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NEW YORK, Oct 27 (Reuters) – Tom Barrack, a former fundraiser for Donald Trump, admitted during cross-examination on Thursday that he hoped his relationship with the then-president would encourage a relationship A United Arab Emirates official made investments with his company but said he did not agree to trade political access for business ties.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say Barack, 75, use his influence Trump promoted the interests of the United Arab Emirates in the 2016 and 2017 campaigns and administrations without notifying the U.S. attorney general as required by law that he was the country’s agent.
Barack pleaded not guilty and argued that his interactions with Middle Eastern officials were part of his running private equity firm Colony Capital, now known as DigitalBridge Group Inc. (DBRG.N). He began testifying in his defense on Monday, deny his consent Follow the instructions of the UAE.
During cross-examination on Thursday, prosecutor Sam Nitze asked Barrack if he hoped his ties to Trump would stand him out when he sought an investment from Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, an Emirati national security official who also runs a bank. , when the two met in the UAE in May 2016.
“You can’t just be another trader, yes, showing up with your briefcase and your slides,” Nietzer said. “Yes or no, one of the things you want to offer Sheikh Tanon is that you have access to Donald Trump?”
Barack answered both questions in the affirmative. But when Nitze asked him if he would agree to give Sheikh Tahnoun access and influence “with a view to building a long-term business relationship,” Barrack replied: “No.”
Prosecutors pointed to investments in the Colony project by two UAE sovereign wealth funds in 2017 and 2018 as evidence of Barrack’s motivation to work as an agent.
Earlier on Thursday, under direct scrutiny by his attorney Michael Schachter, Barack testified that he had little to no involvement in the deals, which totaled $374 million. One of the funds, Mubadala, nearly pulled out of one of the deals after learning there would be an Israeli co-investor, he said.
“If Mubadala was investing in a favor for you in exchange for being an Emirati agent, would you expect them to threaten to quit?” Schacht said.
“Probably not,” Barack replied.
Mubadala did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside UAE business hours.
Khashoggi Murder
Asked by Shakht, Barak said he urged the then-president to use the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi as “leverage” to get Saudi Arabia to end the blockade of Qatar that began in 2017.
Barrack’s testimony that he worked for Qatar’s interests could undermine allegations that he acted at the behest of the UAE. Barak has not been charged with acting as a Saudi operative, but the country has close ties to the United Arab Emirates, which imposed the blockade along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and others.
He said in a phone call with Trump in October 2018 after Khashoggi was murdered at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey, he urged the then-president to use global outrage over the killing “as leverage for this stupid blockade.” .
The murder of Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned-critic, was approved by de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, U.S. intelligence said. The prince denied ordering the killing but admitted it took place “under my supervision”.
Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Noeleen Walder
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