Tom Barrack, a good friend of former President Donald Trump and the chair of his inaugural committee following the 2016 election, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent of the United Arab Emirates and lying to investigators:
BREAKING: The head of former President Trump's inaugural committee is arrested on charges that he acted as an agent of the United Arab Emirates and lied to investigators. Thomas Barrack was among three men charged in New York federal court. https://t.co/OvocNUMQWs
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 20, 2021
According to reports, Barrack lied to FBI agents when he submitted to voluntary questioning back in 2018:
UPDATED: The Justice Department says that Barrack has been charged with acting as an agent of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the direction of UAE officials by influencing the foreign policy positions of the Trump campaign in 2016 and lying to the FBI. https://t.co/CNH3Dy6KxA
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) July 20, 2021
And:
Indictment says Barrack and others were working on behalf of the United Arab Emirates to shape the Trump administration's policy but did not disclose they were working as foreign agents. Indictment says Barrack lied when meeting with authorities last year.
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) July 20, 2021
Details here:
Former Advisor to Presidential Candidate Among Three Defendants Charged with Acting as Agents of a Foreign Government: Thomas Joseph Barrack, Matthew Grimes, and Rashid Sultan Rashid Al Malik Alshahhi were charged with acting and conspiring to act as ag… https://t.co/GqM051Qi2l
— FBI Denver (@FBIDenver) July 21, 2021
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The indictment goes on to say that former President Trump was one of Barrack’s victims:
The conduct alleged in the indictment is nothing short of a betrayal of those officials in the United States, including the former President.
Barrack will remain in jail in Los Angeles until at least Monday:
Defense and govt agreed not to have bail hearing right now. Barrack will stay in jail in CA until Monday. Both sides will try to work out bail package in meantime.
— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) July 20, 2021
Roger Stone once said, Barrack “is the only person I know who the president speaks to as a peer”:
I love this quote from Roger Stone about Tom Barrack for a 2018 story on how much Barrack raised from Emirate and Saudi sources once Trump was elected. https://t.co/vx2AWRouOv pic.twitter.com/djMwoRuAqr
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) July 21, 2021
A third defendant in the case fled the country in April 2018 and is still at large:
The third defendant in the Barrack case, according to DOJ, fled the country three days after being interviewed by law enforcement in LA in **April 2018** and hasn't been back. pic.twitter.com/PllZiUumMe
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) July 20, 2021
This probe into Barrack’s dealings “was an outgrowth of the investigation led by the special counsel, Robert S. Muller III, into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election”:
The prob "into Mr. Barrack’s ties with foreign leaders, reported by The New York Times in July 2019, was an outgrowth of the investigation led by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. https://t.co/tvOZ6O3CQ7
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 20, 2021
Of note, Barrack appears to have not been aware of his imminent arrest just a week ago:
"I paid the price to be able to know what doors to knock on."
A week before he was arrested, Tom Barrack spoke to @ErikSchatzker. He showed no signs that he knew of a pending indictment & spoke candidly about his relationships in the Middle East.https://t.co/16JBholNgg
— Sonali Basak (@sonalibasak) July 21, 2021
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