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FBI seizes data from retired four-star general in Qatar lobbying probe

June 8, 2022 | | Print Article

The FBI has seized electronic data from a retired four-star general who heads up a leftist think tank after he allegedly made false statements implicating himself in a Qatari foreign lobbying scheme.

Former Marine Gen. John R. Allen led U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan before being recruited in 2017 to lead the leftist Brookings Institution. He is now finding himself in very hot water for allegedly making false statements and withholding “incriminating” documents in an illegal foreign lobbying campaign on behalf of Qatar, according to the Associated Press.

Federal court filings that surfaced on Tuesday indicate a potential criminal case against the former general. The ongoing investigation has also snagged Richard G. Olson, a former Obama ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan who pleaded guilty to federal charges last week, and Imaad Zuberi, a prominent political donor who is now serving a 12-year prison sentence on corruption charges.

The court documents allegedly reveal behind-the-scenes efforts by Allen to assist the wealthy Middle Eastern country in influencing U.S. policy in 2017 as a diplomatic crisis emerged between Qatar and its neighboring countries.

“There is substantial evidence that these FARA violations were willful,” FBI agent Babak Adib reportedly wrote in a search warrant application. The statement is in reference to the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Adib also asserted that the former general misrepresented his role in the lobbying campaign to U.S. officials and that he failed to disclose “that he was simultaneously pursuing multimillion-dollar business deals with the government of Qatar.”

The feds contend that Allen gave a “false version of events” concerning his work for Qatar during a 2020 interview. He also allegedly failed to hand over email messages in response to an earlier grand jury subpoena according to an affidavit.

The 77-page application was removed from the court docket on Tuesday after the Associated Press raised questions regarding it. It is now being posited that the search warrant application may have been filed in error.

The former general has previously denied ever working as a Qatari agent in the past and has claimed that his actions in 2017 were intended to prevent a war from breaking out.

Allen’s spokesperson Beau Phillips asserted to the AP that the retired general “voluntarily cooperated with the government’s investigation into this matter.”

Qatar is allegedly one of the Brookings Institute’s largest backers but the institution claimed recently that it no longer takes funding from the oil-rich nation.

In 2017, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries announced a blockade of Qatar due to its alleged ties to terrorist groups.

Not too long after that happened, former President Donald Trump took a stand against Qatar and denounced the country.

According to court documents, Allen was influential in getting the U.S. to shift its response to Qatar. Authorities charge that the former general lobbied then-National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster to have the Trump administration adopt a friendlier stance towards Qatar.

Allen sent a letter to McMaster proclaiming that the Qataris were “asking for some help” and wanted the White House or State Department to issue a statement that called on all sides of the Gulf diplomatic crisis to “act with restraint.”

According to the AP, federal officials claim that then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson complied with those wishes two days later, issuing a statement that “shifted away from earlier statements by the White House.” Tillerson’s statement called on other Gulf countries to “ease the blockade against Qatar” and requested “that there be no further escalation by the parties in the region.”

The Qatar blockade came to an end four years after that in January 2021 after a deal was brokered with the help of Trump adviser Jared Kushner and other government officials.

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Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
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4 thoughts on “FBI seizes data from retired four-star general in Qatar lobbying probe”

  1. WOW!!! Got this guy just like that, nabbed, evidence gathered, and he’s on his to a local hoosegow. But they still can’t find anything on Hunter Brandon’s laptop.

  2. More evidence that the dems have corrupted all aspects of our country, even the military top brass. As these generals and admirals swore oaths to uphold our constitution, and, to defend our country, when they violate their oaths, the punishments should be the maximum allowed.

  3. Nothing but eye candy. The Communist controlled Pentagon will never allow USDOJ to prosecute. Washington D.C. must be overthrown by the pen or the gun. Citizens will decide. But 1/4 are doped up on heroin, 1/4 marijuana, 1/4 alcoholics, 1/4 working so hard they don’t have time to take a piss.

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