WASHINGTON (Middle East Eye) – Tom Barrack, a billionaire Donald Trump ally and one-time fundraiser for the former president, has testified in federal court that he urged Trump to use the murder of Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi as a “lever” to get the kingdom to end its blockade of Qatar.
During his testimony in a Brooklyn federal court, coming on the fourth day of his defence in a trial in which he is accused of illegally lobbying for the United Arab Emirates, Barrack said that in an October 2018 phone call with Trump he urged the then-president to use global outrage over the killing “as a lever over this idiotic blockade”.
During the testimony on Thursday, Barrack, 75, said he spoke to Qatar’s ambassador in the U.S. and its foreign minister in June 2017 - after Trump tweeted his support for the blockade on the Persian Gulf nation.
He said he then persuaded Trump administration officials to speak with their Qatari counterparts, and eventually spoke directly with Trump to encourage him to host a summit at the Camp David presidential retreat to resolve the dispute involving U.S. allies.
“I had told him again from the cheap seats ... he should send his teams and conclude this to force Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia to the table,” Barrack said.
Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned-critic and columnist for the Washington Post, was killed by a team of Saudi agents on 2 October 2018 after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The Biden administration released an intelligence report last year saying the murder was approved by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The crown prince has denied ordering the killing.
In 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and several other Arab countries imposed a blockade on Qatar. Prosecutors say that during the blockade, Barrack told Rashid al-Malik - an associate also accused of being an Emirati agent - that the U.S. was considering hosting a summit to resolve the conflict. Barrack denied telling Malik about the plans for the summit.
Malik, who is at large, then told UAE officials about the possible meeting, according to U.S. prosecutors.