The most intense and dangerous period of the Trump presidency is about to begin
By Paul Waldman
Opinion writer
August 20 at 9:33 AM
-snip-
Needless to say, if Cohen were to implicate the president or his family in some kind of criminal wrongdoing, it would be a political earthquake. But even if he doesn’t cooperate, if he is indicted in the coming weeks, that would itself be a serious blow to Trump’s presidency. Even if much of what Cohen is accused of doesn’t have to do directly with his former boss, it would contribute to the growing impression that Trump is a corrupt man who surrounds himself with other corrupt men. And here are some other things that could or, in some cases, will happen between now and the first week in November:
Paul Manafort will either be convicted or acquitted in his first trial, presumably this week (the jury is currently deliberating). And his second trial — which will deal more directly with his work in the former Soviet Union and the ways it may have affected his actions as Trump campaign chairman — will begin in mid-September.
Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III could hand down more indictments, or even release a final report on all that he has learned in his investigation.
Trump will likely continue to revoke the security clearances of his critics in the intelligence community, which will generate more bipartisan condemnation and comparisons to Richard Nixon.
Omarosa Manigault Newman will release more tapes she recorded of conversations with people in the White House.
A lawsuit will begin in Texas in which Republican states and the administration will be arguing for the entire Affordable Care Act to be struck down, handing Democrats a priceless campaign issue.
Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings will take place. Even if the process ends with a win for Trump, it will also likely generate an immediate backlash, a wave of fear and opposition from Democrats as they realize the implications of an intensely partisan, intensely conservative Supreme Court.
That’s just what we know about. There are other things, both foreseeable and not, that could increase the president’s stress during this period. We recently learned that White House counsel Donald McGahn was interviewed for 30 hours by Mueller’s team, interviews that were initially approved by Trump as part of a strategy of cooperation but might well have turned into a way for McGahn to protect himself. We have no idea what McGahn told them about Trump’s actions or how it might relate to Russia and contribute to a case of obstruction of justice. Trump’s trade war has so far seemed to generate nothing but job losses and uncertainty. There could be international crises and more conflict with our allies. And if history is any guide, Trump will react to all of it with petulance and resentment, occasionally boiling over into outright rage.
The culmination of this intense period is, of course, the November elections. The wave of scandal news will only increase the likelihood that Democrats will win control of the House, and as much as we’ve talked about that possibility, we haven’t fully reckoned with how transformative it would be.
-snip-
more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/08/20/the-most-intense-and-dangerous-period-of-the-trump-presidency-is-about-to-begin
= new reply since forum marked as read
I believe that if the Dems take both houses in November, it's all over. Cheeto will resign and walk away as fast as he can. If we only get the House of Representatives, he still may do it, but more likely he'll sit tight.
It's up to us Democrats to show leadership in the next 4 months, because the Republicans have already demonstrated that they have NONE! Don't put so much store by Putin, I think he'll sit back and let Cheeto get destroyed when the time comes. We're making too much out of him, when our real enemies are the RW billionaires who are calling the shots with their Super PACs.
when indictments start dropping closer and closer to home, I fear he will become increasingly reckless and threatening and almost certainly will act in more insane - and probably illegal - ways.
This will reach a point where more Repug politicians (federal, state and local) will speak openly against him because at some point, they'll realize their job security is threatened. Trump's core base of shitheads won't be affected, but I suspect enough Repug business people and voters will start expressing angst.
The tide must turn at some point, and it will happen when enough Repugs come to see the power they currently have is threatened. That will happen regardless of what's on Faux News or Twitter.
Strong wins for us in November will certainly push many of them over the brink.
.......
........
