1. Why would Erdoğan prepare for the meeting @POTUS @JoeBiden by attacking near US forces in Syria? IMO it's because he's terrified. One week ago the US Court of Appeals ruled that the Turkish state-owned #Halkbank had no sovereign immunity because conduct in violation of US
2. law was done as part of commercial rather than official conduct, and thus, under US law, not subject to sovereign immunity. My reporting on the Zarrab case since 2015 left me with the district impression that there were connections between the crimes & top Turkish officials.
3. Now that the issue of whether there is any immunity for the commercial criminal conduct, those Turkish officials may soon be named as defendants in a superseding indictment. For an autocrat like Erdoğan, manipulating the court system is just business as usual.
4. He likely thinks that if he threatens to attack US partners fighting #Daesh and puts forces on the border to show he means it, Biden will shun the fight, will cave like #45 did. Killing of an al-Qaeda and #Daesh fighters recently, both of whom were
5. were part of the Turkish occupation force in Syria, should have put Erdoğan on notice that the US is not about to back down. But Erdoğan is a bully, and until you bloody a bully's nose, they seldom back down. Joe Biden from Scranton knows that.
6. I don't think the 2nd Cir has vacated the stay to permit the criminal case to proceed, but I expect that may be coming. #Halkbank can appeal to SCOTUS. If I'm correct, Erdoğan is desperate and, like all desperate people, potentially dangerous. @WHNSC @WHCOS @SDNYnews
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
