The question of the month for Trump administration and its Epstein conspiracy theory peddlers has been something like “were you lying then, or are you engaged in a coverup now?”

But I think it’s time for Democrats to move on from that.

Not entirely. Not to pretend as though it’s ben answered forthrightly. But to account for Donald Trump’s behavior, and the behavior of his loyalists, as they’ve refused to answer the question.

At this point credible news reporting, and our own unfailing senses, all but answer the question: They are engaged in a coverup.

• They said they would release the Epstein files;

• Then they said there were none;

• Then they said they would try to release only grand-jury testimony;

• Then it turned out the Justice Department had reviewed the Epstein files and Donald Trump’s name was all over them;

• Now they’re trying to entice Ghislaine Maxwell, a child sexual abuser and trafficker, to exonerate Trump by dangling the lure of clemency.

With all that having unfolded right before our eyes, we don’t have to pretend that the most pressing question is whether Trumpers got over their skis hyping the Epstein files over the past months and years. We can presume that the files contain compromising material, whether or not it reaches the threshold of criminal evidence.

With that inference at hand, we should start asking a different question: What should the consequences be?

IMPEACH PASSING DAY

To my mind there are four scenarios to prepare for...