When his party rebelled, Nixon went quietly. Trump probably won’t.

But a formal impeachment trial in the Senate, explicitly provided for by the Constitution, is different. It is unlikely that the Supreme Court would allow the executive to simply stonewall the other branches of government. The justices might limit the scope and scale of the subpoenas, but Trump would still have to produce significant evidence. Perhaps the facts would clear him. But Trump does not seem like a man with nothing to hide.

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When the Supreme Court ruled that Nixon had to turn over the famous “smoking gun” tape, proving his role in the Watergate coverp, the president asked his chief of staff, Alexander M. Haig Jr., “Is there any wiggle room?” When the answer was no, Nixon submitted to the rule of law.

Would Trump? If he tried to stiff both Congress and the Supreme Court, public opinion polls would probably turn quickly against him. A number of Republican senators, who read their own polls and care about their prerogatives, would be knocked off the fence. In Nixon’s case, Republicans were loyal to the president until the polls turned against him. Then they weren’t.

That’s the scenario that could wind up with a group of long-faced senators trooping into the Oval Office to push out its current occupant. By then, even Trump will know the game is up. Or would he?

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