The US government has "multiple, independent pieces of information" that show Turkey's efforts to influence US policy, including on an exiled cleric that Ankara would like to see extradited, the Washington Post reported, citing a statement read during a hearing in a Virginia federal court on Friday.
The government's information reportedly shows a businessman with close ties to the Turkish government engaged with Flynn because of the retired Army lieutenant general's relationship with the ongoing presidential campaign.
Flynn in 2017 admitted hiding the Turkish government’s role in his company’s campaign against Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, the report noted.
On June 14, court filings revealed that Flynn's lawyers requested a two-month delay for the sentencing of their client to provide time to wrap up his cooperation with the government.
Flynn, one of the most high-profile suspects in the investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, stands accused of lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak during the US presidential transition.
Both US President Donald Trump and Russian officials have repeatedly denied the allegations. Trump has called the investigation a political witch hunt that has not produced evidence of collusion in two years. Russian officials have said the allegations were made up to excuse the loss of Trump’s political opponent as well as deflect public opinion from actual instances of election fraud and corruption.
