DC Mayor asking Qatar to sign a donation agreement two years after it paid for her visit
WASHINGTON (7News) — A 7News I-Team exclusive has uncovered more troubling details of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s mysterious trips worldwide.
7News has discovered that the nation of Qatar paid $61,930 for Mayor Bowser and four staff members to fly to the Middle East in 2023.
RELATED | Why did DC mayor withhold info that Qatar paid $61K+ for a trip to Dubai for her & staff?
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she takes trips around the country and the world to promote and strengthen the District's economy, but 7News I-Team Investigative Reporter Scott Taylor discovered some pretty shoddy record-keeping around these visits.
As far as 7News has been able to discover during our ongoing investigation, Mayor Bowser doesn't turn in any travel expense records at all.
The District has no records for Mayor Bowser's trips to the Master's Golf Tournament in Georgia, or trips to Las Vegas, Miami, Mar-a-Lago, Dubai, or Doha in Qatar.
That pricey trip to Qatar is the one we're focusing on here.
The 7News I-Team asked the mayor’s office directly who paid for her trip to Dubai for a Climate Change Conference.
First, Susana Castillo, the Mayor’s Director of Communications, told 7News in a July 9, 2024, email that the trip was paid for by the D.C. Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber said that was not true.
"From: Castillo, Susana (EOM)
Sent: Tuesday, July 9, 2024 1:53 PM
To: Kevin Roach
Cc: Scott Taylor
Subject: [EXT] Re: Trip Payments
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of Sinclair. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Hello kevin,
1.ICSC Las Vegas 2024 convention from May 19-21
Washington DC Economic Partnership paid for Mayor Bowser - https://mayor.dc.gov/release/mayor-bowser-promote-washington-dc-and-recruit-retail-operators-icsc-las-vegas
2.Masters Golf Tournament April 2024’
Events DC paid for Mayor Bowser
3.US Conference of Mayors delegation for the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai. – November 2023
The Chamber of Commerce paid for Mayor Bowser
4.Mayor Bowser's trip to Miami in 2022 for the Fall Leadership of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
USCM paid for Mayor Bowser’s hotel and the flight was covered by DC Gov
Thanks,
Susana
Susana Castillo
Communications Director | Office of Communications
Executive Office of Mayor ( EOM)"
Days later, Castillo told 7News over the phone that the U.S. Conference of Mayors picked up the tab. The Conference of Mayors had no comment and told us to talk to the mayor’s office.
Then comes a letter, 7News obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated March of this year from the nation of Qatar to the mayor's office.
It shows the nation of Qatar paid more than $61,000 for Mayor Bowser's trip to Doha in 2023, which included travel expenses for four staff members.
Qatar called it an "in-kind donation". The mayor and her team then jetted over to Dubai for the Climate Change convention.
D.C. has no record of a donation agreement with Qatar, which is required by D.C. Code.
Now comes this letter, from February, sent to officials in Qatar amid our investigation. In the letter, the mayor's office asks for a breakdown of the mayor's 2023 trip expenses and the total tab covered by the Middle Eastern country.
Bowser's office explains that such "donations" must be properly recorded, and a donation agreement will have to be executed.
7News would like to know why the mayor's office is asking to create a Donation Agreement in 2025 for a trip she took in 2023. A situation that directly violates Mayor Bowser's memorandum on rules of conduct governing donations requires that each donation be submitted and approved by the Office of Partnerships and Grant Services before the city can enter into a Donation Agreement.
READ THIS | Rules of Conduct Governing Donations and Honorary Gifts to the District of Columbia Government
None of that happened for the mayor's trip in 2023.
Any donation for travel outside of the United States must also be submitted and approved by the mayor's Chief of Staff, Lindsey Parker. She was one of the four staff members on the luxury jaunt to Qatar and Dubai. Parker did submit one receipt for the Dubai trip.
It cost taxpayers $3,500 for a 3-night stay at the fabulous Atlantis-Palm hotel.
Here's what Mayor Bowser said the last time our I-Team Investigative Reporter Scott Taylor asked her on camera about her poor travel expense record-keeping at a press conference.
"I am asking this question, Scott Taylor, 7News, because your office hasn't answered it. Can you explain why no department in the District has a copy of your travel expenses for your trips to Miami in 2022 and Dubai in 2023, and why did you exclude them from your financial disclosure records?" asked 7News Investigative Reporter Scott Taylor.
"We're talking about the inaugural today, and we're happy to get back to you on any other questions,” said Bowser.
7News reached out to Qatar, and it has no comment.
Here are questions 7News has emailed the mayor’s office with no response from Mayor Bowser.
- Why did you tell 7 News the mayor’s 2023 trip to Dubai was paid for by the U.S. Conference of Mayors?
- Why isn’t there a Donation Agreement from the Qatar Government for the $61,930 donation to the Executive Office of the Mayor on file with the district?
- Can the mayor or the EOM provide 7 News with a detailed travel expense record for her trip to Doha?
- Are the Mayor and the EOM under an ethics investigation regarding her office and her undocumented travel?
- Please provide the other 4 names of the staff members who went on the trip.
- Lindsey Parker stayed at Atlantis, the Palm Hotel, and the Water Park in Doha. Did the Mayor and four other staff members stay at the same hotel?
- What has the Qatar Government given back to the Mayor of Washington, DC, in trade or business since the mayor’s visit in 2023?
- Why did the EOM reach out to the Embassy of the State of Qatar on February 12, 2025?
- Who paid for Mayor Bowser and Senior Advisor Beverly Perry’s trip to Mar-A-Lago to visit President Trump?
