Flynn’s Turkish [and Erdogan] Connection


Date posted: May 19, 2017

Daniel Larison

McClatchy offers up a damning report about Mike Flynn:

One of the Trump administration’s first decisions about the fight against the Islamic State was made by Michael Flynn weeks before he was fired – and it conformed to the wishes of Turkey, whose interests, unbeknownst to anyone in Washington, he’d been paid more than $500,000 to represent.

Flynn used his position as Trump’s top adviser on national security to affect U.S. policy in accordance with the preferences of the foreign government he was working for. It doesn’t matter that the government happened to be an ally–he was taking money as a lobbyist for another government while directly influencing U.S. foreign policy. This shows that Flynn was compromised from the very start of the transition, and it confirms that Trump was wrong to put him in such an important national security position.

The New York Times outdoes the McClatchy report:

Michael T. Flynn told President Trump’s transition team weeks before the inauguration that he was under federal investigation for secretly working as a paid lobbyist for Turkey during the campaign, according to two people familiar with the case.

Despite this warning, which came about a month after the Justice Department notified Mr. Flynn of the inquiry, Mr. Trump made Mr. Flynn his national security adviser. The job gave Mr. Flynn access to the president and nearly every secret held by American intelligence agencies.

The curious thing about the Flynn-Turkey connection is that it was a very badly-kept secret. Details of Flynn’s connection to a firm that worked on behalf of the Turkish government were known at least by mid-November, and there were hints that something fishy was going before that when he began singing Erdogan’s praises and demanding Gulen’s extradition.

Despite all this, Trump made Flynn his National Security Advisor knowing that he was suspected of working as an undeclared lobbyist for a foreign government, and then during the transition Flynn used his position to affect U.S. policy to suit the Turkish government’s preferences. This is a startling example of the Trump transition team’s vetting failure, and it underscores why Flynn’s removal from his position as National Security Advisor was a good thing for the country.

Source: The American Conservative , May 17, 2017


Related News

Hundreds celebrate Clifton’s diversity at festival

Yesilova prepared rich Turkish coffee for those who stopped by a table for the Turkish Cultural Center at the festival, which took place at Clifton High School. The event, which featured food and performances from around the world, was part of more than a year-long commemoration of Clifton’s 100th anniversary.

Building bridges while breaking bread: Norfolk temple holds interfaith Ramadan meal

Exiled. Away from his friends and family and watching from afar as thousands of Turkish doctors, teachers, professors and more have been jailed. Unbelievable, Bilici called it. Out of work and afraid of what was coming, he left the country. Eventually, he purchased a one-way ticket to America and is now, like thousands before him, a Muslim immigrant.

Bridge-building in ‘enemy country’ – Story of a Turkish asylum seeker in Greece

Erdogan’s aggressive policies, which have driven many Turks into exile, seem to have had an unintentional side-effect. “A bridge is being built between Turks and Greeks,” the English teacher says. “We’re learning to overcome prejudices and historical misunderstandings.”

This is beyond a witch-hunt – Turkey now blames Gülen movement for 9/11 attacks

In yet another example of scapegoating the Gülen movement for anything bad in Turkey or in anywhere else in the world, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s chief advisor Yiğit Bulut hinted at connections between FETÖ and the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US.

A reality check on [Turkey coup attempt] from America’s spy chief

Asked whether Turkish allegations that cleric Fethullah Gulen planned the attempted coup passed the “smell test” of credibility, National Intelligence Director James Clapper answered: “No. Not to me.” He said that Secretary John Kerry “was right on the ball” to press the Turks to back up their extradition request with evidence of Gulen’s involvement.

GYV urges government to accelerate reforms in favor of media freedoms

The Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) has called on the Turkish government to speed up pro-freedom reforms and to bring its laws in line with European Union standards in order to do away with problems caused by limits on freedom of expression and freedom of the press. The foundation released a statement on Wednesday regarding […]

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

The Middle East and Turkish civil Islam’s transformative influence on Islamism

Kimse Yok Mu’s Eid al-Adha aid efforts worldwide

New Book – The House of Service: The Gülen Movement and Islam’s Third Way (New York: Oxford University Press)

AKP: What is next?

Moderate Islamic Gulen Movement Builds Bridges of Understanding With Christians, Jews

Australian Relief Organisation feed thousand in Philippines and Sri Lanka in Qurban

Human Rights Foundation asks Kosovo PM to free 6 Gulen followers

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News