Prosecutors are calling on him to testify in the case of Thomas Barrack, who is accused of acting as an agent for the United Arab Emirates during the Trump administration.
Rex Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil chief executive who served as former President Donald J. Trump’s first secretary of state, is expected to testify on Monday in the trial of one of Mr. Trump’s closest allies.
Prosecutors are calling Mr. Tillerson as a witness in the case of Thomas J. Barrack Jr., a private-equity investor accused of acting as an illegal agent of the United Arab Emirates while seeking to influence the Trump campaign and administration on behalf of the Emiratis.
The testimony sets up a reunion in federal court in Brooklyn of influential figures from Mr. Trump’s early days in office. Mr. Barrack was a vocal supporter of Mr. Trump’s presidential candidacy, served as the chairman of his inaugural committee and helped guide his transition into office; Mr. Tillerson was Mr. Trump’s secretary of state and clashed with the president often until he was fired, via Twitter, in March 2018.
Mr. Tillerson’s appearance was signaled in a court filing over the weekend. Lawyers for Mr. Barrack asked that his testimony be moved from Tuesday to Monday, because Tuesday’s court day will be shortened by the Yom Kippur holiday.
Jurors in Mr. Barrack’s trial — which began with opening statements on Sept. 21 — have so far heard expert testimony about the United Arab Emirates, an oil-producing state in the Persian Gulf, and have been read hundreds of emails and text messages exchanged among Mr. Barrack, Emirati officials and Trump campaign officials in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election.
Prosecutors have said that Mr. Barrack sought to advance the Gulf nation’s interests in the United States at the direction of Emirati officials; evidence so far shows a frenzy of correspondence about media appearances and policy positions. Mr. Barrack’s lawyers have called the accusations “ridiculous” and have said he was acting on his own accord, not as a secret agent.
Mr. Tillerson would be the first witness who could offer a firsthand account of the early days of Mr. Trump’s administration, including the impact of Mr. Barrack’s efforts.
During his brief and tumultuous tenure as the secretary of state, Mr. Tillerson was often at odds with the president over a range of issues, including Middle East policy. When the State Department blamed the intransigence of Saudi Arabia for an embargo of Qatar, Mr. Trump heaped praise on Saudi’s monarchs; while Mr. Tillerson sought to remain in the Iran nuclear deal, Mr. Trump publicly disparaged the deal.
Both Mr. Barrack and Mr. Tillerson have extensive ties overseas. Mr. Tillerson’s selection as secretary of state in 2016 was met with skepticism over his connections in Russia and other energy-producing states, including with Middle Eastern leaders, formed over his decades as a deal maker in the private sector.
Mr. Barrack is one of several people in Mr. Trump’s orbit, including some who served in his administration, who came under legal or ethical scrutiny for their connections overseas.
Prosecutors have accused Mr. Barrack of using his sway with Mr. Trump to advance the interests of the Emiratis, serving as a secret back channel for communications without disclosing his efforts to the attorney general, as the government contends he should have.
U.S. law requires anybody “operating under the control of foreign governments or foreign officials,” other than diplomats, to notify the U.S. attorney general. Mr. Barrack faces a charge that the Justice Department has described as “espionage lite,” because it typically involves “espionage-like or clandestine behavior.”
He faces nine counts in all, including counts of acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government, obstruction of justice and making false statements. Prosecutors say Mr. Barrack repeatedly lied to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents when questioned in 2019 about his dealings with the Emiratis.
He is on trial alongside his former assistant, Matthew Grimes, who was charged only on the lobbying counts. Both were arrested in July 2021. A third defendant, Rashid al-Malik, an Emirati businessman who left the United States in 2018 after federal agents interviewed him, remains at large, prosecutors said.
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