The Trump administration and the Saudi royal family are searching for a mutually agreeable explanation for the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi – one that will avoid implicating Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is among the president’s closest foreign allies, according to analysts and officials in multiple countries.

But it will be difficult for the young ruler to escape scrutiny, as mounting evidence points not only to the Saudi government’s knowledge of Khashoggi’s fate, but to Mohammed’s connection to his disappearance.

U.S. intelligence reports, accounts from Khashoggi’s friends, passport records and social media profiles paint a picture of a brutal killing that at least had its roots in Mohammed’s desire to silence Khashoggi, a former palace insider turned critic of the government and the prince in particular.

The analysts and officials said it was inconceivable that such a brazen operation as the one alleged by Turkish officials, involving a team of 15 agents sent to Istanbul, who then killed and dismembered Khashoggi, could have been pulled off by a group of “rogue killers,” as President Trump speculated this week, moments after a phone call with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman.

Even one of the president’s closest advisers, Rudy Giuliani, said many senior members of the administration concluded more than a week ago that the Saudis had killed Khashoggi.

“The only question is, was it directed from the crown prince or the king – or was it a group that was trying to please him?” Giuliani said in an interview.

Before Khashoggi ever set foot in the consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, Mohammed was trying to get his hands on him.

In recent months, the crown prince, known by his initials, MBS, ordered an operation to lure Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia from his home in Virginia, according to U.S. intelligence intercepts of Saudi officials discussing the plan.

In September, a high-ranking Saudi official close to the prince, Saud al-Qahtani, called Khashoggi and promised him safety and the prospect of an important job working for Mohammed if he returned home, said Khaled Saffuri, an Arab-American political activist and friend of Khashoggi’s.

“He said: ‘Are you kidding? I don’t trust them one bit,'” Saffuri said of Khashoggi’s response.

Other friends of Khashoggi’s, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of security concerns, told similar stories of calls from Riyadh on the crown prince’s behalf.

On Oct. 2, Khashoggi walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain a document he needed to marry his fiancee, a Turkish citizen.

Members of the Saudi security team that Turkish officials say were waiting for him there, and others who flew to Istanbul for the operation, also have links to Mohammed and the Saudi royal court.

For instance, one alleged member of the team, Khalid Aedh Alotaibi, made several visits to the United States that overlapped or coincided with trips by senior Saudi officials.

Earlier this year, he arrived in the United States three days before Mohammed touched down for a nationwide tour, passport records maintained by the U.S. government show. Alotaibi is identified online as a member of the Saudi Royal Guard.

Alotaibi is one of 11 Saudis included in the group of 15 men who have ties to the Saudi security services, according to their posts on social media, emails, local media reports and other material reviewed by The Washington Post.

“It’s inconceivable that an operation using royal guards, other court officials and the consulate was not authorized by the crown prince. That’s not how the kingdom functions, especially with MBS as heir apparent,” said Bruce Riedel, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and an expert on Saudi Arabia and the royal family who served more than 30 years at the CIA.

“As much as the White House is eager to absolve MBS, the rogue coverup is unraveling before it’s even official,” Riedel added.

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