Free Republic

Retired four-star Marine Gen. John Allen, is on administrative leave from his role as president of the Brookings Institute D.C. think tank after the FBI seized his electronic data on suspicion of lying to investigators and withholding evidence about his role in secretly lobbying for the government of Qatar. As a general, he commanded all U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan in the Obama administration. The court records, which were unsealed Tuesday, are the latest public evidence showing the FBI and Justice Department are conducting a large-scale investigation into the stateside influence of wealthy Arab nations including Qatar, Saudi Arabia...

Congress notified that CIA inspector general has received allegations from fund-raiser Imaad Zuberi, including targeting of U.S. lawmakers and misuse of news organization for spy operation. Imaad Zuberi, a major Democratic fundraiser facing 12 years in prison, has filed an extraordinary complaint with the CIA's chief watchdog alleging he witnessed "flagrant problems, abuses, violations of law" while working as an asset for U.S. intelligence, according to documents and interviews. Zuberi, of Los Angeles, recently hired the CIA's retired acting general counsel Robert J. Eatinger Jr. to review his case and help to appeal his conviction on a plea deal with...

Federal prosecutors on Friday alleged that a political fundraiser offered six witnesses in a case against him $6 million for their silence. The prosecutors also accused Imaad Zuberi, who is already accused of funneling foreign money into U.S. elections, of acting as an unregistered agent for the Turkish government and for Libyan government officials, as well as other foreign countries. Zuberi later Friday pleaded guilty to counts on tax evasion, campaign finance violations and failing to register as a foreign agent. SNIP Zuberi is known to have ties to a high-profile Democratic Party donor linked to Turkish President Recep Tayyip...

When President Barack Obama was reelected in 2012, a Saudi tycoon and his business associate sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to the U.S. to help pay for the inaugural celebration and get a picture with the president, according to court documents and an analysis of campaign finance records by The Associated Press. U.S. election law prohibits foreign nationals from making those sorts of political contributions. But the donations Sheikh Mohammed Al Rahbani tried to send to Obama's inaugural committee were funneled through a seasoned straw donor, the records and the AP analysis show. That intermediary, Imaad Zuberi, agreed this...