spent three years in the same prison. it is chilling what brittney griner would have faced and her coming home, i really do believe it is about saving her life as well as returning her to her family. amy: very quickly, dave, you are certainly following the fifa world cup in qatar, the deaf of another worker and the response -- the death of another worker and the response that death is part of the life process. can you respond?

>> shocking, disturbing. this is a world cup that comes to us soaked with lead and dirt. other world cup's have had their share of injustices, but what is happening in qatar is a crime against humanity. amy: dave zirin sports editor , for the nation magazine and host of the edge of sports podcast. we will link to his new article in the nation magazine "a vindication for agitation: brittney griner is coming home." next up, wnba star brittney was freed in a dramatic prisoner swap in exchange for viktor bout, convicted russian comes dealer. a lot has been made of him selling weapons. what about paid millions of dollars by the united states? stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "solidarity forever" from the album "it could be a wonderful world: mid century masters of labor song." this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we look more now at the russian arms dealer who the u.s. exchanged for brittney griner. viktor bout is former soviet military officer who became rich as an arms dealer and is known as the "merchant of death." he was serving a 25-year prison sentence in the united states for conspiracy to commit terrorism. our next guest is a former united nations arms trafficking

investigator who says the case allowed american companies to avoid exposure of their collusion with the u.s. government and private companies linked to then-vice president dick cheney during the iraq war, even after united nations sanctions against him in 2004. authorities say viktor bout was involved in trafficking arms to dictators and stoking conflicts in africa, south america, and the middle east. he has also been accused of furnishing weapons to al-qaeda and the taliban and achieved particular notoriety for selling arms in rwanda in 1998, just four years after the rwandan genocide. before he was sentenced in 2012, viktor bout spoke to the voice of russia and said arms suppliers in the u.s. should be in prison, too. >> i am innocent. there is no crime. if you're going to apply the standards to meet, then you need to jail all those arms dealers

in america. they are involved even me than me. amy: that was over a decade ago in 2012 when victor bout was sentenced. he spent 11 years so far in jail before being traded for brittney griner back to russia. we are joined now by kathi lynn austin, former u.n. arms trafficking investigator, executive director of the conflict awareness project, dedicated to tracking global weapons traffickers and exposing the illicit world of war profiteering. we spoke to you when victor -- viktor bout was sentenced, now he's been released in a prisoner swap. the former federal judge who sentenced him in 2011, thought his 11 years bars was adequate punishment. he told the associated press in july, he has done enough time for what he did in this case. she reaffirmed this, speaking out yesterday.

welcome back to democracy now! your response to viktor bout's release? >> of course i think human rights investigator come excited and celebrating with written griner's family that she is finally brought home free. she was a pawn in -- a political pawn for putin who wanted viktor bout back, or since viktor bout had been arrested, ever since he had been convicted and put in prison. he was the number one sort of talk on the table between russia and the u.s. whenever there was a foreign-policy heating between the two countries. such a difficult time for those of us who are aware of how viktor bout can be easily deployed and a war zone and conflict zone, ukraine, by putin again. he is a personified weapon of mass destruction. he has always proven himse

ready, willing, and able. amy: so if you can talk about what the media is talking about right now, what viktor bout was involved with, and what they are talking about? selling arms to al qaeda and to the taliban, among other things, said he was involved in selling arms to those who would kill americans as well. if you can talk about that record but also this guy is transnational. and talk about his involvement with the u.s. government and u.s. government paying him, what came out in the truck and what didn't, and his involvement with vice president cheney, halliburton, and the iraq war was all about. >> viktor bout never had any particular allegiance to any government come to any ideology. viktor bout was all about profiting. he was all about bringing --

using pilots and planes and being the federal express of weapons into any conflict zone where he could make a profit. even while he was on sanctions, a sanctions, u.n. sanctions, eu sanctions, he still managed to evade those sanctions. it was during the war in iraq when he pulled the wool over the eyes of the department of defense, the pentagon, and he was used for approximately 140 flights of bringing in logistical supplies for the u.s. while he used that cover in order to supply weapons to the enemy that we were fighting at the time. so we are talking about a very maniacal and a very sophisticated arms dealer. and he is one that being on the loose again should cause us all

-- should cause a lot of concern. from a national security perspective. but from a human rights perspective as well. amy: and the u.s. government paying him? he is very clear about this. he said, if they are going to put me in prison, you should understand how many millions of dollars i have been paid by them. >> well, he was, as i mentioned, on the employee and he was an arms trafficker, a profiteer working for many, many different sites of conflict wherever he could make money. but the important thing now is that we need to use the release of viktor bout as a lightning rod. we need to use this as an opportunity to mitigate any national security threat that viktor bout still poses to the u.s. and its allies, and for the u.s. to be more proactive in

preventing illicit global arms trafficking. that is really what i am hoping will come about from the release of viktor bout, that we can get the sporting community, that we can get the white house and congress to take a deep, hard look now at the problem of these illegal arms traffickers and use this as an opportunity to box them in. amy: if you can talk about the u.s. government saying now they have deemed he is not a threat to the united states and also how he was ultimately trapped in thailand? you see these images of dea taking him in. but that gives you the sense it was the u.s. that was -- they did trap him but talk about what colombian and guatemalan military folks that they were working with who were also criminals themselves. >> well, the dea and the

department of justice and law enforcement ran a very serious operation to bring viktor bout to justice. he was a menace, not only to the united states then and a menace to our allies, viktor bout had been operating in every country from colombia to afghanistan to rwanda. he has literally hundreds of thousands if not millions of deaths on his hands. the u.s. was finally enabled to use taxpayer money and resources to bring viktor bout to justice. and that was a great to take this one monster out of the equation. it went along way for world peace and stability in the areas where viktor bout was operating. but the problem with these illegal arms traffickers -- and the reason why they are uniquely

unregulated or while we don't really give enough attention to them, we have a czar for drug trafficking and we don't have when looking at the problem of global arms traffickers, which is something i have been discussing with you administration, with congress. we need to start thinking about taking steps in that direction. because they do have allegiances, they don't have loyalties. the issue now with viktor bout having putin brought him home, he will now serve as putin's number one asset. he will be weaponized and he knows how to sanction. he will be very proactive in ukraine. so that is where i would expect a tribute to use his skills, just at a time when western sanctions are beginning to cripple russia and russia's military. you're going to have the likes and elks of viktor bout. i think we need to use this as a

lightning rod opportunity so that there isn't collateral damage from this incredible release of brittney and this prisoner swap and that instead we put in place very tight controls not only on foreign arms traffickers, but also domestic ones. we have to sort of main source of weapons into mexico. part of the reason why we have so much trouble on our border is the result of a lot of the u.s. arms going illegally into mexico. so let's use this as an opportunity to create and put in place new measures to stop these global arms traffickers. amy: the overall involvement of the u.s. and the international arms trade, is it number one when it comes to arms sales? and how does that affect the global discussion and interference with treaties that

would stem this? >> i think we have to look at arms trade -- there are sort of three different categories here. you have to legal arms trade, legal transfers, which the u.s. is the number one but goes through very specific channels. we also have the gray market, which is kind of where viktor bout fit in, where governments will use these illegal arms traffickers when they need them to carry out national security operations or clandestine operations in other countries. and then there is the black market. the gray market and black market, we need to tighten up. that is kinda for the work the conflict awareness project is engaged, looking at the illegal traffickers and then we do need to do more about reducing legal arms flows, especially to human rights regimes and couplet areas

around the globe. amy: kathi lynn austin, thank you for being with us, former u.n. arms trafficking investigator. executive director of the conflict awareness project, dedicated to tracking global weapons traffickers and exposing the illicit world of war profiteering. next up, we look at the assassination of the saudi journalist jamal khashoggi as well as the visits between chinese president xi and the saudi crown prince. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

sarah leah whitson amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we turn to look at saudi arabia. chinese president xi jinping met with saudi crown prie mohammed thursday bin salman as the two countries move to increase economic ties. meanwhile, here in the united states, a federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against mohammed bin salman for his role in the murder and dismembering of saudi journalist jamal khashoggi inside the saudi consulate in istanbul. the u.s. judge dismissed the suit citing the biden administration's recent granting of sovereign immunity to bin salman. on thursday, nermeen shaikh and i spoke with sarah leah whitson, executive director of democracy for the arab world now or dawn. the group was a co-plaintiff with khashoggi's fiancée hatice cengiz in the u.s. lawsuit against the saudi arabian crown prince. i began by asking her about what happened to jamal khashoggi. >> starting with the murder of jamal khashoggi, all of the

available, including the u.n. special report and the u.s. government report have documented in great detail how mohammed bin salman and his agents wooed jamal khashoggi from the u.s. to travel to this symbol in order to try to obtain a marriage certificate there. this was the pretext to leading him to the consulate with the murder of -- where saudi agents tortured and murdered him. of course they lied about it in the consulate until overwhelming evidence, including video and audio recordings showed exactly what they did to him. the cia concluded that mohammed bin salman ordered the killing based on what's app text between him and another before and after the murder.

used planes to transport their murderers. and the overwhelming evidence showing that only he could have ordered this atrocious act. our organization brought the lawsuit in the united states under the torture of victims prevention act and the alien tort act in order to seek accountability in a civil lawsuit for this murder and serving mohammed bin salman and two of his most senior agents for this murder. the defendants immediately filed a motion to dismiss, seeking the case be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. but when the court would not rule on that, they turned to the biden administration to seek intervention in the lawsuit. the biden administration was not suggesting immunity, the trump

administration did not suggest unity. -- immunity. the saudi government kept demanding that mbs receive immunity and the lawsuit and really threatened to uphold oil production as well as not taking calls from president biden. of course, the golden card, normalizing with israel until the biden administration did what they wanted. when again the biden administration was not intervening days before the deadline for them to intervene after the third delay, the saudi government issued a royal decree temporarily mohammed bin salman as prime minister instead of the king, which is what the basic law of saudi arabia provides. really in a last-ditch ploy to secure immunity as head of

government. following this, the biden administration did interne in our lawsuit to suggest immunity for mohammed bin salman. this is what the judge cited in his decision to dismiss the lawsuit against him. of course, we believe as a matter of law, a matter of fact, this was a fake manipulative ploy to title wash himself with a bogusitle and bogus powers as head of government when we all know under saudi law picking is the only an absolute authority in the country. but that biden administration was hoping saudi arabia would increase oil production rather than cut oil production despite this massive confession by the biden administration. what did the saudi government do? they confirmed oil cuts in a very clear punishment for the biden administration, which was first announced ahead of the

midterm elections come of course , in very transparent effort to hurt the biden administration, democratic party, before the election. nermeen: just to be clear, once mbs had been named prime minister, even though it is a nominal position, would it have been possible for the u.s. not to have recognized him in a deposition and thereby denied him sovereign immunity, or was that not an option? >> well, it was absolutely an option not to recognize this immunity ploy, and i think we laid out very strong arguments, both as a matter of law and matter of fact, that they should not recognize the phony title, phony effort days before the deadline for the administration to weigh in, to come up with a title for mohammed bin salman.

technically the head of government role. they could have not waited at all. there was no obligation for the biden administration to say anything. they could have remained mum on the matter. they chose not to do that. they chose to voluntarily respond to the court to suggest immunity for mohammed bin salman. what we hoped at minimum they would stay silent on the matter. nermeen: and you -- amy: i just want to read the quote abide when he was running for president sign we are going to make them pay the price, make them the pariah that they are. at this point, has the case been dropped? where do you go with your lawsuit, yours and hatice cengiz , the fiancée of the late khashoggi? >> obviously, as with any

district, we have the option to file an appeal to the appellate court and we are consulting with our lawyers to determine what will make the most sense. quite frankly, as a matter of law, when an administration suggests immunity for someone as a head of government or head of state, there's virtually no willingness on the part of the court to go against that. so it is a very, very uphill and challenging situation that we are in. nermeen: if we could turn now to the visit of chinese president xi to saudi arabia, his meeting today, thursday, with the crown prince. could you talk about what we know of what has emerged from those meetings so far, what deals, what agreements have been reached? >> sure.

the visit by xi follows really the last -- deeply economic ties and military ties between saudi arabia and china. this visit was meant to cap that off with the announcement of over $29 billion in deals in just the first day of xi's visit in a dramatic expansion of chinese and saudi ties. the military ties include a factory to build missiles. that was something that was uncovered earlier this year. as well now as efforts to build a saudi nuclear plant for civil purposes that the chinese are cooperating with saudi arabia on. as important as this is economically, this is important politically.

is important symbolically. this is saudi arabia sending a very strong and ear message to the u.s., to the biden administration, that they will seek partners and partnerships with china, that they will support russia, that they are hedging their bets, that they will not rely on the united states for everything. the only thing they really want the united states for is for military protection. the only thing they need the u.s. to do is be a mercenary force, one that is handsomely rewarded with massive military defense contracts -- which is really the main thing the biden administration and xi with saudi arabia in july. but there is no political loyalty. there is no partnership. there is nothing other than the was serving as security guards for saudi arabia. i think we all need to reorient our understanding that this is a position that the u.s. government, not just the biden

administration but the trump administration before hiand the obama administration before him, have accepted. they have accepted the terms of their service agreement with saudi arabia. and they have no ability to show anything for it in terms of reciprocity from saudi arabia for americans interest. amy: what is the nature of the security guarantees that saudi arabia seeks from the u.s. in security and protection from whom? >> well, obviously, saudi arabia is a totalitarian state that increasingly rule with absolute repression against his own citizens. there are many decades of terrorist incidents in saudi arabia, threatened through royal monarchy. first and foremost, it is to protect the absolute monarchy that rules saudi arabia and i think for decades has done so as a complaint partner for the united states. what saudi arabia has demaned

-- demanded our to level protections which means any time saudi arabia comes under attack, it will be defended by the united states. of course ere been a number of serious who the muscle strikes on saudi arabia across the border the past eight years and deeper and deeper into saudi arabia, putting the fms attack on the oil facility with significantly hampered the oil protection -- prodtion for a while. the biden ainistratiohas refuseto give th that bilateral acal defense agreemt treaty level commitment and guarantees what the biden administration did deliver is a security umbrella, and aerial security umbrella along with israel, jordan, hrain,hat assures the u.s. will protect saudi arabia and a

number of other states, from any aerial attack defensively. this is not a level of security guarantee that the saudi and uae want to come and this is why they continue to yank on america's leash. amy: you have pointed out the situation with the u.s. and saudi arabia has changed come also with respect to the extent of the u.s.'s dependence on saudi arabia for oil now, the u.s. gets very little of its oil from saudi arabia whereas china now gets the majority of its oil from saudi arabia, one of the issues that has reportedly been discussed in the talks between xi and mbs in saudi arabia has been the question of whether some sau oil sales can be priced in yuan, chinese currency, rather than in u.s. dollars. what we know has been discussed on that issue?

and what are the implications of that if saudi oil could be denominated in chinese currency and not american currency? >> there are two points. first of the point you noted united states no longer depends on saudi arabia and will -- saudi arabian oil, it is important to understand saudi's dominant role in opec means it has the massive control over the price of oil globally. because this is set by the market. so even though the united states does not directly import a significant amount of oil from saudi arabia, it is dependent on the price of oil and the dramatically escalating oil prices in the united states are directly linked to what saudi arabia decides and in the terms of oil output as part of opec. in addition, americans are concerned about the prices. in europe, particularly as part of the ukraine war. that is made united states more

dependent on saudi arabia to increase oil output, to keep the price of oil down globally. so this isn't just about what oil interests united states from saudi arabia, it is about saudi arabia's power over the price of oil globally, which is very important to the biden administration. in terms of the discussions over hedging the price to yuan, this is extremely significant because it would diminish one of the main levers of control and influence of the united states to have the price of oil and the exchange of oil cleared in dollars, exchange and represented in dollars. to the extent they move off of the dollar system and move to yuan, it is one more lever of independence from what united states can influence oil prices. frankly, just influence global markets. first is oil and non-dollar

currency, but them will come other assets. in think everyone should see the recent cap on russian oil prices , this artificial makeup price for artificial oil which is a reverse price-fixing to what opec does, is something that is not just threatening to russia but very, very threatening to saudi arabia and the uae because we know they can turn around and be done to them the next day. i think what you're going to see is china, russia, and all of the opec states increasingly find ways not only to liberate themselves from the dictatorship of the dollar, but also liberate themselves in terms of shipping and insurance, which is a main levers the u.s. and europe will use for the price of russian oil. in a weird way, ironic way perhaps, efforts to quash

russian oil production may well boomerang into increased efforts to remove the influence and control on global transactions come on global shipping, on global insurance that have been used to keep -- efforts to keep russia and other countries in line because saudi and uae see whatever the u.s. is doing to russia, whatever europe is doing to russia, a well happen to them next. from their yachts, from their properties over the west, and of course with the price of oil. nermeen: could you talk about increasing cooperation between china and saudi arabia on telecommunications, the fact china has been in discussions on expanding both 5g and 6g telecommunication networks throughout saudi arabia and why that is raising concerns in the u.s.? >> well, this is a game of

whack-a-mole because the united states has been trying to prevent countries around the world from signing 5g and 6g deals with china because it would basically give them a complete market control but also intelligence and surveillance control over committee kaisha networks that they install, build, deliver. of course, it is extremely lucrative and it is long-term business investment. the united states fought its commitments -- bought its commitments to not develop 5g and 6g with china and that has not been mentioned as one of the deals that they are announcing. but it is mentioned it is something they continue to work on. this issue of 5g and 6g something the u.s. has faced and tried to challenge not just was

saudi arabia, but even with the united kingdom, even with a bone of contention with canada. really china expanding and growing its ability to deliver the highest technology but with that the highest influence and control over global communication networks. and this is why the united states is really concerned about the expansion of chinese 5g and 6g technology. amy: i want to end with issue of yemen. here in the u.s., over 100 groups have urged congress wednesday to vote for bernie sanders' yemen war powers resolution, to end u.s. backing for saudi arabia's war and blockade in yemen. sanders said he now has enough support to ps a resolution on the senate floor and planes to bring his measure to a floor vote as early as next week.

>> this is a very, very welcome development. i wish it was not so close to the next term of congress when it would be republican nominated, which is significantly stymied the ability to get this resolution passed in the house of representatives as well. it is something that we are seeing because of the end of the truth in yemen and the re-commencement of on the ground fighting. extremely long-overdue, as viewers will remember, congress passed war powers resolution to end your support for the war in a human and u.s. military transfer for -- intelligence sharing, military protection for saudi arabia and uae and the war in yemen but trump vetoed it. now since we continue to be in that war, providing not just defense protection, intelligence

sharing, but of course military equipment necessary to pursue this war consider sanders is again trying to pass this war powers resolution. and because it is in the senate, he does not need to get it through committee in order to do that. it will be interesting to see where the votes lined up in this moment of time when the biden administration has dramatically capitulated to the saudi government and doesn't want to do anything to upset the saudi government because of this competition with china, because of its desire to maintain its military and economic influence in saudi arabia, whether they will attempt to quash even this war powers resolution in the senate. amy: sarah leah whitson. that does it for our show. juan gonzalez gives one of his speech at the cuny school of

labor and urban studies at 3:00 p.m. on monday 6:30, he will give an address on latinos, race, and empire at the cuny graduate center. to see his first speech inviting for racial social