Well this is interesting…
REUTERS = Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating possible ties between the Trump election campaign and Russia, is expanding his probe to include a grand jury investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, three sources told Reuters.
The move means Mueller’s politically charged inquiry will now look into Flynn’s paid work as a lobbyist for a Turkish businessman in 2016, in addition to contacts between Russian officials and Flynn and other Trump associates during and after the Nov. 8 presidential election.
Federal prosecutors in Virginia are investigating a deal between Flynn and Turkish businessman Ekim Alptekin as part of a grand jury criminal probe, according to a subpoena seen by Reuters.
Alptekin’s company, Netherlands-based Inovo BV, paid Flynn’s consultancy $530,000 between September and November to produce a documentary and research on Fethullah Gulen, an exiled Turkish cleric living in the United States. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan blames Gulen for a failed coup last July.
Alptekin, an ally of Erdogan, told Reuters he hired Flynn to provide research on how Gulen is “poisoning the atmosphere” between Turkey and the United States.
The grand jury in Virginia has issued subpoenas to some of Flynn’s business associates involved in the work for Inovo, two people familiar with the probe say. The subpoena seen by Reuters seeks bank records, documents and communications related to Flynn, his company, Flynn Intel Group, Alptekin and Inovo.
Flynn’s lawyer, Robert Kelner, did not respond to questions about Flynn’s work for Inovo or Mueller’s investigation. A spokesman for Mueller declined to comment.
Alptekin declined to comment when asked about the investigation into Flynn and whether he or anyone he knows has been subpoenaed.
Honestly I’m pretty curious here when it comes to Flynn’s ties with Turkey, especially with the reporting that Flynn created an anti-Gulen documentary and the request of an ally of Erdogan. We also know from previous reporting that Flynn wanted to extradite Gulen back to Turkey where we all know he would die for the phony claims he orchestrated the coup.
So yeah, I’m all ears on this.