Pompeo has reportedly heard recording of Khashoggi's murder

Mike Pompeo.
(Image credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)

While in Turkey on Wednesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo listened to an audio recording of the alleged murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, a senior Turkish official told ABC News on Thursday.

The official said the recording was played during a meeting, and Pompeo was also given a transcript. The Saudi-born Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, was living in Virginia, and went to the consulate on Oct. 2 to get paperwork he needed for his upcoming wedding; this was the last time he was seen. Turkish officials have said, and U.S. intelligence increasingly believes, that Saudi Arabia is behind Khashoggi's disappearance and presumed murder. The State Department denied that Pompeo had a transcript of the recording or listened to it.

ABC News also is reporting that Turkish officials believe Khashoggi died of strangulation, after an eight-minute struggle. It's unclear if Pompeo passed the transcript on to Trump, but on Thursday, the president said it "certainly looks like" Khashoggi is dead, and if Saudi Arabia is behind it, the country will face "very severe" consequences.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.