Flynn lawyers deny alleged plot with Turkey
Lawyers for Michael Flynn on Friday denied reports that President Trump’s former national security adviser was involved in a clandestine plot to capture a Muslim cleric and deliver him to the Turkish government.
“Out of respect of the various investigations regarding the 2016 campaign, we have intentionally avoided responding to every rumor or allegation raised in the media,” attorneys Robert Kelner, Stephen Anthony and Brian Smith said in a statement.
“But today’s news cycle has brought allegations about General Flynn, ranging from kidnapping to bribery, that are so outrageous and prejudicial that we are making an exception to our usual rule: they are false,” they said.
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The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Friday that special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating the alleged plan, which would have resulted in Flynn and his son being paid $15 million.
FBI agents have asked at least four people about a mid-December meeting in New York where Flynn and representatives of the Turkish government discussed forcibly removing the cleric Fethullah Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, according to the paper.
At the time, Flynn had already been picked as Trump’s national security adviser.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has accused Gulen of being behind a 2016 coup attempt. The cleric has denied any involvement.
Mueller is looking into the meeting as part of his investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia’s efforts to interfere with the 2016 election.
The scope of the probe has expanded into the foreign lobbying activities of several Trump associates, including Flynn, who served as a top foreign policy adviser for Trump’s campaign.
Investigators are determining whether Flynn violated a law requiring people to disclose their work for foreign governments.
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