It was part circus and part melodrama but the mill wheels were grinding, even if it left you shaking your head: On Twitter Trump was hollering ‘Ask her who leaked the classified information’ and, at the same time, the Democrats were howling ‘Prove Flynn was Trump’s go-between with the Russians.’

A trio of Republican Senators set out to bash Sally Yates but it was like watching a terrier yip at a steel magnolia.

The retired general sitting at the table beside Mrs. Yates – who had more than a little curmudgeon in him – was a character-study in his own right: Hunched over he’d sit listening with rapt attention to a long-winded Senator ramble through a harangue then answer with a one syllable grunt – either ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’

No one sitting in the room had a bit of doubt the Russians had meddled in our election or that Michael Flynn had lied to Mike Pence and no one disagreed with Sally Yates when she said that meant the Russians could say to Flynn: You either do what we say or we’ll leak the proof you lied to Pence.

So who do the wheels grind next?

It seems certain the leaker President Trump is worried about is going to be caught. The old curmudgeon handed Lindsey Graham a road map to find him or her.

No one had a shred of evidence – or proof – Trump was in cahoots with the Russians. But as the hearings roll forward Donald Trump’s in for an ordeal by fire: Every breath he’s taken is going to be under a microscope. There’ll be no covering up a single foible. But that’s the messy strength of our democracy: No one can cure the circus. Or stop the mill wheels grinding.