After Donald Trump won the 2016 election, his mega-rich pal Tom Barrack started formulating a plan with officials at the United Arab Emirates on how to influence U.S. policy — and was asked to provide information about who would be tapped for crucial Cabinet positions, federal prosecutors allege.
“The defendants saw an opportunity, an opportunity to use Barrack’s unique access to Donald Trump to gain power and money for themselves,” Assistant U.S Attorney Hiral Mehta said Wednesday in his opening argument at Barrack’s Brooklyn Federal Court trial.
Barrack, 75, and his assistant, Michael Grimes, 29, are accused of working on behalf of UAE agent Rashid Al-Malik Alshahhi, to further the country’s interests from 2016 to 2018, all while never registering with the U.S. government as a foreign agent.
