Turkish government gave Flynn’s company $530,000 to make documentary

An unfinished documentary produced by the Flynn Intel Group and paid for by a Turkish businessman is part of an investigation into former national security adviser Mike Flynn's business dealings and alleged ties to the Turkish government
Wednesday, 31 May 2017 06:03

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn's consulting firm produced an unfinished documentary last fall to boost Turkey’s image following a failed military coup the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Last fall, as retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn travelled the country stumping for Donald Trump, his business partner holed up in a small Washington hotel room with the former head of Turkish military intelligence to work on a special project.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Bijan Kian, the head of Flynn’s consulting firm met the Turkish dignitary in Washington D.C. The hotel room meeting was filmed as part of a documentary the Flynn Intel Group was producing for a Turkish businessman, who paid $530,000 to the lobbying shop to polish the country’s image after a botched military coup.

Flynn travelled to Turkey last year in fall to close the agreement related to the film's production with a Turkish businessman, the Wall Street Journal reported. That contract has landed Gen. Flynn in legal jeopardy.

The report noted that the documentary, that was planned to restore the country's image after the military coup attempt in July 2016, has been neither finished nor distributed. The work done on the documentary by Flynn's firm reportedly took place while Flynn was campaigning on behalf of then-candidate Donald Trump. However, it demonstrated the work Flynn Intel Group has done for the government of Turkey, the report stated.

The contract is at the heart of an expanding investigation into Flynn’s business dealings. 

In March, the newspaper said citing former Central Intelligence Agency Director James Woolsey that Flynn had conversations with the Turkish ministers while serving as an adviser to the campaign of President Donald Trump.

Flynn didn’t disclose to the federal government until March that his company was paid to represent Turkish interests. He is now facing military, congressional and criminal investigations into allegations that he improperly concealed his financial ties to Turkey and Russia, and into whether the ties played any role in his decisions as the president’s adviser.