[James Brancheau]

It's not time to prance around with your political views, or how much Hillary was unsavory. Did anyone really read that letter to Comey? Wow. That crosses the line that divides incompetent and crazy. A child would know better.

[Andrew Szilvasy]

The connection between the firing of Comey and the desire to put an end to the Russian investigation is now explicit, and now the actual narrative of the WH. That's the very definition of obstruction.

Let's hope there are enough honorable people in the GOP Senate and House to do what needs to be done. Further, my sense is that Pence is probably caught up in this since he was part of the initial lie about the firings rationale.

[John Isbell]

The House I think is unlikely. In the Senate, you would need, say, John McCain, Ben Sasse, and one other Republican for a simple majority. I imagine the Democrats would hold ranks on this. So, a special prosecutor for instance is not outside the realm of possibility. But I'm not holding my breath yet.

[Andrew Szilvasy]

Originally Posted by John Isbell

The House I think is unlikely. In the Senate, you would need, say, John McCain, Ben Sasse, and one other Republican for a simple majority. I imagine the Democrats would hold ranks on this. So, a special prosecutor for instance is not outside the realm of possibility. But I'm not holding my breath yet.

Doesn't McConnell need to actually let it hit the floor?

And I concur--it'll take a lot before the House Republicans turn on him since many of them staked their reputations on his success.

[John Isbell]

Yes, but 51 senators can for instance refuse to confirm a new head for the FBI until a special prosecutor is appointed. I'd think McConnell will not challenge a GOP president until hell freezes over, as you suggest.

[Andrew Szilvasy]

Good point. They need to guard against an overtly political appointee.

It's time to see what McCain, in particular, is made of, no? The 2008 race seemed to change him for the worst for a bit, but standing up to his own party on big issues is the sort of thing pre-2008 McCain was known for (torture, for instance). He can get Graham at least on board, and maybe Collins, and maybe things start to move in the direction we all know they need to.

[John Isbell]

Let's cross our fingers. A long-term CIA agent was also arguing that FBI files will remain intact until a political appointee takes over there. After that, all bets are off.

[Shaun J. Russell]

My gut feeling is that they're not going to turn against Trump until (or unless) the "heartland" folks who got him elected in the first place start to sour against him. There are signs of that starting to happen, but not to the extent that it needs to happen before the Republican leadership can publicly justify it as the "will of the constituents," and can privately feel a higher likelihood of job security in the next election.

Self-interest disguised as public interest is the name of the game here. It was ever thus, but it's so much more apparent when an inexperienced, dishonest, and damnably vocal idiot continues to hold the highest office.

[Roger Slater]

It's obviously too soon to be cocky about it, but signs are looking good for the Democrats to take over the House in 2018. If that happens, Trump is in serious trouble since they can subpoena tax records and/or impeach, and certainly stop his legislative agenda cold.

In the meantime, it doesn't look like Trump knows how to work and play well with others, so we can hope that he will continue to find it impossible to enact most of his agenda.

[John Riley]

Krugman sums it up well this morning. Ryan and McConnell and the other Republicans will go along with any level of corruption, even treason, in order to pass tax breaks for the wealthy. That is all they care about. They care more about that than they do for the country. There is little chance of this stopping as long as the government is in their hands.