The Daily Fuckup

Thomas Barrack appeared in federal court in Brooklyn on July 26, 2021 and pleaded not guilty to charges that he acted as an unregistered agent of the United Arab Emirates. The arraignment followed a July 20 indictment unsealed by federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York, which accused Barrack, Matthew Grimes, and Rashid Sultan Rashid Al Malik Alshahhi of acting and conspiring to act at the direction of senior UAE officials between April 2016 and April 2018. Barrack was also charged with obstruction of justice and making false statements. The Justice Department says the indictment contains allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/former-advisor-presidential-candidate-among-three-defendants-charged-acting-agents))

According to the indictment, prosecutors say Barrack used his position as an informal adviser to a presidential campaign and later as chairman of the Presidential Inaugural Committee to advance UAE interests without notifying the attorney general as required under foreign-agent law. The filing says he and his co-defendants were in repeated contact with senior UAE officials and sought to influence U.S. policy positions and public messaging in ways favorable to the emirates. Prosecutors also allege that Barrack and Grimes used secure communications and passed along information and talking points tied to UAE interests. Those are the claims now headed to court; they are not findings. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/former-advisor-presidential-candidate-among-three-defendants-charged-acting-agents))

Barrack’s role in the Trump inauguration gives the case its political charge, but the official record is narrower than the surrounding commentary. The government’s theory is that Barrack’s access and status made him valuable to UAE officials, not that any particular policy outcome was definitively caused by his conduct. The case now moves into the ordinary grind of criminal litigation, where the indictment will have to be tested in court and the government will have to prove its allegations. For now, the only settled facts are the charges, the plea, and the date of the arraignment. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/former-advisor-presidential-candidate-among-three-defendants-charged-acting-agents))