Say Good Night, Rudy. Tom Barrack Charged With Acting as a Foreign Agent

[jserraglio]

WSJ Tom Barrack Charged With Acting as a Foreign Agent for United Arab Emirates

Tom Barrack, the real-estate investor and a longtime ally of former President Trump, was arrested Tuesday in Los Angeles on charges that he acted as a foreign agent of the United Arab Emirates and lied to federal investigators.

A seven-count indictment filed by the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn, N.Y., alleges that Mr. Barrack, along with a former employee and an Emirati businessman, acted at the direction of senior Emirati officials to influence Mr. Trump’s policy positions and to influence public opinion in favor of U.A.E. interests.

Mr. Barrack, 74 years old, was also charged with obstruction of justice and making false statements during a June 2019 interview with federal law-enforcement agents.

Mr. Barrack stepped down earlier this year from his role as executive chairman of Colony Capital Inc., the investment firm he founded in 1991. Last month, Colony rebranded as DigitalBridge.

A lawyer for Mr. Barrack couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

Mr. Barrack was a powerful supporter of Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign and directed his inaugural committee. In one example cited by prosecutors, Mr. Barrack worked with the Emirati businessman, Rashid Al-Malik, to craft language for a May 2016 speech on energy policy for then-candidate Mr. Trump, consulting with senior U.A.E. officials.

Mr. Malik was also charged in the indictment. A lawyer for Mr. Malik couldn’t be reached for comment.

In 2018, federal prosecutors’ offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn opened investigations into the inaugural committee’s spending and for possibly illegal foreign donations.

Mr. Barrack’s ties to the Middle East have come under scrutiny before, along with the blurring of lines between his business interests and White House influence. In 2019, a House report found that Mr. Barrack had sought Saudi government funding to buy an ailing U.S. nuclear reactor.

Mr. Barrack is expected to appear Tuesday afternoon before a magistrate judge in Los Angeles, and Brooklyn federal prosecutors are seeking his detention, according to the prosecutor’s office.

[barney]

Cluck, cluck, cluck. More chickens coming home to roost.

[jserraglio]

Cluck, cluck, cluck. More chickens coming home to roost.

DOJ’s DON TRUMPLEONE COSA NOSTRA SCORECARD

6 indicted
5 convicted
5 cabinet officials referred to DOJ
3 pardoned
1 slated to be indicted (Rudy).

[barney]

Cluck, cluck, cluck. More chickens coming home to roost.

DOJ’s DON TRUMPLEONE COSA NOSTRA SCORECARD

6 indicted
5 convicted
5 cabinet officials referred to DOJ
3 pardoned
1 slated to be indicted (Rudy).

Thanks for that Joe. Are the five convicted drawn from the six indicted for a total of 6, or are they separate, for a total of 11?

[maestrob]

Mr. Barrack, 74 years old, was also charged with obstruction of justice and making false statements during a June 2019 interview with federal law-enforcement agents.

Never a good idea to lie to the FBI. Just ask Mike Flynn.

Never forget.

[jserraglio]

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[/size] user_id=5157]Thanks for that Joe. Are the five convicted drawn from the six indicted for a total of 6, or are they separate, for a total of 11?

Drawn from the six. Bannon was indicted for felony fraud but was given a pardon before he went on trial, so only these were actually convicted.

THE TRUMP HALL OF GOODFELLANS

Flynn
Manafort
Gates
Cohen
Stone

Oops, here’s a sixth I forgot, George Papadopoulos. Forgive me, there are so darn many, I lose track.

[Rach3]

Borowitz Report today:

Nation Shocked by Existence of Trump Adviser Not Already Arrested

“After Manafort, Stone, Flynn, Bannon, Cohen, Papadopoulos, and the rest, I really thought they’d gotten them all,” one woman said.