An Advisor Close to Trump a UAE Agent
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The US authorities arrest Thomas Barrack, a close advisor to former President Donald Trump, on charges of acting as a UAE foreign agent without declaring this activity as required by law.
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Thomas Barrack, an advisor close to ex-President Trump
Yesterday, Tuesday, the US authorities announced arresting a former adviser close to former President Donald Trump on charges of illegally lobbying Trump on behalf of the UAE between 2016 and 2018.
Acting Assistant Attorney General of the National Security Division Mark Lesko said in a statement that Barrack (74), along with two other defendants facing the same charges, "repeatedly capitalized on Barrack’s friendships and access to a candidate who was eventually elected President, high-ranking campaign and government officials, and the American media to advance the policy goals of a foreign government without disclosing their true allegiances.”
It is worth noting that Barrack was an “unofficial adviser” to Trump’s presidential campaign in April 2016, before becoming chairman of the Presidential Inauguration Committee following Trump’s election victory in November of the same year.
As of January 2017, Barrack even informally advised US officials on Middle East policy.
Moreover, the US Department of Justice clarified that the then-candidate's energy speech in 2016 had “language praising the UAE” inserted by Barrack into it. It also accused Barrack of campaigning, in March 2017, for the appointment of a candidate nominated by the UAE as US ambassador to Abu Dhabi.
The former adviser is also accused of providing one of the other defendants with confidential information about the reactions of the Trump administration following talks between US and Emirati officials at the White House.
It is worth mentioning that the activities of lobbyists working on behalf of foreign governments are closely monitored by the US, which traditionally considers the UAE one of its most prominent regional allies.
Several close associates of Trump have been indicted for activities on behalf of foreign governments, including Paul Manafort, the former campaign director of the Republican candidate in 2016, and Roger Stone, a former Trump adviser. Both defendants were convicted on charges related to allegations of Russian interference in the US presidential election, but Trump eventually pardoned them at the end of his term.
