Trump's press conference with Recep Erdoğan

Trump says he’s confident Turkey will uphold what it’s supposed to uphold. He doesn’t specify what he thinks it’s supposed to uphold.

 “I’m a big fan of the president,” Trump says of Erdogan.

“You’re doing a fantastic job for the people of Turkey,” Trump tells Erdogan’s team.

Erdogan is advocating his Syria offensive, saying he is “fighting terrorism in a very resolute fashion.” He denounces the activities of the Kurdish YPG, with which the US has been allied.

Trump gives the first question to OANN, the network that makes Fox look like Jacobin.

Trump repeats his usual false claim about how the (highly accurate) whistleblower was highly inaccurate. He’s said this 40+ times now. Trump says his usual things about how the impeachment push is a sham and hoax. He laments that it is wasting “gentleman” Erdogan’s time.

“Turkey captured everybody that escaped, plus an additional group,” Trump claims of ISIS prisoners.  Trump says Erdogan is taking care of not only a lot of refugees but a lot of Kurds.

Trump invites Erdogan to select a reporter to ask a question. He adds, “A friendly person from Turkey, please. Only friendly reporters.” Trump keeps pronouncing it Erdogone.

The rest of the world, with the exception perhaps of Trumpalos, says Erdowan.

Trump calls Erdogan a “great president.”

Trump gives his second question to John Roberts of Fox. Roberts asks an important question about the phone call between Trump and Sondland that Taylor described today. Trump said, “I know nothing about that.” He adds, “I’ve never heard it.” “Not even a little bit.” 

And let that be a lesson to you why OANN gets the first question now and not Fox.

Trump says many Kurds live in Turkey and “they’re happy and they’re taken care of. Including health care.” He says it’s “really a misnomer.”

What do you want to bet Fethullah Gülen gets turned over to Turkey before Trump leaves office?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:

Giuliani, Flynn and Turkey

Rudolph W. Giuliani privately urged President Trump in 2017 to extradite a Turkish cleric living in exile in the United States, a top priority of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to multiple former administration officials familiar with the discussions.

Giuliani, a Trump ally who later became the president’s personal attorney, repeatedly argued to Trump that the U.S. government should eject Fethullah Gulen from the country, according to the former officials, who spoke on the condition on anonymity to describe private conversations.

Turkey has demanded that the United States turn over Gulen, a permanent U.S. resident who lives in Pennsylvania, to stand trial on charges of plotting a 2016 coup attempt against Erdogan. Gulen has denied involvement in the plot.

[...]

The former New York mayor brought up Gulen so frequently with Trump during visits to the White House that one former official described the subject as Giuliani’s “hobby horse.” He was so focused on the issue — “it was all Gulen,” recalled a second former official — that White House aides worried that Giuliani was making the case on behalf of the Turkish government, former officials said.

[...]

Trump appeared receptive to the idea, pressing his advisers about Gulen’s status, the people said.

One former senior administration official recalled that Trump asked frequently about why Gulen couldn’t be turned over to Turkey, referring to Erdogan as “my friend.”

Administration officials were overwhelmingly opposed to the idea and told the president that the move could violate the legal process and damage him politically.

  WaPo

I'm guessing those officials aren't around any more.

In 2017, Giuliani unsuccessfully pressed then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to help on another matter important to Erdogan: helping stop the U.S. prosecution of a Turkish Iranian trader, The Washington Post reported last week.

[...]

In a text exchange Tuesday afternoon, he declined to discuss whether he advocated for Gulen’s extradition, writing: “can’t comment on it that would be complete attorney client privilege but sounds wacky.”

"Surely I wouldn't have done anything wacky," he might not have added.

He did not return phone messages or respond to follow-up questions, except to add in a text that he “will not participate in an illegitimate, unconstitutional, and baseless ‘impeachment inquiry.’ ”

We'll see about that.

Flynn admitted in December 2017 to lying about his contacts with the Russian ambassador and making false statements about work his consulting business did for Turkey. He has since argued in court that he is the victim of a government effort to smear him, although he has not withdrawn his guilty plea.

[...]

Reid Weingarten, an attorney for Gulen, said that he would find it disturbing if Giuliani was pressing for the cleric’s return to Turkey on the heels of Flynn’s efforts.

“We have argued aggressively and I thought persuasively to both the Obama and Trump Justice Departments that the allegations against Gulen are false and that any effort to extradite him would fail legally and factually and would be an embarrassment to the United States,” he said in a statement. “After Gen. Flynn’s efforts on behalf of Turkey on this subject were exposed it is hard to believe Giuliani would follow suit.”

Have you met Rudy Giuliani???

In interviews in recent months, Giuliani has acknowledged working with clients in Romania, Brazil, Bahrain, Colombia and Ukraine. He has represented an Iranian dissident group, once so controversial it was placed on the State Department list of terrorist organizations.

Giuliani has said that he does not need to register with the Justice Department for his overseas clients because he does not lobby U.S. officials on their behalf.

Is Trump not a US official?

In December, Trump told Erdogan his administration would take a look at Turkey’s extradition request, the White House said at the time. In January, a U.S. delegation met with Turkish officials to discuss the request, according to Turkish state media.

Giuliani’s conversations with Trump about Gulen came on the heels of a similar effort by Michael Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser, and his then-associates to promote negative views of Gulen during the 2016 campaign and the presidential transition.

[...]

[S]enior administration officials were so concerned that Giuliani might have been paid to push Turkey’s interests that, at one point in 2017, they confronted him and asked him not to bring up Turkish issues when he met with the president, according to a person familiar with the conversation.

When asked via text if he recalled the conversation, Giuliani responded by liking the question with a thumbs-up emoji.

Sounds wacky.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

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.

Flynn indictment coming

Or is it?

[P]rosecutors working for Mueller postponed grand jury testimony related to Flynn’s private business dealings.

The reason for the postponement was not immediately clear, but it comes one week after attorneys for Flynn alerted Trump’s legal team that they could no longer share information about the case.

  AP

Postponed or cancelled outright?

The details of Kushner’s questioning and the postponement of the grand jury testimony were confirmed by people familiar with Mueller’s investigation. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation.

I'm guessing Kushner or Flynn's people. Or maybe court people. Mueller's are tight-lipped, as they should be. It could be they've got a line on more information suddenly. Or, it could be somebody had a scheduling conflict. Or it could be something else. If it's dropped altogether - and I have no reason to believe it has - I suppose that would be a clear indication Flynn made some serious deals, and the only serious deals I can think of would involve giving over information on Trump and/or Kushner. It has come out in this postponement that Mueller's team had questioned Kushner before Flynn's team quit sharing information with Trump's. For whatever that information is worth.

An October 2016 meeting that was expected to be the subject of the grand jury testimony has been described as a bait-and-switch carried out on behalf of Flynn’s firm.

[...]

As the AP reported in March , Flynn’s business partner, Bijan Kian , invited a representative of the House Homeland Security committee to Flynn Intel’s offices in Alexandria, Virginia, to discuss secure communications products. But after discussing the products, the session quickly turned into a lobbying pitch that mirrored Turkish government talking points [about Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, whose kidnapping and rendering is said to have been conspired including Flynn].

What an incredible web of sleazery and criminality Mueller's team has to unravel.

UPDATE:

Thread

Also,
Attorney and professor Seth Abramson has a thread on what he thinks Kushner's recent appearance before Mueller's team means.  Check it out.

UPDATE 12/1:

Indicted.

Waiting for the Flynn indictment

The delay doesn’t mean Flynn has been cleared. Instead, it appears the former general is entangled in so many strands of the Russia investigation that Mueller needs more time to run down all the leads. For instance: For years the Turkish government has pressured American politicians to return Reza Zarrab, a gold trader accused of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. Mueller wants to know if Ankara enlisted Flynn, who in 2016 was a paid agent of Turkey as well as a Trump campaign adviser, in the effort to extradite Zarrab.

Last week, just as Zarrab was about to stand trial, he was suddenly and mysteriously transferred within the U.S. prison system, his new whereabouts undisclosed. Perhaps Zarrab was moved for his physical safety. Another strong possibility, former prosecutors say, is that Zarrab has become a cooperating witness.

  Vanity Fair

I'd say that's a pretty good bet, considering the recent story about Flynn's plan to kidnap exile Fethullah Gulen and hand him over to Turkey.

Flynn’s lawyers did not respond to a call for comment, though they did issue a statement responding to a Wall Street Journal story about Mueller’s interest in the Turkish angle. “Out of respect for the process of the various investigations regarding the 2016 campaign, we have intentionally avoided responding to every rumor or allegation raised in the media. 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 are indeed outrageous. And yet, they hardly seem like the typical rumor to discredit.

Then there’s the dead body in a Minnesota hotel room. Peter W. Smith, a Republican political operative, committed suicide in May, about a week after reporters questioned Smith about his efforts to obtain Hillary Clinton’s e-mails from Russian hackers. Investigators have been trying to determine whether Flynn and his son were involved in pursuing those Clinton e-mails. “That suicide opened up a whole ‘nother chapter in the investigation,” says Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley, a member of the House Intelligence Committee. “We are still closer to the beginning of the investigation than the end.” (“No Foul Play Whatsoever,” read a suicide note left behind at the scene.)

Nothing suspicious there.

The Flynns under investigation

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating an alleged plan involving former White House National Security Adviser Mike Flynn to forcibly remove a Muslim cleric living in the U.S. and deliver him to Turkey in return for millions of dollars, according to people familiar with the investigation.

Under the alleged proposal, Mr. Flynn and his son, Michael Flynn Jr., were to be paid as much as $15 million for delivering Fethullah Gulen to the Turkish government.

[...]

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents have asked at least four individuals about a meeting in mid-December at the ‘21’ Club in New York City, where Mr. Flynn and representatives of the Turkish government discussed removing Mr. Gulen, according to people with knowledge of the FBI’s inquiries. The discussions allegedly involved the possibility of transporting Mr. Gulen on a private jet to the Turkish prison island of Imrali, according to one of the people who has spoken to the FBI.

[...]

Mr. Gulen’s removal was discussed as “a covert step in the dead of night to whisk this guy away,” according to [former CIA Director James] Woolsey, who said he attended the meeting at the request of one of Mr. Flynn’s business associates.

  WSJ

Conspiracy to kidnap? That sounds mighty serious. Perhaps that's more of a reason why Flynn was cut loose from the Trump campaign early on than that he lied to Mike Pence.

[Flynn] is now facing military, congressional and criminal investigations into allegations that he improperly concealed his financial ties to Turkey and Russia, and into whether the ties played any role in his decisions as the president’s adviser.

In a world of hurt.

Mr. Woolsey, who served briefly as an adviser to the Trump campaign, said he turned down a consulting fee from Mr. Flynn’s company because of what he heard at the meeting.

Smart man.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Oh, Yes. Thank God for That

Alp Aslandogan, the executive director of Alliance for Shared Values, and the media advisor to Gülen, said that security is on “high alert” following threats of violence on social media.

While Erdoğan is attempting to extradite Gülen for charges related to the coup Aslandogan said: “The US government position has always been that if there is any evidence of Mr Gulen breaking the laws, they will look into it.

“So far, the Turkish government hasn’t produced anything. Thank God, this is a country of laws, and we depend on that.”

  Guardian

Some lives matter.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Turkey Coup Fallout

UPDATE:

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency says all soldiers involved in the attempted coup at the military headquarters in the capital, Ankara, have been taken into custody.

  Guardian

Original:

I won't swear to it, but I think this Sputnik News report that coup supporters have seized a Turkish frigate and taken the head of the fleet hostage is current.

Whether the coup is still petering out or completely over, there is, of course, ongoing fallout.

Turkish authorities have removed 2,745 judges from duty following the coup attempt, broadcaster NTV reported, citing a decision by the High Council of Judges and Prosectors (HSYK).

Five members of HSYK, Turkey’s highest judiciary board, were also removed, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

[...]

Reuters have released a statement from Gülen that says he “categorically denies” the claims that he orchestrated the coup, and argues power should be won through free and fair elections. He also reportedly said that Erdogan’s accusations were “especially insulting” as he suffered at the hands of multiple military coups in Turkey.

[...]

Prime minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday that legal changes would be considered to reintroduce the death penalty to deal with coup-plotters.

[...]

The head of the armed forces, General Hulusi Akar, who was reportedly taken hostage, has been freed.

[...]

Greece’s defense ministry has said a Blackhawk helicopter carrying seven Turkish military personnel and one civilian landed in the city of Alexandroupolis earlier Saturday. The passengers asked for asylum and were arrested for illegal entry into Greece.

[...]

In the first official statement on the issue, the [Greek] spokeswoman said the military aircraft had been accompanied by two fighter jets into Greek airspace and would be returned to Turkey as soon as possible.

[...]

“With regards to the eight arrestees, procedures foreseen by international law will be upheld although it is seriously being taken into account that in their country the arrested stand accused of violating constitutional law and attempting the overthrow of democracy.”

  Guardian

Also, the Turkish Armed Forces website is down.

Regarding the fact that coup soldiers had taken control of the Bosphorus bridge but have now surrendered, here's an explanation of the importance of that location:

The Bosphorus is one of world’s most important choke-points for the maritime transit of oil, with more than 3% of global supply – mainly from Russia and the Caspian Sea – passing through the 17-mile waterway that connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. It also ships vast amounts of grains from Russia and Kazakhstan to world markets.

To be continued...

Turkey Coup

It's not clear to me that the coup attempt is in fact completely done, but it's pretty clear it's done for.

The latest report I have found on the matter of President Erdoğan's whereabouts has him in Istanbul. One would think if the coup is completely quelled, he'd be in Ankara (although I did see a video report of his palace having been bombed, as well as the parliament building,  But that report also says "at least 200 soldiers turned themselves in to police in Ankara," according to Turkish state media.)  So, I'm still waiting for the fat lady to sing.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced in a televised speech that [161] people died during the coup attempt in Turkey, late Friday night into Saturday morning, and more than 1400 were injured. He went on to say that 2839 members of Turkey’s military have been detained in connection with the coup attempt.

[...]

During his statement, he praised the citizens of Turkey for going on to the streets and risking their lives for democracy, calling their actions heroic.

[...]

Of those who took part in the uprising, he said that they came from various levels of the army, with some of them "high-ranking officers."

"My dear brothers, sister, these parallel gang members are now in the hands of the esteemed Turkish justice and they will be punished in every way they deserve through this process," said Yildirim.

[...]

Five generals and 29 colonels are relieved of their duty, according to Turkey’s Interior Ministry, and several high court judges are also being questioned.

At least one air force base in the country is still in control of the insurgents, according to the ministry.

[...]

President Erdogan, when speaking to his supporters, appeared to blame the coup attempt on Fethullah Gulen, a high-profile political figure and [Muslim] religious scholar based in the U.S. He lives in a gated compound in a small, leafy town in Pennsylvania.

  CNN

Wow. More US military commenters making it seem as though they were at least rooting for the coup-makers if not actively supporting them.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.