Some background on how Flynn’s hand was forced:
https://www.lawfareblog.com/why-turkey-cares-about-trial-reza-zarrab
In recent weeks, there has been increasing American interest in a previously little-watched judicial saga unfolding in New York district court. Like a Turkish soap opera, it involves a dashing businessman with a pop-star wife, corruption allegations, leaked tapes of private conversations and intrigue at the highest levels of government. The trial of Reza Zarrab on charges of evading Iran sanctions, including any revelations he makes about corruption in the Turkish government, could have significant political and economic implications for Turkey. It could also damage already fraught relations between Turkey and the United States.
In events surrounding Zarrab’s trial, interactions between the U.S. government and Turkish officials raise rule of law questions for the United States. Erdogan has taken a strong personal interest in Zarrab, discussing him on multiple occasions with the Obama and Trump administrations. He demanded Zarrab’s release and Bharara’s firing in a meeting with then-Vice President Biden in 2016, while his wife pleaded the case to Biden’s wife. Erdogan raised Zarrab in his final phone calls with Obama in Dec. 2016 and Jan. 2017. It was a topic of discussion between Erdogan and Trump as well. Following a September phone call, Erdogan said Trump told him the case in New York was not under his jurisdiction.
Eyebrows have been raised over connections between the Zarrab case and the Trump administration. In March, Trump fired Preet Bharara, the U.S. District Attorney who brought the indictment against Zarrab. (Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked 46 U.S. attorneys to resign. Bharara refused, noting Trump had asked him after the election to remain. Trump called Bharara; he declined to answer, citing rules against sitting attorneys talking to the President. Trump then fired him.) The case has continued under Bharara’s former deputy and current Acting District Attorney, Joon Kim.
Also in March, Zarrab made changes to his legal team. He hired Rudy Guiliani, an informal Trump advisor, and Michael Mukasey, a former Attorney General. These lawyers met with Erdogan and senior Trump administration officials in search of a “diplomatic solution.” Guiliani described his role in a deposition as determining “whether this case can be resolved as part of some agreement between the United States and Turkey that will promote the national-security interests of the United States and redound to the benefit of Mr. Zarrab.”
_In addition, there are questions about Michael Flynn’s possible involvement. Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election, is exploring Flynn’s Turkish activities. Flynn, a Trump campaign advisor and briefly U.S. National Security Advisor, was allegedly offered $15 million to return Gulen to Turkey. Mueller is reportedly examining whether Flynn also discussed ways of freeing Zarrab from court charges. _