So much has happened in the last two days that the best I can do is give this review in chunks. Like bulletins. Because that is how it happened. For example the Michael Cohen confession and the Paul Manafort conviction came at almost the same minute!
# 1. TRUMP HAS COMMITTED A FELONY! AND HAS BEEN RECORDED ADMITTING IT. Trump's fix-it guy and sort of attorney Michael Cohen has now said in sworn testimony that in the weeks before the 2016 election, Trump directed him to pay off a woman who alleged an affair with Trump. Hushing her was necessary, Trump made clear, in order to protect his chances in the election. He thereby defrauded the public of knowing necessary information and also screwed up the way the hush money was paid so that he and Cohen committed a felony under election finance laws. In addition to Cohen's sworn testimoney, he has previously provided the tape recording of Trump discussing the hush money payoff.
#2 . TRUMP IS NOW EMINENTLY IMPEACHABLE. The grounds for impeachment are blatant and numerous, but now we have one that is virtualy inarguable, i.e.the payment of hush money to secure his winning the election. Here's an expert opinion:
"
Does Trump's paying off the women constitute enough of an offense to warrant impeachment? The framers thought so. 'The campaign finance violation President Trump’s former lawyer accused him of on Tuesday — arranging to pay hush money to influence an election — may be precisely the sort of offense that the drafters of the Constitution meant to cover in granting Congress the power to impeach and remove a president.' " This quote is from a discussion of a book analyzing the framers views on impeachment:' "When Is an Offense Impeachable? Look to the Framers for the ...
#3. TRUMP'S SO-CALLED PRESIDENCY WAS A NULLITY BECAUSE OBTAINED BY FRAUD. Therefore all his supposed presidential acts are nullities, including his recent Supreme Court appointment and all the other federal judicial and other appointments he has made. His attempts to do stupid things, like nullifying environmental regulations and messing with tariffs, will be automatically reversed since he lacked the authority to launch such. Our allies can sigh with relief that the crazy man is gone, and we can repair our mutual defense groups and trade agreements. And someone else will head our government and make a super-strong effort to find the 600 children and get them back to their parents. Lots more good things will happen but that's for another time.
#4. PENCE WILL NOT BE PRESIDENT. He got into the office of Vice President on the same ticket as Trump and thus with the help of the same crookedness Trump used. His supposed election is therefore a nullity.
#5. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE IMPEACHMENT, A DEMOCRAT WILL BE PRESIDENT. The Constitutional order of succession is President, Vice President, Speaker of the House. If Democrats win the House in November, the Democratic Speaker of the House will succeed the impeached president and vice president. As the Bard once said, "It is a consumation devoutly to be wished". Getting rid of Trump only to then have been saddled with Pence would have been awful. But it doesn't it have to be that way.
Time out now for a good night's sleep before I survey more of the Trump crash site and try to make sense of the whole lot. And hopefully I can find answers to such questions as, "Will Trump pardon Manafort?" (No. And I'll explain why not.)
I think it was Gerry Ford who said after Watergate and Nixon's resignation, "America's long nightmare is over." We can't say that yet. But at least it appears as if an ending is possible and perhaps is coming sooner than we have thought.
Again, a consummation devoutly to be wished.
Good night now. I think we are all sleeping better these nights, right?
