Michael Flynn, former assistant to the President Donald trump even as his adviser during the election campaign, met with top Turkish Ministers and had discussed the extradition of preacher Fethullah Gulen. It is reported by the Wall Street Journal, citing former CIA Director Robert James Woolsey, who was present at the meeting and other sources that have been informed about it.
The Turkish authorities believe Gulen inspired the military coup in July 2016. According to Woolsey, Flynn’s meeting with Turkish Ministers took place in late summer of last year. The parties discussed how to give the preacher Ankara, bypassing the formal legal process of extradition to the United States.
Woolsey explained that he participated in the negotiations on September 19. In an interview with WSJ, he shared the view that negotiated between the parties illegal, and the theme called “striking”. According to Woolsey, the meeting was attended by the son-in-law of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
“It looked naive. I didn’t have confidence in this. This country [the U.S.] legal procedures and the Constitution, and we don’t need to give anyone to like it abroad,” said Woolsey.
The sources who was briefed on the meeting said that these ideas were “hypothetical”. The publication stresses that the parties have not come to a specific communication plan on this issue.
Representative Flynn Price Floyd said that he “did not discuss any illegal actions.” The Embassy of Turkey, the newspaper said that Turkish officials did meet with Flynn, but refused to give details of the conversation.
Enemy No. 1: ten facts about the Turkish preacher Fethullah Hulene
In mid-March, The New York Times reported that Flynn lobbied for Turkish interests during the presidential campaign, trump for $500 thousand According to the newspaper, his activity was associated just with the collection of information about Hulene. The white house said that trump didn’t know about Flynn’s work in the interests of Ankara.
Attempt a military coup occurred in Turkey in the night of July 16. The military seized several government buildings in Istanbul and Ankara. Turkish authorities believe that the organizer of the coup is a Turkish writer, former Imam and preacher Fethullah gülen. He lives in the United States, pleaded not guilty.
In mid-September, the Ministry of justice of Turkey has sent an official request to the United States to arrest Gulen. Turkish prosecutors asked for a preacher two life sentences and 1900 years in prison.
