Free Republic

When Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002, it generated considerable debate between those who saw its success as a potentially liberalizing force and critics who feared it would ultimately bring the end of Turkish democracy. Depending on who you spoke to, the AKP was poised to turn Turkey into either Sweden or Iran; to finally realize Ataturk’s vision of making the country modern and Western or permanently destroy it.Today, a decade and a half later, the future of Turkish democracy certainly looks grim. With President Recep Tayyip Erdogan now leading a heavy-handed campaign to further...

Sweden said on Sunday that Turkey is asking for too much in exchange for allowing it to join NATO, as Ankara effectively demands the impossible – that Stockholm override a decision by its own Supreme Court. But analysts say Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is unlikely to retract its condition, at least not before the all-important presidential elections scheduled in June. Sweden’s new conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that, as far as he is concerned, Stockholm has done enough for Ankara. “Turkey confirms that we have done what we said we would do. But they also say that they...

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity doctor running as a Republican in Pennsylvania’s 2022 U.S. Senate race, is accused of being a hypocrite after a reportedly lavish “$250,000-a-head fundraiser with [a] Clinton friend and Epstein associate” when he has attacked his most prominent opponent David McCormick for “taking money from [Democrats].”

Saturday, May 23, 2020 President Trump had a phone call with Erdogan (I confirmed  the call per an article in Bloomberg). On June 13, some on Twitter were excited about claims being made about that call.  12:36 PM · Jun 13, 2020 https://twitter.com/Frank26689741/status/1271889209629032448 Tweeter FiestyQgrl @FQgrl  provided this Google translation of the Turkish news broadcast message "Met for the first time with Hillary Clinton (former US foreign minister and presidential candidate). He looks and loves us positively. If selected, the services here will be more comfortable. republicans are seriously against us."Another Twitter account, Scrappy-Doo aka Harpazo-girl#̷̧̢̼̤͈̼̫̋̾Q̸̼͔͕̗͚̟̉̄̄ @Scrappy94546226, offers the following...

In their final encounter during the transition following the 2016 election, Donald Trump’s incoming national-security adviser surprised Barack Obama’s outgoing national-security adviser. Susan Rice writes in her memoir that the Michael Flynn she was dealing with had nothing in common with the firebrand she had watched leading a “lock her up” chant against Hillary Clinton at the Republican National Convention a few months earlier. Flynn, a retired general and the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, was respectful and subdued, eager for her advice. When Rice extended her hand and wished him the best of luck, Flynn asked her...

We all owe Chief Justice John Roberts a big thank you for confirming the name of the phony, Deep State whistleblower who launched this stupid impeachment hoax. Eric Ciaramella. Eric Ciaramella. Eric Ciaramella. Eric Ciaramella, a CIA analyst and raging partisan who falsely accused President Trump of impeachable crimes, who has a history of working with former Vice President Joe Biden, and who might have had his own agenda in wanting Biden’s corruption in Ukraine covered up… Yep, that’s him. After much speculation that Ciaramella is the guy, Roberts confirmed it Thursday through his unconstitutional act of commission. Justice Cuck...

Prosecutors from the team of special counsel Robert Mueller wanted Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn to testify to something that isn’t true, Flynn’s lawyers said. When he refused, they tried to label him a co-conspirator in a case where they previously said he was only a witness. A federal judge denied the prosecutors’ move, saying the government didn’t present enough evidence to introduce Flynn’s statement as one of a co-conspirator. ... In his November 2017 guilty plea, he said that the forms submitted by lawyers for his now-defunct lobbying company, Flynn Intel Group (FIG), contained false and misleading statements. The prosecutors,...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CN) – The case against a business associate of former national security adviser Michael Flynn went to the jury Monday, which will determine whether he illegally lobbied at the direction of Turkey without telling the federal government. During closing arguments Monday, prosecutors said 66-year-old Bijan Rafiekian tried to carefully mask who was behind a project he and Flynn worked on that aimed to discredit Fethullah Gulen, a cleric Turkish President Recep Erdogan has blamed for a 2016 failed coup against him. “They tried to subvert the American process so Erdogan could get his hands on Gulen,” U.S. Attorney...

In a stunning move, a judge in the Eastern District of Virginia overturned the conviction of ex-business partner of former National Security Advisor Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Bijan Rafiekian, Tuesday who was charged earlier this year with undisclosed lobbying that prosecutors claimed was to ensure the extradition of a Muslim cleric living in the United States back to his homeland of Turkey. Judge Anthony Trenga, who oversaw the case, stated in his 39 page acquittal decision that the evidence presented to the jury was insufficient to prove any type of conspiracy and based mainly on hearsay. He noted in...

“You are asking my client to lie,” Michael Flynn’s new defense attorney Sidney Powell charged in a contentious June meeting with federal prosecutors. Flynn would continue to cooperate with prosecutors, Powell stressed, but he could not provide the testimony the government sought at the July trial of Flynn Intel Group (FIG) co-founder Bijan Rafiekian, “because it is not true.” Soon after, the government filed a motion in Rafiekian’s case, branding Flynn a co-conspirator and informing the court that Flynn would no longer testify against his former business partner. While federal prosecutors are reticent to explain how Flynn went from being...

On November 10, 2017, we reported how the Wall Street Journal had received information from anonymous sources who said that General Flynn and his son Michael were involved in a plot to kidnap Muslim cleric and return him to Turkey. The Wall Street Journal reported – Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating former White House national security adviser Mike Flynn’s alleged role in a plan 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. (Of course in the aftermath of Obama...

Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Sunday that special counsel Robert Mueller's report shows there's "potential" for President Trump to be prosecuted after he leaves office. "The Mueller view, it seems to me, if you look at the document, is that they absolutely believe there is a potential viable prosecution once Donald Trump leaves office," Bharara said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." Mueller said in his report that he followed Justice Department guidelines that say a sitting president can't be prosecuted, and added that a president "does not have immunity after he leaves office." Bharara, who was fired...

On Tuesday, Islamist terrorists affiliated with the Somali group al-Shabaab attacked an upscale hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, killing at least 21. It wasnÂ’t the groupÂ’s first attack in Kenya. The radical group, which at one point was affiliated with al Qaeda, has used KenyaÂ’s heavy Somali refugee presence as cover for a number of attacks in Kenya and against Kenyans, most famously at the Westgate Mall in 2013. That Kenya remains a contributor of both soldiers and police to AMISOM, the African Union Mission in Somalia which seeks to defend the country against al-Shaabab, only puts it further in the...

President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that Defense Secretary James Mattis will depart the Pentagon by January 1, a date earlier than anticipated, and will appoint Patrick Shanahan as acting Secretary. The president’s announcement, made via Twitter, comes days after Mattis stunned Washington by announcing his resignation, prompted by what the former marine said were policy differences with Trump. Shanahan is the Pentagon’s number 2 official.

Secretary of State John Kerry said this morning that the Obama administration is "open" to considering the extradition of a Poconos scholar accused by the Turkish regime of being behind Friday's coup attempt.Kerry said on NBC's Meet the Press that the U.S. has asked President Recep Tayyip Erdogan not to become more authoritarian in response to the coup.Hurriyet Daily News reported that Erdogan has detained some 6,000 soldiers, judges and prosecutors in less than 48 hours. They're being charged with “membership of an armed terrorist organization” and “attempting to overthrow the government of the Turkish Republic using force and violence...

A grand jury has been called to hear evidence concerning former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn's lobbying work for the Turkish government as the former Trump aide's role in the special counsel investigation appears to be coming to a close. The New York Times reports that a grand jury in Virginia will hear evidence that Flynn was serving as an unregistered agent of the Turkish government in the U.S. days after the 2016 election when he penned an op-ed for The Hill attacking Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric exiled from Turkey living in Pennsylvania. Investigation of Flynn's contact...

A newly-released email and lobbying documents filed with Congress reveals new ties between Clintonworld and members of a network operated by a mysterious Islamic cleric from Turkey. Connections between Clinton and acolytes of the imam, Fethullah Gulen, could muddle the complex relationship between the U.S. and Turkey, a key NATO ally, if the former secretary of state wins the White House. http://dailycaller.com/2016/07/13/new-ties-emerge-between-clinton-and-mysterious-islamic-cleric/

FULL TITLE: Pastor Brunson ‘Immediately’ Expressed His Gratitude With Display of Patriotism After Being Freed From Turkey After Pastor Andrew Brunson was released from Turkey following two years of detainment, he expressed his gratitude in the most patriotic way — even before he touched down on American soil. Before the pastor landed at Joint Base Andrews outside of Washington, D.C., on Saturday, his plane made a stop in Germany on Friday to refuel. While there, he and his wife were greeted by U.S. Ambassador Richard Grenell, who presented Brunson with a folded American flag. The pastor, moved by the gesture,...

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said the United States should look at its own actions if it wants the return of an American Christian pastor who has been jailed in Turkey for suspected links to a 2016 failed coup. Erdogan made the comment in a live interview with broadcaster NTV. Andrew Brunson, who has lived in Turkey for more than two decades, was indicted on charges of helping the group that Ankara holds responsible for the failed coup against Erdogan. He faces up to 35 years in prison. Brunson denies the charges.