Mueller probes Flynn's role in alleged plan to deliver cleric to Turkey

[Jacque67 7,328]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/mueller-probes-flynns-role-in-alleged-plan-to-deliver-cleric-to-turkey-1510309982

 

Flynn and his son, Flynn Jr., were to have been paid $15M to forcibly remove Gulen from US and deliver him to Turkey. Pressure is being upped a notch.

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

2 hours ago, Jacque67 said:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/mueller-probes-flynns-role-in-alleged-plan-to-deliver-cleric-to-turkey-1510309982

 

Flynn and his son, Flynn Jr., were to have been paid $15M to forcibly remove Gulen from US and deliver him to Turkey. Pressure is being upped a notch.

So an incoming (not current) National Security Advisor and his son were paid by a foreign government to plan a kidnapping of a legal guest of the United States on US soil.  Think about that. 

[Jacque67 7,328]

19 minutes ago, Il Mango Dulce said:

So an incoming (not current) National Security Advisor and his son were paid by a foreign government to plan a kidnapping of a legal guest of the United States on US soil.  Think about that. 

Your daily reminder about why @GenFlynn faces a much different (and more substantive) #FARA problem than just failing to register as a foreign agent: twitter.com/steve_vl…

25 minutes ago

 

steve vladeck

[Jacque67 7,328]

If Flynn an agent of foreign principal as of Jan 20 committed felony 18 US code 219.( he was national security adviser during transition period)

 

trump asked Comey to drop Flynn investigation.  Mueller investigating whether Flynn was planning a kidnapping and rendition of us resident. Kidnapping and bribes are state crimes that Trump can't pardon. 

WH statement not a denial.

this is bigly.

[CaliCat 3,957]

5 hours ago, Il Mango Dulce said:

So an incoming (not current) National Security Advisor and his son were paid by a foreign government to plan a kidnapping of a legal guest of the United States on US soil.  Think about that. 

 

Surely a big misunderstanding. Is Sarah back yet?

[Jacque67 7,328]

Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, attended a breakfast meeting in January that Michael Flynn, the incoming national security adviser at the time, and Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, also attended.

The breakfast event, held on Wednesday, January 18, was closed to the press, and it is still unclear what exactly was discussed.

The Washington correspondent for the Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah, which tends to be pro-government, reported at the time that an aide to Cavusoglu said he "was the only foreign leader at the breakfast and the topics on the US-Turkish agenda were discussed by the attendees."

The invitation, obtained by the newspaper, said the breakfast would "be a small event for about 50-60 guests" and that the White House chief of staff at the time, Reince Priebus, "might join the meeting," Daily Sabah reported.

Nunes' spokesman, who did not return a request for comment on Friday, issued a statement earlier this year downplaying the importance of the breakfast.

"Chairman Nunes was a speaker at that event, but it was a large breakfast event, not a small, private meeting as described in that article," the spokesman, Jack Langer, told the fact-checking website Snopes.

He continued:

"Mr. Cavusoglu was one of about 40 attendees at the event, which included 20-30 ambassadors to the U.S. and about 10 other foreign dignitaries and officials. The attendees heard some remarks from Flynn, Chairman Nunes, and other representatives on national security issues — the discussion topic was not Turkey or any other single country … if [Nunes did speak to Cavusoglu], it would've been among all the other ambassadors and officials at the event. There was no separate, private meeting."

Nunes' attendance at the event is newly relevant amid revelations that the special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating a meeting that another congressman, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, took with Flynn in September. Flynn had begun lobbying on behalf of Turkish government interests one month earlier.

[Jacque67 7,328]

http://www.businessinsider.com/devin-nunes-michael-flynn-turkey-russia-2017-11

so Devin Nunes and Flynn both met Turkey's FM after Flynn agreed to take millions to kidnap the cleric....

 

Lock them up!

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

1 hour ago, Jacque67 said:

http://www.businessinsider.com/devin-nunes-michael-flynn-turkey-russia-2017-11

so Devin Nunes and Flynn both met Turkey's FM after Flynn agreed to take millions to kidnap the cleric....

 

Lock them up!

They all shared a Midnight Uber to save money!

[Jacque67 7,328]

I don't think Flynn has a deal with Mueller.

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

11 minutes ago, Jacque67 said:

I don't think Flynn has a deal with Mueller.

Oh?

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

• Mueller is reportedly investigating Michael T. Flynn for money laundering and lying to federal agents about overseas contacts.
• Trump fired Comey to protect Flynn
• Mueller could pressure Flynn to incriminate Trump
• Trump has gone to great lengths to protect Flynn, likely because the latter has information that would incriminate the president. It took Trump 18 days to fire Flynn after learning of his lies to Pence.
• It was the firing of Comey that led to the appointment of special counsel Mueller. Mueller is a lifelong Republican.
• Trump Jr. and others could be implicated in the Russia investigation

 

It was Elijah Cummings who sent a formal letter to Pence warning about Flynn: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/elijah-cummings-letter-to-mike-pence-about-flynn-turkey-lobbying-2017-3

In addition, Yates and Obama warned trump directly about flynn.

Obama warned trump about flynn: https://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/08/obama-warn-trump-michael-flynn-238116

Yates warned trump about flynn: https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.nytimes.com/2017/05/08/us/politics/michael-flynn-sally-yates-hearing.amp.html

[Jacque67 7,328]

7 minutes ago, Il Mango Dulce said:

Oh?

there you have it.

[Jacque67 7,328]

Interesting analysis

 

Journal’s latest story however adds three crucial new pieces:

• First, that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating the matter as part of his larger probe into Trump associates and Russian election interference;

• Second, that a second meeting occurred in December, following the election and after Flynn had been named national security adviser designate to the Trump administration, at which planning continued; and

• Third, that this December meeting apparently focused on a more developed plan than what was discussed in September, including discussions of “the possibility of transporting Mr. Gulen by private jet to the Turkish prison island of Imrali” and a proposal to pay Flynn and his son up to $15 million for successfully delivering Gulen by one means or another.

In other words, the import of the new Wall Street Journal story is the news that the special counsel is investigating whether, during the presidential transition, the incoming national security adviser—while acting as unregistered agent of a foreign government—was also plotting a kidnapping on behalf of that foreign power.

What does it all mean?

There have been media reports over the past several weeks regarding possible indictments against Michael Flynn and his son. NBC recently reported that Mueller’s team believe it has enough evidence against the pair to seek an indictment. And sources familiar with the Flynn family have revealed that both the elder Flynn and his wife are especially worried about the possibility of their son facing serious legal jeopardy. Both the fact that a public indictment has not yet materialized and Flynn’s concern for his son have lead to speculation that he might choose to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation in exchange for a deal—or, in the alternative, that the Mueller camp is busily pressuring him now to do so.

Previously, most analysts seemed to be assuming that possible indictments for Flynn would relate to his failure to disclose income and information on his security clearance forms and elsewhere as required, possible false statements to investigators, and for failure to register as a foreign agent as required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Those are all serious matters on their own. But the latest allegations open up a whole new ballpark of possibilities.

The Journal story is ambiguous as to what the plot actually was and the manner and time in which it might be executed. On the one hand, discussion of putting someone on a private jet in exchange for $15 million would indicate the Flynn’s were not discussing using legal processes here. There is a word in the English language lexicon for forcibly putting someone on a plane against his will outside of the legal systems that allow compulsion and seizure of persons: The word is kidnapping and it is an extremely serious offense.

The federal kidnapping statute is at 18 U.S.C. 1201and the laws of Pennsylvania—where Gulen lives—would presumably have something to say about aspects of the plot (assuming the facts as reported by the Journal are true) as well. Flynn was a private individual—a campaign adviser—at the September meeting, and in the transition period during which the December meeting took place, he was a designated government official who had not yet assumed office. When government officials act or conspire to transfer someone, against their will and not pursuant to regular legal process, to a foreign jurisdiction, that is often described as “extraordinary rendition.” Prior administrations have acknowledged the use of the practice with respect to foreigners captured overseas. Even then, it is extremely controversial. As applied to a domestic person outside of traditional legal processes, it is simply criminal—under all imaginable circumstances. Plotting to do it, is a conspiracy to kidnap.

https://lawfareblog.com/what-make-latest-story-about-flynn-and-gulen

[jayjayj 571]

On 11/10/2017 at 5:38 PM, Jacque67 said:

If Flynn an agent of foreign principal as of Jan 20 committed felony 18 US code 219.( he was national security adviser during transition period)

 

trump asked Comey to drop Flynn investigation.  Mueller investigating whether Flynn was planning a kidnapping and rendition of us resident. Kidnapping and bribes are state crimes that Trump can't pardon. 

WH statement not a denial.

this is bigly.

The federal government can't prosecute someone for kidnapping or bribery?  

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

3 hours ago, jayjayj said:

The federal government can't prosecute someone for kidnapping or bribery?  

In addition to the federal charges there are state charges. If the federal and local prosecutors coordinate their effort . They can increase their leverage by negating the chance of a federal pardon from the president.

Edited November 12, 2017 by Il Mango Dulce