George Nader, a little-known associate to Stephen Bannon has come to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s attention. Apparently Nader previously has boasted of his well-placed connections in the Middle East.
According to a source briefed on the investigation, Nader has already spoken at least two times with Mueller’s team. Although the Special Counsel office declined to comment, a second source confirmed that Mueller’s team brought Nader in for questioning in the past week.
Axios reports that Nader visited the White House frequently during the early months of the Trump administration. He became friendly with former chief strategist Steve Bannon, visiting his office regularly. A source familiar with the White House meetings said Jared Kushner also met Nader. After asking around about Nader, Kushner decided not to continue meeting with him, according to the same source.
Additionally, Axios sources reported that Nader represented himself as being personally close to Mohammed bin Zayed — the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. However, another source who have witnessed Nader in action say he regularly name-drops, and that while he might be part of MbZ’s extended entourage, it’s unclear how influential he actually is.
The mystery around Nader enlarges as a number of well positioned and experienced people in Middle East affairs said that they have never heard of Nader, and from the few people that have crossed paths with him no one knows what he does for a living.
Another source told Axios that Nader is originally Lebanese, and is now a U.S. citizen.
The special counsel’s investigation has led to the indictment of two former Trump campaign officials, Paul Manafort and Richard Gates, both of whom pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Mueller’s team has also secured guilty pleas from former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos and former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
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