A former business partner of Michael Flynn is a subject of special counsel's Robert Mueller's probe, NBC News reported Wednesday.
Iranian-American Bijan Kian, who was a partner of the now-defunct Flynn Intel Group, is being looked into over lobbying he may have done on behalf of Turkey, NBC quoted three sources as saying.
Federal investigators already have questioned "multiple witnesses" in recent weeks, and the grand jury convened by Mueller soon will have its turn.
Mueller was appointed to look into Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election and any possible collusion between Russians and members of then-GOP nominee Donald Trump's campaign and transition teams.
Flynn, a member of both those teams, briefly served as Trump's national security adviser. He was fired 24 days into the job for lying to Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak.
Mueller is looking into Kian's role in Flynn Intel Group's lobbying for Inovo BV, a firm based in the Netherlands, but owned by Turkish-American businessman Ekim Alptekin.
Months after first signing on, the group registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, saying that its work "could be construed to have principally benefitted the Republic of Turkey."
According to NBC, Mueller also wants to know of any other foreign lobbying efforts Flynn Intel Group has not disclosed. Sources told NBC that recent requests for witnesses were tied to a September 20, 2016 meeting attended by Kian, Flynn and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., who has long been a backer of better relations with Russia.
That meeting was not disclosed even after the company made its FARA filing, and that has caused Mueller's team to look into the issue, two sources told NBC.
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