The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating an alleged plot involving Michael Flynn and his son to kidnap a Turkish Muslim cleric and return him to his country for millions of dollars. Fethullah Gulen, an opponent of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is living in the United States.

Who is Fethullah Gulen

Muhammed Fethullah Gülen Hocaefendi is a Turkish preacher and the founder of the Gulen movement called Hizmet. The Hizmet empire is affiliated with schools, construction companies, media and banks, in Turkey, Africa, the Americas, Europe, Central Asia.

However in 2017, the Turkish government closed down thousands of their businesses and foundations. One of the organizations is a moderate Islamic advocacy group. Gulen is currently exiled in the United States but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would like him returned to face charges of alleged involvement in a 2016 coup attempt.

The plot

The WSJ report claims that Flynn and his son were offered up to $15 million to remove Fethullah Gulen from the US and return him to Turkey. The former CIA director James Woolsey had revealed in March that he was at a meeting in a hotel room in New York where Flynn talked about a covert plan to seize and remove the cleric.

The trouble with Michael Flynn

Flynn’s appointment as the twenty fifth National Security Adviser by Donald Trump was short lived.

He resigned in February after it was revealed that he lied to Mike Pence, the US Vice president concerning his contacts with Sergey Kislyak , the Russian Ambassador to the United States. In April, the Pentagon announced that there would be an investigation to determine whether he inappropriately took money from foreign governments.

While he once spoke out against the Turkish Government during the 2016 coup attempt, his consulting firm was subsequently hired by a company linked to that establishment. On Election day in the Michael Flynn called for the US government to support Erdoğan's regime in an op-ed.

Outrageous allegations

Michael Flynn's lawyer is denying allegations that his client was involved in any plan to hand over a Muslim cleric to Turkey in exchange for millions of dollars calling the report false and outrageous.

The lawyer for Flynn, Robert Kelner in an email response said that while they have remained silent in respect for the ongoing investigations, he was making an exception due to the news story about his clients alleged involvement in kidnapping and bribery.