back then, mohammed bin salman was talked of almost as a saudi robin hood. terviewed jamal khashoggi about the events. the message from mohammed bin salman to these people seems to be quite simple, we want the money back. yes, and i think the saudis should give him the benefit of the doubt. but at the same time, shouldn't that be discussed in a consultative body? yes, we need to crush corruption, but it is being done by i—man rule. khashoggi's concerns seemed to be supported by the allegations emerging from the ritz—carlton, allegations that the detainees hadn'tjust been stripped of their wealth, some had been tortured. a key figure in the interrogations was this man, saud al-qahtani. 12 months later, the saudis themselves would implicate him in the killing of khashoggi. now demoted, he was described as the crown prince's fixer and enforcer. during the interrogations of multibillionaire prince al—waleed bin talal, one of his business contacts was summoned to riyadh. but qahtani believed alan bender could help the prince to co—operate. saud al-qahtani was brag

there are also accounts of mohammed bin salman's alleged dark side. nonymity, of an incident when mohammed bin salman wasjust i6. his voice has been altered to protect his identity. the crown prince is a fairly recent arrival on the world stage. in 2016 he gave his first—ever interview to a specialist in middle east economics and left a lasting impression. he filled the room. there were quite senior people amongst them. it was his voice that dominated. he is vast. he towers over all his courtiers and he has these huge hands, which he uses to make his points. the conversation turned to how, only the day before, more than a0 people, some said to be terrorists, were said to be executed in saudi arabia. there was one chilling statement he said at the time, which was "execution is a language that my people understand". if he was going to retain control i think it was clear at that point that death was going to be an instrument of policy. what made jamal khashoggi a candidate for assassination? he was an insider in saudi royal circles, but with a global netw

right now the royal family is enormously unhappy with crown prince mohammed bin salman. 0ne enormouslyise to power is a crackdown on the privileges that the royal family has enjoyed. so the royalfamily privileges that the royal family has enjoyed. so the royal family really hated him before jamal khashoggi and continues to hate him. the question is, do they have any power to do anything about it? in 2017, jamal khashoggi told the bbc that his ambitions were modest. yes, he could influence how people thought, but, after all, he was just a writer. jamal khashoggi's ambition can no longer be filled. but will anybody be held accountable? —— fulfilled. it's too soon to say who will be tried in connection with the killing. but in the court of world opinion a trial is already under way and the defence are on the ropes. despite the tens of millions reportedly spent lobbying in the us, the savagery meted out to jamal khashoggi has wiped away the smiles that used to greet mohammed bin salman. and the man whose interview helped to bring mohammed bin salman to the world's attentions of the brand h

trace a line of responsibility for this murder directly to the de facto ruler of the kingdom, mohammed bin salmanes had pretty reliable, suggesting that the cia believes that the line of authority goes direct to crown in its mohammed bin salman. president trump himself says it may be we don't know, maybe he did, he didn't, maybe we will never find out. what he did, he didn't, maybe we will neverfind out. what do he did, he didn't, maybe we will never find out. what do you think? well, i think, never find out. what do you think? well, ithink, saying never find out. what do you think? well, i think, saying that we may never find out is just a way to avoid the issue, to hold someone responsible for this heinous crime. is trying to avoid facing the nation and telling them who did it and why and telling them who did it and why and where? so, it is a way of avoiding the question of who did it and in what capacity the order came from. that is one point. the other point about the issue is that if we are thinking who did it, well, see the fingerprints. who gave a death penalty to my father for similar vie

tells me mohammed bin salman is not going to leave power.tion for me is realistically how does a country where he remains the crown prince, potentially some day will be king, becomes more stable? the administration says it's naive to abandon autocrats friendly to us interests but after the khashoggi murder, the spotlight is on the us saudi relationship with lawmakers now demanding riyadh pay a price for its behaviour. let's get some of the day's other news. heatwaves linked to climate change pose an increasing danger that threatens to overwhelm health services around the world, according to research just published in the lancet. the study found vulnerability to extreme hot weather has risen steadily since 1990, and suggests people in europe and the eastern mediterranean are more at risk from heatwaves because of the high number of older people living in cities. at least 10 people have been killed in an attack on the compound of the british security company gas in kabul. 19 were wounded, including several children. the afghan interior ministr

our top stories: reports in the us that the cia believes saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman ordered the assassination of journalist jamal khashoggi, in istanbul. more than a thousand people now reported as missing in california's deadliest wildfire. 71 people are confirmed to have died. it's thought many of the missing are elderly. written, but not submitted. president trump says he's finished writing his answers to questions posed by the mueller inquiry into alleged russian election meddling. the british prime minister tries to sell her brexit deal, but the bbc understands that five of her top ministers want her to make changes. and he was the king of rock ‘n‘ roll. now, a0 years after his death, elvis presley is awarded america's highest civilian honour. hello and welcome. the cia believes that the saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman ordered the murder ofjournalist jamal khashoggi, according to reports in the us. it follows a detailed assessment of evidence by the intelligence agency. however saudi arabia has called the claim false and insists the crown prince knew nothing of t

the executive. >> so in the situation they are saying that de facto ruler of saudi arabia is mohammed bin salmanrue or is king solomon in charge? >> i think the ruler is mohammed bin salman. >> i can't get any of you in this question like who did it but fingers are pointing to the top but we don't know exactly we need independent investigation. >> the fingers are pointing at mohammed bin salman. there is no doubt about that. fingers are pointing in that direction but we need to have a proper investigation to establish the facts x trumps response in the white house response, do you think they are trying to actually get to the truth or are they helping him cover-up? it was trump who first introduced the Ãbrogue operatives. it seems like they're Ãbis he trying to help. >> i think it's really sad to see the lack of leadership from the united states on this. i was actually in Ãbwith the one-year anniversary of another death of a journalist. when i first heard our president get up and pare it what the saudi's have said, then we hear this idea of rogue actors. no we are not seeing sufficient leadership

we can take a much harder line supporting the war in yemen, and you could really make mohammed bin salman, i think with one thing that's already happening is congress has triggered the magnitsky act again so that trump will actually be forced to make a determination as to whether or not mohammed bin salman is or isn't responsible. and either he says he's not responsible, in which case there is a series potentially of congressional hearings about why he is ignoring the guidance of the american intelligence agencies and kind of what was the process by which he came to this ludicrous conclusion, or they find out he is responsible and that triggers certain kind of sanctions and repercussions. to me the question now is you have republicans furrowing their brows and saying that they are appalled by this, although i can't quite imagine why they're shocked by this. this was the most trumpy statement imaginable. to me the question is whether you know linda graham kind of famously si famously sink ofantic will actually stand up to the president. >> in six weeks democrats will take control of the ho

the irony that mohammed bin salman doesn't have an opposition. he doesn't have the tall ban as i have in afghanistan. most of the people, most of the intellectuals -- most of the people in jail are supportive of reform. if they were out of jail, they would be supporting him. there is no need to be arresting anything. >> and there you are in the scene. that was in 2018. there has been a thought that actually the crown prince didn't like any kind of dissent and did have sort of a, as i described it as what david ignatius reported. >> well, two things. first of all, i have a great respect for david ignatius, but his article is full of inaccuracies and i told him that yesterday. we can go into that if you like. but beyond that, what people don't understand is that the crown prince and the king have undertaken in the last two years the most drenching reform process or change process that the kingdom has gone through in the last 50 years. again, people don't want to appreciate that change is very risky and change brings out a lot of resistance. so is t

and the other is to try to shield mohamed bin salman from face. ngoing confrontation with congress. talking of congress, you heard lindsey graham, a known hawk, saying he will not deal with mohamed bin salman any more, that he is a wrecking ball. what does that mean? what power does congress have to ta ke what power does congress have to take richard reid of action against mohamed bin salman if they believe the cia is right? —— action against. they can find lots of ways, frankly, to ta ke they can find lots of ways, frankly, to take it out of the administration if the administration is pursuing policies with which the congress disagrees. they can certainly do things like block arms sales to saudi arabia in the future will stop then there is the whole question of diplomatic engagement, criticising president trump and others in the administration if they meet with mohamed bin salman and so forth. what we have seen is very surprising. six weeks after this brutal murder it has not been dropped. members of congress and very senior senators, republicans

one of these phone calls was apparently made to jamal khashoggi himself by mohammed bin salman, the crownrinces brother, khalid bin salman. in this phone call he assured her two that he would be safe going to the embassy in istanbul. according to reports, it was a false assurance, but there is a suggestion that it came from the crown princess. there was the claim that it would go to him and for him to go to the consulate himself. there was another phone call a p pa re ntly there was another phone call apparently made to sing a off the ground in —— senior aid. apparently made to sing a off the ground in —— senioraid. and apparently made to sing a off the ground in —— senior aid. and that member was apparently phoned by a member was apparently phoned by a member of the squad going to turkey to specifically carry out the killing of jamal khashoggi. to specifically carry out the killing ofjamal khashoggi. the question is, that phone call came after he was murdered himself. the cia has looked at a range of different evidence and it is very clear that officials suggest there was no one piece of

president trump exchanges pleasantries here at the g20 with the saudi crown prince, mohamed bin salman, implicated by the cia in the killing of journalist jamal khashoggi. and russian president vladimir putin gave the prince a high-five. is the saudi leader getting away with murder? >>> we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer, live at the g20 summit in buenos aires. you're in "the situation room." >>> this is cnn breaking news. >>> we're following breaking news. we are live in buenos aires, where world leaders are gathered for a summit in the top industrialized nations. and president trump is right in the middle of the spotlight, insisting his decision to cancel a meeting with russian president vladimir putin is unrelated to dramatic new developments of the mueller investigation, which the white house now says is undermining the u.s. relationship with russia. we're also following breaking news from alaska, where the state's largest city, anchorage, has been rocked by a magnitude 7 earthquake, causing extensive damage and felt 400 miles

right now i guess the administration view is that saudi arabia is synonymous with mohammed bin salman maybe i'm fantasizing here, that the royal family would think about some other heir apparent other than mohammed bin salman because for my money he's severely compromised himself by his involvement in this really despicable act. >> direct james clapper, thank you so much for your insight and helping us understanding what's going on here. >>> coming up has the president lost confidence in his vice president? new reporting from "the new york times" says the president has been going around asking aides if mike pence is loyal. we'll talk about that next. wow kaley, this is a fancy hotel. must have cost a lot. actually, i got a great deal. priceline saves you up to 60% on hotels, but that's something the hotels don't really want other guests to know. i saved about 120 dollars a night! did you say you saved 120 dollars a night on a room? 120 a night on a hotel room... that's a lot of savings! i saved even more on my flight. save up to 60% on hotels with priceline. we're all under one roof n

a month ago you said you had spoken to the saudi crown prince, mohammed bin salman, and that he had toldirectly that he had no knowledge of this. that's right, that's right — and still says that. our washington correspondent chris buckler has the latest. president trump insists that the cia assessment has not been completed. he does, however, expect it to be complete by tuesday, and at this stage he says it's premature and inaccurate to suggest that the intelligence agency has concluded that the crown prince, mohammed bin salman, ordered the murder of jamal khashoggi. there has also been a very carefully worded statement by the state department over the weekend in which they say that the us government, perhaps distinct from the cia, has not yet reached any final conclusions. there has of course also been a very firm denialfrom saudi arabia. but there continue to be these questions, and the cia has certainly been looking at evidence which includes that tape of the killing inside the istanbul consulate, the audio recording that president trump has so far avoided hearing. and beyond that, t

official the cia has concluded that the saudi mohammed bin salman -- saudi crown prince mohammed bin sonally ordered the murder of jamal khashoggi last month. >> vice president mike pence quickly responded to the report saying the u.s. the hold his murderers accountable. >> the murder of jamal khashoggi was an atrocity. it was also an affront to a free and independent press, and the united states is determined to hold all those accountable who are responsible for that murder. >> senior international correspondent ben wedeman is in bay roueiru beirut. how did the cia reach this conclusion? >> reporter: they based this conclusion upon a variety of intelligence sources. but one of them significantly was a telephone call intercepted between the saudi ambassador in washington who happens to be the brother of crown prince mohammed bin salman and jamal khashoggi in which the saudi ambassador reassured the "washington post" columnist that to get that paper he needed to remarry he could go to the saudi consulate in istanbul and do so safely. apparently according to this report, this was a phon

. >>> the cia now concludes that crown prince mohammed bin salman personally ordered the killing of journalist jamal khashoggi. >> the assessment is that crown prince mohammed bin salman directed, ordered, this assassination. >>> president trump announced today he's finally done writing out answers for the special counsel. >> president trump's legal team balking, taking issue with some of the questions. >> i write the answers, my lawyers don't write answers. >> this is "new day weekend" with victor blackwell and christi paul. >>> good saturday to you. top of the hour now. it is a staggering number now because more than 1,000 people are unaccounted for in the wildfires burning across northern california. officials know of 74 people who have been killed. that number is expected to rise today. >> and in a few minutes the president is departing for california. he's expected to put politics aside, touring the devastation with california's governor and governor-elect. both of whom, of course, are democrats. press secretary sarah sanders says the president wants to show support for the victims. >> i

evidence that journalist jamal khashoggi was assassinated at the direct order of crown prince mohammed bin salman. "the new york times" reports that top saudi officials considered using private companies to assassinate enemies order of crown prince mohammed a year before khashoggi's death. we speak with one of the reporters who broke the story, ronen bergman, author of "rise and kill first: the secret history of israel's targeted assassinations," a stunning book israeli intelligence officials tried to stop him from writing. >> this is a book about clandestine operations which focuses on targeted killings. in many other countries, this would be seen as illegal or e en if a country employs these tactics, people would be ashamed or embarrassed to talk about it. in israeael, people are proud ty took these assignments. amy: then we look at the cost of war. nearly half a million people have died in the so-called u.s. war on terror. it has cost the united states nearly 60 in dollars. we will speak with professor neta crawford, lead author of a major new report from brown university. all that and more,e,

sing salomon and crown prince mohammed bin salm mohammed bin salman vigorously deny any knowledge. our intelligence agents continue to assess all information but it could very well be that the crown prince had knowledge of the tragic event -- maybe he did and maybe he didn't. let's go to secretary mike pompeo. >> with that i'm happy to take a few questions. . >> reporter: mr. secretary, one of the things that the president points to in his statement is a $110 billion arms initiative but by the state department's own record, only $14.5 billion has come through. when do you expect to see the rest of the money from that arms agreement? >> some of these contracts, defense contracts in it can, are complex.negotiations, we are working diligently. i couldn't tell when you those negotiations will conclude but we are hopeful that each of those commitments that the kingdom of saudi arabia made to the united states to purchase equipment will be completed in a timely fashion. >> reporter: based on the president's statement, moving forward, relations with saudi arabia won't be affected by the k

talking to crown prince mohammed bin salman. another leader president trump may only see briefly as the u.s. is distancing themselves from the kingdom in riad. putin was all smiles with the prince. >> president is kscheduled to meet with other world leaders includie ining china. there are some rumbles inside the gop over mr. trump's changing stories on that moscow project. one said it would have been a different campaign in 2016 had the public known about that project. wolf. >> good point. thank you very much. let's talk a bit more about all of this. president of the united states is here on the world stage. he's under a lot of pressure in the russia investigation back home. i'm joined by our international diplomatic editor. the white house says this whole mueller investigation is damaging u.s.-russia relationships. is that true? >> this is what the russians would have us believe as well. the russian president spokesperson said cancelling the meeting raises tensions between the two countries. the russians are enabling that messa

our top stories: as prince mohamed bin salman arrives at the 620 summit, the us senate votes to take forward plans to end american military support for the saudi—led war in yemen. the bank of england warns that the uk could face a deep recession and a collapse in the pound if there's a no—deal brexit. fleeing the land of fire and flood. thousands evacuate their homes in the australian state of queensland as warning levels are raised to catastrophic for the first time. and the gadgets of the past finding new life in the african nation of togo, but the transformation comes with a risk. senators in the us have strongly criticised the absence of the cia director at a senate hearing on relations with saudi arabia. secretary of state mike pompeo gave evidence, along with defence secretaryjim mattis. the head of the cia did not. gina haspel has heard the audio of the murder the jamal khashoggi, and one democratic senator described her non—appearance as a cover—up. from washington, here's laura trevelyan this is the controversial saudi crown prince who reportedly, in the assessment of the ci

anybody who knows saudi arabia knows that mohammed bin salman ordered this, and i think the interestinghis, and it's almost as a revolt from langley, telling the president, look, you can say what you want, but you're absolutely wrong, and let's don't ferlgorget this wast of his first deal going to saudi arabia and starting an alliance with mohammed bin salman, this is the art of the deal, i trust this guy, the arms deal and the rest of it. this is a huge setback for the president. >> i mean, it certainly is. you got to remember the crown prince, when this first came out, said, oh, jamal khashoggi left the consulate, right? remember the guy who had dressed up in his clothes and there's already been blatant lies from his mouth directly. >> you can't trust anything they say at this point. i mean, they're trying to cover up for the crown prince. there's nobody that can replace him right now. the crown prince controls the intelligence service, the police, the whole country, and so what do you do now? is it going to be a dynastic fight over, you know, getting rid of him? the king is senile. h

would say that to mohammed bin salman. you do this again and there will be real consequences. ey would have to do that because a relationship with saudi arabia going forward will be difficult because mohammed bin salman has shown some errors in judgment. yes he's attempted to do exactly what james described in modernizing saudi arabia. but this was a real bad call on his part and he is made some others. i think secretary state pompeo, national security john bolton now have got to talk straightforwardly with them and say look, we've got to have a better understanding of our relationship. it cannot be based on what we have seen. paul: still ahead, the trump economy. the president is touting robust growth and the economy. but turmoil and challenges ahead. we will ask a former economic advisor next. >> as a country we are doing great. on the claimant is at a record low. look at the different statistics, i think tech stock will have some pals but that minimums and fees. they seem to be the very foundation of your typical bank. capital one is anything but typical. that's why we desig

and the senator corker is absolutely right they are going to rush to protect mohammed bin salman andron clad evidence to hold up in court. i think it is imperative for the u.s. to stand up for this journalist that wrote for the "washington post." there is a lot of leverage and bipartisan support in congress for ending arms supply for the saudi war in yemen. and also holding whoever is accountable here holding them accountable via sanctions. so far the trump administration has done sanctions to 17 saudis but these are lower level individuals. this is attempt to protect the crown prince. and if the crowns prince was in fact responsible for this murder, as the cia has concluded, i think we need to be looking at sanctions on the crowns prince as well. and a lot of bipartisan by people in congress to do just that. but clearly president trump doesn't care about this murder. he doint care about morality and u.s. foreign policy. all he cares about is the arms deals which as you pointed out are wildly exaggerated. not factual that you won't get over $100 billion in arms sales, he's making tha

exchanged a joke or two a story then when pushed by the so did media that donald trump and mohammed bin salman had had a friendly meeting the the americans were asked about that donald trump said there was no discussions he might but there were no discussions so essentially it was just a friendly greeting in passing although donald trump still holding out the possibility that there might be more substantive discussions with mohammed been summoned before the g. eight is done and then there was the very awkward family photo that's when all the leaders gathered together and mohamed bin salman stood at the far right of the picture we were wondering who would be placed next to him it turned out to be an investment banker shook hands but many people were scrambling to find out exactly who this person was meanwhile on the far left of the picture down at the bottom was president of turkey that isn't a coincidence these things are stage managed than the two men were obviously kept quite far apart the result saw an interesting meeting with president macron he said he wanted to talk to mohammed bin selma

and, you know, one of the closest friends of mohammed bin salman was his chief propagandist, but thatng said that this would enter our informations sphere and go into right wing media especially with regards to, you know, the accusation of him being a member of the muslim brother hood, which by the way if you don't know it in the arabian gulf, you know, the arabian peninsula the muslim brotherhood is considered, you know, far, far more dangerous and insidious to them than iran. and they just have a pathological hate of that group. and so mention the muslim brotherhood over there and you can get practically anything that you want. and so it's not surprising that and, you know, one of the closest friends of mohammed bin salman was his chief propagandist, but that being said that this would enter our informations sphere and go into right wing media especially with regards to, you know, the accusation of him being a member of the muslim brother hood, which by the way if you don't know it in the arabian gulf, you know, the arabian peninsula the muslim brotherhood is considered, you know, f

in october 2018, crown prince mohammed bin salman gave bloomberg is where he said they had detained some 1500 people in the past three years on national security grounds. it is clear what international human rights organizations are able to catalog represents merely the tip of the iceberg. in a close political space like saudi arabia where the government controls all sources of information, it's difficult to gather reliable information and the message heard by critics of the saudi government policy is that we will erase we will embrace you and no one will remember your name. yet amidst this grim picture there is still hope for truth in saudi arabia and on that front we must start with jamal. amnesty international is gathering with other organizations to call for the u.n. to begin an investigation into jamal's death. we are here today for jamal khashoggi, but were also eager to offer the authorities in saudi arabia that some much-needed guidance and clarity, a counter message could just as they have messages for those who defend human rights, we have messages for them. for too long they'v

the president is reluctant to implication crown prince mohammed bin salman in the killing. although the cia concluded the crown prince personally ordered the operation. bob corker says congress will respond with additional pressure on saudi arabia if the trump administration fails to name the crown prince in sanctions. how are the saudis reacting? we have jomana karadsheh with more from istanbul. jomana. >> reporter: christine, it seems saudi officials are defiant and standing their ground before the prime minister in an interview with a saudi newspaper saying he has seen the news reports that the soocia concluded that crown prince mohammed bin salman ordered the killing of jamal khashoggi. he says this is based on assessment and not based on real concrete evidence. he says we in the kingdom know this is unfounded and we reject this categorically whether it is leaks or not. then he went on to say that they have taken measures against those involved in the killing. he says saudi arabia has been the first country to implement such measures against those involved and they are

>> yeah. >> who picked mohammed bin salman as his guy.because let's face it, it was not sure that the crown prince was going to be the crowns prince. there were many people that could have been chosen from. >> that's right. >> but jared kushner early on during the transition really showed his own backing from the united states, from the trump administration. they are putting all of their eggs in the mohammed bin salman basket. they think that it's not only about oil sales and keeping oil prices steady, which president trump referred to, but it's also about they hope he's going to bring them a middle east peace deal. they hope he's going to stand with them against iran. it was striking to me that here is a statement that is supposed to be about saudi arabia but the very first sentence actually talked about iran. and blamed the war in yemen on iran when we know that saudi indiscriminate bombing has caused so many thousands, tens of thousands of civilian casualties and has now prompted a famine. so with saudi arabia suddenly giving money and

states will continue to support saudi arabia, even though he's acknowledged that crown prince mohammed bin salmanery well have had knowledge of plans to murder the journalist and saudi government critic, jamal khashoggi. mr trump described the kingdom as a steadfast partner that had agreed to invest a record amount of money in the us. that stance has drawn criticism from politicians of both parties in washington, including the senate foreign relations committee. chris buckler reports. the cia now believes it has a detailed picture of what happened when jamal khashoggi entered the saudi consulate. the names of the so—called saudi execution team who flew into istanbul to carry out the murder, and an audio recording of the killing inside the consulate which president trump says he has refused to listen to because it was, in his words, "so violent, vicious and terrible." it's been claimed that the intelligence agency believes that, despite his denials, the crown prince, mohammed bin salman, ordered the murder. today, in a statement, president trump seemed to dismiss that, saying: i'm not going to des

the cia was reported to have concluded that the saudi crown prince, mohammed bin salman, ordered the killing. but mr trump said those reports were premature here's some of what president trump had to say. we have the tape. i don't want to hear the tape, no reason for me to hear the tape. why don't you want to? but i've been fully briefed. why don't you want to hear it, sir? because it's a suffering tape, it's a terrible tape. i've been fully briefed on it. there's no reason for me to hear it. in fact, i said to the people, "should i?" they said, "you really shouldn't, there's no reason". i know exactly, i know everything that went on in the tape without having to hear it. and what happened? it was very violent, very vicious and terrible. a month ago, you said you had spoken with saudi crown prince, mohammed bin salman, and that he had told you directly that he had no knowledge of this. that's right, and still says that. let's get more from chris buckler in washington. this story is just not going away from mr, or indeed, saudi arabia. this story is just not going away from mr, 0r ind

the cia is reported to have concluded that the saudi crown prince, mohammed bin salman, ordered the killing, but mr trump said those reports are premature. let's hear what president trump had to say. we have the tape. i don't want to hear the tape, no reason for me to hear the tape. why don't you want to hear it, sir? because it's a suffering tape, it's a terrible tape. i've been fully briefed on it. there's no reason for me to hear it. in fact, i said to the people, "should i?" they said, "you really shouldn't, there's no reason". i know exactly — i know everything that went on in the tape without having to hear it. and what happened? it was very violent, very vicious and terrible. a month ago you said you had spoken to the saudi crown prince and that he had told you directly that he had no knowledge of this. that's right, that's right. and still says that. 0ur washington correspondent chris buckler has the latest. president trump insists that the cia assessment has not been completed. he does, however, expected to be com plete he does, however, expected to be co m plete by he does, howeve

it was the charity that mohammed bin salman runs.st runs. they are still, and sincerely, it's notjust that runs. they are still, and sincerely, it's not just that they feel like they have to say this, they are still very infused about the changes that there have been in the country, the greater opportunities for younger people and women, the fact that you do not have the religious police walking around in saudi arabia. just a few years ago, you would be concerned if you are in a shopping wall or something, when the prayers ring out, that you have got to get out of that quickly, the religious police would come, how you we re religious police would come, how you were dressed, who you are with. there is not that sense, it seems like more breathable easier country. there is a general sense amongst many saudis that they do not want that turned around. again and again, although you imagine this is not a subject they want to get into deeply, whatever happens at the top, there is a sense that they want their way that things have been going t

am i supposed to believe, the analysts that produce this high confidence cia assessment that mohammed bin salmanas responsible for this, the same analysts who have sworn an oath to protect our constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic or mohammed bin salman? in the end he certainly didn't side with the cia. we have to take notice of the fact that he has done this in two cases. in russia where he has consistently sided with putin over our own intelligence committee and saudi arabia where he's done the same. ali, i think it is no coincidence that in both of those places, president trump and his broader family and businesses have significant financial interests in both of those countries. president trump in 2015 bragged about how saudis pay 40 or $50 million for his apartments. he has entered into previous business dealings with saudis before. so i think in this case, what we're actually seeing is not that the president is recruited assets of the saudi government, or in my estimation even the russian government, but his allegiance is conflicted. his allegiance is to follow the dollar, to f

earlier the russian president shaking hands with saudi prince mohammed bin salman. and look at the -- i mean, that is like a -- i wouldn't say a bro hug but a secret hand shake and just to remind you, who these men are. it's not like they're frat brothers. putin, a former kgb agent. he's one of if not the richest and most powerful men in the world with an estimated net worth of up to $200 billion. and the crown prince of saudi arabia, bin salman is currently under fire across the globe for accusations about his involvement in the brutal murder of "washington post" journalist jamal khashoggi. hours ago president trump held a friendly meeting with french president macron and this morning signed that new trade deal called the usmca. we got a lot to go through. joining me now nbc's jeff bennett and former undersecretary of state for political affairs ambassador nick burns. jeff, set the stage for us. the russia investigation is casting a huge shadow over the president's trip to argentina. i can't imagine it's affecting the formal agenda down there but is it talked about

a reuters report that some members of the saudi ruling family wanted to block crown prince mohammed bin salman from assuming the throne he so outrageous comments that are being made are totally unacceptable and the kingdom of saudi arabia is unified on this issue the kingdom of saudi arabia is committed to its leadership the kingdom of saudi arabia is committed to the vision that our leaders have put forth for us in terms of vision twenty thirty and in terms of moving along the path of reform of the pentagon u.s. defense secretary james mattis discussed the administration's reasons for backing saudi arabia despite calls for accountability for khashoggi is murder on the khashoggi affair he said presidents don't often get the freedom to work with unblemished partners in all things you don't mention the conflict in yemen if you want to end the war you're going to deal with saudi you can't say i'm not going to deal with them a rejection of the policy advocated by an increasing number of members of congress to apply pressure on saudi arabia to end the war by ending the u.s. arms sales upon which it

it is not that mohammed bin salman has disappeared, but we are seeing the older heads, the ones who are on, almost four years now. it is an absolute scar on the region. the public concern in the uk, in the us, about our support, military and financial, for the saudis has been growing. 0ther countries are seeing this as an opportunity and that the saudis are open to it, and we are seeing that. in the saudi media, the lead story is about the un meeting on yemen. much further down is a short denial about this story, the one i was just talking about. that shows the priority at the moment, and that the yemen initiative is being taken seriously. sebastien, thank you very much. more than a thousand people have been reported missing in a california wildfire which has destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 71 people. president trump is due to visit the area of northern california devastated by the state's worst—ever wildfire later today. the town of paradise and villages around it were almost completely destroyed. from there, the bbc‘s dave lee reports. this is the first step in a very

saudi arabia, claiming it would be a terrible mistake to abandon the support for crown prince mohammed bin salman >> i'm not going ing to destroye world economy by being foolish with saudi arabia. >>> and renault shares higher as the company appoints a temporary leadership team after carlos ghosn's arrest but they say he will remain in the role as chairman and ceo >>> about 20 minutes ago when i was looking at the european markets it was 50/50 green and red. now we're moving about 7/3, 6/4, most stocks moving higher after a drubbing one thing i do want to point out. though we had leadership from the technology sector on monday and from the energy sector on tuesday on the way down, this has been a broad-based selloff stocks like goldman sachs becoming the worst decliner year to date in the dow jones industrial average materials in correction territory nearly in bear market territory. 17% lower from the 52-week high. communication services down by a similar margin there's unambiguous leadership on the way down from energy and technology but this has come from all sides. let's look at some sectors m

as you mentioned, mohammed bin salman also in the room, and in many rooms with president trump.t now, but there are a lot of questions about whether they might interact with each other. if they do, will president trump say anything about the murder of "the washington post" journalist jamal khashoggi. we already know that the white house has been reluctant to push back on saudi arabia over this issue. president trump has justified it for based on the bilateral relationship with saudi arabia and the middle east, but again, a lot riding on this weekend. it's all starting now. they're all sitting in this room. president trump having a lot of opportunities to interact with folks today. >> we just saw justin trudeau, who signed the usmca, the new trade deal. we just saw him there. as you mentioned, making that comment, a direct message to president trump to lift the steel and aluminum tariffs. i asked him, will you sign the trade agreement if the tariffs are still in place. some see it as leverage if you don't? he said he would and they did this morning. all right, abby, thank you. >>

president trump says the us wants to stand by saudi arabia, even if the saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman knew about the killing of journalist jamal khashoggi. theresa may prepares to head to brussels for more brexit talks, as her ministers are forced to accept several amendments to the budget finance bill in the commons this evening. one in five local hospital services have failed to hit any of their waiting time targets for cancer, accident and emergency and routine operations. nhs hospitals blame the increasing complexity of their existing cases. they often have diabetes, they've got asthma, they're very elderly often, so they come with multiple needs so they take a lot longer to help. if they get admitted, they tend to stay in hospital a lot longer as well. and celebrating 20 years of the international space station. # ground control to major tom... this is one of the more memorable moments from all of the celebrations. and the duke of cambridge tells a mental health conference he felt very sad and very down after working on traumatic incidents forthe airambulance, revealing that one

i think it affects our ability to work with mohammed bin salman going forward. don't think that it changes the reality inside of yemen or what the united states needs to be doing in order to try to resolve the conflict and address the humanitarian crisis. >> phil mudd, senator lindsey graham, republican senator, has been pretty much in lockstep with this president for the last several months. a marked turn for him, but on the issue of the crown prince, the issue of the khashoggi killing, listen to what he had to say this sunday. i want to get your reaction. >> i haven't been briefed, but i believe from day one that 15 people, 18, whatever the number was, they don't get on two airplanes, go to turkey, and chop a guy up in the consulate who is a critic of the crown prince without the crown prince having known about it and sanctioned it. when it comes to the crown prince, he's irrational. he's unhinged. and i think he's done a lot of damage to the relationship between the united states and saudi arabia. >> graham went on to say he personally is done working with th

mohammed bin salman arrived in argentina today ahead of the 620 summit, as on capitol hill, a chorusrs demanded saudi arabia face consequences for violating human rights. the us secretary of state had to defend a crucial us ally. there is no direct reporting connecting the crown prince to the order of the murder of jamal khashoggi. the president himself says in a washington post interview once again maybe mohammed bin salman did know about the killing, maybe he didn't. the trump administration argues saudi arabia is a crucial partner against iran and islamic state, which buys billions of dollars of us weapons. but us senators say america can't ignore murder. when we do not send a message to a country like saudi arabia, we tell an ally you can kill with impunity simply because you have some other interests with us, then we send a global message that is frightening and one that doesn't serve us interests and national security. after hearing from top trump officials today, senators asked why they hadn't been alloed to hear from cia director gina haspel herself. she's heard the tape of t