Houston lobbyist for Qatar files supplement, reveals campaign cash donated and more

A Houston, Texas-based lobbyist for Qatar filed an updated disclosure with the United States Justice Department on June 29, 2020, a search of public records revealed. 

The foreign lobbying disclosure document required under FARA, the Foreign Agent Registration Act submitted by Chase Untermeyer brings to light additional campaign cash donations he made to Texas elected officials, candidates for elected office in Texas and activities undertaken in conjunction with his consulting agreement with the State of Qatar.

Required under FARA a registrant such as Untermeyer must disclose campaign cash donations or any thing of value made from his own funds to candidates for elected office. 

In amounts ranging from a high of $1000.00 to Pierce Bush, candidate for Congress to $150.00 to Michael Kubosh, Houston city council member, campaign contributions were made to:

• Raj Salhotra: candidate for Houston city council
• Edward Pollard: candidate for Houston city council (two contributions)
• Matt Barnes, candidate for Houston ISD school board
• Rodney Ellis: Harris County commissioner
• Brenda Stardig: candidate for Harris County commissioner
• Dan Crenshaw: United States Congressman
• Justin Ray: candidate for Texas State Representative

FARA also requires registrants to disclose any activities for or rendered any services to the State of Qatar. Those activities included:

1. Preliminary planning on a trip to North Texas by Ambassador Meshal al-Thani.
2. Preliminary planning on a Texas trip by Mohammed al-Sowaidi, head of the US office of the Qatar Investment Authority. 
3. Advice to Rashid al-Dehaimi, consul general of Qatar in Houston, on charitable contributions. 
4. Proposed names of persons to be invited to Qatar-sponsored events. 
5. Liaison to the staff the Qatar Harvey Fund. 

Detail of phone calls, office visits, fundraisers and meetings on behalf of the State of Qatar included:

• Meeting staff of Texas Congressional members to support funding for the National Endowment on the Humanities
• Breakfast meetings with Ed Pollard, Houston city council candidate to discuss Pollards' campaign and plans once on council and facilitate introductions to Houston auto dealer Alan Helfman
• Remarks givien to the West Houston Teen Summit to support event sponsor State Rep. Jim Murphy
• A call from Rodney Ellis to discuss Qatari aid to Houston
• Discussion over voting methods with State Rep. Sarah Davis
• A conference call with Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee about vaccines
• A December 2019 meeting with Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush
• An office visit with Congressman Michael McCaul

For these and other activities on behalf of the State of Qatar, Mr. Untermeyer received $90,000.00 in fees between December 5, 2019 and May 15, 2020.

Read the entire Supplemental Statement here.