The story is accelerating rapidly. To try and summarize it so far would be out of date tomorrow. But for those of us who remember Watergate see the same pattern; but at a much faster pace.
Consider, all the effort then was to protect Nixon’s awareness of the illegal activity trying to stem leaks plus sabotage the Democratic campaign and hide that awareness from Congress, the Special Prosecutor and the public. Only when it was no longer possible, due to court orders, to continue to conceal Nixon’s knowledge and acceptance did he resign his office.
All this Russian stuff is the same. And it all comes back to the unquestionable closeness of the Trump campaign to the Putin regime in Moscow. What is the source of that closeness? And why protect it to the probable collapse of the Trump Administration and possible political damage to the GOP?
The only thing that makes the most sense is commercial ties between Trump, his family, and Moscow money. And that will only be explained by examining several decades of Trump tax returns. If there was nothing there, certainly they would have been released. So why not?
- the returns show he is not as wealthy as he claims (public records of bankruptcy, selling of assets, etc… lead to this)
- He has lied about his ties to Moscow money.
- Russian thugs don’t look kindly on to bankrupts and have ways of exerting pressure or revenge on those who they think are going to screw them. Just who does Trump’s private security for himself and family report to? I mean why push the Secret Service aside when they have the full support of the US military and intelligence agencies and use private security?
Its all going to unravel. When it comes out, Donald will have to go. The only question is when and will all the GOP efforts and policies be tainted by association with Trump. Like Watergate, the “Silent Majority” didn’t accept or give importance to the story at first. However, the constant drip of stories and revelations turned them.
And who will the GOP blame for this mess. Can’t be themselves, even though they fell in line with Trump. Can’t be their base. Won’t be the Democrats as they have been in front of this all along.
The Russians will be blamed. The GOP will pivot and become very hardline against Moscow; the opposite result they were trying for. Already there is awareness of it all going wrong in Putin’s circle with firings. The death and arrest of Russian cyber warriors may be tied to this, wiping the trail of the hacking back to the Kremlin. But the NSA and fellows have all the records going back years. Already the archives are being opened. European agencies are reporting contacts in various cities with Russians. To keep out of the spotlight takes years of training and nation state resources. Something that business men and political hacks don’t have.
So the question I might have is, will Putin himself become a liability to the Moscow Money as Trump will become. Will he be such a liability that he is tossed overboard? Or killed? Or dies from a heart attack. Or in a hunting accident?
So enough of speculation. But count on this. Trump will go when the tax returns become the focus and are about to be released.
Ridge