Federal investigation into Qatar’s recruitment of an American General
Day in and day out, the documents and evidence reveal the malicious tricks Qatar has pursued to gain influence around the world, particularly buying discredit and buying influence within U.S. administrations.
Recent US documents revealed that the US Department of Justice has records confirming that John Allen, who now heads the Brookings Institution, secretly lobbied for Qatar and lied about it to federal agents.
According to the New York Times, federal prosecutors have obtained records indicating that John R. Allen, a retired four-star Marine general who commanded all U.S. forces in Afghanistan and now heads a prestigious think tank in Washington, has clandestinely lobbied for the government of Qatar, lied to investigators about its role, and attempted to withhold evidence requested by a federal summons order, according to court documents.
The court records are the latest evidence of a broad investigation by the Justice Department and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation into Qatar’s influence in Washington.
Records relating to Gen. Allen were filed in April in the Federal District Court in Central California, in a search warrant request for Gen. Allen’s electronic communications, the report said.
NPR said: The FBI confiscated the retired general’s electronic statements, where authorities say he made false statements and withheld incriminating documents about his role in an illegal foreign pressure campaign on behalf of Qatar.
According to the network, the new federal court files obtained Tuesday identified a possible criminal case against former Marine Gen. John R. Allen, who commanded US and NATO forces in Afghanistan before being hired in 2017 to lead the influential Brookings Institution.
The investigation is part of an extensive investigation by Richard G. Petraeus into corruption charges.
The court filings detail Allen’s behind-the-scenes efforts to help Qatar influence U.S. policy in 2017, when a diplomatic crisis erupted between gas-rich Qatar and its Gulf neighbors.
Babak Adib, an FBI agent, wrote in a search warrant request, referring to the Foreign Agents Registration Act: “There is strong evidence that violations of the Registration of Foreign Agents Act were deliberate”.
Adib wrote that Allen also misrepresented his role in the pressure campaign to U.S. officials, failing to reveal “that he was at the same time seeking to conclude multi-million dollar business deals with the government of Qatar”.
The FBI says Allen provided a “false version of events” about his work for Qatar during a 2020 interview with law enforcement officials and failed to produce the relevant emails in response to an earlier summons to a grand jury, the affidavit said.
The 77-page request, apparently made by mistake, was removed from the agenda Tuesday after the Associated Press reached out to federal authorities about its contents.
Allen refused to comment on the new documents. He previously denied working as a Qatari agent, and said that his efforts regarding Qatar in 2017 were driven to prevent a Gulf war that would endanger U.S. forces.
Allen’s spokesman, Bo Phillips, told the Associated Press last week that Allen “cooperated voluntarily with the government’s investigation into this matter”.
The Brookings Institution, one of the most influential think tanks in the United States, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, the paper said, noting that Qatar has long been one of the Brookings Institution’s biggest financial supporters, although the institution says it recently stopped receiving Qatari funding.
Olson was working with Zubairi on another issue involving Qatar when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other Gulf states announced a ban on dealing with the Qatari regime because of Qatar’s ties to terrorist groups and other issues in mid-2017.
Shortly after the ban was announced, then-U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to be siding with Qatar.
The court papers say: Allen played an important role in changing the US reaction. Specifically, authorities say that Allen pressured then-National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster to make the Trump administration adopt a more friendly tone toward Qatar.
In a June 9 email to McMaster, Allen said the Qataris were “asking for some help” and wanted the White House or State Department to issue a statement in specific language calling on all parties to the Gulf diplomatic crisis to “act with restraint”.
Federal law enforcement officials say: Then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson did what Allen told MacMaster that the Qataris wanted to do two days later, and they issued a statement that “departed from previous statements of the White House”.
The Tillerson statement called on other Gulf States to “ease the blockade on Qatar”, and demanded that “there be no further escalation by parties in the region”.
As part of the pressure campaign, federal law enforcement authorities say, Olson and Allen traveled to Qatar to meet the country’s ruling emir and other senior officials.
At the meeting, Allen offered advice on how to influence U.S. policy, saying Qataris should “use the full range” of information operations, including “black and white”, the affidavit said.
According to the New York Times, “black” operations are usually secret and sometimes illegal. Qatar has been accused of orchestrating hacks and leaks of its critics and opponents during the diplomatic crisis.
The affidavit said: Before going to Doha, Allen wanted to “have a conversation” with Olson and al-Zubairi about his compensation. In an email, Allen suggested he would charge a $20,000 “speaker fee” for the weekend trip – even though he wasn’t giving a speech – and then “fully arrange a long-term relationship,” the affidavit said.
The affidavit said: “al-Zubairi paid Allen’s first-class fare to Qatar, but there is no sign of paying the speaker’s fees”. A spokesman for Allen said: The General has never been paid any fees before. It is not clear why some of al-Zubairi’s former business partners accused him of not respecting his financial obligations.
The FBI said: “Allen also had other financial incentives to help Qataris and maintain strong relationships with their senior leaders”.
As the affidavit says: “While pressuring U.S. government officials on behalf of Qatar, Allen conducted at least one multi-million dollar business deal with the Qatari government on behalf of a business on its board of directors”.
The FBI said: “After returning from their trip to Qatar, Allen and Olson pressed members of Congress, particularly those who supported the House resolution linking Qatar to terrorist financing”.
Among them was Representative Ted Lieu, a California Democrat, who told law enforcement officials he didn’t remember exactly what Allen said, but his impression was that he was there “to support the Qatari officials and their position”.
