Turkish Government Provides New Documents to U.S. on Gülen Coup Allegations Amid Dismissed 2015 Lawsuit

Turkey, a member of the NATO alliance, hosts American troops and warplanes at Incirlik Air Base, an important staging area for the U.S.-led fight against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. At a news conference in Washington, Weingarten and Michael Miller, another Steptoe attorney, said evidence from a 2015 case financed by the Turkish government against Gulen in U.S. federal court in Pennsylvania showed that the Turkish government relies on dubious proof to make its case against him. That case alleged Gulen issued coded orders to followers in the Turkish judiciary in a 2009 sermon to persecute members of another religious sect. It also alleged that the script of a popular Turkish television show was laced with follow-up messages. The case was dismissed by a judge in June. Turkish government officials, however, say such evidence is valid because Gulen operates covertly and sends encoded messages to his followers. Turkey has sent the United States new documents in recent days containing evidence that Turkish authorities say proves the cleric was behind the attempted coup. U.S. officials say they are looking through them. (Reporting by Julia Harte; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and James Dalgleish) From: Keough, Michael [mailto : i | Sent: Friday, August 05, 2016 1:10 PM To: Will Bohlen i i e; King, Kathryn <i Miller, Michael SE; K2telyn Woh ford <>; Y. Alp Aslandogan Tn >; \Vcingarten, Reid <> Remi Kulen <i >; Weinstein, Jason E>: Osman Oz. (i ; David Marin >: =i Silings >; rake, Wiliam HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_031477