cnn, Chris Cillizza:

(CNN)On Monday morning, President Donald Trump said he spoke with Saudi Arabia's King Salman about Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi and left seemingly convinced that the Saudi government played no role in the reporter's disappearance in Turkey earlier this month. 

What convinced Trump -- despite lots of evidence that seems to suggest the Saudi government lured Khashoggi, a critic of that government, to their embassy in Istanbul? The king denied it. Very strongly.
"He firmly denies that," Trump told reporters before heading to Florida and Georgia to inspect damage from Hurricane Michael. "The King firmly denied any knowledge of it." 
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Added Trump: "It sounded to me like maybe these could have been rogue killers, who knows. We are going to try to get to the bottom of it very soon. But his was a flat denial."
Trump repeatedly suggested that the strength of Salman's denial was indicative of innocence. He did however note he was sending Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the region to investigate.

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