They gave Trump Todd Blanche. Trump got his loyal attorney general. Republicans got to go home. And the SAVE America Act stayed in Washington. No documented quid pro quo is necessary to see the political tradeoff. Sometimes in Washington, you understand the deal simply by looking at who got what—and which vote mysteriously never happened.

After the BBC sought financial records that could help determine whether Trump's businesses had actually suffered the enormous harm he alleged, Trump's attorneys abruptly changed direction.