BUTCHERED IN 7 MINS.
Saudis tortured & beheaded journo, new audio reveals Trump sticks by savage sheiks, wants more proof
It took only seven minutes for Jamal Khashoggi's killers to cut off his fingers and decapitate him after he entered the Saudi Consulate, according to audio described by senior Turkish officials Wednesday.
The disturbing new details of the Saudi Arabian writer's alleged death two weeks ago were revealed as Secretary of State Pompeo met with Turkish officials in Ankara. He later said America takes the suspected slaying “seriously,” while President Trump continues to defend denials coming from the Saudi government.
Pompeo added that he briefly met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who “made clear that the Saudis had cooperated with the investigation that the Turks are engaged in and they are going to share information.” Khashoggi, an outspoken critic of the Saudi royal family, was last seen entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
Yeni Safak, a Turkish newspaper with close ties to the Erdogan regime, first published the gruesome recounting of Khashoggi's alleged slaying.
The newspaper cited what it described as an audiorecording, which it said proved The Washington Post columnist was briefly tortured and beaten before being dismembered.
Saudi Consul General Mohammed al-Otaibi could be heard on the tape, telling those allegedly torturing Khashoggi: “Do this outside; you're going to get me in trouble.”
“Shut up if you want to live when you return to Arabia,” another man responds.
The butchers tasked with cutting Khashoggi's body up were then told to put on earphones and listen to music, according to the account. The entirety of the alleged execution lasted only seven minutes.
Asked if he had heard the audio, Pompeo said: “I don't have anything to say about that.”
Trump said it was unclear whether any recordings exist.
“We have asked for it, if it exists,” the President said during a brief Oval Office appearance. “We don't know if it exists yet. We'll have a full report when Mike comes back; that's going to be one of the first questions I ask him.”
Khashoggi went to the consulate seeking paperwork to get married. His fiancée was waiting outside.
Pompeo met Tuesday with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as Trump voiced his support for the royal
family.
“I think we have to find out what happened first,” Trump told The Associated Press. “You know, here we go again with, you know, you're guilty until proven innocent. I don't like that.”
A day earlier, after speaking with the king, Trump floated the idea that “rogue killers” may have been responsible for the disappearance. The President told the AP that his theory was based on his “feeling” from his conversation with Salman, clarifying that the king did not use the term.
Trump has maintained a close relationship with the Saudi government since making the kingdom his first foreign visit as President and inking a $110 billion arms deal.
The May 2017 trip was organized in part by Trump son-in-law and top adviser Jared Kushner, who enjoys his own friendship with the crown prince. The Saudis courted Trump with ornate banquets, sword dancing and other lavish festivities.
Asked Wednesday if he was “giving cover” to the Saudi leaders, Trump said that he was not. “No, not at all,” he declared. Several of the suspects Turkish authorities have said were present at the Saudi Consulate when Khashoggi entered the building have close ties to the Saudi royals. One is a frequent travel companion of the crown prince and at least three others have links to his security detail.
Another is a doctor who holds senior positions in the Saudi Interior Ministry.
Khashoggi, 60, was living in self-imposed exile in the U.S. and often wrote columns critical of the Saudi government for The Washington Post. He said during an appearance on Al Jazeera in March that he left the kingdom “because I don't want to be arrested.” He cited tightening restrictions for journalists since Prince Mohammed took power.
Previously, Khashoggi worked for a variety of Saudi Arabian news outlets and worked as a senior adviser to Saudi officials.
The Washington Post plans to publish an op-ed piece written by Khashoggi calling for freedom of the press in the Middle East.
The Saudi kingdom is reportedly prepared to pin Khashoggi's alleged death on a low-ranking general who was tasked with interrogating the writer, but has so far denied any involvement in the writer's disappearance.
Turkish officials have already collected evidence at the consulate where Khashoggi was last seen and conducted a search of the residence of the Saudi consul in Istanbul on Wednesday.
The home is just about a mile from the consulate, where police found “certain evidence” of Khashoggi's killing, a high-level Turkish official told The Associated Press.
Crime scene investigators clad in white coveralls, gloves and shoe covers traipsed in and out of the residence throughout the day. It wasn't immediately clear what they were looking for. Turkey's private DHA news agency, without citing a source, said police wanted to inspect a “water well” in the garden of the home.
Surveillance video from the night Khashoggi disappeared shows diplomatic cars moving between the consulate and the house roughly two hours after the journalist walked into the diplomatic post and never came out.