Trump ally Tom Barrack's UAE ties not 'nefarious,' defense says

Thomas Barrack, a billionaire friend of Donald Trump who chaired the former president's inaugural fund, exits the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., October 3, 2022. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

NEW YORK (Reuters) -There was "nothing nefarious" about former private equity executive Tom Barrack's ties with United Arab Emirates officials, Barrack's defense lawyer said in closing arguments on Tuesday, denying prosecutors' charges that former U.S. President Donald Trump's onetime ally was an illegal foreign agent.

Barrack's lawyer, Randall Jackson, said there was no evidence Barrack agreed to act as a UAE agent during either of his two 2016 meetings with UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al-Nayhan, the second of which took place during a bike ride in Morocco.