The oil-rich Gulf state of Qatar employed a former CIA agent’s firm to discredit Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., and different lawmakers who oppose Hamas and its mother or father group, the Muslim Brotherhood, in response to paperwork obtained by Fox Information Digital.
The paperwork reveal that the alleged Qatar state-funded espionage marketing campaign focused 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 doc, titled “Challenge ENDGAME” and drafted by U.S. firm World Threat Advisors (GRA), which was based by the ex-CIA worker Kevin Chalker, reads, “Excessive Alert: An assault on Hamas is an assault on Qatar. An assault on the Muslim Brotherhood is an assault on Qatar.”
The March 2017 Qatari-funded plan of motion to torpedo anti-Hamas and anti-Muslim Brotherhood laws and insurance policies famous that “Sen. Ted Cruz has reintroduced his invoice to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group. Until you act quickly, your enemies will inject Qatar into this battle.”
Within the month earlier than Qatar reportedly began its assaults on adversaries of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, Fox Information Digital reported on Cruz’s laws to outlaw the Muslim Brotherhood.
Since Hamas massacred some 1,200 individuals on October 7 in southern Israel, together with greater than 30 People, 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 advised Fox Information Digital: “The Qatari authorities spends uncountable billions of {dollars} selling and even funding the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and different terrorist teams. They’ve both purchased or intimidated large elements of Washington, D.C., into silence. It’s under no circumstances shocking they’d think about the few remaining outspoken opponents 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 relationship.”
Hamas has declared itself as “one of many wings of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine.”
American allies comparable to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have both outlawed or designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group.
The “Challenge ENDGAME” proposal says, “Qatar’s Enemies Should Be Recognized” and, “Within the U.S., your enemies function within the shadows. You may’t cease the enemies you can’t discover.”
The existence of the Qatar-sponsored “Challenge ENDGAME” was first reported in an AP article titled “FBI probing ex-CIA officer’s spying for World Cup host Qatar,” in 2022.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla, co-sponsored the invoice to sanction the Muslim Brotherhood in 2017.
World Threat Advisors marked Diaz-Balart as one of many Gulf state’s enemies, in response to the congressman and AP.
Diaz-Balart advised Fox Information Digital, “The revelation that the Qatari authorities not solely focused my workplace however two sitting U.S. senators is no surprise and solely validates my longstanding issues with the Qatari authorities. This isn’t the primary time a regime has focused my workplace utilizing covert techniques, and it’ll not dissuade my resolve to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group.”
A former worker of GRA who obtained the “Challenge ENDGAME” doc from the corporate’s workplace in Doha advised Fox Information Digital that Qatar’s ruling Al-Thani household, through 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 ally than the previous Muslim Brotherhood regime below the late President Mohamed Morsi may need performed a job in Qatar’s together with the senator on its ideological hit record.
When requested about GRA’s offensive spy operation towards Cotton, a spokesperson for the senator advised Fox Information Digital that “Senator Cotton is not going to be commenting on this at the moment.”
Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., who has broad experience relating to Qatar’s energy politics, advised Fox Information Digital, “As a member of Congress, I’ll proceed to make use of my workplace to carry Qatar accountable. Qatar should be uncovered and their years-long hacking marketing campaign to silence critics not simply of Qatar but additionally critics of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas can not go unchecked.”
Bergman, a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant basic, added, “If the Qataris are keen to make use of their state espionage capabilities to guard terrorist teams by focusing on senators and the [former] chairman of the Home International Affairs Committee, Ed Royce, then how can we be assured within the safety of our servicemen and ladies—and our secrets and techniques—at CENTCOM’s ahead headquarters in Doha?”
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has roughly 8,000 personnel at Al Udeid Air Base—the biggest American navy base within the Center East—southwest of Doha.
Former Home International Affairs Committee Chairman Royce, R-Calif., didn’t reply to Fox Information Digital WhatsApp messages and a cellphone name.
When requested in regards to the reported Qatari state-financed espionage operation towards American politicians and residents, a State Division spokesperson advised Fox Information Digital, “We refer you to the FBI relating to any potential investigation.”
The FBI advised Fox Information Digital, “The FBI has no remark. We are able to neither verify nor deny conducting particular investigations.”
Kevin Carroll, the lawyer representing Kevin Chalker, wrote Fox Information Digital, “What I do know and might talk about is that there are NO pending indictments towards Mr. Chalker or any staff of GRA.”
He continued, “As an alternative, Mr. Chalker and GRA have been subjected to civil complaints filed in federal courts in California and Washington, D.C., since 2018. The case in California has been dismissed. The plaintiffs’ third grievance within the New York case has seen a number of of the unique claims and defendants dismissed.”
“Mr. Chalker has a long-standing report of service to the USA and any allegations of wrongdoing—a lot much less defamatory allegations of legal wrongdoing—by him or GRA are simply false,” Carroll stated.
Fox Information Digital reviewed a 2023 electronic mail written by Chalker, during which he stated that the FBI had confirmed up unannounced on the residences of former GRA staff.
He suggested his staff to state they’re represented by authorized counsel and guaranteed his employees that GRA can pay for the lawyer charges.
Chalker additionally ridiculed the FBI, stating, “I’ve zero respect for the FBI. They’re a bunch of Keystone Cops who’re poorly skilled, inadequately educated . . . .”
Carroll instructed that Fox Information Digital mustn’t report on Chalker and GRA.
In a collection of emails, he wrote, “I’d lean again from the story” and, “I might not run with the story about Chalker and GRA. Can clarify by cellphone.”
When reached on the cellphone, Caroll refused to go on the report as to why he opposed publication of the brand new allegations towards Chalker and GRA.
Chalker declined to be interviewed by Fox Information Digital.
A press question was despatched to his new firm, Qrypt, a know-how agency that claims to have “constructed the one cryptographic resolution able to securing information indefinitely.”
Fox Information Digital reviewed an April, 2017 signed letter of intent between the Qatar’s regime and GRA.
Based on the letter, GRA would furnish the Al-Thani household with “enhanced monitoring and monitoring, intelligence assortment, predictive intelligence, data operations.”
The AP additionally confirmed the letter of intent in its 2022 report.
The AP famous that GRA would supply Qatar’s state with “different spy providers for $60 million over three years. Different information present a Gibraltar-based firm owned by Chalker started receiving seven- and eight-figure funds from Qatar shortly afterward.”
Fox Information Digital reviewed the monetary information of the Gibraltar firm reportedly owned by Chalker and cited within the AP report.
Chalker and GRA in “Challenge ENDGAME” additionally zoomed in on the American group Counter Extremism Challenge (CEP) in an effort to “Mitigate Assaults” towards Qatar.
Former U.S. Ambassador Mark Wallace, the CEO of the Counter Extremist Challenge, advised Fox Information Digital that after the Qatari operation “hacked accounts that contained electronic mail correspondence with members of CEP management, they engaged in a PR marketing campaign to destroy us and paid People to do their bidding. All to whitewash their help of Hamas within the face of our criticism. Now we have known as out their help of Hamas since 2017.”
In November, Center East specialists advised Fox Information Digital that the Obama-era deal to permit Hamas terrorists to reside 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 they usually used their hydrocarbon wealth to whitewash their insidious help for Hamas and others. They’re accountable. Any American that labored for Qataris to whitewash their conduct and to silence critics ought to elevate their palms earlier than the mirror as a result of their palms are coated with blood.”
Wallace revealed an alleged try by Qatar to bribe an American.
Wallace claimed that “Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani (HBJ) and his Al-Thani deputy requested to satisfy our colleague Joe Lieberman within the midst of this dispute — they made it clear that he ought to identify his value, and they’d pay it to cease this effort. He made the sensible choice and politely declined.”
Joe Lieberman was a former U.S. Senator from Connecticut, and a Democratic candidate for vice-president.
On the opposite facet of the Atlantic, Qatar is accused of bribing members of the European parliament.
“The State of Qatar categorically rejects any makes an attempt to affiliate it with accusations of misconduct. Any affiliation of the Qatari authorities with the reported claims is baseless and gravely misinformed,” an official with the Qatari Embassy in Washington, D.C., beforehand advised Fox Information Digital.
HBJ was the previous Prime Minister of Qatar and confronted criticism final yr after it was revealed that he issued an antisemitic assertion to the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas in 2022, stating “Think about oil [was sold] by some Jews . . . what can be the value of a barrel of oil? It could be the most costly factor on the earth. It could be extra treasured than something, like drugs.”
When questioned about “Challenge ENDGAME” and different allegations towards Qatar, Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatar’s ambassador to the USA, wrote Fox Information Digital through WhatsApp, “will join you with our media attaché who will have the ability to help. Please attain out to Ali Al Ansari on the above electronic mail.”
Fox Information Digital press queries despatched to Al Ansari went unanswered.
Qatar’s embassies in Berlin and London additionally declined to remark.
Meshal Al-Thani refused to reply follow-up Fox Information Digital press queries.
The “Challenge ENDGAME” proposal additionally laid out a media technique for Qatar to advance its agenda.
“Many information organizations received’t publish ENDGAME content material, so Qatar’s media’s property play a crucial function.”
Among the alleged Qatari media property listed within the doc are The New York Instances, Center East Eye and The Intercept.
The Center East Eye’s authorized group advised Fox Information Digital, “Our view is that that is an outdated, drained, lazy and false competition. We’re an independently funded digital information group.”
The Center East Eye stated Jamal Bessasso is the proprietor of the information outlet.
Bessasso beforehand labored for the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera information group and the Hamas-affiliated Al-Quds TV in Lebanon.
Quite a few Fox Information Digital press queries despatched to The Intercept went unanswered.
New York Instances spokesman Charles Stadtlander requested Fox Information Digital through WhatsApp to ship its questions by electronic mail for a response.
The New York Instances declined to remark to a number of Fox Information Digital E mail press queries.
A doc offered to Fox Information Digital from a supply conversant in the New York Instances’ relationship with Qatar famous that Qatar is a minority proprietor of the New York Instances constructing in Manhattan through its management over Brookfield Property Companions.
The New York Instances declined to touch upon Qatar’s partial possession of its constructing.
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