Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) left some people scratching their heads on Thursday after he provided an impassioned defense for the Islamic nation of Qatar during a congressional hearing. A Washington Examiner review of Foreign Agents Registration Act records found that the arguments Marshall made to defend Qatar matched talking points provided to his office by foreign agents working on behalf of the Qatari government.
“What was Qatar’s role in the hostage release of Americans?” Marshall asked Charles Asher Small, director of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, during the hearing.
When Small began to answer by pointing out that Qatar funds Hamas, Marshall cut him off by saying, “The Qataris were vastly responsible for the freeing of American hostages and many others.”
Marshall’s statements echoed information provided to his office by lobbyists working for the Qatari government.
Shortly after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, foreign agents working on behalf of the Qatari government sent Marshall’s chief of staff an email “related to Qatar’s role in the release of Gaza hostages.” The email talked up the oil-rich nation’s efforts, according to FARA records. In January, the same Qatari foreign agent, employed by Venable, sent an update to members of Congress saying, “As you may know, Qatar worked closely with President Trump and his team on the latest ceasefire and hostage release” and providing a link to a Newsweek story with more details.
Marshall’s statements lined up with information handed off to his office by Qatari foreign agents not once but twice during his relatively brief questioning of Small.
“What was Qatar’s role in the evacuation of Afghanistan — and especially how did it impact Americans?” the senator asked as a follow-up question. When Small pointed toward Qatar’s close relations with the Taliban and the Iranian regime, Marshall again cut him off.
“It’s interesting the prejudice that I hear coming out of your mouth here,” Marshall said. “Qatar was so important. Of the 120,000 people evacuated from Afghanistan … 60,000 of them came through Qatar. Without Qatar, we would have had thousands more deaths.”
In 2022, Qatari foreign agents working for Venable sent Marshall’s chief of staff information about the country’s involvement in evacuating Americans during the withdrawal from Afghanistan. The informational packet highlighted that Qatar allowed Western governments to rent Qatar Airways aircraft for evacuations and pointed out that “since the withdrawal, Qatar has evacuated and helped repatriate nationals and foreign residents from more than twenty allied countries.”
The information foreign agents provided to Marshall and the statements made by the senator on Thursday were factual. Qatar did play important roles in hostage negotiations with Hamas and the Afghan withdrawal. Lobbyists and foreign agents often send congressional offices news clippings that paint their clients in a favorable light while omitting those that are less flattering.
Marshall also took time to defend Qatar from accusations of buying influence through its contributions to American universities, a point of discourse Qatari agents have historically worked to quash.
The senator’s statements sparked some controversy on social media.
Daily Wire video journalist Kassy Akiva described Marshall’s exchange with Small as a “really bizarre pro-Qatar rant.” Independent journalist Eitan Fischberger called Marshall’s rhetoric “strange” and pointed out that, in 2019, the senator criticized Qatar for its “blind eye to terrorist financing within its own borders.”
“Across the Persian Gulf sits the nation of Qatar, whose well-documented support for terrorism and extremist groups have fueled violence, civil war, and bloodshed,” Marshall said in a 2019 speech to the Middle East Forum.
Marshall’s office’s history of meeting with Qatari foreign agents dates back to 2022. That year, foreign agents working for Venable sent the senator’s chief of staff multiple texts and emails attempting to organize a trip to Qatar, according to FARA records. In January 2022, Qatari foreign agents sent Marshall’s office an invitation for dinner at the Capital Grille, a swanky steakhouse near the White House where the cheapest entree goes for $46.
Venable, alongside Neale Creek and the Bachner Group, sent multiple other communications to Marshall’s office concerning U.S.-Qatar relations, a dinner at the Qatar Embassy, and other information. FARA records indicate that a Qatari foreign agent working for Moran Global Strategies met with a Marshall staffer over six days while they were visiting Qatar to discuss “Qatar’s domestic and foreign policy positions.”
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Marshall has also met with the emir of Qatar and the Qatari Businessmen Association, a trade association that promotes Qatari interests and is led by members of the country’s royal family.
“I had [a] very productive & enlightening visit with His Highness @AmiriDiwan of Qatar,” Marshall posted to his X account in February 2023. “I am grateful for their warm friendship and our strategic partnership in the Gulf region.”
Marshall’s office did not comment.
