A lawsuit filed in federal court accuses Alex Bruesewitz, a top outside digital adviser to President Donald Trump, of accepting roughly $500,000 from individuals associated with Qatar while pursuing other deals meant to unlock access to U.S. government officials. The suit was brought by Derek Utley, Bruesewitz's former business partner at the digital firm X Strategies, and was filed in the U.S. District Court's West Palm Beach division.
According to Politico, Utley's filing accuses Bruesewitz of receiving lavish gifts from foreign individuals in Qatar and Syria while also chasing lucrative deals with other entities looking to unlock access to U.S. government officials. Utley and Bruesewitz co-founded X Strategies together in 2017, and the firm now runs several social media accounts for Trump. As reported by The New York Times, Utley says Bruesewitz cultivated relationships and offered political consulting services to people and business interests outside the United States, and that the roughly $500,000 in Qatari-linked payments allegedly stemmed from an undisclosed business or consulting arrangement.
A Foreign Agent Registration Question, Unresolved
Per the lawsuit, Utley alleges the Qatari-linked payments could run afoul of the Foreign Agent Registration Act, a federal law that requires people attempting to influence the U.S. government on behalf of a foreign entity's interests to register with the Justice Department. Neither Bruesewitz nor his companies appear on the Justice Department's list of entities registered under that law, according to the Times. The lawsuit itself reportedly does not include documentation supporting Utley's allegations, the Times notes. Under the federal statute cited in the case, a person may not act as an agent of a foreign principal unless they have filed the required registration statement with the Attorney General or qualify for an exemption — though nothing in the available record establishes whether the allegations against Bruesewitz meet that bar, per 22 U.S.C. § 612.
Bruesewitz helped shape Trump's 2024 campaign digital strategy and has continued as a top outside adviser since, the Politico report states. He also attended the Trump Accounts launch summit in Washington in January, according to the Times. Bradford Cohen, a lawyer representing Bruesewitz, said the allegations were untrue and that Utley should expect a vigorous court fight, the Times reports. Bruesewitz himself said earlier this month that he never accepted money from foreign governments or companies, per the same account.
Dueling Lawsuits Over Millions in Company Funds
The new allegations arrive amid an already bitter legal fight between the two former partners. X Strategies sued Utley in September, alleging he embezzled and gambled away millions of dollars from the firm — a filing that an earlier Politico report says accused him of embezzling at least $5 million. Utley has disputed those allegations.
Utley's response to the company's suit included a countersuit claiming he was fired from X Strategies without cause after requesting medical leave, and he denies embezzling company money or using its funds to gamble, according to the same Politico account. Utley left X Strategies earlier this year, and the two men have now accused each other in separate lawsuits of mishandling money from the company they built together in 2017.
