Trump is on a Nixonian collision course with the FBI (Opinion)
Michael D'Antonio is the author of the book " Never Enough: Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success " (St. Martin's Press). The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.
Wray's formal opposition to the release of a secret partisan memo  supported by Republicans critical of the bureau  also sets the stage for a showdown over the future of the nation's most revered law enforcement agency which  before  Trump   enjoyed longstanding support from the GOP.
 Only Trump  could separate the law-and-order party  as the Republicans have been known as for decades  from the FBI. He has done this as part of his larger effort to delegitimize all who have participated in various probes of Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election and other violations of criminal and civil law they might uncover.
JUST WATCHED White House:  Trump  has not seen the FBI memo Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH White House:  Trump  has not seen the FBI memo 02:39
Nunes entered this episode with a reputation tarnished by a misadventure that found  him  racing to the White House last March  in the dead of night  to supposedly "confirm what I already knew" about the supposed "wiretapping" of  Trump 's phone by the previous administration. This harebrained notion was disproved and Nunes suddenly stepped away from leading his committee's Russian work. Now he's back  with his four-page memo  which he apparently signed without actually reading the underlying material himself.
But for his efforts to aid  Trump 's campaign against the investigation of the Russia controversy  few Americans would know the name Devin Nunes. Now he's known as the main congressional enabler of the President push-back campaign. He has been diminished by this alliance  as so many are when they go near  Trump .
As a uniquely disruptive political figure   Trump  has resisted fully acknowledging the seriousness of the Russian election meddling and subsequent evidence that  his  associates -- notably  his  son Donald Jr.  former national security adviser Michael Flynn  and attorney general Jeff Sessions -- met and may have aided Russian agents. He abruptly fired Wray's predecessor  former FBI Director James Comey.
At the center of the conflict stand the wildly unreliable and erratic  Trump  and special counsel Mueller  a Republican who enjoys esteem across the political spectrum. With the arrest of former  Trump  campaign operatives Paul Manafort and George Papadopoulos  Mueller signaled the seriousness of his endeavor.  Trump   who has long fumed angrily over the investigation and scandal  has responded by stepping up his campaign of denigration and disruption.
As The New York Times reported January 25   Trump  actually ordered the firing of Mueller   offering thinly constructed complaints about supposed conflicts of interest  only to back off of the demand when  his  White House counsel threatened to resign.
Days later came a report that  Trump  is talking privately about the notion that the Justice Department could somehow turn the tables and prosecute Mueller . According to Howard Fineman of NBC News  a  Trump  adviser said  "Here's how it would work: 'We're sorry  Mr. Mueller  you won't be able to run the federal grand jury today because he has to go testify to another federal grand jury.'"
Here it's helpful to consider that  Donald Trump  came of age during the Nixon years  when the president proved unable to shut down an FBI investigation of the Watergate break-in and ultimately resigned over the attempted coverup. And our current President was tutored in the political arts by Nixon loyalist Roger Stone   who  like others  believe Nixon shouldn't have been impeached. (Stone has said that John Dean  the Watergate whistleblower  "perpetrated a fraud" against Nixon.)
The lesson learned by extreme Nixonites was that their guy should have fought harder.  Trump   who loves to talk about himself as a fighter  isn't making that mistake. For this reason  we should expect more of the same  including the release of the Nunes memo  the possible resignation of Christopher Wray  and a deepening crisis for the nation. All of this in service to one man's state of mind.
Michael D'Antonio is the author of the book " Never Enough:  [TGT]  and the Pursuit of Success " (St. Martin's Press). The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.
Wray's formal opposition to the release of a secret partisan memo  supported by Republicans critical of the bureau  also sets the stage for a showdown over the future of the nation's most revered law enforcement agency which  before  Trump   enjoyed longstanding support from the GOP.
 Only Trump  could separate the law-and-order party  as the Republicans have been known as for decades  from the FBI. He has done this as part of his larger effort to delegitimize all who have participated in various probes of Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election and other violations of criminal and civil law they might uncover.
JUST WATCHED White House:  Trump  has not seen the FBI memo Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH White House:  Trump  has not seen the FBI memo 02:39
Nunes entered this episode with a reputation tarnished by a misadventure that found  him  racing to the White House last March  in the dead of night  to supposedly "confirm what I already knew" about the supposed "wiretapping" of  Trump 's phone by the previous administration. This harebrained notion was disproved and Nunes suddenly stepped away from leading his committee's Russian work. Now he's back  with his four-page memo  which he apparently signed without actually reading the underlying material himself.
But for his efforts to aid  Trump 's campaign against the investigation of the Russia controversy  few Americans would know the name Devin Nunes. Now he's known as the main congressional enabler of the President push-back campaign. He has been diminished by this alliance  as so many are when they go near  Trump .
As a uniquely disruptive political figure   Trump  has resisted fully acknowledging the seriousness of the Russian election meddling and subsequent evidence that  his  associates -- notably  his  son Donald Jr.  former national security adviser Michael Flynn  and attorney general Jeff Sessions -- met and may have aided Russian agents. He abruptly fired Wray's predecessor  former FBI Director James Comey.
At the center of the conflict stand the wildly unreliable and erratic  Trump  and special counsel Mueller  a Republican who enjoys esteem across the political spectrum. With the arrest of former  Trump  campaign operatives Paul Manafort and George Papadopoulos  Mueller signaled the seriousness of his endeavor.  Trump   who has long fumed angrily over the investigation and scandal  has responded by stepping up his campaign of denigration and disruption.
As The New York Times reported January 25   Trump  actually ordered the firing of Mueller   offering thinly constructed complaints about supposed conflicts of interest  only to back off of the demand when  his  White House counsel threatened to resign.
Days later came a report that  Trump  is talking privately about the notion that the Justice Department could somehow turn the tables and prosecute Mueller . According to Howard Fineman of NBC News  a  Trump  adviser said  "Here's how it would work: 'We're sorry  Mr. Mueller  you won't be able to run the federal grand jury today because he has to go testify to another federal grand jury.'"
Here it's helpful to consider that   [TGT]   came of age during the Nixon years  when the president proved unable to shut down an FBI investigation of the Watergate break-in and ultimately resigned over the attempted coverup. And our current President was tutored in the political arts by Nixon loyalist Roger Stone   who  like others  believe Nixon shouldn't have been impeached. (Stone has said that John Dean  the Watergate whistleblower  "perpetrated a fraud" against Nixon.)
The lesson learned by extreme Nixonites was that their guy should have fought harder.  Trump   who loves to talk about himself as a fighter  isn't making that mistake. For this reason  we should expect more of the same  including the release of the Nunes memo  the possible resignation of Christopher Wray  and a deepening crisis for the nation. All of this in service to one man's state of mind.