Everything You Need To Know About That Sketchy Seychelles Meeting
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Late Wednesday evening, The Washington Post reported that Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III has gathered evidence to indicate that a secretive meeting in the Seychelles in early 2017 between an unofficial Trump adviser and multiple foreign envoys was an effort to establish backchannel communication between the incoming Trump Administration and Russia. The revelation adds weight to speculation about the meeting that's been occurring since April. So what exactly happened in the Seychelles, and between who? Here's what we know:

Erik Prince, The Founder Of Blackwater, Met A Kremlin-Connected Businessman In January 2017 

In April 2017, The Washington Post first revealed that Erik Prince, the founder of the private military company Blackwater and brother to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, attended a meeting in the Seychelles days before Trump's inauguration where he met a Russian businessman that was unidentified at the time. 

In November, The Intercept reported that the unidentified Russian businessman was Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) โ€” a fund that seeks to invest foreign money in Russian infrastructure projects. 

Also reportedly at the meeting was George Nader, a Lebanese American businessman who was unofficially representing the UAE and the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (MBZ), who was interested in the meeting for the possibility of the Trump Administration persuading Russia to chill its relationship with Iran, which has backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against the UAE's wishes

Each Reportedly Served As Unofficial State Envoys

The Washington Post reports that Prince presented himself as an unofficial Trump envoy in the meeting. While Prince has not had an official role in the Trump Administration or transition, he vocally supported Trump, donated $250,000 to his campaign, and reportedly pitched a private intelligence contracting business to the administration. 

Prince also reportedly played the part of informal adviser during the transition, most notably to former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who was fired in the fallout of the revelation that he attempted to influence foreign policy through contacts with the Russian ambassador before Trump's inauguration.

Dmitriev has seemingly served as a backchannel to Russia for years. The New York Times reports that after Crown Prince Mohammed met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2013, investment arms of the UAE gave $6 billion to the RDIF. In a leaked email, Dmitriev was portrayed as a "messenger" to Putin by a UAE ambassador. 

Nader currently advises Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, previously worked with the Bill Clinton administration as a negotiator with Syria, and has now become a frequent visitor the Trump White House, according to The New York Times. He reportedly visited Jared Kushner and Steve Bannon multiple times early on in Trump's presidency. Nadar has also previously consulted for Erik Prince's Blackwater.

What Happened In The Meeting

The Washington Post reports that "A witness cooperating with Mueller has told investigators the meeting was set up in advance so that a representative of the Trump transition could meet with an emissary from Moscow to discuss future relations between the countries[.]

The New York Times reports that the three men met at a hotel overlooking the ocean, where each was believed to be representing their respective administrations. 

According to CNN, there were two significant meetings. One between Prince and the UAE delegation and one between Prince, Dmitriev and Nader: 

According to sources familiar with the matter, Nader attended the January 2017 Seychelles meeting between UAE officials and Prince. Nader was also present at a bar when Prince met separately with Dmitriev, the chief executive of the state-run Russian Direct Investment Fund, although it is unclear whether Nader was involved in the conversation, sources said.

The discussions that took place at the meeting aren't entirely clear. 

The Washington Post reports that during the Trump transition, there was heightened interest from the Trump team in separating Iran from Russia, which was reportedly the UAE's interest in the meeting.

A former intelligence officer who met with the Trump team told The Washington Post "Separating Russia from Iran was a common theme… They clearly had a very specific policy position, which I found odd given that they hadn't even taken the reins and explored with experts in the US government the pros and cons of that approach."

Trump's Team Met With Representatives From Both Countries Before The Seychelles Meeting

Perhaps adding to the suspicion around the Seychelles meetings were a series of preceding gatherings between the team Trump, Russian representatives and UAE representatives.

In December 2016, Jared Kushner and Michael Flynn reportedly met with the Russian ambassador in Trump Tower, where Kushner allegedly said he wanted to set up backchannel communication.

Later in the month, top Trump officials met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who failed to mention President Obama, in a breach of protocol. Nader was reportedly present at the meeting. After that meeting, Zayad was reportedly approached by Prince to set up the Seychelles meeting with a Russian representative.

Erik Prince Has Denied Aspects Of The Reports

Erik Prince has denied that the Seychelles meetings were related to the Trump Administration and that he planned to meet with Dmitriev.

On Fox News, Prince said:

I had a business meeting with some guys from the Middle East, and that's why I was in the Seychelles… And they said, 'Hey, you should meet this other guy who's some kind of fund manager we've done business with.' So I had a beer with him, not even a vodka. And it lasted a few minutes and that's it. It had nothing to do with the United States, with the US government, with the election or with the Trump campaign or anything like that.

In House testimony, Prince told a version of the story that was roughly the same, where he met Dmitriev on the fly at the Four Seasons after an arranged meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed: "We chatted on topics ranging from oil and commodity prices to how much his country wished for resumption of normal trade relations."

Prince did not mention Nader during his testimony, despite being asked who he met with.

Nader Is Now Cooperating With Mueller

Now, Nader is reportedly cooperating with Special Counsel Mueller, according to The Washington Post.

He was reportedly stopped and questioned at Dulles International Airport in January and has since met with Mueller's team multiple times and testified in front of a grand jury. 

Nadar is also reportedly part of an investigation into the possibility that foreign money was funneled into the Trump campaign, according to The New York Times. Suspicions were first raised of the possibility when Mueller learned that Nadar received a report on an Oval Office meeting from a top Trump fundraiser. 

<p>Benjamin Goggin is the News Editor at Digg.&nbsp;</p>

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