The head of Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration committee was detained on Tuesday on accusations of conspiring to influence Trump’s foreign policy views in favor of the United Arab Emirates and committing crimes against what prosecutors called “the very heart of our democracy.”

Tom Barrack, 74, of Santa Monica, California, was one of three people accused in a seven-count indictment charging the trio of conspiring to operate as UAE agents for two years, which ended in April 2018. The longtime Trump confidant was also charged with obstruction of justice for “making multiple false statements” to federal investigators during an interview in 2019.

The trio acted “to advance the interests of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the United States at the direction of senior UAE officials by influencing the foreign policy positions of the campaign of a candidate in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and, subsequently, the foreign policy positions of the U.S. government in the incoming administration, as well as seeking to influence public opinion in favor of UAE interests,” according to the Justice Department.

““The defendants repeatedly capitalized on Barrack’s friendships and access to a candidate who was eventually elected president, high-ranking campaign and government officials, and the American media to advance the policy goals of a foreign government without disclosing their true allegiances,” said acting assistant attorney general Mark Lesko in a statement.

“The conduct alleged in the indictment is nothing short of a betrayal of those officials in the United States, including the former president.”

According to Barrack’s attorney, Matt Herrington, the former Trump advisor has been in touch with federal investigators since the investigation began.

“Mr. Barrack has made himself voluntarily available to investigators from the outset,” Herrington said. “He is not guilty and will be pleading not guilty today.”

According to the indictment, Barrack, a longstanding Trump friend, leveraged that relationship to have wording about cooperating with “our Gulf allies” put into the then-candidate’s energy address in 2016 at the request of Emirati authorities. According to the filing, after the election, and while he was head of Trump’s inauguration committee, authorities requested Barrack for information about Trump’s choices to run the Departments of State, the CIA, and Defense.

“We’re working through them in real time and I have our regional interest in high profile. When you get a chance, let’s talk by phone,” Barrack responded.

Prosecutors claimed that Barrack not only agreed to promote UAE foreign policy interests through his unique access and influence, but also provided UAE government officials with sensitive information about developments within the Trump administration, including how senior US officials felt about the UAE and other Middle Eastern countries’ blockade of Qatar.

“Worse, in his communications with Al Malik, the defendant framed his efforts to obtain an official position within the administration as one that would enable him to further advance the interests of the UAE, rather than the interests of the United States,” prosecutors said in a letter requesting his detention.

Messages sent at the UAE embassy in Washington were not answered immediately.

Federal investigators cited a number of high-level advisory roles Barrack had while trying to exercise influence on behalf of the UAE, including his work as a Trump campaign consultant, inaugural committee chairman, and Middle East foreign policy adviser. Prosecutors allege that Barrack also “sought appointment” to the government’s position of Special Envoy to the Middle East. Barrack and Trump have known each other for decades, and Barrack was a major donor for Trump’s presidential campaign.

Prosecutors have requested that he be held in custody until a full bail hearing in New York, citing his wealth, access to a private jet, and “the defendant’s deep and longstanding ties to countries that do not have extradition treaties with the United States,” specifically Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates.

Barrack and one of the co-defendants, Matthew Grimes of Aspen, Colorado, were detained in California earlier Tuesday. Initial court appearances were held late Tuesday in Los Angeles.