𧨠Barr personally tried to push SDNY away from indicting Turkish bank Halkbank but US Attorney Berman resisted, per CNN.
Same bank case NYT citedâvia John Bolton bookâas Trump wanting to do favor for Turkeyâs Erdogan cabal for Trumpâs personal interest.
cnn.com/2020/02/15/polâŚ
Same bank case NYT citedâvia John Bolton bookâas Trump wanting to do favor for Turkeyâs Erdogan cabal for Trumpâs personal interest.
cnn.com/2020/02/15/polâŚ
2. âBarr personally spearheaded an effort last year to negotiate a settlement with the bank that would have allowed it to sidestep an indictment...Berman, however, insisted on criminal prosecution.â
(CNNâs @eorden @KaraScannell reporting)
Now recall what Erdogan boasted...
(CNNâs @eorden @KaraScannell reporting)
Now recall what Erdogan boasted...
3. Erdogan ârepeatedly tried to persuade Mr Trump to use his power to limit additional enforcement action against Halkbank...
Erdogan told reporters in Turkey that Mr Trump had told him that âhe would INSTRUCT THE RELEVANT MINISTERS immediatelyâ to follow through on the matter.â
Erdogan told reporters in Turkey that Mr Trump had told him that âhe would INSTRUCT THE RELEVANT MINISTERS immediatelyâ to follow through on the matter.â
4. The reference to Erdogan is from NYT report (by @EricLiptonNYT @arappeport) which also includes this:
âWhat I know about [Trumpâs] intervention in the Halkbank case is highly abnormal and quite worrying, actually,â said Philip Zelikow, who served on the NSC under Bush.
âWhat I know about [Trumpâs] intervention in the Halkbank case is highly abnormal and quite worrying, actually,â said Philip Zelikow, who served on the NSC under Bush.
5.
âSuggesting that Mr. Trump was putting private, commercial interests above those of the United States, Mr. Zelikow added: âThere have been interventions on behalf of a foreign government that are hard to explain in traditional public interest terms.â
nytimes.com/2020/01/28/us/âŚ
âSuggesting that Mr. Trump was putting private, commercial interests above those of the United States, Mr. Zelikow added: âThere have been interventions on behalf of a foreign government that are hard to explain in traditional public interest terms.â
nytimes.com/2020/01/28/us/âŚ
6. Plus Giuliani, of course.
Trump âwas asked by Rudolph W. Giuliani during an Oval Office meeting with Rex W. Tillerson...to help secure the release of a Turkish gold trader at the center of Halkbankâs sanctions-evasion efforts. The gold trader...had hired Mr. Giuliani.â
- NYT
Trump âwas asked by Rudolph W. Giuliani during an Oval Office meeting with Rex W. Tillerson...to help secure the release of a Turkish gold trader at the center of Halkbankâs sanctions-evasion efforts. The gold trader...had hired Mr. Giuliani.â
- NYT
7. Recall this from NBC News:
Bolton in a private speech âsuggested his former bossâ approach to U.S. policy on Turkey is motivated by personal or financial interests...
Bolton said he believes there is a personal or business relationship dictating Trumpâs position on Turkey.â
Bolton in a private speech âsuggested his former bossâ approach to U.S. policy on Turkey is motivated by personal or financial interests...
Bolton said he believes there is a personal or business relationship dictating Trumpâs position on Turkey.â
9. In sum, Barr apparently intervened in a criminal case in Southern District of New York in alignment with Trumpâs personal interests.
Turkeyâs Erdogan boasted Trump instructed his âministersâ (the Attorney General?) to work on it.
Barr was rebuffed by insistent US Attorney.
Turkeyâs Erdogan boasted Trump instructed his âministersâ (the Attorney General?) to work on it.
Barr was rebuffed by insistent US Attorney.
10. Add this Oct. 2019 news report:
"Trump assigned his attorney general and Treasury secretary to deal with ⌠Erdoganâs repeated pleas to avoid charges against" Halkbank.
"Trump told Erdogan that William Barr and Steven Mnuchin would handle the issue."
bloomberg.com/news/articles/âŚ
"Trump assigned his attorney general and Treasury secretary to deal with ⌠Erdoganâs repeated pleas to avoid charges against" Halkbank.
"Trump told Erdogan that William Barr and Steven Mnuchin would handle the issue."
bloomberg.com/news/articles/âŚ
@nwadhams @JenniferJJacobs @SalehaMohsin 11. Add this NBC report and analysis (by @HeidiNBC @JuliaEAinsley @Tom_Winter) which explains the Iran angle.
Difficult to justify Trump-Barr trying to help Halkbank given the bank's alleged crimes involved major busting of sanctions against Iran.
Difficult to justify Trump-Barr trying to help Halkbank given the bank's alleged crimes involved major busting of sanctions against Iran.
@nwadhams @JenniferJJacobs @SalehaMohsin @HeidiNBC @JuliaEAinsley @Tom_Winter 12. Let's punctuate these reports of Trump's directly getting Barr personally involved in the criminal prosecution of Turkey bank case with this...
A laughable line:
"The president has never asked me to do anything in a criminal case."
- Bill Barr in ABC News interview.
A laughable line:
"The president has never asked me to do anything in a criminal case."
- Bill Barr in ABC News interview.
