Trump won’t listen to tape of Khashoggi

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump says he has been fully briefed on an audio recording of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder but does not want to listen to it himself.

“Because it’s a suffering tape. It’s a terrible tape,” he said in an interview with Fox on Friday.

“It was very violent, very vicious and terrible.”

Trump refrained from blaming Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, even though the CIA reportedly concluded that he ordered the October 2 assassination in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Trump on Saturday told reporters that the US would release “a very full report” on the matter as early as Monday. He was interviewed by Fox on Friday.

Asked whether the crown prince had lied to him in denying any role in the killing, Trump said: “I don’t know. Who can really know? But I can say this, he’s got many people ... that say he had no knowledge.”

“He told me that he had nothing to do with it,” Trump added.

The president acknowledged that people close to the prince “were probably involved” but added, “I want to stick with an ally that in many ways has been very good.”