My liberal friends have worked themselves into a fever anticipating the impeachment of President Trump.

They think they've got a second Watergate going.

Have your fun while you can. But the next trial likely to affect the political lineup won't be happening before the U.S. Senate in Washington.

It will be happening before the U.S. District Court in Newark.

In the dock will be U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, faced with 22 counts of ethics charges alleging he took illegal gifts from a Florida Miami eye doctor who was recently convicted on 67 counts of Medicare fraud.

If convicted, the 63-year-old senator would almost certainly be booted from the chamber. In that case, the Republicans might be able to add a seat to their slim, 52-vote majority.

Or maybe not. It's a matter of timing - some of the most intriguing timing I've seen in politics.

My Democratic friends like to speculate about how South Jersey political boss George Norcross would like to see the seat go to his brother Donald, now a mere congressman from the First District.

For that to happen, however, Menendez would have to make a deal at least 70 days before the Nov. 7 election. Then the race would go the November ballot, where Norcross or some other Democrat would be the favorite.

But if Menendez were leave office after Aug. 30, Gov. Christie would get to fill the seat with a senator who would not face election till November 2018.

Here's where the real fun begins: The trial is scheduled to start Sept. 6, a week after that Aug. 30 deadline.

Let's imagine Menendez is offered a deal involving resignation just before the trial begins, thus clearing the way for Trump's friend Chris Christie to name a 53rd Republican senator.

That would look an awful lot like political interference in a legal matter. But that's something the Donald doesn't seem to mind.

Or imagine Menendez decides to go to trial - as he insists he will.

As it happens, Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen is a co-defendant in that trial.

Given the draconian sentence he faces on the fraud charges, the doctor might be wise to turn state's evidence against the senator. That would make things even tougher for the defense.

They're tough enough already, says Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano.

"I think this is very, very glum for him," said Napolitano, who was a Superior Court judge in Bergen County before beginning his media career. "He should be negotiating for as short a jail sentence as he can."

Napolitano pointed to an Appeals Court decision last year on Menendez's motion to have the charges stricken on the grounds that the various actions he took on behalf of Melgen were protected under the Constitution's "speech or debate" clause, which immunizes senators for statements made as part of their duties.

The three-judge panel rejected that argument, stating that while the senator's words might be protected, he was still required to report such gifts as plane flights and hotel rooms on his annual ethics disclosure forms.

"Senator Menendez did not disclose any reportable gifts from Dr. Melgen in his filings during the relevant years," the panel stated in its decision ordering the case to go to trial.

The 30-page decision details the extensive efforts Menendez made to intervene with federal officials in matters unrelated to his role as a New Jersey senator.

In one instance, Menendez intervened with Department of Health and Human Services officials in a dispute in which Melgen was charged with overbilling Medicare by $8.9 million.

In another, he intervened with State Department officials to help a company owned by Melgen win a contract for cargo screening at ports in the Dominican Republic.

Perhaps the senator's lawyers can convince a New Jersey jury that a senator from Hudson County has a legitimate role in helping a doctor from Florida get a contract with the Dominican Republic.

But that will be an uphill battle, said Napolitano.

"Maybe he believes he can take the stand and he can persuade a jury," Napolitano said. "And maybe he can."

But the odds would seem to be stacked against the senator.

Here we come to what may be the most important date of them all: "noon of the third Tuesday in January." That's when the governor elected in November takes office.

At the moment the polls show that governor will be Democrat Phil Murphy.

But even if he's convicted, Menendez could try to stay in the Senate till the afternoon of Jan. 16. Then the new governor would be able to name his successor.

So that's a drama worth watching.

As for the current snoozefest in D.C., wake me when it's over.

ADD - THE RUSSIAN 'THREAT' THAT WASN'T: Over at the Sic Semper Tyrannis blog, you can read this debunking of the alleged threat from those horrible Russians.

Among the horrors of which they're accused by our "intelligence community" is this:

"Russia's state-run propaganda machine contributed to the influence campaign by serving as a platform for Kremlin messaging to Russian and international audiences."

Boys and girls, that's known as "public relations." As for interference in our elections, read the author's comments on how the CIA has been doing far more intrusive things for years in other countries.