General John R. Allen has actually stepped down as president of the Brookings Institution after he was implicated in lying and blocking an FBI probe linked to an illegal lobbying project for Qatar.
The retired four-star Marine, who would become Brookings president in 2017, specified in his resignation letter that he leaves the think tank with a “heavy heart,” according to Accountable Statecraft.
“I know it is best for all concerned in this moment,” he said in his resignation letter that was obtained and posted by the online magazine of the Quincy Institute, which advocates for diplomacy and military restraint.
The departure follows he was put on leave by Brookings Wednesday following explosive accusations that he made incorrect declarations and kept “incriminating” documents from the FBI throughout its examination into whether he worked behind the scenes to influence US diplomacy in favor of the small Persian Gulf nation, according to court documents.
His electronic information was seized by the FBI as part of the investigation.
Allen presumably lobbied US officials to assist Qatar in 2017 throughout a diplomatic crisis between the monarchy and its neighbors while “simultaneously pursuing multi-million dollar business deals with the government of Qatar,” breaching the Foreign Agents Registration Act [FARA], FBI representative Babak Adib composed in a search warrant application, obtained by the Associated Press.
The FBI says Allen offered a “false version of events” about his work for Qatar throughout a 2020 interview with cops authorities and stopped working to produce significant e-mail messages in response to an earlier grand jury subpoena.
General Allen has actually rejected being a representative of Qatar and his agent stated the previous basic“voluntarily cooperated with the government’s investigation into this matter.”
“Gen. Allen has done nothing improper or unlawful, has never acted as an agent of Qatar or any foreign government or principal, and has never obstructed justice,” spokesperson Beau Phillips told Fox News Digital. “Through decades of public service in combat and diplomacy, General Allen has earned an unmatched, sterling reputation for honor and integrity.”
The Brookings Organization, a prominent think tank, simply recently stopped taking Qatari financing after the rich country was among Brooking’s significant financial backers.
Allen, the previous leader of the United States and NATO forces in Afghanistan, was placed on leave on June 8 by Brookings. The company stated the “integrity and objectivity of Brookings scholars and their research constitute the institution’s principal assets.”
“Brookings is not the subject of a federal investigation into a personal trip Allen took to Qatar in 2017 before he became president of the institution. Brookings receives no funds from the government of Qatar,” the institution said in a statement announcing Allen was placed on leave. “Brookings received funding from Qatar in the past to support operations for research and events. In early 2019, Brookings decided it would not renew funding from the country and would close its Brookings Doha Center, established in 2007. The decision to close the Brookings Doha Center was concurrent with the decision to transition all of Brookings’s foreign centers.”
In an e-mail to staffers Sunday, Brookings co-chairs Glenn Hutchins and Suzanne Nora Johnson specified senior monetary fellow Ted Gayer would be acting president.
Allen was thanked for his “leadership in successfully guiding the institution during the pandemic, as well as his many years of service and sacrifice for our country,” in the note.
General Allen’s resignation letter, obtained by Responsible Statecraft, does not address the swirling claims in any straightforward manner, nevertheless, he does note it when describing his service to the United States.
“I spent forty-five years in devoted service to the American people and United States, serving our nation and our precious citizens in peace, crisis, and war,” he wrote. “I did so with the best sense of humility and pride in having actually been part of something higher than myself.”