We've gotten to that point when one starts to truly wonder, How much longer can this go on? How much longer can a nation go on pretending we're a functional democracy when 57 percent of voters believe it's «likely» that Russia “has compromising information” on Trump. In essence, that's nearly six-in-ten voters looking at the pr*sident's behavior and concluding that surely he's acting like a Russian agent because there's just no other reasonable explanation for what we're witnessing. The Friday indictment of longtime Trump adviser and serial liar Roger Stone did nothing to dissuade this narrative. But the eye-popping number of Americans who say Trump could be compromised is likely the reason impeachment talk blossomed then ballooned so suddenly in the hours following a Buzzfeed bombshell last week alleging Trump had ordered a subordinate to lie to Congress about a Russian real estate project. Congressional Democrats, once allergic to the I-word, suddenly vowed to hold hearings on the matter and get to the bottom of things. Then confusion and disillusionment set in when the special counsel, who comments on practically nothing, issued what seemed like a lawyerly half-hearted denial of the reporting almost a full day after it first surfaced. The statement claimed Buzzfeed's «description» and «characterization» of documents and testimony the special counsel had obtained were «not accurate.» But a wholesale denial seemingly would have read much more straightforward: «Buzzfeed's reporting is inaccurate based on information in possession of the special counsel.» Unlike the special counsel's statement, Buzzfeed's article seemed to bring a brief moment of clarity to a subject that has been rattling around in voters' minds for months, if not years. Watching Trump's performance in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki last July was like watching a demoralized dog finally give up any inkling of independence and surrender to its master.  Pre-Helsinki, Trump's record on Russia-related issues was already deeply suspicious. He made multiple attempts, both overt and covert, to hamstring the investigation into his Russian ties; railed against the people involved in the probe, in some cases vindictively dismantling their careers; invited Russian operatives into the Oval Office at Putin's behest, bragged that firing his own «nut job» FBI director had really relieved the «pressure» surrounding the Russia probe, and then revealed classified intelligence to them. Read more