Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Image: YouTube screen grab)

Man, if Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) were any more of a patriot, we’d all be speaking Persian right now.

A sworn court statement claims that the America-hating freshman congresswoman passed information to Iran through Qatar. The sworn deposition, which appears below, by Alan Bender a Kuwaiti-born Canadian businessman, claims that Omar was recruited and paid by Qatar to pass sensitive information to Iran via intermediaries. Omar is a member of the House Foreign Relations committee and probably has much access to a trove of information coveted by the Iranian mullahs.

Bender was subpoenaed in a lawsuit against the Qatari emir’s brother, Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad al-Thani, who stands accused of ordering his American bodyguard to murder two people and holding his hired American paramedic prisoner. In his deposition, Bender testifies about his meetings with Qatari spy chief Mohammed Al-Masnad and other Qatari officials who discussed Qatar’s campaign to influence Western politicians.

The Saudi news outlet Al Arabiya obtained Bender’s deposition and reported that the contents were authenticated by the attorney for the plaintiffs.

Trending: Two ‘mob vs. vehicle’ incidents in Los Angeles Thursday night; one person hit During the deposition, businessman Alan Bender said he met with Qatar’s Secretary to the Emir for Security Affairs Mohammad bin Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Masnad and two other senior Qatari officials. According to Bender, these officials said to him, “If it wasn’t for our cash, Ilhan Omar would be just another black Somali refugee in America collecting welfare and serving tables on weekends.” Bender also testified the Qatari officials asked him to recruit American politicians and journalists to be Qatari assets. After he objected, the officials told him that a number of important people were already on Qatar’s payroll. Ilhan Omar was described as the “jewel in the crown,” he said. Bender also testified that Al-Masnad said that Qatar “recruited Ilhan Omar from even way before she thought about becoming a government official. … They groomed her and arranged the foundation, the grounds, for her to get into politics way before she even showed interest. They convinced her.” Bender alleged that Omar cooperated with the Qataris and received cash payments. He also claimed that once Omar took office, she used her position in the House of Representatives to access sensitive information which she relayed to Qatar, and through them to Iran. According to Bender’s deposition, Omar’s role in the Qatari influence campaign is crucial. She actively recruited other politicians on behalf of Qatar, he said. Bender said the Qataris claimed that “the best thing money can buy are American officials because they are the cheapest of the cheapest costing officials in the world,” according to his sworn testimony.

On page 77 of the deposition, Bender says he questioned why a devout Muslim such as Omar would take bribes only to be told, “don’t be fooled by her headscarf. She’s a sex maniac, and she’s very weak when it comes to money and sex. And we got both.”

The Jerusalem Post which posted similar pieces of the transcript added:

Bender’s testimony has been questioned and reports, including this one by the Post, have led to speculation, especially on Twitter. Speaking to the Post, Bender said: “I confirm that the information published in The Jerusalem Post report about Ilhan Omar and Qatar is accurate 100%.” The deposition shows he further told the court that, during a 2017 meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Omar swore allegiance to him. At the time she was a junior state representative in Minnesota.

There is the possibility that Bender perjured himself in the deposition and that his account of Omar’s treachery is inaccurate. It is also possible that Qatar manipulated Bender, convincing him hat the account was true when it wasn’t. At the very least, Binder’s statement should elicit an investigation by Congress or the Department of Homeland Security because the charge is very serious if true.

Cross posted at The Lid