20 November 2015•Update: 21 November 2015
WASHINGTON
Turkish-Americans linked to Fetullah Gulen's Hizmet movement have made “improper campaign donations” to leading U.S. politicians, according to an investigation by the USA Today newspaper published Thursday.
President Barack Obama and presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush were among those who received large donations from individuals with modest incomes or who could not be traced by the newspaper.
The donations cover the last several years and in some cases come from people who appear to know little about the candidates they are supporting.
In many cases, the donors work for the Gulen organization or share its messages on social media.
The newspaper previously reported how the movement funded more than 200 foreign trips for members of Congress and their staff.
Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte, of New Hampshire, returned $43,100 in donations made last year, USA Today reported.
The daily found 19 Turkish-Americans linked to Gulen network that donated funds to Ayotte on the same day. Many did not live in New Hampshire.
“He’s a good guy. He’s doing good so far. ... I know him,” one donor reportedly remarked of the female senator.
Another said: “I just liked what he said at that time and wanted to make a donation.”
Ayotte called on other politicians, including Obama and Clinton, to return the donations received from the same sources.
In October 2013, Democrat Congressman Henry Cuellar of Texas received nine $2,500 donations from people linked to Gulen who were not residents of the state.
One -- identified as Bilal Eksili, the then vice president of the Turkish American Foundation of Midwest based in Illinois -- had paid $38,000 to federal campaigns since 2010 despite a reported annual salary of $31,592.
Eskili is now president of the Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians, which sponsored a 2013 congressional trip to Azerbaijan that a House ethics investigation found was secretly and improperly financed by an Azeri oil company.
“More than two dozen other candidates and lawmakers across the political spectrum received Gulen-linked donations that appear questionable, including Clinton and Jeb Bush,” the newspaper claimed.
Gulen is a U.S.-based preacher named by Turkey as a suspect in the attempted overthrow of the Turkish government. He is said to have created a "parallel state" of supporters, primarily in the criminal justice system, who have plotted to subvert the Turkish state.
