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UPDATE with video: Last week in Donald Trump was so nuts that John Oliver was forced to devote virtually all of Last Week Tonight to talking about it.

The last seven days have been absolutely insane so much so that, by Friday night, it may have broken Anderson Cooper, Oliver acknowledged.

Hes of course referring to Coopers Friday show, during which Cooper interrupted Trump surrogate Jeffrey Lord as he defended yet another indefensible Trump statement, saying, If [Trump] took a dump on his desk you would defend him.

And, more importantly, Jeffrey Lord did not immediately answer, No, Oliver laughed.

Walking through the week, Oliver reminded viewers that:

On Monday it was reported Trump revealed highly classified intelligence to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador, when they visited the White House the day after Trump sacked FBI Director James Comey. Trump may have revealed to them code-word information, a designation for intel even more secret than Top Secret. This is information you should not even share with your closest friends which, of course, in Trumps case is the caddie he calls Stave even though his name is Doug, a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, and the ghost of Roger Ailes,Oliver explained.

That Russian news got buried the very next day with the revelation that, after an Oval Office meeting in February, Comey wrote a memo saying Trump had just asked him to shut down his investigation into National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. Trump had been warned about Flynns Russia rannygazoo by former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, President Obama, and even Flynn himself, who told Trump he was under investigation before being named NSA.

Then, on Wednesday just four days ago, which is the equivalent of 150 years in 2017 time, Oliver said Donald Trump gave the commencement address at Coast Guard Academy, at which he whined about how mean people were being to him. The speechs best gag: No politician in history has been treated worse, or more unfairly.

As had the Twitter-verse immediately after the speech, Oliver on Sunday night noted President Abraham Lincoln had been murdered by an actor, President William McKinley was shot by an anarchist, and JFK was, of course, murdered by Ted Cruzs father.

Meanwhile, President James Garfield, Oliver informed his viewers, was shot. Then, to find the bullet, Alexander Graham Bell devised a kind of metal detector, which did not work, so doctors tried to fish around in his gut for the bullet with unwashed fingers, which made his infection worse, so he died in horrible pain.

But yeah, Alec Baldwin sometimes does a mean impression of you on TV. So yeah, its basically the same, Oliver snickered at Trump.

Same day Trump delivered that speech, the DOJ appointed a special counsel, former FBI head Robert Mueller, to conduct an independent investigation into the Trump campaigns connections to Russia. That massive development was closely followed by Thursdays news about Comeys mortification at having been singled out by Trump at that televised post-inauguration meeting in the White House and trying to hide in the drapes.

On Friday, as Trump left the country for a nine-day trip, the NYT revealed a White House document said Trump had told the Russian foreign minister and ambassador, during that Oval Office visit, that Comey was a nut job. He also told them, the report said I just fired the head of the FBII faced great pressure because of Russia. Thats taken off.

Its almost difficult to believe your ears when you hear something that sounds so audaciously corrupt, Oliver marveled. But that was not the last of the weeks startling revelations. Turns out, according to press reports, the investigation has identified some current White House official as a significant person of interest.

While some have suggested that could be Jared Kushner, Oliver insisted otherwise, because, while hes technically significant, and legally a person, he in no way qualifies as of interest. He called Kushner the least interesting human on earthHe is the person equivalent of an empty room painted eggshell. Hes like a white bread sandwich where the middle is just a third slice of white bread.

All of these developments are a really big deal, Oliver said, despite the best efforts of Fox News Channel to convince us otherwise, using words like unhinged, insane, lunacy, hysteria, and madness. Jesse Watters even called it a boring scandal though, two days later, even he admitted he was starting to get a little concerned.

Meanwhile, in Washington, some Republican politicians are starting to use the word impeachment in sentences, including two who argued as to which of them should get credit for doing so first. And, White House lawyers are researching what a possible Trump impeachment might look like, Oliver said, adding, I imagine at least part of it would involve thousands of Muslims celebrating in New Jersey.

But, the late-night host warned, removing Trump from office would give us President Mike Pence, who is a hard-line conservative. If Trumps scandals somehow took down Pence as well, we would have President Paul Ryan: Three words I always knew I would have to say, Oliver admitted, but did not expect to have to say so soon, like Remember polar bears and Female Entourage reboot.

More realistically, because Republicans control both houses, Trump probably will continue to be president, which should not surprise anyone, Oliver insisted, Trump having survived declining to disavow David Duke, bullying a Gold Star family, and the Access Hollywood tape. The end of the line, for Trump, seems to have been drawn by M.C. Escher, Oliver acknowledged.

Even Trump seems unhappy hes in office, Oliver observed, recalling that 100-day interview in which POTUS said he loved and missed, his previous life, and how surprised he was that being POTUS is so much harder than developing real estate and hosting Celebrity Apprentice.

Say what you will about Nixon, he at least wanted to be there, Oliver said.

Read more from the original source:
John Oliver: Donald Trump's Last Seven Days Absolutely Insane - Deadline

Learn the laws, steps and votes needed in the Presidential impeachment process. An earlier version of this video incorrectly identified one of the presidents who was impeached. USA TODAY

President Trump shakes hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the White House, May 10, 2017.(Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry Photo via AP)

Donald Trump is doing an excellent impression of a president who desperately wishes to be impeached. Congress should grant that wish, or figure out an evenquicker way to bring this tragicomedyto its inevitable end. If there arent enough smoking guns quite yet, just wait a day or two. They're coming at usfaster thanrounds from a Kalashnikov on full auto.

Could Trump'ssignals be any more clear?He's not even having fun. "No politician in history,and I say this with great surety,has been treated worse or more unfairly," Trump said at the Coast Guard Academy commencement. That was just a few hoursbefore Deputy Attorney General RodRosenstein named former FBI directorRobert Mueller as a special counselto oversee the FBI's Russia investigation, and a day before Trump tweeted that"this is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!"

Suffice it to say the job is only going to get less fun.

Given all we know about Trump himself the disturbingreal time glimpses into his mind viaTwitter;his Tourette-like tendency to blurt out exactly what most presidents would know they shouldnt;his relentless ignorance of policy, government and our nation's founding principles we shouldnt be shocked by recent developments.

No one but a person hunting for an escape hatchwould admitin a national TVinterview that he was thinking about the made-up Russia storywhen he fired FBI Director James Comey; would ask Comey tostop investigatingformer national security adviser Mike Flynn's contacts withRussia, possibly violating his oath of office; andwould askComey to pledge loyalty to him, even thoughFBI directors have 10-year terms precisely so they canoperate independently of presidents.

Only a president eyeing the door would summon the ghost ofRichard Nixonbyfiring Comey and then tweeting: James Comey better hope that there areno tapes of our conversationsbefore he starts leaking to the press! Only someone intent on getting ousted would fireComey over Russia and thenthe very next daymeet withtop Russian officialsinthe Oval Office under a painting of George Washington, let theirphotographer in while barring the U.S. press, share with them highlyclassified information about ISIS, describeComey to them as a "nut job," and confide that firing him took the pressure off.(Each part of thatsentence begs belief.)

Special counsel Robert Mueller is bad news for Donald Trump and Russia

Roger Ailes is dead but the conservative bubble lives on

The latest tough stuff, from Trump's perspective, is the foreign tourhe's on."Mr. Trump, a confirmed homebody, has expressed dread about the trip," The New York Times reported before he left Friday.

And who can blame him?The itinerary started with SaudiArabia, a hotbed of, you know, the kind of people he's trying to keep out of the USA, followed by Israel,reportedly the source of the top-secret Islamic State of Iraq and Syrianintelligence that Trump spilled to the Russians. Trump will be in Rome to see Pope Francis, who has indicatedthat Trump is not one of his favorites. The president hasnever had much nice to say about NATO, its member nations or their leaders, but he'll be in Brussels to meet with them,too.

Not fun! No wonder Trump decamps nearly every weekend to his own golf clubs and resorts and luxury digs. Why does he hate Washington? Has he ever even laid eyes onCamp David?

The presidentneeds an exit strategythat makes him look like a winner. He doesnt deserve one;in fact, he may well turn out to deserve impeachment. But that would make him a loser and he'dfight it to the end, and the end would be a long time coming.

What would entice him to leave soon? Trump is not going to turn into a world-classphilanthropist(a course I once envisioned for Mitt Romney). And Trumpwon't become head of a university (been there, done that, and it wasnt pretty).Nor can I see him growing a beard (Al Gore), promoting Viagra (Bob Dole) or taking up painting (George W. Bush). And Id be shocked if Trumpdecided to devote his post-presidency to, say, fighting gerrymandering or poverty (Barack Obama).

POLICING THE USA:Alook atrace, justice, media

Trump is a Republican wrecking ball

Only one suitable option comes to mind: Somebody sellthis man a TV network. He seemed to be musing aboutTrump TVbefore a comet struck Earth and he won the presidency. Its been done think Gore and Current TV. Trump TV would, of course, be much more yuge and would never, not ever, dare to morph into Al-Jazeera America or anything with a name like that.

Trump could brag about its large size and amazingly great American greatness. He could hire as many beautiful women as he wanted,present whatever content he wanted, star inas many shows as he wanted,and do it all right from Mar-a-Lago or Trump Tower. Hed never have to leave home.

Tom Nichols, a Russian expert and professor at theNaval War College, says it's dangerousthat a raw feed of Trumps thoughts, emotions and reactions to stress is available to foreign intelligence analysts worldwide on Twitter. For better or worse, all of that isalso available to we, the people. And to me themessage, amplified by countless interviews, newsconferences and leaks from panicked associates, is clear: "Get me out of here."

Jill Lawrence is the commentary editor of USA TODAY and author ofThe Art of the Political Deal: How Congress Beat the Odds and Broke Through Gridlock. Follow her on Twitter:@JillDLawrence

You can read diverse opinions from ourBoard of Contributorsand other writers on theOpinion front page, on Twitter@USATOpinionand in our dailyOpinion newsletter. To submit a letter, comment or column, check oursubmission guidelines.

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Donald Trump to America: Please impeach me - USA TODAY

And it had nothing to do with the Russia investigation.

Donald Trump at a joint news conference with Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos at the White House, May 18, 2017. (Reuters / Kevin Lamarque)

President Donald Trump committed an impeachable offense this week, but you likely havent heard about it on cable news.

It didnt involve firing the director of the FBI, or conspiring with the attorney general to facilitate the firing that even some Republicans saw as a potential obstruction of justice, or bragging to the Russians about how pressure was taken off by that firing, or any of the other evidences of presidential maladministration that scream out for an accountability moment.

Those developments may have gotten the impeachment clock ticking, but there was anothereventnothing to do with Russiathat should have set off the alarm: Donald Trumps refusal to respect the requirements that the U.S. Constitution places on presidents when it comes to matters of war and peace.

Trump is disregarding the Constitution's most serious requirements regarding war and peace.

On Wednesday, US forces carried out more unauthorizedairstrikes on pro-government forces in Syria. Though the Constitution explicitlystates that the legislative branch, not the executive, has the power to initiate new military actions, Trump has steered the United States deeper into the Syrian conflict.

After initial reports that US official had confirmed that the US-led Coalition hit Assad regime forces with air strikes in southern Syria today,Congressman Ted Lieu, a former active duty officer in the US Air Force who currently serves as a Colonel in the Reserves, an expert in military law had the perfect responseon twitter:

The congressman later issued astatement:

For the second time in as many months, the US military has conducted airstrikes against pro-Assad forces in Syria. The Trump Administration does not have congressional authorization to carry out military strikes against the Assad regime. Furthermore, the situation that led to todays strike is precisely why I warned against getting further entangled in the Syrian civil war without a clear strategy. President Trump needs to explain his plan for Syria to Congress and the American people.

Lieu isntalone. After Trump ordered military strikes on Syria in April, Congressional Progressive Caucusmember Ral Grijalva, Keith Ellison,and Mark Pocan released this statement:

In the absence of an imminent threat to the United States, the president must seek Congressional authorization prior to any act of war. Trump failed to seek, much less gain, Congressional authorization. If President Trump believes that US military actions should be utilized against the Assad regime, he should immediately call the House and Senate back into session to debate and vote on the use of military force.These unauthorized attacks could pull the United States into a regional war and escalate this unprecedented humanitarian crisis.

Even Republican Congressman Justin Amashsaid in April that: Airstrikes are an act of war. Atrocities in Syria cannot justify departure from Constitution, which vests in Congress power to commence war. Republican Senator Rand Paul called on Trump tocome to Congress for a proper debate.

THE STAKES ARE HIGHER NOW THAN EVER. GET THE NATION IN YOUR INBOX.

Trump did not answer the call.

Rather, the commander-in-chief is presiding over the unauthorized expansion of U.S. military involvement in Syriaanddisregarding the Constitutions most serious dictates regarding war and peace.

The commentariat can and will debate when a presidents refusal to seek congressional authorization for military action becomes impeachable. (There will even be attempts by the apologists for presidential overreach to make convoluted claims about how past authorizations of the use of military force somehow apply to every new conflict.) But, in Trumps case, there is no evidence to suggest that he will respect the requirements of the Constitution. As such, an article of impeachment is justified.

Of course, impeachment is a political process rather than a legal one. It requires a level of respect for the Constitution that is rarely displayed by leaders of the House or the Senateespecially ones likePaul Ryanand Mitch McConnell. But political processes evolve when popular pressure risesand it is worth noting that public support for impeachment is higher among voters than on Capitol Hill. Indeed, the new Public Policy Polling survey finds 48 percent of Americans want Trump impeached while just 41 percent oppose impeachment. Theres no reason to think he wont keep providing justifications.

Read more:
Donald Trump Committed Another Impeachable Offense This Week - The Nation.

Melania Trumps spent her first few months as first lady in New York, only rarely appearing in Washington or speaking at events. Yet friends and aides say shes keeping a close watch from her gilded apartment in Trump Tower on how her husband is portrayed in the pressand that shes growing increasingly worried about the anonymous sniping from West Wing staff.

Like President Donald Trump, these people said, Melania Trump is an avid consumer of cable news, and often tracks the news of the day and will alert her husband to stories she thinks make him look bad.

Story Continued Below

She has raised concerns that some on his communications and press team arent doing enough to defend him, according aides and sources close to the president. Shes been especially troubled by background quotes in which West Wing aides criticize the president, and shes called the president to discuss it.

Her quiet role as private watchdog is at odds with her public persona. Melania Trump has been seen as generally aloof and removed from her husband's political operation since he announced his campaign in 2015, but as his administration has been consumed by infighting and outside investigations, she's grown increasingly vocal about the perceived shortcomings of staff surrounding the president.

Melania loves the president unconditionally, definitely, she really cares about the president, she feels a kind of protection, said her long-time friend and former modeling agent Paolo Zampolli, who introduced the couple in 1998. The main concern to the president and the first lady is that these leaks are unacceptable.

Aides and friends of the president describe Melania Trump as one of the several people he calls at night to hear how the dysfunction in his White House is playing out beyond the Beltway, including billionaire businessmen Carl Icahn, Rupert Murdoch and Chris Ruddy.

For the next week, shell travel with her husband, accompanying him on his first trip overseas, putting her in a position to exert even greater influence over his thinking day to day.

Shes very private and shes very smart. Anyone who thinks shes a mannequin doesnt get it, said longtime Trump associate Roger Stone. She has excellent instincts into who is trying to exploit their influence with him.

In recent weeks, her concerns have centered on White House press secretary Sean Spicer, whose role as an on-camera briefer is expected to change after Trump returns from his overseas trip.

She was really concerned that Spicer was not doing a good job, that they were not proactive in defending the president, said one outside adviser who speaks to the president regularly. The leaks bother her. She believes a lot of people are more interested in serving themselves than him.

Like Donald Trump, perception is key to Melania Trump. She visibly nudged the president to put his hand on his heart during the national anthem at the White House Easter Egg roll in April.

Behind the scenes, she personally reviewed small details at the event, including the Easter bunny costumes worn by staff. One bunny was forced to shed the outfit attached to the costume after Melania Trump said she didnt like it, one aide recalled.

Mrs. Trump is being diligent and thoughtful with a focus on quality and tradition when it comes to her important role of first lady both behind the scenes and in public, said Stephanie Grisham, Melania Trumps communications director. She is staying true to herself and she believes the American people deserve nothing less.

On the campaign trail, Melania Trump made her preferences known and would tell aides when she thought stories or issues could be handled better. She weighed in on controversy when former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was accused of roughly handling a reporter. Former campaign aides say Trump took her opinion into account.

She would consult with us, she would send me things. She was concerned when there was this ridiculous reaction to some of Trumps statements, said former campaign adviser Sam Nunberg. [Trump] would say to us Melania said this, well Melania told me that.

Her decision to stay in New York, where 11-year-old Barron Trump is finishing the school year, has prompted widespread intriguebut her allies are quick to point out that even Michelle Obama briefly considered delaying her move to Washington while their daughters finished school in Chicago after President Barack Obama was elected.

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Melania Trump is expected to move to Washington over the summer with Barron, who will enroll at St. Andrews Episcopal School in suburban Potomac, Maryland.

Shell travel with the president throughout his tour through Saudi Arabia, Israel, Italy, and Belgium, hosting events on her own during the first few stops and attending programs for spouses while hes at the NATO and G7 summits at the end of the trip.

Ahead of the foreign trip, the first lady put out a statement: This will not just be an opportunity to support my husband as he works on important matters of national security and foreign relations, it will also be my honor to visit and speak with women and children from different countries, with different perspectives.

Anita McBride, who served as chief of staff to Laura Bush and has been consulting for Melania Trump, pointed to her decision to visit hospitals and schools, following traditional advocacy for first ladies. She wants to be taken seriously, and I think she wants to study this role, said McBride. Its an enormous privilege to her as a new American citizen.

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Melania scours media to protect Trump - Politico

Shortly after Donald Trump was elected president last November, many of the billionaires critics tried to convince themselves that he would finally tone down his divisive rhetoricand curtail the unhinged behavior now that he was actually going to be president of the United States. It was a kind of defense mechanism against the utter shock of the situation. Hardly anyone had truly believed that Trump would or even could be elected president, so when he was, many dumbfounded (and terrified) people resortedto self-deception in order to cope.

Of course, many Republicans had similarly deluded themselves earlier in the year, after Trump had managed to win the partys nomination. Now that he was entering the general election as a major-party candidate for president, the reasoning went, he would finally pivot and start acting well, presidential.

We all know how that turned out, of course. After just four months in the Oval Office it should be absolutely clear that President Trump will not be changingany time soon. That is to say, he will not stop tweeting like an unhinged maniac early in the morningor peddling blatant falsehoods and conspiracy theories or revealing classified information to foreign officials in order to boast, or repeatedly breaking democratic norms whether it be personally attacking sitting judges who rule against his policies, or calling journalists enemies of the people. In other words, Donald Trump will not (read:cannot)stop acting like Donald Trump an impulsive, vindictive and unscrupulous billionaire with the temperamentof a pubescent boy.

And at this stage in the game, it is unclear whether Trump will even make it to the one-year mark in office. The New York Times bombshell reportearlier this week,which claims that the president tried to get former FBI director James Comey to drop an investigation into the presidents formernational security adviser, Michael Flynn, suddenly made impeachment (and possibly criminalprosecution)seem like a real possibility.

Over the past week, of course, the heat kept building. Former FBI Director Robert Mueller was appointed as a Justice Department special counsel to oversee the investigation into the Trump campaigns apparent connections to Russia. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy was revealed to have joked last year, in a recorded conversation, that he believed Trump was on Vladimir Putins payroll. And investigators are now reportedly focusing not just on former close associates of Trump, like Flynn or onetime campaign manager Paul Manafort, but also on people who currently work in the White House.

No longer are genuine calls for impeachment limited to the liberal blogosphere and social media. Major publications and politicians are nowdropping the I-wordand considering whether the president belongs in office.

Weve seen this movie before, saidSen. John McCain, R-Ariz. I think it appears at a point where its of Watergate size and scale.Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., meanwhile,replied in the affirmative when asked by The Hill whether the reported Comey memo might merit impeachment. But everybody gets a fair trial in this country, stated the congressman. A senior official in the Trump administration was even more candid (albeit anonymously) to the Daily Beast, saying: I dont see how Trump isnt completely fucked.

There is no doubt about it: President Trump is in serioustrouble and there is no doubt that he did this to himself. It is hard to see how something like this wasnt always inevitable, considering the kind of man Trump is (and always will be). Over the past four months, theTrump administration has been a constantcircus, with one fiasco after another. Most of these disasters have been entirelyself-made unlike the president himself, whose success is a result of having a wealthy father.

It is absurd to think that anyone imagined that Trump could suddenly change his ways and become a reasonable and level-headed adult. Trump is neither reasonable nor level-headed, and while he may be twice the age legallyrequired to be president, he is temperamentally a child.

The real question now, it seems, is whether Republican politicians will finally surrender to the factthat Donald Trump is a borderline insane person(and possibly a criminal) who deserves to be evicted from the White House. The next questionwill be how severely this monumentaldebacle impacts the Republican Party and the future of American politics.

The GOP is going to be ultimate victim of [Trumps] confidence game, remarks David Faris in The Week.Both the Republican Party and the president are already deeply unpopular, less than four months into his presidency Rather than protecting him from the consequences of every indecency, crime, and provocation, the smarter play for Republicans would be to begin the process of removing the president from office immediately.

Whether Republicans will go this route and it doesnt seem as improbable as it did just a few days ago is asyet uncertain, but they must realize at this point that things arent going to get any betteror calm down as long as this man is president.

The final question that we must all ask ourselves after this real-life tragicomedy has finally played itself out (one hopes before 2020) ishow this deranged and disturbinglyunfit man was elected president and how we can make sure that nothing like this happens again. After the presidency of Richard Nixon, various reforms were passedto crack down on political corruption and limit presidential power.Forty years later, another disreputable president will hopefully inspire another wave of reform.

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Donald Trump will never change: And after a week of farce and fiasco, even Republicans know impeachment is possible - Salon