By Aaron Miller-
The U.S government is desperate to hear an audio of the killing of journalist Khashoggi. Troubling Rumours that U.S Secretary of State has heard an alleged audio recording of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul were circulating on Thursday.
A senior Turkish official claimed the U.S Secretary of State Pompeo had listened to tapes of the killing, with some sources behind the scenes insisting that the White House would not want to divulge that information now even if they had listened to a tape of the killing. One Washington researcher told The Eye Of Media.Com that ”in a case of this magnitude, the White House could take the view that it is better to patiently wait for the investigation to play out naturally”.
Turkey has denied giving recordings of any sort to the American Secretary of State, but president Trump wants to hear the tape that reveals the America is under enormous pressure to take a big stand in leading sanctions and other punitive measures against the Saudi Kingdom. The White House has vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice, but some critics believe the White House is worried about compromising their strong alliance and economic ties.
That couldn’t be further from the truth because the White House, even with its shortcomings, are determined to see the perpetrators brought to justice. Trump’s administration cannot be expected to make a rash decision on something this serious.
The rhetorics from the White House has been sufficiently condemning of the killing, with a promise to uncover the whole truth about the disappearance of the journalist.The Saudi government are allegedly about to point the finger at one of their highly ranked generals. Ahmed Al Assiri. Even if president Trump is moving slower than expected, the truth on this story will not evade the world.
The Turkish official told ABC news on the condition of anonymity to ABC News, the official claimed the r Turkish officials believe Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate following a struggle that lasted eight minutes. They say he died of strangulation. Pompeo has publicly denied hearing the recording.
“The secretary addressed this yesterday. He has not heard a tape,” his spokeswoman Heather Nauert told ABC News in an email.
Asked about receiving a transcript of the recording, Nauert told ABC News: “I don’t have anything on that.” OPresident Trump has been publicly asking to hear the recording. Pompeo met with the president at the White House on Thursday morning to brief him on his visit to Turkey and Saudi Arabia, where he met with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman.