In the hours since former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe was fired on the cusp of his retirement, political combatants have become even more committed to their preferred narratives about President Trump and the Russia investigation.

For Republicans and Trump supporters, it is the latest evidence of permanent government interests working to undermine a duly elected president who was never part of their establishment clique, leaking about matters they were supposed to be investigating impartially as part of a probe that could trigger a constitutional crisis.