A lot of folks in the current administration have links:<p>> <i>The airplane deal was signed off by Attorney General Pam Bondi. She used to work at a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm that received $115,000 a month from Qatar to fight human trafficking, according to a 2019 contract[1] reviewed by</i> The Free Press.<p>> <i>She’s not the only one in the administration with ties to the Persian Gulf state.</i><p>> <i>President Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, led lobbying firm[2] Mercury Public Affairs when it represented Qatar’s embassy in Washington.[3] FBI Director Kash Patel worked as a consultant for Qatar,[4] though he didn’t register as a foreign agent.</i><p>> <i>And then there is Steve Witkoff, president Trump’s longtime friend and senior adviser, who is accompanying him on his trip this week. For months now, Witkoff has served as Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East—and his name has been floated as a future national security adviser. Witkoff also happens to be a beneficiary of Qatar’s largesse: In 2023, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund bought out his faltering investment in New York’s Park Lane Hotel for $623 million.[5]</i>