washington<u+2014>retired lt. gen. michael flynn, a top national-security adviser to president-elect donald trump, said thursday he would sever his relationship with his consulting firm if he is tapped to serve in the administration, amid scrutiny of his company<u+2019>s relationship with a turkish businessman. trump has offered the job of national security adviser to gen. flynn , people familiar with the process said later thursday. in a statement released to the wall street journal earlier in the day, gen. flynn said: <u+201c>if i return to government service, my relationship with my company will be severed in accordance with the policy announced by president-elect trump.<u+201d> the announcement comes as gen. flynn faces questions about a lobbying registration his company filed to represent a firm founded by ekim alptekin. the turkish businessman says he hired flynn intel group inc. to help pursue the interests of his client, a non-turkish energy company considering exports to turkey. gen. flynn<u+2019>s statement also reflects what some of mr. trump<u+2019>s senior advisers are facing as they seek to staff the white house while abiding by various rules and campaign promises regarding conflicts of interest and lobbying businesses. mr. trump announced this week that he wouldn<u+2019>t allow registered lobbyists to work for his transition team. he also said he wants to get influence-peddling out of his administration. the former head of the defense intelligence agency, gen. flynn is a vice chairman of the executive committee of mr. trump<u+2019>s transition team. mr. flynn<u+2019>s influence was on display thursday when he walked into trump tower, holding up two fingers in a peace or victory sign. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s a great transition, and the president-elect is in full control,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>believe me.<u+201d> after leaving the defense intelligence agency in 2014, gen. flynn founded flynn intel group inc., a consulting firm that represents international and u.s. clients. in september, robert kelley, the general counsel and principal at the firm, filed the official paperwork with congress to serve as a lobbyist for dutch consulting firm inovo bv, founded by mr. alptekin. the lobbying filing meant that mr. kelley is officially a lobbyist and that flynn intel group is legally a lobbying firm, though gen. flynn himself is not an officially registered lobbyist. <u+201c>i head a private business intelligence company which has international and domestic clients,<u+201d> gen. flynn said in his announcement thursday. <u+201c>our counsel bob kelley registered pursuant to law for our company to represent the interests of a private company.<u+201d> the non-turkish energy company hired mr. alptekin through inovo for representation and advice on where the security relationship between the u.s. and turkey was going, mr. alptekin said in an interview with the wall street journal. mr. alptekin said he in turn hired flynn intel group for that purpose, and more broadly to improve u.s.-turkish relations. mr. alptekin declined to name the energy firm that hired him, citing contract stipulations. gen. flynn didn<u+2019>t say in his statement whether he would shut down his consulting firm or how he planned to sever his relationship with its commercial interests. mr. alptekin is also chairman of the turkey-u.s. business council, which advocates for trade and investment between the u.s. and turkey. the council operates under the umbrella of the foreign economic relations board of turkey, which the turkish government asserted control over in 2014. the disclosure of flynn intel group<u+2019>s relationship with mr. alptekin raises questions about whether there was any connection between the contract and gen. flynn<u+2019>s recent public support for turkish president recep tayyip erdogan. gen. flynn published an opinion piece on nov. 8 in the hill supporting mr. erdogan<u+2019>s government and calling for the u.s. to extradite fethullah gulen, a turkish cleric living in pennsylvania, whom mr. erdogan accused of organizing a failed coup against the turkish government in mid-july. the current u.s. administration has said it is considering a turkish request to extradite mr. gulen, who denies any involvement in the failed coup. gen. flynn branded mr. gulen as dangerous and urged u.s. lawmakers to look at the situation from turkey<u+2019>s perspective. <u+201c>from turkey<u+2019>s point of view, washington is harboring turkey<u+2019>s osama bin laden,<u+201d> he wrote. mr. alptekin said he and his companies have no affiliation with the turkish government. he said he had no knowledge of gen. flynn<u+2019>s article. instead, he said he hired flynn intel group because the undisclosed energy company he is representing will need solid turkish-american relations to feel comfortable making a sizable investment in turkey. mr. kelley, the general counsel and principal at flynn intel group, declined to comment beyond gen. flynn<u+2019>s announcement. write to paul sonne at paul.sonne@wsj.com and brody mullins at brody.mullins@wsj.com
trump adviser michael flynn plans to sever consulting firm ties if tapped for administration  - wsj
paul sonne brody mullins