The United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as Saudi Arabia sought to influence the White House and push Donald Trump into the position of U.S. president, a cooperating witness in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's year-old Russia probe revealed.
George Nader, a political adviser to the de facto ruler of the UAE and Israeli entrepreneur Joel Zamel, who has close relations with the Gulf monarchy, in addition to a Saudi representative, met with Donald Trump’s eldest son and U.S. defense contractor, Erik Prince, at Trump Towers before the 2016 election to discuss an offer to help bolster the campaign.
According to the New York Times, documents presented in the Mueller investigation show that Nader represented both the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Following Trump’s election, Nader paid $2 million to Zamel.
The lawyer of Trump’s eldest son Alan Futerfas confirmed the meeting in a statement. “Prior to the 2016 election, Donald Trump Jr. recalls a meeting with Eric Prince, George Nader, and another individual who may be Joel Zamel. They pitched Mr. Trump Jr. on a social media platform or marketing strategy,” he said. The younger Mr. Trump “was not interested and that was the end of it.”
The New York Times reported that removing former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson from his post and adopting tough approaches toward Iran and Qatar were on the agenda of Nader. All of these criteria have been fulfilled by President Trump.
Nader also worked to influence Deputy Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee Elliott Broidy among other top Trump administration officials and succeeded in doing so, effectively gaining access inside the White House. Mueller’s investigation has also looked into Nader’s possible role in funneling Emirati funds to Trump’s political efforts.
Nader and Broidy quickly became friends and started discussing Saudi and Emirati aims in the U.S., such as persuading Washington to take action against the Muslim Brotherhood or put pressure on Qatar.
Since 1974, the U.S. has barred foreign nationals from giving money to political campaigns and it later barred them from donating to political parties. The campaign financing laws also prohibit foreign nationals from coordinating with a campaign and from buying an ad that explicitly calls for the election or defeat of a candidate.
Since his election, the Trump administration has demonstrated close ties to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel.
