Trump inauguration head charged with being foreign agent

Tom Barrack, a longtime friend of Donald Trump's who chaired his inauguration committee, has been charged with acting as an agent of the United Arab Emirates.

Tom Barrack, a longtime friend of Donald Trump's who chaired the committee that raised more than $100 million for his inauguration, has been charged with acting as an agent of a foreign government and obstruction of justice. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said Tuesday that in 2016, Barrack illegally sought to use his influence with the new president on behalf of the United Arab Emirates. In May 2016, according to the indictment, Barrack "took steps to establish himself as the key communications channel for the United Arab Emirates" to the Trump campaign and, that same month, gave a co-defendant a draft copy of an energy speech then-candidate Trump was preparing to deliver. The co-defendant then sent it to a UAE official and solicited feedback. "Congrats on the great job today," court records quoted the Emirati official saying in an email to Barrack after Trump delivered the speech. "Everybody here are happy with the results."