The chairman of former President Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration — a Trump confidant — is having a rough day after he was arrested by federal agents amid the ongoing investigation into inauguration funds that were allegedly misused, according to NBC News’s Tom Winter. And frankly, Trump’s longtime friend Thomas Barrack, 74, should have known better than to tie himself to the most toxic figure in politics in recent U.S. history. And with Trump, loyalty is a one-way street, so we can assume that Barrack, a private equity investor, is on his own. The ‘lock her up’ crowd sure does seem to be getting locked up lately.
The Department of Justice states that a “seven-count indictment was unsealed today in a New York federal court relating to the defendants’ unlawful efforts to advance the interests of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the United States at the direction of senior UAE officials by influencing the foreign policy positions of the campaign of a candidate in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and, subsequently, the foreign policy positions of the U.S. government in the incoming administration, as well as seeking to influence public opinion in favor of UAE interests.”
Barrack, and three others, are “accused of acting and conspiring to act as agents of the UAE between April 2016 and April 2018. The indictment also charges Barrack with obstruction of justice and making multiple false statements during a June 20, 2019, interview with federal law enforcement agents.”
NEW: Thomas Barrack, former chairman of the Trump Inaugural and Trump confidant, was arrested on federal charges in Los Angeles this morning, multiple law enforcement officials tell @anblanx and @PeteWilliamsNBC
It’s not clear what he’s been charged with yet…
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) July 20, 2021
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And this was during the Trump administration.
MORE: The indictment says that Barrack was an agent of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) both before and during the Trump administration.
They say he made multiple false statements to the FBI including about whether he had a dedicated phone and messaging app to the UAE.
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) July 20, 2021
UPDATED: The Justice Department says that Barrack has been charged with acting as an agent of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the direction of UAE officials by influencing the foreign policy positions of the Trump campaign in 2016 and lying to the FBI. https://t.co/CNH3Dy6KxA
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) July 20, 2021
Barrack’s charges are related to illegally lobbying Trump for the United Arab Emirates while the now-twice-impeached one-term was running for and serving in the White House.
Featured image via Gage Skidmore/Flickr, under Creative Commons license 2.0
