Jan. 3 (UPI) — The Justice Department charged two former associates of ex-President Donald Trump with breaking the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Barry Bennett, an unpaid adviser in Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, and associate Douglas Watts admitted in court filings to lying to the Justice Department about lobbying efforts on behalf of Qatar.
The two said they accepted funds from Qatar’s government to influence U.S. policy in the Middle East to benefit the nation.
Prosecutors said the men were urged by the Qatari government to set up “Yemen Crisis Watch,” an organization highlighting allegations of brutal violence by Saudi Arabia’s government in its conflict with Houthi militants.
As part of the work they organized Congressional briefings about issues related to the Houthis in Yemen and helped to set up two op-eds in the Washington Examiner on the issue.
Bennet’s firm Avenue Strategies was reportedly paid $3 million between 2017 and 2018 to run the organization, despite not being registered as a foreign lobbying organization, and Bennett was personally paid $250,000 “for use in supporting the relief of humanitarian suffering in Yemen.”
Prosecutors said that Bennet gave investigators false documents during its investigation of venue strategies, as he tried to “knowingly and willingly falsify, conceal and coverup” information to block FARA investigators.
The Justice Department said Bennett and Watts have agreed to enter “deferred prosecution” deals that will allow both to have their charges dismissed after a year if they comply with its terms.
Both will pay fines — $100,000 for Bennett and $25,000 for Watts — along with staying away from lobbying and public relations for 12 months.
U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez has been accused of accepting various gifts — including race car tickets — in exchange for promoting Qatari interest within the U.S. government in a current investigation that is threatening his re-election. There are no known ties, though, between the two cases.