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Sunday 20 May 2018 - 05:34

Trump Jr. met with Persian Gulf Arab, Israeli figure ahead of his dad’s 2016 victory

Story Code : 725947
US President Donald Trump (R) meets with Saudi Arabia
US President Donald Trump (R) meets with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House on March 20, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photos by AFP)

The meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and George Nader was held at Trump Tower in August 2016, The New York Times revealed Saturday.

The report comes at a time that an investigation is underway to find out whether there was collusion between Trump associates and Russia, implying that at least another country, other than Russia, may have helped the New York millionaire win the 2016 presidential election.

Another figure present at the meeting was an Israeli political strategist named Joel Zamel, whose company manipulated social media in favor of Trump.

Private security contractor Erik Prince, the former head of Blackwater and brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos arranged the August meeting.

“Prior to the 2016 election, Donald Trump Jr. recalls a meeting with Erik 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 was not interested and that was the end of it,” said Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for Trump’s son, in a statement.

In the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, Trump Jr., as well as President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and then campaign manager Paul Manafort met with Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya at the same tower in New York.

That meeting has played a key role in an ongoing investigation for possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, an allegation both sides have dismissed.

Trump Jr. has already admitted before congressional investigators that he talked to the lawyer for dirt on his father’s contender, Democrat Hillary Clinton.

In a declassified report released in January, the intelligence community concluded that Russia helped with the New York billionaire’s campaign effort ahead of winning the White House, an allegation dismissed both by Moscow and Trump.
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