The New York Times reports: A Turkish prosecutor has opened an investigation into 17 people accused of fomenting last year’s failed coup, including many prominent American officials, academics and politicians, state news media reported on Saturday.

Among those placed under investigation by the chief prosecutor in Istanbul are John O. Brennan, the former C.I.A. chief; Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York; Preet Bharara, the former United States attorney for the Southern District of New York; and David Cohen, the head of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, according to the Anadolu Agency, a state-run news wire.

The investigation was announced just a day before a national referendum to expand the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leading to speculation that the two events were linked.

Throughout the campaign, Mr. Erdogan and his allies have frequently manufactured diplomatic spats with European countries, in what some analysts described as a bid to persuade nationalist voters to vote “yes” to his proposed reforms to secure Turkey’s place in the world. [Continue reading…]