Amateur Night at Mar A Lago

   North Korea flipped a ballistic bird at the U.S. and Japan as President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe were dining in Florida.
   We know this because other diners at the restaurant took pictures of government staffers poring over their computers and the president spoke on the telephone between bytes as the news broke of the missile test.
   So why stay in a public place working by flashlight as a potential international crisis looms?
   This administration says it wants to break records, but they seem to be stumbling over each other as they shatter the wrong kind. The president's approval rating plunged into negative territory only eight days into the term, and a Cabinet appointee -- National Security Advisor Michael Flynn -- was fired after just 24 days.
   The given reason for the bust was that Flynn spoke with the Russian ambassador about sanctions the same day then-President Barack Obama imposed same on Russia. Flynn then "misled" Mike Pence, the vice president, about the content of the call.
   There have also been reports that the Kremlin was trying to blackmail Flynn. This suggests that there was some exchange that led to the Kremlin backing away from imposing counter-sanctions.
   Speculation: Did the president encourage or direct Flynn to work with the Russians to clear up the sanctions issue in exchange for some other favor, like not revealing the supposedly embarrassing information?
   Question: Is this tantamount to bribery?
   The president has in the past praised Vladimir Putin, the Russian premier, and during the election campaign called on the Kremlin to find and release emails supposedly missing from Hillary Clinton's account.
   Meanwhile, intelligence agencies tried to learn whether the Trump campaign was colluding with Russians who hacked into Democratic National Committee systems to disrupt the election, according to a new report in the New York Times.
   Speculation: Is the president working to ease relations with Russia, or is he looking to help them in some way?
   Question: If Putin knows stuff about Flynn, what does he know about Trump?
   All things considered, the issue become whether there is an exchange of diplomatic favors, or whether there will be personal favors in return for some sort of aid and comfort.
   By definition, the issues involved smack of bribery and treason. Already, there is talk of filing criminal charges against Flynn. And if the president is involved, directly or indirectly, there are clear grounds for impeachment.
   The Constitution specifies that a president can be impeached for "treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors." And treason is defined as giving aid and comfort to an enemy.
   Two out of three ain't bad. But there may well be more, considering how ethically challenged the new White House team seems to be.