It's gonna happen! Paul Manafort has been indicted and...and that means that Donald Trump will soon be leaving office. That pretty much sums up the attitude of Rolling Stone writer Bob Dreyfuss who, upon hearing the news about Paul Manafort's indictment, just couldn't contain himself over the fantasy that this will lead to a quick exit, via resignation or impeachment, of President Donald Trump from office. Here is Dreyfuss in today's Rolling Stone sounding positively orgasmic over the fantasy that Manafort's indictment will inevitably lead to Trump's quick exit in Mueller Starts Coming for Team Trump:
The Manafort and Gates arrests give rise to a host of critical questions, ones not faced since Watergate: Will Manafort and Gates turn state's evidence and tell Mueller what they might know about possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign? Who's next? Will the president pardon any or all of those accused? Will he have Mueller fired? Will a serious move to impeach the president begin? And even: Will Trump be forced to resign?
Will Dreyfuss be institutionalized if nothing happens to Trump? Meanwhile he continues his joyful reality-challenged outbursts of Trump exit fantasies:
...as Mueller closes in, the stakes get higher and higher, and it's indeed possible the special counsel will eventually issue a scathing report about Trump and Russia, perhaps in 2018, that could unleash widespread calls in Congress for Trump's impeachment. Alternately, if Trump becomes convinced Mueller is getting too close, the president could ask the Justice Department to fire the special counsel or persuade his allies in Congress to defund Mueller's work, something that Trump's emphasis on the "costly" nature of the investigation suggests may be an option he's considering. Either action – firing Mueller or defunding him – would trigger a political firestorm that, in itself, would accelerate calls for impeachment.
Yeah, all roads lead to Oz...I mean impeachment.
To give Dreyfuss credit he does, very briefly, alight on some reality only to quickly flit away from the painful truth:
It's true that, so far, allegations that the Trump campaign cooperated with or encouraged Russia's intervention are unproven. But there's plenty of smoke.
It turns out that Dreyfuss' own Rolling Stone colleague, Matt Taibbi, has tossed cold water on the notion of Trump-Russia collusion on March 8 in Why the Russia Story Is a Minefield for Democrats and the Media:
Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper appeared on Meet the Press this past weekend to discuss the Trump-Russia scandal. Chuck Todd asked: Were there improper contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian officials?
The following conversation then took place:
JAMES CLAPPER: We did not include any evidence in our report, and I say, "our," that's N.S.A., F.B.I. and C.I.A., with my office, the Director of National Intelligence, that had anything, that had any reflection of collusion between members of the Trump campaign and the Russians. There was no evidence of that…
CHUCK TODD: I understand that. But does it exist?
JAMES CLAPPER: Not to my knowledge.
Todd pressed him to elaborate.
CHUCK TODD: If [evidence of collusion] existed, it would have been in this report?
JAMES CLAPPER: This could have unfolded or become available in the time since I left the government.
This is the former Director of National Intelligence telling all of us that as of 12:01 a.m. on January 20th, when he left government, the intelligence agencies had no evidence of collusion between Donald Trump's campaign and the government of Vladimir Putin's Russia.
Virtually all of the explosive breaking news stories on the Trump-Russia front dating back months contain some version of this same disclaimer.
...Reporters should be scared to their marrow by this story. This is a high-wire act and it is a very long way down..
