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US prosecutors on Wednesday allowed prosecutors to question Tom Barrack, a fundraiser for former US President Donald Trump, about Khashoggi’s assassination, Saudi Arabia’s nuclear program, and efforts to build reactors in others. parts of the Middle East. Among the main allegations Barrack faces is that UAE officials took him notes on what Trump was supposed to say in a speech during his 2016 election campaign when he was a presidential candidate.
Prosecutors who accuse Tom Barrack, a fundraiser for former US President Donald Trump, of being a foreign agent can ask him for his comments on the assassination of the Saudi journalist. Jamal Khashoggi And efforts to build nuclear power plants in the Middle East, a US judge announced Wednesday.
Judge Brian Coogan’s ruling, who is overseeing Barak’s trial, comes on the third day of Barak’s testimony in his defense in the Brooklyn Federal Court. He is accused of supporting the interests of the UAE without notifying the US Attorney General, as required by law.
On the other hand, 75-year-old Barak defended his innocence, stating that his dealings with officials in the Middle East were part of his work in managing the “Colony Capital” direct investment company, now known as “Digital Bridge “, and even in cases where his interests coincided with those of Emirates, he acted of his own free will.
But Judge Kogan did not mention during the public hearing what Barak had said about Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist who was killed and dismembered inside the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul in an operation that US intelligence claimed was Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the country, had approved. But the Saudi crown prince denied having ordered the murder.
Claims and problems
In 2019, Barak said at a conference in Abu Dhabi that “atrocities in America are equal to or worse” than Khashoggi’s killing, according to media at the time. Barak later apologized for the comments, describing the killing of the Saudi journalist as “frightening”. Barak is not accused of acting as a client of Saudi Arabia, but the kingdom and the UAE are close allies.
Kogan also said he would allow prosecutors to ask Barak about his support plan in the early days of the Trump administration to build 40 nuclear power plants in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Middle East. A 2019 democratically-led congressional report concluded that Barak sought to take advantage of the deal even as he lobbied for his appointment to a diplomatic post.
Barak is not accused of any crime related to the failed civilian nuclear plan. But Kogan said the defense opened the door for prosecutors to question her by offering contacts involving Barak and the co-founder of IP3, the consortium that was pushing the plan.
On Wednesday, Barak testified that former Trump campaign president Paul Manafort had asked him to seek input from Middle Eastern officials for a speech Trump would give on energy policy in 2016 while running for president.
One of the main allegations made by the indictment against Barak was that Emirati officials provided him with notes on what Trump should have said in the speech. Barak’s claim that seeking those inputs from the Emirates was not his idea to bolster his defense by saying that while he has long sought to improve relations between the United States and several Middle Eastern countries, he has never acted under the law. management or control of Abu Dhabi, which is what Procuratorate should confirm to confirm he was an agent.
Manafort’s attorney, who faces no wrongdoing charges in the case, declined to comment.
Barrack, who was not involved in Trump’s election campaign but later chaired his inauguration committee, said he sent a draft of the letter to a UAE energy executive and Rashid al-Malik, a man businessman accused by prosecutors of acting as an intermediary between Barack and Emirati officials. And the owner is not held back.
However, Barak stressed that he did not include in the draft notes the owner sent him from an Emirati official.
FRANCE 24 / Reuters
