Federal prosecutors are investigating whether Trump’s campaign adviser and lobbyist Barry Bennett set up a defense group without revealing his links to Qatar, the The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Bennett, who was an unpaid adviser, reportedly launched a group called Yemen Crisis Watch in 2017 in an attempt to embarrass Qatar’s rivals – Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – amid its brutal military campaign in Yemen. which caused widespread hunger and poverty. .
Bennett did not disclose his links to Yemen Crisis Watch or register the group under foreign lobbying laws, despite receiving $ 250,000 from the Qatari embassy “to use them to support the relief of humanitarian suffering in Yemen. “, according to a statement from the Justice Department.
Yemen Crisis Watch should be registered with the Justice Department if it receives funding from Qatar.
The group posted ads on social media and wrote opinion pieces published by the Washington Examiner highlighting the atrocities in Yemen, and then Kansas Lieutenant Governor Jeff Colyer spoke at a congressional meeting on behalf of the group. reported the newspaper.
The Justice Department declined to comment. The Qatari embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Qatar paid Bennett’s pressure firm, Avenue Strategies, a total of $ 3 million from July 2017 to July 2018 in an effort to raid the former President Trump
Donald Trump’s envoyBiden calls on North Korea to restart nuclear talks Biden’s misconception about COVID tests puts us all at risk on the Jan. 6 committee to look for legislative records MORE.
Bennett launched Avenue Strategies shortly after the 2016 election and quickly attracted customers seeking access to the Trump administration. His company’s revenue peaked in 2020, increasing it nearly $ 1 million, according to the OpenSecrets money policy watchdog.
Bennett closed the firm in February when he and other lobbyists announcing their ties to former President Trump lost customers after their election loss.
The Justice Department has increasingly enforced foreign-influenced transparency laws in recent years, beginning with the 2018 indictment of the former Trump campaign president Paul Manafort
Paul John Manafort: Foreign lobbyists gave more than M during the 2020 elections: former prosecutor Mueller representing Donoghue in Congress polls reported: lobbyist Tony Podesta returns to work for Huawei MORE during his unregistered foreign influence campaign.
Last month, federal prosecutors accused Tom Barrack, chairman of Trump’s inaugural committee, accused of secretly working to influence the Trump campaign and administration on behalf of the United Arab Emirates.