Tom Barack (screenshot from CNBC International TV YouTube)
Jurors for next week’s trial of Trump supporters Thomas Barack We won’t hear about his vast wealth and wealthy lifestyle after a judge granted a request from the billionaire’s lawyer on Tuesday.
United States District Senior Judge Brian M. Kogan A prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York said the photographs he hoped to use as evidence “have little evidentiary value” but “are likely to be of unwarranted prejudice.” Entered the United Arab Emirates in violation of federal lobbying laws requiring registration as a foreign agent.
“The government has gone too far here and should never do it again,” wrote Corgan.
Prosecutors have sealed and produced the proposed documentary evidence, which appears to relate to three properties owned by Barack and his private plane. United Arab Emirates.
A senior campaign advisor to Trump and chairman of his inaugural committee, Barack is a real estate investor, founder and executive chairman of publicly traded Colony Capital. His defense team referred to “widespread bipartisan condemnation of CEO pay in the United States” in a motion barring prosecutors from addressing his allegations.
“In this case, Mr. Barack’s compensation is neither an element nor an argument, so presenting Mr. Barack’s evidence to the jury would be misleading and confusing.
Wealth, Spending, or Lifestyle of Barracks,” according to a Sept. 6 motion from Michael Schactera partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in New York.
The judge’s order quotes from the sealed version of Barack’s motion.[t]Jurors are familiar with the concept of people living in houses and inviting visitors to throw parties.[t]No need to parade in front of a jury [] The exact home of the barracks.
Kogan also said prosecutors have “a less prejudiced alternative to establishing air connections to venues and barracks.”
The ruling is one of three judges included in the order on page 7. He initially denied the allegations from 75-year-old Barack and his co-defendants as baseless. Matthew Grimes28, when the prosecutor asked the jury the third co-defendant, Rashid Sultan Rashid Al Malik Alshahhihe is a fugitive because prosecutors have said they have no plans to “argue that al-Malik’s escape is evidence of his guilt or the guilt of the defendant.”
Prosecutors plan to show jurors U.S. Customs and Border Protection records on al-Malik’s travel to and from the United States, including his final departure in April 2018. He was in the country during the period associated with his prosecution.
Corgan also denied Barack and Grimes’ allegation to bar testimony. Michael HigginsProsecutors previously denied their motion to bar testimony, describing them as “former members of the U.S. intelligence community with expertise in intelligence gathering and counterintelligence operations.” Christopher DavidsonFormer professor at Durham University, UK, on the history and future of Saudi Arabia.
Higgins’ testimony “will serve as evidence of the general practices and activities of foreign intelligence services and will help jurors understand the evidence,” the judge wrote. so long as officials provide “sufficient factual grounds” to show that coordination between Saudi Arabia and the UAE relates to the alleged crimes of Barack and Grimes. It said it was expected to testify that the release of the “declassified pages” proposed by Barack on behalf of the Emirates was a serious foreign policy issue for both countries.
“The probative value of this testimony is clear, as it provides context regarding the UAE’s interests and motives in releasing the declassified pages,” Kogan wrote. The judge also dismissed concerns that Davidson’s description as an “authoritarian” country would be unfavorable, stating that “the testimony was based on how the defendant acted as an agent in the UAE and how the UAE and the UAE interacted.” It is relevant to explain the relationship claims.” [Saudi Arabia]of foreign policy interests. “
“In short, Davidson’s testimony sheds light on a subject that is difficult to comprehend without expert assistance, and is not a testimony of bad conduct, assuming it provides a factual predicate for the government to establish relevance. Then its probative value does not outweigh the risk of prejudice, according to the order.”
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in federal court in Brooklyn.
Judge Corban last month denied Barack’s request to remove GPS ankle monitors, writing that “the risk of escape is not small in this case.”
Read the judge’s new order here:
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