Turkish police reportedly have "certain evidence" that Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul earlier this month.

A high-level Turkish official told The Associated Press on Tuesday about this development, but he did not offer extensive details regarding what led the police to this conclusion. The official asked to remain anonymous.

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The comment came after a joint team of Saudi and Turkish investigators conducted an hours-long search in the Saudi Consulate for evidence regarding Khashoggi's disappearance.

Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and outspoken critic of the Saudi Arabian government, went missing about two weeks ago after entering the Saudi Consulate in Turkey to obtain marriage papers.

The Turkish government told U.S. officials last week that it has video and audio recordings that prove Khashoggi was killed. But the recordings remain unreleased and the Saudi government has continued to deny any involvement.

"Just spoke to the King of Saudi Arabia who denies any knowledge of whatever may have happened 'to our Saudi Arabian citizen,'" Trump tweeted on Monday.

Reports surfaced later that day that Saudi Arabia is preparing an official account to admit that Khashoggi was killed after entering the consulate, by mistake.

CNN reported that the kingdom was planning to argue the death of the outspoken journalist was the result of a "botched operation" by Saudi agents who had no authorization from the government's top authorities.

Many U.S. lawmakers have voiced outrage over the circumstances, with Sen. Ben Cardin Benjamin (Ben) Louis CardinPelosi hopeful COVID-19 relief talks resume 'soon' Congress must finish work on popular conservation bill before time runs out PPP application window closes after coronavirus talks deadlock MORE (D-Md.) saying that Congress would take action in response to Khashoggi's disappearance.