Wyden Continues Investigation into Trump Interference in Halkbank Case on Behalf of Turkey

Letters to Attorney General Garland, Secretary Yellen and Archivist Ferriera Request Key Information About Trump Administration Meetings With Turkish Officials

Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today continued his nearly two-year investigation of interference by former President Donald Trump into the prosecution of Turkish state-owned Halkbank, a financial institution that orchestrated the largest Iranian sanctions evasion scheme in U.S. history. The investigation is also probing the extent to which Trump’s policy toward Turkey was dictated by his personal and political interests, not the national security of the United States.

Wyden wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Archivist of the United States David Ferriera.

In the letter to Attorney General Garland, Wyden wrote, “On February 3, 2020, I wrote to then-Attorney General William Barr requesting his assistance with my investigation. My request included specific questions about the troubling actions the Trump administration took with respect to Halkbank. On February 7, Attorney General Barr’s Chief of Staff assured me that the Department of Justice would ‘work to respond to [my] letter in a timely manner.’ I did not receive any response to the specific requests for assistance in my letter or any update on the Department’s work to respond to my requests. I also did not receive a substantive response to a second renewed request I sent on August 24, 2020. While the Department has failed to cooperate with my investigation, I will continue to seek answers as to why former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was directed by former President Trump to improperly intervene in a criminal investigation into the evasion of sanctions in response to a pressure campaign by the Turkish government, and whether Secretary Mnuchin sought to halt the investigation and prosecution of Halkbank or reduce any fines imposed by the Department of Justice.”

In the letter to Treasury Secretary Yellen, Wyden wrote, “In a November 20, 2019 letter, Treasury Department officials corroborated several key facts relevant to my investigation. First, Treasury officials acknowledged that after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan personally raised the Halkbank case directly with President Trump, the President referred the issue to the Treasury Department and the Department of Justice. At the time, Halkbank had not yet faced a criminal indictment in the United States and the Turkish government was actively lobbying the Administration to avoid prosecution and heavy fines. Second, Treasury officials identified seven meetings between Secretary Mnuchin and senior Turkish officials, despite the Secretary’s admitted ‘integral’ role in the enforcement of U.S. sanctions generally, and the prosecution of Halkbank specifically. Most concerning was an April 15, 2019 Oval Office meeting between President Trump, Secretary Mnuchin, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and President Erdogan’s son-in-law and Finance Minister, Berat Albayrak. This was the second meeting Secretary Mnuchin held with Albayrak in 3 days, and appears to coincide with the Trump Administration’s admitted interference in the Halkbank prosecution. Even more troubling, the President, the Treasury Secretary, and the President’s son-in-law held the April 15, 2019 White House meeting despite the fact that Albayrak and Erdogan have been personally implicated in the Halkbank scheme by federal prosecutors.”

In the letter to Archivist Ferriera, Wyden wrote, “According to the list provided by the Treasury Department, President Trump, Secretary Mnuchin, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met with President Erdogan’s son-in-law and Finance Minister, Berat Albayrak, in the Oval office on April 15, 2019. This was the second meeting Secretary Mnuchin held with Albayrak in three days, and appears to coincide with the Trump administration’s admitted intervention in the Halkbank prosecution. Even more troubling, the President, the Treasury Secretary, and the President’s son-in-law held the April 15, 2019 White House meeting despite the fact that Albayrak and Erdogan had been personally implicated in the Halkbank scheme by federal prosecutors.These reports are part of a larger story highlighting former President Trump’s efforts to accommodate the intense pressure campaign by the Turkish government to get investigations into Halkbank dropped, including a high-priced lobbying effort by Ballard Partners on Turkey’s behalf. In 2017, President Trump reportedly asked Secretary of State Tillerson to pressure the Justice Department to drop the case against a co-conspirator in the Halkbank-assisted sanctions evasion schemes, Reza Zarrab, who had an office in Trump Tower Istanbul and was a client at the time of the former President’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani.”

Text of the letter to Attorney General Garland follows:

I write regarding my ongoing investigation into the integrity of correspondent banking services and the application of U.S. economic sanctions, and whether political interference influenced the Department of Justice’s prosecution of Turkish state-owned bank Halkbank. Halkbank has been indicted in the United States as part of the largest ever scheme utilizing correspondent bank accounts to aid Iran in circumventing U.S. sanctions. Halkbank officials have admitted to conspiring to evade sanctions, and funnel Iranian oil profits back to the country through complex gold purchases disguised as money transfers. As part of that scheme, at least $1 billion in funds from Iranian oil proceeds were transferred through correspondent banking services at U.S. financial institutions.

On February 3, 2020, I wrote to then-Attorney General William Barr requesting his assistance with my investigation. My request included specific questions about the troubling actions the Trump administration took with respect to Halkbank. On February 7, Attorney General Barr’s Chief of Staff assured me that the Department of Justice would “work to respond to [my] letter in a timely manner.” I did not receive any response to the specific requests for assistance in my letter or any update on the Department’s work to respond to my requests. I also did not receive a substantive response to a second renewed request I sent on August 24, 2020. While the Department has failed to cooperate with my investigation, I will continue to seek answers as to why former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was directed by former President Trump to improperly intervene in a criminal investigation into the evasion of sanctions in response to a pressure campaign by the Turkish government, and whether Secretary Mnuchin sought to halt the investigation and prosecution of Halkbank or reduce any fines imposed by the Department of Justice.

As noted in my August 24, 2020 letter to Attorney General Barr, former National Security Adviser John R. Bolton detailed concerns that President Trump granted personal favors to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Bolton reports that Attorney General Barr shared his concerns about the appearance that the President’s actions created. In particular, Bolton asserts that Trump promised to halt any further enforcement actions against the bank, and that Trump then instructed Treasury Secretary Mnuchin to interfere in the matter. Further, Bolton asserts that on more than one occasion the Department of Justice was aware of Secretary Mnuchin’s efforts to intervene in the investigation and prosecution of Halkbank.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Barr refuted early reports of these Administration interactions as “gross mischaracterizations,” noting in particular that Attorney General Barr never stated that he felt the “President’s conversations with foreign leaders (were) improper.”However, reports of interference by President Trump are corroborated by the facts uncovered in my own investigation. In a November 20, 2019 letter to me, Treasury Department officials confirmed the following:

As was publicly reported, when Prime Minister Erdogan [sic]raised concerns directly with President Trump in April 2019, the President referred the issue to the Executive Branch departments responsible by law for the investigation and enforcement of economic sanctions-the Treasury and DOJ.

Treasury officials identified seven meetings held between Secretary Mnuchin and senior Turkish officials, despite the Secretary’s admitted “integral” role in the enforcement of U.S. sanctions generally, and the prosecution of Halkbank specifically. Most concerning was an April 15, 2019 Oval Office meeting between President Trump, Secretary Mnuchin, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and President Erdogan’s son-in-law and Finance Minister, Berat Albayrak. This was the second meeting Mnuchin held with Albayrak in three days, and appears to coincide with the Trump administration’s admitted intervention in the Halkbank prosecution. Even more troubling, Trump, Mnuchin, and Kushner held the April 15, 2019 White House meeting despite the fact that Albayrak and Erdogan had been personally implicated in the Halkbank scheme by federal prosecutors.

These reports are part of a larger story highlighting former President Trump’s efforts to accommodate the intense pressure campaign by the Turkish government to get investigations into Halkbank dropped, including a high-priced lobbying effort by Ballard Partners on Turkey’s behalf.In 2017, President Trump reportedly asked Secretary of State Tillerson to pressure the Justice Department to drop the case against a co-conspirator in the Halkbank-assisted sanctions evasion schemes, Reza Zarrab, who was reported to have an office in Trump Tower Istanbul and was a client at the time of the former President’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani. In a 2015 interview, then-candidate Trump stated about Turkey, “I have a little conflict of interest because I have a major, major building in Istanbul.” According to public financial disclosure forms, Trump personally earned between $1.2 million and $7 million in royalties from entities affiliated with Trump Towers Istanbul-Sisli during his Presidency.

According to Treasury officials in a November 20, 2019 letter to me, President Trump assigned Attorney General Barr to assist with President Erdogan’s requests involving Halkbank, and that Trump relayed this to Erdogan during an April 2019 phone call. Around June of 2019, Attorney General Barr also reportedly had a phone call with his Turkish counterpart, Abdulhamit Gul, where Attorney General Barr discussed Turkey accepting a deferred prosecution agreement, and that a deal would need to be made with the U.S. attorney in Manhattan.

Although Halkbank was eventually charged in the Southern District of New York in a six-count indictment related to the bank’s participation in a multibillion-dollar scheme to evade U.S. sanction on Iran on October 15, 2019, these charges came just days after the Turkish invasion of northern Syria and the resulting political backlash. I am concerned that absent these unrelated actions by the Turkish government, the Trump Administration’s interference in favor of Turkey’s Halkbank requests could have undermined years of effort by U.S. law enforcement.

In order to better understand how improper political interference and conflicts of interest may have undermined the enforcement of U.S. sanctions and related trade and banking laws, please provide answers to the following questions and requests for information no later than March 31, 2021:

Please identify any meetings or conversations Attorney General Barr or any other senior Trump Administration Justice Department officials held with President Erdogan, Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, or any other senior Turkish officials during Attorney General Barr’s tenure. For the meetings identified, please provide a detailed list of the participants in those conversations and meetings, and the nature of those discussions including whether or not they included discussion of Halkbank.
Please identify any meetings or conversations Attorney General Barr or any other senior Justice Department officials held with Ballard Partners or any other lobbyists on behalf of the Turkish government during Attorney General Barr’s tenure, identify the participants in those conversations and meetings, and the nature of those discussions including whether or not they included discussion of Halkbank.
Please provide all Department of Justice records relating to communications between Attorney General Barr or senior political appointees at the Department of Justice with officials at the Treasury Department regarding the U.S. government’s investigations of Halkbank. This includes a list of all meetings, telephone call logs, calendar invitations, calendar entries, meeting notices, meeting agendas, informational materials, memos to file, any handwritten or electric notes taken during any oral communications, summaries of any oral communications, or other materials.
Please provide a detailed description and accounting of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s interactions with officials at the Department of Justice regarding the U.S. government’s investigation of Halkbank and whether Secretary Mnuchin at any point sought to influence the prosecution of Halkbank, including any fines or penalties on Halkbank resulting from the investigation.
Please provide all Department of Justice records relating to communications regarding Halkbank between individuals in the employ of the Executive Office of the President and Attorney General Barr or other senior political appointees or employees at the Department of Justice. This includes a list of all meetings, telephone call logs, calendar invitations, calendar entries, meeting notices, meeting agendas, informational materials, memos to file, any handwritten or electric notes taken during any oral communications, summaries of any oral communications, or other materials.

Text of the letter to Secretary Yellen follows:

I write to request information regarding the Department’s treatment of Turkish state-owned bank Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. (Halkbank) and potential interference by Department officials in law enforcement investigations related to the bank. Halkbank has been indicted in the United States as part of the largest ever scheme to aide Iran in circumventing U.S. sanctions, and Halkbank officials admitted to conspiring to evade sanctions and funnel Iranian oil profits back to the country through complex gold purchases disguised as money transfers. As part of that scheme, at least $1 billion in funds from Iranian oil proceeds are alleged to have been transferred through correspondent banking services at U.S. financial institutions.

As you are aware, the Treasury Department plays a critical role in the enforcement of U.S. sanctions laws, including sanctions on the Government of Iran and those who act on its behalf. The Department also plays a leading role in ensuring the U.S. financial system is not used to facilitate money laundering or the financing of terrorism. As the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, I have been investigating, among other things, whether former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was directed by President Trump to improperly intervene in a criminal investigation into the evasion of sanctions in response to a pressure campaign by the Turkish government. As part of this investigation into the integrity of the application of U.S. sanctions and correspondent banking services, I seek to understand whether Secretary Mnuchin sought to halt the investigation and prosecution of Halkbank or reduce any fines imposed by the Department of Justice.

In a November 20, 2019 letter, Treasury Department officials corroborated several key facts relevant to my investigation. First, Treasury officials acknowledged that after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan personally raised the Halkbank case directly with President Trump, the President referred the issue to the Treasury Department and the Department of Justice. At the time, Halkbank had not yet faced a criminal indictment in the United States and the Turkish government was actively lobbying the Administration to avoid prosecution and heavy fines. Second, Treasury officials identified seven meetings between Secretary Mnuchin and senior Turkish officials, despite the Secretary’s admitted “integral” role in the enforcement of U.S. sanctions generally, and the prosecution of Halkbank specifically. Most concerning was an April 15, 2019 Oval Office meeting between President Trump, Secretary Mnuchin, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and President Erdogan’s son-in-law and Finance Minister, Berat Albayrak. This was the second meeting Secretary Mnuchin held with Albayrak in 3 days, and appears to coincide with the Trump Administration’s admitted interference in the Halkbank prosecution. Even more troubling, the President, the Treasury Secretary, and the President’s son-in-law held the April 15, 2019 White House meeting despite the fact that Albayrak and Erdogan have been personally implicated in the Halkbank scheme by federal prosecutors.

These reports are part of a larger story highlighting former President Trump’s efforts to accommodate the intense pressure campaign by the Turkish government to get investigations into Halkbank dropped, including a high-priced lobbying effort by Ballard Partners on Turkey’s behalf. In 2017, President Trump reportedly asked Secretary of State Tillerson to pressure the Justice Department to drop the case against a co-conspirator in the Halkbank-assisted sanctions evasion schemes, Reza Zarrab, who was reported to have an office in Trump Tower Istanbul and was a client at the time of the President’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani. In a 2015 interview, then-candidate Trump stated about Turkey, “I have a little conflict of interest because I have a major, major building in Istanbul.” According to public financial disclosure forms, Trump personally earned between $1.2 million and $7 million in royalties from entities affiliated with Trump Towers Istanbul-Sisli during his Presidency.

Additionally, former National Security Advisor John Bolton recently claimed that former- President Trump was granted personal favors to President Erdogan. In particular, Bolton alleged that Trump promised Erdogan he would use his authority to halt any further enforcement against Halkbank, and that he then instructed Mnuchin to interfere in the matter. Bolton also stated that on more than one occasion, the Department of Justice was aware of Secretary Mnuchin’s efforts to intervene in the investigation and prosecution of Halkbank.

Although Halkbank was eventually charged in the Southern District of New York in a six-count indictment related to the bank’s participation in a multibillion-dollar scheme to evade U.S. sanction on Iran on October 15, 2019, these charges came just days after the Turkish invasion of northern Syria and the resulting political backlash. I am concerned that absent these unrelated actions by the Turkish government, the Administration’s interference in favor of Turkey’s Halkbank requests could have undermined years of effort by U.S. law enforcement.

Please provide all Treasury Department records relating to the seven meetings with Turkish officials identified in the enclosed November 20, 2019 letter from the Department. For the following meetings dated: April 22, 2017; October 13, 2017; July 21, 2018; April 12, 2019; April 15, 2019; June 29, 2019; and, November 13, 2019—these records should include, but are not limited to:

The purpose of the meeting and list of attendees;
Notes, transcriptions or memoranda related to the meeting; and
Communications regarding the meetings

Please provide all Treasury Department records related to the statement made in the enclosed November 20, 2019 letter from the Department: “As was publicly reported, when Prime Minister Erdogan raised concerns directly with President Trump in April 2019, the President referred the issue to the executive branch departments responsible by law for the investigation and enforcement of economic sanctions-the Treasury and DOJ.

Please include any and all Treasury Department records memorializing or discussing the President’s instructions to Secretary Mnuchin with regard to the U.S. government’s investigations of Halkbank.

Please provide all Treasury Department records relating to communications between Secretary Mnuchin or senior political appointees at the Treasury Department with officials at the Department of Justice regarding the U.S. government’s investigation of Halkbank. This includes a list of all meetings, telephone call logs, calendar invitations, calendar entries, meeting notices, meeting agendas, informational materials, memos to file, any handwritten or electric notes taken during any oral communications, summaries of any oral communications, or other materials.
Please provide all Treasury Department records relating to communications regarding Halkbank between individuals in the employ of the Executive Office of the President and Secretary Mnuchin or other senior political appointees at the Treasury Department. This includes a list of all meetings, telephone call logs, calendar invitations, calendar entries, meeting notices, meeting agendas, informational materials, memos to file, any handwritten or electric notes taken during any oral communications, summaries of any oral communications, or other materials.
Has the Treasury Department formally initiated an investigation or commenced work towards determining a fine for Halkbank? If so, when did the Department begin this process?
Has the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) come to any conclusions of fact or made recommendations to the Department’s leadership regarding the figure for a potential regulatory fine for Halkbank?
According to the Department of Justice’s indictment of Halkbank, on or around February 12, 2013 representatives of OFAC warned senior Halkbank officials about Halkbank’s involvement in Iranian attempts to evade sanctions. Please describe in detail the concerns communicated by OFAC to Halkbank regarding potential sanctions evasion on or around February 12, 2013 and subsequently thereafter.
At any point of OFAC’s review of Halkbank’s involvement in Iranian attempts to evade sanctions, were U.S. financial institutions who provided correspondent banking services to Halkbank notified of these risks? If so, when? Please provide a detailed description of any actions taken by OFAC or other Treasury Department officials to alert U.S. financial institutions of any increased compliance risks posed by the transfer of Iranian funds deposited in Halkbank accounts.
Public reports in 2018 suggest that Halkbank’s compliance with subpoena requests from OFAC were deemed insufficient. Are these reports accurate? Please describe whether Halkbank is actively cooperating with the Departments request for information.

Text of the letter to the National Archives follows:

I write to request records relevant to my ongoing investigation into whether former President Trump and members of his administration improperly interfered with the Department of Justice’s prosecution of Turkish state-owned bank Halkbank. Halkbank has been indicted in the United States as part of the largest ever scheme to aide Iran in circumventing U.S. sanctions, and Halkbank officials have admitted to conspiring to evade sanctions, and funnel Iranian oil profits back to the country through complex gold purchases disguised as money transfers. As part of that scheme, at least $1 billion in funds from Iranian oil proceeds were transferred through correspondent banking services at U.S. financial institutions.

As the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, I have been investigating, among other things, whether former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was directed by former President Trump to improperly intervene in a criminal investigation into the evasion of sanctions in response to a pressure campaign by the Turkish government. As part of this investigation into the integrity of the application of U.S. sanctions and trade laws, I seek to understand whether Secretary Mnuchin sought to halt the investigation and prosecution of Halkbank or reduce any fines imposed by the Department of Justice.

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton recently claimed that former President Trump granted personal favors to President Erdogan. In particular, Bolton alleged that Trump promised Erdogan he would use his authority to halt any further enforcement against Halkbank, and that he then instructed Mnuchin to interfere in the matter. Bolton also stated that on more than one occasion, the Department of Justice was aware of Secretary Mnuchin’s efforts to intervene in the investigation and prosecution of Halkbank.

Mr. Bolton’s account is corroborated by the facts uncovered in my own investigation. In a November 20, 2019 letter to me, Treasury Department officials confirmed the following:

“As was publicly reported, when Prime Minister Erdogan [sic] raised concerns directly with President Trump in April 2019, the President referred the issue to the Executive Branch departments responsible by law for the investigation and enforcement of economic sanctions-the Treasury and DOJ.”

In an addendum to that letter, Treasury officials identified seven meetings held between Secretary Mnuchin and senior Turkish officials, despite the Secretary’s admitted “integral” role in the enforcement of U.S. sanctions generally, and the prosecution of Halkbank specifically.

According to the list provided by the Treasury Department, President Trump, Secretary Mnuchin, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met with President Erdogan’s son-in-law and Finance Minister, Berat Albayrak, in the Oval office on April 15, 2019. This was the second meeting Secretary Mnuchin held with Albayrak in three days, and appears to coincide with the Trump administration’s admitted intervention in the Halkbank prosecution. Even more troubling, the President, the Treasury Secretary, and the President’s son-in-law held the April 15, 2019 White House meeting despite the fact that Albayrak and Erdogan had been personally implicated in the Halkbank scheme by federal prosecutors.

Although Halkbank was eventually charged in the Southern District of New York in a six-count indictment related to the bank’s participation in a multibillion-dollar scheme to evade U.S. sanction on Iran on October 15, 2019, these charges came just days after the Turkish invasion of northern Syria and the resulting political backlash. I am concerned that absent these actions by the Turkish government, the Administration’s interference in favor of Turkey’s Halkbank requests could have undermined years of effort by U.S. law enforcement. In order to better understand how improper political interference and conflicts of interest may have undermined the enforcement of U.S. sanctions and related trade and banking laws, please provide the following information:

All records relating to the seven meetings listed above— April 22, 2017; October 13, 2017; July 21, 2018; April 12, 2019; April 15, 2019; June 29, 2019; and, November 13, 2019—including, but not limited to:

Purpose and attendees;
Notes or transcriptions from the meetings; and
Communications about the meetings.

All records relating to meetings between and among senior Trump administration officials, and with representatives of the Turkish government at which Halkbank was discussed. Senior Trump Administration officials relevant to the investigation should include Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Attorney General Bill Barr, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Advisor John Bolton, Senior Advisor to the President Jared Kushner, as well as other personnel in the employ of the Treasury Department, Department of Justice, Department of State and the White House. These records should include, but not be limited to:

Purpose and attendees;
Notes or transcriptions from the meetings; and
Communications about the meetings

I anticipate that your written reply and most responsive documents will be unclassified. Please send all unclassified material directly to the Committee. In keeping with the requirements of Executive Order 13526, if any of the responsive documents do contain classified information, please segregate all unclassified material within the classified documents, provide all unclassified information directly to the Committee, and provide a classified addendum to the Office of Senate Security. Although the Committee complies with all laws and regulations governing the handling of classified information, it is not bound, absent its prior agreement, by any handling restrictions.

I ask that you provide the requested information as soon as possible but no later than March 31, 2021.

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