Previously, Saudi authorities had
maintained Khashoggi left the consulate the same afternoon of his visit,
but provided no evidence to support the claim.
Khashoggi's fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, who was waiting outside the consulate, says she did not see him re-emerge.
The
disappearance created a diplomatic rift between Saudi Arabia and the
West. Amid the fallout, international firms pulled out of a high-profile
investment summit, the Future Investment Initiative conference, due to
take place later this month in Riyadh.
The case also caused friction between
Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which has repeatedly accused the Saudis of
failing to cooperate with their investigation.
Turkish
authorities previously said they believed that 15 Saudi men who arrived
in Istanbul on October 2 were connected to Khashoggi's disappearance
and possible murder. At least some of them appear to have high-level
connections in the Saudi government.
On
Friday, a source familiar with the investigation told CNN that Turkish
authorities have audio and visual evidence that shows journalist
Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate.
|CNN
reporters saw Turkish investigators, including forensics officers,
entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul Monday evening. Saudi officials
had granted permission for the premises to be searched, a Turkish
diplomatic source told CNN, and police were seen cordoning off the area
before investigators arrived. Turkish officials also wanted to search
the nearby consul general's residence.
Earlier Monday, President Donald Trump suggested that "
rogue killers"
could be behind Khashoggi's disappearance, after a phone call with
Saudi Arabia's King Salman about the case. Trump said King Salman told
him "in a very firm way that they had no knowledge of it."
Trump also said he dispatched Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to meet with King Salman, during a Sunday night phone call.
On
the airplane, State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told
reporters that Secretary Pompeo "looks forward to meeting with King
Salman."