On Monday, The Daily Beast reported that Tom Barrack, the indicted billionaire real estate financier with close ties to former President Donald Trump, testified at his criminal trial that his business relationship with the former president was nothing but trouble.
Barrack characterized his dealings with Trump as "disastrous," adding that the former president's politics were so "divisive" it ruined his credibility with anyone else he wanted to do business with.
"Barrack's case presents a rare sight: an unbelievably wealthy baron facing the real threat of prison time. He's accused of putting the nation's security at risk by misusing his position of influence and power with the Trump administration to cut secret deals with the United Arab Emirates," reported Jose Pagliery. "In this behemoth trial that started last month, federal prosecutors are trying to prove that Barrack abused the access he got to the incoming president by using it to secretly lobby on behalf of Arab royals. For example, an indictment updated in May claimed that Barrack quietly tweaked the GOP platform at the 2016 Republican National Convention — making sure to avoid any mention of the Saudi royal family's connection to the 9/11 hijackers."
Last month, as the trial loomed ahead, prosecutors revealed a tranche of emails outlining how Barrack, along with disgraced former Trump adviser Paul Manafort, had a "secret back-channel" between Middle Eastern nations. Barrack initially helped persuade the Trump family to put Manafort on the campaign payroll.
"The investment mogul is a longtime friend of Trump's from the celebrity's heyday in the 1980s New York real estate world. Barrack's early support for Trump played a pivotal role in Wall Street lining up behind the Republican in 2016. He would go on to chair Trump's inaugural celebrations, which were mired in accusations of self-dealing and corruption that ended in a settlement with the District of Columbia attorney general," said the report. "But on the stand Monday, Barrack frowned and shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he lamented four years of chaos that ensued — and seemed to blame his association with Trump for his legal troubles today." Asked by lawyers if he should have supported someone else for president, Barrack replied, "unquestionably."
During the trial, Barrack called former Trump Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to testify in his defense.
