And, now we have a second instance of Trump doing the bidding of a foreign power

October 12, 2017

At the center of the increasingly bitter dispute between the United States and Turkey is a demand by an irate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that American prosecutors free a Turkish-Iranian gold dealer who is about to go on trial on money-laundering and fraud charges.

[...]

Turkey alarmed Washington by arresting a U.S. consular official last week, in what some U.S. officials feared was an attempt to gain leverage for Zarrab’s release before the scheduled Nov. 27 start of his trial in New York.

[...]

What dirt could Zarrab dish in court? A possible preview comes in a May 2016 court filing by then-U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. Citing a December 2013 Turkish prosecutor’s report, Bharara’s memo said the Turkish evidence “describes a massive bribery scheme executed by Zarrab and others, paying cabinet-level governmental officials and high-level bank officers tens of millions of Euro and U.S. dollars to facilitate Zarrab’s network’s transactions for the benefit of Iran” to evade U.S. sanctions against that country. Bharara’s memo noted that these “conclusions are corroborated by emails obtained through the FBI’s investigation.”

[...]

Erdogan’s campaign to free Zarrab has been extraordinary. He demanded his release as well as the firing of Bharara in a private meeting with then-Vice President Joe Biden on Sept. 21, 2016, in which U.S. officials say half the 90-minute conversation was devoted to Zarrab.

  WaPo

Biden/Obama did not fire Bharara. But Trump did.

Erdogan’s government began cultivating Donald Trump’s team before the election. Michael Flynn, then a campaign aide, was hired as a pro-Turkey lobbyist, and his firm continued to receive Turkish money during the transition.

"Other matters."

December 1, 2017

Turkey’s government kicked into full defensive gear today as Reza Zarrab, an Iranian-Turkish gold trader, prepared to stand witness before a New York jury for a second day, continuing his account of a billion-dollar scam to smuggle gold for oil in violation of US sanctions on Iran and in collusion with top Turkish officials. [...] Zarrab said Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and former Economy Minister Ali Babacan had signed off on the scheme.

[...]

Zarrab told the court yesterday that he had decided to help the American authorities because “Cooperation was the fastest way to accept responsibility and to get out of jail at once.” He then went on to describe in minute detail and with the help of flow charts how the scheme worked and how he had greased the pockets of top government officials to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.

[...]

Nicholas Danforth, a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center who specializes in Turkish affairs, observed that the Turkish government’s propaganda machine is now bent on conflating Zarrab’s testimony with Kilicdaroglu’s accusations against the Erdogan family as part of the alleged Western plot against Turkey

[...]

Erdogan has denied any wrongdoing, accusing Kilicdaroglu and his party of “treason” and threatening to retaliate. “If you strike me, be prepared to be struck back,” he thundered on Tuesday.

  Al-Monitor

Very Trumpian.  These would-be-dictators are all alike.

Impeach Trump.

Trump may yet - truthfully this time - see thousands and thousands of Muslims cheering in New Jersey on TV.