Read more: What Mueller wants to ask Trump and why
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s questions for Donald Trump have resurfaced some shady characters. One of those individuals, Erik Prince, provides significant insight into Trump associates, official and unofficial, attempting to establish a Russian back-channel. The now infamous meeting in the Seychelles between Prince and foreign representatives — including a Russian with close ties to President Vladimir Putin — is shrouded in mystery. However, based on Prince’s Senate hearing testimony and investigative reporting, the meeting plays into a larger narrative of Russian meddling, indicating that the meeting was arranged to install a Russian back-channel.
Read more: Did the Trump campaign reach out to Russia for help?
For someone who claims to have played “no official or, really, unofficial role” in Trump’s presidential campaign, Prince is ingrained in the various communications between Russia and both the campaign and transition team. Prince is the founder of private security firm Blackwater and brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. On Jan. 11, 2017, just days before Trump’s inauguration, Prince was part of a secret meeting in the Seychelles organized by Mohammed Bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates. Following this meeting, the UAE delegates insisted Prince meet with Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian wealth fund manager with known ties to Putin. According to Prince, the subject of the meeting revolved around “trade relations with the relationship with the USA.” While Prince argues this meeting was not on behalf of Trump and his transition team, meeting attendees were under the impression that he was acting as an unofficial representative.
Mueller’s renewed interest in Prince and his actions in the Seychelles signal not only that Prince likely lied in his testimony but also that there is a solid case against him. The timing and nature of the disclosed meetings, and Prince’s central role, strongly suggest that establishing a Russian back-channel and appeasing Putin were, in fact, at the core of his intentions.
Russia Ties
At times Donald Trump puts the interests of Russia and Vladimir Putin above the U.S. What exactly are Trump’s ties to Russia? Why is he so keen on praising Putin, and so worried about not offending him? Who is our president really serving?