Senator John Cornyn Wants To Know if DOJ's Investigation Into The PGA Tour Was to Help Saudi Arabia Ahead of Biden Trip

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Earlier this week it was reported that the Department of Justice had begun an investigation into the PGA Tour to determine whether or not it was engaging in "anticompetitive behavior" with Saudi-backed LIV Golf.

The DOJ investigating the PGA Tour is a major story in and of itself, but the timing of it all is worth focusing on as well.

News of the investigation broke on July 11, just two days before President Joe Biden's trip overseas began, a trip that will include a controversial stop in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudis, who are funding LIV Golf, have been on the receiving end of non-stop criticism dating back to when the breakaway circuit was simply just a rumor.

Biden's DOJ opening an investigation into the PGA Tour the same week he's headed to Saudi Arabia himself - where he could be asking the Saudis to help with the skyrocketing gas prices in the U.S. - is interesting timing, to say the least.








Senator John Cornyn Wants Answers From Biden


Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) talks to reporters as he walks through the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on June 23, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)



Many pointed out that the timeliness of the investigation seemed like much more than a simple coincidence. United States senator John Cornyn has questions for the President regarding the timing of the investigation and his trip to Saudi Arabia.

The Texas senator responded to the news of the investigation by sending the President a letter. In his letter, Sen. Cornyn asks President Biden specific questions about the peculiar timing of his trip as it relates to the investigation.




"On Monday, July 11, 2022, the week you traveled to Saudi Arabia, the Wall Street Journal reported that your administration had sent inquiries regarding the PGA Tour’s actions as they relate to LIV Golf," Sen. Cornyn's letter, obtained by OutKick, reads in part.

"I am concerned about whether members of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, or any other member of your administration, was involved in the investigation recently being made public. I also have questions about whether your administration had any contact with the Saudi Arabian government about the investigation, either before it opened or afterwards."

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and all other happenings in the world of golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.