You know you’re getting close to the truth when a president starts asking about granting pardons, for his staff, his family and significantly, for himself. Can a president pardon himself? For what would he seek pardon?

When Gerald Ford succeeded to the presidency upon the resignation of Richard Nixon, he immediately pardoned Nixon, a legal move that absolved the disgraced former president of responsibility for his crimes against his country. It’s important to note that the need for pardon implies guilt. If one needs to be pardoned, one is guilty of something.

Of what is our president guilty that would compel him to seek to be pardoned?

You also know that you’re moving closer to the truth when the president draws a so-called red line in the sand and insists that the special counsel not cross that line to investigate the president’s numerous financial interests here and abroad.

You know that the president is hiding something important when he refuses to disclose his tax returns to the citizens he is sworn to serve. What would they reveal?

From the first, this tainted presidency has been about money and the drive to accumulate more of it. If we wish to discover what drives this president and what he has done to enrich himself further, the strategy is simple: Follow the money.

Yes, it is true that this wrecking ball of a president in six months has done more in a variety of ways to destroy what makes America great than any other president in history. His tweets, lies and presidential actions are not always about money. But let’s be honest. At bottom, most are.

For us to discover the truth about this president, we must follow his money. We have learned that the special counsel is interested in doing just that, which is precisely why the president is drawing lines in the sand and asking about pardons. Every day, we draw closer to the truth.