My guess is the elite don’t like the new crown prince. He has made a lot of changes that probably weakened their influence. Just a guess.
Yep. The old Saudi power gang was as Deep State connected as possible. They want to get this Prince bounced and return to power—and the rest of the DS wants to see them back in the camel’s saddle again too.
That's a good guess. I don't know much about ME power politics but I assume a hack journalist is a small price to pay for revenge for being locked up in the Ritz Carlton or whatever. It may end up being a minor internal power struggle, or something more, I don't know.