To anyone keeping abreast of the unfolding events in the Mueller investigation, this level of sleaze is not at all surprising. The walls have been closing in for some time. As a key member of Trump’s inner circle, Stone and his course of conduct during the campaign and after have exemplified a culture of cronyism and corruption that ignored all ethical standards and rewarded fabrication over the hard truth of reality.

It was all obvious during the campaign and from President Trump’s first full day in office, when he sent out the hapless Sean Spicer to lie to the media about the size of his inauguration audience, that the president would establish an administration in which lying and intimidation were the default way of doing business. When it comes to lying, Trump is in a league of his own. The Post reported this week that he has made 8,158 false or misleading claims in his first two years in office. Sadly, his culture of deceit was embraced by (or forced upon) the people around him and his apologists on Capitol Hill.