Trump directed Treasury, DOJ to address Erdoğan 'concerns' about Turkish bank
Source: The Hill
President Trump asked multiple federal agencies to address Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's "concerns" that Turkeys state-owned bank would be under threat of U.S. sanctions, according to a response from the Treasury Department to a senior Democratic senator.
It is the first public U.S. admission of Trump directing Cabinet officials, in this case in Treasury and the Department of Justice, to involve themselves with Erdoğans concerns around Halkbank, a Turkish state-owned bank indicted last month by federal prosecutors for allegedly funneling billions of dollars to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions.
It also raises questions about how Trumps personal relationships and business dealings influence his foreign policy decisions, at a time when his dealings with Ukraine are under scrutiny as part of a formal impeachment inquiry led by House Democrats.
Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/international/471883-trump-directed-treasury-doj-to-address-erdogan-concerns-about-turkish
5X
(3,972 posts)This for that. "This" is our pullout and abandonment of the Kurds.
sandensea
(21,624 posts)
"Now you're talking turkey!"
Grasswire2
(13,568 posts)Oy.
gibraltar72
(7,503 posts)SergeStorms
(19,193 posts)for hastening impeachment: How many more crimes will he commit, how many people will possibly die because of his rash decisions - usually decisions that involve his businesses - and how much more of our democracy will die because of not acting quickly?
We're damned if we do and damned if we don't.
gab13by13
(21,304 posts)I won't click on it. "The Hill" should be boycotted.
riversedge
(70,189 posts).............Turkish officials, including Erdoğan, have often raised the issue of Halkbank with the president and other U.S. officials. In November 2018, Reuters reported that Erdoğan claimed Trump promised to instruct the relevant ministers immediately about concerns surrounding potential U.S. fines on Halkbank because of the trial, and that U.S. officials called Turkeys treasury and finance minister the following day.
On Oct. 17, Vice President Pence said Turkish officials raised the issue of Halkbank with him following negotiations with Turkey to pause their offensive in northeastern Syria. The vice president said he responded that the issue was a matter for federal prosecutors.
Wyden said the delay in charges against Halkbank bears hallmarks to the impeachment inquiry surrounding the president and the question of whether Trump directed loyalists to hijack foreign policy for his own personal gain.
Halkbank stands accused of the largest Iranian sanctions evasion scheme in U.S. history, Wyden said in his statement. Congress needs to know to what extent Donald Trump and his cronies were carrying water for a state-owned Turkish bank and whether they ran the same Ukraine playbook by roping U.S. government officials into their personal scheme.
Hugin
(33,120 posts)I'm sure there's more... Much much more.