Trump Ally Barrack Supported Qatar In Blockade, Mnuchin Testifies

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testified on Thursday that onetime Donald Trump fundraiser Tom Barrack supported Qatar in a blockade brought against the country by the United Arab Emirates and others in 2017.

Barrack is on trial on charges he illegally acted as a foreign agent for the UAE.

Barrack's defense called Mnuchin to the stand to try to undercut charges by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn that Barrack, 75, used his influence with the former U.S. president's campaign and administration to push the UAE's interests without notifying the U.S. attorney general, as required by law.

Barrack has pleaded not guilty. His lawyers have said his interactions with Middle Eastern officials were part of his role running private equity firm Colony Capital, now known as DigitalBridge Group Inc.

Mnuchin testified that after Trump publicly expressed support for the blockade by Qatar's regional rivals, which also included Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, Barrack came to his office and said he thought the president had made a "mistake."

"His position was clearly in support of Qatar," Mnuchin testified, adding that Barrack asked him to pass the message along to Trump. "I recall him telling me that he believed Qatar was an important ally of the United States."

Before the jury entered the courtroom on Thursday morning, U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan said the UAE was a "very important client" for Mnuchin, who started a private equity fund after leaving office in 2021.

Cogan said there was therefore "some indication of bias" from Mnuchin's testimony given that the UAE would likely not want a jury to convict Barrack. He said he would nonetheless limit prosecutors' ability to detail the "mind-boggling" amounts of money involved in Mnuchin's dealings with the UAE.

Under cross-examination by prosecutors, Mnuchin acknowledged his fund, Liberty Strategic Capital, includes investments from UAE sovereign wealth funds.

The trial began on Sept. 19, and prosecutors rested their case earlier this week.

Mnuchin is not the first former Trump administration official to take the stand in the case. Former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson testified as a prosecution witness on Oct. 3, stating he was unaware of the role Barrack played in U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East.