Re: the OP.
Adam Davidson of the New Yorker: [INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT] There are lots of details and surprises to come, but the endgame of this Presidency seems as clear now as those of Iraq and the financial crisis did months before they unfolded. Last week, federal investigators raided the offices of Michael Cohen, the man who has been closer than anybody to Trump’s most problematic business and personal relationships. This week, we learned that Cohen has been under criminal investigation for months—his e-mails have been read, presumably his phones have been tapped, and his meetings have been monitored.
Trump has long declared a red line: Robert Mueller must not investigate his businesses, and must only look at any possible collusion with Russia. That red line is now crossed and, for Trump, in the most troubling of ways. Even if he were to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and then had Mueller and his investigation put on ice, and even if—as is disturbingly possible—Congress did nothing, the Cohen prosecution would continue. Even if Trump pardons Cohen, the information the Feds have on him can become the basis for charges against others in the Trump Organization.[sup]1[/sup]
This is the week we know, with increasing certainty, that we are entering the last phase of the Trump Presidency. This doesn’t feel like a prophecy; it feels like a simple statement of the apparent truth.
I know dozens of reporters and other investigators who have studied Donald Trump and his business and political ties. Some have been skeptical of the idea that President Trump himself knowingly colluded with Russian officials. …However, I am unaware of anybody who has taken a serious look at Trump’s business who doesn’t believe that there is a high likelihood of rampant criminality. [/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT] Ok, ok, but 40% of the country is in the tank, right? And his supporters knew he wasn’t a saint when they elected him. So how is this any different?
It’s different argues Davidson. He recalls his 2003 reporting in Iraq, when on the ground it was immediately clear that the US’s reconstruction plans unworkable while Bush had approval ratings north of 70% and was making his Mission Accomplished speech. He recalls his reporting on the financial crisis, when he realized that the asset base of our largest banks was crap. There is often a gulf between perception and reality. But that doesn’t imply that consensus views can’t change: they can and do and sometimes must.
Last 5 sentences, emphasis added: [INDENT][INDENT][INDENT] We don’t know the precise path the next few months will take. There will be resistance and denial and counterattacks. But it seems likely that, when we look back on this week, we will see it as a turning point. We are now in the end stages of the Trump Presidency. [/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[sup]1[/sup]So I guess Trump will have to provide blanket pardons to perhaps a half dozen or more people. Respect for democratic norms won’t be much of a constraint for Trump. Though a Democratic majority might be. Ok, it takes 2/3 for impeachment. Would the GOP really play along? Erick Erickson is the founder of Red State: he interviewed an anonymous Congressional friend of his in Safeway, far away from Capitol Hill. His friend needed to vent: [INDENT][INDENT][INDENT] He may be an idiot, but he’s still the President and leader of my party and he is capable of doing some things right. But dammit he’s taking us all down with him. We are well and truly fked in November….It’s like Forrest Gump won the presidency, but an evil, really f*cking stupid Forrest Gump. He can’t help himself. He’s just a fking idiot who thinks he’s winning when people are b*tching about him.
….If we get to summer and most of the primaries are over, they just might pull the trigger if the President fires Mueller. The sh*t will hit the fan if that happens and I’d vote to impeach him myself. Most of us would, I think. Hell, all the Democrats would and you only need a majority in the House. If we’re going to lose because of him, we might as well impeach the motherf**ker.
….I say a lot of shit on TV defending him, even over this. But honestly, I wish the motherfcker would just go away. We’re going to lose the House, lose the Senate, and lose a bunch of states because of him. All his supporters will blame us for what we have or have not done, but he hasn’t led. He wakes up in the morning, shts all over Twitter, shts all over us, shts all over his staff, then hits golf balls. F*ck him. Of course, I can’t say that in public or I’d get run out of town. [/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
