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Even now, anybody who bets against President Trump is probably foolish.

Recall then-candidate Trump鈥檚 words in January 2016: 鈥淚 could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn鈥檛 lose any voters.鈥�

That assessment of his supporters鈥� loyalty proved prophetic. Mr. Trump won the presidency, even after the infamous election-eve tape of him bragging crudely about grabbing women. Today, Trump stands tarnished by the conviction Tuesday of his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and the plea deal announced within the same hour by Trump鈥檚 former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen; both men, guilty of financial misdeeds, face prison. In the latter case, both Trump and his company were implicated in the campaign finance violation Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty to.聽聽

For Americans disturbed by what these legal developments say about Trump, there鈥檚 more than one way to react.

鈥淚t鈥檚 depressing that this president has surrounded himself with such rogues,鈥� says Gil Troy, a presidential scholar at McGill University in Montreal. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e also seeing that the system works, and is built on the rule of law and checks and balances. The courts have tremendous power, as does Congress.鈥�

As a political question, it鈥檚 not hard to see how Trump supporters stick by him. Trump himself has given them the mental road map: The investigation that ensnared Mr. Manafort is part of the larger 鈥渨itch hunt鈥� aimed at the president, and besides, Manafort鈥檚 fraudulent activity took place long before he joined the Trump campaign, the president says.

And, as Trump tweets with increasing frequency, the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller has so far failed to show 鈥渃ollusion鈥� between Trump associates and Russia during the 2016 campaign. Though the investigation is ongoing, and the extent of the information that Mr. Mueller has amassed and may still get is unknown.

Still, there鈥檚 no doubt that Aug. 21, 2018, will go down in history as an extraordinary moment in the Trump presidency 鈥� and for the American presidency, an office steeped in dignity and tradition but hardly immune to the foibles of its occupants, as many past presidents have shown.

For Trump, who brought to office a unique background in real estate and television 鈥� and no prior experience in politics, government, or the military 鈥� the presidency has been a constant process of discovery.

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e running a [privately held] real estate empire, you do have tremendous latitude and the prerogatives of a king,鈥� says Mr. Troy. 鈥淏ut the minute you take the oath of office, and you鈥檙e sitting in the Oval Office,... you鈥檙e part of a system that鈥檚 very resilient and has all kinds of ways of keeping you in line.鈥�

And yet Trump has shown, regularly, that the norms and customs of the office are expendable, and that the president in fact has wide latitude under the US Constitution to wield executive power.

One day after the Manafort-Cohen bombshells, Republicans on Capitol Hill were already working to slow down the frenzied speculation about what might come next. Will Trump pardon either of his convicted former aides? Will calls for impeachment, popular only on the Democratic fringe in Congress, ramp up ahead of the Nov. 6 midterm elections?

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, echoed Trump in saying that 鈥渘othing we heard yesterday has anything to do with Russia or the reason why director Mueller was appointed special counsel.鈥�

Senator Cornyn also defended Trump when asked about Cohen鈥檚 implication of the president in a crime over payments Cohen made to women, at Trump鈥檚 direction, to keep them quiet over alleged past sexual relationships with Trump. Cohen, he said, is someone whose 鈥渃redibility is in tatters, because he鈥檚 basically been all over the map as to what his story is.鈥�

Cohen鈥檚 lawyer, Lanny Davis, said Wednesday on NBC that Cohen would not accept a pardon from Trump, and didn鈥檛 expect one 鈥渇rom somebody who has acted so corruptly as president.鈥� The statement was bracing, as Cohen had once said he would take a bullet for Trump.

As for Trump鈥檚 legal exposure in the Cohen case or anything that may come out of the Mueller probe, it is longstanding Justice Department policy that a sitting president cannot be indicted. Mueller is expected to write a report on the findings of his investigation, and then it鈥檚 up to the House to decide whether to launch impeachment proceedings. A majority of the House is required to impeach a president.

And so, at heart, the Mueller investigation points to a political outcome. That鈥檚 why Trump鈥檚 job approval rating is so important. As long as GOP voters stick by him, so will Republicans in Congress. For now, most Democrats in Congress are holding back on impeachment. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that impeaching Trump is 鈥渘ot a priority.鈥�

In the Senate, where a two-thirds vote is required to oust an impeached president, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) of Massachusetts said Wednesday on CNN that the priority now should be to avoid a constitutional crisis and shield Mueller.

鈥淧rotect Robert Mueller, let him finish his investigation, let him make a full and fair report to all of the American people,鈥澛燬enator Warren said. 鈥淎nd when we鈥檝e got that, then we can make a decision on what the appropriate next step is.鈥�

Staff writer Francine Kiefer contributed to this report.