TFG may be called to testify at ally's foreign agent trial, judge says
Former President Donald Trump may be called as a witness at the criminal trial of Thomas Barrack, a private equity investor and former Trump fundraiser charged with acting as an unregistered agent for the United Arab Emirates, a U.S. judge said on Monday.
U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn told several prospective jurors for Barrack's trial about the prospect of Trump testifying to gauge whether they might be biased against the defendant.
Prosecutors said Barrack, a former chairman of the company now called DigitalBridge Group Inc (DBRG.N), tried to exploit his ties to Trump to advance UAE interests, without disclosing his efforts to the U.S. attorney general as the law requires. Barrack raised money for Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign and chaired Trump's 2017 inaugural committee.
Barrack, 75, has pleaded not guilty, as has his former assistant and co-defendant Matthew Grimes. Both intend to argue that their interactions with UAE officials were part of their work, and Barrack's lawyers have said the U.S. State Department, and Trump himself, knew of his contacts with Middle East officials.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-allys-trial-foreign-agent-charges-start-with-jury-selection-2022-09-19/
For a refresher on Barrak, see here:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216597309
TFG is not going to want anything to do with this trial and will throw Barrak as far under the bus as he can. Rich or poor, it does not matter how fast an ally of TFG you are... Loyalty only goes one way with TFG and I bet it's the main reason big donors are fleeing TFG.
