Trump fixer Michael Cohen, acting as a consultant for a major Trump inauguration donor, met with the donor and a representative of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund in early April seeking an investment for the donor’s nuclear plant project, two reports Monday indicated.
Mother Jones and the Wall Street Journal, each citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, reported on the meeting Monday afternoon.
The Trump donor, Franklin Haney, gave $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee, according to the reports, and at least $125,000 to the Republican National Committee this year, according to Mother Jones. He’s seeking to complete an unfinished nuclear plant in Alabama. Both reports said the results of the meeting were unknown.
Both reports also noted that Haney is seeking the extension of a federal nuclear power tax credit, among other things.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, with whom Cohen and Haney met on April 5, is the Qatari minister of economy and commerce as well as the deputy chairman of the Qatar Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund.
Haney, the Journal reported, recently hired Cohen as a consultant, though Cohen’s fee is unclear. The trio met at a Four Seasons near Miami Beach, the Journal reported, just days before Cohen’s home, office and hotel room were raided as part of a months-long criminal probe.
Foreign Policy, Mother Jones noted, had reported earlier this month on the meeting between Cohen and Al Thani but could not detail their discussions. (Haney is unmentioned in that report.)
A spokesperson for the Qatari government confirmed to the Journal that Cohen had requested the meeting, and that it had been granted, but did not elaborate on its purpose.
Read Mother Jones’ report here and the Wall Street Journal’s report here.
