Rubio to testify in trial of ex-Rep. accused of illegal lobbying for Venezuela
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Former Rep. David Rivera of Florida is accused of secretly lobbying for the Venezuelan government during the first Trump administration.
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Politics Rubio to testify today in criminal trial of ex-congressman accused of illegal lobbying for Venezuela By Jacob Rosen Jacob Rosen Justice Department Reporter Jake Rosen is a reporter covering the Department of Justice. He was previously a campaign digital reporter covering President Trump's 2024 campaign and also served as an associate producer for "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." Read Full Bio Jacob Rosen Updated on: March 24, 2026 / 8:00 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to testify in federal court Tuesday in the ongoing criminal trial of former Florida Congressman David Rivera , who is accused of secretly lobbying for the Venezuelan government during the first Trump administration. Federal prosecutors allege that Rivera worked alongside his codefendant, Esther Nuhfer, to influence the first Trump administration on behalf of then-Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and then-Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez with the goal of lowering political tensions and easing sanctions between the South American country and the U.S. Rodriguez is now the interim president, after the U.S. removed Maduro from power in January and brought him to the U.S. for prosecution on charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy. In 2022, Rivera and Nuhfer were indicted in the Southern District of Florida U.S. Attorney's Office on money laundering charges and for failing to register as a foreign agent. Prosecutors allege that the pair were hired in a $50 million contract in exchange for three months of lobbying work in 2017 on behalf of a U.S.-based subsidiary of a Venezuela state oil company, PDVSA, which operates under the name CITGO. In the indictment, Rivera and Nuhfer are accused of attempting to lobby Rubio, then a Republican senator from Miami, and former White House advisor Kellyanne Conway on behalf of people in the highest ranks of the Venezuelan government. The attempts to meet Conway were unsuccessful, prosecutors said,...
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