Justice Dept. accuses 2 political operatives of hiding foreign lobbying during Trump administration

WASHINGTON — Two well-connected political advisers during the Trump administration provided false information about lobbying on behalf of a wealthy Persian Gulf country, according to Justice Department court documents released Tuesday.

Charging documents filed in federal court in Washington allege that Barry P. Bennett, an adviser to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, directed a secret and lucrative lobbying campaign aimed at advancing the interests of a foreign country, under more by denigrating a rival nation.

The country for which the work was done is not named in the documents but matches the description of Qatar, which in 2017 paid Bennett's company $2.1 million for lobbying work and was identified in a subpoena from the Ministry of 2020 Justice previously obtained by The Associated The press sought records of Bennett's foreign lobbying work.

Federal prosecutors filed two charges against Bennett in a charging document known as an information, which is typically filed only with the suspect's consent and usually indicates the parties have reached a resolution. Prosecutors said the case will be dismissed after he fulfills the terms of a deferred prosecution agreement, including payment of a $100,000 fine.

The Justice Department also reached a similar agreement with Douglas Watts, a New Jersey political consultant who prosecutors say worked with Bennett and failed to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

The law, enacted in 1938 to expose Nazi propaganda in the United States, requires people to disclose it to the Justice Department when advocating, lobbying or doing public relations work on behalf of a foreign government or political entity in the U.S. .

An attorney for Bennett did not immediately return messages sent to his law firm. Justin Dillon, an attorney for Watts, declined to comment Tuesday evening. An email to the Qatari embassy was not immediately returned.

According to the Justice Department, Bennett signed a contract in 2017 for his company Avenue Strategies to conduct lobbying work on behalf of the Qatari embassy. He also reported to the Ministry of Justice that year to lobby for the embassy.

But as part of that strategy, prosecutors said he also covertly ran another company called Yemen Crisis Watch, which waged a public relations campaign to denigrate one of Qatar's unnamed rivals — both Saudi Arabia and the United States. Arab Emirates have been involved in military operations in Yemen that critics have contributed to a humanitarian crisis — and improved Qatar's standing with the U.S. government.

That effort included lobbying Congress and Trump, as well as a social media campaign, publishing op-ed articles in newspapers and producing a television documentary, prosecutors said. Yemen Crisis Watch urged the public to contact their lawmakers and urge them to “stop” the intervention in Yemen by Qatar's unnamed rival, prosecutors said.

Robert Schuller, a prominent televangelist, and former Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer both aided Yemen Crisis Watch's efforts, according to previous reporting by the Wall Street Journal and the Topeka Capital-Journal. Neither man has been charged with any wrongdoing and messages sent to them were not immediately returned.

Prosecutors say Bennett's consulting firm failed to disclose the creation of Yemen Crisis Watch in its FARA filings, and that Watts made false statements during interviews with the FBI about his knowledge of the company's founding and its activities.

The case is part of several investigations by federal law enforcement officials regarding Qatar's aggressive influence campaign during the Trump administration, when the country was the target of a blockade by Saudi Arabia and other neighboring countries.

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Suderman reported from Richmond, Virginia.