Robert Mueller picks off surprise Donald Trump ally
Periodically we’re reminded that the conspiracy between Donald Trump and Russia runs so deep and wide that quite a few of the key roles were played by people whose names haven’t been on the radar of the media or the public. For instance, the names of George Papadopoulos and George Nader were barely known until Special Counsel Robert Mueller moved in on them. Now Mueller has nailed another Trump ally who, despite not having name recognition, played a key role and is in prime position to take a lot of people down.
Get used to hearing the name Ted Malloch. Robert Mueller detained him at an airport in Boston and served him with a subpoena in relation to the Trump-Russia scandal, as first reported by the Guardian and subsequently echoed by NBC News. So who is Malloch and why is he so important? He’s a U.S. citizen who lives in London and has close ties to the Donald Trump campaign including Roger Stone, and close ties to Brexit leader Nigel Farage. At one point Trump considered naming Malloch his U.S. Ambassador to the European Union.
In other words, Malloch is a key connector between the Donald Trump campaign and the Brexit campaign. Robert Mueller was able to obtain a subpoena against Malloch, which means a grand jury concluded there is evidence that Malloch is either a witness or a suspect in the Trump-Russia scandal. Malloch was not arrested by Mueller, which suggests that Mueller is giving him the chance to become a cooperating witness. Malloch claims that Mueller “seemed to know everything” about him, which means that Mueller has been zeroing in on Malloch for some time. It simply didn’t become public knowledge until now.
This has echoes of when Robert Mueller previously detained George Papadopoulos and George Nader at airports. Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign adviser, was arrested and charged with lying to the FBI; he’s since cut a plea deal. Nader, who helped set up the Trump-Russia meeting in the Seychelles, was not arrested, and has since become a cooperating witness.
