Rick Gates knows Donald Trump well. He worked as the Trump campaign manager after Paul Manafort left. Gates also worked for Trump during the transition period, and handled his inauguration events. Unfortunately for POTUS, Gates has been telling Special Counsel Robert Mueller everything.
Gates was Manafort’s business associate for years, including when his boss was working for the Russian-friendly eastern European countries. While he was spilling the beans to save his own neck from prison time, Gates told Mueller’s investigators about Trump working with a shadowy covert Israeli Intelligence firm, Psy Group.
Mueller asked Gates about the Israeli social media manipulation firm’s owner, Joel Zamel, and a Lebanese-American businessman George Nader, according to The Daily Beast. The later was a liaison for the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The special counsel wanted to know about anyone from the Middle East who was involved with the president’s campaign. Zamel’s attorney did not respond to The Daily Beast about this article, but had dealt with Mueller earlier.
A person who formerly worked at Psy Group told The Daily Beast about its owner:
‘Joel is a very secretive guy, he holds all his cards very close to the chest. It’s very possible he was running some sort of side operation that used Psy resources but didn’t include the staff.’
As part of his work for the Trump campaign, Gates asked the Psy Group to provide him with proposals about how it would help the candidate. The Daily Beast reported:
‘Those proposals included social media manipulation tactics such as creating fake avatars to engage voters and Republican campaign delegates.’
Gates connection with Psy Group proposals was George Birnbaum, a Republican consultant linked to Israel. Mueller wanted to know whether Psy Group by means of intermediaries contacted the Trump campaign or vice versa.
Zamel worked with Trump’s people regarding a plan to win the election. Then, he helped build a plan “for regime change in Iran.” Nader, a Saudi general named Ahmed al-Assiri, and the man who would become national security advisor Michael Flynn were in the meeting to discuss Iran.
Nader was urging the U.S.:
”…to carry out economic sabotage against Tehran. The meeting appears to be part of Saudi and Emirati efforts to lobby the incoming Trump administration against Qatar and Iran, their top regional competitors.’
Mueller’s investigation has been looking into Zamel paying Nader $2 million when the presidential election was over. The special counsel has been interested in illegal donations from foreign states to the Trump inauguration.
Three days before Trump’s inauguration, Flynn, House Intelligence committee chair Representative Devin Nunes (R-CA), and major Republican donors held a breakfast meeting at Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. The Daily Beast reported that:
‘Dozens of foreign officials, including those from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Qatar, were invited to the event.’
The special counsel’s team asked the judge on the case if they could extend the time until Gates is sentenced. He has been and continues to cooperate with “several ongoing investigations.”
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
