NYTimes : Trump Adviser Did Not Favor Emiratis, Ex-Treasury Chief Testifies by Rebecca Davis O’Brien

Thomas Barrack, center, served as an informal adviser on Middle East affairs to the Trump administration.Credit...Jefferson Siegel for The New York Times

Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that Thomas Barrack opposed a United Arab Emirates blockade of Qatar. Mr. Barrack faces charges of working secretly for the Emiratis./Le conseiller de Trump n’a pas favorisé les Emiratis, témoigne l’ancien chef du Trésor. L’ancien secrétaire au Trésor Steven Mnuchin a déclaré que Thomas Barrack s’opposait à un blocus du Qatar par les Émirats arabes unis. M. Barrack est accusé de travailler secrètement pour les Emiratis.

Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told a federal jury on Thursday that Thomas J. Barrack Jr. — a longtime friend of former President Donald J. Trump charged with acting as an undisclosed agent of the United Arab Emirates — had sided against his supposed patrons during the 2017 blockade of Qatar./L’ancien secrétaire au Trésor Steven Mnuchin a déclaré jeudi à un jury fédéral que Thomas J. Barrack Jr. – un ami de longue date de l’ancien président Donald J. Trump accusé d’avoir agi en tant qu’agent non divulgué des Émirats arabes unis – s’était rangé du côté de ses supposés patrons lors de la Blocus du Qatar en 2017.

The Emirates, Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf countries had severed diplomatic ties and cut off land, air and sea access to Qatar, after accusing the tiny Gulf state of supporting terrorism and Islamists in the region, and of cultivating close relations with Iran.

After serving in leadership roles in the Trump campaign and transition team, Mr. Barrack was not part of the administration, but he continued to serve as an informal adviser on Middle East affairs. Mr. Mnuchin said Mr. Barrack arrived at his office at the Treasury Department the day after Mr. Trump said on Twitter that he supported the blockade. READ MORE