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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBreaking : Mueller has interviewed Tom Barrack.
https://apnews.com/6dd33b4234634079821e5825f112e85bWASHINGTON (AP) Investigators working for special counsel Robert Mueller have interviewed one of President Donald Trumps closest friends and confidants, California real estate investor Tom Barrack, The Associated Press has learned.
Barrack was interviewed as part of the federal investigation of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 election, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
The specific topics covered in questions from Muellers team were not immediately clear.
One of the people who spoke to AP said the questioning focused entirely on two officials from Trumps campaign who have been indicted by Mueller: Trumps former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and Manaforts onetime deputy, Rick Gates. Gates agreed to plead guilty to federal conspiracy and false-statement charges in February and began cooperating with investigators.
A second person with knowledge of the Barrack interview said the questioning was broader, including financial matters about the campaign, the transition and Trumps inauguration in January 2017.
Barracks spokeswoman, Lisa Baker, declined to comment.
Barrack has rare access and insight into Trump going back decades, since their days developing real estate. Barrack played an integral role in the 2016 campaign as a top fundraiser at a time when many other Republicans were shunning the upstart candidate. Barrack later directed Trumps inauguration.
Barrack, a wealthy real estate investor with close ties to several Mideast leaders, met Trump in 1988 when he negotiated the sale of The Plaza Hotel in New York to Trump. Barracks publicist in 2016 described the men as having since solidified a lifelong friendship between themselves and their families.
Barrack employed Gates last year, wrapping up operations on the Presidential Inaugural Committee, before Gates was charged by Mueller.
Barrack spoke glowingly of Trump in a CNBC interview in early 2016.
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I'll bet Mueller had lots of answers and incentives for Mr Barrack. Real estate men have lots of dodgy secrets.
OnDoutside
(19,956 posts)explaining to do !
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)Trump got real quiet, has not posted for over 20 hours now. That Barrak news may have hit him hard.
OnDoutside
(19,956 posts)Yet another red line crossed, I really can't see this lasting even a matter of months before Trump panics and everything explodes all at once.
Leghorn21
(13,524 posts)- especially when its a close, longstanding and intimate pal of LOSER45 who also had RICK GATES working for him, mmm, those are extra tasty!
FirstLight
(13,360 posts)I am so anxious for this to move to the "check-mate" phase.... can't wait to see just how many dominoes fall. (And with 70 new indictments in his pocket, yeah!)
Leghorn21
(13,524 posts)The AP link says Barrack was interviewed months ago...oh my, but nobody told US about it, the nerve!! (Ha ha)
So this news here tells me that Mr. Mueller & Co. are wayyyyy ahead of my mere mortal self in their work, and that perhaps I might want to keep the faith, eh?? (which is not so easy some days, right...)
Oh and also, I whine a lot, A LOT, omg why is this taking so loooong wannnhhh, and then I remember the list of LOSER45s shell companies I saw long ago - I mean just his, no one elses - and there were, I swear to you, fifty-five gazillion of those, and some poor investigator(s) have to untangle THAT knotted, super-glued, duct-taped mess...and then I read that this Barrack guy Ive not heard much about was interviewed MONTHS AGO, whilst Im sitting around whinnnning...
Shame on me!
Just came across this - a little Barrack background from October last year,
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/10/31/what-did-thomas-barrack-know-and-when-did-he-know-it/
Anyway, we shall keep the faith yet another day!!!
FirstLight
(13,360 posts)a) yes they are light years ahead of what we mere mortals know!
b) I kinda whine a lot too! I want them to "get on with it already"...if for no other reason than the sanctity of my LIVER!
Leghorn21
(13,524 posts)trending on twitter at #7!!!
https://mobile.twitter.com/search?q=%22tom+barrack%22
Its just fun, I tells ya!
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)I love that lil trick of Mueller's, to pick just the right time to release a lil bombshell like having Barrak nailed down.
I esp. love that Trump is so obsessed with Obama. I like the idea of "Barrak" helping to take him down.
One of these days someone will compile a list of all the weird co-incidences of this saga.
WhiteTara
(29,715 posts)I didn't remember this at all. There is so much criminal behavior that some just has to slip by. But please do post that right away.
manor321
(3,344 posts)CincyDem
(6,358 posts)Yeah...I thought so.
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)several generations ago don't identify as middle eastern. Many identify as white and all that I have met have been republicans, often conservative too.
caballojm
(272 posts)My immediate family and I are as liberal as the day is long. My extended family however ... well, we need to work on that.
LeftInTX
(25,327 posts)And another Lebanese guy is running for judge. (D)
We used to have a Lebanese congressman (D), but he died quite awhile ago.
I really don't know the politics of the rest of the community.
South Texas has a pretty vibrant community because of the proximity to Mexico. (Decent of Lebanese in Mexico!!)
C Moon
(12,213 posts)One less "r" would have had Trump running away.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)Even their close friends are going down now. These are people they know on a personal level. People that have been solid in their lives. That sick pain in the pit of their stomachs must be permanent about now.
Aah, karma.
BobTheSubgenius
(11,563 posts)Is my read of the situation wrong when I say that it seems that the pace of the RM investigation has picked up speed exponentially over the last few weeks? It seems that there is, if not "bombshell revelations," at least a revelation only one tier down just about daily.
WhiteTara
(29,715 posts)and soon he'll have the whole affair knitted up like a tidy hot pad.