A package from the Donald

Many people in the know say that Donald Trump may be wrapping a huge gift of a constitutional crisis for us all this Christmas.

Trump, many insiders say, may start the machinations to fire Special Counsel Bob Mueller sometime right before or right after Christmas. He is being prodded to do so by certain congressional Republicans and television blockhead Sean Hannity, who serves as an unofficial advisor to Trump. These people insist Mueller and his investigators are corrupt and have had a “get Trump” mindset from the outset of the investigation.

Some extreme right-wingers, including those at Faux News, are even accusing Mueller, a man of the utmost integrity who has devoted his life to serving our country, a man who was an incredibly brave/selfless war hero, a man who served honorably as director of the FBI, of conducting a coup against Trump. Some are demanding that Mueller be investigated. Others are saying skip the investigation … just arrest Mueller and his team members.

It appears that Mueller, after a racking up a string of arrests/guilty pleas of Trump associates, is getting closer and closer to nailing Trump in regard to obstruction of justice and/or other charges in connection with Trump’s alleged collusion with Russian officials. That being the case, Trump and his cronies are not only attacking the credibility of Mueller and his investigation but are going after the law enforcement agencies connected to the probe, specifically the FBI.

If Mueller is fired, all hell will break loose, one way or another. Congress, of course, could impeach Trump for abuse of power, but there is little chance of that happening because Congress is filled with Republican sycophants/lackeys for Trump.

What may happen is an uprising of millions upon millions of Americans disgusted with the conduct of both the president and the Congress. That uprising could mean a landslide by Democrats in the 2018 congressional elections, which would mean various investigations into Trump’s activities, his likely impeachment and possible removal from office.

So if Trump is going to have Mueller fired, he is going to have to be proactive in the wake of doing so. He is going to have to work even harder to further delegitimize the honest, independent press and further prop up the state press, officially known as Faux (Fox) News. He is going to have to continue his attacks on the credibility of the FBI and any other law enforcement agency that might do upstanding investigations of him.

And if it seems that it is inevitable that the Democrats are going to dominate the 2018 congressional elections, he could cancel the voting, citing fears of tampering from domestic or foreign sources, including, ironically, the Russians. Once that is done, cancelling the 2020 elections, including the presidential election, would be a piece of cake.

I know this all sounds like a lot of projecting, but if you look back at the columns I’ve written about Trump over the last few years I’ve been pretty darn prescient at predicting his next move. It’s not that I am particularly insightful or smart. It’s that he’s terribly shallow and predictable.

As we enter our second year with this “man” in charge, I fear for our democracy. Trump is attacking the separation of the powers, trying to weaken the press and any arm of law enforcement that might be liable to keep him in check. I am quite convinced that in next year, Trump’s abuses of power will only multiply exponentially, taking us even closer to tyranny.

So Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good fight.