US President Donald Trump insists there's not enough evidence to blame Saudi Arabia's crown prince for the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate in Turkey.
Trump told reporters during a Thanksgiving appearance on Thursday at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida: "Maybe the world should be held accountable 'cause the world is a vicious place."
Saudi prosecutors have said a 15-man team sent to Istanbul killed Khashoggi with tranquillisers.
Trump pushed back on the idea his refusal to punish the Saudis more will embolden other governments to go after journalists and commit other human rights abuses. Trump calls the kingdom an important ally that has helped to lower oil prices.
Republicans and Democrats have accused Trump of ignoring US intelligence that concluded it was likely the crown prince ordered the killing. Trump says the CIA's report was inconclusive.
On Wednesday, a Turkish newspaper reported that CIA director Gina Haspel signalled to Turkish officials last month that the agency had a recording of a call in which the Saudi crown prince gave instructions to "silence" Khashoggi.
Asked about the report, a Turkish official told Reuters he had no information about such a recording.
Saudi Arabia has said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had no prior knowledge of Khashoggi's killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul six weeks ago.
"There is talk of another recording," Hurriyet newspaper journalist Abdulkadir Selvi wrote in a column, saying the purported call took place between Prince Mohammed and his brother, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington.
"It is being said that CIA chief Gina Haspel indicated this during her visit to Turkey," he wrote, adding that they had discussed Khashoggi, a critic of the kingdom's de facto ruler.
"It is being said the crown prince gave orders to 'silence Jamal Khashoggi as soon as possible'," in a call which was monitored by the US agency, he said.
