The impeachment proceedings have Trump hyperventilating, furious, and panicking. He has been calling Mitch McConnell “three times a day,” fearing any sign that Republican Senators might be turning on him, including the fact that so few Republican Senators seem to be on TV shamelessly defending him. Trump’s tweets and re-tweets have doubled in pace since the impeachment inquiry began, becoming increasingly untethered to reality. He’s a man lashing out, hitting mostly thin air.

He has real reason to worry. New evidence against him seems to emerge every twenty-four hours. Those same Republican Senators end-up looking like entitled adolescents raging angrily at reasonable questions, defending the indefensible, if they go on TV at all. The first poll emerged yesterday, on Fox News of all places, showing that 51% favored “Removal” from office, not just impeachment. Panic would seem to be in order.

Trump has conceded impeachment in the interest of keeping the most damaging information from reaching the public. Trump and his team decided that they prefer to be impeached and tried in the Senate (where they presume he will be acquitted), than turn over the evidence, opening the floodgates of “truth.”

“What legal strategy?” said a Republican close to the White House. “It’s a delay strategy to force the Democrats to impeach on procedural grounds of obstructing the investigation. There won’t be a court battle because the Democrats have no need to go to court, they will impeach for failing to provide documents.”

They know that obstructing the process is an impeachable offense in and of itself, and they are fine with it. So long as they don’t lose control of the “Information,” the truth.

That is the real terror that keeps Trump awake at midnight, calling Mitch McConnell, he fears that the truth might come out. The “truth” must be utterly devastating, devastating at a level we perhaps haven’t sufficiently absorbed. If I am a Democratic operative in DC, reading this defense strategy fills me with a new level of terror. If the truth is that damaging, Trump might not ever leave the White House voluntarily. There are only a couple of “truths” that could be that damaging and only one jumps immediately to mind. Russian control, the sum of all fears.

But, yesterday ushered in some real hope, as I mentioned.

BREAKING: A new Fox News poll shows that 55% of Americans think Trump should be impeached — and 51% believe he should be removed from office. Only 40% are opposed.#ImpeachmentTaskForce pic.twitter.com/WHBWMCFORY — Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) October 9, 2019

Fifty-one percent of the country believes Trump should be impeached and removed. That poll went up on Fox News itself yesterday, viewed by each of those Republican senators who hold Trump’s fate in their hands.

More hope, I just heard on TV that General Jim Mattis might be heard from by the end of the week, the former defense secretary is angry about abandoning the Kurds, and perhaps he has some “thoughts” on Trump that will shake loose some evidence.

Last, yesterday we had a new impeachment accusation emerge, one every bit as strong as the Ukraine matter. Rex Tillerson stated that Trump approached him about intervening within a Justice Department prosecution of a Turkish gold-trader, who moved money for Iran while under sanction:

Trump asked a senior cabinet official to interfere with a criminal investigation at the behest of Rudy and the leader of a foreign country where Trump himself said he has "a little conflict of interest," Trump Towers Istanbul, which is where the accused criminal had an office! https://t.co/Gnj4Pz4lWo — Josh Dorner (@JoshDorner) October 9, 2019

Utterly devastating. Another log to the impeachment fire. Direct intervention into a federal investigation and prosecution? Over money?

I need more and more information, more evidence, for the articles of impeachment, for myself and for my nation. I need more of “this.” I need enough that even some Republicans start to agree with me. Because the only thing I fear more than the truth is not knowing the truth.

I fear that Trump is a true Russian asset. I fear that Putin has controlled Trump from the beginning. I fear that Russia has propped up Trump financially for a decade, that his German loans are co-signed by Russia, and that the truth is so godawful that Trump would rather stonewall the investigation entirely, and rush impeachment – happily offering himself up for impeachment on partial truth – over allowing “the truth” to come out, where Trump would have to face it.

If the truth is that fear inducing, Trump is only coming out of that White House by agreement, or by force of a gun, both scenarios premised upon everyone knowing the “truth,” and both require some kind of Republican agreement that Trump must go. I would rather face that question now, enlisting the SCOTUS, than face it after an election won by the Democrat by 3% points, yet “contested” by Trump who “appoints an emergency committee to investigate the election, led by William Barr and Justice Sam Alito.”

Trump seems far too “satisfied” with being impeached, and far too unsettled with having the evidence come out. The calculations underlying such a strategy lead to horrific possibilities, and we best deal with them sooner rather than later. With each passing day, new impeachment-worthy evidence leaks forth, a poll for removal gains a point, or two, Trump panics more, and continues to dig in.

I am starting to worry about the “removal” process, and I think it best we all give it some more thought. I hope that enough evidence comes forth that a deal is made. We might have to swallow some of our “purity” pride – the demands for an orange jumpsuit for the entire family – in order to get him out the door. Get him to agree to stand down. Right now, he’s barricading the walls in panic, planting bombs, and willing to take it all down with him.

I don’t know that he’ll ever come out involuntarily. So, we best start planning, and I am not hearing enough “concern” over Trump’s plan, and its obvious implications. The truth is worse than we suspected.

UPDATE: Want to see “truth is worse than we suspected” panic attack in full glory? Trump, on the Fox poll showing 51% wanting him removed:

From the day I announced I was running for President, I have NEVER had a good @FoxNews Poll. Whoever their Pollster is, they suck. But @FoxNews is also much different than it used to be in the good old days. With people like Andrew Napolitano, who wanted to be a Supreme…. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2019

…Court Justice & I turned him down (he’s been terrible ever since), Shep Smith, @donnabrazile (who gave Crooked Hillary the debate questions & got fired from @CNN), & others, @FoxNews doesn’t deliver for US anymore. It is so different than it used to be. Oh well, I’m President! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2019

Never had a fair Fox News poll?

****

Peace, y’all

Jason

jmiciak@yahoo.com and on Twitter: @MiciakZoom