FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — Federal prosecutors on Monday dropped charges against Bijan Kian, a onetime business partner of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn who had been accused of acting as an unregistered agent of the Turkish government.
Prosecutors alleged that Kian and Flynn, who were partners in an entity called the Flynn Intel Group, were acting at Turkey’s behest when they undertook a project to discredit exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen.
Among other factors, he cited evidence that an actual conspiracy involved Flynn and Alptekin, with Kian excluded from the arrangement.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Virginia declined to comment on why prosecutors decided to drop the case.
Flynn, who received a presidential pardon in 2020, became a chief promoter of Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Persons:
Bijan Kian, Michael Flynn, Kian, Robert Mueller’s, Flynn, Fethullah Gulen, Gulen, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Donald Trump's, Ruhollah Khomeini, Prosecutors, Kamal Alptekin, Anthony Trenga, Trenga's, Trenga, Alptekin, Mark MacDougall, Rafiekian —, Rafiekian, ” MacDougall
Organizations:
—, National Security, Prosecutors, Flynn Intel Group, U.S, Circuit, Appeals, Attorney's, of, Justice Department
Locations:
Va, Turkish, U.S, Turkey, Trenga, Eastern, of Virginia