'Body double' wearing slain journalist's clothes: reports

A Saudi operative was seen wearing slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi's clothes and a fake beard the day of the murder, according to reports.

Surveillance video shows the imposter leaving the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, according to CNN. The was wearing Khashoggi's dress shirt, suit jacket and pants. He was also wearing the fake beard and glasses.

The "body double" was a member of the Saudi team sent to Istanbul to target the Washington Post columnist, a senior Turkish official told CNN.

The man in the surveillance video was identified as 57-year-old Mustafa al-Madani. Khashoggi was 59.

"You don't need a body double for a rendition or an interrogation," the official told CNN. "Our assessment has not changed since October 6. This was a premeditated murder and the body was moved out of the consulate."

The Turkish state-run news channel TRT also reported that a man who entered the consulate building was seen leaving in Khashoggi's clothes.

Turkish investigators have said that Khashoggi was tortured, killed and dismembered after entering the consulate, but Saudi Arabia officials claim the writer died in a "fistfight."

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Fox News on Sunday that the slaying was "a rogue operation" and that "we don't know where the body is."

"The individuals who did this did this outside the scope of their authority," he said. "There obviously was a tremendous mistake made and what compounded the mistake was the attempt to try to cover up. That is unacceptable to the government."

Saudi state media reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and King Salman made calls to Khashoggi's son early on Monday (local time) to express their condolences.

President Trump told the Washington Post over the weekend that he hopes the crown prince is not responsible for the slaying, and said he did not want to stop proposed arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

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