Saudia Arabia has to face severe consequences if Khashoggi is dead

Says it 'certainly looks' like scribe has died; threatens 'very severe' consequences if Saudi Arabia found guilty

US President Donald Trump has said it "certainly looks" like Jamal Khashoggi is dead and threatened "very severe" consequences if Saudi Arabia is found to have murdered him, toughening his response to the disappearance of the dissident journalist that has sparked global outrage.

Trump's remarks came after he was briefed on the investigation by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who returned from trips to Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Khashoggi, 60, who has not been seen since October 2 when he entered Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, is feared to have been killed inside the mission. "It certainly looks that way to me. It's very sad. Certainly, looks that way," Trump said. Asked what consequence Saudi leaders would face if they are found to be responsible, Trump replied: "It will have to be very severe. It's bad, bad stuff. But we'll see what happens".

"We're waiting for some investigations, and the results. We will have them very soon, and I think we'll be making a statement, a very strong statement. But we're waiting for the results of about three different investigations, and we should be able to get to the bottom fairly soon," he said.

Turkey says it hasn't given any tape to US
Turkey on Friday denied giving "any kind of audio tape" from the investigation into Khashoggi's disappearance to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo or any American official. "It is out of the question for Turkey to give any kind of audio tape to Pompeo or any other US official," said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. Turkey's pro-government press has reported that Turkey has an audio recording that proves the alleged murder of Khashoggi at the consulate and that he was tortured before his death. The existence of the tape has never been confirmed on the record by Turkish officials.

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