Cnn has a Team Coverage here. Lets start with sam kylie in the saudi capital of riyadh. What do we know about those pompeo meetings this morning . They werent exactly lengthy, were they . No, they were pretty brief. Not brisk, i think, but brief. The first meeting was with king salman this morning. That lasted 15 minutes. Now, the king is frail and elderly, and is handed over most of the reins of power to his son, mohammed bin salman. That meeting, both of which were attended by the foreign minister, between the crown prince and mike pompeo, went on for 30 to 40 minutes. So not extensive there either. Its very hard indeed to find out what went on behind those closed doors, but there was a pointed remark, i think, going in to the meeting from the crown prince as he was meeting mike pompeo. Ill read you an extract that was sent to us by a friendly Pool Reporter on the ground. The crown prince said, were really strong and old allies so we face our challenges together. The past, the day of, tomorrow. Pompeo replied, absolutely. Now, of course, what else could he have said in a public forum or semipublic forum to his host as the United States most senior diplomat. And nonetheless, the conviviality of this meeting or series of meetings does indicate perhaps a degree to which the americans want to try to put this whole episode eventually behind them. But that is going to be a very difficult in a nation which pointing down towards subordinates for responsibility is really not a tradition. Nothing much happens here unless it comes from above. Unless its convenient to blame those below you. Thanks very much. Lets get the latest on the investigation from Clarissa Ward. It was your reporting with tim yesterday about this emerging official explanation sort of dumping off the blame to a rogue operation. Do we know if this explanation is going to become public . Are the saudis still moving forward with this claim . Well, so far, we have seen no indication as to a timeline, when they might present the results of their investigation. We keep hearing from our sources that its imminent, that its imminent. I get the impression there are people within the royal court who would like to get out in front of this story right now. But there are clearly other forces who are slowing it down. And in the meantime, what youre seeing, jim, i think, is that some people are starting to get impatient. Particularly here in turkey. For the last couple days, turkish authorities had been very quiet, very buttoned up. We hadnt seen any leaks. They were speaking in positive terms about saudi cooperation, in positive terms about this joint working force. Today, were starting to see a little bit of a shift. We heard president erdogan say in that consulate, there was potentially toxic material. We had to deal with what was a, you know, painted over area, essentially implying that there was some kind of a hasty coverup, and the bottom line is the turks want to see a proper investigation. They want full and unfettered access, and the main question im sure they would like to know is where is that body . Is it here in turkey . How was it disposed of . The saudis are coming under a lot of pressure, both internationally and the sort of sense that outrage thats been galvanized through this, but also certainly privately through turkish sources who are saying enough is enough. We need to see more results. We need to find out definitively what happened to Jamal Khashoggi. Oh, goodness. Basic question, isnt it . A father, a soontobe husband, a journalist. Clarissa ward, thanks very much. And where is the body . Were joined by two of our Global Affairs analysts. Each with unique experiences as captives. Jason, a colleague of Jamal Khashoggi, had spent fi500 daysn prison in iran. David rogue, kidnapped in 2008 when reporting for the new york times. Hes now executive editor for the new yorker online. Let me bring you new reporting we got from Barbara Starr. A Senior Adviser to the president tells Barbara Starr the president s decision on how he handled this crisis with saudi arabia, quote, may be the most consequential decision of his presidency. Again, that coming from a Senior Adviser to the president. It gives you a sense, despite the pictures we just saw of a pretty friendly meeting between the secretary of state and king salman, how important this decision is for the president. So david, to you, what we have seen play out this morning, a 15minute meeting with the king of saudi arabia, is this the sight of the u. S. Holding an ally to account . No. Whatever happened, and it appears Jamal Khashoggi is dead, he was killed because of his political views. That is just outrageous and unacceptable. You should not be abducted in a consulate and killed because of what you are written or said. Thats basic american values. Jason, just the thought occurs to me as im sitting next to your colleague, david, and speaking to you. You were both held. David was held by the taliban, right . Terrorist organization. You were held by iran, authoritarian regime. The difference here, this is a u. S. Ally. Authoritarian, a royal family, but still a u. S. Ally. What difference does that make . But also, i remember, what difference does it make when the u. S. Definitively calls out violations of human rights . I think i recall you saying that when you were held, that the iranians listened to u. S. Public statements on your detention and that made a difference. I think pressure always makes a big difference in these cases. And i think secretary of state pompeos visit to saudi arabia sends all the wrong messages. It sends the wrong message to the people, the dissidents of saudi arabia, wherever they are in the world, that, you know, you need to be very careful because this regime can hunt you down wherever you are. It sends a terrible message to american journalists, people working for american media, that your life doesnt really matter. And i think worse of all, it sends a terrible message to the crown prince of saudi arabia that, you know what, this is not that big a deal. I think the words coming from the pentagon, while potentially reassuring, need to be followed up by a lot of action. Are im concerned thats not going to happen. Some of the additional reporting from Barbara Starr that i want you both to weigh in on, and david, you first, is the reason Senior Advisers believe that this is such a consequential move and decision and may by the president is because it becomes increasingly difficult for the u. S. Military and for u. S. Diplomats around the world to maintain a moral high ground, as marco rubio said, what do we stand for as americans when it comes to human rights . The longer there is sort of deflection, the longer there is essentially taking, you know, the king of saudi arabia on this at face value without knowing the results of an independent investigation. There has to be a thorough and credible investigation. And then back to my own captivity many years ago, the taliban saw the saudis as corrupt, and they essentially saw the United States and all of us as hypocritical that we talk about justice and the rule of law, and if theres a whitewash here f the saudis get a pass because of all the money they have and the oil they have, that will help jihadi groups with recruitment. It again shows that we dont really abide by the rule of law. Thats why, again, you know, he was murdered for his political views but there has to be a thorough and credible investigation. This is what europe is calling for. Why cant the United States . I remember being in the region when the abu ghraib photo came out and how that diminished u. S. Standing on a number of things. Jason, if i could ask you, just the Chilling Effect on journalists and dissidents in the region that Something Like this could happen and could be allowed to happen by the u. S. How much of an effect would it have on critical voices, folks, saudis, whether inside or outside the country who are willing to stand up and say listen, you know, publish critical articles or reveal news, does it have a Chilling Effect . It has a massive Chilling Effect. When i was imprisoned in iran, you could see many of the journalists still working there were writing a lot less, writing a lot less critically, and four years on, that hasnt really changed. Take this to a much more extreme scenario where were talking about the potential murder of a journalist in a foreign country, nato ally. I think that the chill and the fear is something that will be something that were experiencing and seeing for years to come, unfortunately. Jason, what should americans believe when they hear members of congress, we just heard on our show, a republican and a democrat, say we congress will act. We will hold the saudis to account. Essentially if the administration does not. Do you believe that . Do you believe that politics aside, enough members of congress so you can have a vetoproof majority, the senate will really sanction saudi on this . I want to believe that. And i hope that if theres an investigation and the worst turns out to be true, that they will be held to account, but if we look back at history, over the past couple decades, the saudis have been involved in all sorts of egregious acts and things that we as americans dont necessarily agree with. And there havent been any ramifications for it, so im not sure what to expect. But i would like to see congress act responsibly here. Thats an interesting point, not just under this administration, democratic administrations as well. Im talking about decades of american administrations. David and jason, two americans who were imprisoned by u. S. Adversaries and thankfully came out alive. Thank you both. Next, we head to the white house. All eyes on the president. How will he respond to all of this as the evidence accumulates . Plus, secretary of Defense James Mattis says the president is with him 100 . Of course, a very different message after the president s interview with 60 minutes on sunday where he said, mattis, well, sort of a democrat, and may leave his position. With just three weeks to the day before the midterms, democrats are in a tough race to capture the latino vote. A predicament they may well not have expected to be in, and pulling out the stops to generate enthusiasm across some hispanic communities. 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When you switch to Liberty Mutual, you could save 782 on auto and home insurance. And still get great coverage for you and your family. Call for a free quote today. You could save 782. Liberty mutual insurance. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Ignition sequence starts. 10. 9. Guidance is internal. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. But birds eye made it deliciousfrom zucchini. A. Mmm. Mashed potatoes. And rice but made from cauliflower. Looks like i need a fork oh no. giggles birds eye veggie made. So veggie good. All right, welcome back. There is this morning still no nee clarity from President Trump on what he would be willing to do if saudi arabia is in fact responsible for the death of missing Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. This is a stark contrast to lawmakers in both parties who are saying we will sanction saudi. We will take this into our own hands. Lets go to the white house. Abby phillip joins us. The president did take to twitter and did weigh in on saudi arabia, but the only thing he said about it this morning pertains to his own finances. And saudi arabia. Not to Jamal Khashoggi. Thats exactly right, poppy. The president this morning has been tweeting quite a bit about elizabeth warren, about jobs and the economy, and now about saudi arabia, but not in the way you would expect. Hes defending himself from accusations perhaps hes not willing to go farther in confronting saudi arabia because he has financial interests in that country. He says for the record, i have no financial interests in saudi arabia or russia, for that matter. Any suggestion i have is just more fake news. But poppy, first of all, we should say that the president and his companies have had long standing financial ties to saudi arabia. And we dont know what the status of those ties are at this moment because the president hasnt released his tax returns. But putting that aside, the tweet seems to be a response to really growing pressure, bipartisan pressure from republicans on capitol hill and even from within his administration to speak up more forcefully about whats going on in saudi arabia. Yesterday, President Trump spoke to reporters, and he offered an alternative explanation for what might have happened to Jamal Khashoggi, saying it could have been rogue killers operating within the consulate in turkey, an explanation that a lot of people found hard to believe. I think right now, the question for President Trump is, is he going to accept some kind of alternative explanation or is he going to be willing to be forceful on this as many in his own party want him to be. The issue at hand here is about human rights. President trump, however, has made it clear that hes also concerned about whether or not punishing saudi arabia could have a negative impact on the u. S. Economy over the next 24 to 48 hours, he has some Big Decisions to make on this, poppy. Very consequential ones. Abby, thank you. What strikes me is this is a president who has not hesitated from calling out allies. Canada, on issues of trade. Yes, this is an ally, but this is an issue of life and death and human rights. Joining us is the former director of legislative affaired under President Trump, marc short. We should know marc short signed a nondisparagement agreement when he worked on the campaign. You have heard the comments today. Im going to cite the republicans here. You have marco rubio saying today that the senate is going to pursue a bipartisan effort to change the u. S. saudi relationship for the foreseeable future. You had Lindsey Graham more colorfully saying hes going to, quote, sanction the hell out of saudi arabia, and bob corker, another republican in intelligence, and he said they will not stand for this. Why has the president himself not definitively called this out as something that the u. S. Will not accept . In the simplest terms. Well, i think having mike pompeo there is a good thing. Despite what your previous guest said, mike is a very direct perm. When theres common tear the meeting only lasted 15 minutes, its probably because he was direct. Ill say 100 what marco said on your show earlier today. Theres no amount of jobs or financial interests to the United States that compensate for our credibility overseas. And i think that saudi arabia is underestimating the risk here as to what congress could do in pulling back that arms sale. Marc, if you were in the white house still, how would you advise the president on this . Well, i would advise the president , i think you have to come clear and say that if evidence proves true that this journalist was killed by the saudis, that that has to be something that is denounced sooner and has to be without any ambiguity. But marc, let me jump in and ask you, is the beyond denouncing . Right . Is it beyond words . And is it action you say, bl president , you have to do this . Absolutely. As i have said many times on your show, look, a free and fair press is foundational to any democracy. And it is killing journalists is something that i think would send shockwaves across the middle east. But i also think we have to be a little cautious. A lot of information were getting is from turkey. We have to remember, turkey is a bad actor in a lot of things too. They just released an american pastor who was kept in prison for over two and a half years under trumped up charges. So we have to, i think, let some more of the evidence come out at this point. Although the difference there, of course, is we knew that pastor was alive. We dont have a body with Jamal Khashoggi, which would be a basic way to address this. Yes, but jim, also, you have to acknowledge a lot of information were getting is coming from turkey that has no interest in wanting to protect saudi arabia. Theyre actually enemies. Its important to remember that saudi arabia is somebody who is a check on irans aggression in the middle east. So just like your previous guest said, the last administration, when Congress Passed legislation to allow americans to sue those who were killed in 9 11, to sue foreign governments like saudi arabia, it was president obama who vetoed that legislation. Other president s have had to deal with the very tricky situation too. I hear you. Its a fair poirnt because republicans and democrats for decades have accepted a lot coming from the saudi regime. Not the first time they have imprisoned dissidents, journalists, thats a fair point, but theres a why question that maybe you could provide some insight for us. This is a why question asked not just by democrats but by republicans. The president s been slow, i think youll admit, on being definitive in criticizing wha