THE SEVEN ROUTES IN FRONT OF TRUMP

Author: Keith Olbermann

There are seven routes in front of Trump. Each, inevitably, ends in his impeachment or resignation.

1. Special Prosecutor Mueller does not make a deal with Flynn to get Paul Manafort. He does not make a deal with Flynn to get Jared Kushner. He does not make a deal with Flynn to get Trump Jr. Mueller makes a deal with Flynn to get Donald Trump. The Flynn deal suggests Mueller has completely assembled the backbone of his case and is now just hanging the meat from it. And just as importantly, if Flynn has merely considered a deal from Mueller, it almost necessarily means Flynn either doesn’t believe he would get a pardon from Trump, or that Mueller has succeeded in finding a way around Trump’s pardon power, and either of these near-certainties spell Trump’s doom. So that’s the most obvious of the seven ways for Trump to go. Mueller really will get him on Russia. It will be ugly and it will tear this country nearly apart, but it will be necessary.
2. Special Prosecutor Mueller doesn’t really need to prove anything about Trump and Russian sabotage of the election. There seems to be so much obstruction of justice, from the firing of James Comey to the lies about Trump Jr.’s meeting with the Russians, that it’s hard to pick out a key player in the Trump inner circle who couldn’t be guilty of it. Trump could be impeached on just obstruction of justice and a few lesser charges.
3. We could be spared the trauma of a Russia impeachment or an obstruction of justice impeachment if Trump is smart or just sufficiently scared and he resigns. Or if he isn’t, those around him who could still save themselves by selling him out, will force him to resign.
4. A modified version of this is, of course is that even if Mueller is months away from his denouement, the Republicans will impeach or remove Trump by spring purely to save their own selves. So that’s the fourth way out: Trump becomes more of an albatross to Republicans and more importantly more of a rallying cry to the Democrats and the Republicans remove him before the midterms and then boastfully run for re-election on having removed him.
5. The fifth end-game is the same thing, only faster; the Republicans around him pull off that palace coup that is perfectly legal under the 25th Amendment and Mike Pence and Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell eject Trump by simply stating he’s unfit and getting their majorities to agree he’s unfit
6. The sixth means by which Trump leaves early is, of course, that if the Republicans don’t impeach Trump before the midterms, the Democrats will be able to after them. If Virginia and New Jersey and Oklahoma are indicators, the Democrats could take the house and might need as few as 25 vulnerable Republicans in the Senate to vote guilty, to remove him from office.
7. The seventh, path to destruction for Trump is his sexual conduct. It seems impossible to believe that some claimant somewhere doesn’t have tangible evidence against Trump, and that they would break one of those non-disclosure agreements .

Seven freight trains rushing at Trump . He might avoid a few. He might avoid six of them. He’s not going to dance his way out from under all seven.

Well this ballgame is also over. And I don’t think it’s going to last another 13 months.