Richard Olson charged for his alleged role in lobbying campaign for the Qatari government

Prosecutors accuse Olson, a career foreign service officer who served as an ambassador under President Barack Obama, of courting foreign work while in office and using his political influence to advance Qatari interests in Washington after leaving government.

After leaving government service in late 2016, Olson worked with his Pakistani American contact and high-level Qatari government officials to advance Doha’s interests in Washington, prosecutors allege.

Richard Olson deemed to be lobbying for Qatar to pressure the White House to stop support for the Saudi Arabia and stop supplies to Kingdom in the Yemen war.