r reporter: on twitter the president said he had spoken with the crown prince who totally denied any knowledge of the journalist's fate. khashoggi, a contributor to the "washington post," entered the saudi consulate in istanbul october 2 and has not been seen since. the saudis said for days, n,ashoggi left on his own, but sources say the government is edepared to admit he died during a botched interrogation, though no admission has been forthcoming. "the washington post" published pae passports of seven men they say were part of the saudi team that flew to istanbul to confront khashoggi. the crown prince has been a favorite of both mr. trump and son-in-law jared kushner, who saw him and the kingdom as a consumer of u.s. weaponry and a strategic counterweight to iran in the region. eespite the mounting evidence, the president said he is not yet ready to blame the saudi royal family for khashoggi's disappearance. >> it depends whether or not the eing or the crown prince knew about it in my opinion.