Why did Trump and his team think they could pull this kind of stuff and get away with it?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

27. He has no clue how government works. It's obvious that he thought

he could manage the government just like he managed his businesses. He was never a CEO of a public company so he didn't have to answer to a board of directors or shareholders - he just gave orders and expected them to be followed, and he'd managed to get away with all manner of sketchy activities because nobody ever tried to stop him. He is just now discovering that presidents are not all-powerful and that other government entities don't necessarily have to answer to him. None of his minions - notably Bannon, Miller, his children and his son-in-law - have any experience in government, either. I think they figured they could just take over and nobody would challenge them.

What the Russians have on him isn't altogether clear yet, but it's likely to be worse than golden showers. More likely he owes the oligarchs and mobsters a buttload of money, and the deal is that Trump gives Putin what he wants - lifted sanctions, weakening NATO - and the oligarchs don't call the loans.

We'll see. This is not going away.