Honestly, I can see a set of scenarios that are increasingly bad for the GOP’s long term prospects:

- The best case scenario for them at this point is that somebody steps up and falls on their sword to save Trump’s ass. But who could do so? Manafort? He’s too much of a merc to do that, he’d cut a deal in a heartbeat. Flynn’s already trying to save his own ass, so he’s out of the running. Pence? Not a chance, he’s not going to sacrifice his chance at the Big Chair to save Don’s corpulant ass. Bannon would sooner sell his mother’s soul, so he’s out of the running. And Jared’s family, so not gonna happen. And Rinsed? Even “Party Uber Alles” won’t see him going to jail in the name of Donald Trump.

- The next best case would be Comrade Combover pulling a Nixon, resigning before the formal charges can come so Pence can pardon him and the nation can “heal.” In such a scenario, Trump gets out before the shit truly hits the fan, allowing the GOP to argue that the whole matter is resolved so we can “move forward” under President Pence. The biggest issue they’ll have will be filling the slots that will resign (voluntarily or otherwise) in the wake of Trump’s departure.

- The bad scenarios start with the GOP visibly axing the congressional investigations, either by canning them or visibly manipulating the results to insist that nothing criminal happened. That might seem like a viable option right now, but what it would create in the long run in a festering wound that would leave the party vulnerable next year, but most especially in 2020 if Trump runs for reelection under the cloud of having avoided prosecution through partisan politics.

- Next down on the bad side of things would be the appointment of an independent prosecutor or a select committee, taking the GOP out of a direct role over the investigation. Not only would the whole mess drag on, probably into the midterms and possibly into the 2020 elections, but there would be a very serious chance of criminal charges being recommended that they would find virtually impossible to bury.

- And the absolute worst scenario right now would the FBI coming out in the next few months and announcing the recommendation of criminal charges against one or more members of the Trump administration. Because one that happens, all bets are off. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III will no doubt put the kibosh on moving forward with formal charges, but that will only add fuel to the fire. In such a scenario, things for the GOP would go from “bad” to “totally screwed,” as they’d have virtually no argument against articles of impeachment that didn’t begin and end with “He’s one of us!” Not a winning strategy when the guy whose ass you’re defending is polling worse than syphilis.