Shifting sands of Saudi narrative
The Saudis have laid out different versions of the circumstances that led to Khashoggi's. All of them shield King Salman and his son and from any involvement. Both of the king and bin Salman said they knew nothing of Khashoggi's fate.
Jubeir said Khashoggi's murder was a terrible mistake and offered condolences to his family.
The Saudi Press Agency said late on Sunday that King Salman and the crown prince also called Khashoggi's son, Salah, to express their condolences,
The journalist has relatives still living in Saudi Arabia and three children who hold US citizenship.
"This is a terrible mistake. This is a terrible tragedy. Our condolences go out to them. We feel their pain," Jubeir said in the Fox interview. "Unfortunately, a huge and grave mistake was made and I assure them that those responsible will be held accountable for this."
International furore over killing continues
The changing Saudi narrative has not mollifed even supporters of the monarchy.
A leading US Senate Republican said the Saudi explanation wasn't credible.
Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Saturday on CNN's "State of the Union" that he believed bin Salman was behind the killing.
The crown prince has "now crossed a line and there has to be a punishment and a price paid for that," Corker said.
He also urged Turkey to turn over purported audio recordings of Khashoggi's killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The existence of such evidence has been reported in Turkish media in a series of leaks, though Turkish officials have yet to publicly confirm they have recordings.
"The Turks have been talking more to the media than they have us," Corker said of the NATO ally.
California Congressman Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said on ABC's "This Week" that the killing should be a "relationship-altering" event for the US and Saudi Arabia, which has said it will retaliate against any economic sanctions or other moves against it.
"We ought to suspend military sales, we ought to suspend certain security assistance and we ought to impose sanctions on any of those that were directly involved in this murder," Schiff said.
US President Donald Trump had also talked about possible punishment but said he didn't want to halt a proposed $110 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia because, he maintained, it would harm US manufacturers.
He initially said he believed the Saudi account.
Speaking late Saturday Trump said he needs to learn more about the killing and will be working with Congress on the US response. He also said he will talk soon to bin Salman, with whom his son-in-law and senior White House adviser Jared Kushner has a close relationship.
Britain, Germany and France issued a joint statement condemning the killing of Khashoggi, saying there is an "urgent need for clarification of exactly what happened."
In a statement Sunday, the governments said attacks on journalists are unacceptable and "of utmost concern to our three nations." They said the "hypotheses" proposed so far in the Saudi investigation need to be backed by facts to be considered credible.
