Fogbow

NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors cracked open a trove of emails and other communications at a federal trial on Thursday that they say shows how the former chair of Donald Trump’s inaugural committee worked behind the scenes in 2016 to get the future president to embrace the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Some of the email traffic was between Tom Barrack — accused of working at the direction of the UAE as a secret foreign agent — and Paul Manafort, Trump’s campaign manager at the time. The exchanges focused in part over an energy policy speech by Trump in 2016.

In one email read to the jury by an FBI agent, Barrack complained to Manafort that an original draft of the speech didn’t mention either the UAE or Saudi Arabia, or the importance of their role in the Middle East.

“Wow. I’m just stunned by how bad this is,” the billionaire private equity manager wrote about the draft.

Manafort responded: “Send me an insert that works for our friends.”

Rex Tillerson to be called as witness in trial of Trump confidant Thomas Barrack, defense says

During the first two weeks of Barrack's trial, jurors heard from members of law enforcement and an expert on Gulf region monarchies. The government's presentation has so far revolved around text messages and emails between Barrack and his co-defendants. Jurors have also been shown messages sent by Barrack in 2016 to Trump's daughter, Ivanka, and her husband Jared Kushner pushing for the Trump campaign to hire Paul Manafort, who later served as chair of the campaign for about two months.

Kendra wrote: ↑Sun Oct 02, 2022 3:28 pm

Rex Tillerson to be called as witness in trial of Trump confidant Thomas Barrack, defense says

Ben-Prime wrote: ↑Tue Oct 04, 2022 1:05 am

Kendra wrote: ↑Sun Oct 02, 2022 3:28 pm

Rex Tillerson to be called as witness in trial of Trump confidant Thomas Barrack, defense says

He apparently testified that Barrack pushed to be appointed to an Ambassadorship -- which, let's face it, gives one access to a crapton of sensitive information -- during the time period that Barrack was allegedly an undeclared agent of the UAE.

Ben-Prime wrote: ↑Tue Oct 04, 2022 1:05 am

Kendra wrote: ↑Sun Oct 02, 2022 3:28 pm

Rex Tillerson to be called as witness in trial of Trump confidant Thomas Barrack, defense says

He apparently testified that Barrack pushed to be appointed to an Ambassadorship -- which, let's face it, gives one access to a crapton of sensitive information -- during the time period that Barrack was allegedly an undeclared agent of the UAE.

Kendra wrote: ↑Tue Oct 04, 2022 12:41 pm As I understand it, the prosecution called him as a witness.

somerset wrote: ↑Tue Oct 04, 2022 1:10 pm

Kendra wrote: ↑Tue Oct 04, 2022 12:41 pm As I understand it, the prosecution called him as a witness.

I see. Yes, I should have read the article first

As former Trump adviser Tom Barrack begins his defense in his ongoing criminal trial on charges that he illegally lobbied Trump's presidential campaign and his subsequent administration on behalf of the United Arab Emirates, his defense team is planning to call former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to testify, government attorneys said Wednesday.

Mnuchin would be the latest high-profile witness to appear in the trial, which has been underway for nearly a month in Brooklyn, New York, after former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson testified earlier this month.

The revelation came just before federal prosecutors rested their case against Barrack Wednesday morning.

Former Trump Adviser Acquitted on Charges of Acting as Emirati Agent
Thomas J. Barrack Jr., a Los Angeles businessman and friend of the former president, had been accused of working on behalf of the oil-rich nation without disclosing it.

By Rebecca Davis O’Brien
Nov. 4, 2022 Updated 2:53 p.m. ET

Thomas J. Barrack Jr., a close friend and adviser to former President Donald J. Trump, was acquitted Friday on charges that he had worked as an agent of the United Arab Emirates and then lied to federal investigators about it.

Mr. Barrack’s acquittal on all counts, after a seven-week trial and two days of jury deliberation, deals a blow to the Justice Department, which has sought to root out foreign influence in U.S. politics.

As the verdict was read Friday, in a federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Mr. Barrack bowed his head and his family wept in the courtroom benches.

Minutes later, he expressed gratitude for the jury. “It is the common people who make it work,” Mr. Barrack said. “I am so moved by them, and by the system.”

Mr. Barrack, 75, was one of several associates of Mr. Trump to come under legal and ethical scrutiny for their dealings with foreign interests. Several of the cases have fallen apart or ended in acquittal, as federal prosecutors have struggled to convince juries and judges that the creep of influence peddling, off-the-books lobbying and profiting from government connections has given rise to crimes.

Prosecutors accused Mr. Barrack, a Los Angeles-based private equity investor, of using his sway with Mr. Trump to advance the interests of the Emirates in the White House and in the media, serving as a secret back channel for communications and passing sensitive information to Emirati officials.




https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/04/nyre ... itted.html