Ever hear a bell tolling?

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler cranked up the Shop-Vac and walked into the president*'s life in a very big way on Monday. From the AP, via the Washington Post:

Nadler’s announcement comes after the House intelligence panel has already announced a separate probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and Trump’s foreign financial interests. The House Oversight and Reform Committee has launched multiple investigations. Several other committees are probing related matters as well, and while many might overlap, the committee chairmen and chairwomen say they are working together on the investigations.

The list of 81 names touches on all parts of Trump’s life — his businesses, his campaign, the committee that oversaw the transition from campaign to the White House and the White House. There are also people connected to Russian interference in the 2016 campaign, including participants in a meeting at Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer before the election.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), speaks during a news conference to introduce H.R. 4, Voting Rights Advancement Act, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019 Cheriss May Getty Images

If you're interested, CNN has the full list of names, with links so you can keep up with the players. To me, the most interesting part of the list, other than the fact that Ivanka Trump isn't on it, is the inclusion of the estate of Peter Smith. He was the veteran Republican operative who went trolling for Hillary Rodham Clinton's famous "missing" emails among private hackers, and using his relationship with disgraced former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to do it. In May of 2017, Smith killed himself in a hotel room near the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Not long after that, the Wall Street Journal ran a report on what Smith had been doing with Flynn. Smith's estate already has handed over material to two congressional committees and to Robert Mueller's shop.

It's hard to believe now that the full extent of this corrupt presidency is coming to light that it all began with Russian hackers and the phony issue of HRC's emails. It is rolling toward a confrontation with Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution now. The only argument is how far off that confrontation is, and what will happen when it arises.

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Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

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