Thursday, December 13, 2018

The Writing is No Longer on the Wall


The slow-motion-corrosion of the Trump Organization, the Trump Administration, and Donald Trump himself has not garnered much satisfaction.  Both his opponents and those supporters who drank the Kool-Aid two or more years ago are tired of the speculation. What will the Mueller investigation reveal? How will the Republican Congressmen react?  How aggressive will the Democrats be? It engenders a National equivalent of The Rumble in the Jungle , only without a timeline.

Well, now I feel there is something that is emerging as predictable.

With the recent wrapping up of the Michael Cohen case, along with the immunity granted to AMI Inc and Trump Organization’s chief financial officer (Allen Weisselberg), there is no more doubt that Donald Trump, and possibly his three oldest children, are guilty of a crime: conspiring to and violating campaign finance laws.

Of the variety of speculative crimes that Trump might be guilty of, this paying of hush money to women with whom Trump had engaged in sexual relations while his wife was still nursing his youngest child is at the bottom of the pile.

Important Republicans, Senators and Congressmen alike (no Congresswomen I believe), are already on record with two conclusions: first, “…campaign finance violation? Big deal!” and second, “…why wouldn’t he want to suppress the comments of immoral women? What would any red-blooded billionaire do?” Amazingly these politicians, who so vigorously court the Religious Right, are just fine with the underlying behavior that motivated the crime. After all, it’s just Trump.

Republicans will claim the focus on Cohen needs to be his associated tax and financial violations.  However, the bell cannot be un-rung.  Campaign finance violations are part of Cohen’s conviction and he’s going to be doing three years in prison and paying a couple of million dollars in fines and restitution.  Further, Cohen accusations that Trump personally directed his crime are now backed up by AMI Inc., and it appears the money trail (which constitutes the conspiracy) is going to be revealed by Weisselberg. 

At least on this crime Trump is toast…no more speculation. You can erase those speculations off the wall.

Does that mean it’s full steam ahead to impeachment by the House and conviction by the Senate? Don’t hold your breath.  The new Democratic House may be so emboldened, but the Republican Senate would never convict on that alone. Mueller will have to come up with a lot more before that happens.

However, I believe we can confidently begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel, namely the end game for The Donald…and quickly.

I think it is likely we will soon see Republicans begin their quest to challenge Trump for the Republican nomination in 2020, even before we hear a discouraging word from Robert Mueller.  Flake, Kasich, perhaps Corker and who knows who else. I believe it’s going to happen and because the time frame for mounting a Presidential campaign is so long we should start to hear about it very soon, probably in January 2019.

The result of an insurrection in the Republican Party to de-throne Trump would eliminate him in the summer of 2020, cause him to quit under the threat of losing the nomination, or so split the Party as to make his candidacy, should he get the nomination, the least effective in the history of this Nation.

The thought of it being orange jump-suit time for Donald Trump doesn’t make my Christmas list.  However, the vision of the TRUMP name being removed from buildings around the world is the equivalent of sugar plums dancing in my head.

Merry Christmas

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