Why is the Trump administration quiet on Jamal Khashoggi's alleged murder?

Journalist Jamal Khashoggi is believed by some to have been tortured, murdered, and dismembered inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey. Others think he was kidnapped by Saudi officials and is still alive.

This image appears to show him entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last week, when he was last seen by his fiancé or anyone else who’s talking.

Other than a “I heard a report” from Donald, a “we’re monitoring the situation closely” from James Mattis, and similar mumblings from others here and there, why is this tough-on-mideast-bad-guys administration so hushed on the apparent execution of the Saudi reporter who contributed to U.S. news organizations?

On MSBNC, Richard Engel says Istanbul security officials have two theories: One, they grabbed him and killed him inside the embassy. The other theory is that Khashoggi was the subject of an attempted rendition to Saudi Arabia, and he died in the process.

Here’s the short version of why Trump and his version of the U.S. government isn’t going to do anything about it.

MBS, the Sunni prince of Saudi Arabia, has powerful allies in the Trump administration like the president himself, and Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner, none of whom are likely to want to piss off their ally for personal financial reasons.

“If they can’t find a body, it’ll be difficult to make Saudi Arabia pay a price,” says Richard Engel in this two-way with Chuck Todd on Meet The Press. “They don’t have a body.”