Blackwater founder Erik Prince met with a Russian person close to President Vladimir Putin in Jan. 2017, according to U.S., European and Arab officials. Investigators now suspect that the Seychelles meeting may have been one of the first efforts to establish such a line of communications between the two governments, these people said. Nader’s account is considered key evidence — but not the only evidence — about what transpired in Seychelles, according to people familiar with the matter. After the Seychelles meeting, Nader visited the White House several times, and met at least once there with Bannon and Kushner, these people said. Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that the meeting in the Seychelles took place in January 2017, not 2016.

Source: Washington Post March 08, 2018 00:37 UTC