60,800 Professionals Agree: The President of the U.S. is a Crazy Ass Criminal

A Crazy Ass Criminal

By D. S. Mitchell

Mental Health Professionals Agree

60,000 mental health professionals have signed on to a letter warning of Donald J. Trump’s mental instability. Now 800 former prosecutors claim if Trump were not president he would have been indicted for obstruction of justice. So, that is 60,800 people who point to the president of the U.S. as a crazy ass criminal. Hmm.

800 Former Prosecutors Sign On

Recently 800 former prosecutors signed on to a letter stating that if Donald J. Trump was not President of the United States he would be indicted for obstruction of justice. Sadly, Donald J. Trump is president of the United States. This is not the first time that Donald Trump has been identified as unfit to be president of the United States.

Please Read

The former prosecutors who signed on to the public letter are begging the American people to please read the Mueller Report. The Report can be downloaded from the internet or purchased at Amazon or Wal-Mart. By reading the report anyone will be able to see Trump’s efforts at obstruction of justice close up.

Listen To The Experts

It might serve us well to listen to the experts when it comes to criminal obstruction of justice. I am reading the Mueller Report as I write this post, and it is disturbing. No matter what AG Bill Barr and President Trump claim, the experts are screaming at us. Donald Trump is not only mentally ill, he is also a criminal.

DOJ Policy

The Mueller report did not determine that Trump had committed criminal obstruction of justice, in part because of the DOJ policy against indicting sitting presidents, but Mueller did write that “if we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state.”

Over, Is Not Over

There are so many troublesome questions about what the president did, and is doing, that it is impossible for any thinking American to believe that we should just turn off the lights, close the door and ignore the findings of a $25 million dollar, two-and-one-half-year investigation. Maybe the bought-off Republicans are ready to sign on to AG Barr’s fictional exoneration story but most of us are not.

Corrupt Attempt

In their public letter, now 800 prosecutors state, “The Mueller report describes several acts that satisfy all the elements for an obstruction charge: conduct that obstructed or attempted to obstruct the truth-finding process, as to which the evidence of corrupt intent and connection to pending proceedings is overwhelming.” The eleven following areas of possible obstruction are taken as direct quotes from the prosecutor’s letter.

Areas of Possible Obstruction

1. Trump campaign denies Russian connections. “After WikiLeaks released politically damaging Democratic Party emails that were reported to have been hacked by Russia, Trump publicly expressed skepticism that Russia was responsible for the hacks….Trump also denied having any business in or connections to Russia, even though as late as June 2016 the Trump Organization had been pursuing a licensing deal for a skyscraper to be built in Russia called Trump Tower Moscow. After the election, the president expressed concerns to advisors that reports of Russia’s election interference might lead the public to question the legitimacy of his election.”
2. Trump asks Comey for “loyalty,” and then to “go easy”  on Michael Flynn.  “On January 27, 2017 the day after the President was told that Flynn had lied to the Vice President and had made similar statements to the FBI, the President invited FBI Director Comey to a private dinner at the White House and told Comey that he needed loyalty. On February 14, the day after the President requested Flynn’s resignation, the President told an outside advisor, ‘Now that we fired Flynn, the Russia thing is over’… Later that afternoon, the President cleared the Oval Office to have a one-on-one meeting with Comey. Referring to the FBI’s investigation of Flynn, the President said, ‘I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.'”
3. Trump rages against Session’s recusal, and puts even more pressure on Comey. “In early March, the President told White House Counsel Donald McGahn to stop Sessions from recusing. And after Sessions announced his recusal on March 2, the President expressed anger at the decision and told advisors that he should have an Attorney General who would protect him. That weekend, the President took Sessions aside at an event and urged him to ‘unrecuse’…(T)he President reached out to the Director of National Intelligence and the leaders of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA) to ask them what they could do to publicly dispel the suggestion that the President had any connection to the Russian election-interference effort…The President also twice called Comey directly, not withstanding guidance from McGahn to avoid direct contacts with the Department of Justice.”
4. Trump fires Comey. “The day of the firing, the White House maintained that Comey’s termination resulted from independent recommendations from the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General that Comey should be discharged for mishandling the Hillary Clinton email investigation. But the President had decided to fire Comey before hearing from the Department of Justice. The day after the firing Comey, the President told Russian officials that he had ‘faced great pressure because of Russia,’ which had been ‘taken off’ by Comey’s firing. The next day, the President acknowledged in a television interview that he was going to fire Comey regardless of the Department of Justice’s recommendation and that when he ‘decided to just do it,’ he was thinking that ‘this thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.'”
5. Trump freaks out over Mueller’s appointment and tries to quash it. “The President reacted to news that a Special Counsel had been appointed by telling advisors that it was ‘the end of his presidency’ and demanding that Sessions resign. Sessions submitted his resignation, but the President ultimately did not accept it. The President told aides that the Special Counsel had conflicts of interest and suggested that the Special Counsel therefore could not serve. On June 14, 2017, the media reported that the Special Counsel’s Office was investigating whether the President had obstructed justice…The President reacted to this news with a series of tweets criticizing the Department of Justice and the Special Counsel’s investigation. On June 17, 2017  the President called McGahn at home and directed him to call the Acting Attorney General (Rosenstein) and say that the Special Counsel had conflicts of interest and must be removed. McGahn did not carry out the direction, however, deciding that he would resign rather than trigger what he regarded as a potential Saturday Night Massacre (a reference to Nixon firing numerous DOJ officials on October 20, 1973 related to the Watergate scandal).
6. Trump tries to stop Mueller’s investigation. “On June 19, 2017, the President met one-on-one in the Oval Office with his former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, a trusted advisor outside the government, and dictated a message for Lewandowski to deliver to Sessions. The message said that Sessions should publicly announce that, not withstanding his recusal from the Russia investigation, the investigation was ‘very unfair’ to the President, the President had done nothing wrong, and Sessions planned to meet with the Special Counsel and ‘let (him) move forward with investigating election meddling for future elections.’ One month later, in another private meeting with Lewandowski on July 19, 2017, the President asked about the status of his message for Sessions to limit the Special Counsel investigation to future election interference. Lewandowski did not want to deliver the President’s message personally, so he asked senior White House official Rick Dearborn to deliver it to Sessions. Dearborn was uncomfortable with the task and did not follow through.”
7. Trump suppresses information on Trump Tower meeting with a Russian agent. “On several occasions, the President directed aides not to publicly disclose the emails setting up the June 9 meeting, suggesting that the emails would not leak and that the number of lawyers with access to them should be limited. Before the emails became public, the President edited a press statement for Trump Jr. by deleting a line that acknowledged that the meeting was with ‘an individual who (Trump Jr.) was told might have information helpful to the campaign’ and instead said only that the meeting was about adoptions of Russian children. When the press asked questions about the President’s involvement in Trump Jr.’s statement, the President’s personal lawyer repeatedly denied the President had played any role.”
8. Trump again pressures Sessions to un-recuse and get control of Mueller. “In early summer 2017, the President called Sessions at home and again asked him to reverse his recusal from the Russia investigation. Sessions did not reverse his recusal. In October 2017, the President met privately with Sessions in the Oval Office and asked him to ‘take (a) look’ at investigating Clinton. In December 2017, shortly after Flynn pleaded guilty pursuant to a cooperation agreement (with Special Counsel), the President met with Sessions in the Oval Office and suggested, according to notes taken by a senior advisor, that if Sessions unrecused and took back supervision of the Russia investigation, he would be a ‘hero.'”
9. Trump orders Don McGahn to lie about earlier efforts to fire Mueller. “In early 2018, the press reported that the President had directed McGahn to have the Special Counsel removed in June 2017 and that McGahn had threatened to resign rather than carry out the order. The President reacted to the news stories by directing White House officials to tell McGahn to dispute the story and create a record stating he had not been ordered to have the Special Counsel removed.”
10.  Trump tries to flatter and perhaps bribe Flynn and Manafort.  “After Flynn withdrew from a joint defense agreement with the President and began cooperating with the government, the President’s personal counsel left a message for Flynn’s attorneys reminding them of the President’s warm feelings toward Flynn, which he said ‘still remains,’ and asking for a ‘heads up’ if Flynn knew ‘information that implicates the President’…During Manafort’s prosecution and when the jury in his criminal trial was deliberating, the President praised Manafort in public, said that Manafort was being treated unfairly, and declined to rule out a pardon. After Manafort was convicted, the President called Manafort ‘a brave man’ for refusing to ‘break’ and said that ‘flipping almost ought to be outlawed.'” **Reporting on May 16, 2019 indicates that General Michael Flynn and his attorneys were contacted multiple times by Trump surrogates in the Congress (person or persons as yet unidentified).
11. Trump tries to intimidate Michael Cohen.  “The President’s conduct toward Michael Cohen, a former Trump Organization executive, changed from praise for Cohen when he falsely minimized the President’s involvement in the Trump Tower Moscow project, to castigation of Cohen when he became a cooperating witness…(A)fter Cohen began cooperating with the government in the summer of 2018, the President publicly criticized him, called him a ‘rat,’ and suggested that his family members had committed crimes.'”

Summary Of Principal Findings

On March 24, 2019 Attorney General William Barr issued a four page letter giving a “summary of principal findings” of the Mueller Report. Three weeks later, on April 18, 2019 Barr stood before television cameras and said that Robert Mueller had found no actionable incidents where the President had committed a criminal obstruction of justice. Nor, was there ‘collusion’ with the Russians.

Mueller Report Contradictions

Despite Barr’s claims the Mueller’s Report was a clear depiction of exactly what President Trump did to stop the investigation. In other words, to commit a criminal obstruction of justice. Barr with the flat affect of a zombie told the world it would be hard to prove such allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.

Disputed Findings

Barr determined that the Mueller report was “not sufficient” to establish any criminal wrongdoing by the president including criminal obstruction of justice. However, 0ver 800 former federal prosecutors acknowledged the potential defenses of Trump’s behavior and rejected Barr’s reasoning anyway.

Report Hamstrung

Many feel that The Mueller Report was hamstrung by DOJ regulations. However,”To look at these facts and say that a prosecutor could not probably sustain a conviction for obstruction of justice — the standard set out in Principles of Federal Prosecution — runs counter to logic and our experience,” wrote the 800 plus former prosecutors who signed a letter of protest to the Attorney General Barr’s reported conclusions on criminal obstruction of justice.

In Favor Of Prosecution

“As former federal prosecutors, we recognize that prosecuting obstruction of justice cases is critical because unchecked obstruction — which allows intentional interference with criminal investigations to go unpunished — puts our whole system of justice at risk,” they concluded. “We believe strongly that, but for the (Office of Legal Counsel policy against indicting a sitting President), the overwhelming weight of professional judgment would come down in favor of prosecution for the conduct outlined in the Mueller Report.”

Another Letter

I want to remind folks that two years ago in February 2017, sixty thousand (60,000) that’s not a misprint, 60,000 psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers signed a petition declaring that Donald Trump has a “dangerous mental illness, and is not fit to lead the United States.”

A Duty To Warn

Dr. John Gartner, formerly of Johns Hopkins University, now in private practice as a psychotherapist, stated that he, like so many others, felt he “had an ethical responsibility to warn the public of Donald Trump’s mental illness.” I think that the prosecutors used a similar rationale when they published their letter clarifying what was, and was not, obstruction of justice. The evidence they claim is Volume 2 of the Mueller Report.

Competent or Incompetent

The 60,000 signors of the mental health petition affirm, that in their numerous opinions, “Trump is psychologically incapable of competently discharging the duties of President of the United States.  Furthermore, we respectfully request that Trump be removed from office according to Article 4 of the Constitution, which states that the president will be replaced if he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” Nothing we can’t see for ourselves

See For Ourselves

In a Letter to the Editor, NY Times, 2/09/2017, Charles M. Blow stated that Trump through his speech and actions demonstrates an inability to tolerate any views, or opinions that differ from his own. “His words and his behavior suggest a profound inability to empathize. Individuals with these traits distort reality to suit their psychological state, attacking facts and those who convey them (Journalists, Scientists and now prosecutors).”

Out Of The President’s Mouth

The Editorial Staff of Psychology Today threw their sizable weight at the argument, citing “the dangers of his obvious narcissistic personality type and the offensive behaviors that accompany it.  Behaviors include, but are not limited to, “condescension, gross exaggeration (lying), bullying, jealousy, fragile self-esteem, lack of compassion, and a view of the world that is “an us vs them” view. And there is the constant boasting, with the overtone that he is the smartest guy in the room, “I’m smarter than the generals.”

From A Distance

Many have asked, is it possible to diagnose an illness from a distance?  In the personality disorders, definitely, yes. As regards illegal behavior, another obvious, yes. It’s about observable behaviors that any average individual can see and determine for themselves.

An Impediment To Serve

The mental health professionals are saying that Trump’s Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a potential threat to his competency in office. Just as prosecutors are saying that Trump’s illegal behavior is a danger to the office of the presidency. So, you are saying to yourself, Narcissistic Personality Disorder? Hmm, what exactly is that, it doesn’t sound like it’s an impediment to Trump serving as president? How about obstruction of justice? Does that sound like an impediment to Trump serving as president?

In Black and White

If nothing else, when I type these characteristics out, and you see them in black and white, you will immediately recognize our current President, Donald J. Trump.

1. ) Initial likeability: at first meeting. Trump comes across as charming and likable.  Often that first impression is the best impression that you will ever have of this person. (He’s really nice, when you meet him, people say.)
2. ) Grandiosity: Self importance. Constant boasting, “It was the most incredible. Most unbelievably beautiful piece of chocolate cake you have ever seen, unbelievable.”
3. ) Center of conversation: No matter where the conversation starts, it always ends up where the conversation is all about the NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disordered) individual.
4. ) Name dropper: “I love Tom Brady. One of my best friends.”
5. ) Invent Stories: When the NPD individual tells a story, about himself, if the story is one of grand overwhelming success, obviously he was entitled to that greatness. Trump continues to talk about his “great Electoral College win” and the “biggest inaugural crowd in history”.  If the story has a negative result for Trump, it is because he was victimized by the offending party,  because his greatness wasn’t recognized. The “fake news”.
6. ) Material Possessions:  the Hallmark trait of the NPD is display of their high status thru expensive material items. Trump shows off his wealth with impunity.
7. ) Self promoter: has lots of “friends” and a broad network of acquaintances.
8. ) Physically attractive: appearance is extremely important to Trump and his arm candy, whether wife or girlfriend must be extremely beautiful and perfectly groomed.
9. ) Hypersensitive to criticism: will frequently react viciously to critics. Outbursts of anger and rage. Self-righteous, and defensive.
10. ) Externalize blame: any one but them. Never admit mistakes, blame anyone and everyone. “It was the Obama Administration that vetted Flynn.”
11. ) Failed personal relationships: bad personal relationships, multiple divorces, frequent work problems. Three wives, numerous affairs. Frequently sued by dissatisfied contractors and Trump University students.
12. ) Special and unique: the narcissistic personality disordered believes he is best understood by his high status associates.
13. ) Pre-occupied with fantasies of unlimited success: all because of narcissistic personality disordered personal power, brilliance and beauty.
14. ) Views your action:  people are either for, or against him. No grey, all black or white.
15. ) Requires excessive admiration: Constantly fishing for compliments.  Highly susceptible to flattery.
16. ) Associates manipulate with flattery: Often associates will  flatter the individual, just to maintain peace.
17. ) Envy: the narcissistic personality disordered is often envious of others, and in turn, believes others are envious of him.
18. ) Bad attitude:  frequently rude and abusive. Interpersonal relationships are frequently explosive.
19. ) Lacks empathy: unable to recognize, or identify with feelings and needs of others.
20. ) Projects traits and behaviors: to others that he won’t accept in himself.
21. ) Interpersonal boundaries: Trump unconsciously view others as extensions of himself. Poor interpersonal boundaries.

Duty To Warn Letter

In February 2017, the signors of the Duty to Warn letter, the mental health professionals warned President Trump’s mental state “makes him incapable of serving safely as president.” The presidents “tendency to distort reality to fit his personal myth of greatness and attack those who challenge him with facts” is in fact a dangerous situation.”

Dr. John Gartner States

Dr. John Gartner stated, “because of his sociopathic tendencies he lies.” Trump lies for different reasons. In one instance, he lies in the way a used car salesman lies, to scam you, or his identified mark. “The other aspect of his lying is more serious-I believe. Trump has only a loose grip on reality.  Even when confronted with the facts that he has lied, he keeps lying. If he cannot accept an aspect of reality he mentally rejects it, making his grasp on reality, and his attention to it, loose.”

Lee Siegel Believes

When Trump’s non-reality is combined with his paranoia, the fact that he has access to the nuclear code is troubling. The professionals including, Lee Siegel say, “He actually imagines himself under attack by people who are not actually attacking him, a dangerous combination of someone who can act on his paranoid fantasies, in a way that can have catastrophic consequences.”

Compulsive Lies

Trump compulsively lies, continuously contradicts himself, seeks approval of others, even when attacking them.  He exalts people one day, vilifying and abusing that individual, sometimes the next day.  Siegel continues, “Best to stay away from an NPD person, but also we must keep the person away from situations where he can do harm”

Stay Vigilant

Until something is done the best advice is “be observant, vigilant. Share articles, write and call elected officials and make your concerns known regarding your opinion of President Trump’s mental health. Lastly, Siegel states, “need to correct this threat to our ecology, our society, and our international relations, soon-before it’s too late.”

Articles Reviewed

Most of the information for this article came from three articles published in Psychology Today, in April 2017. Those three articles were written by Rose Sword and Phil Zimardo. Also, The Independent, did a story on the Yale University Conference that featured Lee Siegel and Dr. John Gartner, where several of the quotes for this blog post were found.

Watch, Observe and Report

At Calamity Politics, I too feel that Donald Trump is seriously mentally ill. Also, many of the neurological issues that I have observed have not been reported by clinicians. The neurological issues, are signs that make me question Trump’s fitness from another angle. I have noticed his strange forward leaning stance. That forward bizarre off-balance stance is abnormal. I am concerned with his bizarre facial movements, including but not limited to, pursed lips and odd hand gestures. He often appears to be playing an accordion without benefit of the squeeze box. Furthermore, he has a notable series of tics and sighs that are strange to say the least. He has a very limited vocabulary, and makes use of four word sentences. I worked for many years on a Psychiatric Crisis Unit, at a major university hospital. Many of the characteristics displayed by Trump are early signs of dementia. We must watch, observe, and stay in contact with out elected officials.

He’s No John F. Kennedy

From my heart, I find it painful to listen to the awkward, angry, undisciplined and unfiltered speeches of Donald Trump, after having heard the brilliant and inspiring speeches of Barack Obama, John F. Kennedy and others I find Trump’s ramblings both depressing and troublesome. Trump’s awkward use of language, the simple words, the vulgarity of his speech is like that of an uneducated child.

What Makes A Hero ?

It is important to remember that the mental health practitioners and former prosecutors that signed these two separate documents did so in the most public of ways.  They have put the full weight of their reputations with these statements. These are heroes. Now it is time for the Congress to step up and be heroes.

It’s All About Politics And Politicians

Remember there is more to life than politics, however, with that said, politics is what makes up our everyday life. Politicians makes decisions about our health care, abortion, our courts, our schools, our roads, our infrastructure, our environment. So, no matter which side you have chosen, remember that choice will have effects that last a life-time.

Flowers Spring Forth

It’s Sunday afternoon, and I’ve planted several trays of spring flowers, and the yard at Calamity Politics is now a brighter and more inviting place. If you are a new visitor to www,calamitypolitics.com, we are a progressive political blog that hopefully offers relevant and engaging political chatter.  In addition to the chatter, I try to offer intelligent analysis and commentary on the news of the day.  Hopefully, readers will find the articles topical and informative. Our focus primarily is on the U.S. political scene.