Figure Linked To Trump Transition Charged With Transporting Child Pornography

(MSN News) Devlin Barrett Rachel Weiner June 3 2019 A key witness in former special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigation of Russian election interference has been charged with transporting child pornography last year according to court documents. George Nader who had a previous criminal record on such charges was charged in federal court in Virginia and is expected to make an initial court appearance in New York. Nader played an unusual role as a kind of liaison between Trump supporters Middle East leaders and Russians interested in making contact with the incoming administration in early 2017. Officials said Nader 60 was charged by criminal complaint over material he was traveling with when he arrived at Washington-Dulles International Airport on Jan. 17 2018 from Dubai. At the time he was carrying a cellphone containing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct officials said. The charges were unsealed after his arrest Monday morning at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. If convicted Nader faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 40 years officials said. Nader was known to Trump associates as someone with political connections in the Middle East who could help them navigate the diplomacy of the region. He helped arrange a meeting in the Seychelles in January 2017 between Erik Prince a Trump supporter who founded the private security firm Blackwater and a Russian official close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The purpose of the meeting was of particular interest to Muellers investigators and some questions about it remain unanswered even after Mueller issued a 448-page report on his findings.