Trump lifted sanctions against Russia.  Finally!  Now the main stream media can stop playing 20 questions with what has been obvious at least since Trump asked Russia if it was listening.  Journalists and Op Ed columnists can stop searching high and low for a reason to give Trump, yet again, the benefit (however undeserved) of the doubt.  We can stop being outraged.  We can ignore Trump’s base and Faux News because we now know they could not care less that the President of the United States is controlled by a hostile foreign power. The only question remaining is which GOP legislators  are also controlled by Putin.  
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What could have induced Trump, a consistently self-referencing grifter who has given no sign that he believes the country’s interests take precedent over his own, to lift sanctions now?  Despite 1001 scandals the Mueller probe still consumes the air waves and headlines.  Trump’s friends and advisers are being rounded up and charged with lying to Congress about their dealings with Russia.  98% of the rest of us (America minus Trump’s base and Fox News)  have accepted what the intel committee unanimously concluded:  Russia interfered in the 2016 Presidential election and gave a powerful assist to Trump that landed him in the White House.  Trump’s shutdown debacle is not yet a dull ache.  Some GOP congressman, a small number true, are starting to rethink their deal with the devil.  And what does Trump do?  Pours another barrel of gasoline on the bonfire!  Even if Trump is brain dead, and he’d have to be to think this was a genius move, you would think that his “advisers” would tell him that lifting sanctions now is the worse thing he could do.  

So back to my question, what could have induced Trump to lift sanctions now?  Fear.  Plain and simple.  As dicey as this move was for Trump, not lifting sanctions would have been much, much worse.  Putin has career-ending, assets-confiscated, liberty-taken leverage over Trump.  Putin will be scarcely inconvenienced and continue to rule over Russia should he release the trove of indisputable evidence of criminal act (including money laundering), influence peddling, treason and perversions he has on Trump.  Trump will not.  On the other hand, he has a good chance of surviving the backlash from lifting sanctions.  The GOP, having supported Trump this long, has no choice but to continue to protect him.  The Dems control the House but not the Senate.  The Supreme Court is stacked.  In other words,  Trump knew he had a pretty good chance of riding out the lifting of sanctions.  He had no chance of riding out Putin’s ire.  

So when Trump enigmatically placed the “Sanctions Are Coming” poster on the table at a televised cabinet meeting for everyone to see he was messaging Putin.  His message to Putin:  “despite my best efforts I have no choice but to impose more sanctions.”  Putin’s answer:  “You will not impose more sanctions,  in fact, you will lift the sanctions you have imposed.  Or else.”  Trump lifted the sanctions.  When asked about additional sanctions, the administration said, there is no timeline.  EOS.