On Tuesday, Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, was found guilty on 8 counts of financial crimes, including tax fraud, hiding foreign bank accounts and bank fraud and a mistrial was declared on the remaining 10 charges; meanwhile, long time Trump lawyer Michael Cohen announced he has fully flipped and is cooperating with the Mueller investigation. Trump’s disastrous Tuesday is now followed by a rough Wednesday as Congressional Democrats call for the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to be postponed. Sen. Mazie Hinoro went as far as to say, “…I choose not to extend a courtesy to this president who is an un-indicted co-conspirator … of meeting with his nominee.”
With Trump’s personal lawyer cooperating with the Mueller investigation and Paul Manafort effectively behind bars, it’s a Trump miracle Congress hasn’t began impeachment hearings. This is, after-all, about the same point where Nixon was faced with resignation or impeachment, and yet, nothing. It makes one curious if there will ever be a point where the Republican controlled congress flips on Trump, or will we continue to see indictments rattle the Republican party, as we did with Congressmen Duncan Hunter and Chris Collins? Others, like Rep. Devin Nunes and Rep. Jim Jordan, have actively tried to slow the Justice Department’s investigation into allegations of Trump’s misconduct and soon too may face legal ramifications. There is also House Speaker Paul Ryan who is able to utilize Nunes and ultimately block the release of Trump’s tax returns. Ryan may not end up being legally guilty of any crimes but it’s hard to believe this once principled man could morally bankrupt himself and cower away from the likes of Donald Trump. With Ryan retiring and Trump on thin ice, it’s absolutely certain that both men, and potentially the entire GOP, will have scarred legacies after all is said and done.
