The Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Gina Haspel has listened to audio allegedly capturing the interrogation and killing of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The CIA chief’s investigation will give a key member of President Donald Trump’s administration access to the evidence used by Turkey to accuse Saudi Arabia of Khashoggi’s premeditated murder.
Haspel, who departed for a secret trip to Turkey on Monday, heard the audio during her visit to Istanbul, the Washington Post reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with her meetings.
Haspel is scheduled to brief Trump on Thursday.
Trump, who has made Saudi Arabia a central pillar of his Middle East strategy, has expressed skepticism about Riyadh’s claim that Khashoggi’s murder was a “rogue operation” that occurred after a fistfight broke out in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
On Tuesday, Trump said Saudi officials had engaged in the…