Islam Times - Meet Stuart Jolly, ex-Trump staffer now working as DC lobbyist for Qatar

Islam Times - The Qatari government has hired ex-Trump campaign staffer Stuart Jolly as a lobbyist for the kingdom in Washington, DC.

The former national field director for Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign was registered as a foreign agent of Qatar late last year, Politico reported Saturday.

Jolly joined the list of allies of former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski that have forged ties to Doha.

The energy-rich Persian Gulf kingdom is under a Saudi-led diplomatic and trade boycott over alleged support for terrorism.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt have cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar after officially accusing it of “sponsoring terrorism.”

On June 9, 2017, Qatar strongly dismissed allegations of supporting terrorism after the Saudi regime and its allies blacklisted dozens of individuals and entities purportedly associated with Doha.

Hiring Jolly could be part of Doha’s efforts to put an end to the Saudi imposed blockade.

According to Politico, “Doha hopes the US government — which maintains a strategically vital airbase in the country — will pressure its neighbors to end the blockade.”

Jolly’s employment at Qatar’s embassy in Washington came as a subcontractor to Gary Silversmith, a Washington lawyer.

“Frankly, they didn’t really need anything,” Silversmith said of his clients. “They never really asked me to do anything."