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A California billionaire known as a Donald Trump ally used his testimony in a federal trial on Monday to question Trump’s leadership on foreign policy, saying the former president had no idea about the dynamics of the Middle East.
Tom Barrack has been accused of using his “unique access” as a longtime friend of Mr Trump to provide the United Arab Emirates with classified information about the Trump administration in order to advance the UAE’s foreign policy and business interests.
While Emirati officials colluded with Barak, they rewarded him by pouring millions of dollars into his business ventures, prosecutors said.
Barack, a former chairman of Trump’s inaugural committee, told a New York City jury that he considers Trump a “bold” and “smart” businessman and supports his candidacy as a political outsider, “which may have a negative impact on the system. “.
He testified, however, that he later became disillusioned with Mr. Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric and other divisive positions he called “disastrous.”
He testified that some of his private equity firm’s clients were “disturbed by me being friends with the president.” He added that Mr Trump was considered “someone who can’t spell ‘Middle East’…it’s a nightmare.”
Barak said his mission was to sell Trump encouraging the UAE and Saudi Arabia to ally with Israel as a way to bring stability to the oil-rich region. He’s also working behind the scenes to try and get the former president to drop the idea of ​​a Muslim travel ban.
He said he accepted the position, “This is America. How can you ban an entire religion?”
Barack also testified that he was “impossible” to act as a foreign agent for a Middle Eastern investor in his firm because other investors would object. There is a rigorous vetting process to ensure fund managers have no such conflicts of interest, Barack said.
Investors “want to know that nobody has an edge, they’re all equal,” he said, otherwise, “it’s going to send chills to every other investor.”
Barack, 75, pleaded not guilty to acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government, obstructing justice and making false statements. His lawyers deny that he did anything wrong.
The Los Angeles-based billionaire has known Trump for decades, from their real estate days. Barack played an integral role in the 2016 campaign, when many other Republicans shunned the candidate.
The government closed its criminal case last week. Much of the evidence centers on emails and other back-channel communications between Barak and his senior leaders in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Prosecutors said the communications showed how Barack and his contacts strategized to win over Mr. Trump.
The defendants said on Monday that there was no malicious intent in Trump’s ongoing contacts with UAE leaders during his tenure in office. Such interactions would have been a normal part of doing business with any country or government with which he used state-owned investment funds for high-end real estate deals, he said.
The explanation comes after Barack described his rise to a high financial heavyweight from his humble beginnings in Southern California, as the son of a small grocer of Lebanese descent. With his background, the Arabic speaker said he developed a cultural “sixth sense” that allowed him to build relationships with clients in the Arab world.
Before being charged, Barack raised eyebrows by raising $107m (£95m) for the former president’s inauguration after the 2016 election. The event has come under scrutiny, both for its extravagant spending and for its attraction to foreign officials and businessmen looking to lobby the new government.
Barrack will continue to testify on Tuesday.
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