Will anything change Trump’s poll ratings?

It doesn’t look like having felons work for him will do it.

Following an extraordinary, brutal week of headlines & headwinds, a new NBC/WSJ poll finds President Trump's approval rating…absolutely unchanged: https://t.co/NVtt3v2qgC

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) August 26, 2018

Lots of investigations if Democrats win the House

update 10/23/18

Democrats eye revival of Russia probe if they win House https://t.co/WS5aVaPc6H

— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) October 22, 2018

Adam Schiff tells @CNNSitRoom if Dems take majority, a "high priority" for House Intel Committee will be to determine whether Russians were laundering money through the Trump Organization. Also wants Don Jr phone records to see if he talked to his dad about 2016 mtg with Russians

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 23, 2018

Trump can expect tax, conflict probes if Democrats take House: Hoyer https://t.co/uz6bQS1ZHp pic.twitter.com/sM5QX7SGW0

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) September 4, 2018

The most amazing part of this @jonathanvswan scoop about investigations Republicans fear if Dems take over the House is that Republicans don’t consider any of these issues worthy of investigation https://t.co/pWJEFaQF8Z pic.twitter.com/TLSYmAaFKH

— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) August 27, 2018

Axios has obtained a spreadsheet cataloguing more than 100 formal requests from House Dems to investigate various Trump entanglements.

If they win back the House, it would essentially turn the Trump White House into a 24/7 legal defense operation. https://t.co/dI3rqz6JKQ

— Axios (@axios) August 26, 2018

Let me get this right: @HouseGOP went so far to make a list of objectionable conduct by @realDonaldTrump, are telling themselves this will be investigated
by @HouseDemocrats, and that’s why GOP must stay in charge? Umm, so if they know, why won’t they investigate this shit? https://t.co/KjicmLlsyi

— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) August 28, 2018

Trump goes back to “if” on Russian interference

Worth noting that 24 hours before the craziness of the day, Trump reverted to casting doubt on Russian interference. https://t.co/XNOtcO1077

— Philip Bump (@pbump) August 22, 2018

“In an interview with Reuters on Monday, the president dropped just such a shrug about Russia’s efforts in the middle of a loosely connected thought. The investigation into whether anyone associated with his campaign aided the Russian effort, he said, “played right into the Russians’ — if it was Russia — they played right into the Russians’ hands.”

Trump is back to “if” on Russian interference

This is pathetic. All US intelligence agencies and Congress know Russia interfered in the election. Why does Trump believe Russia?

Analysis: Trump returns to an "if" on Russian interference https://t.co/oamABxf6Rl

— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 21, 2018

Excellent point on Trump. Jr’s meeting the Russians

As a legal matter, you’re responsible if you intended to do something and took a substantial step towards making it happen. It doesn’t matter how it turned out. Plenty of drug dealers are in prison for trying to buy drugs from cops. https://t.co/jY73ta6Hfq

— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) August 19, 2018

Trump calls John Dean a rat

It’s not normal for presidents to describe someone who cooperates with law enforcement as a “rat.” https://t.co/o4ZYDZKbHN

— Chris Megerian (@ChrisMegerian) August 19, 2018

"I’m frankly delighted to be on his enemy’s list if I’ve made it that far." @JohnWDean reacts to being called a "rat" by President Trump. pic.twitter.com/LAyqkZXlbU

— Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) August 19, 2018

Trump could pardon Manafort

Who could stop him? Nobody.

Republicans will let him get away with it. I would not be surprised if Trump pardons Manafort. Trump sees everyone as friend or foe and Manafort is a friend since he didn’t flip.

Trump’s supporters might be gullible enough to believe a pardon for Manafort wouldn’t be corrupt AF, but they’re a minority. There’s no way most Americans are going to sit back and quietly tolerate this kind of blatant obstruction. https://t.co/XBdQQWSsTj

— Michelle (@Michell82968785) August 25, 2018

Why Paul Manafort would have reason to hope for a Trump pardon | By Bernadette Meyler for @CNNOpinion https://t.co/72LQmICPhQ pic.twitter.com/DU33vG4hwe

— CNN (@CNN) August 18, 2018

So I generally choose not to hang on every twist of the Mueller investigation, but if Trump pardons Manafort (after maybe having promised a pardon to get him not to cooperate) and gets away with it, then we’re in a banana republic. We just are.

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) August 17, 2018

Trump, asked if he’ll pardon his former campaign chairman: “i don’t talk about that. he happens to be a very good person. it’s sad what they’ve done to Paul Manafort”

— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) August 17, 2018

By calling Manafort’s trial unfair and Paul a good man, Trump is tampering with the unsequestered jury, obstructing justice vis-a-vis Manafort, and hinting to Manafort that he’s in for a pardon unless he now starts cooperating with Mueller, thereby obstructing the Russia probe.

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) August 18, 2018

Trump not saying if he would pardon Manafort when he's asked … but sounds like he may. "I think the whole Manafort trial is very sad .. I think that's a very sad day for our country … I think it's very sad what they've done to Paul Manafort."

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) August 17, 2018

.@glennkirschner2: "A pardon can equal obstruction of justice." https://t.co/iktqMDRzpn

— Hardball (@hardball) August 25, 2018

“Dangling a pardon—essentially saying, ‘A pardon will be available for you at some point down the line,’ is tantamount to obstruction of justice and witness tampering,” says @sethwaxman https://t.co/TeedHbqpuI

— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) August 24, 2018

A clear majority of voters say it would be inappropriate for President Donald Trump to pardon Paul Manafort or Michael Cohen, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll https://t.co/yGEJ6k0Gxj

— POLITICO (@politico) August 24, 2018

Is Trump Trying to Bribe Paul Manafort? https://t.co/FhThlvJCPm pic.twitter.com/UKYlMA9E4N

— The New Republic (@newrepublic) August 25, 2018

Nearly 6 in 10 think Trump is too friendly with Russia

We need to know Trump is so fond of Putin and takes his side against American interests.

Nearly 6 in 10 Americans say President Trump has been too friendly toward Russia, according to a new CNN poll https://t.co/EK6bbIWk2y pic.twitter.com/q6dZBpFjR4

— CNN (@CNN) August 18, 2018

McGahn has cooperated with the Mueller probe

White House counsel Donald F. McGahn II told investigators how President Trump tried to ensure control of the Mueller probe — a mix of information that is both potentially damaging and favorable to Trump. https://t.co/VxwZSNUGyH

— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 18, 2018

Trump’s response

This was true under Cobb. Emmet Flood is taking a very different tack, preventing additional witnesses, including John Kelly, from being interviewed. https://t.co/RokqrHoF7i

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) August 18, 2018

"It seems that relationship between lawyer and president is also, in this instance, infected with mistrust." https://t.co/zmZYgEKXH3

— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) August 18, 2018

THREAD: What does news that White House Counsel Don McGahn is “cooperating” with Mueller tell us about Mueller’s investigation?

— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) August 18, 2018

The indispensable Bob Bauer, former Obama WH Counsel, on what to make of the McGahn story. https://t.co/KyA5FAusKK

— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) August 18, 2018

A confirmation. https://t.co/IcJUEPos6m

— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) August 18, 2018

McGahn is doing right! https://t.co/qqzhZRAFlY

— John Dean (@JohnWDean) August 18, 2018

This belief of Don McGahn is absolutely correct. "As White House counsel, not a personal lawyer, he viewed his role as protector of the presidency, not of Mr. Trump."

Federal employees take an oath to the Constitution, not to any person or party. https://t.co/ANvz7BM2QT

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) August 18, 2018

Trump, who has long been obsessed with John Dean’s role with Nixon, was enraged by the idea that he wasn’t fully aware of what McGahn did in special counsel interviews https://t.co/yvbR3exgNA

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) August 19, 2018

Email sent this AM after NYT story and McGahn lawyer’s comment to reporters https://t.co/V0x6j33wJW

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) August 19, 2018

Trump says he’ll ignore defense bill parts he doesn’t like

Of course, he doesn’t want to do something his friend Putin wouldn’t like.

Trump is already objecting to 4 provisions in a defense bill he just signed that would tie his hands in recognizing Russian sovereignty over Crimea. https://t.co/QX5qoxtv4y

— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) August 15, 2018

When Trump signed the McCain-Shall-Not-Be-Named NDAA, he issued a signing statement claiming right to disregard restrictions on Russia, North Korea, civilian casualties… https://t.co/pRhvoPlUJz

— Charlie Savage (@charlie_savage) August 14, 2018

Trump says he’ll just ignore the parts of the new defense bill he doesn’t like: https://t.co/UXuuICwgwa pic.twitter.com/rpQFQgFyvo

— Slate (@Slate) August 15, 2018

The White House releases the signing statement for the NDAA. Lot to chew on here: pic.twitter.com/9fEmBZNAve

— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) August 14, 2018