US President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids. Photo / AP
US President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids. Photo / AP
If anyone has a reason to smile this week, it's Donald Trump.
Dark clouds that have been hanging over the US President's head for years were destroyed in just a couple of days.
Now, Trump is effectively untouchable. Chances of impeaching him before the next election are pretty much atzero, and at the same time, the Pentagon has thrown a wad of fresh cash at his border wall.
For almost two years, the biggest threat to the President's administration has been a special counsel investigation into whether he colluded with Russia to influence the results of the federal election.
For many Democrats, impeaching the President rested on the results of this report. If he was found guilty, there may have been enough grounds to begin the impeachment process. Without that, not so much.
"The special counsel's investigation did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or co-ordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 US Presidential Election," Attorney-General William Barr wrote to Congress about the report.
This means the possibility of impeaching Trump is now highly unlikely.
"In terms of the political consequences, the possibility of impeachment is at near zero," Dr David Smith from the United States Studies Centre told news.com.au earlier this week.
"Nancy Pelosi already said she wasn't keen on impeachment unless there was bipartisan consensus. This makes it impossible for there to be any bipartisan consensus."
While the President faces a separate legal investigation into hush money payments, this is unlikely to play out until he's left office.
Democrats are still pushing for the actual Mueller report to be made public — particularly in light of Barr's letter noting that the report "does not exonerate" the President.
They are hoping the report can provide insight into how the investigation was conducted, and potentially pinpoint any evidence of obstructing justice on Trump's part.
But regardless, the verdict won't change — and that's very much a reason for the billionaire to celebrate.
STORMY DANIELS' LAWYER ARRESTED
So, back to those hush money payments.
Porn star Stormy Daniels alleged that she had an affair with Donald Trump in 2006.
In January last year, it was revealed Trump's then-lawyer Michael Cohen had paid Daniels $US130,000 one month before the US election to keep her from discussing the alleged affair.
Last August, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight charges, including a campaign finance violation, for his role in the transaction. It formed part of his three-year prison sentence.
Trump has consistently denied that he ever personally directed Cohen to make the payments — a move that would constitute an impeachable offence.
While it hasn't been proved whether Trump did direct Cohen to do so, it hasn't been great for the President's reputation.
So it came as good news to him this week that Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, has been charged with extortion and fraud.
Stormy Daniels and her attorney Michael Avenatti. File photo / AP.
Avenatti is facing up to 50 years in jail after he was charged with wire fraud, bank fraud and attempting to extort more than $US20 million ($A28 million) from Nike Inc.
The arrest came just one day after the Mueller announcement. US lawyer Nick Hanna said the timing of the two incidents was not related.
His charges would seem especially sweet to Trump because the lawyer's fame came from the affair.
He gained a huge Twitter presence, appeared at rallies, become a guest on late-night talk shows and was interviewed by US media networks like CNN and MSNBC dozens of times.
He also showed a willingness to match Trump's brash speaking style, matching the President insult for insult. He even once announced that he was considering a run for the Oval Office in 2020.
Avenatti was freed on $US300,000 bail and continues to deny the allegations. But that hasn't stopped his opponents from making digs:
Good news for my friend @MichaelAvenatti, if you plead fast enough, you might just get to share a cell with Michael Cohen! #basta
Earlier this week, the US Congress failed in its attempt to block Donald Trump's national emergency over the border wall.
The Democrat-controlled House tried to override the President's first veto — which required two-thirds of the chamber's support, or 290 votes — but ended with a total of 248 votes in favour versus 181 against, meaning it will not move to the Senate for consideration.
This all gives Trump the power to move forward with one of the core issues of his presidential campaign: the border wall.
This was the core promise of Trump's campaign and he needs to fulfil it to keep his support base strong.
The outcome was expected, with Congress overriding a veto being a rare success. Just last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the vote wouldn't be about getting enough votes, but about sending a message.
Still, the fight to get around Congress and secure more money for the border wall looks set to get easier for Trump now.
At the beginning of the week, the Pentagon announced it had authorised the transfer of up to $US1 billion to build extra barriers along the US-Mexico border.
The shift in funds was justified under Trump's declaration of a national emergency.
The Democrats strongly objected to the move, with Patrick Leahy, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, issuing a letter that read: "We have serious concerns that the Department has allowed political interference and pet projects to come ahead of many near-term, critical readiness issues facing our military."
But it didn't matter, and 91km of "pedestrian fencing" is now set to be constructed along stretches of the border in Arizona and Texas.
The Pentagon said the cash fund transfer would help "block drug-smuggling corridors across international boundaries of the United States in support of counter-narcotic activities of Federal law enforcement agencies".
