1/ The CIA concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, contradicting the Saudi government’s claims that he was not involved in the killing. The evidence included an intercept showing a member of the 15-person team calling an aide to Prince Mohammed and saying “tell your boss� that the mission was accomplished. Trump called Saudi Arabia a “truly spectacular ally,� telling senior White House officials that he wants Prince Mohammed to remain in power as a check on Iran. Trump also claimed that the CIA “haven’t assessed anything yet,� but “as of this moment we were told that [Prince Mohammed] did not play a role.� (Washington Post / New York Times / CNN / Politico)

Trump won’t listen to what he called the “suffering tape� of Khashoggi’s murder inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Trump also maintained that the crown prince told him “maybe five different times� and “as recently as a few days ago� that he had nothing to do with the killing. (Washington Post)

The White House official responsible for U.S. policy toward Saudi Arabia resigned. Kirsten Fontenrose had pushed for tough sanctions against the Saudi government in the response to the killing of Khashoggi. (New York Times)

2/ Trump probably won’t sit down for an in-person interview with Robert Mueller, saying “we’ve wasted enough time on this witch hunt and the answer is, probably, we’re finished.� Trump also claimed he didn’t know that his Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker opposed the Mueller investigation, but said Whitaker is “right� about his criticism of the special counsel’s investigation. The two have had multiple conversations about the probe over the last year. (Fox News / New York Times / NBC News)

3/ Trump won’t stop Whitaker from curtailing Mueller’s investigation into possible collusion by Trump campaign officials with Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Trump said he would “not get involved� if Whitaker moved to restrict it. (Bloomberg / Reuters)

4/ A group of Senate Democrats are suing to block Whitaker from serving as acting attorney general, s...