SUNDAY,FEBRUARY 20 , 2022 .THEWASHINGTONPOST EZ RE K A
SOUTHCAROLINAFamilyprotestskilling
of Blackman by officerThefamilyof aBlackman
killedby aSouth Carolinapolice
officer whonowfacescharges
marchedSaturdaytohonorhis
life and protesthis death.
More than50 peoplemarched
downMain Streetinthe small
townof Hemingwayinacall for
justice as partofthe “StopKilling
Us March.”
RobertJuniorLangley, 46, was
killedFeb. 6after investigators
saidhe rolledthroughastop sign
and led Hemingwaypoliceofficer
CassandraDollard on anine-
milechaseoutsidethe town.
DollardshotLangleyashe
crashedand was tryingto getout
ofthe passenger sideof his car,
stateagents said.She told
investigators thatshe fearedfor
her life, but alsothatshe never
confirmedthathehad aweapon.
No weaponwas foundat the
scene, according to an arrest
warrant.
Dollardis charged with
voluntarymanslaughterand
facestwoto30yearsin prisonif
convicted. She was fired fromthe
policedepartmentfourdays
after the shooting.
—AssociatedPressMISSOURI2killed,severalhurt
in shootingat partyTwopeoplewerekilledand as
manyas15peoplewereinjured
in ashootingat aparty early
SaturdayinsoutheastMissouri,
authoritiessaid.
RobertHearnes,director of
the Charleston Departmentof
Public Safety,said the shooting
occurredabout1a.m. at a
buildingpeoplehad rentedfor a
party in Charleston.
He saidthatpeopleinsidethe
buildingbeganfiringand that
investigators are tryingto
determinewhatpromptedthe
shooting.
Twopeoplediedand about 15
peoplewereinjured,he said.
—AssociatedPressFLORIDAHelicoptercrashesinto
oceannear swimmersAhelicoptercrashedSaturday
intothe oceanoffMiamiBeach,
justafew feetfromswimmersin
acrowdedstretch popular
amongtourists, officialssaid.
Twopassengers weretaken to
ahospitalin stablecondition,
and no one else appearedto be
injured.
Avideo sharedby Miami
Beachpolicecapturesthe
helicopterdescendingoverthe
oceanand crashingintothe
water offSouth Beachas
sunbatherscrowdthe beachand
othersswim.
—AssociatedPressBloodyclashatMiami-Dade
prisonendswithinmatedead:
State prisonofficials
acknowledged Saturdaythatan
incarcerated persondiedfive
days earlier,onMonday, after a
clashwithcorrectionalofficers
duringatransferat Dade
CorrectionalInstitutionin
Miami-DadeCounty. TheFlorida
Departmentof Corrections
refusedto confirm detailsabout
the incidentthatwere provided
to the Miami Herald by aformer
employee,insteadissuinganews
releasethattied the incidentto
administrative shake-upsthat
includedthe wardenrecently
beingreplaced.Citingan active
investigation,the Florida
Departmentof Correctionssaid
that“the victim and staff
membernamescannotbe
released.”FamilyDollarrecallsfood,
drugsafterFDAinspection:
FamilyDollarrecalledall
medicaldevices,cosmetics,
dietarysupplements,drugsand
foodshippedsinceJan. 1, 2021,to
404 storesafter an FDA
inspectionfound“insanitary
conditions,includingarodent
infestation.”The inspectionwas
at the discountchain’s West
Memphis,Ark.,distribution
facilityfromwhichproducts go
to stores.
—From newsservicesDIGEST0200k400k600k800k1m1.2m7-dayavg.Feb. 29, 2020 Jan. 2021 Feb. 19, 202202k4k7-dayavg.Feb. 29, 2020 Jan. 2021 Feb. 19, 202201m2m3m4m5m7-dayavg.Feb. 29, 2020 Jan. 2021 Feb. 19, 2022As of 8p.m.Saturday78,431,4 68549,939,933,105,2,473,TotalDEATHSTotalVACCINE DOSES ADMINISTEREDNewcoronaviruscases, deaths and
vaccinedosesin the U.S.,bydayTotalCASES7-dayaverage7-dayaverage7-dayaveragePolitics &the NationBYJOSHDAWSEY
ANDJONATHANO’CONNELLFormer president Donald
Trump’s companyisanglingto
hostevents at his golf coursesfor
the controversial Saudi golf
league,accordingto threepeople
familiarwiththe matter,poten-
tiallyhandingTrumpalucrative
business partnership withan op-
pressive regimehe defendedas
president.
At leasttwo of Trump’s courses
in Bedminster,N.J., andDoral,
Fla.,couldbe namedas sitesfor
the nascenttour,according to the
peoplefamiliarwith thetalks,
wholikeothersspokeonthe con-
ditionofanonymitytodiscuss
internal deliberations. Officials
fromLIVGolf Investments, the
apparatus funded by the Saudisto
hostthe tour,haveheld conversa-
tionswiththe TrumpOrganiza-
tion,thesepeoplesaid.
Oneof the people familiar with
themattersaidTrumphadspoken
to GregNorman,the head of LIV
Golf Investments, abouthaving
hispropertiesinvolvedinthetour.
Aspokeswomanfor LIVGolf
Investments declined to com-
ment.EricTrump, the former
president’s son,andaTrumpOr-
ganization spokeswomandid not
respondto requests for comment.
TheSaudiEmbassyin Washing-
ton alsodid not respondto com-
mentrequests.
TaylorBudowich, aspokesman
for Trump’s political actioncom-
mittee,offeredastatementonly
touting the former president’s
golf courseswhenasked aboutthe
talks.
“Itcertainlysounds possible
given the factthatPresident
Trumpownssomeof themost
beautiful and renowned golf
coursesin the world—fromthe
cliffs of RanchoPalos Verdes,to
the majestic rollinghillsof Bed-
minster and,ofcourse,the iconic
Doral property,”hesaid.
Thefinancialtermsof the pro-
poseddealare unclear,but the
eventswouldundoubtedly pro-
viderevenuefor Trumpthrough
theSaudis, whoaremaking a
fiercebid to recruitPGATour
playersand launchaseries of golf
tournaments.
As president,Trumpfrequently
defendedthe Saudigovernment
even as it committed awiderange
of human rightabuses,including
the 2018 murder of Washington
Post contributingcolumnistJa-
mal Khashoggi and the imprison-
mentandexecutionof gayciti-
zens.Trump’s firstoverseas trip as
presidentwasto Saudi Arabia,
and he regularly praisedthe coun-
try’swealthandpower,evenas
someadvisers pushedhim to take
atougher line on the country.
Suchadeal would alsoprovide
ameasureof revengefor Trump
against thePGA Tour,anorgani-
zationthathecourted for years
but thatlater enraged himwhen
politics came between them.
WhileTrumpcampaignedin the
summerof 2016, the PGATour
announcedit was yankingits elite
World Golf Championshiptour-
namentfromDoral and movingit
to Mexico City. Trumpalso lostthe
PGA championship from his
coursein NewJerseylastyear,as
the organizationpulled its event
days after the Jan. 6insurrection
by apro-Trumpmobat the U.S.
Capitol.
Doral has beenthe biggest rev-
enuegenerator of anyofTrump’s
golf properties, but he borrowed
heavily to acquireand renovateit,
andthe 643-roomresortsuffered
financially duringhis presidency.
Trump,working closelywith
his daughterIvanka,boughtthe
650-acreresortset amongbusi-
nessparksandhomesin2012fora
reported $150 million and
planned$250millionin renova-
tions.Heborrowed$125million
fromDeutsche Bankto do it and
vowedon Twitter that“withintwo
yearsit willbe the bestresort in
the country.”
But from2015 to 2017,the club’s
revenuefell from$92millionto
$75 million—an18percentdrop,
accordingto companyfinancial
documentsandTrump’s govern-
ment disclosureforms.Operating
income—the amount left over
after expenseswerepaid—fell
even faster,promptingTrump’s
owntax consultant to tell Miami-
DadeCounty officials in 2018 that
the coursehad been“severely un-
derperforming”competing clubs.
Revenuesuffered an additional
40 percentdropin2020,when
pandemic travel restrictionswere
in placefor mostofthe year.
Hiscompanyhas beentrying to
reviveDoral since his presidency
ended.Lastyear,Floridalegisla-
torspassedlegislationeasingthe
path for his companytopursuea
futurecasino licensefor Doral,
andlastmonthhis companyan-
nounced thatitwould attempt to
build2,300 homesthere.
It’s difficult to sayhow sucha
dealwould affectTrumpfinan-
cially.Professionalgolf organiza-
tionspayrentalfeesto courses
wheretheyhold eventsbut also
imposesometimesexpensiveob-
ligations andresponsibilities as
partofthat, saidLarryHirsh,
presidentof Golf Property Ana-
lysts in Philadelphia.
“It’swidelybelievedthatthe
onlyclubs thatmakeany signifi-
cantmoneyarethosethathostthe
PGA Championship, the U.S.
Openand the Ryder Cup,”hesaid.
Hirsh saidthatSaudiArabia's
recordonhumanrightscouldalso
prompt somemembers of
Trump's clubto canceltheirmem-
berships,whichcouldhurtthe
value of the courselongterm.
“Itdependsonhow muchmon-
ey [theleague]iswilling to pay,
but it alsodependson howmany
peoplewillsay theywon’t be a
partofit,”hesaid.
TheSaudi tourhasnot an-
nounced anysites or dates for its
events.But in arecentsports pod-
castinterview, PGATour player
KramerHickok said17 PGAplay-
ers hadcommitted to thetour
already,and he saidhe expected
10 to 14 of theevents to be in the
UnitedStates.He could notbe
reached immediately for com-
ment.
Jared Kushner,the former
president’s son-in-law, wasspot-
ted on the sidelinesofaSaudigolf
event earlierthismonth.Bloom-
bergNews reported thatKushner
has soughtbackingfromthe $
billion Saudi sovereignwealth
fund,which is chairedby Crown
PrinceMohammedbinSalman,
along with other government-
controlledfundsin the region.A
spokesmanfor Kushnerdid not
respond to amessageseekingcomment.
Longtime professional golfer
PhilMickelsonhascomeunder
fire in recentdays for sayingthat
he waswillingto overlookthe
country’shuman rights record
andconsidersupportingthe new
league.Many criticshave saidthe
Saudigovernmentis attempting
to buttressits standingby holding
high-profile sportingevents.
“WeknowtheykilledKhashog-
gi andhave ahorriblerecord on
human rights,”Mickelson was
quoted as sayingby AlanShip-
nuck,abiographerwhowrotea
bookabouthim.“Theyexecute
peopleover therefor beinggay.
Knowing all of this,whywould I
even considerit? Becausethis is a
once-in-a-lifetimeopportunityto
reshape howthe PGATour oper-
ates.”
PGATour officialshave closely
watchedefforts by the Saudisto
recruit its players,worriedabout
the Saudi league luring away
someof the tour’s players withthe
promise of higherpurses. But
mostofthe league’s marquee play-
ers have not left,and somehave
beencriticalof Mickelson,who
hashelpedwithrecruitmentef-
forts. ThePGA declinedtocom-
menton Trump’s talkswiththe
Saudi league.
GaryWilliams,alongtimegolf
commentator whoowns5Clubs
Golf,said the PGATour has ag-
gressivelymovedto keep its play-
erswith higherpursesandother
incentives but is likely to lose
somemajorplayers.“They’re a
realthreat, there’s no doubt,”he
saidof the Saudis.“They maynot
have areal business planbut they
have alot of money.”Williamssaid
he expects anumber of other
coursesto signup, besidesTrump.
“Heneedsrevenue forthosegolf
courses.”Whenthe Saudiscameunder
intense scrutinyafter the murder
of Khashoggi, Trumprepeatedly
defendedthe kingdomandsaid
he believed Mohammed, the
crownprince,whenhe claimedto
not have knowledgeofthe killing.
U.S. intelligencehas disputedthat
assessment.
In aNovember2018 statement
full of exclamation marksthat
aidessaid he dictatedhimself,
TrumpsaidthatU.S.intelligence
wouldcontinue to “assess” infor-
mationbut thatthe United States
“maynever know all thefacts
surrounding the murder.”
On whetherthe crown prince
knewaboutor ordered the killing
by Saudiagentsin the Saudicon-
sulate in Istanbul, Trumpsaidin
the statement,“maybe he did or
maybehe didn’t!” He suggested
thatU.S.interests in Saudioil
production, weaponspurchases
andsupportfor administration
policiesin the MiddleEastwere
moreimportantthanholdingan
allyto account,andhe stressed
the importanceof staying in the
kingdom’s good graces because
theywere spendingmoneyinthe
United States.
“Theyhavebeen agreat ally,” he
saidoftheSaudis,and“theUnited
States intendsto remain astead-
fastpartner.” He added:“I’mnot
going to destroyour economyby
beingfoolishwithSaudiArabia.”
Trumpcameunderwithering
criticismfromDemocrats, human
rightsadvocates andeven some
Republicansfor his position,but
he did not waver.
“I saved his ass,”Trumpsaidof
Mohammed during an interview
withWashingtonPost associate
editorBobWoodwardforhis
book,“Rage.”“Iwas ableto get
Congress to leave himalone.Iwas
ableto getthemtostop.”
Trump also encouraged the
Saudis to buyAmericanweapons,
backed the kingdom’s positionon
Iran and generally defendedtheir
mostcontroversialmoves, suchas
jailing peoplefor politicalrea-
sons.
PresidentBidenhas calledthe
kingdom a“pariah”and has
vowedto be tougheron the Saudis
buthasapprovedanarmssale
and talkedtothe king.
Theformer president has
braggedtoassociates sinceleav-
ing office abouthowprofitablehis
golf courseswereduringthe coro-
naviruspandemic,even as other
aspects of his businessstruggled.
He plays golf several days aweek,
advisers said.Alice Critescontributed to this report.Trump in talks to host Saudi golf events
Thekingdomstandsaccusedof the murderof JamalKhashoggiand otherhumanrightsabuses
JABINBOTSFORD/THEWASHINGTONPOST
PresidentDonaldTrumpmeetswithSaudiCrownPrince
MohammedbinSalmanintheWhiteHouseonMarch14,2017.MICHAELS. WILLIAMSON/THEWASHINGTONPOST
ReportersWithoutBorderspartneredwithartistRobinBelltoprojectanimageofJamalKhashoggi
onthefaceoftheNewseumonOct.1,2019,ayearafterhissuspectedstate-orderedassassination.JOE RAEDLE/GETTYIMAGES
FormerpresidentDonaldTrump’sDoral,Fla.,resort,shownin2016,isintherunningtohost
controversialSaudigolfleagueevents.Lourdes Chavez
March 11-WEDDING
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