NEW YORK — Trump friend Tom Barrack told a federal jury Tuesday that he was the architect of the former president’s 2016 climate change meeting with actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
Barrack, who is accused in Brooklyn Federal Court of scheming to influence former President Donald Trump’s foreign policy as an unregistered agent of the United Arab Emirates, described the meeting as one of several he tried to set up with world leaders and luminaries who were nervous about Trump’s extreme campaign rhetoric.
The 75-year-old businessman tried to portray himself as a bridge-builder between Trump and powerful people who disagreed with his platforms, like the former president’s vow to pull out of the Paris climate agreement and eliminate environmental protection regulations.
