Jury selection began Monday in the trial of Tom Barrack, a former adviser to then-President Donald Trump and chairman of the Committee on Presidential Inauguration.
Judge Brian Cogan brought up Trump’s name as he questioned a panel of potential jurors to find people qualified to hear evidence, suggesting the former president as a possible witness. But it’s unclear whether Trump will actually be called to the stand or whether the question is intended to gauge juror bias.
During jury selection, a judge generally reads a list of names of people who could be mentioned during a trial and who could be called as witnesses to try to root out any bias on the part of the potential juror.
Barak and his former aide Matthew Grimes have been accused of operating as a secret back channel for the UAE to influence the Trump administration’s foreign policy in a way that benefits the Gulf nation. Both have pleaded not guilty to charges that they acted as foreign agents for the UAE and denied having any agreement to help the Emirates.
Over the summer, questionnaires were sent to prospective jurors, and several of them expressed dislike for Trump.
The potential conflict was raised in August court filings as Barak’s lawyers and prosecutors went back and forth over whether to strike potential jurors for bias after several said in questionnaire responses that Trump was the “least admirable » their person.
Prosecutors wrote in a court filing: “Defendants argue that striking jurors who have expressed any dislike for former President Trump or his administration is proper because the former president and other members of the Trump administration ‘cannot be excluded’ as potential witnesses. Although the defendants have already released their witness lists, none of the defendants have identified the former president or any former member of the Trump administration as a potential witness.”
Prosecutors also noted that the government “could call one or more former Trump administration officials and thus would theoretically risk some prejudice to their witnesses from jurors who expressed negative views of the Trump administration.” The filing did not identify any former White House officials by name.
Barak’s lawyers countered in a court filing that they cannot make any final call on who to call as witnesses until the government presents its case.
“Therefore, setting aside which party observed these witnesses, it is disingenuous for the government to suggest that it ‘is skeptical of the defendant’s claim’ that key figures in the Trump administration, or even former President Trump himself, are potential witnesses in this case. ,” they wrote.
Jury selection will continue on Tuesday.
