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Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince has called the killing of Jamal Khashoggi a “heinous crime that cannot be justified.” (Oct. 24)
AP
In this image made from a March 2018 video provided by Metafora Production, Jamal Khashoggi reacts as a cat jumped on his lap, while speaking in an interview at an undisclosed location. Eighteen days after Khashoggi disappeared, Saudi Arabia acknowledged early Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, that the 59-year-old writer has died in what it said was a “fistfight” inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.(Photo: Metafora Production via AP)
WASHINGTON – White House National Security Adviser John Bolton said Tuesday that an audio recording related to Jamal Khashoggi’s murder does not implicate Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
“That is not the conclusion that the people who have heard it have come to,” Bolton told reporters during a press briefing in Singapore.
Bolton said he had not listened to the audio himself.
Bolton’s remarks came after the New York Times reported Monday night that one of Khashoggi’s killers could be heard in the recording saying “tell your boss.” The Times cited three anonymous sources and suggested the “boss” was believed to be the crown prince.
The Times story says, however, that the crown prince was not mentioned by name.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert declined to comment on Bolton’s assessment of the audio. At a briefing on Tuesday, Nauert said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has not listened to the recording either, and she suggested it would be “inappropriate” for him to do so. Pompeo previously served as Trump’s CIA director.
“The secretary is in the role of being the nation’s chief diplomat and it wouldn’t be appropriate” to listen to the tape. Pressed to explain why, given his role in reviewing the case, Nauert said: “I don’t want to go down this road.”
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pictured speaking at a symposium in Ankara, Turkey. (Photo: AP Images)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that his government had shared audio recordings related to Khashggi’s murder with officials in the United States, Britain, Germany, and other countries.
On Tuesday, Erdogan said after a Saudi Arabian intelligence official listened to the recording, he suggested one of Khashoggi’s killers might have been on drugs, according to Turkish media reports.
“Even, the intelligence officer of the Saudis was shocked when he listened to the recording, as he said ‘This guy [perpetrator] is perhaps using heroin, only a man on heroin can do such a thing,’” Erdogan told journalists, according to the Hurriyet Daily News.
The CIA declined to comment on the audio recording on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump has come under fire for appearing reluctant to penalize Saudi Arabia for the murder of a U.S. resident. In the seven weeks since Khashoggi’s disappearance, Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have emphasized the long-standing U.S. alliance with Saudi Arabia and the regime’s role in helping the U.S. counter Iran in the Middle East.
Trump has said the U.S. should not cancel arms sales to Saudi Arabia over Khashoggi’s death, and he has said Congress should take the lead on drafting a response to the Washington Post columnist’s death.
Khashoggi went missing on Oct. 2 after entering the Saudi diplomatic compound for routine paperwork needed to marry his Turkish fiancée, Hatice Cengiz. Cengiz, a Turkish national, waited for her fiancé outside the compound. He never returned.
The Saudi government initially said Khashoggi left their consulate unharmed on Oct. 2. Amid mounting international outrage, the kingdom then asserted that Khashoggi died after a “brawl” escalated inside the Saudi diplomatic facility. They later called his death a “premeditated murder.”
The whereabouts of Khashoggi’s body and remains are unknown. Turkish government officials have demanded the Saudis tell authorities the location of Khashoggi’s body and who ordered the murder.
Khashoggi, who was once a Saudi insider, became a critic of the country’s de facto ruler and crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman, known by his initials MBS. After being attacked by officials close to MBS, Khashoggi left Saudi Arabia in 2017 and became a U.S. resident.
More: Report: Saudis discussed killing other enemies long before Khashoggi’s death
More: Khashoggi’s fiancée asks Trump to ‘ensure justice be served’ in murder of Saudi journalist
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