The Trump administration wants Turkey to release detained American pastor Andrew Brunson, and on Friday, the president approved doubling tariffs on steel and aluminum as punishment for Recep Tayyip Erdogan's refusal to cooperate.
Our longtime NATO ally already is struggling economically, and on August 1st, Trump also issued sanctions on two high-ranking Turkish officials
As CNBC reveals, Trump's attack on Turkey seems odd until you know who else is entangled in the situation.
Jay Sekulow, one of Trump's attorneys in the Mueller investigation, also helps represent Brunson. The pastor had been arrested in Turkey on espionage charges in 2016 related to his supposed connection to an exiled Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen. Brunson has denied the charges against him, calling them "shameful and disgusting."
Sekulow serves as chief counsel at the American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative legal organization representing Brunson.
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In a phone call, Sekulow told CNBC there was no question of a conflict of interest in his dual roles for Brunson and Trump, noting that "they don't have an adverse party interest." It may actually be beneficial to be "representing the president while representing an American held captive," he suggested.
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Sekulow's intersecting roles — as Trump's lawyer and as a lawyer for a client championed by Trump — aren't the only areas of overlap between the Brunson matter and the Russia probe. Mike Flynn, the president's first national security advisor, has reportedly caught Mueller's attention over an alleged plot to snatch Gulen and turn him over to Turkish authorities.
Erdogan's government has accused Brunson of secretly working for Gulen. Turkey blamed the exiled Muslim cleric and political activist for a botched coup attempt against him in 2016.
In the wake of the failed rebellion, Erdogan notoriously cracked down on journalists and supposed dissidents, jailing thousands of Turkish citizens and officials accused of conspiring with Gulen against him. The cleric was last reported to be living in rural Pennsylvania. Brunson was among those jailed by Erdogan.
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Flynn and his son, Michael Flynn Jr., reportedly attended at least one meeting with Turkish representatives, who offered the pair as much as $15 million for successfully delivering Gulen to Turkey, The Wall Street Journal reported in November, citing people familiar with Mueller's investigation.
Full Story: Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow and former top advisor Mike Flynn share ties to both Mueller's probe and tensions over a US pastor detained by Turkey (CNBC)