前总统唐纳德·特朗普的周一，老朋友汤姆·巴拉克否认了他代表阿联酋非法游说特朗普政府的指控，并表示支持特朗普竞选总统对他的职业生涯来说是“灾难性的”。
巴拉克是特朗普2016年就职委员会的主席，他出庭作证为自己辩护在对他的审判中，他被指控在2016年至2018年期间担任阿联酋的外国代理人，但未能在司法部注册，他们说这构成了犯罪。
巴拉克在证人席上说，他与阿联酋官员的互动是他几十年来培养的长期商业关系的一部分，当时他是一家价值数十亿美元的房地产公司的负责人，该公司在世界各地寻求投资。
"根据你对业务的理解，你能同意作为one investors的代理人吗?"巴拉克的律师迈克尔·沙赫特问他。
“不可能，”巴拉克回答说，他说这种关系会让其他投资者“寒心”，他们会想，“如果你是在为他们做事，你就不是在为我们做事。”
巴拉克还批评了这位前总统，他被指控非法游说，他告诉陪审团，如果他支持不同的候选人，“毫无疑问”会更好。
巴拉克在2016年竞选早期开始为特朗普提供建议之前，已经与特朗普有了几十年的关系。
Tom Barrack exits Brooklyn Federal Court on Oct. 21, 2022, in New York.
贝贝图·马修斯/美联社
他告诉陪审团，他最初认为特朗普当选总统的想法是一个“遥不可及的想法”，但他“知道他勇敢、聪明、天生聪明，比我认识的任何人都更有弹性”——巴拉克在中东看到了机会。
巴拉克说:“这位出色的商人成为了连中东都不会拼写的美国总统。”。
但巴拉克表示，他对特朗普的支持最终对他的工作是“灾难性的”，他似乎至少部分地将他现在面临的指控归咎于他与前总统的关系。
“你协助特朗普竞选最终对你的职业产生了什么影响?”沙赫特问道。
“今天我和你们所有人坐在一起，”巴拉克回答道，这引起了检察官的反对。
巴拉克的评论是在特朗普在社交媒体上表达对他的老朋友的支持后一天发表的。
特朗普周日在他的真实社交平台上谈到巴拉克时说，DOJ“指控他是阿联酋的特工，但我不相信他是”。
特朗普称他是一位“备受尊敬的商人”，他说巴拉克“从来没有跟我谈过‘演讲’以及在这个问题上应该说些什么”——这可能是指检察官指控巴拉克在特朗普早期的竞选演讲中插入了有利于阿联酋的语言。
在审判中，检察官展示了电子邮件巴拉克和当时的特朗普助手保罗·马纳福特讨论演讲。他们还展示了特朗普发表演讲的片段，其中提到了“我们的海湾盟友”。
检察官早些时候出示了巴拉克与他的阿联酋联系人的数百份通信。
“我有幸与这么多(世界领导人)打过交道，”巴拉克一边说，一边浏览着他因公出访过的全球近十几个国家。“在某些时候，我有幸有机会与那些地方的所有高层人士打交道。”
巴拉克在他的证词中还为他的共同被告马修·格莱姆斯进行了激烈的辩护，马修·格莱姆斯大学毕业后就来到巴拉克的公司工作，从事巴拉克称之为“终极地鼠工作”。
格里姆斯对针对他的指控拒不认罪。
“我一生中最糟糕的感觉之一是他今天坐在这个法庭上——这太荒谬了，”巴拉克说，这引起了检察官的反对。
巴拉克的家人来自黎巴嫩，他作证说，他与阿联酋的联系可以追溯到20世纪70年代他第一次在那里工作的时候，并表示，在此期间，两家阿联酋主权财富基金向他的公司投资的近4亿美元也是商业而非个人投资。
“他们是在投资，而不是给我们资本，”巴拉克说。“他们在投资。”
巴拉克还否认了检方的一项核心指控:巴拉克代表阿联酋采取行动的决定源于2016年春天与一名阿联酋官员的会面。
"他有没有问你是否想成为阿联酋的外国特工?"沙赫特问这位官员。
“不，”巴拉克回答道。
“他有没有问你是否同意在阿联酋的指挥或控制下行动?”沙赫特继续说道。
“绝对不行，”巴拉克说。
巴拉克在证人席上呆了将近五个小时，详细回答了律师的问题，有时还开些玩笑。
律师在法庭上表示，他们预计巴拉克将继续出庭，直到周四。
Tom Barrack, in testimony, denies illegal lobbying charges and says supporting Trump was 'disastrous'
Former PresidentDonald Trump'slongtime friend Tom Barrack on Monday denied charges that he illegally lobbied the Trump administration on behalf of the United Arab Emirates and said that supporting Trump for president was "disastrous" for him professionally.
Barrack, who was the chair of Trump's 2016 inaugural committee, took the standin his own defensein his trial on charges that he acted as a foreign agent for the UAE from 2016 to 2018 yet failed to register with the Department of Justice, which they say constitutes a crime.
Speaking from the witness stand, Barrack said his interactions with UAE officials were part of the longstanding business relationships he had cultivated over decades while serving as the head of a multibillion-dollar real estate company that sought investments from around the world.
"Could you, as you understand your business, agree to operate as an agent of one investors?" Barrack's attorney, Michael Schachter, asked him.
"Impossible," replied Barrack, who said that type of relationship would "chill" other investors, who would think, "If you are acting for them, you are not acting for us."
Barrack also offered criticism of the former president whose administration he is accused of illegally lobbying, telling the jury that it would have been "unquestionably" better had he thrown his support behind a different candidate.
Barrack already had a decades-long relationship with Trump before he began to advise Trump early in his 2016 campaign.
He told the jury he initially thought the idea of Trump as president was a "far-out thought," but that he "knew him to be bold, smart, instinctively brilliant, and more resilient than anybody that I ever knew" -- and that Barrack saw opportunity in the Middle East.
"This amazingly good businessman become the president of the United States who could not spell the Middle East," Barrack said.
But Barrack said that his support of Trump was ultimately "disastrous" for his work, and appeared to at least partly blame his association with the former president for the charges he now faces.
"What effect did your assistance with the Trump campaign ultimately have on you professionally?" Schachter asked.
"I'm sitting with all of you today," Barrack replied, prompting an objection from the prosecutor.
Barrack's comments came a day after Trump expressed his support for his longtime friend on social media.
The DOJ has "has accused him of being an agent of the UAE, which I do not believe he was," Trump said of Barrack Sunday on his Truth Social platform.
Calling him a "highly respected businessman," Trump said that Barrack "NEVER spoke to me about 'speeches' and what to say on this subject" -- a likely reference to prosecutors' allegation that Barrack inserted language favorable to the UAE into one of Trump's early campaign speeches on energy.
At the trial,prosecutors showed emailsbetween Barrack and then-Trump aide Paul Manafort discussing the speech. They also showed a clip of Trump delivering the speech, which included a reference to "our gulf allies."
Prosecutors earlier presented hundreds of communications Barrack had with his UAE contacts.
“I have had the privilege of dealing with so many [world leaders],” Barrack said, while ticking through nearly a dozen countries around the world in which he has traveled for business. “All of the top people in those places at some point in time I have had the privilege of the opportunity to deal with.”
Barrack in his testimony also offered a fierce defense of his codefendant Matthew Grimes, who had come to work for Barrack in what Barrack called the "ultimate gopher job" just after college.
Grimes has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
"One of the worst feelings in my life is him sitting in this court today -- it's ridiculous," Barrack said, prompting an objection from prosecutors.
Barrack, whose family is from Lebanon, testified that his ties to the UAE go back to when he first worked there in the 1970s, and said that the nearly $400 million invested in his firm from two UAE sovereign wealth funds during the time in question was also business and not personal.
"They are investing, they are not giving us the capital," Barrack said. "They are investing."
Barrack also denied one of the prosecution's central allegations: that Barrack's decision to act on behalf of the UAE stemmed from a spring 2016 meeting with a UAE official.
"Did he ask you if you wanted to be a UAE foreign agent?" Schachter asked of the official.
"No," replied Barrack.
"Did he ask you if you would agree to operate subject to the UAE's direction or control?" Schachter continued.
"Absolutely not," Barrack said.
Barrack remained on the stand for nearly five hours, offering detailed answers to questions from his attorney and at times cracking jokes.
Attorneys said in court that they expect Barrack to remain on the stand through Thursday.
