After yesterday’s much anticipated news about the first indictments in FBI Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia investigation, Donald Trump, no doubt, breathed a sign of relief. Nowhere in the criminal charges against his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and his assistant, Rick Gates, did Trump’s name appear. In fact, the charges had nothing to do with collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia but everything to do with financial crimes.

“Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign. But why aren’t Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????,” tweeted Trump, adding, “….Also, there is NO COLLUSION!”

Unfortunately for Trump, only hours after the Manafort-Gates bombshell, we also learned of criminal charges brought against a third Trump campaign member, George Papadopoulos. Having been a well-kept secret for over three weeks, Papadopoulos pleaded guilty on October 5 of lying to the FBI about his contacts with people who claimed to have direct connections with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials.

Papadopoulos, a former foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign, is cooperating with prosecutors in Mueller’s office as they continue to investigate allegations of collusion between Trump aides and Russian officials looking to influence the U.S. election.

No evidence of collusion between your campaign and Russian officials. Mr. Trump?

According to court documents, Papadopoulos repeatedly tried to arrange a meeting between then-candidate Trump and senior Russian officials in London or in Moscow. The meeting did not take place, but court documents detail an extensive effort by Russian officials to gain access to Trump’s operation.

What is even more troublesome for Trump, the court documents show higher ups in the Trump campaign not only were aware of Papadopoulos’ efforts, but also encouraged them.

So a guy from out of the blue is the first Trump campaign member to plead guilty in the FBI’s Trump-Russia probe … and he is a cooperating witness! If that doesn’t scare the bejesus out of other Trump campaign operatives, I don’t know what.

No matter how much Trump and his surrogates try to downplay the latest news, yesterday could very well mark the beginning of the end of our national nightmare.

After hearing the news of Papadopoulos’ guilty plea and his cooperation with the FBI, I somehow couldn’t get Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” out of my mind.

“And now the end is near, and so I face the final curtain …”

Photo | forums.sailinganarchy.com