Qatar bribes a prominent US ambassador to strike at Saudi Arabia and UAE interests and support Houthi
Axios reports that the Qatari regime bribed former US ambassador to the UAE and Pakistan Richard Olson, who was criminally charged for his alleged role in a major pressure campaign on behalf of the Qatari government.
The report added that the Qatari bribes were aimed at striking the interests of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, and persuading the White House to stop supporting the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia, and allowing the Houthi putschists to gather strength after the recent severe blows they suffered.
Former Ambassador Olson was also accused of courting outsiders while in office, using his political influence to promote Qatari interests in Washington after leaving office, and is considered illegal in the United States.
According to information provided in the investigation, Olson received $20,000 a month from a member of the US-Pakistan lobby for the job, under Qatari supervision and support.
After leaving government service in late 2016, Olson worked with Pakistani-U.S. liaison and senior Qatari officials to advance Doha’s interests in Washington, especially when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Qatar in 2017 and closed their borders with it.
Olson pressured U.S. government officials to take a stand for Qatar in the Gulf dispute and to stand by it. He was also in contact with the U.S. ambassador in Qatar and several current members of the U.S. House of Representatives as part of this effort.
US federal law bars top US officials from participating in any lobbying or public relations efforts on behalf of foreign governments within a year of leaving office.
The website mentioned that Olson plans to confess guilt, due to the many charges leveled against him, and to reveal the nature of the bribes and Qatari money paid, and thus a new failure of the Qatari regime to strike the interests of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
