The oil-rich Gulf state of Qatar employed a former CIA agent’s corporate to discredit Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., and different lawmakers who oppose Hamas and its father or mother group, the Muslim Brotherhood, in keeping with paperwork bought by means of Fox Information Virtual.
The paperwork disclose that the alleged Qatar state-funded espionage marketing campaign centered Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, as a result of he had sought to have the Muslim Brotherhood designated as a International Terrorist Group.
The clandestine record, titled “Venture ENDGAME” and drafted by means of U.S. corporate International Possibility Advisors (GRA), which used to be based by means of the ex-CIA worker Kevin Chalker, reads, “Prime Alert: An assault on Hamas is an assault on Qatar. An assault at the Muslim Brotherhood is an assault on Qatar.”
The March 2017 Qatari-funded course of action to torpedo anti-Hamas and anti-Muslim Brotherhood regulation and insurance policies famous that “Sen. Ted Cruz has reintroduced his invoice to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist workforce. Except you act quickly, your enemies will inject Qatar into this struggle.”
Within the month ahead of Qatar reportedly began its assaults on adversaries of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, Fox Information Virtual reported on Cruz’s regulation to outlaw the Muslim Brotherhood.
The oil-rich Gulf state of Qatar employed a former CIA agent’s corporate to discredit Sen. Ted Cruz and different lawmakers who oppose Hamas and its father or mother group, the Muslim Brotherhood. Getty Pictures
Since Hamas massacred some 1,200 other folks on October 7 in southern Israel, together with greater than 30 American citizens, Qatar has been within the crosshairs of U.S. senators and some U.S. representatives for harboring Hamas leaders in Doha and allegedly financing it.
Cruz instructed Fox Information Virtual: “The Qatari executive spends uncountable billions of bucks selling or even investment the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and different terrorist teams. They’ve both purchased or intimidated massive portions of Washington, D.C., into silence. It’s certainly not sudden they might believe the few final outspoken warring parties of the Muslim Brotherhood in Congress to be Qatar’s enemies. It’s gone time for the U.S. to reevaluate the U.S.-Qatari dating.”
Hamas has declared itself as “one of the vital wings of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine.”
The March 2017 Qatari-funded course of action to torpedo anti-Hamas and anti-Muslim Brotherhood regulation and insurance policies famous “Sen. Ted Cruz has reintroduced his invoice to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist workforce.” AFP by means of Getty Pictures
American allies reminiscent of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have both outlawed or designated the Muslim Brotherhood a 15 may organization.
The “Venture ENDGAME” proposal says, “Qatar’s Enemies Will have to Be Recognized” and, “Within the U.S., your enemies function within the shadows. You’ll’t forestall the enemies that you’ll be able to’t in finding.”
The life of the Qatar-sponsored “Venture ENDGAME” used to be first reported in an AP article titled “FBI probing ex-CIA officer’s spying for International Cup host Qatar,” in 2022.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla, co-sponsored the invoice to sanction the Muslim Brotherhood in 2017.
International Possibility Advisors marked Diaz-Balart as one of the vital Gulf state’s enemies, in keeping with the congressman and AP.
American allies reminiscent of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have both outlawed or designated the Muslim Brotherhood a 15 may organization. ZUMAPRESS.com
Diaz-Balart instructed Fox Information Virtual, “The revelation that the Qatari executive no longer handiest centered my place of job however two sitting U.S. senators is no surprise and handiest validates my longstanding issues with the Qatari executive. This isn’t the primary time a regime has centered my place of job the use of covert techniques, and it’s going to no longer dissuade my unravel to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a 15 may organization.”
A former worker of GRA who bought the “Venture ENDGAME” record from the corporate’s place of job in Doha instructed Fox Information Virtual that Qatar’s ruling Al-Thani circle of relatives, by means of GRA, aimed to additionally discredit Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas.
Cotton’s view that the secular ruler of Egypt, President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, is a extra dependable American best friend than the previous Muslim Brotherhood regime below the overdue President Mohamed Morsi may have performed a job in Qatar’s together with the senator on its ideological hit record.
When requested about GRA’s offensive undercover agent operation towards Cotton, a spokesperson for the senator instructed Fox Information Virtual that “Senator Cotton is probably not commenting in this presently.”
Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., who has large experience referring to Qatar’s energy politics, instructed Fox Information Virtual, “As a member of Congress, I will be able to proceed to make use of my place of job to carry Qatar responsible. Qatar should be uncovered and their years-long hacking marketing campaign to silence critics no longer simply of Qatar but additionally critics of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas can not cross unchecked.”
Bergman, a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant common, added, “If the Qataris are prepared to make use of their state espionage functions to give protection to terrorist teams by means of concentrated on senators and the [former] chairman of the Area International Affairs Committee, Ed Royce, then how are we able to be assured within the safety of our servicemen and girls—and our secrets and techniques—at CENTCOM’s ahead headquarters in Doha?”
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has roughly 8,000 workforce at Al Udeid Air Base—the most important American army base within the Heart East—southwest of Doha.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart co-sponsored the invoice to sanction the Muslim Brotherhood in 2017. AP
Former Area International Affairs Committee Chairman Royce, R-Calif., didn’t reply to Fox Information Virtual WhatsApp messages and a telephone name.
When requested concerning the reported Qatari state-financed espionage operation towards American politicians and electorate, a State Division spokesperson instructed Fox Information Virtual, “We refer you to the FBI referring to any attainable investigation.”
The FBI instructed Fox Information Virtual, “The FBI has no remark. We will be able to neither ascertain nor deny accomplishing explicit investigations.”
Kevin Carroll, the legal professional representing Kevin Chalker, wrote Fox Information Virtual, “What I know and will discuss is that there are NO pending indictments towards Mr. Chalker or any workers of GRA.”
He persisted, “As an alternative, Mr. Chalker and GRA had been subjected to civil court cases filed in federal courts in California and Washington, D.C., since 2018. The case in California has been disregarded. The plaintiffs’ 3rd criticism within the New York case has noticed a number of of the unique claims and defendants disregarded.”
A former worker of GRA who bought the “Venture ENDGAME” record from the corporate’s place of job in Doha instructed Fox Information Virtual that Qatar’s ruling Al-Thani circle of relatives, by means of GRA, aimed to additionally discredit Sen. Tom Cotton. Bonnie Money/UPI/Shutterstock
“Mr. Chalker has a long-standing report of provider to america and any allegations of wrongdoing—a lot much less defamatory allegations of felony wrongdoing—by means of him or GRA are simply false,” Carroll stated.
Fox Information Virtual reviewed a 2023 e-mail written by means of Chalker, wherein he stated that the FBI had confirmed up unannounced on the flats of former GRA workers.
He recommended his workers to state they’re represented by means of prison recommend and confident his staff that GRA pays for the legal professional charges.
Chalker additionally ridiculed the FBI, mentioning, “I’ve 0 admire for the FBI. They’re a number of Keystone Law enforcement officials who’re poorly educated, inadequately skilled . . . .”
Carroll prompt that Fox Information Virtual will have to no longer record on Chalker and GRA.
Rep. Jack Bergman, who has large experience referring to Qatar’s energy politics, instructed Fox Information Virtual, “As a member of Congress, I will be able to proceed to make use of my place of job to carry Qatar responsible.” Getty Pictures
In a chain of emails, he wrote, “I’d lean again from the tale” and, “I’d no longer run with the tale about Chalker and GRA. Can give an explanation for by means of telephone.”
When reached at the telephone, Caroll refused to head at the report as to why he hostile e-newsletter of the brand new allegations towards Chalker and GRA.
Chalker declined to be interviewed by means of Fox Information Virtual.
A press question used to be despatched to his new corporate, Qrypt, a era company that says to have “constructed the one cryptographic resolution in a position to securing knowledge indefinitely.”
Fox Information Virtual reviewed an April, 2017 signed letter of intent between the Qatar’s regime and GRA.
In keeping with the letter, GRA would furnish the Al-Thani circle of relatives with “enhanced monitoring and tracking, intelligence assortment, predictive intelligence, data operations.”
The AP additionally showed the letter of intent in its 2022 record.
The AP famous that GRA would offer Qatar’s state with “different undercover agent services and products for $60 million over 3 years. Different information display a Gibraltar-based corporate owned by means of Chalker started receiving seven- and eight-figure bills from Qatar in a while in a while.”
Fox Information Virtual reviewed the monetary information of the Gibraltar corporate reportedly owned by means of Chalker and cited within the AP record.
Chalker and GRA in “Venture ENDGAME” additionally zoomed in at the American group Counter Extremism Venture (CEP) so to “Mitigate Assaults” towards Qatar.
Former U.S. Ambassador Mark Wallace, the CEO of the Counter Extremist Venture, instructed Fox Information Virtual that once the Qatari operation “hacked accounts that contained electronic mail with participants of CEP management, they engaged in a PR marketing campaign to wreck us and paid American citizens to do their bidding. All to whitewash their toughen of Hamas within the face of our complaint. We’ve got known as out their toughen of Hamas since 2017.”
In November, Heart East professionals instructed Fox Information Virtual that the Obama-era deal to permit Hamas terrorists to live in Doha backfired towards American pursuits.
Wallace stated the “The best prevarication of the duplicitous Al-Thanis is that they didn’t know what their cash can be used for. However they knew from 2017 and our loud public marketing campaign and so they used their hydrocarbon wealth to whitewash their insidious toughen for Hamas and others. They’re accountable. Any American that labored for Qataris to whitewash their habits and to silence critics will have to elevate their palms ahead of the replicate as a result of their palms are coated with blood.”
Wallace published an alleged try by means of Qatar to bribe an American.
At the different aspect of the Atlantic, Qatar is accused of bribing participants of the Eu parliament. Jeffrey Arguedas/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Wallace claimed that “Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani (HBJ) and his Al-Thani deputy requested to satisfy our colleague Joe Lieberman in the course of this dispute — they made it transparent that he will have to identify his worth, and they might pay it to forestall this effort. He made the smart resolution and in a well mannered way declined.”
Joe Lieberman used to be a former U.S. Senator from Connecticut, and a Democratic candidate for vice-president.
At the different aspect of the Atlantic, Qatar is accused of bribing participants of the Eu parliament.
“The State of Qatar categorically rejects any makes an attempt to affiliate it with accusations of misconduct. Any affiliation of the Qatari executive with the reported claims is baseless and gravely misinformed,” an respectable with the Qatari Embassy in Washington, D.C., in the past instructed Fox Information Virtual.
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HBJ used to be the previous High Minister of Qatar and confronted complaint ultimate 12 months after it used to be published that he issued an antisemitic remark to the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas in 2022, mentioning “Believe oil [was sold] by means of some Jews . . . what can be the cost of a barrel of oil? It will be the costliest factor on the earth. It might be extra treasured than anything else, like medication.”
When puzzled about “Venture ENDGAME” and different allegations towards Qatar, Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatar’s ambassador to america, wrote Fox Information Virtual by means of WhatsApp, “will attach you with our media attaché who will be capable to lend a hand. Please succeed in out to Ali Al Ansari on the above e-mail.”
Fox Information Virtual press queries despatched to Al Ansari went unanswered.
Qatar’s embassies in Berlin and London additionally declined to remark.
Meshal Al-Thani refused to respond to follow-up Fox Information Virtual press queries.
The “Venture ENDGAME” proposal additionally laid out a media technique for Qatar to advance its time table.
“Many information organizations received’t post ENDGAME content material, so Qatar’s media’s property play a important position.”
One of the most alleged Qatari media property indexed within the record are The New York Occasions, Heart East Eye and The Intercept.
The Heart East Eye’s prison crew instructed Fox Information Virtual, “Our view is that that is an previous, drained, lazy and false rivalry. We’re an independently funded virtual information group.”
The Heart East Eye stated Jamal Bessasso is the landlord of the inside track outlet.
Bessasso in the past labored for the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera information group and the Hamas-affiliated Al-Quds TV in Lebanon.
A lot of Fox Information Virtual press queries despatched to The Intercept went unanswered.
New York Occasions spokesman Charles Stadtlander requested Fox Information Virtual by means of WhatsApp to ship its questions by means of e-mail for a reaction.
The New York Occasions declined to remark to more than one Fox Information Virtual Electronic mail press queries.
A record equipped to Fox Information Virtual from a supply accustomed to the New York Occasions’ dating with Qatar famous that Qatar is a minority proprietor of the New York Occasions construction in Big apple by means of its regulate over Brookfield Belongings Companions.
The New York Occasions declined to touch upon Qatar’s partial possession of its construction.
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