It may surprise some people, but until this week the Russia collusion hoax was still alive. Two prosecutions from the Robert Mueller era were still ongoing. On paper, the first, against a dozen Russians no one has ever seen or heard of, who were accused of hacking the Democratic National Committee (DNC) without a shred of verifiable evidence, remains open. But for all practical purposes, the hoax is now over, because the other, far more consequential case finally came to an end on Monday thanks to the courage and persistence of the new U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Lindsey Halligan.
Many of us remember the abusive prosecutions Mueller’s team inflicted on figures such as Michael Flynn, Roger Stone, and George Papadopoulos. Far fewer know about the collateral damage that extended beyond President Donald Trump’s circle. One of the most egregious cases targeted a Dutch-Turkish businessman, Ekim Alptekin.
Alptekin had no connection to Trump, no connection to Russia, and no reason whatsoever to be caught in the Mueller dragnet. His only “crime” was hiring Gen. Michael Flynn’s consulting firm, the Flynn Intelligence Group, for a project unrelated to the 2016 election. The project involved raising awareness about an alleged radical Islamist cleric living in the United States, a matter of concern to Alptekin but irrelevant to anything Mueller was supposed to be investigating.
So why was Alptekin targeted? Because Mueller’s team combed through Flynn’s client list, searching for anyone they could pressure into making false claims. They zeroed in on Alptekin, attempting to coerce him into asserting that Flynn had secretly lobbied on behalf of Turkey without registering under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), intending to use that fabricated claim as leverage against Flynn and, ultimately, Trump. When Alptekin refused to lie, Mueller’s prosecutors proceeded to file bogus FARA charges against him.
Flynn’s business partner, Bijan Rafiekian, was hit with parallel charges. Unlike Alptekin, Rafiekian lived in the U.S., so his case went to trial. Predictably, he was convicted by a heavily partisan Northern Virginia jury, only for Judge Anthony Trenga, a George W. Bush appointee, to throw out the verdict almost immediately, finding that the government had failed to prove its case. This alone is remarkable and highlights how in Alexandria, right across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., the jury pool is deeply tainted and partisan. After a long and messy appeals process, Rafiekian’s case was dismissed entirely.
Yet the related case against Alptekin somehow stayed alive. For seven years he lived in legal purgatory, unable to see his wife and children for fear of extradition, his business destroyed, projects abandoned, accounts frozen, millions in legal fees piling up, and his professional reputation shattered.
Hellbound and Down 