Rex Tillerson to be called as witness in trial of Trump confidant Thomas Barrack, defense says
Federal prosecutors plan to call former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as a witness in the New York trial of Thomas Barrack, a billionaire friend of former President Donald Trump accused of unlawfully lobbying on behalf of the United Arab Emirates, Barrack's attorneys said Saturday in a letter to the judge presiding over the trial. Tillerson would be the first Cabinet official from the Trump administration to testify in the trial, which is entering its third week. Barrack, who was an adviser to the Trump campaign and administration, as well as chair of the presidential inaugural committee, is charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent for the UAE, obstruction of justice and making false statements to the FBI about his dealings. Attorneys for Barrack indicated in their letter to Judge Brian Cogan that Tillerson, who is also a former CEO for Exxon Mobil, is being called earlier than the government had planned due to a scheduling conflict. "Today, the government informed the