https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/nation ... ey-n933996To ease Turkish pressure on Saudis over killing, White House weighs expelling Erdogan foe
"Once they realized it was a serious request, the career guys were furious," a U.S. official said of request tied to Khashoggi killing.
WASHINGTON — The White House is looking for ways to remove an enemy of Turkish President Recep Erdogan from the U.S. in order to placate Turkey over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to two senior U.S. officials and two other people briefed on the requests.
Trump administration officials last month asked federal law enforcement agencies to examine legal ways of removing exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen in an attempt to persuade Erdogan to ease pressure on the Saudi government, the four sources said.
The effort includes directives to the Justice Department and FBI that officials reopen Turkey's case for his extradition, as well as a request to the Homeland Security Department for information about his legal status, the four people said.
They said the White House specifically wanted details about Gulen's residency status in the U.S. Gulen has a Green Card, according to two people familiar with the matter. He has been living in Pennsylvania since the late 1990s.
Career officials at the agencies pushed back on the White House requests, the U.S. officials and people briefed on the requests said.
"At first there were eye rolls, but once they realized it was a serious request, the career guys were furious," said a senior U.S. official involved in the process.
The Justice Department did not initially respond to a request for comment. But after the story was published Thursday, a spokesperson said the Justice Department continues to work with Turkey on Gulen's case, would review any materials Ankara provides and "make any decisions about extradition on the basis of the facts and relevant U.S. law."
On Friday, the spokesperson added: "The Justice Department has not been involved in nor aware of any discussions relating the extradition of Fethullah Gulen to the death of Jamal Khashoggi."
The State Department and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment.
A lawyer representing Gulen declined to comment. The FBI also declined to comment.
A Turkish official said the government does not link its concerns about the Khashoggi murder with Gulen's extradition case.
So let me see if I've got this straight...
In order to help to end the pressure to get to the bottom of the brutal torture and murder of one US permanent resident by an authoritarian despot (something that a legitimate, rule of law respecting American government would be leading the charge to accomplish; not trying to thwart) the rogue Trump regime wanted to sacrifice another US permanent resident to the hands of a second authoritarian despot (where he could also be brutally tortured and murdered)...
Is that about right?
ETA:
This is an excellent case in point for why it is critically important that we have a vibrant, relentless free and independent press up this regime's ass 24/7, 365...
Were it not for that, if every news organization was "reporting" like Fox and Friends, instances of these sorts of disgraceful, shameful, disgusting anti-American plots being hatched by Trump and his henchmen would go unreported, and quite likely be carried out...
As it is now, with all the light that has been shined on this, at least in this case their hand has probably been stayed...(In fact I see that they're even denying that they were ever considering this, which is usually a good sign that they've given up on it...at least for now...)