Welcome To aBlackWeb

Register

The Official World Politics Thread

talkingpointsmemo.com

Feds Have FARA Probe Into Barrack

Colony Capital chair and longtime President Trump associate Tom Barrack seems to be facing strong headwinds amid an ongoing federal investigation and trouble at his massive real estate business.
talkingpointsmemo.com

Feds Running Foreign Lobbying Probe Into Trump Confidant Tom Barrack

Colony Capital chair and longtime President Trump associate Tom Barrack seems to be facing strong headwinds amid an ongoing federal investigation and trouble at his massive real estate business.

The New York Times reports that federal public integrity prosecutors in Brooklyn are probing whether Barrack violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires agents of foreign governments to register with the Justice Department. Prosecutors are specifically investigating whether United Arab Emirates- or Saudi-linked individuals sought to influence the Trump campaign through Barrack, and they conducted an interview with the businessman last month at Barrack’s request, per the Times.

The Times also got access to personal emails from Barrack during the 2016 Trump campaign, where he appears to have played the role of fixer and occasionally adviser.

In one July 2016 exchange with Paul Manafort and UAE ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba, Barrack appears to have pushed to strike language from the Republican Party platform calling for documents from the 9/11 investigation related to Saudi Arabia.

“On the platform issue there is another chance to make our gulf friends happy,” Manafort reportedly emailed Barrack, apparently referring to the 9/11 issue and to Trump’s proposed Muslim ban. In an earlier email to al-Otaiba, Barrack had described Manafort as “totally programmed” on the Saudi-UAE alliance.

The Trump campaign struck language calling for the release of the 9/11 documents from its platform, though they were released that summer.

The probe also appears to focus on the Trump inaugural, with its unique mixture of record income ($106 million) and widespread allegations of access peddling.

The Times reports that a business associate of Barrack’s, UAE businessman Rashid al-Malik, received a ticket to one of the inaugural’s most exclusive events, the chairman’s dinner. Al-Malik reportedly tried to use his influence with Barrack to shape the Trump campaign’s Middle East policy.

The investigation comes at a difficult time for Barrack, as he beats a slow retreatfrom his position at the top of Colony Capital. The company has been strugglingamid a flopped merger.

Owen Blicksilver, a representative for Barrack, did not immediately reply to a request for comment from TPM, though he denied the pay-for-play allegations to the Times.
Click to expand...
 
talkingpointsmemo.com

April Ryan On Trump’s Baltimore Attacks

White House correspondent and Baltimore native April Ryan believes Trump is playing into his base with his attacks against Rep. Cummings and the city.
talkingpointsmemo.com

Baltimore Native April Ryan Has A Theory For Why Trump Lashed Out At Cummings

White House correspondent April Ryan didn’t hesitate to defend her native Baltimorean Monday when asked about her response to President Trump’s attacks over the weekend against Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD).

Ryan, who’s covered the White House for 22 years, believes that the reason for Trump’s attacks go beyond Cummings’ criticism of Homeland Security chief Kevin McAleenan for the department’s child separation policy.

“We have a president who is limited in his approach when it comes to people,” Ryan said on CNN. “He believes in scaffoldings and concrete, things without a heart. This is heartless, this is not politics. It’s about humanity.”

Ryan then said that Trump has the authority to address the issues in Baltimore, which the President called a “rat and rodent infested mess” over the weekend.

“He can change the dynamic instead of throwing the ball to someone else to catch,” Ryan said. “He is the President of the United States who would declare a state of emergency. If it’s that bad, do something about it.”

Ryan added that Trump’s attacks have to do with “playing to his base.”

“If we remember, how did he become a politician, by calling then-President Barack Obama illegitimate because he wanted to believe in his mind that he was born somewhere else other than the United States,” Ryan said.
Click to expand...

 
Y'all remember this? I'm sick of these old friendly black folks in Congress. They're all weak as fuck. They constantly make a fool of themselves.



 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top