Ex-Trump adviser investigated over alleged plot to kidnap Turkish cleric

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The criminal investigation into Russia’s alleged role in the 2016 US presidential election took an unexpected turn on Friday.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly looking into new allegations involving former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn related to an alleged plan to forcibly remove a Muslim cleric from the US and send him to Turkey at the direction of the Turkish government.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Flynn and his son were to be paid as much as 15 million US dollars to deliver Fethullah Gulen to the Turkish government. The cleric has been living in exile in the US since the late 1990s.

The newspaper said the plan allegedly involved putting Gulen on a private jet and flying him to a Turkish prison. Turkey has requested the cleric be legally extradited, but the US government has so far rejected the idea.

Turkey accuses Gulen of plotting last year’s coup attempt, calling him a terrorist.

Ex-Trump adviser Michael Flynn /Reuters Photo

The allegations of a plot involving the dissident cleric could open up Flynn and his son to charges including "conspiracy to kidnap."

Before joining the Trump administration, Flynn had lobbied on behalf of the Turkish government in the US. He didn’t reveal this fact until March of this year.

In November 2016, Flynn wrote an editorial in The Hill, a Washington DC newspaper, urging the US to extradite the cleric to Turkey.

“The forces of radical Islam derive their ideology from radical clerics like Gulen, who is running a scam,” Flynn wrote. “We should not provide him safe haven.”

Flynn served as National Security Adviser for only 24 days before resigning over secret meetings with Russia’s ambassador to the US.

Mueller’s investigation into Trump’s aides has intensified in recent weeks, with charges brought against the president’s former campaign chairman, an ex-campaign official and a former foreign policy adviser.