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Reuters: Special counsel Mueller to probe ex-Trump aide Flynn's Turkey ties

T

Tovarisc

Member
Edit: Special counsel's Trump investigation includes Manafort case, maybe Rosenstein too: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=238978059

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.
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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.
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Mueller's move to take over the Virginia grand jury's criminal investigation highlights his broad powers as special counsel.

Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller, a former FBI director, on May 17 to oversee an investigation into any links or collusion between Russia and individuals associated with the Trump campaign. Rosenstein also gave him authority to pursue ”any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation."

Some members of Congress have asked the Justice Department to define the scope of Mueller's inquiry.
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Flynn's work for Inovo came under scrutiny after he published a commentary on a political news website on Election Day calling Gulen a ”radical Islamist" who should be extradited to Turkey.

Along with the editorial, the Flynn Intel Group also produced a 75-page report on Gulen based mainly on news reports and some video footage for a documentary that was never made, according to three people familiar with the project.

Alptekin, who is chairman of the Turkey-U.S. Business Council, told Reuters he was satisfied with Flynn's research because it had helped him understand how Gulen's network operates in the United States.

He said the $530,000 payment to Flynn's firm came "mostly" from his personal funds.

On Nov. 18, the day after Flynn was appointed Trump's national security adviser, Trump transition team lawyer William McGinley raised concerns on a call with the Flynn Intel Group and others involved in the Inovo project over who had paid for Flynn's commentary, according to two people with knowledge of the conversation.

Flynn did not participate in that call, they said.
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Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-flynn-turkey-exclusive-idUSKBN18T276
 
C

CDX

Member
Mueller's move to take over the Virginia grand jury's criminal investigation highlights his broad powers as special counsel.

Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller, a former FBI director, on May 17 to oversee an investigation into any links or collusion between Russia and individuals associated with the Trump campaign. Rosenstein also gave him authority to pursue ”any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation."
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A few weeks ago, after it all happened, I remember reading an article that worried this might not be broad enough. The article argued it instead should've said.

”any matters that arose or may arise directly or indirectly from the investigation."​


But it seems like those initial fears may have been unwarranted, and Mueller does have enough power.
 
S

ShadowSwordmaster

Banned
gettyimages-95894424.jpg
 
F

Fenderputty

Banned
is expanding his probe to include a grand jury investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn
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He's so fucked. He can stall all he wants for the senate and house, but he won't be able to run forever.
 
F

Fenderputty

Banned
serenewarfare said:
Mueller decides the scope on his own, so there's nothing they could get him to say that he can't later change himself. He holds the cards here.
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The scope has to originate from the investigation into Russian collusion and election tampering. It still means the scope could be yuge, though.
 
S

serenewarfare

Banned
Fenderputty said:
The scope has to originate from the investigation into Russian collusion and election tampering. It still means the scope could be yuge, though.
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It does, but anything he finds while investigating that is fair game, even if it doesn't specifically have to do with the Russians or the election. He can bring charges for any wrongdoing he finds. That's why his appointment was such a big deal.
 
B

BlackLagoon

Member
CDX said:
A few weeks ago, after it all happened, I remember reading an article that worried this might not be broad enough. The article argued it instead should've said.

“any matters that arose or may arise directly or indirectly from the investigation."​


But it seems like those initial fears may have been unwarranted, and Mueller does have enough power.
Click to expand...
If you go back to the 90s and the then named Independent Council Ken Starr, he was originally engaged to investigate the Clintons ties to a real estate scandal during Bill's tenure as governor of Arkansas. He of course infamously ended up investigating Bill for the Lewinsky affair and lying under oath, but also managed to conduct a thorough review of the Vince Foster case as well. So basically, the dog has been let loose, and now he's going to start digging wherever he damn well pleases.
 
B

BlastProcessing

Member
BlackLagoon said:
If you go back to the 90s and the then named Independent Council Ken Starr, he was originally engaged to investigate the Clintons ties to a real estate scandal during Bill's tenure as governor of Arkansas. He of course infamously ended up investigating Bill for the Lewinsky affair and lying under oath, but also managed to conduct a thorough review of the Vince Foster case as well. So basically, the dog has been let loose, and now he's going to start digging wherever he damn well pleases.
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Starr had that broad power because of a statute in the Ethics in Government Act of 1978. That statute expired in 1999. Both parties were happy to see the statute go because they felt it went to far.

Mueller doesn't have near the level of power or independence that Starr had.
 
B

BlackLagoon

Member
BlastProcessing said:
Starr had that broad power because of a statute in the Ethics in Government Act of 1978. That statute expired in 1999. Both parties were happy to see the statute go because they felt it went to far.

Mueller doesn't have near the level of power or independence that Starr had.
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As far as I can tell they have the same basic powers, the main difference is that the old Independent Council was independent of the executive and answerable only to Congress, while the Special Council can in theory be told to back off certain things by the Department of Justice. I would imagine any attempt by Trump to meddle would cause a media shitstorm pretty quickly though, and probably put more eyes on whatever he'd try to hide, not less.
 
S

super-heated plasma

Member
Trump has already proven he's the dumbest fuck on the planet, so I will not be one bit surprised to see him do whatever is possible to shut down Mueller, media storm or not. And the Republicans will find a way to justify it for him afterwards. As happy as I am that he's on the case, I still expect the rug to be pulled out from under him at any time.
 
LifEndz

LifEndz

Member
smokeandmirrors said:
1060x600-808915ea1d236aeae4a582da683ecb5f.jpg
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If you are looking for immunity, I can you I don't have it. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you resign, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will destroy you.
 
G

GTI Guy

Member
Wouldn't it be something if this investigation finds all sorts of corruption within the government and ties to Russia and money and whatever and a bunch of senators/congressmen get ousted. Trump would have drained the swamp! MAGA!
 
C

Carn82

Member
GTI Guy said:
Wouldn't it be something if this investigation finds all sorts of corruption within the government and ties to Russia and money and whatever and a bunch of senators/congressmen get ousted. Trump would have drained the swamp! MAGA!
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'I had to take the fall to drain the swamp. I did it to MAGA! I wish Mike, he's my friend, a good man, the new president, the best of luck. All the best.'
 
N

norm9

Member
GTI Guy said:
Wouldn't it be something if this investigation finds all sorts of corruption within the government and ties to Russia and money and whatever and a bunch of senators/congressmen get ousted. Trump would have drained the swamp! MAGA!
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If he didn't mean to do it-

tumblr_inline_nvs85fXNco1spviij_500.gif
 
C

cameron

Member
Analysis: Leverage.

The Atlantic: Why Mueller Is Taking Over the Michael Flynn Grand Jury
Taking over the investigation would give Mueller broad authority over its direction and outcome. The Turkish-lobbying probe is believed to be the most advanced of the inquiries looking into President Trump’s inner circle. Federal prosecutors conducting the investigation reportedly empaneled a grand jury some time after the president’s inauguration in January and have issued subpoenas targeting Flynn’s business records and those held by his associates.
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Overseeing the investigation could also give Mueller a valuable bargaining chip with Flynn in the broader federal probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Flynn, a retired lieutenant general, was one of Trump’s closest aides during the presidential campaign, culminating in his brief tenure as national-security adviser. That proximity to the president placed him at key moments of interest to investigators. One of them is an early December meeting with Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak in which Kushner reportedly asked Kislyak about using Russian diplomatic facilities to communicate with Moscow.

If the Turkish-lobbying investigation advances far enough to bring criminal charges, Mueller could use the threat of prosecution as leverage to persuade Flynn to testify against others. Flynn himself has raised the possibility of cutting a deal with investigators: In March, he requested immunity from the FBI and Congress in exchange for his testimony. Flynn’s lawyer cryptically said at the time that his client “certainly has a story to tell.” (Neither Congress nor the FBI has granted his request so far.)
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Flynn’s legal troubles could also extend beyond the Russia investigation and the Turkish-lobbying probe. Maryland Representative Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democratic member of the House Oversight Committee, suggested Flynn may have broken federal law by not disclosing his payments from a Kremlin-funded media outlet during a routine background-check interview to renew his security clearance last year. Cummings cited a Defense Department document in which Flynn told his interviewers he’d received no foreign payments. It’s unclear whether federal prosecutors are currently investigating him on those grounds.
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T

Tovarisc

Member
The Latest: Special counsel’s Trump probe adds Manafort case
The Associated Press has learned that the special counsel running the U.S. investigation into possible ties between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia’s government has assumed oversight of an ongoing investigation involving former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

The investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller may also expand to look into the roles of the attorney general and deputy attorney general in the firing of FBI Director James Comey.

The Justice Department’s criminal investigation into Manafort, who was forced to resign in August amid questions over his past business dealings in Ukraine, predated the election and the counterintelligence probe investigating possible collusion between Moscow and associates of Donald Trump.

The move to consolidate the matters indicates that Mueller is assuming a broad mandate in his new role.
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https://apnews.com/749ff6ea249942d2...cial-counsel's-Trump-probe-adds-Manafort-case
 
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