Oh! Another cooperating witness. Guy who had place in TT & mysteriously disappeared from fed prison.

[MelissaB]

Reza Zarrab (gold trader close to Turkish President Erdogan) is cooperating with fedreal prosecutors in money-laundering case & may be giving info on ties between Michael Flynn & Turkish the government.

You know, the guy who used to have place in Trump Tower & just mysteriously disappeared from federal prison. The one Rachel talked about. Remember him?

Does cooperating witness have info on Flynn tie to Turkey?

by Tom Winter and Julia Ainsley

A gold trader who is close to Turkish President Recep Erdogan is now cooperating with federal prosecutors in a money-laundering case, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter, and legal experts say prosecutors may be seeking information about any ties between the Turkish government and former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn.

Reza Zarrab, a dual Turkish-Iranian national, faces charges in federal court in Manhattan for skirting sanctions on Iran by allegedly moving hundreds of millions of dollars for the Iranian government and Iranian firms via offshore entities and bank accounts.

But Zarrab is now out of jail and speaking to prosecutors — a move President Erdogan had been desperately hoping to avoid.

... snip

"You can fill in the gaps that federal investigators are looking for any relation between Erdogan and Flynn," said Cevallos. "So, to the extent that Zarrab has any connection or knowledge of that, it is very important that they're flipping him."

More: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/does-cooperating-witness-have-info-flynn-tie-turkey-n821341

What's the total count of people who have flipped at this point (that we know about)? Asking for a friend.

[MelissaB]

1. Bonus points. Giuliani is mentioned in the article.

Giuliani and Mukasey had previously visited Turkey to discuss the case with Erdogan, a U.S. official directly briefed on the matter told NBC News.

[MelissaB]

2. Oh! The guy who used to have place in TrumpTower & just mysteriously disappeared from federal prison

You mean the guy who used to have a place in Trump Tower and just mysteriously disappeared from federal prison? Oh, my sweet summer children, Manafort wasn't even an appetizer. He was like the mint you take before you pick up your date to go to dinner.

Link to tweet

[canetoad]

3. More...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-16/mystery-deepens-on-eve-of-u-s-bribery-trial-roiling-turkey

Where Is Reza Zarrab?
November 16, 2017, 2:05 AM EST Updated on November 16, 2017, 2:16 PM EST

..snip
Jailed in grim New York City lockups last year after U.S. authorities seized him en route to a family vacation at Disney World, he is no longer behind bars there. Last week, the inmate registry for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons suddenly said Zarrab had been released. Two people familiar with the case said Zarrab remains in U.S. custody but not in a federal jail. That sometimes happens when a defendant has agreed to serve as a government witness. A lawyer for Zarrab’s accused accomplice has said Zarrab is no longer participating in the defense. Prosecutors and Zarrab’s lawyers have declined to comment.

Has Zarrab decided to cooperate with U.S. prosecutors and tell what he knows about alleged corruption at the highest reaches of the Turkish government? Even the Turkish government is curious, recently asking the U.S. government whether Zarrab is safe.

At least publicly, there were no answers. During the final hearing Thursday before jury selection begins on Nov. 20, Zarrab and his lawyers were not present, and repeated references were made to his absence. At the hearing’s conclusion, Victor Rocco, the lawyer for Zarrab’s co-defendant, Mehmet Hakan Atilla, tossed up his hands and in a loud voice asked the judge if Zarrab would be on trial as well.

Smiling, the judge declined to answer and told Rocco to watch the court docket.