Welcome to Axis ProRata, a podcast that takes just 10 minutes to get you smarter on the collision of tech, business, and politics.

I'm Dan Pramak. On today's show, Mark Zuckerberg says he isn't going anywhere and something to remember during your Thanksgiving dinner.

But first, President Trump punts on Saudi Arabia. As you've almost certainly heard by now, Trump issued a two-page statement on the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi officials.

And the bottom line, he refuses to accept the CIA's reported conclusion that Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman was most likely aware of the plot.

And even if such incontrovertible proof does eventually emerge,

it's not important enough to risk America's alliance or arms deals with the kingdom.

It was a callously constructed statement that horrified a lot of people,

including several Republican senators, but was exactly the message that a lot of U.S. business leaders had been waiting for. So here's

what I mean. You probably remember how Saudi Arabia hosted a huge investment conference last

month and that tons of big-name CEOs basically boycotted, including the heads of companies

like J.P. Morgan and BlackRock and Uber. But a lot of those same CEOs also refused

to cut or even amend their actual business arrangements with Saudi,

arguing that they didn't yet have all the facts on the Khashoggi murder and that in the end, they would basically follow the U.S. government's lead.

In other words, we follow the rules. We don't make them.

So this was an escape route. It was a scape route designed to hold on to Saudi's big money devised by CEOs who very loudly disagreed with the White House on other policy matters like climate change or immigration.

And Trump yesterday paved that escape route for them and waived them through.

So here's where we're at.

While there will continue to be investigations into

what happened to Jamal Khashoggi, it's case closed for both President Trump and corporate America.

In 15 seconds, we'll go deeper on this with Axios National Political Reporter Jonathan Swan.

But first, this.

Axios gives you the news and analysis you need to get smarter faster on the most important topics.

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