A close ally and former campaign adviser to former President Trump was arrested Tuesday and charged with several criminal counts over allegedly working as an undisclosed foreign lobbyist on behalf of the United Arab Emirates.
Federal prosecutors said Thomas Barrack, a wealthy private equity investor who also served as the chairman of Trump’s inaugural committee, worked to influence his 2016 campaign, and later the administration, to push for policy proposals that were favorable to the UAE.
“The defendants repeatedly capitalized on Barrack’s friendships and access to a candidate who was eventually elected President, high-ranking campaign and government officials, and the American media to advance the policy goals of a foreign government without disclosing their true allegiances,” Mark Lesko, the acting head of the Justice Department’s national security division, said in a statement.
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