Accredited at the rank of «Minister plenipotentiary» by Morocco in Now York, Jamal Benomar is entitled to «diplomatic immunity», according to the US authorities. The diplomat is involved, alongside several officials, in a case brought by a Republican close to Donald Trump. In June, Republican fundraiser Elliot Broidy filed a lawsuit against, several officials in the United States including Moroccan diplomat Jamal Benomar, accusing him of «orchestrating a Qatari hacking campaign». Last week, the US government officially reacted to the case, stating that the Moroccan former UN diplomat is «entitled to diplomatic immunity». «It's the latest blow to Broidy's legal campaign against Qatar and the individuals he says hacked him on its behalf», wrote NBC News. The lawsuit lodged by Broidy, known for being close to President Donald Trump, alleges that the Moroccan diplomat hired lobbyists and sent the hacked emails to newspapers, including the Associated Press and New York Times, reported WND in October. Moroccan diplomat Jamal Benomar is allegedly involved in Qatari hacking of US citizens NBC News recalls that the stolen emails revealed that Broidy «tried to parlay his access to President Donald Trump into lucrative contracts for his private security company with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Qatar's chief rivals». Speaking to the same source, a spokesman for U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley said that Morocco's accreditation of Jamal Benomar and his request to enjoy diplomatic immunity in the US have been reviewed. «Based on this information, we have registered Benomar with diplomatic privileges and immunities», wrote NBC News, quoting Haley's office statement. The latter was transmitted to the New York court on November the 14th The statement was followed by a request submitted by Benomar's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, who urged the court to dismiss the case. Sued because of his diplomatic work ? Replying to the complaint filed against him, Jamal Benomar issued a long statement, explaining that «among [his] responsibilities on behalf of Morocco has been to promote peace and dialogue with others in the region». «Knowing my history of successful mediation, officials in Morocco requested my advice on how to end the crisis. I proposed several ideas that could de-escalate the tensions», he stated. Benomar recalled that he provided «foreign policy advice to a number of regional actors, including Qatar». The diplomat stressed, in the same document, that he holds a «valid Diplomatic Passport issued by the Kingdom of Morocco» and that he possesses a «valid G-1 Diplomatic visa issued by the United States on 1 November 2017». Benomar indicated that he sought the American authorities to confirm his diplomatic credentials in order to stop the campaign launched against him. «It is my belief that the harassment and the media campaign now being engaged against me are the result of my work at the UN and as a Moroccan diplomat, and relates to some of the policies I promoted while in those capacities with respect to issues relating to Yemen and the GCC countries», concluded the same source
