Consolidating power

The collusion has been right out in the open.

We all saw it. From the moment Trump stood at a podium inviting Russia to hack the U.S. State Department.

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Trump's collusion with Russia was not a theory: "We have known that the Trump campaign pressed for a change to the Republican platform's plank on Ukraine since before the 2016 election. The lead story in my We Resist thread from March 3, 2017 — nearly two years ago — was about J.D. Gordon, the Trump campaign's national security policy representative for the Republican National Convention, openly admitting 'that he pushed to alter an amendment to the GOP's draft policy on Ukraine at the Republican National Convention last year to further align it with [Trump's] views,' which just happen to align with Vladimir Putin's."

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The collusion between Donald Trump's campaign (and, later, administration) and Russia has always been right out in the open — from his campaign forcing the Republican Party to change its plank on Ukraine, to Trump standing at a podium along the campaign trail publicly inviting Russia to hack Hillary Clinton's emails, to Trump's meetings with Russian diplomats in the Oval Office where he was photographed as he spilled intelligence secrets, to Trump publicly saying he would not meet with Vladimir Putin at the G20 only to meet with him privately anyway.

The incidents of collusion between Russia and Trump, his family, and/or his staff are many. And a huge number of them have never been concealed. They have been visible live, or known and quickly reported to the public.

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That Mueller has reportedly found no evidence of collusion is utterly absurd.

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And it's only slightly less ludicrous to find there isn't actionable evidence that Trump committed obstruction. But here we are.

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I'm not interested in "wait for SDNY!" pushback. My biggest worry, which I repeatedly expressed for nearly two years, was that the Mueller investigation was intentionally or effectively just buying time for Trump to consolidate power, so "wait until X!" is no consolation to me.

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Now if the Democrats pursue investigations, he will double down on "witch hunt."

And that wouldn't work except for the fact that the political press will overwhelmingly accommodate his narrative.

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Someone (WHO COULD IT BE?) wants to make Manafort the fall guy for Russian collusion. No doubt he was at the center and in the thick of it, but he was, ultimately, only the go-between for two much more powerful players. The buck shouldn't stop with him. It's pretty clear who benefits from making sure it does stop with him, though.

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Except Manafort didn't even go down for anything he did in his role as Trump's campaign chair, leaving his crimes totally disconnected from Trump — a twist even I didn't see coming.

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My biggest worry about the Mueller investigation was always that it would effectively, even if not intentionally, create loads of time and space for Trump and the Republican Party to consolidate power. And that is exactly what has happened. There was precious little reason for Senate Republicans to hold Trump accountable for anything before, and there is no reason at all for them to do it now — unless and until they decide he's become no more use to them, and replace him with Mike Pence instead.

Pence, who definitely knew, who was right in the thick of it during the presidential transition, and whose name has never been associated with the Mueller investigation for a moment.

That was always a significant clue about the seriousness and efficacy of this investigation.

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All I will say is this: In an environment of official neglect, demoralization, and division, survival itself is an act of resistance. Staying engaged is an act of resistance. Building community is an act of resistance.

If there is nothing else you are able to do to resist, just hang the fuck on, as hard as you can.

  Melissa McEwan