Qatar hiring Ashcroft, who was attorney general during the Sept. 11 attacks and then helped push through the Patriot Act, appeared aimed at appeasing Washington as several Gulf nations try to isolate it. Officials in Qatar, home to a major U.S. military base, and Ashcroft’s firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Ashcroft Law Firm filed the paperwork with the Justice Department’s National Security Division on Friday. The contract filed by Ashcroft’s firm was signed by Ahmad al-Hammadi, the secretary-general of Qatar’s Foreign Ministry. While U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has urged Gulf nations not to escalate the crisis, President Donald Trump repeatedly has criticized Qatar over its alleged support of militants.

Source: Washington Post June 11, 2017 12:38 UTC