Trump-Russia oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev arrested on corruption charges
Here’s a Trump-Russia election day surprise no one saw coming, and it’s still not clear what connection it might have to the Trump-Russia scandal. Remember Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev, who bought a mansion from Donald Trump for twice what it was worth, and then kept popping up in the same cities as Trump during the election? He just got arrested on corruption charges.
Dmitry Rybolovlev has been arrested in Monaco, according to French language news outlet Le Monde. Rybolovlev’s attorneys have issued a statement asking that he be given the presumption of innocence while this plays out, and that’s fair enough. But the timing can’t be overlooked here, because if this arrest is a mere coincidence that has nothing to do with the Trump-Russia scandal, then it’s one of the most fascinating coincidences we’ve seen yet.
Keep in mind that, depending on which major news outlet you want to believe, Special Counsel Robert Mueller is days, weeks, or hours away from making his big move against Donald Trump. It would logically follow that right around the time Mueller is making this move, he would also seek to round up as many other alleged participants in the scandal as possible, before Trump can have a chance to try to fire him.
So yes, it’s theoretically possible that Robert Mueller is working with the government of Monaco to bring in Dmitry Rybolovlev in relation to the Trump-Russia scandal. It’s also possible that this arrest has nothing to do with Trump-Russia. It’s not clear what Rybolovlev would even be charged with in the Trump-Russia scandal; he could simply be a witness. Overpaying for a mansion, and visiting the same cities as Donald Trump during the election, aren’t crimes – unless there was more going on that we don’t know about. Stay tuned.
Bill Palmer is the publisher of the political news outlet Palmer Report