STOCKING THE SWAMP:

Though Flynn is not a lobbyist himself, his company, Flynn Intel Group, is registered with Congress as a lobbying organization, and has a registered lobbyist on its staff. A Flynn Intel Group client, Kamil Ekim Alptekin, a Turkish businessman with real estate, aerospace, and consulting interests, told The Intercept on Thursday that one of his companies, Inovo BV, paid Flynn's company "tens of thousands of dollars" for analysis on world affairs. On election day, Flynn published an opinion piece for The Hill urging U.S. support for Turkey's controversial strongman president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and pushing for the extradition of Erdogan's political rival, Fethullah Gülen, who now resides in Pennsylvania. "From Turkey's point of view, Washington is harboring Turkey's Osama bin Laden," Flynn wrote, on Nov. 8.

In a statement, Flynn said that he would sever ties with his own company if he entered Trump's administration. He did not say whether he would close the business, where his son is listed as chief of staff, or disclose his other clients.

Alptekin said that while he agreed with what Flynn wrote, he did not have any influence over his views. "There is no money in the world that could make General Flynn or anybody else who is being considered for a cabinet post write that article on election day," he said. "I don't think a billion dollars would make him do that."

The ties between Flynn Intel Group and Inovo BV, Alptekin's company, were previously reported by The Daily Caller and Politico. Robert Kelley, the Flynn Group's general counsel and the main point of contact with the Inovo account, told Politico that the company's duties included reporting on "the present situation, the transition between President Obama and President-elect Trump."

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