Former Trump Campaign Adviser Charged With Acting as an Agent of a Foreign Government

On July 16, the Department of Justice charged Thomas Barrack, a former adviser to the 2016 Trump Campaign, with acting as an agent of a foreign government. Barrack, who served as chairman of the Presidential Inaugural Committee to former President Trump’s 2016 campaign, was among three people charged with acting “as agents of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a foreign government.” The 46-page indictment details how UAE government officials allegedly tasked Barrack and others with various assignments including “influencing public opinion, the foreign policy positions of the Campaign and the foreign policy positions of the United States government” as well as “developing plans to increase the United Arab Emirates’ political influence and to promote its foreign policy preferences.” You can read the indictment here and below.