Tag: Tom Barrack

Chair of Trump’s 2017 inaugural fund arrested on federal charges

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Real estate investor Tom Barrack, a longtime ally of former President Trump who chaired his 2017 inaugural fund, was arrested Tuesday and charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent for the United Arab Emirates, the Department of Justice announced.

Why it matters: The DOJ said Barrack attempted to advance the interests of the UAE by influencing the foreign policy positions of Trump’s campaign in 2016 and, subsequently, the foreign policy positions of the U.S. government in the incoming administration.

  • Matthew Grimes and Rashid Sultan Rashid Al Malik Alshahhi, a UAE national, were also charged with conspiring to act as agents of the UAE between April 2016 and April 2018. Grimes was arrested on Tuesday and Alshahhi remains at large. Continue reading.

Trump cuts off one of his closest friends

Inside the president’s feud with Tom Barrack.

Tom Barrack and Donald Trump have been friends and confidants for more than three decades — the two men are so close, for instance, that Barrack comforted Trump during the funeral of his father, Fred.

But the intimate relationship between the wealthy California investor and the president has fractured so badly that the two no longer speak, current and former White House officials say.

View the complete August 19 article by Daniel Lippman on the Politico website here.

Five things to know about Trump confidant Tom Barrack

Tom Barrack, one of President Trump‘s closest confidants, is a major player in the president’s orbit who could be ensnared in a Democratic probe unveiled this week.

The investigation, led by Democrats in control of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, is digging into Trump’s desire to sell nuclear energy technology to Saudi Arabia.

An interim report released by Democrats on the panel this week said Barrack’s name came up several times as a proposed special representative to lead the Saudi nuclear effort.

View the complete February 20 article by Rebecca Kheel on The Hill website here.

“Trump is nuts. This time really feels different”: Trump rejects “war council” intervention, goes it alone

The following article by Gabriel Sherman was posted on the Vanity Fair website August 27, 2018:

With his closest allies defecting, the president increasingly trusts only his instincts. He “got joy” from stripping former C.I.A. director John Brennan’s security clearance. And after betrayals by Allen Weisselberg and David Pecker, a former White House official says, Trump “spent the weekend calling people and screaming.”

After Michael Cohen’s plea deal last week, Donald Trump spiraled out of control, firing wildly in all directions. He railed against “flippers” in a rambling Fox & Friends interview, and lashed out on Twitter at Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the Justice Department, and Robert Mueller. In the wake of his outbursts, White House officials have discussed whether Trump would listen to his closest New York City friends in an effort to rein him in. Two sources briefed on the matter told me that senior officials talked about inviting Rudy Giuliani and a group of Trump’s New York real-estate friends including Tom Barrack, Richard LeFrak, and Howard Lorber to the White House to stage an “intervention” last week. “It was supposed to be a war council,” one source explained. But Trump refused to take the meeting, sources said. “You know Trump—he hates being lectured to,” the source added. (Spokespeople for LeFrak and Lorber say they have no knowledge of a meeting. A spokesperson for Barrack didn’t comment.) Continue reading ““Trump is nuts. This time really feels different”: Trump rejects “war council” intervention, goes it alone”