Maverick's World

In their sworn testimony to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, two of our nation's highest ranking security officials testified that

1) There were several investigations underway into links between the Donald Trump campaign and RIS efforts to disrupt the 2016 elections.

2) There was no evidence to support the idea that President Obama "wiretapped" the Trump campaign or Donald Trump's residence in 2016.

3) No laws were broken when the press reported on the "leaks". The "leakers" broke their oaths and committed illegal acts but the press did nothing illegal by printing that information. 

A fourth and ominous statement from Dir. Comey was his refusal to comment on whether the FBI was investigating Donald Trump himself. 

The most direct consequence of these public disclosures has been to completely kill any political maneuver room that the Trump administration had. Yesterday the GOP went to great lengths to defend the President, but they are pretty much out of gas. A few people like Gowdy and Nunes will carry on but the rest will slowly put significant distance between themselves and the Trump admin. The comfortable buffer of party support that every President enjoys is now completely absent for President Trump. 

Gone too are the days of DJT tweeting freely. Serving officials of the NSA and FBI basically told the world that DJT lied when he claimed that President Obama had "wiretapped" him in 2016. This is a public slap in the face.  It is likely that elements of the Trumper base will buy into a logic that serving intelligence community and law enforcement members in a conspiracy to undermine President Trump, but it is unlikely that this level of support is sustainable. 

If President Trump tweets like this one more time, he may find himself facing libel charges in a court of law. That is will make an impeachment process inevitable. Given how much information is freely available on Trump Corporation taking money from foreign governments for "business reasons", an emoluments charge will be very easy to stick. 

Clearly these events have unsettled the Trump WH and DJT's daughter Ivanka Trump has suddenly been given an office in the West Wing. There are third possible reasons for this,

1) The most obvious reason is that the NYC faction of the DJT machine (Ivanka, Jared, the Wall Streeters) feel that DJT needs to be "minded" by an adult at all times. DJT is clearly more at home golfing and saying stupid things to his buddies than he is running a nation, so Ivanka could serve as a good minder and possibly serve as a good barrier between President and his own bottomless pit of stupidity. 

2) Another fairly obvious reason is that every White House that finds itself facing a criminal investigation feels the need to destroy evidence. The penalty usually associated with destroying evidence for smaller players is low - a few years in jail and the sentence is usually commuted by the president or his successor. There are not usual times, and none of the DJT Admin aides want to be the dude with the shredder, so a family member has to be tapped to take the fall.

3) As none of us has ever seen DJT's real health record, it is fair to surmise that there is likely something there he does not wish us to see. Given his immense propensity for projection, it is probably a terminal illness - something with a long latent stage, and with a significant impact on mental functioning. If that were true, then perhaps Ivanka would be the ideal caregiver for him. If rumors of a split with Melania are true, then it is only logical that the primary responsibility for such services would fall on Ivanka. 

Unfortunately - regardless of the "why" placing Ivanka in the WH with a security clearance - ends the charade of a "Blind Trust" that was created in an elaborately staged press conference some weeks ago. The barrier to an impeachment under the Emoluments Clause is greatly lowered. 

As this admin rattles from one problem to another, Vice President Pence waits.