Trump's 'little conflict of interest' in Turkey draws scrutiny as he offers Erdogan a generous deal

WASHINGTON - When Donald Trump appeared on Steve Bannon's radio show in December 2015, the then-Breitbart host asked his future boss how he'd approach Turkey if elected president.

"I have a little conflict of interest because I have a major, major building in Istanbul," Trump replied. "It's called Trump Towers - two towers, instead of one. . . . And I've gotten to know Turkey very well. They're amazing people. They're incredible people. They have a strong leader."

That "little conflict of interest" remains, and that "strong leader" is coming to the White House this afternoon.

President Trump is rolling out the red carpet for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan just weeks after his military incursion into northern Syria. By law, Trump is required to impose sanctions against Turkey for buying a Russian missile defense system. Before Erdogan took delivery in July, senior administration officials said it would be unacceptable and compromise the stealth capabilities of the new generation F-35 combat jet. But Trump has delayed sanctions and asked GOP senators for flexibility.

- The president's softness toward Turkey and his bromance with Erdogan is striking and, to some former Trump aides, suspicious. To wit: Former national security adviser John Bolton suggested during a private speech in Miami last week that the president's approach to U.S. policy on Turkey is motivated by personal or financial interests, six people who were present for the remarks told NBC News.

"Bolton told the gathering of Morgan Stanley's largest hedge fund clients that he was most frustrated with Trump over his handling of Turkey," Stephanie Ruhle and Carol Lee report. "Noting the broad bipartisan support in Congress to sanction Turkey after [Erdogan] purchased a Russian missile defense system, Bolton said Trump's resistance to the move was unreasonable . . . Bolton said he believes there is a personal or business relationship dictating Trump's position on Turkey because none of his advisers are aligned with him on the issue."

- Erdogan, then prime minister, cut the ribbon at the opening of Trump Towers Istanbul in 2012. Trump was there with his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner. Both now work in the White House. The Trump Organization, which the president has never divested from, has received annual licensing fees for the use of the name on the skyscrapers.

-Trump has offered Erdogan a package of inducements to improve U.S.-Turkey relations, which will be up for discussion today, that is virtually identical to those the administration proposed last month in a failed effort to stop Turkey's invasion of Syria.

The Washington Post reported: "In exchange for Trump's revived offer, Erdogan would continue what the administration has said is its adherence to an Oct. 17 cease-fire agreement, negotiated with Vice President Mike Pence a week after the invasion began, that limited the Turkish incursion. [There is dispute about the degree to which Erdogan has complied.] Turkey, a NATO [member], would also continue to actively support U.S. goals of preventing a resurgence of the Islamic State in Syria and establishing a stable and representative Syrian government. . . . Now, the administration's red line is that the S-400s 'do not become operational' in a way that would allow them 'access to our F-35 communications and defenses,' said the senior official."

- Meanwhile, the Syrian National Army, a Turkish proxy force, has been accused of widespread abuses, including summary executions, beatings, kidnappings and looting in areas under Turkey's control. "U.S. military officials watched live drone feeds in October that appeared to show Turkish-backed Arab gunmen targeting civilians during their assault on Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria, attacks the Americans reported to their commanders as possible war crimes," the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. "U.S. surveillance videos of two incidents were included in an internal report compiled by State Department officials laying out concerns regarding four credible cases of alleged war crimes. . ."

After saying he wouldn't tolerate such behavior, Erdogan has not cracked down on these Turkish-backed forces. In fact, he's defended them. Margaret Huang, the executive director of Amnesty International USA, has more about the ground truth in an op-ed for today's paper: "As Erdogan visits the White House, remember the suffering in northern Syria."

- When the Turks want something from Trump, they go to Jared Kushner. "Behind President Trump's accommodating attitude toward Turkey is an unusual back channel: a trio of sons-in-law who married into power and now play key roles in connecting Ankara with Washington," The New York Times reports in a deep dive on the nexus of political and business interests. "One, Turkey's finance minister, is the son-in-law of its strongman president and oversees his country's relationship with the United States. Another is the son-in-law of a Turkish tycoon and became a business partner to the Trump Organization. Now he advocates for Turkey with the Trump administration. And the third is Jared Kushner, who as the son-in-law of and senior adviser to Mr. Trump has a vague if expansive foreign policy portfolio. Operating both individually and in tandem, the three men have developed an informal, next-generation line of communication. . .

- In a sentencing memo last December, former special counsel Robert Mueller's team of prosecutors outlined more of the secretive activities Flynn undertook to help Turkey while advising the Trump campaign in 2016.

- The run of show: As many Americans are watching the first televised impeachment inquiry hearing on Wednesday, Trump is scheduled to welcome Erdogan at the South Portico of the White House. The presidents will be joined for 20 minutes by their wives, and then they will talk for 30 minutes in "a restricted bilateral meeting" in the Oval Office before going to the Cabinet Room for an expanded working lunch. Trump and Erdogan are scheduled to hold a joint news conference at 3:10 p.m. in the East Room, and then Erdogan is set to depart the White House just before 4 p.m.

- Some prominent liberals are pressing House Democrats to expand the scope of the impeachment inquiry to include Trump Organization dealings overseas, with Turkey near the top of the list. "The Constitution is clear: The founders were deadly afraid foreign governments would get their hooks into high-ranking American officials, especially the president," said Jeff Hauser, the executive director of the Revolving Door Project at the Center for Economic Policy and Research. "Trump's policies and team have tilted toward Turkey at key junctures over the past three years, and it is Congress's constitutional responsibility to determine if that's because Trump is as financially entangled with Turkey as Flynn and Giuliani."

Democratic leaders are eager to wrap up the impeachment process as early as possible in 2020 so they can pivot to pocketbook issues.That's kept the probe narrowly focused and meant a range of potential Trump misconduct is not being seriously scrutinized. Hauser and other thought leaders on the left warn that this is a mistake. "By shouting that impeachment rests on the Ukraine story alone, House Democrats risk undermining their constitutional responsibilities to safeguard the executive branch from foreign entanglements," he told me. "The only reliable way to assess Turkey's seeming influence over Trump is for the House to subpoena all relevant Trump Organizational records. The Trump Organization is not 'the presidency,' and there is no risk of any remotely serious claim of executive privilege."