Trump ally Thomas Barrack to be released on $250-million bail

Thomas J. Barrack, the prominent Los Angeles investor and longtime ally of former President Trump, was expected to be released from jail Friday on a $250-million bond while he awaits trial on charges of obstruction of justice and covertly acting as an agent of the United Arab Emirates.

U.S. Magistrate Patricia Donahue ordered Barrack’s release after the wealthy real estate developer agreed to put up the huge sum as a guarantee he would not flee the country to avoid prosecution. Barrack will provide $5 million in cash, more than 21 million shares of the company he founded, now known as DigitalBridge Group, and his son, ex-wife and a DigitalBridge executive all signed over their personal residences.

Barrack, 74, was not present during the hearing in downtown L.A., and his attorneys and relatives appeared remotely. Since his arrest Tuesday, Barrack, 74, has been held in the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga and was scheduled to be released Friday afternoon after authorities place a bracelet with GPS monitoring on him.

Earlier Friday, Barrack’s co-defendant, Matthew Grimes, 27, was also ordered released in lieu of a $5-million bond secured by his parents and brother as well as his parents’ Santa Barbara residence.

Both men were ordered to appear Monday for an arraignment at a federal court in New York.

Prosecutors had tried to keep Barrack in custody, arguing in a court filing that Barrack posed a flight risk, given that he is “an extremely wealthy and powerful individual with substantial ties to Lebanon, the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” They noted he had taken more than 75 international trips over the last five years, including a trip to the UAE as recently as March. Prosecutors also indicated Barrack had significant foreign assets — and deep overseas ties — that would “allow him to live comfortably as a fugitive for many years to come.”

As part of the terms of his release, the magistrate prohibited Barrack from having contact with UAE or Saudi Arabian officials; limited his travel to the parts of New York and California included in the federal court system’s southern and eastern districts of New York and Central District of California; requited him to travel only by car or commercial air carriers; and mandated that Barrack provide the government with itineraries when traveling between New York and California.

In the seven-count indictment, Barrack was accused of conducting a secretive, years-long effort to shape Trump’s foreign policy as a candidate and later, president, all to the benefit of the UAE.

The indictment said four UAE officials “tasked” Barrack, Grimes and a third man, Rashid Al-Malik, with influencing public opinion through media appearances; molding the foreign policy positions of the Trump campaign and later, the Trump administration; and developing “a back-channel line of communication” with the U.S. government that promoted Emirati interests.

Prosecutors allege Barrack directly lobbied the Trump administration to forgo a Camp David meeting between Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE during a multinational blockade of Qatar, arranged meetings and calls between UAE officials and Trump campaign and administration members, and advised Al-Malik to create a “wish list” of policy achievements that UAE wanted during the Trump administration.