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US News


QATAR ALLEGEDLY HIRED EX-CIA AGENT TO DISCREDIT SEN. TED CRUZ, OTHER LAWMAKERS
OPPOSED TO HAMAS, MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD

By Benjamin Weinthal, Fox News

Published Jan. 20, 2024, 4:29 p.m. ET

The oil-rich Gulf state of Qatar hired a former CIA agent’s company to discredit
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., and other lawmakers who oppose Hamas and its parent
organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, according to documents obtained by Fox
News Digital.

The documents reveal that the alleged Qatar state-funded espionage campaign
targeted Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, because he had sought to have the Muslim
Brotherhood designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

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The clandestine document, titled “Project ENDGAME” and drafted by U.S. company
Global Risk Advisors (GRA), which was founded by the ex-CIA employee Kevin
Chalker, reads, “High Alert: An attack on Hamas is an attack on Qatar. An attack
on the Muslim Brotherhood is an attack on Qatar.”

The March 2017 Qatari-funded plan of action to torpedo anti-Hamas and
anti-Muslim Brotherhood legislation and policies noted that “Sen. Ted Cruz has
reintroduced his bill to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group.
Unless you act soon, your enemies will inject Qatar into this fight.”

In the month before Qatar reportedly started its attacks on adversaries of the
Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, Fox News Digital reported on Cruz’s legislation
to outlaw the Muslim Brotherhood.

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7
The oil-rich Gulf state of Qatar hired a former CIA agent’s company to discredit
Sen. Ted Cruz and other lawmakers who oppose Hamas and its parent organization,
the Muslim Brotherhood. Getty Images

Since Hamas massacred some 1,200 people on October 7 in southern Israel,
including more than 30 Americans, Qatar has been in the crosshairs of U.S.
senators and some U.S. representatives for harboring Hamas leaders in Doha and
allegedly financing it.

Cruz told Fox News Digital: “The Qatari government spends uncountable billions
of dollars promoting and even funding the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and other
terrorist groups. They have either bought or intimidated huge parts of
Washington, D.C., into silence. It’s not at all surprising they would consider
the few remaining outspoken opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood in Congress to
be Qatar’s enemies. It is long past time for the U.S. to reevaluate the
U.S.-Qatari relationship.”

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Hamas has declared itself as “one of the wings of the Muslim Brotherhood in
Palestine.”

7
The March 2017 Qatari-funded plan of action to torpedo anti-Hamas and
anti-Muslim Brotherhood legislation and policies noted “Sen. Ted Cruz has
reintroduced his bill to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group.”
AFP via Getty Images

American allies such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have
either outlawed or designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. 

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The “Project ENDGAME” proposal says, “Qatar’s Enemies Must Be Identified” and,
“In the U.S., your enemies operate in the shadows. You can’t stop the enemies
that you can’t find.”

The existence of the Qatar-sponsored “Project ENDGAME” was first reported in
an AP article titled “FBI probing ex-CIA officer’s spying for World Cup host
Qatar,” in 2022.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla, co-sponsored the bill to sanction the Muslim
Brotherhood in 2017.

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Global Risk Advisors marked Diaz-Balart as one of the Gulf state’s enemies,
according to the congressman and AP.

7
American allies such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have
either outlawed or designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization.
ZUMAPRESS.com

Diaz-Balart told Fox News Digital, “The revelation that the Qatari government
not only targeted my office but two sitting U.S. senators is not surprising and
only validates my longstanding concerns with the Qatari government. This is not
the first time a regime has targeted my office using covert tactics, and it will
not dissuade my resolve to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist
organization.”

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SEE ALSO


SEN. TED CRUZ ENDORSES TRUMP AFTER ‘DOMINATING VICTORY’ IN IOWA: ‘THIS RACE IS
OVER’ 

A former employee of GRA who obtained the “Project ENDGAME” document from the
company’s office in Doha told Fox News Digital that Qatar’s ruling Al-Thani
family, via GRA, aimed to also discredit Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas.

Cotton’s view that the secular ruler of Egypt, President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi,
is a more reliable American ally than the former Muslim Brotherhood regime under
the late President Mohamed Morsi might have played a role in Qatar’s including
the senator on its ideological hit list.

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When asked about GRA’s offensive spy operation against Cotton, a spokesperson
for the senator told Fox News Digital that “Senator Cotton will not be
commenting on this at this time.”

Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., who has broad expertise regarding Qatar’s power
politics, told Fox News Digital, “As a member of Congress, I will continue to
use my office to hold Qatar accountable. Qatar must be exposed and their
years-long hacking campaign to silence critics not just of Qatar but also
critics of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas cannot go unchecked.”

Bergman, a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general, added, “If the
Qataris are willing to use their state espionage capabilities to protect
terrorist groups by targeting senators and the [former] chairman of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, Ed Royce, then how can we be confident in the
security of our servicemen and women—and our secrets—at CENTCOM’s forward
headquarters in Doha?”

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The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has approximately 8,000 personnel at Al Udeid
Air Base—the largest American military base in the Middle East—southwest of
Doha.

7
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart co-sponsored the bill to sanction the Muslim Brotherhood
in 2017. AP

Former House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Royce, R-Calif., did not respond
to Fox News Digital WhatsApp messages and a phone call.

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When asked about the reported Qatari state-financed espionage operation against
American politicians and citizens, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News
Digital, “We refer you to the FBI regarding any potential investigation.”

The FBI told Fox News Digital, “The FBI has no comment. We can neither confirm
nor deny conducting specific investigations.”

Kevin Carroll, the lawyer representing Kevin Chalker, wrote Fox News Digital,
“What I do know and can speak about is that there are NO pending indictments
against Mr. Chalker or any employees of GRA.”

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He continued, “Instead, Mr. Chalker and GRA have been subjected to civil
complaints filed in federal courts in California and Washington, D.C., since
2018. The case in California has been dismissed. The plaintiffs’ third complaint
in the New York case has seen several of the original claims and defendants
dismissed.”

7
A former employee of GRA who obtained the “Project ENDGAME” document from the
company’s office in Doha told Fox News Digital that Qatar’s ruling Al-Thani
family, via GRA, aimed to also discredit Sen. Tom Cotton. Bonnie
Cash/UPI/Shutterstock

“Mr. Chalker has a long-standing record of service to the United States and any
allegations of wrongdoing—much less defamatory allegations of criminal
wrongdoing—by him or GRA are just false,” Carroll said.

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Fox News Digital reviewed a 2023 email written by Chalker, in which he said that
the FBI had showed up unannounced at the residences of former GRA employees.

He advised his employees to state they are represented by legal counsel and
assured his workers that GRA will pay for the attorney fees. 

Chalker also ridiculed the FBI, stating, “I have zero respect for the FBI. They
are a bunch of Keystone Cops who are poorly trained, inadequately educated . . .
.”

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Carroll suggested that Fox News Digital should not report on Chalker and GRA.

7
Rep. Jack Bergman, who has broad expertise regarding Qatar’s power politics,
told Fox News Digital, “As a member of Congress, I will continue to use my
office to hold Qatar accountable.” Getty Images

In a series of emails, he wrote, “I’d lean back from the story” and, “I would
not run with the story about Chalker and GRA. Can explain by phone.”

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When reached on the phone, Caroll refused to go on the record as to why he
opposed publication of the new allegations against Chalker and GRA.

Chalker declined to be interviewed by Fox News Digital.

A press query was sent to his new company, Qrypt, a technology firm that claims
to have “built the only cryptographic solution capable of securing data
indefinitely.”

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Fox News Digital reviewed an April, 2017 signed letter of intent between the
Qatar’s regime and GRA.


SEE ALSO


QATAR MEDIATING ISRAEL, HAMAS TALKS TO DELIVER MEDICINE TO AT LEAST 120 HOSTAGES

According to the letter, GRA would furnish the Al-Thani family with “enhanced
tracking and monitoring, intelligence collection, predictive intelligence,
information operations.”

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The AP also confirmed the letter of intent in its 2022 report. 

The AP noted that GRA would provide Qatar’s state with “other spy services for
$60 million over three years. Other records show a Gibraltar-based company owned
by Chalker began receiving seven- and eight-figure payments from Qatar shortly
afterward.”

Fox News Digital reviewed the financial records of the Gibraltar company
reportedly owned by Chalker and cited in the AP report.

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Chalker and GRA in “Project ENDGAME” also zoomed in on the American organization
Counter Extremism Project (CEP) in an effort to “Mitigate Attacks” against
Qatar.

Former U.S. Ambassador Mark Wallace, the CEO of the Counter Extremist Project,
told Fox News Digital that after the Qatari operation “hacked accounts that
contained email correspondence with members of CEP leadership, they engaged in a
PR campaign to destroy us and paid Americans to do their bidding. All to
whitewash their support of Hamas in the face of our criticism. We have called
out their support of Hamas since 2017.”

In November, Middle East experts told Fox News Digital that the Obama-era
deal to allow Hamas terrorists to reside in Doha backfired against American
interests.

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Wallace said the “The greatest prevarication of the duplicitous Al-Thanis is
that they did not know what their money would be used for. But they knew from
2017 and our loud public campaign and they used their hydrocarbon wealth to
whitewash their insidious support for Hamas and others. They are responsible.
Any American that worked for Qataris to whitewash their behavior and to silence
critics should raise their hands before the mirror because their hands are
covered with blood.”

Wallace revealed an alleged attempt by Qatar to bribe an American. 

7
On the other side of the Atlantic, Qatar is accused of bribing members of the
European parliament. Jeffrey Arguedas/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

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Wallace claimed that “Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani (HBJ) and his Al-Thani deputy
asked to meet our colleague Joe Lieberman in the midst of this dispute — they
made it clear that he should name his price, and they would pay it to stop this
effort. He made the wise decision and politely declined.”

Joe Lieberman was a former U.S. Senator from Connecticut, and a Democratic
candidate for vice-president.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Qatar is accused of bribing members of the
European parliament.

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“The State of Qatar categorically rejects any attempts to associate it with
accusations of misconduct. Any association of the Qatari government with the
reported claims is baseless and gravely misinformed,” an official with the
Qatari Embassy in Washington, D.C., previously told Fox News Digital.

HBJ was the former Prime Minister of Qatar and faced criticism last year after
it was revealed that he issued an antisemitic statement to the Kuwaiti
newspaper Al-Qabas in 2022, stating “Imagine oil [was sold] by some Jews . . .
what would be the price of a barrel of oil? It would be the most expensive thing
in the world. It would be more precious than anything, like medicine.”

When questioned about “Project ENDGAME” and other allegations against Qatar,
Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatar’s ambassador to the United States, wrote
Fox News Digital via WhatsApp, “will connect you with our media attaché who will
be able to assist. Please reach out to Ali Al Ansari at the above email.”

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Fox News Digital press queries sent to Al Ansari went unanswered.

Qatar’s embassies in Berlin and London also declined to comment.

Meshal Al-Thani refused to answer follow-up Fox News Digital press queries.

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The “Project ENDGAME” proposal also laid out a media strategy for Qatar to
advance its agenda.

“Many news organizations won’t publish ENDGAME content, so Qatar’s media’s
assets play a critical role.”

Some of the alleged Qatari media assets listed in the document are The New York
Times, Middle East Eye and The Intercept.

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The Middle East Eye’s legal team told Fox News Digital, “Our view is that this
is an old, tired, lazy and false contention. We are an independently funded
digital news organization.”

The Middle East Eye said Jamal Bessasso is the owner of the news outlet.

Bessasso previously worked for the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera news organization and
the Hamas-affiliated Al-Quds TV in Lebanon.

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Numerous Fox News Digital press queries sent to The Intercept went unanswered. 

What do you think? Post a comment.

New York Times spokesman Charles Stadtlander asked Fox News Digital via WhatsApp
to send its questions by email for a response.

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The New York Times declined to comment to multiple Fox News Digital Email press
queries.

A document provided to Fox News Digital from a source familiar with the New York
Times’ relationship with Qatar noted that Qatar is a minority owner of the New
York Times building in Manhattan via its control over Brookfield Property
Partners. 

The New York Times declined to comment on Qatar’s partial ownership of its
building.


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Filed under abdel fattah al-sisi ,  al jazeera ,  associated press ,  cia , 
congress ,  egypt ,  fbi ,  gaza strip ,  hamas ,  israel ,  Israel-Hamas war , 
joe lieberman ,  middle east ,  muslim brotherhood ,  new york times , 
palestine ,  qatar ,  republicans ,  senate ,  ted cruz ,  terrorism ,  tom
cotton ,  white house ,  1/20/24
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