Tillerson gone, McMaster soon to follow.

The totalitarian dictator purges… the night of the long knives is a classic example.  So are the series of periodic Stalinist purges.  Tillerson certainly felt the stab of a long knife in the back.

That’s how the brain of the narcissistic-psychopathic pathology works.  It’s paranoid.  It seeks loyalty and purges perceived disloyalty.

Staff are kept in a permanent state of insecurity and chaos.  Hitler created insecurity by stoking rivalries among the leadership staff.  Stalin created insecurity by purging “disloyal” leadership staff.

Donald Trump is a threat to democracy and the foundational principles of the United States.  Now is not the time for silence. 

Donald Trump is seeking to purge the FBI to create a “loyal” state police force to purge his political enemies… “Lock her up.  Lock her up.”  

Donald Trump is a threat to an independent justice department.

The values of Donald Trump are an assault on the foundational principles of democracy in a free society.  The ignorance and incompetence of Donald Trump is a threat to national security.

Craig Childress, Psy.D.
Clinical Psychologist, PSY 18857

So far, as of 3/4/18, the Mueller investigation has returned several indictments and several cooperative witnesses.  Of prominent note is that none of the indictments made so far involve information obtained from the cooperative witnesses.

Presumably, the reason Mueller offered the cooperating witnesses leniency on charges is that these cooperative witnesses offered information of value.

Mueller has turned Michael Flynn.
Mueller has turned George Papadopoulos.
Mueller has turned Rick Gates.

If we assume Gates is providing evidence against Manafort, this could be of limited impact on Trump and associates.  But what about the information provided by Papadopoulos and Flynn – particularly Flynn.

Presumably they offered something of value in return for leniency.  Yet nothing has emerged yet from their cooperation. 

As the national security advisor, Flynn is pretty high up in the pecking order.  Obtaining indictments against Flynn is a meritorious accomplishment.  Yet Mueller decided to forego nailing Flynn’s hide to the wall because the information Flynn could provide about nailing someone still higher in the pecking order.  But who’s higher than the national security advisor?

My money’s on Kushner.  My guess is that the Flynn information nails Jared Kushner.  Flynn remains loyal to Trump (and perhaps has no information on Trump), but Flynn throws Kushner under the bus to protect Flynn’s son (who is also in trouble with Mueller).

That’s my guess.  But before Mueller nails Kushner’s hide to the wall Mueller wants to get as much as is there, and he’s tying up the loose ends of Kushner peddling access and favors for money for his business.  Methodical and thorough.

Papadopolous may also have information about Kushner’s involvement with the Russian media campaign (Mueller’s indictment of 13 Russians) through Kushner’s involvement in running the Trump campaign’s “secret data operation” (Forbes, 11/22/16).  Remember, Kushner was also responsible for trying to set up “backchannel” communication with Russia (Business Insider, 7/24/17).

The Flynn information has yet to yield fruit.  My guess is that Kushner is in a world of trouble.

My guess on the Papadopoulos information is that it targets Trump Jr.’s involvement in the email hacking.  Setting up the email “conspiracy” is likely to be the next methodical step in the Mueller probe, with indictments of the people who were engaged in the hack.

These first two sets of indictments set up the structure for the second round of indicting U.S. citizens (Kushner and Trump Jr.) who were co-conspirators.

So we’re just waiting for the next shoe to drop.  What (who) did Flynn’s cooperation provide?  What (who) did Papadopoulos’ cooperation provide?  My money’s on Kushner and Trump Jr.  The big Trump is going down on obstruction of justice charges.

Craig Childress, Psy.D.

 

Why is Jeff Sessions staying on as Attorney General?  Why did Hope Hicks choose to leave?

The answer is pretty clear to me… Jeff Sessions is staying on because his remaining as Attorney General annoys the hell out of Donald Trump.  Hope Hicks left because she felt the impending legal exposure of working with a President who lies.

Initially, Jeff Sessions thought he and Trump could work together on developing a conservative agenda in the Justice Department.  Jeff Sessions had one minor hiccup, he had to recuse himself from overseeing the Justice Department probe of the independent counsel, Robert Mueller, because Sessions had discussions with the Russians while working with the Trump Campaign.  This was a completely appropriate decision.

Then, when Trump demeaned and humiliated Sessions over the recusal Session’s first response was to take offense at being publicly demeaned and humiliated by a boorish and ignorant Donald Trump, and Sessions offered his resignation. 

However, Trump was persuaded by those around him not to accept the resignation because of “obstruction of justice” concerns if Sessions was “fired” in order for Trump to gain more control over the “independent” counsel investigation (plus there would be extremely messy confirmation hearings for a new appointee).  Look what happened when Trump fired Comey… things got worse for  Trump.

Sessions was persuaded by others to stay through appeals to the importance of creating a  conservative agenda in the Justice Department, and appeals to his conservative principles of what he could accomplish persuaded him to stay on. 

But why does he continue to stay?

Because Jeff Sessions is furious with Trump.  He hates Trump.  If he leaves, that will please Donald Trump.  If he stays, that annoys and irritates the dickens out of Donald Trump.

What’s the best way for Jeff Sessions to get back at Donald Trump?  By staying on as the Attorney General.  That irritates the hell out of Donald Trump every single day.  Why do you think Sessions had dinner (photographed) with Ron Rosenstein?  That was no accident.  Sessions is enjoying annoying the hell out of Trump. 

If I were Robert Mueller I’d see if I could get Sessions to wear a concealed wire and have him go talk with Trump about ending the investigation of independent counsel Robert Mueller (obstruction of justice).  I bet Sessions would consider it.

Sessions (the Attorney General; chief law enforcement officer) wears a wire and has a private meeting with the President… one simple question from Sessions to the President…

Sessions: “Mr President, would you like me to end the independent counsel investigation in order to protect you?”

Trump’s such an irrational impulsive idiot he’ll say, “Yes.  Absolutely.  End the investigation.”

So Sessions is staying on as Attorney General exactly because it pisses off Donald Trump no end.  The more it irritates Donald Trump, the happier it makes Jeff Sessions.

Why did Hope Hicks choose to leave? 

Because she feels the pressure of her legal exposure.  Trump lies.  Hicks knows she’s involved in the lie created when Donald Trump dictated the response to the Russian meeting with Trump Jr., Manafort, and Kushner (a meeting Trump knew about and approved).  She knows she has to tell the truth to the FBI and she knows this exposes her to “conspiracy” to obstruct justice charges (and possibly more violations of additional laws, such as violations of federal election laws). 

Hope Hicks felt the pressure of her own legal exposure.  She can’t lie to the FBI (never-ever lie to the FBI), but if she tells the truth she’s in big-big legal trouble.

In the midst of this emotional stress and pressure, her boyfriend in the White House, Rob Porter, becomes embroiled in a controversy surrounding his past marriages.  In an impulsive emotional decision she wrote a press response defending Porter (who represents an important source of emotional support for her). 

But that only created more stress for her as the allegations against Porter were substantiated with photographs of his ex-wife with a black eye.

Hope Hicks is feeling the stress, particularly the stress of her legal exposure.  She can’t think straight or function in her job because she is always thinking and worrying about her legal exposure.  She decided to resign because she is seeking some degree of emotional peace, and separation from Trump and the White House is the only way she’s going to find it.

Mueller should consider also asking Hope Hicks to wear a wire and talk to Trump about their past involvement in colluding with the Russians.

Should I stay or should I go now?  If I stay there will be trouble.  If I go it will be double.
The Clash

Craig Childress, Psy.D.
Clinical Psychologist, PSY 18857

666 Fifth Ave.

“This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.” Revelation 13:18

Donald Trump loves conspiracy theories, and he has an evangelical base.  Well I’ve got a conspiracy theory for them.

Revelations 13:18.

666 Fifth Ave.

Donald Trump represents a clear and present danger to the sacred and central institutions of our democracy, a clear and present danger to our Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, and to our national security.

He wantonly attacks the impartial administration of justice, seeking to bend justice to become his personal instrument of retaliation against perceived enemies.

He openly assaults the freedom of the press enshrined in our Constitutional guarantees of our freedoms.  In Trump’s assaults on the freedom of the press, he assaults the very construct of truth, of an objectively defined reality.

Trump assaults our national security.  He recklessly provokes a nuclear confrontation with North Korea.  The absence of self-restraint in sending provocations comparing the “button size” of Donald Trump to that of a North Korean lunatic is substantially concerning from a President of the United States.

Donald Trump is openly an “asset” of the KGB and Vladimir Putin.  He takes no steps to protect our election system from future hacking and interference from foreign powers. He creates chaos and dismantles the functioning of American government.  He withdraws America from world leadership, allowing Russia and China to advance their agendas worldwide, unimpeded by any American counter-influence.

He challenges the fundamental independence of the United States’ justice system, openly calling into question the impartial administration of justice by judges, and denegrating the professionalism of investigations conducted by the top law enforcement agency of the United States; the FBI. 

He questions the findings and conclusions of our national security apparatus in favor of assertions offered to him by his KGB “handler” Vladimir Putin.  If his “handler” Vladimir Putin says the Russians didn’t try to interfere in the U.S. elections, well that’s good enough for Trump.  Never mind what the United States security apparatus says.

The ultimate danger with pathological narcissism is it’s potential collapse into delusions, particularly paranoid and persecutory delusions.

“Everyone is against me.  My trusted political advisors were disloyal.  The FBI is disloyal.  My Secretary of State is disloyal.  My Chief of Staff is disloyal.”

The psychological danger is a collapse into paranoid and persecutory delusions.

From Millon (2011)

Under conditions of unrelieved adversity and failure, narcissists may decompensate into paranoid disorders.  Owing to their excessive use of fantasy mechanisms, they are disposed to misinterpret events and to construct delusional beliefs.  Unwilling to accept constraints on their independence and unable to accept the viewpoints of others, narcissists may isolate themselves from the corrective effects of shared thinking.  Alone, they may ruminate and weave their beliefs into a network of fanciful and totally invalid suspicions.” (Millon, 2011, pp. 407).

“Among narcissists, delusions often take form after a serious challenge or setback has upset their image of superiority and omnipotence.  They tend to exhibit compensatory grandiosity and jealousy delusions in which they reconstruct reality to match the image they are unable or unwilling to give up.  Delusional systems may also develop as a result of having felt betrayed and humiliated.  Here we may see the rapid unfolding of persecutory delusions and an arrogant grandiosity characterized by verbal attacks and bombast.” (Millon, 2011, pp. 407-408).

Having a delusional President is of deep concern.

When the psychological characteristics become a matter of concern in general political discourse, knowledge of psychological factors becomes protected political speech.

Donald Trump represents a clear and present danger to the United States, to our democracy, to our Constitution, to our freedoms, and to our national security.

A time comes to speak.  That time is arrived.

Craig Childress, Psy.D.