On July 19, the government moved to unseal a bunch of search warrants involved in the investigation of George Nader. Among other things, the warrants revealed that Mueller originally obtained warrants for one of Nader’s Gmail accounts and a Hotmail account associated with his work on November 30, 2017.
The EDVA obtained a warrant to access the data from the iPhone 7 on which a Mueller-related FBI agent had found child porn on March 16, 2018. The case agent first accessed the data on March 22. Nader skipped town on March 24.
That’s … remarkable timing. It suggests he may have gotten tipped off.
Especially since, along with the four phones he was carrying when he was arrested on June 3, he was carrying a shit-ton of luggage.
That’s totally inconsistent with Nader’s claimed explanation for returning to the US, which was to consult with a heart doctor. Remember: he returned just days after Mueller officially closed up shop.
Finally, there’s this interesting detail from the government response to the judge’s order asking what had to remain sealed in Nader’s case.
The United States does not believe that any of the documents (other than those portions involving the health status of the Defendant and noted by his counsel) identified in the docket under the caption indicated above need to remain under seal.
Though it is not directly responsive, as the Court is aware, the government has successfully sought to unseal a number of search warrants that were authorized by the U.S. Magistrate Judges in this Court in this matter. See Dkt. 71. However, there are a number of search warrants and affidavits that involve charges and subjects beyond that contained in the current Indictment. While the defense in this matter will be given access to these documents and the subsequent materials obtained pursuant to this Court’s Discovery Order and Protective Orders, they should remain under seal until the investigations are complete for the reasons set forth in the original sealing orders obtained.
One of the unsealed warrant applications describes Nader discussing child porn with someone in the Czech lands as recently as 2016. So it may be there are more trafficking charges; that same passage cites a warrant issued in April that was not among the ones unsealed.
Or it may pertain to something more interesting, such as his pitch to have PsyGroup help Trump get elected.
Update: Because very few people understand how this timing works, here’s the timeline that shows that Mueller’s team properly referred the child porn after they found it, and Mueller’s known interviews (aside from a grand jury appearance) precede when the porn was found.
November 30, 2017: Mueller obtains warrants for one of Nader’s Gmail accounts and a work-related Hotmail account.
January 16, 2018: Mueller obtains a warrant for Nader’s person.
January 17, 2018: Nader detained in Dulles, interviewed, phones seized; Mueller obtains warrant to search Nader’s three phones.
January 19, 2018: Nader interviewed by Mueller FBI Agent under proffer.
January 22, 2018: Nader interviewed by Mueller FBI Agent under proffer.
January 23, 2018: Nader interviewed by Mueller FBI Agent under proffer.
February 12, 2018: Agent in Mueller investigation conducts first review of Nader phone files, sees three child porn videos sent via WhatsApp.
Week before March 6, 2018: Nader appears before grand jury.
March 5, 2018: iPhone 7 files saved to hard drive for referral to EDVA (where the files were illegally transported).
March 16, 2018: EDVA obtains warrant to access iPhone 7 files.
March 22, 2018: EDVA case agent reviews iPhone 7 files, finds four more child porn videos.
March 24, 2018: Nader flies to Dubai.
April 19, 2018: Arrest warrant.
June 3, 2019: Nader returns to the US, ostensibly for a heart surgeon consult, but with four suitcases.