Hacked

Elliott Broidy Sues Michael Cohen-Linked Qatari Operative Over Hacked Emails

Elliott Broidy filed a lawsuit Thursday against the individuals he believes hacked and leaked his emails to the press—including one man with some very interesting business ties.

Scandal-plagued GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy is striking back at a Qatari operative who, he says, participated in hacking his computer and distributing the emails to journalists.

According to a lawsuit filed by Briody’s lawyers in federal court on Thursday, Ahmed Al-Rumaihi, along with other defendants, “participated in the strategic planning for and execution of the attacks.” Those attacks, according to the complaint, were comprised of a sophisticated spearfishing campaign to steal email login credentials, hack into Broidy’s email account, gather his emails, and give them to American journalists, “all for the purpose of discrediting Plaintiff Broidy in the United States and interfering with his business relationships.” The complaint noted that the efforts were “largely successful,” as numerous media outlets published stories based on the stolen emails.

Rumaihi exploded into the public eye when Stormy Daniels’ lawyer, Michael Avenatti, tweeted a picture of him on an elevator in Trump Tower during the transition period between Election Day 2016 and Trump’s inauguration day.

Al-Rumaihi told The Intercept that Michael Cohen asked him for $1 million in exchange for helping a Qatari investment fund with American projects. Cohen told The Intercept that it was “untrue.”

A spokesperson for Sport Trinity, a company of Al-Rumaihi's, said the allegations in Broidy's lawsuit are not true. 

"The allegations made in the complaint filed by Broidy Capital Management and Elliot Broidy relating to Ahmed Al-Rumaihi, a private citizen and principal at Sport Trinity, are completely meritless," he said. "The complaint promotes false and misleading descriptions of Mr. Al-Rumaihi.  In June 2017, the time identified in the complaint, Mr. Al-Rumaihi was no longer employed by the State of Qatar or the QIA."   

Broidy is a vocal critic of the state of Qatar.

The hacked emails were prominently featured in a recent AP report that detailed how Broidy and George Nader, a convicted pedophile, covertly worked for the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and launched a sophisticated lobbying campaign to try to persuade the Trump administration to take a stand against the Qataris. In return, Broidy and Nader expected to receive lucrative defense contracts, according to the report.

Before Nader could cash in on the reported lobbying boon, Special Counsel Bob Mueller got to him—stopping him at an airport and questioning him. Nader is now cooperating with the Special Counsel.

A separate lawsuit alleges that al-Rumaihi tried to bribe Steve Bannon.

“Mr Al-Rumaihi requested I set up a meeting between him, the Qatari government, and Stephen Bannon, and to tell Steve Bannon that Qatar would underwrite all of his political efforts in return for his support,” said Jeff Kwatinetz, former business partner of the rapper Ice Cube, in the separate lawsuit.

Al-Rumaihi holds those allegations are lies. Lawyers for the state of Qatar did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

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Betsy SwanFormer Political Reporter

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