Yeni Şafak’s story claimed that General Campbell is not only the organizer of the coup attempt but that he also managed “$2 billion [in] money transactions” from a Nigerian bank to coup plotters with the help of Central Intelligence Agency.
When the Washington Post asked Campbell about the claim, the retired general called it “absolutely ridiculous.” It was later revealed that Campbell was drinking beer in New York City with Fox News host Geraldo Rivera on the day of the failed coup. Despite all of these facts, Yeni Şafak did not retract its story.
Later, another conservative paper claimed that the U.S. Ambassador in Turkey, John Bass, was in Istanbul to meet with coup plotters a day before the attempt. An image, purportedly showing Bass and an unnamed man in uniform, spread like a wildfire on Twitter.
The official Twitter account of the U.S. Embassy in Ankara quickly made a statement that the ambassador was at an official meeting with Turkey’s Ombudsman in Ankara that day—which can be verified at Ombudman’s official website—reminding journalists how they could have easily verified the claim before publishing it.
This story is based on a hotel guest list of Wilson Center’s academic meeting in Istanbul. But apparently Akşam’s reporter mixed one of the guests, Christian Science Monitor’s Middle East correspondent, Scott Peterson, with another Scott Peterson who is on a death row in California for murdering his wife. Even after confirming via the inmate locator that convict Scott Peterson was still in prison in California, the paper amended the story the following day to claim that Peterson might have been brought to Turkey by the CIA as an “assassin.” None of the countering facts and condemnations from academics have so far pushed the paper to issue an apology.
Erdogan's feelings are hurt that the EU and US didn't condemn the coup enough
The head of the terrorist organization (accused of fomenting the July 15 coup) has been living in the United States since 1999. I asked President Obama to extradite Gülen. He asked me for documents and evidence. I pointed out to him that when the United States asked for terrorists to be extradited, we never asked for anything and just did it. By virtue of our strategic partnership, the United States must extradite this person since Turkey has already extradited about ten terrorists to the United States. We sent 85 crates of documents to the United States. I now hope that Gülen will be extradited to Turkey as soon as possible. This would allow the anti-American feeling in Turkey to be dispelled.
On August 24, Mr. Kerry [the head of American diplomacy] will come to Turkey for an official visit. It is late, too late. This makes us sad. What more do Americans need? Their strategic ally is facing a coup and it takes them 45 days before sending anyone over? This is shocking. When the World Trade Center was attacked (on 9/11/2001), I immediately reacted: I condemned the attacks which I qualified as a terrorist crime. I would have wished for American officials to come up with stronger words and to come to Turkey earlier. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen this way.
