It was a few days before the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump's inauguration and a Lebanese-American businessman was on his way to Mar-a-Lago.

George Nader, an international fixer whose long history included intrepid back-channel mediation between Israel and Arab countries - and a 15-year-old pedophilia conviction in Europe that has not been previously reported - was transiting through Dulles International Airport outside Washington.

It was hardly his first far-flung journey to see top aides of the world's most powerful leader, as Nader had met the U.S. president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and chief strategist Steve Bannon in the days before they stormed the White House.

But he encountered an altogether different scene awaiting him at the airport.

There, special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators stopped Nader, people familiar with the case said. His electronics were seized and he was then allowed to go to his lawyer. Nader later agreed to cooperate with Mueller's investigation, said the people with knowledge of the case as it pertains to Nader. They weren't authorized to speak publicly on the case and demanded anonymity.

Mueller, whose team has spent the last 10 months investigating possible Trump-related wrongdoing connected to Russia, is interested in high-level get-togethers Nader participated in after the presidential election, according to three people familiar with the case.

The first took place in Trump Tower in New York in December 2016 and brought together Nader, Kushner, Bannon - whom Trump fired last August - and Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and de facto leader of the United Arab Emirates. The second occurred a month later in the Indian Ocean archipelago of Seychelles and involved Nader, bin Zayed, former Blackwater boss Erik Prince and Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian banker close to President Vladimir Putin.

For Nader, it was the latest brush with the law in an eventful, globe-trotting career.

Many of Nader's former contacts and onetime friends have noted in recent weeks how they lost touch with him in the early 2000s.

On Wednesday, an official in the Czech Republic told The Associated Press that Nader is a convicted pedophile and served time in a Prague prison around that time.

Nader was convicted by Prague's Municipal Court of 10 cases of sexually abusing minors and sentenced to a one-year prison term in May 2003, said Marketa Puci, the court spokeswoman. She said the crimes occurred between 1999 and 2002.

Nader's legal problems in Prague appear unrelated to his role in Mueller's probe in the United States. But they contribute to the portrait of a man who has led a shadowy existence as a go-between across numerous Middle East capitals and who gave testimony to Mueller's Washington grand jury earlier this month.

Nader had worked in recent times as an adviser to bin Zayed, one of the most powerful men in the Middle East, according to people who know Nader. The questioning of Nader in the Mueller probe suggests possible interest in UAE relations with Trump's transition team or his administration.

Puci, the court spokeswoman, said Nader was convicted of "moral corruption of minors, sexual abuse and impairing morals," after abusing underage boys.

In one case, Nader requested oral sex from a 14-year-old in a room at the Hilton Hotel in Prague, Puci said. After the boy refused, Nader masturbated in front of the boy and paid him 2,000 koruna - worth about $100 today, she said.

The verdict cites other examples of Nader providing money, jewelry, cellphones, clothes and accommodation for sexual services. The AP was able to see a copy of the verdict, which gives Nader's birthdate as May 15, 1959. Nader was separately accused in Washington, D.C., of child pornography infractions in 1985, but those charges were later dropped. A criminal docket sheet obtained by the AP shows the same birthdate for Nader.

Two people with knowledge of the case say it involved the same Nader now cooperating with Mueller.

Puci said it wasn't clear how much of the one-year sentence Nader served in the Czech Republic. He was ordered expelled following his time served.

Kathy Ruemmler, who previously served as White House counsel to President Barack Obama, is among the lawyers representing Nader. She declined to answer questions about her client.

But Sandeep Savla, another lawyer for Nader, said: "This is nothing more than an orchestrated, disgusting scheme by those who are trying to intimidate Mr. Nader into silence. It won't work. Mr. Nader will continue to answer truthfully questions put to him by the special counsel."

Nader's connections with Trump confidants include Elliott Broidy, a top Republican fundraiser who co-hosted a Tuesday night event attended by the president in Beverly Hills, California.

Earlier this month, several media organizations, including the AP, obtained emails belonging to Broidy, a California-based venture capitalist and the Republican National Committee's deputy finance chairman. They show Broidy emailing Nader with a summary of Broidy's talks with Kushner and Trump in the White House in October 2017, touching on matters including the UAE's bitter dispute with fellow Persian Gulf country Qatar.

Broidy accused Qatar of hacking his emails. The Qataris denied the charge.

"Your government's actions against U.S. citizens will jeopardize your nation's relationship with the United States," Broidy wrote in a public letter to Qatar's U.S. ambassador.

In response, the Qatari government called Broidy's "baseless accusations" a "diversionary tactic."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Prague - 14 March 2018

1. Portion of court verdict and sentence with George Nader's name on it and stating he is a citizen of the United States

2. Various, Prague Municipal Court Spokesperson, Marketa Puci, holding court verdict and sentence

3. SOUNDBITE (Czech) Marketa Puci, Prague Municipal Court Spokesperson:

"I'm holding a verdict by which an American citizen, George Nader, together with Czech offenders was in 2003 convicted, for crimes that I will now read to you. The court sentenced him to one year in prison and to an indefinite deportation."

4. Shot of first page of court verdict and sentence reading, "judgment on behalf of the Republic"

5. SOUNDBITE (Czech) Marketa Puci, Prague Municipal Court Spokesperson:

"According to the then valid law, Mr. Nader was convicted of moral corruption of minors, sexual abuse and impairing morals."

6. Shot of first page of court verdict and sentence reading, "judgment on behalf of the Republic"

7. SOUNDBITE (Czech) Marketa Puci, Prague Municipal Court Spokesperson:

"At that time was (the victim) was 14-years-old. He (Nader) requested oral sex and after the boy refused, he with the boy's consent, pulled out his private parts and masturbated in front of him and for that mister Nader paid the boy 2000 Koruna. And there have been 10 similar cases like this."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 15 May 2017

8. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan with President Donald Trump in Oval Office

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 13 June 2013

8. Various, then-FBI Director Robert Mueller being sworn in

9. STILL Image Mueller in committee hearing

POOL

New York - 17 August 2016

10. Various views, then candidate Donald Trump meeting with advisers in Trump Tower, including Stephen Bannon and Paul Manafort

POOL

New York - 15 December 2016

11. Wide, Trump Tower lobby

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 11 November 2016

12. STILL Image, Stephen Bannon leaving Trump Tower

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 9 December 2016

13. STILL Images, Steve Bannon speaking on cellphone outside Trump Tower

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 14 November 2016

14. Mid, Jared Kushner arrives in lobby of Trump Tower

POOL

New York - 6 December 2016

15. US President-elect Donald Trump walks out of elevator at Trump Tower

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald J. Trump, President-elect: ++SHOT CONTINUES FROM PREVIOUS++

"Good morning, how are you? Everything fine? We have got some great people coming in today. You'll see them."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dulles, Virginia - 6 October 2014

17. Wide, zoom Dulles airport

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort agreed Friday to cooperate with the special counsel's Russia investigation as he pleaded guilty to federal charges and avoided a second trial that could have exposed him to even greater punishment.

The deal gives special counsel Robert Mueller a key cooperator who led the Trump election effort for a crucial stretch during the 2016 presidential campaign.

It is unclear what information Manafort is prepared to provide to investigators about President Donald Trump or that could aid Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. But the plea nonetheless makes Manafort the latest associate of Trump, a president known to place a premium on loyalty among subordinates, to admit guilt and cooperate with investigators in hopes of leniency.

AP Justice Department reporter Eric Tucker explains, "what's really significant about the cooperation is there is nothing that would stop Paul Manafort from describing to the special counsel acts and crimes and incidents that aren't what he pleaded guilty to."

"So if he has information that he is not admitting guilt to, he can still provide it to the government. He's still encouraged to provide it to the government. And that is information that of course could be about the campaign and could be about Donald Trump," Tucker adds.

The cooperation deal requires Manafort to provide whatever information the government asks of him, though it does not specify what if anything prosecutors hope to receive about Trump.

Given his direct involvement in the Trump campaign, including episodes being scrutinized by Mueller, Manafort could be positioned to provide key insight for investigators working to establish whether the campaign coordinated with Russia.

Manafort was among the participants, for instance, in a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians and the president's oldest son and son-in-law that was arranged so the campaign could receive derogatory information about Democrat Hillary Clinton. A grand jury used by Mueller has heard testimony about the meeting.

Friday's deal, to charges tied to Ukrainian political consulting work but unrelated to the campaign, was struck just days before Manafort was to have stood trial for a second time.

He was convicted last month of eight financial crimes in a separate trial in Virginia and faces seven to 10 years in prison in that case. The two conspiracy counts he pleaded guilty to on Friday carry up to five years in prison, though Manafort's sentence will ultimately depend on his cooperation.

In the past year, Mueller has secured pleas from a former national security adviser who lied to the FBI about discussing sanctions with a Russian ambassador, a campaign aide who broached the idea of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin; and another aide who was indicted alongside Manafort but ultimately turned on him. The president's former personal lawyer has separately pleaded guilty in New York.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders insisted that the Manafort case was unrelated to Trump.

"This had absolutely nothing to do with the president or his victorious 2016 presidential campaign. It is totally unrelated."

Alexandria, Virginia - 14 September 2018

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Justice Department Reporter:

"Today, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort pleaded guilty to two federal counts. And most significantly, he agreed to cooperate and special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. That is a very significant development because it means that he is going to be agreeing to testify and agreeing to provide any sort of information that the Special Counsel asks of him."

Alexandria, Virginia - 23 May 2017

2. Paul Manafort gets out of car and walks into US District courthouse

Alexandria, Virginia - 14 September 2018

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Justice Department Reporter:

"He pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States. And in the course of that he admitted to all sorts of illegal conduct related to his Ukrainian political consulting work that he did over the course of many years. And the principal allegation, or one of the principal allegations, is that he worked as a foreign agent advocating in Ukraine for those political interests and did not register as such with the Justice Department. The Justice Department says if you're going to lobby in the United States on behalf of a foreign government, which is the allegation against Manafort, you have to register."

Alexandria, Virginia - 5 June 2018

4. Paul Manafort walks into US District courthouse

Alexandria, Virginia - 14 September 2018

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Justice Department Reporter:

"But what's really significant about the cooperation is there is nothing that would stop Paul Manafort from describing to the special counsel acts and crimes and incidents that aren't what he pleaded guilty to. So if he has information that he is not admitting guilt to, he can still provide it to the government. He's still encouraged to provide it to the government. And that is information that of course could be about the campaign and could be about Donald Trump."

Cleveland, Ohio - 21 July 2016

6. Paul Manafort with President Donald Trump at the RNC rehearsal

Cleveland, Ohio - 17 July 2016

7. STILL photo of Paul Manafort talking to reporters at the Republican National Convention

Alexandria, Virginia - 14 September 2018

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Justice Department Reporter:

"So it's unclear exactly what information Manafort could have about Trump but it is important to note that Manafort led the Trump campaign during a very critical stretch of the 2016 campaign. He was a participant in a Trump Tower meeting in June 2016 that involved the president's son, his son in law Jared Kushner and Manafort and a Russian government lawyer. And the point of that meeting we know from Donald Trump Junior himself was to accept and receive dirt about Hillary Clinton. And so that's a significant meeting. We know that Mueller is interested in it. So to the extent that Manafort can provide information, I'm sure Mueller would be more than happy to hear anything that Manafort has to say about that."

New York - September 2014

9. Exterior shot of Trump Tower

Vancouver - 28 February 2017

10. FILE of Donald Trump, Jr. entering room with Eric Trump

Alexandria, Virginia - 14 September 2018

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Justice Department Reporter:

"Generally when you agree to cooperate with the government you receive a benefit for that kind of decision and you get credit on the back end when it comes time to be sentenced. So that if you cooperate, if you provide information, if you are of value to the government, that winds up helping you. His lawyer has said he also did it for his family and I think his lawyer also made an important point to the Manafort side by saying he is pleading guilty to crimes that occurred years ago which one could read as a message to the president being this case isn't about you."

Washington, DC - 17 August 2018

12. UPSOUND: Donald Trump talking to press:

"He happens to be a very good person and I think it's very sad what they've done to Paul Manafort... Thank you very much."

13. Trump walks away toward Marine One

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort agreed Friday to cooperate with the special counsel's Russia investigation as he pleaded guilty to federal charges and avoided a second trial that could have exposed him to even greater punishment.

The deal gives special counsel Robert Mueller a key cooperator who led the Trump election effort for a crucial stretch during the 2016 presidential campaign.

It is unclear what information Manafort is prepared to provide to investigators about President Donald Trump or that could aid Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. But the plea nonetheless makes Manafort the latest associate of Trump, a president known to place a premium on loyalty among subordinates, to admit guilt and cooperate with investigators in hopes of leniency.

AP Justice Department reporter Eric Tucker explains, "what's really significant about the cooperation is there is nothing that would stop Paul Manafort from describing to the special counsel acts and crimes and incidents that aren't what he pleaded guilty to."

"So if he has information that he is not admitting guilt to, he can still provide it to the government. He's still encouraged to provide it to the government. And that is information that of course could be about the campaign and could be about Donald Trump," Tucker adds.

The cooperation deal requires Manafort to provide whatever information the government asks of him, though it does not specify what if anything prosecutors hope to receive about Trump.

Given his direct involvement in the Trump campaign, including episodes being scrutinized by Mueller, Manafort could be positioned to provide key insight for investigators working to establish whether the campaign coordinated with Russia.

Manafort was among the participants, for instance, in a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians and the president's oldest son and son-in-law that was arranged so the campaign could receive derogatory information about Democrat Hillary Clinton. A grand jury used by Mueller has heard testimony about the meeting.

Friday's deal, to charges tied to Ukrainian political consulting work but unrelated to the campaign, was struck just days before Manafort was to have stood trial for a second time.

He was convicted last month of eight financial crimes in a separate trial in Virginia and faces seven to 10 years in prison in that case. The two conspiracy counts he pleaded guilty to on Friday carry up to five years in prison, though Manafort's sentence will ultimately depend on his cooperation.

In the past year, Mueller has secured pleas from a former national security adviser who lied to the FBI about discussing sanctions with a Russian ambassador, a campaign aide who broached the idea of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin; and another aide who was indicted alongside Manafort but ultimately turned on him. The president's former personal lawyer has separately pleaded guilty in New York.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders insisted that the Manafort case was unrelated to Trump.

"This had absolutely nothing to do with the president or his victorious 2016 presidential campaign. It is totally unrelated."

Washington DC - 5 June 2018

1. Paul Manafort walking toward US District courthouse

Alexandria, Virginia - 14 September 2018

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Justice Department Reporter:

"Today, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort pleaded guilty to two federal counts. And most significantly, he agreed to cooperate and special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. That is a very significant development because it means that he is going to be agreeing to testify and agreeing to provide any sort of information that the Special Counsel asks of him."

Alexandria, Virginia - 23 May 2017

3. Paul Manafort gets out of car and walks into US District courthouse

4. STILL photo of Manafort walking out of courthouse

Alexandria, Virginia - 6 November 2017

5. STILL photo of Manafort walking out of courthouse

Cleveland, Ohio - 17 July 2016

6. STILL photo of Paul Manafort talking to reporters at the Republican National Convention

Alexandria, Virginia - 14 September 2018

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Justice Department Reporter:

"He pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States. And in the course of that he admitted to all sorts of illegal conduct related to his Ukrainian political consulting work that he did over the course of many years. And the principal allegation, or one of the principal allegations, is that he worked as a foreign agent advocating in Ukraine for those political interests and did not register as such with the Justice Department. The Justice Department says if you're going to lobby in the United States on behalf of a foreign government, which is the allegation against Manafort, you have to register. But what's really significant about the cooperation is there is nothing that would stop Paul Manafort from describing to the special counsel acts and crimes and incidents that aren't what he pleaded guilty to. So if he has information that he is not admitting guilt to, he can still provide it to the government. He's still encouraged to provide it to the government. And that is information that of course could be about the campaign and could be about Donald Trump."

Cleveland, Ohio - 21 July 2016

8. Paul Manafort with President Donald Trump at the RNC rehearsal

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Cleveland, Ohio - 17 July 2016

9. STILL photo of Paul Manafort talking to reporters at the Republican National Convention

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Alexandria, Virginia - 14 September 2018

SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Justice Department Reporter:

10. "So it's unclear exactly what information Manafort could have about Trump but it is important to note that Manafort led the Trump campaign during a very critical stretch of the 2016 campaign. He was a participant in a Trump Tower meeting in June 2016 that involved the president's son, his son in law Jared Kushner and Manafort and a Russian government lawyer. And the point of that meeting we know from Donald Trump junior himself was to accept and receive dirt about Hillary Clinton. And so that's a significant meeting. We know that Möller is interested in it. So to the extent that Manafort can provide information, I'm sure Mauler would be more than happy to hear anything that Manafort has to say about that."

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

New York - September 2014

9. Exterior shot of Trump Tower

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Vancouver - 28 February 2017

10. FILE of Donald Trump, Jr. entering room with Eric Trump