Rapper Ice Cube claims Qatari investors were interested in targeting former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon in a bribery scheme, according to a new report.
Ice Cube and his business partner Jeff Kwatinetz argue in a lawsuit filed last month that a Qatari in their BIG3 basketball league expressed interest in bribing Bannon. The lawsuit claims that Kwatinetz and Bannon know each other and Kwatinetz claims that Bannon “remains my friend,” per the Daily Mail.
According to the report, al Rumaihi asked to meet with Bannon multiple times before he was ousted from his White House position in August.
After Bannon parted ways with Breitbart News, which he rejoined after leaving the Trump administration, al Rumaihi was interested in meeting with Bannon and planned to “underwrite all of his political efforts in return for his support.”
“Mr. Al-Rumaihi requested I set up a meeting between him, the Qatari government, and Steven Bannon, and to tell Steve Bannon that Qatar would underwrite all of his political efforts in return for his support,” Kwatinetz said in the court document.
He added that he was shocked by the offer, declined, and did not inform Bannon about the interaction.
Additionally, al Rumaihi allegedly bragged about bribing figures such as former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who resigned from his post last year after it was revealed he provided misleading information to Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russian officials.
Sport Trinity, the group of investors, argued Kwatinetz’s statements were “pure Hollywood fiction.”
“Simply put, the statements in Mr. Kwatinetz’s declaration are pure Hollywood fiction. Mr. Kwatinetz is engaging in a xenophobic PR smear campaign against Sport Trinity, the largest investor in BIG3 basketball, to cover up his own mismanagement and erratic behavior with respect to the league. Mr. Kwatinetz’s commercial dispute with Sport Trinity is meritless,” a Sport Trinity spokesperson said in a statement.
Al Rumaihi is a leader at Qatar Investments, which the Qatari government uses to invest in the U.S.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a statement from Sport Trinity.
