The Gray Lady has spoken. It suggests with no caveats that trump deserves to be investigated for Obstruction of justice. There are some out there who argue that there isn't enough to go on and that there are extenuating circumstances. But, concede for the sake of argument that the Lady, a.k.a. the NY Times, is correct.
Cause has been shown that Donald Trump tried to obstruct justice when he asked Mr.
Comey to go easy on his friend, General Flynn -- the same General Flynn that he fired under duress. Mr. Trump likes the General.
We get that
The problem is not that there's no case or that the suspicion is unjust or partisan. What we don't have is any way in all reality to get anyone to do what is necessary to knock on Mr. Trump's door and tell him that he needs to come and answer a few questions under oath. Trump has all the doors double-locked. There is literally only one diminishing ray of hope that a Special Prosecutor can be put in place.
Mr. Rosenstein, are you there?
Mr. Rosenstein has been on the side of justice longer than anyone, and that both parties love.
He produced for Mr. Trump a nice indictment of Mr. Comey for his ineptitude in apparently getting Trump elected. There is a debate about whether he actually fixed the election but not about the ineptitude. Partisans softened up on Mr. Comey when he gave signs of going after Mr. Trump. They were glad to see him yell at the Justice Department for their refusal to support his effort.
The Sessions matter
You know, of course, that Mr. Sessions, the attorney general, has recused himself from all matters relating to Russia because he lied about it and was most likely an interested party. That left Mr. Rosenstein the one person on the planet who could snap his fingers and a Special Prosecutor would become a fait accompli.
Wonderful. Marvellous. But apparently not to be. Mr. Rosenstein has not been willing to become the hero of the forces ranged against Mr. Trump. He is around, but to date, he has not pulled the plug.
We need a process
Yes, the House would need no Special Prosecutor to declare Mr. Trump unfit. The Vice President might be able to get that in motion. But no one believes for a minute that there will be a break in the Republican wall of ostrich behavior. You can't say much when your head is buried deep in the sand. So Trump's defenses are as good as they can be. The only progress to report this Wednesday afternoon is that we have the crime, the suspect, and we know the punishment. We just can't find anyone with the wherewithal to set the process in motion.