It’s no secret that Joe Biden was desperate to prevent the Saudi Arabian government from cutting oil output in advance of the U.S. midterm elections. Biden knew that rising prices at the pump just as American voters headed to the polls would foreclose any chance — however slim — that Democrats had to avoid an electoral disaster.
The Biden administration groveled before Saudi royalty — just as Barack Obama and George Bush had done. And like those other two presidents, it didn’t do any good. The Saudis either jacked up the price or cut the supply anyway.
Word has now leaked out — from the Saudis, no less — that Biden had requested that Saudi Arabia hold off cutting the production of crude oil for a month. That delay would have made the production cut after the November midterm elections.
The Saudis issued a bland statement on the issue. “The Government of the Kingdom clarified through its continuous consultation with the US Administration that all economic analyses indicate that postponing the OPEC+ decision for a month, according to what has been suggested, would have had negative economic consequences,” the statement read.
It’s at this point that we should mention that what Biden was suggesting was an “in-kind” contribution by a foreign power to the Democratic Party. That’s illegal, and the Republicans want Nancy Pelosi to open hearings on the matter.
The administration tried the “Look! Squirrel!” defense by accusing the Saudis of aiding the Russians and undermining U.S. sanctions. Someone should tell old Joe that it’s their fricking oil and they can do whatever the hell they want with it.
The allegations from the @KSAmofaEN are serious, and if the Biden administration did attempt to pressure a foreign government to influence the outcome of the U.S. election, that’s something Americans deserve to know.
Americans deserve answers, & @SpeakerPelosi must take action. pic.twitter.com/xenpYCVz81
— Rep. Tom Tiffany (@RepTiffany) October 13, 2022
These are very serious accusations and need to be investigated in a bipartisan manner. We can’t allow American elections to be held hostage by a foreign power.
The White House claims it’s all on the up and up.
“In recent weeks, the Saudis conveyed to us — privately and publicly — their intention to reduce oil production, which they knew would increase Russian revenues and blunt the effectiveness of sanctions. That is the wrong direction,” White House spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
“We presented Saudi Arabia with analysis to show that there was no market basis to cut production targets, and that they could easily wait for the next OPEC meeting to see how things developed. Other OPEC nations communicated to us privately that they also disagreed with the Saudi decision, but felt coerced to support Saudi’s direction,” he said.
Yeah, right. There’s plenty of “market basis” to cut production since it will put more money in the pockets of oil producers. But compared to saving the Democratic majority in Congress, how important is that?
It’s not really a question of whether or not the administration was looking for Saudi help in surviving the midterm elections. They were. The problem for Republicans is proving it. And given the current climate in Washington, it’s not likely that Democrats will accept anything less than a signed confession from Biden that he committed an impeachable offense.
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