Tom Barrack pleaded not guilty to charges that he illegally lobbied the U.S. government on behalf of the United Arab Emirates and lied to investigators about it.
Mr. Barrack, the founder of Colony Capital and a Trump ally, and his colleague, Matthew Grimes, 27, appeared in a Brooklyn courtroom Monday to answer the charges.
"Of course I am innocent of all these charges and we will prove that in court," Mr. Barrack said in a statement after the hearing. "We're in the middle of a very heated moment and I can only tell you that the hardest steel is forged from the hottest fire."
Mr. Barrack, 74, posted a $250 million bond Friday and agreed to wear a GPS ankle bracelet and limit his movements as part of a bail deal that allows him to be free ahead of his trial. It's one of the biggest bonds posted in a criminal case in U.S. history.
Mr. Barrack was arrested in California July 20 and was in jail until July 23, when his bail was approved by a judge in Los Angeles.
Messrs. Barrack and Grimes were charged with acting as agents of the UAE in a yearslong effort to sway Trump's foreign policy, both during the 2016 campaign and after his election, according to a seven-count felony indictment unsealed in Brooklyn.
"The charges that were presented to him today are based on information that was presented and discussed in my conference room two years ago," Mr. Barrack's lawyer, Matt Herrington, said outside court.
The former chairman of Mr. Trump's inaugural committee appeared calm while answering questions from the judge, and even while being mobbed by reporters following the hearing.
Mr. Grimes also pleaded not guilty. He posted a $5 million bond.
Both men were required to surrender their passports, wear GPS monitoring devices and adhere to a strict curfew.
No changes were made to the terms of their released approved in Los Angeles, except Mr. Barrack will be allowed to travel to Colorado and live in his Aspen home.
