Busy Week

   Journalists are eager for the week to begin, with a plethora of stories about to break about the American economy, its government and how they clash.
   Monday is the deadline for a Congressional demand for proof from the White House that Trump Tower was bugged on the orders of former President Barack Obama. The allegation was made by the current occupant of the White House, Donald Trump, but no evidence was offered and senior FBI officials have asked the Justice Department to refute the allegation.
   Also on Monday, the nonpartisan and independent Congressional Budget Office is to release its estimate of the costs of the proposed revision of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, to be replaced by something called the American Health Care Act, also known as Trumpcare. But it's not a good sign that criticism of the report has already been launched, even before its release.
   Later in the week, the Federal Reserve Board meets, and it's widely expected to increase its target range for its key interest rate, the Federal Funds rate. This rate has been near zero for a long time, and as the economy shows increasing signs of health, the Fed will likely nudge interest rates upward a bit to prevent overheating of the economy.
   And we can expect further repercussions from the firing of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, whose jurisdiction in New York includes Wall Street and Trump Tower. If there is any truth to the allegation that there was wiretapping of Trump Tower, it would be up the that office to investigate for any criminal acts.
   To bug the phones legally would require a court warrant. If there is one, that would mean there was something going on that would persuade a judge to issue the warrant. If the Trump Organization offices were wiretapped without a warrant, that would mean illegal activity by the government. And if there was no surveillance, legal or otherwise, that would mean President Trump made a serious allegation of criminal activity by his predecessor, without evidence or proof.
   Add that to the previous pile of unproven allegations, falsehoods, innuendoes, slurs and full-blown lies and you get an impending constitutional crisis.
   So is the president being investigated? The White House denies it, and the Justice Department and the FBI both have no comment. But that's standard. The FBI never comments on any investigation. They don't even acknowledge that there is one.
   Meanwhile, one wonders who's in charge at the White House?