Omar on Qatari payroll? Accused of passing ‘sensitive information to Iran’

“If it wasn’t for our cash, Ilhan Omar would be just another black Somali refugee in America collecting welfare,” boasted Qatari officials, according to the testimony.

By World Israel News Staff 

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is said to have “passed sensitive information that was relayed to Iran, and received funding by a foreign government, according to a sworn deposition by a Canadian businessman in a Florida court,” reports Al Arabiya English, a Gulf-based news outlet.

“In explosive testimony made by video link from Toronto, Canada to a Florida District Court on October 23, Kuwaiti-born Alan Bender claims to have deep ties with governments and royal officials across the Middle East including Qatar. In his statement, he says he met Qatar’s Secretary to the Emir for Security Affairs Mohammad bin Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Masnad and two other senior Qatari officials,” says Al Arabiya English. 

The report says that the three Qatari officials “allegedly claimed credit for the meteoric rise of Omar, saying: ‘If it wasn’t for our cash, Ilhan Omar would be just another black Somali refugee in America collecting welfare and serving tables on weekends,’ according to Bender’s sworn deposition.”

Al Arabiya English says that it obtained the deposition and that it was “authenticated by the attorney for the plaintiffs.”

“In the testimony, Bender claims to have been asked to recruit American politicians and journalists to be Qatari assets. He says he objected and the Qatari officials responded by saying that several American politicians and journalists were already on the payroll — most prominently Omar, who was allegedly described as the ‘jewel of the crown,’ according to the deposition,” reports Al Arabiya English.

According to Bender’s testimony, the secretary to the Qatari emir for security affairs said that Qatar “recruited Ilhan Omar from even way before she thought about becoming a government official.… They groomed her and arranged the foundation, the grounds, for her to get into politics way before she even showed interest. They convinced her,” says the report, adding that “Omar cooperated with the Qataris and received cash payments,” according to the deposition.

“According to Bender’s deposition, Omar’s role in the Qatari influence campaign is crucial. She actively recruited other politicians on behalf of Qatar,” says Al Arabiya English.

The Gulf-based news outlet adds that Bender, in his sworn testimony, also quotes the Qataris as claiming that “the best thing money can buy are American officials because they are the cheapest of the cheapest costing officials in the world.”