John Allen secretly lobbied for Qatar, lied to investigators

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/07/us/politics/general-john-allen-lobbying-qatar.html

Federal prosecutors have obtained records indicating that John R. Allen, the retired four-star Marine general who commanded all American troops in Afghanistan and now heads a venerable Washington think tank, secretly lobbied for the government of Qatar, lied to investigators about his role and tried to withhold evidence sought by a federal subpoena, according to court documents.

The court records are the latest evidence of a broad investigation by the Justice Department and F.B.I. into the influence that wealthy Arab nations like Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia wield in Washington.

The records about General Allen were filed in April in Federal District Court in Central California in an application for a warrant to search General Allen’s electronic communications.

Other filings in the case appear to remain sealed, and the public release of the warrant application may have been accidental. The filing lays out evidence that General Allen joined in the secret lobbying plan along with Richard G. Olson, a former United States ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan, and Imaad Zuberi, a business executive with ties in the Middle East.

[Benjamin Frank]

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/07/us/politics/general-john-allen-lobbying-qatar.html

Federal prosecutors have obtained records indicating that John R. Allen, the retired four-star Marine general who commanded all American troops in Afghanistan and now heads a venerable Washington think tank, secretly lobbied for the government of Qatar, lied to investigators about his role and tried to withhold evidence sought by a federal subpoena, according to court documents.

The court records are the latest evidence of a broad investigation by the Justice Department and F.B.I. into the influence that wealthy Arab nations like Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia wield in Washington.

The records about General Allen were filed in April in Federal District Court in Central California in an application for a warrant to search General Allen’s electronic communications.

Other filings in the case appear to remain sealed, and the public release of the warrant application may have been accidental. The filing lays out evidence that General Allen joined in the secret lobbying plan along with Richard G. Olson, a former United States ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan, and Imaad Zuberi, a business executive with ties in the Middle East.

I appreciate the man is innocent until proven guilty, and I appreciate that broad judgements shouldn't be made based on a handful of people, but, for starters, there is this, there is obviously Lieutenant General Michael Flynn and there were the comments from Senators on full General Lloyd Austin being 'underwhelming' in his presentation (though he was widely confirmed in the end.)

I don't think there is any question that there are very intelligent people in the U.S military, but I have to wonder about the promotion process that people especially like Michael Flynn are getting promoted to the top levels. 

[Indy Texas 🇺🇦🇵🇸]

The sheer amount of money and influence the Gulf States peddle in DC is really under discussed relative to, say, Israel.

Probably because Israel directly engages in the most visible aspects of American politics (endorsing congressional candidates, funding PACs to attack people like Ilhan Omar) whereas Qatar/KSA/UAE just buy off members of the military establishment and unelected State/Pentagon figures who cycle in and out of government and the think tank circuit.

The Brookings Institution will not print so much as a single word that the GCC countries do not sign off on.

[Beet]

WASHINGTON—Retired Marine Gen. John Allen is under FBI investigation for allegedly trying to help Qatar navigate a diplomatic crisis in 2017 and then covering up that he did so, according to a new FBI affidavit.

Gen. Allen, who has been serving as the president of the Brookings Institution since November 2017, was placed on administrative leave by the think tank on Wednesday. The leave is effective immediately, according to an email addressed to the “Brookings Community” from the co-chairs of the organization’s board of trustees.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fbi-investigates-retired-general-over-alleged-lobbying-for-qatar-11654714778