Gotta have some fat to cut so both sides can feel like they gained from the negotiations. If they get this too cool, if not no big deal.

What if short route was code for snitching not suicide?

A sound plan. An effective strategy that would give any president pause. However, they overlooked a few key details. While they were playing a master class in chess, Trump was at a checkers board playing roulette and shitting himself. By playing roulette I mean stock manipulation and insider trading while he sucked on checkers pieces and shat himself.