Trump ally on trial for illegal lobbying sought UAE ambassadorship: Tillerson

Tom Barrack, a friend and advisor to former US President Donald Trump, asked to become the US ambassador to the UAE, according to a testimony by former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. 

Barrack, a billionaire from California, was a close aide of Donald Trump. He is currently on trial for allegedly illegally lobbying on behalf of the UAE before and during the Trump administration.

The former Secretary of State testified for the prosecution today that he never asked the former president’s friend Tom Barrack to engage in any diplomacy on behalf of the US, and that inside into Barrack gave to UAE was sensitive. Pretty remarkable.https://t.co/hkznjJblJ6

— Robert J. DeNault (@robertjdenault) October 3, 2022

Tillerson testified that Barrack "called over to my office and expressed an interest in an ambassadorship", adding that Trump did not accept the idea and therefore made no follow-up requests. 

Tom Barrack is charged with multiple crimes, including working secretly as a foreign agent of the UAE, making false statements, and obstruction of justice. Barrack has pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

Tillerson is so far the highest-profile witness at the trial so far, according to the Associated Press. The trial is ongoing.

Tillerson was Trump's Secretary of State until falling out with the then-president and was famously dismissed from his position on Twitter. 

Prosecutors claim that Barrack used his access to Trump to advance the interests of the UAE, including helping to arrange a 2017 meeting between Trump and Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince - now President - Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. In return, they allege, Barrack's business ventures received millions of dollars from the Emiratis. 

Other individuals have also been accused of using their proximity to the Trump presidency to advance their business interests in the Gulf States.

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and former senior advisor to the president, has been accused of using his position to cultivate a friendship with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.