Tuesday and Wednesday were likely the newsiest two days in politics since Watergate.
First, there were Senate confirmation hearings for several of Donald Trump's controversial Cabinet nominees, along with President Barack Obama's farewell address, followed by leaked stories of President-elect Trump's possibly blackmailable actions in Russia and his apparent deep ties to Russia - including possible contact between operatives in Russia and his staff.
In a nutshell, intelligence officials say the information includes allegations that Russia has sex videos involving prostitutes with Trump in a 2013 visit to a Moscow hotel. The videos were supposedly prepared as "kompromat," or compromising material, with the possible goal of blackmailing Trump in the future, according to The New York Times. The Times noted that a synopsis of the material was included in a two-page appendix to the hacking report presented last week to Trump, President Barack Obama and eight Republican and Democratic members of Congress.
Though uncorroborated, intelligence agency leaders considered the information so potentially explosive that they decided Obama, Trump and congressional leaders needed to be told about it and informed that the agencies were actively investigating it.
On Tuesday night, in true-to-Trump fashion, the president-elect tweeted: "FAKE NEWS - A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT." And on Wednesday morning, just when you thought it could get no newsier, Trump held a long-awaited news conference about his business dealings going into a trust - not a blind trust - just a trust. Nothing that in any way should really assure Americans that's he'll be free of present or future conflicts-of-interest. Lots of talk, no real stuff.
But he used much of his time - in front of about 250 reporters - berating the intelligence community and the media, of course, reiterating that he views the newest spy allegations as yet another witch hunt.
Humph! Witch hunt? Not. But that's probably what he would have said had talk of the Access Hollywood tape been made public before the actual tape was made public.
Treason hunt? Maybe. The appendix in the hacking report refers to a dossier that is a collection of memos written over a period of months. Buzzfeed.com has published the full document and notes that it includes "specific, unverified, and potentially unverifiable allegations of contact between Trump aides and Russian operatives, and graphic claims of sexual acts documented by the Russians."
The allegations have actually been circulating in Washington and among journalists for months.
You might recall that in October FBI Director James Comey lit dynamite when he informed congressional leaders that the bureau had stumbled onto emails that might reopen the Clinton email probe. Comey's action spurred then-Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid to crack open the door on the Trump allegations..
"In my communications with you and other top officials in the national security community, it has become clear that you possess explosive information about close ties and coordination between Donald Trump, his top advisers, and the Russian government The public has a right to know this information," Reid wrote in a letter to Comey. Just two months before that, Reid had written to Comey and demanded an investigation of the connection between the Russian government and Trump's presidential campaign, referring to then-Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page and former campaign chief Paul Manafort.
On Tuesday, in still another news-making hearing, Comey refused to tell Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., whether the bureau has investigated ties between Russia and associates of Trump. Yep, you read that right. Comey didn't just confirm but announced a nothing-pile of not-new emails in a closed investigation of Hillary Clinton, but he said he "would never comment on investigations, whether we have one or not" about Trump ties to Russia.
All of this news falling just as President Obama gave his amazing farewell address in Chicago on Tuesday night leaves Americans in a foreboding daze worthy of "The Twilight Zone."
Obama summed up his address by laying out the threats to our democracy - among them that we are, by being so enclosed in our partisan or special-interest bubbles - that we forget it is us, citizens, who make up "the most important office in a democracy."
"If you're tired of arguing with strangers on the internet, try talking with one of them in real life. If something needs fixing, then lace up your shoes and do some organizing. If you're disappointed by your elected officials, grab a clipboard, get some signatures, and run for office yourself. Show up, dive in, stay at it," he intoned.
He's right.
Rise up, Americans. Election Day is just three years and 10 months away.