US president refuses to hear Khashoggi death tape

By Nilay Kar Onum

ISTANBUL

U.S. President Donald Trump has no plans to listen to an audiotape of the Oct. 2 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

“I don’t want to hear the tape, no reason for me to hear the tape,” Trump told Fox News in a pre-recorded interview to be broadcast on Sunday.

"Because it’s a suffering tape, it’s a terrible tape. ... I know exactly, I know everything that went on in the tape without having to hear it."

About the killing itself, Trump told presenter Chris Wallace: “It was very violent, very vicious and terrible.”

The CIA has concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of Khashoggi, partially based on details from the tape, according to The Washington Post.

Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist working for The Washington Post, was killed shortly after he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul Oct. 2.

Saudi Arabia had offered explanations for Khashoggi's disappearance before suggesting he was killed during a botched rendition operation by rogue agents.