Presidency's Communications Director Prof. Fahrettin Altun made a statement to the AP on the smear campaign against the Government of Turkey in the United States:
“We are deeply concerned about ongoing attempts to falsely accuse Turkey of engaging in a conspiracy to evade United States regulations.
Together with his accomplices, Fetullah Gulen, the mastermind behind the July 15, 2016 coup attempt in Turkey that claimed 251 innocent lives, made such accusations repeatedly since President Donald Trump’s election. This smear campaign was intended to mislead the American people into believing that Turkey, a NATO ally, had illegal links with members of President Trump’s transition team and administration.
The idea that we would conspire against the United States is preposterous. The Republic of Turkey has worked with American companies for decades and reported those legitimate engagements to the authorities. We categorically reject any accusation of wrongdoing or illegal conduct in the United States.
Until today, Turkey has maintained its silence out of respect for due process in the United States despite recent efforts by the United States to influence court proceedings in Turkey. The U.S. authorities, however, have fallen prey to disinformation. That prosecutors in a trial, which will begin on Monday, the coup attempt’s third anniversary, portrayed Gulen in a positive light in their indictment attests to this fact. To try and present the perpetrator of a major terror attack as a victim is beneath contempt.
We urge the United States authorities to take the Turkish government’s pending legal requests seriously and act upon them with the care and diligence befitting of an ally without further delay.”