In the cable sent by the US’s then charge d’affaires Michael Ratney, ahead of a visit by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, he wrote: “HBJ was involved very early on, but to the consternation, we believe, of Qatar’s security agencies. If you raise the issue on this visit, it should be limited to thanking the Qataris for their cooperation on the case... We believe any more detailed discussion of the case should be done through the Qatari Attorney General and intelligence service, and not with HBJ.”