On the menu today: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia effectively purchases the world of professional golf, and new evidence points to the Ukrainian government as the saboteur of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

Selling Our Institutions

The leadership of big, prominent, influential, and popular American institutions is for sale to the highest bidder — and very often, sovereign-wealth funds of brutal regimes are the highest bidder.

And the winner is …

Golf.

Golf and its fans around the globe who’ve grown tired of the hypocrisy that has divided the sport with the PGA Tour, threatened by LIV Golf and banning players who jumped to the Saudi-backed tour, now get to see the best players compete against each other more than in only the four major championships.

There was a time in the distant past — that is, as recently as Monday — when the official position of the PGA Tour was that its competitor, the Saudi-backed golf tour known as LIV, was a scandalous, even odious, operation. Referring to Saudi Arabia’s horrific human rights record, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said last June, “You’d have to be living under a rock to not understand the implications of involving yourself with the Saudis.” But Monahan’s strong comment is now just a reminder that pencils have erasers.

The Biden administration ruled on Thursday that Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has immunity from a lawsuit over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, drawing immediate condemnation from the slain journalist's former fiancee.

President Joe Biden arrived Friday in Saudi Arabia where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a controversial sitdown he had earlier insisted would not take place.

The crown prince greeted Biden as he arrived at the royal palace where the two leaders exchanged a fist bump, but no handshake.

Biden has alternated between handshakes and fist bumps throughout the four days of his Middle East swing after the White House said he would “minimize contact” during the trip as a Covid precaution.

President Biden shared a fist bump with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after arriving in the Gulf kingdom for a high-stakes visit.

Why it matters: Biden once vowed to make the kingdom a "pariah," and U.S.-Saudi relations have been strained over a number of issues, including the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

U.S. intelligence concluded MBS was responsible for Khashoggi's murder — an allegation Saudi Arabia denies.

President Biden was seen greeting Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday with a fist bump during his trip to the Middle East. 

The greeting came amid speculation over whether Biden would shake the hand of bin Salman, who approved the 2018 operation that killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to U.S. intelligence assessments. Khashoggi, who was a Washington Post columnist, was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to collect documents for his wedding.

A former Saudi spymaster described Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who the US says sent a hit squad to kill and dismember Washington Post writer Jamal Khashoggi, as a “psychopath” whose immense wealth makes him a threat to the United States and other countries around the world — as President Biden prepares for a much-anticipated meeting with the monarch later this week.

Defending President Joe Biden’s decision not to sanction Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the brutal 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday that the administration sees “more effective ways” to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for the murder.

“Saudi Arabia’s crown prince [Mohammed bin Salman] likely approved the killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, according to a newly declassified U.S. intelligence report released [last] Friday…