US has asked Turkey for audio tape, says Trump
America has asked Turkey for an audio recording in the suspected murder of Jamal Khashoggi, US President Donald Trump has said as he sought a full report from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the dissident Saudi journalist’s mysterious disappearance. Khashoggi, 60, is feared to have been killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The incident has resulted in a global outrage, more so in the US where he lived as a legal permanent resident and worked for The Washington Post.
Khashoggi vanished on October 2 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Turkish authorities suspect he was abducted and murdered by the Saudis.
But Riyadh insists that the journalist, a known critic of Saudi King Salman, had left the building and that murder claims are “baseless”.
Trump told reporters at the White House he had asked Turkey for the audio that gives a clue of the alleged brutal killing of Khashoggi.
“We’ve asked for it, if it exists,” he said.
The New York Times, citing the content of the audio made available through its Turkish sources, said the audio gave a detailed account of the alleged brutal murder of Khashoggi. “I’m not sure yet that it exists. Probably does. Possibly does. I’ll have a full report on that from Mike when he comes back,” Trump said, referring to his meeting with Mike Pompeo on his return from Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
“That’s going to be the first question I ask him,” he said.
On his way back from Saudi Arabia and Turkey, Pompeo refused to comment on the existence of the audio tape. “Have you heard or asked to hear the alleged audio on the actual murder?” he was asked.
“I don’t have anything to say about that,” Pompeo said, insisting Khashoggi was missing and the Saudi government has launched a probe. “They’re going to do their investigation. I know you all are going to ask questions. I’m going to be very consistent: We’re going to give them the space to complete their investigations of this incident, and when they issue their reports, we’ll form our judgment about thoroughness, depth, and the decisions they make about accountability connected to that,” Pompeo said.
Trump told reporters he wanted to find out from Pompeo what had happened. “He went to Turkey; he went all over. But he spent a lot of time with the Crown Prince, and he’s going to have a full report. I'm not giving cover at all,” he said.