Today in one sentence: Trump called the Saudi operation to kill Jamal Khashoggi one of "worst cover-ups in the history of cover-ups"; the Saudi cover story fell apart because the Khashoggi "body double" wore the wrong shoes; Khashoggi's remains were found in the garden of the Saudi consul general's home in Istanbul; Trump declared himself a nationalist; Putin wants to meet with Trump; and the FBI has not been able to locate any photos of Robert Mueller and James Comey "hugging and kissing each other."

1/ Trump called the Saudi operation to kill Jamal Khashoggi one of “worst cover-ups in the history of cover-ups,” saying “they had a very bad original concept.” He added that “somebody really messed up,” but he would “leave it up to Congress” to punish Saudi Arabia. (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / Reuters / The Hill)

  • The U.S. will revoke the visas of some of the Saudi officials allegedly responsible for Khashoggi’s death. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. intends to hold people accountable for the “horrific” act of killing Khashoggi. [Editor’s note: This story is developing…] (Politico / Bloomberg / Washington Post)

2/ The Saudi cover story fell apart because the Khashoggi “body double” wore the wrong shoes. Video footage shows a man exiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul Oct. 2 wearing a fake beard and glasses, as well as the pants, shirt and jacket that Khashoggi was seen wearing when he entered the building earlier in the day. “It was a flawed body double, so it never became an official part of the Saudi government’s narrative,” a diplomat said. (CNBC / Washington Post)

  • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: The killing of Khashoggi was a “planned” and “brutal” murder. Erdogan called on Saudi Arabia to extradite 18 suspects to Turkey to face justice for the crime. (Washington Post / New York Times)

  • Saudi Arabia’s crown prince received a standing ovation after making an unannounced appearance at a global investment conference. Mohammed bin Salman is suspected of playing a role in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. (New York Times)

3/ Khashoggi’s cut-up and disfigured remains were found in the garden of the Saudi consul general’s home in Istanbul. The account contradicts Saudi officials, who said the body was rolled up in a carpet and handed over to a local operative to dispose of the evidence. (Sky News / New York Post)

  • 📌 The Re-up: Day 637. A frequent companion of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince entered the country’s consulate in Istanbul hours before Khashoggi arrived. Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb was also seen outside the Saudi consul general’s home, leaving a Turkish hotel with a large suitcase, and leaving Istanbul — all in the same day. (New York Times)

4/ Trump: “I’m a nationalist.” Speaking at a rally in Texas in support of Ted Cruz’s reelection campaign, Trump defined “a globalist [as] a person that wants the globe to do well,” adding that they’re “frankly not caring about the country so much.” The comment marked the first time Trump associated himself with the political ideology. (CNN / Politico / Bloomberg)

  • Trump on Ted Cruz: “He’s not Lyin’ Ted anymore. He’s beautiful Ted.” Trump previously mocked the appearance of Cruz’s wife, linked Cruz’s father to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, called Cruz “Lyin’ Ted”, called him “unhinged,” “a little bit of a maniac,” and “a totally unstable individual.” (HuffPost / New York Times)

  • Trump vowed to send as many troops as necessary to the U.S.-Mexican border to block the caravan of Central American migrants, calling them “an assault on our country.” (USA Today)

  • Trump falsely accused Puerto Rico of using federal hurricane relief funds to pay off the island’s debt. Puerto Rico is slated to receive $82 billion in federal relief as it rebuilds from Hurricane Maria. (Politico / Associated Press / Washington Post)

5/ Putin wants to hold direct discussions with Trump, suggesting they meet in Paris next month, where they’ll both be to mark the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I. National Security Advisor John Bolton held firm that the U.S. would withdraw from the 31-year-old Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. (CNBC / Washington Post / Reuters / CNN)

  • Trump vowed to outspend Russia and China in building up its nuclear arsenal “until they come to their senses.” Trump added: “We have more money than anybody else, by far.” (Bloomberg / CNN)

  • Pence declined to rule out the idea of deploying a nuclear weapons in space, saying “what we want to do is continue to advance the principle that peace comes through strength.” In August, Trump announced a plan to create the “Space Force” – the sixth branch of the military – by 2020. (Reuters / Washington Post)

6/ Trump on protections for transgender people: “I’m protecting everybody. I want to protect our country.” (Reuters)

  • 📌 The Re-up: Day 641. The Trump administration plans to redefine the legal definition of gender as strictly biological, unchangeable, and determined by the genitals that a person is born with. The effort by the Department of Health and Human Services would establish a legal definition of sex under Title IX, effectively narrowing the definition of gender and deny federal recognition and civil rights protections to transgender Americans. (New York Times)

Notables.

  1. Brett Kavanaugh once lobbied in support of a judge who is now reviewing more than a dozen ethics complaints filed against him. Kavanaugh worked on the judicial campaign to secure a lifetime appointment for Timothy Tymkovich while he was a senior staff member for George W. Bush. (The Guardian)

  2. An explosive device was found in a mailbox outside a home of billionaire George Soros in Westchester County, New York. The bomb was “proactively detonated” by the bomb squad. The case has been turned over to the FBI. (The Hill / New York Times)

  3. The U.S. Cyber Command took its first countermeasure against Russian operatives to stop them from interfering in the upcoming midterm elections. The campaign attempts to deter Russian operatives from spreading disinformation by telling them that American agents know who they are and what they’re doing. (New York Times)

  4. Republicans voters have outpaced Democratic voters in early voting in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Montana, Tennessee and Texas. Republicans typically dominate early voting by absentee ballots, while Democrats tend to have the advantage with in-person early voting. (NBC News)

  5. Wilbur Ross won’t have to answer questions about his decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. Several states and civil rights groups are suing to stop the administration from adding the question to the form. The Supreme Court refused to consider one of the challenges, making it unlikely that Ross will have to be deposed in the case. (Washington Post)

  6. A white woman demanded to see the passports of a family speaking Spanish at a Virginia restaurant, yelling at them to “Go back to your fucking country. You do not fucking come over here and freeload on America.” (Washington Post)

  7. The Florida man arrested for groping a woman on a flight defended himself by claiming Trump said “it’s OK to grab women by their private parts.” Bruce Michael Alexander was charged with abusive sexual contact and faces a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. (NBC News)

  8. The FBI has not been able to locate any photos of Robert Mueller and James Comey “hugging and kissing each other,” according to a Freedom of Information Act request. Last month, Trump claimed to have “100 pictures of [Mueller] and Comey hugging and kissing each other. You know, he’s Comey’s best friend.” (BuzzFeed News)