Another rat leaves the sinking ship

A very important rat: Hope Hicks.

White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, President Donald Trump's longest-serving aide, announced her resignation on Wednesday.

Hicks, 29, has been a longtime member of the Trump family's inner circle, having served as press secretary for his presidential campaign before being tapped to join the White House staff. Hicks, a former model, previously worked for the Trump Organization and for Ivanka Trump's fashion brand.

[...]

In a statement, Hicks thanked the president for his "gratitude."

  NBC

Huh?

Trump also issued a statement praising Hicks for her service. "Hope is outstanding and has done great work for the last three years. She is as smart and thoughtful as they come, a truly great person," the president said. "I will miss having her by my side but when she approached me about pursuing other opportunities, I totally understood. I am sure we will work together again in the future."

Perhaps in the prison laundry.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told NBC News on Wednesday that Hicks’ departure had "nothing to do with yesterday,” referring to her testimony before the House panel investigating Russian interference. Sanders said that Hicks’ departure had been in the works for "several weeks" and "didn't happen overnight."

Several weeks....Hmmmm....about the time her boyfriend Rob Porter got busted for beating up his two exes?

Hicks was interviewed by Mueller's team back in December.  Since she was intimately involved in all of Trump's presidential affairs, and particular in forging a false statement by Junior on the Trump Tower meeting, I wonder what she spilled back then, what she's been doing since, and whether she'll get called back.  Or did she already make a deal?

Simply put: This is a White House in crisis. Hicks' departure adds to that sense that the sky is falling around and on Trump. There's no spin to put out that. You can't polish a turd. And when you try to, it tends to get all over the place.

  CNN

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 3/1:

Certainly possible:

President Trump reportedly berated former White House communications director Hope Hicks the day before her resignation, according to a new report.

CNN’s Erin Burnett reported Wednesday that Trump was angry with Hicks following her closed-door testimony to the House Intelligence Committee, in which she reportedly revealed she was sometimes required to tell “white lies” as part of her work in the White House.

Burnett reported one of Trump’s “close allies” told CNN that Trump asked Hicks after her testimony “how she could be so stupid.”

“Apparently, that was the final straw for Hope Hicks,” Burnett said.

  The Hill