前财政部长史蒂夫·姆努钦周四在前特朗普就职主席的审判中作证汤姆·巴拉克，他被指控代表阿联酋非法游说特朗普政府。

姆努钦被巴拉克称为辩方证人，他作证说，2017年巴拉克曾在2015年表示支持卡塔尔2017封锁这一立场可能会让他与阿联酋产生分歧。

“他进来是想告诉我，他认为总统支持封锁是一个错误...他的立场显然是支持卡塔尔，”在时任总统特朗普公开宣布支持阿联酋和沙特阿拉伯封锁卡塔尔后不久，姆努钦谈到了他与巴拉克的一次会晤。

“他让我把这些观点转达给总统，”姆努钦说。

检察官指控洛杉矶商人、特朗普的长期助手巴拉克充当外国代理人从2016年到2018年，阿联酋没有在司法部注册，他们说这构成了犯罪。巴拉克否认有罪。

姆努钦周四的证词持续了不到30分钟，他在2017年至2021年期间担任美国财政部长。他离开政府后重新进入私营部门。

在反诘问中，姆努钦试图回避有关他自己的投资公司与阿联酋的财务关系的具体问题。

Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin leaves Brooklyn Federal Court after testifying in Tom Barrack's trial, Oct. 20, 2022, in Brooklyn, New York.

安德烈斯·库达基/美联社

“法官阁下，我们受与投资者的各种保密协议和非公开协议的约束——我需要回答这个问题吗?”在被检察官询问他的公司是否专门接受阿联酋主权财富基金的投资后，姆努钦问法官。

法官说他应该笼统地回答。

"你的基金包括阿联酋主权财富基金的投资?"检察官又问。

“是的，”姆努钦回答。

Mnuchin曾在国家安全委员会任职，作为他领导财政部的一部分，他也作证说，他从未要求巴拉克代表政府为他开展任何工作。

“作为财政部长，你从未指示巴拉克先生代表你做任何事情，是真的吗?”检察官问。

“当然不是，”姆努钦回答。

但Mnuchin一再拒绝回答有关卡塔尔封锁的内部管理对话的问题，引用了行政特权。

在重定向时，辩护律师迈克尔·沙赫特抓住这一问题强调，巴拉克不受同样的限制，因为与姆努钦不同，他不是美国政府的成员。

“那些适用于你的保密限制——你知道是否有任何适用于巴拉克先生的保密限制，阻止他与他想与谁交谈?”沙赫特问姆努钦。

“据我所知没有，”姆努钦回答道。

Steven Mnuchin testifies in trial of Trump ally Tom Barrack

Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin testified Thursday in the trial of former Trump inaugural chairTom Barrack, who is accused of illegally lobbying the Trump administration on behalf of the United Arab Emirates.

Mnuchin, called as a defense witness by Barrack, testified that in 2017 Barrack had expressed support for Qatar in the2017 blockadeof the tiny nation -- a position that would have put him at odds with the UAE.

"He came in with the idea of telling me that he thought the president had made a mistake supporting the blockade ... his position was clearly in support of Qatar," Mnuchin said of a meeting he had with Barrack shortly after then-President Trump publicly announced his support for the blockade of Qatar by the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

"He asked me to pass those views on to the president," Mnuchin said.

Prosecutors have accused Barrack, a Los Angeles-based businessman and longtime Trump associate, ofacting as a foreign agentfor the UAE from 2016 to 2018 yet failing to register with the Department of Justice, which they say constitutes a crime. Barrack has pleaded not guilty.

Mnuchin, whose testimony on Thursday lasted under 30 minutes, served as United States treasury secretary from 2017 to 2021. He re-entered the private sector upon leaving government.

On cross examination, Mnuchin sought to avoid specific questions about his own investment firm's financial ties to the UAE.

"Your honor, we're subject to various confidentiality agreements and nondisclosure agreements with our investors -- am I required to answer that question?" Mnuchin asked the judge after being questioned by prosecutors about whether his firm has specifically taken investments from UAE sovereign wealth funds.

The judge said he should answer generally.

"Your fund includes investments from sovereign wealth funds from the UAE?" the prosecutor asked again.

"Yes," Mnuchin replied.

Mnuchin, who served on the National Security Council as part of his role leading the Treasury Department, also testified that he never asked Barrack to conduct any work for him on behalf of the government.

"You never directed Mr. Barrack to do anything on your behalf as treasury secretary, is that true?" the prosecutor asked.

"Of course not," Mnuchin replied.

But Mnuchin repeatedly declined to answer questions about internal administration conversations regarding the Qatar blockade, citing executive privilege.

On redirect, defense attorney Michael Schachter seized on that line of questioning to emphasize that Barrack was not subject to the same restrictions -- because unlike Mnuchin, he was not a member of the United States government.

"Those confidentiality restrictions that applied to you -- are you aware of whether there were any confidentiality restrictions that apply to Mr. Barrack that prevent him from speaking to whoever he wanted to?" Schachter asked Mnuchin.

"Not that I'm aware of, no," Mnuchin replied.