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Aramco CEO Eyes "Fourth & Fifth" Oil Export Routes To Break Hormuz Chokehold

Brent crude futures climbed back above $104 a barrel early Thursday as Iran threatened to widen the Middle East conflict into the Indian Ocean and optimism surrounding yesterday's meetings between US and Iranian officials on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly faded.

A focal point this morning is Nikkei Asia’s interview with Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser, who said Aramco is studying additional crude export routes to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

Nasser said Aramco is conducting engineering and feasibility work on “a fourth and a fifth route” for crude exports. He did not disclose their locations.

He warned, "This crisis is not really getting better. The situation will get worse because this interruption is significant. It's not a small interruption," adding, "I don't think things are getting better."

The plan for two more oil export routes builds on the current three primary routes, one of which passes through the Hormuz chokepoint that Iran has disrupted. This comes after drone attacks earlier this month disrupted Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline to the Red Sea, but media reports this week suggest the pipeline could restart soon at half capacity.

"When people talk about the East-West [pipeline], they think it's one pipeline. It's not, it's multiple lines," he said. "It's not easy to interrupt all the lines at the same time. So it gives us the flexibility to respond and cater to our customers."

Beyond the Hormuz chokepoint and the East-West pipeline, Aramco can move crude north through Egypt's Sumed pipeline to the Mediterranean, Nasser said.

"People think about interruptions in Hormuz, interruptions in Bab-el-Mandeb, [but] we never stopped. We continue to supply our customers," he said. "The only thing you do [is] shift more vessels, one way or the other. ... We do have this multiple optionality that allows us to meet our customers' demand."

Last weekend, Qatari Energy Minister Saad Al-Kaabi blasted Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for saying he was "wrong" to claim that the Hormuz chokepoint would be "worthless" to the oil industry in two years. 

"I think this is completely wrong," Saad Al-Kaabi said at the Qatar Economic Forum in New York.

Speaking to Fox Business's Larry Kudlow on the sidelines of the Group of 20 finance ministers' summit in North Carolina earlier this month, Bessent said the Hormuz maritime chokepoint, in about "two years will be… a worthless piece of water," adding that oil "will be going on pipelines across land."

🚨𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗡: 🇺🇸 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says

“In 2 years, the Strait of Hormuz will be like a worthless piece of water.” pic.twitter.com/B94NIWtews

— DustyBC Crypto (@DustyBC) September 1, 2026

Bessent has a point. Aramco's push for new export routes reinforces the outcome we first pointed out at the war's start: energy flows will reroute around Hormuz, gradually eroding Tehran's leverage. Iran's threat to widen the conflict may be an attempt to keep that leverage alive. And it won't be just the Saudis rewiring energy flows; it'll be all the Gulf allies with the capability to do so. 

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/24/2026 - 07:45

Eight sailors in the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group attempted suicide during a nine-month deployment, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao confirmed.

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Poland Suspects "Hybrid Warfare" After Starlink Station Fire As War Spillover Fears Mount

A fire erupted at a ground-based Starlink communications station in central Poland, raising new concerns about sabotage as spillover risks from the Russia-Ukraine war mount.

Reuters reports that the fire broke out overnight Wednesday at the ground station's power equipment and generator. The report cited Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski.

"The fire engulfed the power station and the generator; it is clear that this act of sabotage was deliberately designed to disable the station, effectively cutting off the internet connection... and disrupting internet access for various institutions, including the Ukrainian military," Gawkowski said.

Gawkowski added, "While everything is operational today, we must recognise, as Prime Minister Tusk recently noted, that this is an element of hybrid warfare."

NEW: A fire broke out at Starlink ground station in Wola Krobowska, Poland, with firefighters treating it as possible arson.

The fire damaged power infrastructure and a generator. Security agencies are investigating.

Digital Affairs Minister said the incident could be part of… pic.twitter.com/QDx1EqpRLd

— Conflict Radar (@Conflict_Radar) September 24, 2026

Bad actors could've targeted the ground station because Ukraine's military relies heavily on Starlink for battlefield communications, coordinating units and supporting one-way attack drone operations. The internet service, which is repeated from Poland and elsewhere and then beamed down into Ukraine through a network of low Earth orbit satellites, has been critical to Kiev's war effort.

Beyond Ukraine, US intelligence services warned this week of potential spillover risks from possible Russian operations using Geran long-range attack drones against targets in Spain, France or Italy, according to Euronews.

There were numerous drone incidents targeting Germany's Leipzig/Halle Airport early last month, with a drone laden with explosives found on the tarmac.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/24/2026 - 06:55

60 Minutes' "Pardon Economy" Bombshell Ignored The Clintons... And Joe Biden

Authored by Paul D. Thacker via RealClearInvestigations,

When Bari Weiss was hired to lead CBS News last year, many of the network's star reporters feared the centrist founder of The Free Press news site would turn the network into a mouthpiece for the Trump administration. Longtime "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley was fired after he accused Weiss of "murdering the show."

If the season premiere of "60 Minutes" is any indication, progressives have little to complain about. In a segment titled "The Pardon Economy," veteran CBS reporter Lesley Stahl alleges that Trump has upended the way U.S. presidents have dispensed pardons for "100 years or more" by creating a "new system" that involves lobbyists and high-priced "pardon brokers."

Stahl's report suggests that Trump has replaced the normal order - in which pardons typically go through an apolitical review by the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney - with a scheme that looks like "pay-to-play." It has already led Democrats to vow they will investigate the issue if they retake the House in the November mid-term elections.

To situate Trump in this "pardon lobbyists" narrative, Stahl links the White House to two convicted con artists who claim close ties to Trump without disclosing one critical detail: There is no evidence the two have ever succeeded in getting anyone a pardon. While their efforts suggest that some in Washington may be trying to capitalize on the narrative about Trump's alleged corruption - inspired, in part, by questionable pardons he has issued previously - "60 Minutes" offers no concrete proof connecting the administration to these money-making schemes.

Stahl's report also ignored the long history of wrongdoers paying exorbitant fees for lobbyists to get their pardons viewed by the Oval Office - most famously Bill Clinton's brother, Roger, and Hillary's brothers, Hugh and Tony Rodham.

Although Stahl's report quotes Trump officials denying her claims, a DOJ official who was outraged by her "misleading" report provided RealClearInvestigations with documents showing that well-connected D.C. insiders are routinely involved in the pardon process.

Leaked Documents

The DOJ documents shared with RCI involve the high-profile and controversial pre-emptive pardons issued by President Biden to Trump antagonists on his final day in office in 2025 - specifically top NIH official Anthony Fauci, U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, and former Congresswoman Liz Cheney.

The release of pardon documents is highly unusual. Pardon documents are zealously guarded by the White House, in part because they can reveal lobbying and political considerations - the very matter Stahl's report insinuates is novel under Trump. The official shared them under the condition that screenshots of the documents not be made public out of concern they might anger Trump, who has pushed for criminal investigations of document leaks.

The official noted that there is no evidence that "pardon brokers" put on camera by CBS have influenced the president and said that the documents were being released specifically to show that many pardon recipients retain expensive legal counsel to represent them. And despite the assertion in the "60 Minutes" report that pardons under prior administrations normally required admitting guilt, none of the three - or any of those pardoned by Biden, including his family members - has expressed the slightest contrition.

What the leaked documents - the letters Milley, Cheney and Fauci sent accepting the pardons - do show is that Fauci, Milley, and Cheney were all using the services of high-priced attorneys at politically connected law firms. They do not, however, provide any insight into how the pardons came about. Milley and Cheney's letters to Biden were sent through attorneys at Williams & Connolly, a top-tier, white-shoe law firm based in Washington, D.C., that has long represented a wide range of powerful Democrats and Republicans.

Now a retired congressional investigator, Jason Foster helped to lead the House investigation of the Clinton pardon scandal. He said the Fauci, Milley, and Cheney pardon papers raise questions about when their attorneys first contacted the Justice Department and the Biden White House about the pardons.

"Based on my experience leading these investigations in the past, this is clearly not a first interaction their attorneys are having with the administration," Foster said. "This doesn't mean they've done anything wrong, but there's no constitutional requirement that anyone go through the pardon attorney office."

First Contact?

Williams & Connolly attorneys did not respond to RCI's questions asking when they first contacted the Biden administration about pardons for retired General Milley and former Congresswoman Cheney. Nor did they answer questions regarding how much they charged for this work.

Records show that Fauci also had an attorney, David Schertler, send the letter accepting the pardon. That letter, however, was addressed not to the Justice Department, but to Biden's White House Counsel.

"On behalf of Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, we appreciate the President's consideration and his action this morning on Dr. Fauci's behalf," reads the letter Schertler sent to Edward Siskel, Biden's top legal advisor. "Dr. Fauci accepts the President's pardon."

Fauci emailed the Hill and contacted reporters at Reuters and other outlets that same day, claiming that the White House approached him about the pardon a month prior and that he did not ask for one. He added, "I have committed no crime and there are no possible grounds for any allegation or threat of criminal investigation or prosecution of me."

At a July Senate hearing, Senator Ashley Moody asked Fauci whether he spoke with President Biden and asked for the pardon. "On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution," Fauci replied. When asked multiple follow-up questions about how he got his pardon, Fauci again asserted his Fifth Amendment rights - as he did to every other question he was asked on a wide range of topics, including the color of his tie.

RCI emailed David Schertler extensive questions, asking when he first contacted the Justice Department and the White House about Fauci's pardon. RCI also asked about his communications with attorneys in the pardon office and how much his firm charged Fauci for help with the pardon.

Schertler did not respond to RCI's questions asking when he first contacted the Biden administration about Fauci's pardon and how much his firm charged the former NIH official for pardon work.

Hidden Cameras

The centerpiece of the "60 Minutes" "pardon lobbyist" segment was an undercover investigation of Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl, two characters offering to secure pardons for $300,000. But almost every fact detailed by "60 Minutes" on Burkman and Wohl had already been reported six months earlier by The New York Times.

Burkman and Wohl are conservative activists who were convicted of felonies for a robocall scheme to frighten black people against voting by mail in the 2020 presidential election, the Times reported. The two now work as lobbyists who allege special access to Trump and influencers such as Laura Loomer. The Times reporting established that Burkman and Wohl were selling their alleged access to secure pardons. The newspaper, for example, reported on an audio recording in which Burkman said that he and Wohl "use a combination of influencers and members of Congress," as well as going "direct to the president, and I think that's a very good approach."

White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis emailed RCI that the Trump administration has a "robust pardon review process," and President Trump makes the final decision. "Anyone spending money to lobby for pardons is foolishly wasting their money and the President doesn't even know who these so-called 'lobbyists' are."

"60 Minutes" also regurgitated details first reported last March in the Times of Burkman's lobbying for pardons on behalf of nursing home owner Joseph Schwartz, who paid Burkman's firm almost $1 million, and the rapper Torrence Ivy Hatch Jr., known as Boosie BadAzz, who paid the pair $600,000.

To create TV drama, "60 Minutes" worked with convicted felon Ammon Covino, who met with Burkman and Wohl at the Ritz-Carlton. "60 Minutes" recorded the interaction with hidden cameras. To make Burkman and Wohl look good, Stahl introduced them to listeners as purported accomplished "pardon brokers."

Although he reportedly paid $600,000 to convicted felons, the rapper known as Boosie BadAzz has not received a presidential pardon.

"They claim they got one for this owner of a nursing home chain convicted of massive tax fraud," Stahl said. "He paid them nearly a million dollars for their promise to reach the president."

This is misleading. The Times reported that nursing home owner Joseph Schwartz stopped paying Burkman and Wohl after they failed to get him a pardon, a detail "60 Minutes" seems to have ignored. In fact, there is no evidence that Burkman and Wohl have gotten a pardon for anyone. Instead, Burkman and Wohl make money off felons by promising pardons that never seem to materialize.

RCI sent CBS News an extensive list of questions, noting apparent contradictions in their reporting, such as failing to note that two felons they recorded by hidden camera claiming they can get pardons have never actually gotten anyone a pardon. CBS News did not respond to these questions. A spokesperson sent this statement: "60 MINUTES stands behind our reporting and the investigative work our team did to shed light on the pardons process."

Instead of advancing a narrative about a "new system" of "pardon lobbyists," "60 Minutes" seems to have recycled key findings from the Clinton pardon scandal of 2001, while claiming their reporting has uncovered something new and unique about pardons in the Trump administration.

Clinton Pardon Scandals

During his final hours in office, President Bill Clinton signed a flurry of pardons that led to a years-long scandal that found his own brother, Roger Clinton, had accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobby for pardons, as did brothers of first lady Hillary Clinton and an attorney who worked on her Senate campaign that year.

"Pardon for Felon Considered After Kin Paid Roger Clinton," reported the New York Times in 2001 regarding a $50,000 payment to Roger by the family of Rosario Gambino, a convicted heroin trafficker and reputed organized crime figure. Just as Burkman and Wohl make wild claims of pardon success but never seem to deliver, the Gambino family told the Times that Roger Clinton led them to believe that a pardon for Rosario was a "lock."

While Roger Clinton failed to get anyone a pardon, House investigators released a 2002 report that found that he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobby for pardons. However, one person who did succeed in lobbying the Clinton administration for a pardon was Hillary Clinton's brother, Hugh Rodham.

Two felons - a convicted drug dealer and a businessman who marketed a bogus baldness cure - paid Hugh Rodham a combined $400,000 to get them pardons, which included lobbying White House staff. House investigators found that Rodham's lobbying efforts also involved telling White House staff that one of the pardons was "very important" to First Lady Clinton.

The House investigation also detailed similar actions by Hillary's other brother, Tony Rodham, who secured pardons over the objection of the Justice Department by lobbying his brother-in-law, President Bill Clinton: "Tony Rodham lobbied President Clinton to grant pardons to Edgar and Vonna Jo Gregory while he was receiving substantial sums of money from the Gregorys."

The findings that felons had hired both Bill and Hillary's family members to lobby the Clinton White House for pardons were widely covered by news outlets, including reporters at CBS News. Stahl joined the CBS News Washington bureau in the early 1970s and moved to "60 Minutes" in 1991, almost a decade before the Clinton scandal became national news. So it's hard to understand how she missed these details of the Clinton pardon scandal to now claim the Trump administration has created a new "pardon economy," as "60 Minutes" calls its news segment.

More Trump Probes

Although Stahl's "60 Minutes" segment did not support its claim that Trump has created a unique new system for pardons, it is already prompting fresh partisan attacks against the president. In an online story that followed the "60 Minutes" piece, CBS News reported that Democrats were alarmed by the undercover video: "Senior Democratic lawmakers vowed Monday to investigate the new market that has sprung up around President Trump's pardons, citing CBS News video of lobbyists offering to 'put pressure on the president' in exchange for a hefty fee from a convicted felon."

Now the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Congressman Jamie Raskin will likely lead these investigations. Raskin told CBS News that pardons are "kind of an underground market because not everybody knows how to get to it."

CBS News failed to report, however, that one of the people who benefited from this underground market was Raskin himself, who Biden pardoned along with Liz Cheney on his final day in office.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/24/2026 - 06:30

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