New Reports Surface of Trump Campaign's Involvement with Foreign Entities

Days after the Senate Judiciary Committee released a transcript of its interview with Donald Trump, Jr. regarding his meeting with a Russian lawyer during the 2016 presidential campaign, new reports surfaced suggesting that the president’s son met with other foreign entities to discuss the election.

The New York Times  reported Saturday that Trump, Jr. met with George Nader, a businessman who was representing the crown princes of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in August 2016. Nader reportedly informed Trump, Jr. that both countries were “eager to help his father win election as president.”

The report marks the first indication that foreign entities other than Russia may have sought to influence the election, working closely with the Trump campaign.

Erik Prince—brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, advisor to the Trump transition team, and former head of the private military company Blackwater—apparently arranged the meeting, and an Israeli “social media specialist” named Joel Zamel presented information about his company’s ability to give Trump’s campaign an “edge” on social media.

As with Trump, Jr.’s 2016 meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, the president’s son’s response to the report of his meeting with Nader, Prince, and Zamel has focused on his claim that nothing came of the encounter.