CIA has recording of bin Salman giving order to ‘silence Khashoggi'

The U.S.’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has a recording of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman giving instructions to silence now-slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to local reports.

The report, written by Hürriyet columnist Abdulkadir Selvi wrote on Nov. 22, claims CIA director Gina Haspel had "signalled" the existence of the recording during a visit to Ankara last month.

A Turkish official contacted by Reuters said he had no information about such a recording.

Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and columnist for The Washington Post, went missing after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

After initially saying he left the consulate alive, the Saudi administration admitted weeks later that he was killed there.

His body has yet to be returned to his family amid reports that it was chemically dissolved.

In a statement Tuesday, Trump defended relations with Saudi Arabia despite the killing of the journalist amid reports that the CIA had concluded with high confidence that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi's murder.

However, the president said the U.S. may "never know all of the facts" and the country will continue its relations with Saudi Arabia in order to pursue American interests.

"Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!" Trump said in the statement, which was released by the White House.