Houston, TX-based lobbyist for Qatar reveals campaign donations, contact with Bush School at TAMU

 A Houston, Texas-based lobbyist for Qatar filed an updated disclosure with the United States Justice Department on June 26, 2021, 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 campaign cash donations made to two Texas elected officials and activities undertaken in conjunction with his consulting agreement with the State of Qatar.

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

For the period 1/1/2021 through 5/31/2021 Untermeyer received $75,000 in fees as a Texas advisor to the State of Qatar.

In May 2021 he made two campaign contributions; $250.00 to Houston councilman Edward Pollard and 500.00 to U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul of Texas. 

The lobbyist for Qatar disclosed his activities undertaken in accordance with his advisory role:

• Ongoing liaison between the Consulate General of Qatar and an effort by MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to obtain Qatari funding for a radiotherapy facility in Gaza,

• Ongoing local liaison for the Qatar Harvey Fund in the execution of its projects in the greater Houston area,

• Liaison between the Embassy of Qatar and principals of the Houston-Harris County Winter Storm Relief Fund in connection with an Embassy donation to the fund, and

• A series of emails and telephone calls offering Qatari subject-matter experts to the following entities: The Baker Institute at Rice University; the Bush School at Texas A&M; the Clements Center at the University of Texas; the Institute for the Study of Western Civilization at Texas Tech University; the Tower Center at Southern Methodist University; the Center for International Studies at the University of St. Thomas; the Kormetsky Center for Excellence at St. Edwards' University; the Asia Society-Texas Center and the World Affairs Councils of Houston, Dallas-Ft Worth, and Austin.

Texas A&M University receives more than $76.2 million each year to operate its branch campus in Qatar, The Washington Post reported. The Post obtained a copy of the contract and budget documents for the campus via a public records request in 2016.

Texas A&M’s campus in Qatar’s “Education City” has awarded 635 degrees in engineering fields since its establishment in 2003. It is one of six U.S. branch campuses funded by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development. 

Each of the branches has a specific programmatic focus: Carnegie Mellon’s branch focuses on business and computer science, Cornell University’s on medicine, Georgetown University’s on foreign service, Northwestern University’s on communication and journalism, and Virginia Commonwealth University’s on art and design. The Post estimates that operating expenses for all six of the branches totaled $404.8 million in 2014.

Seeking public records about potential influence by the Qatar government’s funding of certain Texas A&M University programs at its campus in Education City, Al Rayyan, Qatar; earlier this week County Examiner reported a Judicial Watch announcement for the following:

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it filed petition for review with the Supreme Court of Texas regarding a lawsuit on behalf of its client Zachor Legal Institute under the Texas Public Information Act (TPIA), seeking records about potential influence by the Qatar government’s funding of certain Texas A&M University programs at its campus in Education City, Al Rayyan, Qatar (Zachor Legal Institute, v. Qatar Foundation For Education, Science And Community Development (No. 21-0542)

Zachor Legal Institute is a U.S.-based advocacy group dedicated to combatting the spread of anti-Semitism. Zachor made two requests under the Texas Public Information Act for information about the funding or donations made to Texas A&M by the government of Qatar and agencies and subdivisions of the government of Qatar. Qatar controversially has aligned itself with Islamic terrorists and extremists, which has placed it at odds with the United States, Israel and other U.S. allies in the Middle East.

 

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.

Should foreign nationals engaged in lobbying elected officials disclose their relationships and sources of income?

If Americans engaged in lobbying on behalf of a foreign country must register and disclose their relationships with the foreign principal, shouldn't that same standard apply to the DACA recipients lobbying as well?

That is the question I asked myself as I watched this Fox and Friends segment featuring Hilario Yanez. 

Yanez, of Houston, Texas, billed as a DACA (Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals) recipient, engaged in a public policy discussion with the show hosts and was asked his political opinion on the recent Supreme Court decision on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and what it means to Yanez.

 

"It doesn't get us a step closer to a permanent solution... Trump's intention was to get rid of DACA so we could find a permanent solution and to force Congress to do their job ..I still don't know what my future looks like."

While its appreciated that Fox and Friends revealed Yanez' status (and he doesn't keep it a secret, either) as a foreign national with unlawful presence (allowed to work and obtain a driver license) in the United States lets consider the key question of foreign nationals lobbying elected U.S. officials without disclosure of their relationships and compensation.

Yanez was invited to and gave testimony in front of a March 6, 2019 United States Congressional committee. At the 2:20:00 minute mark he answers Rep. Debbie Lesko question " What do you think the Trump administration is doing well to help the immigration system ?' 

Isn't the broader question "Who invited a foreign national to engage in the political activity of lobbying members of the United States Congress? 

Who paid his travel expenses from Houston, Texas to Washington, DC? 

Who is this foreign national lobbying on behalf of? American citizens? Residents of a foreign country? 

Don't U.S. citizens have a right to know? 
















Listen to his response (start at 2:20:00) that Angel Families should be part of the discussion. Hear him say Trump is supporting pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients.



Has Yanez been to the White House as part of a discussion? He seems so certain of a  Presidential public policy position of supporting a pathway to citizenship. 

We do know the U.S. Chamber of Commerce invited him to speak at their forum titled The Immigration Landscape:

And is billed as the National Press Secretary for the Republican National Hispanic Assembly. 

Yes, THAT Republican National Hispanic Assembly.

If Americans engaged in lobbying on behalf of a foreign country must register and disclose their relationships with the foreign principal, shouldn't that same standard apply to the DACA recipients lobbying as well?