Qatar hires former US attorney general
The government of Qatar has hired John Ashcroft, the US attorney general during the September 11 attacks, as it seeks to rebut accusations from US President Donald Trump and its Arab neighbours that it supports terrorism.
Qatar will pay the Ashcroft Law Firm $2.5 million for a 90-day period as the country seeks to confirm its efforts to fight global terrorism and comply with financial regulations including US Treasury rules, according to a Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, filing on Friday with the Justice Department.
“The firm’s work will include crisis response and management, program and system analysis, media outreach, education and advocacy regarding the client’s historical, current and future efforts to combat global terror and its compliance goals and accomplishments,” according to a letter by Ashcroft firm partner Michael Sullivan included in the filing.
Qatar faces isolation by fellow Arab countries after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Egypt severed ties with Doha on Monday, accusing it of supporting Islamist militants and their adversary Iran. Qatar denies the allegations. The crisis is a major diplomatic test for the US, a close ally of countries on both sides but has given mixed signals on whether to isolate Qatar or bring it into talks with other Gulf countries.
Trump on Friday accused Qatar of being a “high level” sponsor of terrorism in remarks made shortly after his secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, pushed Qatar’s Arab neighbours to “immediately take steps to de-escalate the situation.”
The Ashcroft firm was hired to do a compliance and regulatory view of Qatar’s anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing framework, Sullivan said. “Qatar is confident that the review...will confirm Qatar has significant measures...to prevent efforts to launder funds ,” he said.