The CIA chief's investigation will give a key member of President Donald Trump's administration access to the evidence used by Turkey to accuse Saudi Arabia of Khashoggi’s premeditated murder.

Haspel, who departed for a secret trip to Turkey on Monday, heard the audio during her visit to Istanbul, the Washington Post reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with her meetings.

Haspel is scheduled to brief Trump on Thursday.

Trump, who has made Saudi Arabia a central pillar of his Middle East strategy, has expressed skepticism about Riyadh’s claim that Khashoggi’s murder was a “rogue operation” that occurred after a fistfight broke out in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

On Tuesday, Trump said Saudi officials had engaged in the “worst coverup ever” and that those behind the killing “should be in big trouble.”

A person familiar with the audio said it was “compelling” and could put more pressure on the United States to punish Saudi Arabia for the death of Khashoggi.

“This puts the ball firmly in Washington’s court,” Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official and scholar at the Brookings Institution, told the Washington Post. “Not only will there be more pressure now from the media but Congress will say, ‘Gina, we would love to have you come visit and you can tell us exactly what you heard.’ ”

Khashoggi was a Washington Post columnist and lived in the US, having fled Saudi Arabia in September last year.

US lawmakers have increased their pressure on the Trump administration, accusing Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS and the country’s de facto leader, of ordering the killing.

The Trump administration took its first concrete steps to penalize Saudi Arabia on Tuesday by revoking visas for agents implicated in the killing, a symbolic and ineffective move considering 18 of the 21 Saudi suspects were already under arrest.

In announcing the measures, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he is working with the US Treasury Department on whether to impose sanctions on those responsible for the journalist’s death.

“These penalties will not be the last word on this matter from the United States,” Pompeo said. “We will continue to explore additional measures to hold those responsible accountable.”

MBS has denied having knowledge of the mission and on Wednesday promised to bring those responsible to justice. He called the killing of Khashoggi a “heinous crime.”

But Turkish officials have voiced their doubts about his intention to support a full investigation. “How should a real investigation in Saudi Arabia work when one of the main suspects is the crown prince MBS?” said a Turkish senior official.