Former national security advisor Mike Flynn discussed how to move a Turkish dissident from his residence in the United States while bypassing the extradition process, The Wall Street Journal reports.
In September, Flynn, a retired Army Lt. General acting as an unpaid advisor to President Donald Trump's campaign, met with high-level members of the Turkish government to talk about Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Turkey have accused of organizing the attempted military coup that took place last summer, according to former CIA Director James Woolsey, who attended the meeting.
"It seemed to be naive," Woolsey said of the discussion. "I didn't put a lot of credibility in it. This is a country of legal process and a Constitution, and you don't send out folks to haul somebody overseas."
Woolsey added that the discussions were entirely hypothetical, and that he would have objected if they had talked specific plans for removing Gulen from his home. Though Woolsey describes the idea discussed as "a covert step in the dead of night to whisk this guy away."
The former director claims to have not said anything during this discussion, and that some in attendance advised against any attempt to remove Gulen that would violate U.S. law.
Flynn spokesman Price Floyd told the Post that "at no time did Gen. Flynn discuss any illegal actions, nonjudicial physical removal or any other such activities."
He also said that "Gen. Flynn did discuss the Flynn Intel Group's work for Inovo that included gathering information that could lead to a legal case against Mr. Gulen."
The Turkish Embassy said in a statement to the Journal that although the meeting did take place, they could not confirm the discussion.
"We are not in a position to comment on any engagement between a U.S. consultancy firm and a private company owned by a Turkish businessman," the statement read.
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