Relations between qatar and a number of regional powers deteriorated in mid-2017 after Doha was accused of sponsoring terrorist groups and destabilizing the region, leading to a wave of sanctions by the Saudi-led bloc.
Prominent Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy, who serves as the deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), filed a lawsuit against qatar on Monday, claiming its government doctored and leaked a number of his emails to smear him.
He alleged that the emails – some of which contained confidential documents – were hacked, edited and leaked by Qatari authorities in retaliation to his pro-Saudi stance in the diplomatic crisis and his efforts to sway the Trump administration in favor of Qatar's regional foes.
“We believe the evidence is clear that a nation state is waging a sophisticated disinformation campaign against me in order to silence me,” Mr. Broidy said in a statement.
The filed lawsuit also claims his wife's email accounts were hacked and leaked to the media to cause reputational damage.
Qatar has already responded to the lawsuit, with a spokesman at the embassy in Washington insisting that the lawsuit is an attempt by the Republican fundraiser to “divert attention from media scrutiny on his activities.”
“It is Mr. Broidy, not Qatar, who orchestrated nefarious activities designed to influence Congress and American foreign policy,”…
