Secretary of State Marco Rubio's longtime confidant and colleague has come under fire for his alleged lobbying ties to Venezuela, and the ordeal has now captured both President Donald Trump's closest allies, Rubio and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, in the legal crosshairs.
David Rivera, who has been a friend to Rubio for 20 years, was slated to stand trial in Miami federal court over allegations that he acted as a federal agent for Venezuela and now Rubio, who serves as secretary of state, is scheduled to testify against him as a government witness, according to a report Tuesday from The Lever.
Rivera, a fellow Cuban American immigrant from Miami, was with Rubio when he picked out his wife's engagement ring. He stood by his side as he pushed his political career forward while they both pursued their political ambitions in the Florida House of Representatives.
The case has raised questions about Trump's inner circle and who yields power.
"The blockbuster case hasn’t just ensnared Rubio, a central architect of President Donald Trump’s recent overthrow of the Venezuelan government," The Lever reported. "It provides a rare glimpse into a constellation of powerful figures in Trump’s orbit — including his White House chief of staff — who have profited from shaping U.S. policy on Venezuela, potentially without always disclosing the true nature of their work."
Wiles, who formerly co-led powerful U.S. lobbying group Ballard Partners, has also been mentioned in the case. Rivera's attorneys have suggested that in their client's defense, they "appear ready to suggest that the foreign-agent violations leveled against their client could just as easily be applied to another political operative: Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff. To make their case, Rivera’s lawyers are zeroing in on two businessmen named in the indictment: a wealthy Venezuelan media mogul named Raúl Gorrín and a convicted cocaine trafficker named Hugo Perera."
"The hundreds of pages of Ballard records described by Rivera’s attorneys could shed light on the matter, but the documents may never become public," according to The Lever. "Last month, a federal magistrate judge in Florida’s Southern District Court granted a Justice Department petition allowing Wiles to avoid testifying at Rivera’s trial, thereby permitting related documents to remain under seal."
"But in his ruling, the judge made a surprising admission," according to the outlet.
"To be clear, no one disputes that Ballard Partners registered under FARA and dealt with Gorrín openly,” wrote Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres," The Lever reported. "Torres’ office refused to comment. But if Torres is correct, it would mean that — despite no publicly available record of the filing — Trump’s chief of staff previously worked as a registered foreign agent for a government the U.S. recently moved to overthrow."