A federal contractor involved in the controversy has flatly debunked a smear campaign accusing Tucker Carlson of being a Qatari puppet.
For days, Carlson has fearlessly criticized President Trump’s stance on the Israel-Iran war.
The Jerusalem Post reported in May that Qatar, a known supporter of terrorist groups like Hamas and a close ally of the Iranian regime, ramped up its outreach to right-wing media by over 50% following Donald Trump’s landslide 2024 election victory.
The news outlet cited a report from The Washington Examiner, which analyzed U.S. Justice Department records, that Qatar orchestrated a high-profile interview between Carlson and Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
Qatari agents paid a US firm $180,000 per month for this interview to materialize, it added.
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) filings revealed that Lumen8 Advisors LLC, a little-known legal consulting firm, played a role in arranging the meeting between Carlson and Thani.
Anna Jacobs, a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute, told The Washington Examiner in response to the Carlson interview: “Qatar wants to further cement ties with Trump for many reasons, including to defend itself against Republican attacks for its relationship with Hamas and Iran.”
Carlson was far from Qatar’s sole target in its goal to hold influence over conservative media. Doha engaged with conservative news agencies such as Fox News, the New York Post, Just the News, and The Daily Mail. In some cases, favorable coverage shortly followed.
Critics are concerned that Qatar is trying to soften its image in the eyes of America, keeping in mind that it is known for having ties with the Iranian regime and with terrorist groups such as Hamas.
America First investigative reporter Laura Loomer didn’t hold back, sharing screenshots of the FARA filings and accusing Carlson of participating in “paid propaganda.” Loomer torched Carlson on X, saying:
Here’s the screenshot from the FARA documents filled out this year that prove Qatar paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for an interview between @TuckerCarlson and the Prime Minister of Qatar (the same Qatar which funds HAMAS) regarding the “war with Iran”.
This was a paid propaganda piece in which over $200,000 was paid by the Embassy of the State of Qatar for Tucker to interview a Qatari official all while knowing HAMAS is an Iranian proxy and funded by Qatar.
Qatar funds Islamic terror all around the world and they think they can just pay everyone off to make them turn a blind eye. The Qataris are global funders of Islamic terrorism and their money has been used to murder American citizens.
These are not good people.
Tucker Carlson wants you to think his thoughts on Iran are based and original, but he’s literally participating in paid for interviews by the Qataris, who are funding and providing pent houses and luxury lifestyles to the leaders of HAMAS in DOHA.
Tucker should just be honest that he’s a mouthpiece for genocidal Muslims.
His media company was literally funded by a MUSLIM investor who is half Pakistani and half Iranian and who spends a lot of time in Qatar. And trust me when I say a lot of people in pro-Trump circles are very uncomfortable with this.
Tucker is controlled by Muslims. People need to wake up and stop pretending like this is a conspiracy theory.
Qatar and Iran are buying off conservative podcasters to push pro-Islamist, anti-American and anti-Israel talking points to undermine President Trump.
Conservative titan Mark Levin praised Loomer’s exposé, simply stating, “Well done.”
Well done https://t.co/6mXdJPv7EY
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) June 18, 2025
Facing mounting pressure, Lumen8 Advisors LLC issued a desperate statement attempting to clear its name.
Lumen8Advisors files documents under FARA in accordance with the DOJ requirements and our legal obligations. We find it ironic that those who follow the law get called into question.
Tucker Carlson, TCN, and its affiliates have never received payment from Lumen8Advisors, entities affiliated with it, or its client. Lumen&Advisors proudly works with the government of Qatar, and in this capacity, provided interview preparation and advice to the Qatari Government in relation to Tucker Carlson’s interview with the Qatari Prime Minister.
Following consultation with the FARA lawyers, Lumen&Advisors thought it best to register the meeting as per regular practice. For those who know better, to twist this and pretend Tucker or TCN was paid anything for the interview is just loathsome.
Evidently, “no good deed goes unpunished.”
NEW: Statement out from the consulting firm that set up Qatar interview confirming Tucker’s network did not get paid pic.twitter.com/1Z1Y14L2rg
— Jack Poso (@JackPosobiec) June 18, 2025
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