Another lobbying effort Olson joined came after Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar in 2017, and blocked flights and ships from Qatar use their airspace and sea lanes. The breakup became an international crisis. US military officials had to manage to deal with the aftermath of the blockade because the main US military airbase in the Middle East is located in Qatar.
Rex Tillerson, first secretary of state under President Donald J. Trump, told U.S. lawmakers in 2019, a year after he was forced out, that he had been caught off guard by the diplomatic crisis. . He said Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and White House adviser, had say secret with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the Emirate about the plan to impose a blockade during a visit to Riyadh in 2017.
Olson was paid to lobby officials in the Trump administration to encourage the US government to help lift the blockade and repair diplomatic relations between the Persian Gulf states, prosecutors said. The Justice Department said in their filing.
Qatar and Emirates have pour money into Washington-based companies and research groups in recent years to try to influence U.S. policy. Thomas J. Barrack Jr., a friend of Mr. Trump, was arrested in July 2021 on charges of illegal lobbying for Emirates. Elliott Broidy, a Trump ally and former Republican official, has pushed for US policies in favor of Emirates while his private security firm benefits from a $200 million contract with the country. this. And he was charged in 2020 with illegal lobbying for a Malaysian financier.
Mr. Olson has received numerous awards during his more than three decades in the State Department, according to a official online bio. He retired as a career minister, the second-highest rank in the service.
Mr. Olson is also posted in Mexico, Uganda, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Iraq.
When Mr. Olson retired in November 2016, Mr. Kerry said in a statement“Rick is simply one of our finest diplomats, a career member of the High Diplomatic Service who has been at the forefront of our work in the Middle East, Africa and more recently. especially in Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
