George Nader, a key witness in the Mueller investigation with ties to President Trump, is among eight people indicted on campaign finance charges related to Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and others, per unsealed documents, CNN reported Wednesday.
Details: The Department of Justice said in a statement Tuesday that Nader, 60, is, among other things, accused of conspiring with co-accused Allied Wallet CEO Ahmad "Andy" Khawaja "to conceal the source of more than $3.5 million in campaign contributions, directed to political committees associated with" a 2016 presidential candidate.
Between the lines: The DOJ doesn't name the candidate, but Politico and CNN note that it's clear from Federal Election Commission records and indictment details that the money primarily went toward backing Clinton's 2016 campaign efforts.
- NBC reported later Wednesday "the timing of the events and fundraisers matches Clinton campaign events."
- There's no suggestion of wrongdoing on Clinton's part.
The big picture: Nader, a Lebanese-American businessman and lobbyist, had served as a go-between for Trump's transition team and Russian and Middle East officials in 2016 and 2017.
- Axios' Zach Basu notes Nader was a key witness in former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and is known to have set up a meeting in the Seychelles between Trump associate Erik Prince and a Russian official with close ties to the Kremlin.
- Nader also faces charges in a separate case including sex trafficking and child pornography, to which he pled not guilty. He "pleaded guilty to other federal child pornography charges in 1991," per Politico.
Read the indictment:
Go deeper: Read more about Nader in a searchable version of the Mueller report.
