The FBI has seized the electronic data of retired four-star Marine Gen. John Allen, whom authorities suspect lied to investigators and withheld evidence about his role secretly lobbying for the government of Qatar.
Allen currently heads the Brookings Institute think tank in Washington, D.C. As a general, he commanded all U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan in the Obama administration.
The court records, which were unsealed Tuesday, are the latest public evidence showing the FBI and Justice Department are conducting a large-scale investigation into the stateside influence of wealthy Arab nations including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The investigation has already ensnared Richard Olson, a former UAE and Pakistan ambassador, who pleaded guilty last week to federal charges related to the case, and longtime political donor Imaad Zuberi, who is serving a 12-year prison sentence on corruption charges including violating foreign lobbying, campaign finance and tax laws.
In April, an application for a warrant to search Allen's electronic communications was filed in Federal District Court in central California.
Last year, Just the News broke the story that Brookings had received $2 million from the government of Qatar as Allen was pushing the Trump administration to take specific action beneficial to Qatar during a 2017 diplomatic crisis between the country and its neighbors. Outside of Allen, Qatar has been a significant backer of Brookings for years.
https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/fbi-seizes-data-retired-general-related-qatar-lobb