This week in the saga

The week the muzzle is first asked for. On Friday night the special counsel asks the Washington court to limit what the defendant may say about the case — and the defendant, who has never once been limited, makes the request itself his best material. Around that single motion the fronts multiply: autoworkers walk out of three plants and he bids for their anger; an old Utah adversary announces his retirement and gets a gloating send-off; the rival president's son is indicted on gun charges — one down, eleven to go, he counts, then admits the box this opens may never close again. And in Texas an ally survives impeachment, saved — by his own account — by the platform in his pocket.