Liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar pants on fire …

It truly is gobsmacking.

I’m speaking, of course, about Robert Mueller’s most recent court filings. Robert Mueller, in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past year or so, is the Special Prosecutor who was appointed to look into the alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government and also possible obstruction of justice.

That such an investigation is necessary is alarming and sick-making enough, but what’s got me reeling is the number of people who have either outright lied or provided misleading or incomplete information in an effort to protect Trump and themselves — to Congress, to the Special Prosecutor, to federal prosecutors in New York, to the American people and to the entire world. And, then there are all the members of the Trump inner circle who have had troubling business dealings with the Russians:

Michael Flynn. George Papadopoulos. Paul Manafort. Rick Gates. Michael Cohen. Maria Butina. Donald Trump Jr. Roger Stone. Jeff Sessions. Jared Kushner. Ivanka Trump. Carter Page. Anthony Scaramucci. Felix Sater. Wilbur Ross. Michael Caputo. Erik Prince. Elliot Broidy. Peter W. Smith. Rex Tillerson. J.D. Gordon. Avi Berkowitz. And there’s probably more, that I’ve forgotten. It’s hard to keep track.

And lest we forget Donald Trump himself, who never tells the truth about anything and has most certainly lied about this. Not to mention everyone around him, in his administration and even his family, who have repeated his lies, covered for him time and time again and haven’t yet figured out that saying nothing is akin to lying — like Sarah Sanders and Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon and probably even John Kelly and God knows who else.

Frankly, I’m amazed that Washington’s not engulfed in flames.

What I find particularly stunning, is that anyone would be stupid enough to lie, under oath, to any prosecutor, let alone one with Robert Mueller’s reputation. But maybe I’m the one who’s being stupid — or at least naive. Maybe it’s arrogance — because they know — or at least they thought they knew — that Trump would pardon them. Mind-blowing in itself.

Regardless, I still don’t understand how they could lie so willfully and brazenly, right out in the open, with the world watching. I also don’t understand how the GOP could (and still is) just sit idly by while all this has been happening and do nothing. Now that is stupid! They’re ignoring criminal activity. Doesn’t that make them complicit? And even if they don’t ever face any legal consequences themselves — should Mueller make a case for collusion and/or obstruction of justice — wouldn’t you think they’d be concerned about how all this will impact the future of the Republican party?

Breathtaking. It’s just breathtaking. I’m exhausted by it. I’m disgusted by it. I’m shocked by it. I’m saddened by it. I’m horrified by it. I get fed up with it and refuse to turn on my TV for days and weeks at a time. But then I’m drawn back to it, like a moth to a flame.

Please let this be over soon. May they all be locked up, each and every one — for a good, long time. Before all that’s left of Washington, the rule of law and democracy is a huge heap of glowing embers.