He may be getting a call-back.When asked by Mehdi Hasan on Al Jazeera's Head to Head programme about the August 3, 2016, Trump Tower meeting that reportedly took place between Prince, Donald Trump campaign officials, an Israeli social media specialist and an emissary for two Gulf princes, [Erik Prince, the founder of the private American security company Blackwater] did not deny the meeting took place.
"We were there … to talk about Iran policy," Prince said when pressed by Hasan.
Prince, however, apparently did not disclose information about the meeting when testifying before the House Intelligence Committee on November 30, 2017, according to a public transcript.
Prince testified under oath that he had "no official, or, really unofficial role" in the Trump campaign. He also told the House panel that he did not have any formal communications or contact with the campaign other than policy papers given to Steve Bannon, attending some fundraisers and a "yard sign".
[...]
When pressed further by Hasan, Prince said, "I don't believe I was asked that question."
Prince later contradicted himself, saying he did tell the panel about the meeting. When asked to explain why it was not in the transcript, Prince said, "I don't know if they got the transcript wrong."
He later also said that "not all of the discussion that day was transcribed".
He added that he "certainly" remembers discussing the meeting with "investigators".
A staff member of the House Intelligence Committee told Al Jazeera that Prince was not asked about the August 3, 2016 meeting in Trump Tower during his testimony and any redactions that were made to that testimony were done to protect personally identifiable information.
The Blackwater founder's comments to Hasan is the first time that Prince or anyone else who reportedly attended the meeting has publicly acknowledged it and the first indication that it could have been about Iran policy. At the time, Nader was reportedly seeking to advance a clandestine plan to destabilise Iran through the use of private military contractors.
Other countries interviewers are often much better than our own media stars.
...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.
UPDATE:
My understanding — based on a conversation between one of my Al Jazeera English colleagues and a staffer connected to the Intelligence Committee, and also based on public comments made by Rep. Eric Swalwell about Prince being “not truthful” with Congress — is that the off-the-record sections of the transcript contain zero references to the Trump Tower meeting, which was later revealed by the New York Times and (reluctantly) confirmed to me by Prince on “Head to Head.”
Mehdi Hasan @ The Intercept
You can watch Hasan's entire interview here:
UPDATE 3/10:
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