Going Rogue: While President Trump said Saudi Arabia’s denial that it killed a dissident journalist is “very strong” and suggested that “rogue killers” may have been responsible, several news outlets report that the Kingdom is preparing to admit that Washington Postcontributor Jamal Khashoggi died accidentally under extreme interrogation. Read that as torture.

The Saudi denial of responsibility is crumbling and the best way out may be to admit it. Turkish investigators believe Jamal Khashoggi was killed and dismembered by Saudi agents inside their Istanbul consulate nearly two weeks ago. They were allowed to search the Saudi consulate yesterday and the Saudis say they are cooperating.

Fifteen Saudi men who identified themselves as tourists arrived by private jet in Istanbul in the early morning hours the day Khashoggi disappeared. One of them was identified as a forensic specialist with expertise in dissecting human bodies.

They quickly left the country after Khashoggi went missing without seeing the sights.

With all this going on, President Trump said yesterday, “It sounded to me like maybe these could have been rogue killers.” He said, “Who knows?”He gave no evidence. But Trump also claimed that he said to the Saudi King Salman over the telephone, “The world is watching. The world is talking, and this is very important to get to the bottom of it.”

If the Saudis actually admit to the murder, it may be to defuse a growing political crisis not only with the US, but with Western allies. It’s tough to keep a friendship with a regime that brazenly murders a critic on foreign soil. Even Trump, who’s trying to preserve a multi-billion dollar weapons deal with Saudi Arabia, would have trouble.

American Heritage:President Trump for years has insultingly called Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren “Pocahontas” because of her claim that she has American Indian ancestry. Back in July Trump said at a rally, “I will give you a million dollars to your favorite charity, paid for by Trump, if you take the test and it shows you’re an Indian.”

Warren yesterday released the results of a DNA test that says she’s right, she’s got a little bit of Cherokee in her six to 10 generations back, but even now it seems she can’t win.

The Cherokee Nation issued a statement denouncing the use of DNA tests to claim tribal heritage or membership. It says DNA tests dishonor “legitimate tribal governments and their citizens, whose ancestors are well documented and whose heritage is proven.”

It would all seem harmless and kind of stupid, but back in the 1980s Warren listed her ethnic identity as a law professor as “Native American.” Now she appears to be cleaning up the record in preparation to run for President. She has disclosed academic records indicating she didn’t use Indian ancestry to advance her professional standing and  she released 10 years of tax returns.

President Trump, who has always made a big deal out of the Indian thing said yesterday, “Who cares, who cares?” Well, he did.

Fight On, Harvard:Harvard University’s dean of admissions testified yesterday that the school holds Asian-American applicants to a higher academic standard than some other groups in the opening of a civil lawsuit claiming discrimination.  William Fitzsimmons said that in the interest of diversity his admissions office lowers standards for students from rural areas, but not if they are Asian American.

The plaintiffs claim Harvard holds Asians to a racial quota. The University admits that it has a recruiting program for students from what it calls “sparse country,” the rural areas of America that are mostly white. The lawsuit claims that Asian students in “sparse country” are not recruited. “The idea is to try to break the cycle, to try to get people from a much broader array of states and backgrounds into Harvard,” Fitzsimmons said. “The idea is to get Harvard on the map.”

The Obit Page:Paul Allen, who with Bill Gates founded the computer programing giant Microsoft, has died of non-Hodgkin’s lymphomaat age 65. “In his own quiet and persistent way, he created magical products, experiences and institutions, and in doing so, he changed the world,” a Microsoft statement said.

Allen made his splash not as a programmer, but a deal maker. Having promised along with Gates to deliver an operating system for the new IBM personal computers — without having a system to deliver — he and Gates bought out a programmer who created something called “DOS” for Disc Operating System. They were in business and the later creation of  Windows sealed Microsoft as the brain of IBM computers.

Allen ended up with an estimated net worth of $20 billion. He used his wealth to found an investment company and become a philanthropist. He bought the Portland Trailblazers basketball team and the Seattle Seahawks football franchise. Allen never married or had children.

Law Review: A federal judge in Los Angeles threw out Stormy Daniels’ defamation lawsuit against President Trump and ordered her to pay his legal fees. Trump had called Daniels’ claim of an affair with Trump “A total con job.”US District Judge James Otero ruled that Trump’s speech was protected by the First Amendment as the kind of “rhetorical hyperbole” normally associated with politics and public discourse in the United States.” It certainly is these days. Daniels is appealing — legally, not physically.

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