We’ve reached the ‘Yeah, it was pretty much an attempted coup, so what?’ stage of the Jan. 6 probe

It’s been a familiar exercise throughout much of the Trump era.

Something would emerge that was objectionable — say, expressing openness to Russia’s help in the 2016 election or attempting to use Ukraine for help in the 2020 election. Then would come the denials, that it was not what it looked like. Then would come the confirmation from those involved that it was pretty much what it looked like, whether that amounted to “collusion” (Russia probe) or a “quid pro quo” (Ukraine impeachment).