Trump fundraiser Broidy hit with another
setback in Qatar lawsuit
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[December 22, 2018]
(Reuters) - A former top fundraiser
for U.S. President Donald Trump suffered another legal setback on Friday
in his efforts to pin the blame on Qatar for a hack of his emails, as a
judge tossed his lawsuit against a veteran United Nations diplomat.
Elliott Broidy, a businessman who held senior finance posts in Trump's
2016 presidential campaign and his inaugural committee, sued Jamal
Benomar in July, claiming he orchestrated the dissemination of hacked
emails to media outlets.
Benomar, a British citizen born in Morocco and a former U.N. special
envoy for Yemen, had denied involvement and sought to get the lawsuit
thrown out by asserting diplomatic immunity, a status confirmed by the
Trump administration last month.
Siding with Benomar, Manhattan federal District Judge Cathy Seibel on
Friday dismissed the case, court records show.
"To be clear, I have never spoken with nor met Elliott Broidy. I never
was involved in any hacking scheme," Benomar said in a statement
applauding the court decision.
Broidy, who has claimed he was targeted by Qatar and its agents over his
efforts to shift U.S. policy against the Persian Gulf nation, plans to
appeal the decision, his lawyer said.
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"We don't believe that Mr. Benomar's claim of diplomatic status
should provide him with immunity in this case," Lee Wolosky said.
Broidy has accused Qatari hackers of leaking his emails to the
media, leading to the publication of damaging stories that increased
scrutiny of his access to Trump and lobbying efforts aimed at
benefiting his patron, the United Arab Emirates, at the expense of
Qatar.
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A federal judge in California in August granted Qatar's request to
be dismissed from a similar lawsuit, citing sovereign immunity.
Qatar has denied any involvement in the hacks.
Broidy appealed that dismissal. That case is pending.
(Reporting by Nathan Layne in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler and
Rosalba O'Brien)
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