[Pearls Before Swine]

Means, motive, opportunity. Clearly the first and third elements were present.

But, what was the motive for such a flagrantly brutal orchestrated event? Couldn't they find a pro to whack him cleanly?

[dangus]

I’m struck by how the media keeps calling emerging news “reversals.”

Let’s suppose, for instance, that the Crown Prince and/or King didn’t plan the killing. Would they have been expected to say, immediately, “yes, our administration killed the guy” without an investigation? Wouldn’t you EXPECT that they’d say, “No, we didn’t do this. That’s now how we roll.?” And then only acknowledge the truth as they uncovered it? Would you think they would NOT presume their own people innocent until the weight of the evidence suggested they were guilty?