Prominent Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy, who has alleged that the Qatar government hacked his servers and stole confidential information to leak to the press as part of a smear campaign, has asked the State Department to address Qatar’s assertion that the case could “implicate foreign policy and national security issues that fall within the executive branch’s exclusive purview.” 

Qatar, as well as two other defendants in the case, Stonington Strategies LLC and Global Risk Advisors LLC, are claiming that they are protected by sovereign immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (“FSIA”), which states that a foreign state is presumptively immune from the jurisdiction of United States courts, unless a specified exception applies.  Broidy has asserted that the California district court has subject matter jurisdiction over Qatar due to FSIA’s noncommercial tort exception, which gives courts jurisdiction over certain U.S. tort claims. Qatar has responded that the exception does not apply to the foreign state because the alleged tort (hacking) was initiated outside the United States.

Broidy has asked the State Department to weigh in on this claim “to ensure that the scope of derivative, diplomatic, and foreign immunity is not impermissibly broadened,” in a manner that would cause Americans to be at risk of cyberattacks with no recourse.  With particular regard to Stonington Strategies LLC and Global Risk Advisors LLC, Broidy stated in his motion to the California district court that “the State Department has [never] offered a Suggestion of Immunity for U.S. persons who have a contractual relationship with a foreign state, for a clear reason: such a rule of law would allow U.S. persons to avoid civil liability for unlawful acts simply by entering contracts with foreign states.”

Broidy sued the Qatari government in March of this year after many media outlets published a series of negative stories regarding Broidy Capital Management’s dealings with the federal government. Broidy has alleged that Qatar hacked his servers and leaked many emails, proposals, and defense contracts to the media.

Qatar has responded to the allegations, calling them a “grand conspiracy.”