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Thomas J. Barrack, Jr., chairman of former President Trump’s inaugural committee and prominent Southern California businessman and philanthropist, was arrested Tuesday on federal charges that he and others were part of the ‘a multi-year effort to shape Trump’s foreign policy as candidate and then president, all to the benefit of the UAE.
Barrack, 74, and two other men were indicted in a New York federal court and charged with acting as unregistered UAE foreign agents from the spring of 2016. The indictment describes the trio as being “charged” by four UAE officials: with influencing public opinion through media appearances; shaping the foreign policy positions of the campaign and later the Trump administration; and the development of an “indirect line of communication” with the US government.
Barrack was also charged with obstructing justice and making several false statements in a 2019 interview with federal agents.
Among Barrack’s actions for the benefit of the UAE, the indictment said, included the publication of an editorial in Fortune magazine that relied on “feedback” from foreign officials and several media appearances promoting Gulf State policies. After a television appearance in July 2016 where Barrack praised the UAE on several occasions, he messaged another man accused of the alleged conspiracy, bragging: “I made it …
The indictment alleges that Barrack’s work had a direct impact on Trump’s behavior, including a 2016 speech that promised to work with “our Gulf allies” and a phone call Trump got while ‘he was president with an unidentified UAE leader.
Barrack – who was arrested Tuesday morning at one of his business sites in Sylmar, according to an FBI spokeswoman – was scheduled to appear later today in a downtown federal courtroom.
“Mr. Barrack made himself readily available to investigators from the start,” a statement issued by Barrack’s longtime spokesperson said. “He is not guilty and will plead not guilty.”
Announcing the high-profile lawsuits, federal officials said Barrack and others had made covert attempts to influence the actions and decisions of the Trump administration.
“The defendants have repeatedly taken advantage of Barrack’s friendships and access to a candidate who was ultimately elected president, senior campaign and government officials, and the US media to advance the political goals of a foreign government without revealing their true allegiances, “acting Asst. Atty. General Mark Lesko said in a statement.
“The behavior alleged in the indictment is nothing less than a betrayal of those officials in the United States, including the former president.
A Trump spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Barrack – who has a net worth of $ 1 billion, according to Forbes – has been friends with Trump for three decades and he planned the presidential inauguration in early 2017.
Los Angeles-based Colony Capital is a public investment firm with $ 44 billion in assets under management that often bets on distressed assets. In 2008, for example, Colony bailed out Michael Jackson when the late singer’s Neverland Ranch was on the verge of foreclosure.
Grandson of Lebanese Christian immigrants, Barrack also has business ties to the Middle East – and extensive knowledge of its politics and cultures – dating back to the early 1970s, when as a lawyer he worked on a project in Saudi Arabia and then spent the four years there as an advisor to the royal family.
At Colony Capital, Barrack also brought in various investors from the Middle East to help fund the company’s operations.
Along with partners in Qatar, Barrack was part of an investment group that bought Miramax Films in 2010, later selling the studio to investors in Qatar. However, its relations have been complicated since the blockade of Qatar launched in 2017 by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
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