When Donald Trump announced plans to nominate Tom Barrack to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to Turkey, the president-elect did his best to describe his friend in glowing terms.
“For three decades, Tom successfully managed a global private equity firm,” the Republican wrote online. “He is a well respected and experienced voice of reason to a wide range of thought leaders in both political and business circles.”
That summary, however, tells only part of a larger and more interesting story.
After Trump’s first election victory in 2016, there were a series of difficult questions surrounding the Republican’s inaugural committee, which faced scrutiny — and subpoenas — from federal prosecutors over the first half of Trump’s presidency, specifically on how the committee spent its considerable resources. As the investigation intensified, there were concerns that the inaugural committee’s chairman — Tom Barrack — might face real legal trouble.
As it turned out, that investigation did not lead to an indictment, but in 2021, Barrack was criminally charged by the Justice Department, which accused Trump’s longtime friend of unlawfully “advancing the interests” of the United Arab Emirates through the Republican campaign and administration.
Specifically, the California billionaire was accused of “acting and conspiring to act as agents” of the UAE between April 2016 and April 2018. He was also charged with obstruction of justice and making multiple false statements to federal law enforcement agents.
Two years ago, he was acquitted — a jury in New York found him not guilty on all counts — and now he’s likely to become the U.S. ambassador to Turkey.
Barrack will, however, still need to be approved by the U.S. Senate, and I have a hunch there will be some interesting lines of questions during his upcoming confirmation hearings.
