Alptekin, an ally of Erdogan, had already agreed through one of his companies to a $600,000 contract with the consulting firm of Michael Flynn to research Gulen. Flynn was also a Trump campaign adviser and later became his national security adviser before being fired in February.
Woolsey was a member of Flynn’s firm, the Flynn Intel Group, according to a Justice Department filing by the firm and an archive of the company’s website, although a spokesman for Woolsey disputed that characterization, saying he was an unpaid adviser and his affiliation was “loosely defined.”
Read the Whole Sorry Thing: Exclusive: While advising Trump in 2016, ex-CIA chief proposed plan to discredit Turkish cleric.
These events would seem to have complemented Moscow’s efforts to encourage Erdogan in his redevelopment of feudal absolute power in Turkey.
Related Reference
35th Annual Conference on U.S.-Turkey Relations. “K. Ekim Alptekin”. October 30 – November 1, 2016.
Arnsdorf, Isaac. “Flynn’s Turkish lobbying linked to Russia.” Politico, April 25, 2017.
–33–
BackChannels 