Following Flynn Pardon, Wyden Continues Investigation Into Turkey, Trump Corruption

Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today continued his investigation into Trump administration corruption with regard to its Turkey policies. Following the pardon of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, Wyden is now probing Trump administration efforts to investigate, and possibly extradite, Fethullah Gülen, a permanent U.S. resident and critic of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Flynn worked as an unregistered foreign agent of Turkey during the 2016 campaign, and court filings indicate that he was involved in discussions about kidnapping Mr. Gülen from his home in Pennsylvania. In letters to the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Education, Wyden is seeking answers with regard to Donald Trump and White House requests regarding Mr. Gülen.

To date, Wyden’s year-long investigation has secured an admission from the Treasury Department that Trump referred Halkbank matters to the Treasury and Justice Departments, as well as an acknowledgement from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that he discussed sanctions with Turkish officials.

“These policy interventions, which would likely advance Turkish interests, coincide with President Trump’s pardon of his former National Security Advisor, Michael T. Flynn. Mr. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying about his work on behalf of the Turkish government in 2016, including on election day. These circumstances reinforce my concern that the Trump Administration’s policy on Turkey, and in this instance the treatment of a permanent U.S. resident, may be driven by the personal interests of President Trump and foreign leaders rather than the interests of the American people,” Wyden wrote.

Text of the letter to the Justice Department follows:

Dear Attorney General Barr and Director Wray:

I am writing to you concerning reports of Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) involvement with the Trump Administration’s concerning relationship with Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to the New York Times, the FBI received requests from the White House to investigate Fethullah Gülen, a permanent U.S. resident and critic of President Erdogan, “and look for ways to perhaps force him out of the United States.” This report is particularly alarming given my ongoing investigation of whether President Trump’s personal conflicts of interest drove him to personally interfere in U.S. policy in favor of Erdogan.

President Erdogan blames Mr. Gülen for an attempted coup in 2016, without producing public evidence for the claim. President Erdogan has also called Mr. Gülen a terrorist and has repeatedly sought his extradition.

Reportedly, the request to the FBI to remove Mr. Gülen was related to others made by the White House aimed at blocking federal funding to charter schools associated with Mr. Gülen, and efforts to end a criminal investigation of Halkbank. This pattern of interventions is particularly troubling given that former National Security Adviser John R. Bolton publically detailed concerns that President Trump was granting personal favors to President Erdogan, and Mr. Bolton reports that Attorney General Barr shared his concerns about “the appearance” that President Trump’s actions created.

These policy interventions, which would likely advance Turkish interests, coincide with President Trump’s pardon of his former National Security Advisor, Michael T. Flynn. Mr. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying about his work on behalf of the Turkish government in 2016, including on election day.

These circumstances reinforce my concern that the Trump Administration’s policy on Turkey, and in this instance the treatment of a permanent U.S. resident, may be driven by the personal interests of President Trump and foreign leaders rather than the interests of the American people. I intend to investigate this disturbing possibility. To assist this investigation I ask that you provide the following information:

Did President Trump, his agents, or White House personnel, ever instruct or suggest that the FBI, or another element of DOJ, take any action with regard to Mr. Gülen? If so, when and what were you asked to do? Did any such request raise any concerns about undue influence by President Trump in the matter? Please provide all records relevant to this item.
If President Trump, his agents, or White House personnel, instructed or suggested that the FBI, or another element of DOJ, take any action with regard to Mr. Gülen, what basis, if any, was cited for the suggestion or request?
If President Trump, his agents, or White House personnel, instructed or suggested the FBI, or another element of DOJ, take any action with regard to Mr. Gülen, did DOJ examine whether it had the legal authority to do so? If so, what did DOJ conclude, and with whom was this analysis shared? Please provide all records relevant to this item.
In general, does the FBI, or any element of DOJ, have the legal authority to “look for ways to perhaps force [a permanent U.S. resident] out of the United States” solely on the basis of a request from the President, or someone acting at the President’s direction?
Identify any meetings or conversations you or any other senior DOJ officials have held with any senior Turkish officials since your confirmation, identify the participants in those conversations and meetings, and the nature of those discussions including whether or not they discussed Gülen. Please provide all records relevant to this item.
As you are aware, the Committee is currently conducting an investigation of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation. Please provide any relevant documents related to Michael Flynn, the Flynn Intel Group, Fethullah Gülen, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, or the Republic of Turkey that have not already been produced to the Committee.

Please provide answers to these questions no later than December 16, 2020.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Text of the letter to the Department of Homeland Security follows:

Dear Acting Secretary Wolf:

I am writing to you concerning reports of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) role in the Trump Administration’s concerning relationship with Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to the New York Times, DHS received requests from the White House to investigate Fethullah Gülen, a permanent U.S. resident and critic of President Erdogan, “and look for ways to perhaps force him out of the United States.” This report is particularly alarming given my ongoing investigation of whether President Trump’s personal conflicts of interest drove him to personally interfere in U.S. policy in favor of Erdogan.

Reportedly, the White House’s request to DHS to remove Mr. Gülen was related to others made by the White House aimed at blocking federal funding to charter schools associated with Mr. Gülen, and efforts to end a criminal investigation of Halkbank. This pattern of interventions is particularly troubling given that former National Security Adviser John R. Bolton publically detailed concerns that President Trump was granting personal favors to President Erdogan.

These circumstances reinforce my concern that the Trump Administration’s policy on Turkey, and in this instance the treatment of a permanent U.S. resident, may be driven by the personal interests of U.S. and foreign leaders rather than the interests of the American people. I intend to investigate this disturbing possibility. To assist this investigation I ask that you provide the following information:

Has DHS, either on its own initiative or by request, ever considered or taken any action to force, encourage, persuade or otherwise influence Mr. Gülen to leave the United States?

Did President Trump, his agents, or White House personnel, ever instruct or suggest that DHS take any action with regard to Mr. Gülen? If so, when and what was DHS asked to do? Did any such request raise any concerns about undue influence by President Trump in the matter? Please provide all records related to any such efforts, including any communications with White House officials related to Mr. Gülen.
If President Trump, his agents, or White House personnel, instructed or suggested DHS take any action with regard to Mr. Gülen, what basis, if any, was cited for the instruction or suggestion?
If President Trump, or someone at his direction, instructed or suggested DHS take any action with regard to Mr. Gülen, did DHS examine whether it had the legal authority to do so? If so, what did DHS conclude, and with whom was this analysis shared? Please provide all records related to any such legal analysis.
In general, does DHS have the legal authority to “look for ways to perhaps force [a permanent U.S. resident] out of the United States” solely on the basis of a request from the President, or someone acting at the President’s direction, that cites no legal authority?
Identify any meetings or conversations you or any other senior DHS officials have held with any senior Turkish officials since you joined DHS, identify the participants in those conversations and meetings, and the nature of those discussions including whether or not they included Gülen.
Please provide all Department of Homeland Security documents related to Mr. Gülen since 2016, including, but not limited to, documents responsive to these questions.

Please provide answers to these questions no later than December 16, 2020.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Text of the letter to the Department of Education follows:

I am writing to you regarding reports of the Department of Education’s role in the Trump Administration’s concerning relationship with Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to the New York Times, officials at the National Security Council asked the Department of Education to block federal funding for a network of schools associated with Fethullah Gülen, a permanent U.S. resident and critic of President Erdogan. Erdogan blames Mr. Gülen for an attempted coup in 2016, without producing public evidence for the claim. President Erdogan has also called Mr. Gülen a terrorist and has repeatedly sought his extradition.

Reportedly, the National Security Council’s recent request to the Department was related to others made by the White House aimed at forcing Mr. Gülen to leave the United States, as well as efforts to end an investigation into a Turkish state-owned bank, Halkbank. These actions by the Trump Administration are all the more troubling given that former National Security Adviser John R. Bolton publically detailed concerns that President Trump was granting personal favors to President Erdogan.

These circumstances reinforce my concern that the Trump Administration’s policy on Turkey, and in this instance the Administration’s domestic education policy, may be driven by President Trump’s personal interests and those of foreign leaders rather than the interests of the American people. To assist this investigation I ask that you respond to the following:

Did President Trump, his agents, National Security Council officials, or other White House personnel, ever instruct or suggest that you or the Department take any action with regard to charter schools associated with Mr. Gülen? If so, when and what were you asked to do? Did any such request raise any concerns about undue influence by President Trump in the matter?
If President Trump, his agents, National Security Council officials, or other White House personnel, instructed the Department to block or reduce federal funding to charter schools associated with Mr. Gülen, or suggested that they do so, what basis, if any, was cited for the instruction or suggestion?
If the Department was instructed or advised to block or reduce federal funding to charter schools associated with Mr. Gülen, did the Department examine whether it had the legal authority to do so? If so, what did the Department conclude, and with whom was this analysis shared?
In general, does the Department have the legal authority to block or reduce funding to charter schools solely on the basis of a request from the President, or someone acting at the President’s direction?
Identify any meetings or conversations you or any other senior Department of Education officials have held with any senior Turkish officials since your confirmation, identify the participants in those conversations and meetings, and the nature of those discussions including whether or not they discussed Gülen.
Please provide all Department of Education documents related to Mr. Gülen or schools affiliated with Mr. Gülen since 2016, including but not limited to, documents responsive to these questions.

Please provide answers to these questions no later than December 16, 2020.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

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