Dr. Oz’s Vote in Turkey’s 2018 Election Alarms Security Expert: ‘Problematic From a Security Clearance Perspective’
An image of Dr. Mehmet Oz voting in Turkey’s 2018 presidential election is recirculating, and it has one expert on security clearances concerned.
Oz is running in the GOP primary for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania with the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
The former TV personality has run a campaign in which he has vowed to protect the Second Amendment, the unborn, and voting integrity.
His dual Turkish/U.S. citizenship has been an issue of in recent months. Oz’s opponents have made it so central to the campaign the entertainer and physician has vowed to renounce his citizenship in Turkey.
In February, NBA free agent Enes Freedom criticized Oz. A native of Turkey, the NBA star was exiled after he criticized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“People need to understand that Dr. Oz is in Erdogan’s pocket. And whatever Erdogan wants, that’s what Dr. Oz is going to do,” Freedom told the Washington Post. “So, if Dr. Oz gets into the Senate, it’s like Erdogan’s arm will be in the Senate.”
Oz said he was not involved with Turkish politics. Asked about his business connections in the country, he told the Post: “I hadn’t even really gotten engaged in any of this until I decided to run for the Senate, and I’d never been politically involved in Turkey in any capacity.”
The comment hasn’t aged well, given Oz voted in the country’s election in 2018. A post from the Turkish Consulate General in New York shows Oz voting in June of that year.
John V. Berry, who was described by ABC News as a “former government lawyer with expertise in federal security clearances,” said he is concerned by Oz’s participation in the election.
“The decision to vote in a foreign country’s election is problematic from a security clearance perspective,” Berry told ABC.
Another expert on security clearances, executive director of National Security Counselors Kel McClanahan, also weighed in.
He said Oz’s voting in the election, his real estate holdings in Turkey, and his citizenship all raise alarm bells.
“Any single one of those would be enough to torpedo a [security] clearance,” McClanahan told ABC. “Taken together, I would not put good odds on that person getting a clearance anywhere.”
A representative for Oz said while the candidate did vote in Turkey’s election, his vote was not for Erdoğan, who purged elements of the government and civil society following a failed coup against him in 2016.
Tens of thousands of soldiers, civil servants, and public critics were removed from their jobs and/or detained as Turkey’s president began a crackdown on liberties.
“Voting in an election is far different from being actively engaged in the political work of the Turkish government, which Dr. Oz has never been involved with,” said Oz spokeswoman Brittany Yanick.
