Lawyer for ex-Trump adviser Tom Barrack: ‘not guilty’ for acting as agent for UAE

[ad_1]

Tom Barrack, a former adviser to President Trump, is accused of trying to influence foreign policy while Trump was running for office in 2016 and after he was elected president.

Barrack, who served as Trump’s 2017 inaugural committee chair, was arrested and accused on Tuesday of being an agent for the United Arab Emirates between April 2016 and April 2018.

Also accused in the seven indictment are two other defendants: Matthew Grimes and Emirati citizen Rashid Al-Malik, who is still at large. Barak is also charged with obstruction of justice and making multiple false statements during a June 2019 interview with federal law enforcement agents.

This photo from Tuesday, January 10, 2017, shows Tom Barrack speaking with reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York before meeting President-elect Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, file)

Pompeo accuses Biden’s manager of working to make Iran America’s first partner in the Middle East

“The defendants, using their positions of power and influence in a presidential election year, allegedly engaged in a conspiracy to unlawfully advance and advance the interests of the United Arab Emirates in this country, in flagrant violation of their obligation to notify counsel,” Acting United States Attorney Jacqueline Casoulis said in a statement. journalist “generally for their activities and in derogation from the right of the American people to know when a foreign government seeks to influence our government’s policies and our public opinion.”

Matt Herrington, his attorney, told Fox News that Barack, founder of Colony Capital and Trump’s longtime friend, would resist the charges.

“Tom Barrack voluntarily made himself available to investigators from the start,” Herrington said. “He is not guilty and will plead not guilty today.”

Barack appeared Tuesday afternoon in federal court in Los Angeles, where he was arrested and ordered to be detained pending a hearing on July 26. The government then seeks to bring him to the East Coast where the case is being tried outside the Eastern Province. New York.

CLICK HERE FOR FOX NEWS APP

“The alleged conduct in the indictment is nothing short of treasonous to these officials in the United States, including the former president,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Mark Lesko said.

According to prosecutors, Barak went so far as to provide UAE government officials with sensitive information about the opinions and reactions of senior US government officials after a White House meeting between officials from the two countries.

[ad_2]