Gulen's US lawyers respond to Trump's top advisor

By Esra Kaymak Avci

WASHINGTON (AA) – The law firm representing Fetullah Terrorist Organization's (FETO) leader Fetullah Gulen said Saturday it hoped a position taken by a top adviser to Donald Trump would not become policy for the president-elect.

"We hope that Mr. Flynn’s op-ed on Mr. Gulen and Turkish-American relations, published before the results of the election were known, is not a statement of policy for President-Elect Trump," Gulen’s legal team at Steptoe & Johnson said in a written statement.

The statement was in response to an article written last week by retired Gen. Michael Flynn in which he stressed the importance of Turkey's role in region and advocated for Gulen’s extradition as he said the issue was one of the key points of contention between Washington and Ankara.

The law firm said the extradition process was serious and governed by a treaty with Turkey that is clear about the steps that need to be taken.

"It should not be a political matter," the statement said.

"The U.S. has strong democratic institutions, including its judiciary system, where these high-level issues are handled. We expect and are confident that will be the case in the next administration."

Beginning July 19, Ankara has asked Washington to extradite Gulen for his role in establishing a quasi-state within Turkey that led to a failed bloody coup July 15.

Flynn was a key national security adviser to Trump during his presidential campaign and is expected by many to be appointed to a Cabinet position, possibly as defense secretary.

The former chair of the Defense Intelligence Agency suggested that although Gulen presents himself as a moderate Islamic scholar, he is a radical who “has publicly boasted about his ‘soldiers’ waiting for his orders to do whatever he directs them to do”.

Flynn compared Gulen to Ayatollah Khomeini -- the leader of the Iranian revolution – urging the U.S. government not to repeat its mistake by supporting Gulen as it did Khomeini.

“Washington’s silence on this explosive topic speaks volumes when we hear the incredulous claim that the democratically elected president of Turkey staged a military coup, bombed his own parliament and undermined the confidence in Turkey’s strong economy, just so that he could purge his political opponents,” Flynn wrote.

He also cited allegation of corruption against the Gulen network in the U.S., and said the terror leader has brought more people than Google into the country to teach English but they are not fluent in the language.