An Operative With Trump Ties Was Once Indicted on an Obscenity Charge

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George Nader was accused of importing photographs of nude boys “engaged in a variety of sexual acts.” The 1985 charges were dismissed after key evidence was thrown out.

Source: The Atlantic

A political operative who frequented the White House in the early days of President Trump’s administration, George Nader, was indicted in 1985 on charges of importing to the United States obscene material, including photos of nude boys “engaged in a variety of sexual acts,” according to publicly available court records. Nader pleaded not guilty, and the charges against him were ultimately dismissed several months after evidence seized from Nader’s home was thrown out on procedural grounds. “Mr. Nader vigorously denies the allegations now, as he did then,” a lawyer representing Nader said.

Nevertheless, the indictment raises questions about what the White House knew, if anything, about Nader’s past while senior officials were meeting with him. The Trump administration is already under fire for failures to vet members of the president’s inner circle. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nader’s name has surfaced in recent days with reports that he is a cooperating witness in Robert Mueller’s investigation.

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According to federal court documents, the charges brought against Nader in 1985 stemmed from a package delivered to his company, International Insight. The package, which was opened by a U.S. Customs inspector on suspicion that it had been imported illegally, contained two pictures and two magazines that depicted nude boys, according to the court ruling. It also included a film, four magazines, and an advertisement, materials that “depicted nude boys engaged in a variety of sexual acts.” The Customs inspectors soon obtained a search warrant for Nader’s home to seize both the materials in the package as well as any “other photographs, magazines, writings and documents which are evidence of violations of” two federal obscenity laws.

The government argued that the search was justified because Nader, “a suspected pedophile, was likely to seek to contact children.” But, 18 months later, the court ruled that the latter part of the warrant was impermissibly general, and threw out additional evidence that had been seized from his home. The evidence that was discarded included material that was described in the court ruling as obscene.

Read more: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/03/an-operative-with-trump-ties-was-once-indicted-on-an-obscenity-charge/555233/

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