Washington news has elements of a potboiler

FOR more than two years, Washington has been preoccupied, if not obsessed, with one "yuge" political story that had all the makings of a best-selling spy thriller a la John Le Carre, one bound to be made into a major Hollywood blockbuster or several seasons of a Netflix binge-watching show.

The so-called "Russian Collusion" story had it all: International intrigues and secret late-night encounters in the White House, the Kremlin, a street in Prague, a bar in London and a set of mysterious (including shady) businessmen, double-crossing middlemen, high-tech saboteurs and the required scheming spies. There was even a hint of kinky sex involving the most powerful man in the world. Get the popcorn! (And who would play the Donald and Melania? Or Michael Cohen? George Papadopoulos?)

For the politicos and journalists in Washington, there was an added attraction - expectations that the allegations that the 2016 presidential election campaign of Republican Candidate Donald Trump colluded with Russian officials to deny victory to Democratic Candidate Hillary Clinton could turn into "another Watergate" and force another American president from office.