Inside the Turkish newspaper landing some of the most explosive Khashoggi scoops

ISTANBUL — U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration have been cautious about assigning blame for the disappearance of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, preaching patience as the Saudis conduct their own “thorough investigation” into the matter.

But Sabah — Turkey's most widely read daily newspaper — hasn’t made the waiting easy for Trump or his friends in Riyadh. The pro-government news outlet has been the source of some of the most explosive scoops inside the case, revealing startling details about the alleged assassination, and providing a persuasive case that links the plot back to the highest rungs of Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom, including its de facto leader: Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Sabah was the first to report that private jets linked to Saudi Arabia landed in Istanbul shortly before Khashoggi’s entered the Saudi consulate on Oct. 2, and release details on the 15 men believed to be behind the killing, dubbing them an "assassination squad."

Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, has slow-walked the investigation, denying Turkish investigators access to the consulate until this week, and only after a cleanup crew had gone in.

Yet again Sabah managed to move the story forward, publishing a written transcript of parts of an audio recording, which anonymous Turkish officials said capture the grizzly moments leading up to Khashoggi’s murder.

VICE News spoke to Sabah’s investigative journalist Abdurrahman Simsek and his team as they were preparing to publish exclusive new details on the Saudi suspects they believe were in charge of the so-called assassination squad.

“I think higher authorities are involved,” said Simsek. “All this will come out after the investigation. But I can say this: 15 intelligence members arrive in Istanbul on two planes. It is very unlikely that they came here without the knowledge of the Saudi government and King Salman’s family.”

But the paper’s fondness for Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (Sabah’s owner is his pal) also raises questions about the deeply complicated diplomatic dynamic at the heart of this international saga.

From a foreign policy perspective, Turkey has played the crisis to its advantage, and Sabah has appeared helpful in communicating its message. Through its reporting, which relies heavily on unnamed sources inside the Turkish state, the paper has ramped up pressure on Saudi Arabia at a time when top-level Turkish government figures have been cautious to publicly assign blame.

Saudi Arabia and Turkey may be regional rivals, but they are also bound by strong business ties — the Saudis are one of the biggest foreign investors in Turkey. Washington, meanwhile, is stuck in the middle. Both are regional allies of the United States, with Washington selling billions of dollars of weapons to each country.

VICE News travelled to Istanbul to cover the unfolding story that has captured the world’s attention, and raised many difficult questions for Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince.

This segment originally aired October 18, 2018 on VICE News Tonight on HBO.