US ex-envoy to Pakistan Olson gets probation for ethics violations

Richard Olson, a former US ambassador to Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, was sentenced to three years of probation on Friday for violating federal ethics laws.

The 63-year-old Olson was also fined $93,400 after pleading guilty to charges he misused his official position for personal gain.

Olson, who served as the US envoy to Pakistan from 2012 to 2015, pleaded guilty in June of last year to making a false statement and violating laws governing lobbying for a foreign government.

Olson was accused of helping the government of Qatar influence US policymakers shortly after retiring from the State Department in 2016.

"US law prohibits senior officials -- like the defendant -- from representing a foreign government before any federal agency or from aiding or advising a foreign entity with the intent to influence the US government for one year after leaving their positions," the US Attorney's Office for Washington said in a statement.

"The defendant took numerous steps to conceal these illegal activities, including deleting incriminating emails and lying to the FBI during a recorded interview," it said.

According to the US Attorney's Office, Olson, while serving as the US envoy to Pakistan, also received favours and benefits from a Pakistani-American businessman identified in court documents only as "Person 1."

They included $25,000 paid to Olson's then-girlfriend to help pay her tuition at Columbia University in New York and $18,000 in first class travel for the ambassador to attend a job interview in London.

"One major favour was that the defendant agreed to lobby members of Congress on Person 1's behalf with respect to weapon sales to Pakistan and Middle Eastern countries that Person 1 was trying to broker," the US Attorney's office said.

According to The Washington Post, "Person 1" is Imaad Zuberi, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2021 for making illegal campaign contributions and other offenses.

While Olson was not charged with wrongdoings, federal prosecutors said his failure to properly disclose or return the gifts he was given by different governments demonstrated a pattern of unethical behaviour and argued that he should spend at least some time in prison. “The reality is, he abused his position of public trust,” said Evan Turgeon, an attorney with the Justice Department’s national security division.

In tearful remarks, Olson told the judge he regretted the actions that got him in legal trouble. “I did step over the line,” he said. “It was a mistake. It was not intentional.”

He said he remained proud of his 34 years of service in the State Department, which also included high-profile jobs in Iraq and as the US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan from 2015 to 2016. “I never shied away from the hardest assignments, the most difficult ones,” he said. “I drove myself hard throughout my career and my north star was always to advance the US national interest.”
Prosecutors noted in court that he did not apologize for his actions.

Olson declined to comment to reporters after the hearing, saying: “I’ve got nothing for you.”

He was joined in court by the former girlfriend, Muna Habib, a British citizen who met him in Pakistan while reporting there as a journalist. They resumed their relationship after she graduated from Columbia, married in 2019 and now live in New Mexico.