Democrat Challenging Elise Stefanik Previously Lobbied For Qatar

Matthew Putorti, an attorney in New York City running against newly appointed House Republican Conference chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), previously registered as a foreign agent to lobby on behalf of the “Embassy of Qatar.”

The Daily Caller reported last week that Putorti had to have campaign donations returned by two Democrats in 2019 when they discovered he had lobbied on behalf of Qatar, a hostile nation. As the Caller reported, Putorti’s registration from February 23, 2019, said he provided “assistance with legal, communications and public affairs matters” to the “Embassy of Qatar” on a “part-time basis.”

“The Democrat running for Congress works as an insurance and arbitration lawyer for the New York City firm Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw, Pittman LLP,” the Caller reported. “In 2019, he donated $750 to Pete Buttigieg and $250 to Beto O’Rourke. The Buttigieg and O’Rourke donations drew scrutiny after it surfaced that Putorti registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).”

The Department of Justice explains that FARA requires “certain agents of foreign principals who are engaged in political activities … to make periodic public disclosure of their relationship with the foreign principal, as well as activities, receipts and disbursements in support of those activities.”

Both O’Rourke and Buttigieg returned their donations from Putorti after learning about his FARA registration.

“I voluntarily terminated my registration under the Foreign Agent Registration Act effective July 31, 2019. I was initially registered out of an abundance of caution, in advance of a client meeting I ultimately did not attend,” Putorti told the National Interest when the registration was discovered. “My contributions to these candidates were not accepted and were instead returned to me.”

Putorti’s work on behalf of Qatar is especially curious given that he is openly gay, while Qatar is notoriously anti-LGBT. In November 2019, months after Putorti terminated his FARA registration, Forbes ranked Qatar as the second-most dangerous country in the world for LGBTQ individuals, behind only Nigeria. The list was created by Lyric Fergusson and her husband, who created the LGBTQ+ Danger Index to rate countries according to how safe they are for gay travelers.

“Coming in second on our LGBTQ+ Danger Index is Qatar,” Fergusson told Forbes. “This oil-rich Middle Eastern country enforces up to three years in prison, flogging and the death penalty under Sharia law for any acts of homosexuality. Tourism to Qatar is expected to skyrocket for the 2022 World Cup—which is to take place there—and suspending anti-LGBT laws during the tournament has been discussed, though ultimately rejected by the Qatari government.”

On Wednesday, Putorti tweeted in support of Pride, saying that he felt accepted in Upstate New York when he came out as gay.

“When I came out as gay, the people in my small hometown in Upstate New York accepted me — because that’s who they are. I acknowledge the privilege of feeling safe enough to come out and of being accepted,” Putorti tweeted.

Putorti’s campaign did not immediately respond to a Daily Wire request for comment.

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