{"id":666584,"date":"2019-07-25T18:34:04","date_gmt":"2019-07-25T15:34:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/tr\/content\/?p=666584"},"modified":"2019-07-25T18:34:04","modified_gmt":"2019-07-25T15:34:04","slug":"associate-of-michael-flynn-is-found-guilty-of-secretly-lobbying-for-turkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2019\/07\/25\/associate-of-michael-flynn-is-found-guilty-of-secretly-lobbying-for-turkey\/","title":{"rendered":"Associate of Michael Flynn Is Found Guilty of Secretly Lobbying for Turkey"},"content":{"rendered":"<article id=\"story\" class=\"css-1vxca1d e1qksbhf0\">\n<header class=\"css-g9zndl e12qa4dv1\">\n<div class=\"css-79elbk\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"css-z3e15g\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper-hidden\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-fcckvt ehw59r12\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<div class=\"css-t972an ehw59r13\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-overlay\">\n<div class=\"css-h7jfto ehw59r14\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-8h527k\">\n<div data-testid=\"lazyimage-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-1j5kxti e1t57l6r0\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/07\/18\/us\/politics\/18dc-fara\/merlin_148260636_d5565fd2-e007-4fac-87e0-6c146ba36e86-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/07\/18\/us\/politics\/18dc-fara\/merlin_148260636_d5565fd2-e007-4fac-87e0-6c146ba36e86-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/07\/18\/us\/politics\/18dc-fara\/merlin_148260636_d5565fd2-e007-4fac-87e0-6c146ba36e86-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/07\/18\/us\/politics\/18dc-fara\/merlin_148260636_d5565fd2-e007-4fac-87e0-6c146ba36e86-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"css-79elbk\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"css-1a48zt4 ehw59r15\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<figure class=\"sizeMedium layoutHorizontal css-1ox9jel\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"media\">\n<div class=\"css-bsn42l\"><span class=\"css-1dv1kvn\">Image<\/span><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-11cwn6f\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/07\/18\/us\/politics\/18dc-fara\/merlin_148260636_d5565fd2-e007-4fac-87e0-6c146ba36e86-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/07\/18\/us\/politics\/18dc-fara\/merlin_148260636_d5565fd2-e007-4fac-87e0-6c146ba36e86-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/07\/18\/us\/politics\/18dc-fara\/merlin_148260636_d5565fd2-e007-4fac-87e0-6c146ba36e86-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/07\/18\/us\/politics\/18dc-fara\/merlin_148260636_d5565fd2-e007-4fac-87e0-6c146ba36e86-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"Bijan Kian, a former business associate of Michael T. Flynn, was accused of secretly lobbying for Turkey.\" \/><\/div><figcaption class=\"css-17ai7jg emkp2hg0\"><span class=\"css-8i9d0s e13ogyst0\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Bijan Kian, a former business associate of Michael T. Flynn, was accused of secretly lobbying for Turkey.<\/span><span class=\"emkp2hg2 css-1nwzsjy e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit<\/span><span class=\"css-1dv1kvn\">Credit<\/span>Jacquelyn Martin\/Associated Press<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-xt80pu e12qa4dv0\">\n<div class=\"css-acwcvw epjyd6m0\">\n<div class=\"css-vp77d3 epjyd6m1\">\n<div class=\"css-1baulvz\">\n<p class=\"css-1nuro5j e1jsehar1\">By <span class=\"css-1baulvz last-byline\">Adam Goldman<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<ul class=\"css-1w5cs23 epjyd6m2\">\n<li><time class=\"css-rs1psd e16638kd0\" datetime=\"2019-07-23\">July 23, 2019<\/time><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<header class=\"css-g9zndl e12qa4dv1\">\n<div class=\"css-xt80pu e12qa4dv0\">\n<div class=\"css-acwcvw epjyd6m0\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1i2y565\">\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">ALEXANDRIA, Va. \u2014 A business associate of the former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn was convicted on Tuesday in Northern Virginia of secretly lobbying for Turkey, a victory for the government after the judge considered dismissing the case because prosecutors lacked evidence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Judge Anthony J. Trenga had described the evidence against Mr. Flynn\u2019s associate, Bijan Kian, as speculative and very circumstantial but let the case go to the jury. Judge Trenga could still toss the verdict and scheduled a Sept. 5 hearing on the matter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">During the short trial in federal court in Alexandria, Va., prosecutors had accused Mr. Kian and his business partners of trying to \u201csubvert the American process\u201d when they secretly agreed to work for Turkey. They said that Mr. Kian was operating at Turkey\u2019s control and direction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Mr. Kian\u2019s defense lawyers repeatedly tried to undercut the government\u2019s case, saying there was no actual agreement with the Turkish government to influence American policy. Prosecutors, Mr. Kian\u2019s lawyers said, could not even demonstrate that Turkey paid for anything.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">\u201cThere\u2019s no evidence any Turkish official gave any direction,\u201d Mark J. MacDougall, Mr. Kian\u2019s lawyer, said on Monday during closing arguments. Later he added, using another name for Mr. Kian: \u201cSo now we\u2019re all here. You\u2019re here because the prosecutors claim that Mr. Rafiekian didn\u2019t fill out the form the way they would like.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Mr. Kian, 67, was charged last year with conspiracy to violate lobbying laws and failure to register as a foreign agent. He had faced up to 15 years in prison. The jury deliberated for hours before reaching its verdict.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Mr. Flynn\u2019s association with the case was front and center during the trial. He pleaded guilty in a separate case to lying to the F.B.I. about his conversations with the Russian ambassador and lying on foreign lobbying disclosure forms related to his own work for Turkey.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">As part of a plea deal, Mr. Flynn, who was an adviser to President Trump\u2019s campaign and his first national security adviser, had been cooperating with the special counsel\u2019s office and prosecutors in Virginia. He was cooperative enough for prosecutors to recommend no prison time, and Mr. Flynn had agreed in late 2018 to postpone his sentencing so he could testify against Mr. Kian, in part to secure a lenient punishment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">But on the eve of the Kian trial, Mr. Flynn abruptly changed his story and blamed his previous lawyers for filing inaccurate foreign lobbying disclosure forms without his knowledge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-o6xoe7\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1sngw6j\">\n<div class=\"css-1eoytci\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/04\/15\/us\/mueller-report-document-promo-1555353284901\/mueller-report-document-promo-1555353284901-articleLarge-v9.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1rha1bf\">\n<h2 class=\"css-zd32qr\">Read the Mueller Report: Searchable Document and Index<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-1uuihdo\">The findings from the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, are now available to the public. The redacted report details his two-year investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">That prompted prosecutors to scrap Mr. Flynn as a witness, a seeming blow to their case against Mr. Kian, who had faced up to 15 years in prison. But they were dismissive of Mr. Flynn\u2019s move, saying in a court filing that they had plenty of evidence to convict Mr. Kian.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">His new position could anger the judge overseeing his case, Emmet G. Sullivan of the United States District Court in Washington. Judge Sullivan erupted at Mr. Flynn earlier for what seemed like a failure to take responsibility for his crimes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Mr. Flynn has likely put himself on a collision course with Judge Sullivan, fueling speculation that Mr. Flynn believes that President Trump, who has publicly expressed sympathy for his case, will pardon him. But putting his fate in the hands of a mercurial president would be a risky, if not reckless, course by Mr. Flynn, who faces up to six months in prison.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Mr. Flynn\u2019s fired his previous lawyers in June, partially blaming them for his legal troubles. He hired a new lawyer, Sidney Powell, who has pushed conspiracy theories about the special counsel\u2019s investigation and sells anti-Mueller T-shirts on her website. During the trial, she sat behind Mr. Kian\u2019s defense, occasionally passing notes to his lawyers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Mr. Kian was indicted in December, along with another man, Ekim Alptekin, as part of a federal investigation into Turkey\u2019s secret 2016 lobbying campaign to pressure the United States to expel Fethullah Gulen, a rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Prosecutors accused the two men of seeking to conceal that Turkish government officials were directing the project, saying that high-level Turkish officials approved the budget and Mr. Alptekin regularly updated them. Mr. Flynn\u2019s firm, Flynn Intel Group, received a total of $530,000 for its work on the effort. At trial, prosecutors said that project was \u201csingle-mindedly focused on dirtying up Gulen, portraying him as a terrorist and a fraud and getting him extradited.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-o6xoe7\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"story-ad-3-wrapper\" class=\"css-1r07izm\">\n<div id=\"story-ad-3-slug\" class=\"css-l9onyx\">\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"ad story-ad-3-wrapper\">\n<div id=\"story-ad-3\" class=\"\" data-position=\"mid3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Prosecutors revealed that the government also has additional information about Mr. Alptekin\u2019s relationship with Mr. Flynn outside of his firm\u2019s work. Prosecutors revealed that Mr. Alptekin tried to engage Mr. Flynn because of his association with the Trump administration. The government did not say how it obtained the information.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Mr. Kian was on the Trump transition team and worked on national security matters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">The outcome of Mr. Kian\u2019s case could buoy efforts by the government to crack down on violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires people lobbying the government on behalf of foreign nations to notify the Justice Department.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Once viewed as an outdated statute that could be evaded with little consequence, FARA has now been aggressively applied in a number of high-profile criminal cases. The Justice Department began to enforce it more strictly in recent years, and the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, used it to help expose a culture of lobbyists accepting millions of dollars from foreign governments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Before Mr. Mueller was appointed, only seven people in five decades were charged with violating the statute. Most violators were warned, not prosecuted. Prosecutors shied away from FARA indictments because they feared it was too difficult to obtain a conviction, a 2014 internal Justice Department report said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-o6xoe7\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"bottom-of-article\">\n<div class=\"css-1ubp8k9\">\n<div class=\"css-acwcvw\">\n<p><strong class=\"css-1vg6q84\">Correction:<\/strong>\u00a0<time class=\"css-195imiv e16638kd0\" datetime=\"2019-07-23\">July 23, 2019<\/time><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-15hwz5e evys1bk0\">An earlier version of this article misstated the age of Bijan Kian. He is 67, not 65.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1yif149\">\n<p>Follow Adam Goldman on Twitter: @adamgoldmanNYT.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-vdv0al\">A version of this article appears in print on <time class=\"css-10rvbm3\" datetime=\"2019-07-24T04:00:00.000Z\">July 24, 2019<\/time>, Section A, Page 16 of the New York edition with the headline: Associate of Former Security Adviser Found Guilty of Secretly Lobbying for Turkey. Order Reprints | Today\u2019s Paper | Subscribe<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<article id=\"story\" class=\"css-1vxca1d e1qksbhf0\">\n<div id=\"related-coverage\" class=\"css-12qsqia\">\n<header class=\"css-1k2cc88\">\n<h3 class=\"css-pk3ldd\">Related Coverage<\/h3>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"css-6su6fj\">\n<div class=\"css-cmgnk4\">\n<div class=\"css-dg19va\">\n<div class=\"css-ip4ck2\">\n<div>\n<h2 class=\"css-65zpa8 eoo0vm40\">Michael Flynn Changes His Story, Putting Him on Collision Course With Judge<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><time class=\"css-98gu9q e16638kd0\" datetime=\"2019-07-09\">July 9, 2019<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-cmgnk4\">\n<div class=\"css-dg19va\">\n<div class=\"css-ip4ck2\">\n<div>\n<h2 class=\"css-65zpa8 eoo0vm40\">Michael Flynn\u2019s New Lawyer Seeks Security Clearance, Citing Unknown Evidence<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><time class=\"css-98gu9q e16638kd0\" datetime=\"2019-06-24\">June 24, 2019<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-cmgnk4\">\n<div class=\"css-dg19va\">\n<div class=\"css-ip4ck2\">\n<div>\n<h2 class=\"css-65zpa8 eoo0vm40\">\u2018Not Hiding My Disgust\u2019: Judge Rebukes Flynn, Then Delays Sentencing<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><time class=\"css-98gu9q e16638kd0\" datetime=\"2018-12-18\">Dec. 18, 20<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"app\">\n<div class=\"css-v89234\" role=\"main\">\n<div id=\"gateway-content\" class=\"css-wk4uf9\" data-testid=\"dock-gateway\" aria-live=\"assertive\">\n<div class=\"css-1n69xkm\">\n<div class=\"css-127jhi8\" data-testid=\"cta-container\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-ygigt3\">\n<div class=\"css-13ef4oa\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"css-1oqptyt\">Thanks for reading The Times.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-90rvq1\" data-testid=\"more-in-section\">\n<h4 class=\"css-612bxi\"><\/h4>\n<div class=\"css-sid3py\">\n<h3 class=\"css-omfab9\">What We Learned From Mueller\u2019s 7 Hours on Capitol Hill<\/h3>\n<div class=\"css-wkz5y1\"><span class=\"css-3dcqci\"><time>July 25<\/time><\/span><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"css-omfab9\">Mueller\u2019s Labored Performance Was a Departure From His Once-Fabled Stamina<\/h3>\n<div class=\"css-wkz5y1\"><span class=\"css-3dcqci\"><time>July 25<\/time><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-15op9t9\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"css-omfab9\">Mueller Warns of Russian Sabotage and Rejects Trump\u2019s \u2018Witch Hunt\u2019 Claims<\/h3>\n<div class=\"css-wkz5y1\"><span class=\"css-3dcqci\"><time>July 25<\/time><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-15op9t9\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"RavenInstaller\"><\/div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"pmssr\" src=\"https:\/\/s.cmptch.com\/v\/lib\/mng.html?1560945153#&amp;#180#&amp;#360#&amp;#360\" width=\"1px\" height=\"1px\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ImageBijan Kian, a former business associate of Michael T. Flynn, was accused of secretly lobbying for Turkey.CreditCreditJacquelyn Martin\/Associated Press By Adam Goldman July 23, 2019 ALEXANDRIA, Va. \u2014 A business associate of the former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn was convicted on Tuesday in Northern Virginia of secretly lobbying for Turkey, a victory for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4092,"featured_media":185387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[10466],"class_list":["post-666584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-turkey","tag-michael-flynn"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4092"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=666584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=666584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=666584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=666584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}