By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will be called by federal prosecutors to testify in the Tom Barrack trial, a one-time fundraiser for former President Donald Trump, on charges of illegally acting as a foreign agent for the United States. Arab Emirates, a court file showed on Saturday.
Barrack’s defense disclosed the plans in a letter to U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan, asking Tillerson to take the position Monday. The defense said prosecutors had confirmed they would call Tillerson, but told the defense that he would not be available after Oct. 4 due to “personal plans.”
If Tillerson takes the stand Monday, the defense would have enough time to question him, Barrack’s lawyers said.
Tillerson was not immediately available for comment.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Brooklyn, where Barrack is being tried, declined to comment.
Barak pleads innocent. His lawyers have said his interactions with Emirati officials were part of his role in leading private equity firm Colony Capital, now known as DigitalBridge Group Inc.
Tillerson, the former CEO of ExxonMobil, served as Trump’s secretary of state from 2017 to 2018.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; editing by Richard Chang)
