Bolton says tape doesn’t link Saudi prince to critic’s death

SINGAPORE — U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said Tuesday that an audio recording of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s death inside a consulate in Istanbul did not appear to provide any link between the killers and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Bolton said that while he had not listened to the tape, “those who have listened to it” concluded that Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler is not impli- cated.

Western and Turkish officials say it would be difficult to carry out such an operation without the approval of Mohammed.

According to a New York Times report, citing three people familiar with the recording, Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, one of Mohammed’s bodyguards, can be heard making a phone call after Khashoggi’s death. “Tell your boss,” he is reported to have said.