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January 22, 2024 MEMRI Daily Brief No. 565

Qatari Ambassador To U.S. Was Allegedly Involved In Bribing A French Minister, Spying On U.S. Lawmakers

January 22, 2024 | By Yigal Carmon*
Qatar | MEMRI Daily Brief No. 565

MEMRI recently exposed two cases of alleged Qatari involvement in illegal activities in the U.S. and France.

A.  Alleged Bribing Of A French Minister

According to leaked government documents obtained by Project Raven, Qatari Ambassador to the U.S. Mashal bin Hamad Aal Thani, who was at that time Qatari Ambassador to France, allegedly bribed French minister Jean-Marie Le Guen.

This was reported twice by MEMRI:

First here: The Project Raven Leaks: In 2016, During His Tenure As Qatari Ambassador To France, Mashal Bin Hamad Aal Thani, Now Qatari Ambassador To The U.S., Reportedly Bribed French Minister, November 22, 2023

Next, here: 'Project Raven' – The Origin Of The Qatari Government Letters Leak, December 22, 2023.

The story was discussed in French media.


Mashal bin Hamad Aal Thani (Source: Qatar-tribune.com/article/8474/TopNews/Qatari-US-relations-witnessing-a-quantum-leap-Qatars-ambassador-to-US, January 30, 2022)

B.  Alleged Spying On U.S. Lawmakers

According to Associated Press and Fox News reports, Mashal bin Hamad Aal Thani hired a former CIA official, Kevin Chalker, and his company, Global Research Associates, to spy on U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton and Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, as well as on former Congressman Ed Royce who had chaired the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The spying initiative, named Project ENDGAME, was aimed at preventing legislation they had initiated against the Muslim Brotherhood, which is Hamas's parent organization.

Below is the full "Project ENDGAME Executive Summary":

*Yigal Carmon is President and Founder of MEMRI

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