Thread by @nimkef

8 June 2010

A consulting firm asked AG Eric Holder to investigate computer hacking involving an ousted sheikh, which the firm says could compromise "sensitive information relating to U.S. and Iranian security issues."

sfgate.com/politics/artic…

Jason Kinney, head of California Strategies, made the request to Holder and the U.S. attorney's office last week after it appeared hackers had accessed the Sacramento consulting firm's computer files relating to their client, Sheikh Khalid bin Saqr Al Qasimi.

Kinney and two other leading Democratic strategists, former White House spokesman Chris Lehane and Peter Ragone, the former spokesman for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, represent the royal client.

The sheikh - the legally recognized deputy ruler and crown prince of Ras al Khaimah, one of the seven emirates that make up the UAE - was deposed from power in 2003 by more conservative factions, including his brother, after being criticized as too friendly to the United States.

Al Qasimi was an overnight guest there during the Clinton admin. News reports said he was ousted for expressing strident opposition to Iran and was considered too supportive of efforts to allow women to participate more fully in his country's society.

His more conservative brother, Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, assumed power. Dubbed the "perfumed prince", Sheikh Saud was arrested in 2005 on suspicion of sexually assaulting a female housekeeper while on a medical stay at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota; charges were later dropped.

Saud later made headlines when his bid to host the 2010 America's Cup in Ras al Khaimah was rebuffed after reports suggested the emirate was a "hot spot" of trouble for terrorists and smugglers suspected of moving illegal weapons and components for Iran's nuclear weapons programs

Sheikh Khalid, who hopes to return to power, hired the California firm, which mounted a campaign that has included full-page ads in the NYT, WaPo and other newspapers; banner ads on Web sites including Politico and the Drudge Report; and RAKforthepeople[.]com

Kinney told The Chronicle that he became alarmed after the German newspaper Der Spiegel contacted his office last month with questions based on confidential documents concerning his firm's client.

The paper asked about details of the California group's $3.7M in compensation from the sheikh & details of its contract to "develop a PR and diplomacy campaign" for the prince. Der Spiegel has declined to say where it obtained the info.

Inquiries also came from the Guardian

In his letter to federal law enforcement officials, Kinney warned that the incidents "could include the possible compromising of electronic communications with high-placed U.S. government offices and the offices of federal elected officials."

A spokeswoman for Holder said his office is still seeking details, but that the U.S. Department of Justice will review the case.

Kinney said there is speculation, foreign operatives or even intel agents, possibly from Iran, may be hoping to undermine the prince's return to power

"The current regime there has been in bed with an entire rogue's gallery of unsavory characters," said Kinney. So while "it's a little disconcerting that bad actors might be hacking into our system, it's an eye-opening reminder that the stakes are extraordinarily high."

Kinney advised former Gov. Gray Davis and former state Senate Majority Leader Don Perata; Lehane was spokesman for Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign in addition to his work in the Clinton WH; and Ragone worked for 2008 pres candidate Hillary Clinton in addition to Newsom.

"If I'm going to get hacked, I always assumed it would be by the Republican Party," Kinney said, "not the Revolutionary Guard."