[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] All smiles for the camera. But behind closed doors, Mike Pompeo's blunt message to the Saudi crown prince his future as king is at stake. Pompeo briefs the president this morning as Jamal Khashoggi's final column goes to print.
[Dave Briggs, Cnn Anchor:] The former president of USA Gymnastics arrested after charges he tried to conceal in the Larry Nassar investigation.
[Romans:] Does anyone want to win the lottery? No Powerball Jackpot winner, $1.3 billion in lottery money now up for grabs.
[Briggs:] Never good when an umpire is trending on Twitter. Major controversies. The Red Sox steal one from Houston Astros. Is it or is it not fan interference? Let us know what you think @earlystart. It will be debated throughout the day and perhaps into the off-season. Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs.
[Romans:] And I'm Christine Romans. Nice to see you this morning.
[Briggs:] Good to see you.
[Romans:] It is Thursday, October 18th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East. President Trump meeting this morning with Mike Pompeo, his secretary of state. He will get a briefing on the diplomatic swing through the Saudi and Turkish capitals. A trip focused on the disappearance and presumed murder of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. CNN has learned that beneath the surface of Pompeo's upbeat photo-op with the Saudi crown prince, all smiles there, but behind closed doors is a blunt no-nonsense meeting. A source tells us Pompeo warned Prince Mohammed bin Salman known as MBS his future as king depends on his handling of this apparent killing. The source says Pompeo told the prince he must own the situation and that every fact is going to get out.
[Briggs:] The "New York Times" and "Washington Post" both reporting this morning on mounting evidence that connects Crown Prince Mohammed or MBS to the killing, including his ties to several members of the team that flew from Riyadh to Istanbul just as Khashoggi disappeared. The "Post" also reports the White House and the Saudi royal family are searching for an explanation for Khashoggi's death that does not implicate Prince Mohammed. The president says he's waiting for answers, but also seemed to cast doubt on intel that could implicate the Saudis.
[Donald Trump, President Of The United States:] I'm not giving cover at all. With that being said, Saudi Arabia has been a very important ally of ours in the Middle East. I want to find out what happened, where is the fault, and we will probably know that by the end of the week.
[Unidentified Reporter:] You asked for this audio and video intelligence that the Turks supposedly have.
[Trump:] We have asked for it if it exists. We have asked for it, yes.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Yes, but you haven't gotten it.
[Trump:] We've asked for it if it exists.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Are you surprised that they haven't turned it over?
[Trump:] No. I'm not sure yet that it exists. It probably does, possibly does.
[Briggs:] Possibly. Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker says the administration has, quote, "clamped down on intelligence about the case," saying, quote, "I suppose they don't want us to see the intel."
[Romans:] Now to the view from Saudi Arabia. What's the reaction in Riyadh? What might the kingdom do next? Let's bring in senior international correspondent Sam Kiley live in Riyadh for us. And Sam, you know, you've got this unusual situation of, you know, the crown prince is investigating whether the crown prince is implicated in this apparent murder here. What's the view from there?
[Sam Kiley, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Well, that is exactly what is going on, but behind the scenes, they are also trying to come up with a narrative which somehow squares with the near waterfall now of leaks coming out of Turkey which do, as you say, implicate a number of very senior officials. Not just those very close to the crown prince, but people from outside, from the establishment, from the medical establishment for example in this country who would have been very hard to get to participate in an operation of this kind without an order from a very senior figure. Nonetheless, of course, this is a country that is actually run by the crown prince. He is, if you like, the chief executive of Saudi Arabia. And he's not going to authorize any kind of statement that would implicate himself clearly. So they are in something of a bind, particularly as the king, King Salman at 82 is frail and elderly, and as I say, handed over power to MBS, who has, I have to say, over the last 18 months, especially concentrated power in a way that has never been seen in Saudi Arabia before. Eviscerating the royal court and really taking executive control Christine.
[Romans:] Fascinating. All right. Sam Kiley for us in Riyadh. Thank you, sir.
[Briggs:] Jamal Khashoggi's final column published by the "Washington Post." It was submitted by his assistant one day after he went missing. Fittingly it was about the value of a free press. And it called out the Egyptian government's seizure of the entire print run of a newspaper. The column reads in part, "These actions no longer carry the consequence of a backlash from the international community. Instead, these actions may trigger condemnation quickly followed by silence. As a result, Arab governments have been given free rein to continue silencing the media at an increasing rate."
[Romans:] He says a platform is needed for Arab voices. He calls for the creation of an independent international forum, isolated from the influence of nationalist governments.
[Briggs:] Ahead of the midterm elections, it's been a quiet period for the special counsel's Russia investigation. Publicly anyway. But behind the scenes, Robert Mueller's team has been very busy debriefing Paul Manafort. Sources tell CNN the former Trump campaign chairman and his lawyers visited Mueller's Washington office at least nine times in the last four weeks with prosecutors also interviewing other witnesses, gathering a grand jury weekly and working out some kind of secret court action. We're told the White House insiders expect more criminal indictments.
[Romans:] Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein publicly defending the Mueller probe. In a rare interview with the "Wall Street Journal" he calls the inquiry appropriate and independent, and said the public will have confidence that the cases we brought were warranted. One other potential problem for the president, his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, meeting Wednesday with officials investigating Mr. Trump's family business and charitable organizations.
[Briggs:] New this morning, U.S. marshals arresting the former president of USA Gymnastics on charges he tampered with evidence in the Larry Nassar sexual abuse case. The Walker County, Texas, district attorney says Steve Perry ordered documents related to Nassar removed from the USA Gymnastics training center at the Karolyi Ranch. According to an indictment, the documents were delivered to Perry at U.S. AG headquarters in Indianapolis and have not been seen since. The marshals' fugitive task force arrested Penny on vacation in Tennessee. He is now awaiting extradition back to Texas.
[Romans:] More than $1.3 billion in lottery jackpot money is now up for grabs. There were no winners in Wednesday's $378 million Powerball Jackpot drawings. The winning numbers were 3, 57, 64, 68, 69 with 15 as the Powerball. The estimated jackpot for Saturday's drawing is $430 million. Friday's Megamillions Jackpot has now climbed to $900 million with the lump sum option of $513 million.
[Briggs:] And yes, I'm already envisioning how I would spend it, my friend. That's what I do.
[Romans:] You could buy companies. You could buy companies with that much money.
[Briggs:] Massive companies.
[Romans:] Yes.
[Briggs:] U.S. all right. The GOP tax cuts sent the deficit soaring. Now the president wants his Cabinet secretaries to help make up some serious ground.