Prosecutors detail charges against Trump’s inaugural president

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NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors have clarified more details about allegations against the chairman of former President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee, who is accused of secretly working as an agent of the United Arab Emirates to influence Trump’s foreign policy .

The details came in an updated indictment filed earlier this week in federal court in New York in the case of Tom Barrack, a wealthy businessman who acted as an informal adviser to Trump.

Prosecutors say Barrack sought to leverage lucrative international trade deals with the United Arab Emirates to benefit the political agendas of the Trump campaign and the United Arab Emirates. Barrack is expected to be arraigned next week on a superseding indictment charging him with conspiracy, obstruction of justice and multiple misrepresentations during a June 2019 interview with federal agents.

Barrack was arrested last year and released on $250 million bail. A message was left Thursday to his lawyer.


The indictment says Barrack, a Los Angeles-based private equity manager, was a key figure in UAE investments in a technology fund and real estate assets totaling $374 million in 2017.

The indictment cites emails and text messages from April 2017 indicating that during a trip to the Middle East, Barrack was the point man to “present” the idea of ​​massive investments to many senior UAE officials like Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the current president who was then the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

The indictment also details communications between an unnamed person running the Trump campaign, Barrack, and Rashid al-Malik, a UAE businessman who prosecutors say acted as an intermediary with the leaders of the Trump campaign. country. Paul Manafort was then Trump’s campaign manager.

A 2016 email assured al Malik that language “that was against the Saudi royal family” had been removed from the Republican National Committee’s platform. According to the indictment, this was a reference to proposed language calling for the release of sensitive documents collected during the investigation into the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

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