Thread: Flynn reportedly told Trump team he was under investigation before inauguration

Flynn reportedly told Trump team he was under investigation before inauguration

Published May 17, 2017
Fox News

Weeks before President Trump's inauguration, Michael Flynn told the transition team he was under federal investigation for working as a paid lobbyist for Turkey during the campaign, the New York Times reported late Wednesday.

The disclosure by Flynn on Jan. 4 was first made to then-Trump transition team lawyer Donald F. McGahn II, who is now the White House counsel, two people familiar with the case told the newspaper.

Flynn's conversation with the transition team came a month after the Justice Department notified Flynn he was under investigation, according to the Times.

The Justice Department investigation was not seen as disqualifying Flynn from the national security adviser position, people close to the retired Army lieutenant general told Fox News.

Flynn was fired as national security adviser by Trump on Feb. 13 after the White House said he misled Vice President Mike Pence and other top officials about his communications with Russia's ambassador to the United States.

The White House had no immediate comment on the Times story Wednesday night.

Earlier Wednesday, people close to the former national security adviser told Fox News that Flynn never asked Trump to interfere or block federal probes.

"Flynn never spoke to the president about trying to end or influence any ongoing government investigations of him," Fox News was told.

Separately, McClatchy reported Wednesday that Flynn declined a request from the Obama administration to approve a Pentagon plan to retake ISIS' de facto capital, Raqqa, with the help of Syrian Kurdish forces — a plan that the government of Turkey had opposed.

The Trump administration eventually approved the offensive after Flynn's dismissal. Weeks after his firing, Flynn retroactively registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent. He was ultimately paid more than $500,000 to advocate for the Turkish government.

The McClatchy report says Flynn's explanation for the decision is not recorded and it was not immediately clear whether he consulted with other members of the transition team.

Fox News' Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017...uguration.html

Trump Says U.S. Will Re-Establish Military and Economic Partnership With Turkey

Vivian Salama / AP
May 16, 2017

(WASHINGTON) — The presidents of the United States and Turkey vowed Tuesday to repair a relationship battered by years of disputes over Syria's civil war and its various fighting groups, even as they broached a new disagreement over U.S. plans to arm Kurdish fighters.

Delivering a statement alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President Donald Trump said the U.S. would re-establish its military and economic partnership with Turkey. He committed to backing Turkey's fight against the Islamic State group and a Kurdish insurgency known as the PKK, which the U.S., the European Union and Turkey all consider a terrorist organization.

Such groups will "have no safe quarter," Trump said in the White House's historic Roosevelt Room, where he also commended Turkey's "leadership in seeking an end to the horrific killing in Syria."

Erdogan issued a statement afterward, congratulated Trump for his presidential election victory. While Erdogan called for the extradition of a Pennsylvania-based cleric he blames for a failed coup in Turkey last summer, there was little tension.

The biggest dispute between the two NATO allies in recent days has been the U.S. plans to arm Kurdish Syrian militants to help them fight IS. Turkey has been pressuring the U.S. to drop support for the militants and doesn't want them spearheading an operation to retake ISIS' self-declared capital of Raqqa.

Turkey believes the Kurds in Syria are linked to the PKK. The U.S. sees the Syrian Kurds as their best battlefield partner on the ground in northern Syria.

Last month, the Turkish military bombed Kurdish forces in Syria and Iraq, in one case with American forces only about six miles (10 kilometers) away. Erdogan's government also has insisted it may attack Syrian Kurdish fighters again. The U.S., whose forces are sometimes embedded with the Kurds, has much to fear.

In his statement to reporters, Trump did not directly address his decision to arm the Kurds. But he asserted the U.S. and Turkey's mutual commitment to ending Syria's conflict.

The meeting took place with a White House still responding to what a senior U.S. official said was Trump's disclosure of classified information about an Islamic State terror threat involving laptop computers on aircraft.

Trump shared the threat in a meeting with Russia's foreign minister and ambassador in the Oval Office last week, according to the official, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity.

The U.S. is relying on regional allies including Turkey for intelligence-sharing and military assistance as it crafts a Syria policy, particularly as Iran and Russia work to bolster Syrian President Bashar Assad's government.

Trump launched cruise missiles last month at a Syrian air base after accusing Assad of using chemical weapons. But the president hasn't outlined a strategy to quell the six-year civil war or usher Assad out of power, which his administration says will be needed to stabilize the Arab country.

Trump has gone out of his way to foster a good relationship with Erdogan. After a national referendum last month that strengthened Erdogan's presidential powers, European leaders and rights advocates criticized Turkey for moving closer toward autocratic rule. Trump congratulated Erdogan.

http://time.com/4781189/donald-trump...dogan-meeting/

If Turkey thinks the Syrian Kurdish Forces are part of the PKK, isn't it possible they are? How would we know or why would we think otherwise? Flynn may have been right on this.

In any event, it would be nice to have a good relationship with Turkey and I hope it develops along. I read another article the other day where Trump lobbied hard for the release of a US citizen jailed in Turkey during the visit who was apparently engaged in somehow in the attempted coup. Be looking to see if Turkish President decides to release her.

Originally Posted by Judy

If Turkey thinks the Syrian Kurdish Forces are part of the PKK, isn't it possible they are? How would we know or why would we think otherwise? . . .

Boots on the ground: U.S. Special Forces pictured fighting side-by-side with Kurds just 18 miles from ISIS capital Raqqa

• U.S. Special Forces seen near the front line in Syria with Kurdish troops
• They are believed to be just 18 miles from ISIS' de facto capital, Raqqa
• Soldiers are meant to be advising Kurds but pictures suggest active role
• Forces were seen in town of Fatisah just hours after ISIS militants left
• Turkish fury after U.S. soldiers wore badges of Kurdish unit linked to PKK

By Ollie Gillman For Dailymail.com
PUBLISHED: 14:09 EDT, 27 May 2016 | UPDATED: 16:11 EDT, 27 May 2016

• e-mail

1.7kshares

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U.S. Special Forces fighting side-by-side with the Kurds in Syria are now just 18 miles from ISIS' de facto capital, Raqqa.

American soldiers were seen at an outpost in Fatisah alongside Kurdish soldiers, with some even seen wearing the badges of the Kurdish People's Protection Unit (YPG).

Fatisah is around 30 miles from Raqqa, but the Daily Beast claimed American forces were now just 18 miles from the ISIS stronghold.

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U.S. Special Forces fighting side-by-side with the Kurds in Syria are now just 18 miles from ISIS' de facto capital, Raqqa


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The Pentagon and the White House have previously insisted that Special Forces are only in Syria to train and assist forces fighting against ISIS, but pictures suggest U.S. soldiers have a more active role than that


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American soldiers were seen at an outpost in Fatisah alongside Kurdish soldiers, with some even seen wearing the badges (right shoulder of left soldier) of the Kurdish People's Protection Unit ())

The Pentagon and the White House have previously insisted that Special Forces are only in Syria to train and assist forces fighting against ISIS, but pictures suggest U.S. soldiers have a more active role than that.

The photographs emerged on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after Fatisah was purged of ISIS militants, so the Americans cannot have been far from the battle.
Despite this, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook insisted Special Forces soldiers 'are not at the front line'.


Cook refused to say where U.S. soldiers were at this time, but senior military officials said the troops were moving with Syrian rebel forces as they headed toward Raqqa.
A source added that it was possible the soldiers were closer to the front line of battle than they had been before.


There are at least 50 Special Forces soldiers in Syria, with President Obama authorizing a maximum of 250 to enter the country to join the 'advise and assist mission'.


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The photographs emerged on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after Fatisah was purged of ISIS militants, so the Americans cannot have been far from the battle


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Senior military officials said the troops were moving with Syrian rebel forces as they headed toward Raqqa


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There are at least 50 Special Forces soldiers in Syria, with President Obama authorizing a maximum of 250 to enter the country to join the 'advise and assist mission'


A commander from the U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance said American ground forces were 'taking part' in operations north of Raqqa.

'There are US forces using (anti-tank) TOW missiles to fire on the explosives-rigged cars that (ISIS) is using to attack the SDF,' Hawkar Kobane said.

Rami Abdel Rahman, from the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said ISIS is 'concentrating 2,000 fighters along the front lines north of Raqqa' to repel the offensive.

'ISIS has prepared for this fight in recent months by digging tunnels and lining them with explosives, as well as preparing car bombs and hiding in buildings among civilians,' Rahman added.

The SDF has insisted its current campaign is only for the rural area north of Raqqa city, but the de facto capital is expected to be the end goal.


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A commander from the U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance said American ground forces were 'taking part' in operations north of Raqqa



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Fighters from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), are seen in the village of Fatisah, north of Raqqa

Turkey lashed out at the U.S. after the pictures of the American soldiers wearing YPG badges surfaced because the force is seen in Ankara as an extension of the PKK insurgent group, which is regarded as a terrorist group by the U.S., UK, NATO and the EU.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said it was 'unacceptable' for a Turkish ally to wear the insignia, but Cook insisted they were for the soldiers' protection.

Cook said U.S. special forces have in the past 'worn insignias and other identifying marks with some of their partner forces'.

'What I will say is that special operations forces when they operate in certain areas do what they can to, if you will, blend in with the community to enhance their own protection, their own security,' he said.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz4hRyHnxIC