(Washington) The US authorities announced, on Tuesday, that they had indicted a relative of Donald Trump, accusing him of trying to influence the candidate who became president of the United Arab Emirates between 2016 and 2018, without declaring his lobbying activities.
Thomas Barrack and two other men have been accused of seeking to direct Donald Trump’s foreign policy during the 2016 campaign, and thus the policy of his administration.
The Assistant Minister of Justice for National Affairs explained that the other defendants “repeatedly took advantage of Mr. Barak’s cordial relations and access to a candidate who was eventually elected president” in order to “advance the interests of a foreign government without revealing their true allegiance.” Security, Mark Lesko.
Businessman Thomas Barrack, 74, was an “informal adviser” to the Republican candidate’s campaign between April and November 2016, before he was named chairman of the organizing committee for 45e President of the United States.
Adviser on US policy in the Middle East
As of January 2017, he had advised senior government officials on US policy in the Middle East.
According to the department, Thomas Barrack was to include pro-UAE statements in his campaign speech to Mr. Trump on US energy policy in May 2016.
In March 2017, he reportedly campaigned for a dubbed candidate from the UAE for the position of US ambassador to that country. Barak reportedly provided classified information to one of the other defendants about the Trump administration’s reactions to conversations between US officials and Emirati White House officials.
Lobbying for foreign governments is tightly controlled in the United States, a country with which the UAE is a traditional regional ally.
Prior to Thomas Barrack, many of Donald Trump’s relatives were convicted for their activities on behalf of foreign governments.
Paul Manafort, the former campaign manager of Donald Trump in 2016, and his former adviser Roger Stone were notably implicated in the investigation of Russian interference in the US presidential election. The former president pardoned them at the end of his term.
