Tom Barrack brought to trial for illegally lobbying former President Trump on behalf of UAE

Picture courtesy: ABC7

Tom Barrack, a private equity investor who is a close friend of former President Donald Trump, was arrested Tuesday morning in Los Angeles, CA on federal charges that he sought to influence the campaign and the Trump administration while acting as a Foreign Agent of the United Arab Emirates. Barrack was charged with two other men in a seven-count indictment

Barrack, 74, who was charged with two other men (Matthew Grimes from Aspen Colorado & Rashid Sultan Rashid Al Malik Alshahhi, a UAE national) in a seven-count indictment a federal court in Brooklyn, NY, was chairman of Trump’s 2017 inaugural fund. The charges include obstruction of justice, making multiple false statements during an interview with federal agents, and failing to register as foreign agents and conspiring to do so.

“The defendants repeatedly capitalized on Barrack’s friendships and access to a candidate who was eventually elected President, high-ranking campaign and government officials, and the American media to advance the policy goals of a foreign government without disclosing their true allegiances,” confirmed the Assistant Attorney General Mark Lesko of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. He then continued "“The conduct alleged in the indictment is nothing short of a betrayal of those officials in the United States, including the former President".

The spokesperson for Trump did not respond to a request for comment.