UAE adviser with Trump ties cooperating with Mueller

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An adviser to the United Arab Emirates with ties to current and former aides to President Trump is cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller III, and gave testimony last week to a grand jury, reported the New York Times citing two people familiar with the matter.

FILE PHOTO: Special Counsel Robert Mueller (R) departs after briefing members of the US Senate on his investigation into potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2017/VCG Photo

During Mueller's investigation on the influence of foreign money on Trump's political activities, he asked witnesses about the possibility that the adviser, George Nader, used money from the Emirates for Trump's political efforts. It is illegal for foreign entities to contribute to campaigns or for Americans to knowingly accept foreign money for political races.

Lebanese-American Nader, who advises UAE's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, also reportedly attended a January 2017 meeting in the Seychelles at which a Russian investor close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Erik Prince, an informal adviser to the Trump transition team, were also in attendance.

Nader's cooperation with the investigation could prompt new legal risks for Trump if connected to Mueller's investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 US elections.

Nader was first served with search warrants and a grand jury subpoena on January 17 when he landed in Washington DC to attend the celebrations of the president's first year in office. He has since been questioned numerous times about meetings in New York during the transition, the Seychelles meeting and meetings in the White House with two of Trump's senior advisers, Jared Kushner and Stephen Bannon.