The oddest thing about this Friday morning is the story of the Secret Service being consigned to a trailer outside of Trump Tower after a dispute with the Trump Organization. If we want distraction it is always there in abundance. I embed multiple accesses to this story merely because it seems so predictable.

The real story may be that Kelly is not a sentinel of democracy

The best argument Trump has for his terrible positions is that the world is very dangerous and requires strict measures that have little traction in a liberal democracy. This is why ICE can make things traumatizing for illegal immigrants.

This is why Trump can issue an edict about who to let into the country that is completely wrong on a simple understanding of truth.

The case in point is Trump's limiting entry to highly qualified foreign persons to stimulate the economy. The truth is that lower wage workers are actually just as important to achieving prosperity.

Kelly is not charged with modifying Trump's daily distortions of truth. They are the fabrications of strong men and Kelly has shown no disposition to challenge Trump on his strong man policies

Those who believe Trump should be gone should take no comfort in Kelly's arrival.

If my reading of the above NYT account is correct, little that Trump does or decrees will elicit Kelly's disapproval. He is there because he believes Trump is on the right track. His job is to protect, not to eject.

Which brings together a leak and a process

The leak is the intelligence that Kelly was exercised when Trump fired Comey.

That leak crops up again in the above story. I can only guess that this alleged Kelly threat to resign because of the Comey firing is like Mooch's past disses of Trump, readily forgotten. I think Kelly will last longer than Mooch did.

The Grand Jury means game on

If we put this all together and see that Trump remains central to things, you know that the president is screaming inside, not merely at what he knows may be in store, but about every possible stone that might be lobbed in his direction.

He is in counterpunch mode. He is in "Out, out, damned Russia" mode.

Does Kelly whisper that Russia is hermetically sealed from the rest of the Trump White House? Mueller will have none of it.

A compliant chief of staff?

The White House staff reads and understands. Now Mueller can compel Kushner and others to testify under oath, No more free passes. Mueller, the Enron killer, has a crack staff of prosecutor colleagues who know how to turn witnesses so their accusations reach ever higher. It is entirely possible that the general who was mad when Trump bounced Comey will be compliant in supporting efforts to do the same to Mueller.
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