Opinions on Donald Trump vary all over the political spectrum, from those who think he should be honored with a Nobel Prize just for blessing the planet with his presence to those who want him removed from office yesterday afternoon, so he can't do more damage to the Republic.
His true believers are incorrigible and have already tuned me out. For those of us who want him removed from office immediately if not sooner I offer this dismal forecast. Trump will kill the Mueller investigation before it renders a report. Removal by impeachment will never get two-thirds votes in the Senate now or for the foreseeable future. The only hope is conviction of his nibs of a significant felony and incarceration for a significant period.
Trump and his son-in-law may have committed just such a felony.
Step one occurred when the Donald expressed solid support for our faithful ally in the Middle-East, the small nation of Qatar. We have a strong military presence in Qatar.
Earlier on June 5, 2017, a number of countries led by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt — collectively referred to as the “Quartet” — severed ties with Qatar and enacted several punitive measures, such as closing air, land and sea borders to Qatar. Saudi Arabia also halted Qatari involvement in the ongoing war in Yemen. The Quartet justified their actions by alluding to alleged Qatari ties to "terrorist groups" in the region.
The U.S. has supported Qatar in this conflict.
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has a hotel project in Manhattan that was in serious financial difficulty. He sought to get a Qatar investment to help save the project
Carroll County Daily Headlines
Qatar declined and immediately Donald Trump changed his view of Qatar. It became obvious that an investment in the Kushner hotel was required to repair the breach between Trump and Qatar. The Qatar side knuckled under and made the investment.
This reeks of extortion. With the Trump crew it is pay to play.
Since the hotel is in Manhattan, the U.S Attorney there could file the criminal complaint against Trump and Kushner, and a New York jury would render the verdict.
Is this a slam-dunk victory for the anti-Trump forces? No, but I see no more likely way to bring Trump down and stop the damage to our Republic.
Remember a few years back when a notorious drug gang in Baltimore made a video threatening "squealers?" Our president is playing the same game with his made-up scandal called "Spy Gate." There may be an individual or more than one person in the Trump gang that are information sources for the Mueller investigation. Just like the drug gang, the Trump gang in the White House and the Congress want to identify the "squealers" so they can punish them. That was a likely motive for the meetings, the first for Republicans only, with the Mueller staff and the examination of the evidence.
Obviously, all the information gained will be revealed to the subjects of the investigation so that they can prepare a coverup in advance of any future grand jury hearings. This revelation of lines of investigation and sources of information is absolutely unprecedented. My spouse thinks that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein should have resigned in protest instead of revealing this secret information. And my spouse is never wrong.
In any case the Trump gang follows the tactics of that Baltimore drug gang. Doesn't that make you feel good all over?