I don’t claim to know the mind of Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, or the laws surrounding the subject of impeachment, but of this I’m certain: She is much smarter than Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, and the top brass of the entire Republican party who populate the United States Senate. In fact, my guess is that she’s playing them all like a Stradivarius this very minute.

The pertinent facts come down to this: Nancy holds the “articles of impeachment,” or all the supporting documents passed by the House that officially put Donald Trump’s presidency in jeopardy. Her next task is to hand the documents over to Mitch, who then intends to dispose of them by running them through his personal shredding machine, much like Vlad the Impaler, aka Vladimir Putin. That is because the Republicans have a firm grasp on the Senate with 53 seats v. 47 held by the Democrats. And so, they hold the most chips and presumably the winning hand in this high-stakes poker game. Or so they think.

Politics is not one of my favorite activities to observe or to participate in. But I recall one of Nancy’s comments to Donald Trump in a White House meeting with him in which he downplayed the significance of her role as Speaker of the House. She replied politely “please don’t mischaracterize the strength I bring to this position.” Nancy’s daughter, Christine, characterized her mom as “steady, steely, and resolved.” She said that Nancy taught her that if you want to do well in life, remember the 5 P’s: “proper preparation prevents poor performance.”

I predict that Mitch McConnell will not get those articles of impeachment until he assures Nancy Pelosi that the Senate will hold a fair trial. And that trial will include the testimony and the cross-examination of 4 or 5 key figures in the Trump administration who presently believe they are protected from testifying by “executive privilege.” Asking for witnesses to testify at Trump’s impeachment trial is like asking the defense attorney in a serious criminal trial if it is OK to bring witnesses against his client.

Who holds the best hand in this high-stakes poker game? In spite of the stacked deck, I’m still betting on Nancy Pelosi.

All she has to do is hold up the impeachment articles until Mitch capitulates. And that means whether it’s in one month or in one year. As the campaign heats up, the TV cameras and crews will follow Trump like a band of stalkers. With each tick of the clock, the Donald will sweat like a volcano about to erupt. He can’t take the heat. He will break down and squeal like a stuck pig before she gives in. It’s in her preparation, and in her steely resolve. He is not a fighter. He’s never been in a fair fight. As the campaign unfolds, he will fold like a lawn chair.

He wasn’t paying attention when she cautioned him about mischaracterizing her strength. She paid attention while he put the noose around his own neck.  He smeared the good names of almost everyone connected with his investigation. It did not help his game when he caged little kids at the borders; Nancy has 5 kids. He took money from the poor and gave it to the rich. Nancy gives heavily to the poor. He insulted our allies while he cozied up to Vlad the Bad. Nancy warned that all his roads lead to Putin. He has told more than 15,000 lies while the world listened, cringed, and upchucked. Nancy’s fidelity to the truth is unassailable. Karma and the universe can only take so much before the scales of justice demand to be rebalanced. When that happens, Trump will sink like a rock and go under water in his own sweat.

Nancy will call your bluff when she is ready, Mitch, and not one second sooner. When she does, she will go all in. Whether you call or fold, will not matter. You will find your master doesn’t have your back. He will be out somewhere screaming for his mommy. But he will find that his cries of “Hoax!” and “Witch hunt” will make her hand look like a Royal Flush when she lays her cards down for all the world to see.