Following the congressional hearings, what will become of Trump?

I've never read a book's first chapter and skipped to the last one. You miss all of the delectable middle parts, the intrigue and humor and character development. The slog, too. That middle can go on forever. That's part of it, though. We get to know the people and the setting. Just how many teatimes can we sit through in a Jane Austen novel? I laughed when when the normally easygoing Ted Lasso tries tea for the first time as a soccer coach in England. "Ugh -- brown water" he said as he moves away the tea cup as if it were radioactive. "Coffee?"

There a lot of brown water in any story's middle parts. 

I watched the live-action opening chapter of the Jan. 6 Committee hearings on June 9 and last night watched the closing chapter. The committee, co-chaired by Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, still is deliberating and continues to take testimony. But the public viewing part of the show is over. We know the story now. We await the denouement. Who will be punished and in what way? Will anyone in power pay the price for treason? The rioters, themselves, yes -- some have already been convicted of seditious conspiracy, civil disorder, destruction of public property, etc. They are guilty of the crimes and will pay fines and serve a bit of time in jail.

But what about the main POI, Donald Trump? Will he escape blame for the chaos he spawned? I keep thinking of the creepy paterfamilias Noah Cross  in "Chinatown." We don't know this until the end, but he raped his daughter Evelyn when she was 15 and her daughter is his too. In the final scene set in Chinatown, the police accidentally shoot and kill Evelyn as she tries to escape to Mexico with her daughter. She is the only witness to Cross's crime and now is dead. The cops restrain Detective Jakes Gittes and Cross takes off with his daughter. There's a chilling foreshadowing early when Gittes and Cross meet. Here's the scene:

Noah Cross: You may think you know what you're dealing with, but, believe me, you don't.

Gittes grins

Noah Cross: Why is that funny?

Jakes Gittes: That's what the District Attorney used to tell me in Chinatown.

In the congressional hearing room, the panel seems to know what they are dealing with. They have seen Trump in action since 2016 and know the dangers. What we all suspect is that Trump will be the one who slithers away from any punishment. Co-chair Cheney wrapped up the night with a magnificent speech, which you should watch if you haven't already. She is staking out a claim for the presidency, possibly in 2024. Cheney was flanked by Virginia Rep. Elaine Luria, a Naval Academy grad who retired after 20 years as a commander, and Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a USAF veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq. They take their oaths seriously and acted upon them every second during the hearings. One of the few GOP congresspeople who have publicly loathed Donald Trump -- and received death threats for doing it -- Kinzinger had this to say on CNN:

"I truly believe within my heart in five years, maybe not five but definitely 10, you're not going to be able to find a single person that admits to supporting or voting for Donald Trump in this country," the GOP congressman said. "Because they're going to be embarrassed, because their kids are going to say, 'You actually supported Donald Trump? Are you kidding me?'"

Refreshing to hear. History will judge. Our children and grandchildren will judge. Will a 2022 judge convict him of any crimes? Not bloody likely. It would be nice to think that Trump is now on his way to the dustbin of history. But we still have to deal with him in 2022. And worse, we have to deal with the millions of Trumpists who have drunk the Kool-Aid. And there are so many of them in red-state Wyoming, many running for elected office. On Aug. 16, I will switch my party affiliation from Dem to Rep to cast a vote for Cheney. Not much but it's something.