Retired general subject of investigation into undisclosed Qatari lobbying

The FBI has seized the electronic data of former Marine Gen. John Allen, who has led the Brookings Institution think tank since his time in the military came to an end, according to the Associated Press, which referred to court filings revealed on Tuesday.

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Allen is part of a larger investigation that has entangled Richard Olson, a former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan who pleaded guilty last week on federal charges that include improperly helping Qatar influence U.S. policy in 2017. Imaad Zuberi, a venture capitalist and campaign fundraiser who worked to gain influence with prominent Republicans and Democrats, including former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, is also ensnared in the Qatar lobbying effort. Zuberi was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2021 for illegal donations and foreign agent lobbying schemes.

The new court filings allege that Allen attempted to help Qatar influence policy in 2017, a time when a diplomatic crisis between Qatar and its neighbors erupted.

FBI agent Babak Adib wrote in a search warrant application, “There is substantial evidence that these FARA violations were willful,” referring to possible violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires that anyone lobbying for a foreign government register with the Justice Department.

The FBI agent wrote that Allen gave a “false version of events” regarding his role to U.S. officials and didn’t disclose “that he was simultaneously pursuing multimillion-dollar business deals with the government of Qatar.”

The court records were first reported by the Associated Press and the filings first posted by the New York Times.

The documents indicate the FBI believes Allen carried out secret lobbying work connected to the government of Qatar, misled agents about the role he played, and did not hand over evidence sought in subpoenas.

The search warrant application indicated there was “evidence of a crime” when the FBI sought access to communications stored on Allen’s iCloud and Gmail accounts. The application was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in April and may have been made public by accident, as other records are still sealed.

The FBI agent said he believed there was “probable cause to believe that the information associated with” Allen’s account and with accounts belonging to others he was working with “constitutes evidence, contraband, fruits, or instrumentalities of criminal violations” of FARA, laws restricting the activities of former executive branch officers, obstruction of justice, aiding and abetting, and conspiracy.

“John Allen voluntarily cooperated with the government’s investigation into this matter,” Allen spokesman Beau Phillips told the Washington Examiner. “John Allen’s efforts with regard to Qatar in 2017 were to protect the interests of the United States and the military personnel stationed in Qatar. John Allen received no fee for his efforts.”

Allen was the deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East (including Qatar) and elsewhere, from 2008 to 2011. During that time, he met with top Qatari officials. He was also the commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan from July 2011 to February 2013. The Taliban established its political office in Qatar’s capital of Doha in 2012. Allen was also the special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS from September 2014 to October 2015.

Glenn Hutchins and Suzanne Nora Johnson, the co-chairs of the Brookings Board of Trustees, sent a note to employees on Wednesday, obtained by the Washington Examiner, announcing that Allen has been “placed on administrative leave, effective immediately.”

“We want to assure you that Brookings is not a subject of this investigation. Brookings has strong policies in place to prohibit donors from directing research activities,” they wrote. “Ted Gayer will serve as acting president, also effective immediately, until his previously announced departure that will occur later this summer. Over the coming days and weeks, the Board will be carefully considering next steps and will communicate more information when it is available.”

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The FBI agent provided a lengthy account of Allen’s efforts with Qatar in 2017.

The agent wrote, “As requested by Qatari government officials, Allen corresponded with, met with, and successfully lobbied U.S. Executive Branch officials in the United States to release public statements sought by Qatar. Allen also solicited Executive Branch officials to meet personally with Qatari government officials.” The bureau agent added, “Allen sought compensation for his efforts. With respect to his trip to Doha, Allen sought a $20,000 ‘speaking engagement’ fee and travel expenses. Allen also sought a longer-term compensation arrangement through Zuberi to be discussed upon their return from Doha.”

President Donald Trump tweeted on June 6, 2017, “During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar – look!”

The FBI said Allen emailed then-Trump national security adviser H.R. McMaster and others at the National Security Council on June 9, 2017, “to convey Qatar’s perspective on the crisis and to make a request on behalf of that foreign government.” Allen asked for the White House or State Department to release a statement “calling on all sides to seek a peaceful resolution to this crisis and to act with restraint.” The bureau said that “Allen misrepresented to McMaster and other NSC officials the nature of his involvement in the matter.”

The bureau said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson did “precisely that” that very afternoon and that “Tillerson shifted away from earlier statements by the White House, urged restraint, and asked the Gulf States to ease the blockade.”

The FBI agent also said that on June 12, 2017, Allen told Pentagon official Sally Donnelly that he had traveled to Qatar and met for two and a half hours with Qatar’s top leaders and relayed Qatar’s “collective view” that “Tillerson is committed to solving this crisis, others are not” and that Qatar was “concerned POTUS appears to contradict Tillerson & others in US.” But the bureau said Allen’s report “omitted information suggesting his agency on behalf of Qatar, including his enlistment by Zuberi and Olson, his solicitation and agreement to accept money for his services, and his suggestions that” the Qataris could “shape” Trump’s opinion through McMaster, use “leverage” against the president through the Al Udeid Air Base, and use “the full spectrum of info ops – black and white” to “control the narrative” in the United States.

The last funding commitment between Qatar and Brookings was signed in 2016, before Allen became president, and he then decided in early 2019 that Brookings would not renew funding from the Middle Eastern country, according to an official with the nonprofit group.

Strobe Talbott, the prior president of Brookings, confirmed in 2014 that Qatar made a three-year pledge at the time for $14.8 million to support two projects at the think tank: the project on U.S. relations with the Islamic World and the Brookings Center in Doha.

Brookings announced in September 2021, during Allen’s presidency, that “after 14 years of impactful partnership, Brookings and the Brookings Doha Center announced that they were ending their affiliation.”

Allen endorsed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in July 2016, and a few days later, he delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention supporting Clinton and criticizing Trump.

He was named the new president of Brookings in October 2017 and took over in November 2017, a few months after the alleged Qatari lobbying scheme.

Allen was appointed by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Homeland Security Advisory Council in March 2022. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.