US EditionRubio to testify in trial of former roommate accused of secretly lobbying for Venezuela
Marco Rubio will testify in a rare event with a sitting Cabinet member in a criminal trial involving a $50 million lobbying contract linked to Venezuela, prosecutors said.
- On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to testify in the federal trial of former Congressman David Rivera, who faces charges of money laundering and failing to register as a foreign agent for Venezuela.
- Prosecutors allege Rivera signed a $50 million contract in 2017 with a Venezuelan oil subsidiary to secretly lobby for easing U.S. sanctions, leveraging his decades-old friendship with Rubio to gain access to the White House.
- Evidence presented Monday includes encrypted chats using code words—Maduro as the "bus driver," millions as "melons"—to track Rivera's receipt of roughly $20 million while orchestrating back-channel meetings for the regime.
- Rubio's appearance marks the first time a sitting Cabinet member has testified in a criminal trial since Labor Secretary Raymond Donovan in 1983, underscoring the legal significance prosecutors attach to his sworn account.
- Defense attorneys argue Rivera's consulting work was legitimate, claiming "not one single policy of the U.S. was impacted," while prosecutors frame the case as a test of foreign-lobbying enforcement against covert influence campaigns.
48 Articles
48 Articles
Prosecutors portray Rivera, colleague as ‘greedy’ foreign agents for Venezuela
MIAMI — Federal prosecutors on Monday portrayed former Miami-Dade Congressman David Rivera and political consultant Esther Nuhfer as “secret” foreign agents for Venezuela who were driven by “greed” when Rivera’s company signed a $50 million lobbying contract to “normalize” relations…
Rubio’s Statement to FBI Will Shape His Testimony in Rivera Foreign-Agent Trial
Rivera, 60, a former Miami-Dade Republican congressman, and another defendant face trial on charges of acting as unregistered foreign agents for the Venezuelan government when Maduro was in power almost a decade ago.
Rubio to testify in trial of ex-roommate with alleged Maduro government ties
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to testify Tuesday in the federal trial of his ex-roommate and longtime political ally, who is accused of being a hired gun for deposed Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. Rubio’s link to the case stems from his decades-old relationship with David Rivera, a former GOP congressman from Miami who once shared a home with him in Tallahassee during their early days in Florida politics. A sitting member of the …
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