Robert Mueller busts out terrorism-related subpoena in Donald Trump’s Russia scandal
Even as Donald Trump continues to botch his response to post-hurricane Puerto Rico, and he begins losing cabinet members in a widespread financial fraud scandal, Special Counsel Robert Mueller keeps plugging away at his Russia scandal in the background. Mueller has issued a surprising new terrorism-related subpoena which serves to demonstrate just how aggressively he’s pursuing all possible roads to get to Trump.
Mueller has subpoenaed Sezgin Baran Korkmaz, an associate of Ekim Alptekin, the Turkish oligarch who was paying Trump adviser Michael Flynn to act on behalf of the government of Turkey, according to a new ProPublica report (link). What’s surprising here is that it’s not even clear what Korkmaz’s connection is to Flynn. But there is a big hint involved: the subpoena letter is signed by Mueller’s deputy, who specializes in prosecuting terrorism.
This could mean several things. There’s no known evidence of Sezgin Baran Korkmaz being suspected of terrorism. Yet Mueller was clearly looking to send a message by having his terrorism prosecutor sign the subpoena. Is Mueller looking to pursue Alptekin on some unidentified terrorism related charges, and hauling in Korkmaz as a witness? Or is Mueller preparing to pursue Michael Flynn on terrorism charges? After all, Flynn is alleged to have plotted with Turkish government representatives to kidnap a dissident in Pennsylvania and ship him to Turkey.
Whatever the specifics involved, it’s all part of an attempt on Robert Mueller’s part to put the legal screws so throughly to Michael Flynn (and other Trump associates), they’ll be left with no choice but to flip on Donald Trump. Mueller clearly knows a lot more than he’s letting on publicly. Now we know that he’s planning to bring some sort of terrorism charges, in the name of bulldozing his way through Trump’s associates and getting to Trump himself.
