Overview
- Court filings made public Tuesday say a Kurdish buyer tried in late 2022 to buy about $11 million in U.S. surveillance equipment and paid a $360,000 deposit that he says was never returned.
- Vendor Ben Jamil has sued the buyer for $460 million and is separately seeking $120 million from multiple parties, including Kittila, alleging fraud, civil conspiracy and extortion.
- Jamil’s complaint alleges that Kittila and others used an unusual criminal contempt motion in a civil dispute to stop the vendor from speaking about the deal, a tactic Jamil calls malicious prosecution.
- Kittila’s background includes work for Trump Media/Truth Social, RNC-hired litigation over Delaware voter rolls, and roughly three years providing legal services to the Kurdistan regional government.
- All claims so far come from competing civil lawsuits and media reports and remain allegations, but the cases could trigger further court fights and political scrutiny over lawyers who represent foreign clients accused of rights abuses.