The FBI seized the electronic data of a retired four-star general who, according to authorities, made false statements and did not hide “accusatory” documents about his role in an illegal foreign lobbying campaign on behalf of the wealthy. Qatar. Persian Gulf country.
New federal court documents obtained Tuesday show a potential criminal case against former Marine General John R. Against Allen, who led U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan before being used in 2017 as head of the influential think tank tank. Brookings Institution.
It was part of a comprehensive investigation launched by Richard Olson, a former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan. Convicted Last week on federal charges and Imad Zuber, a Profitable Political Donor faces up to 12 years in prison on bribery charges. Several members of Congress were questioned as part of the investigation.
Court documents detail Allen’s behind -the -scenes efforts to help Qatar influence U.S. politics in 2017, when a diplomatic crisis erupted between the gas -rich Persian Gulf monarchy and its neighbors. .
“There is substantial evidence that these FARA violations were intentional,” FBI agent Babak Adib wrote in a search warrant, citing the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Allen also erred in his role of lobbying U.S. officials, Adib wrote, who did not disclose that he was “simultaneously conducting a multimillion-dollar deal with the Qatari government.”
The FBI said Allen provided a “bogus version of events” about his work in Qatar in a law enforcement interview in 2020 and did not provide relevant emails in response to earlier jury citations.
The 77-page search warrant appears to have been falsely filed and removed from the document on Tuesday after the Associated Press appealed to federal authorities about its contents.
Allen declined to comment on the new files. He had previously denied that he was working as an agent for Qatar, and said his efforts in Qatar in 2017 were prompted to prevent a Gulf war threatening U.S. troops.
Last week, Allen’s spokesman Bo Phillips told the AP that Allen “voluntarily cooperated with the government to investigate the matter.”
Allen, who was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution before becoming president, used his official email account for some of Qatar’s communications with analysts, the dedication said.
Brookings did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Qatar has long been one of Brookings ’largest lenders, although the institute said it has recently stopped funding Qatar.
Olson was working with Zuber on another issue related to Qatar in mid-2017 when Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Gulf states announced a blockade of Qatar for its alleged links to terrorist groups. and other issues.
Shortly after the announcement of the blockade, President Donald Trump appeared against Qatar.
Court documents say Allen played a key role in changing the U.S. response. Notably, authorities said Allen forced National Security Advisor HR McMaster to get a more pro-Qatari tone from the Trump administration.
In an email to McMaster, Allen said Qataris want the White House or the State Department to issue a statement calling on all parties involved in the Gulf diplomatic crisis to “act in moderation.”
Federal law enforcement officials said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson did so just two days later, calling on other Gulf states to “loosen the blockade on Qatar” and urging “no further escalation of the parties. ” The region. “
The Qatari embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As part of the lobbying campaign, federal law enforcement said Olson and Allen traveled to Qatar to meet with the country’s ruling emir and other senior officials.
During the meeting, Allen advised on how to influence U.S. politics and said Qatar should use a “full range” of news operations, including “black and white” operations, the statement said. “Black” operations are often covert and sometimes illegal. Qatar has been accused of orchestrating the hacking operations of its critics and rivals during the diplomatic crisis, including the ambassador to the UAE. Qatar denies any wrongdoing.
Before leaving for Doha, Allen wanted to “talk” to Olson and Zuber about his compensation, the statement said. Allen offered to pay $ 20,000 in “speaker rates” for the weekend trip – even if he wasn’t speaking – and then “make a better deal for a long -term relationship,” said oath. .
Zuber paid for Allen’s first-class ticket to Qatar, the note said, but there was no indication that the speaker’s fee had been paid. Allen’s spokesman said the general had not been paid any compensation before. It is not clear why. Some of Zuber’s former business colleagues accused him of failing to meet his financial obligations.
Allen also had other financial incentives to help Qatari and maintain strong ties with his top leaders, the FBI said.
“At the same time as he lobbied U.S. government officials on behalf of Qatar, Allen entered into at least one multi-million dollar business deal with the Qatari government on behalf of the company he served on its board of directors,” it read. we in the statement he said.
After returning from a trip to Qatar, Allen and Olson lobbied members of Congress, specifically those who supported a House resolution linking Qatar to terrorist funding, the FBI said.
Among them was lawmaker Ted Liu, a California Democrat who told lawmakers he didn’t exactly remember what Allen said, but he felt he was there “to support Qatari officials and their position.”
Contact the AP Global Investigation Team at Investigative@ap.org or https://www.ap.org/tips/
Suderman was signposted from Richmond, Virginia, Mustang from New Orleans.
Source: Huffpost
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.