This morning, Anna19876 brought our attention to this Politico article highlighting Roger Stone celebrating President Trump firing of FBI director Comey by lighting up a cigar and saying “your fired.” What I find even more striking in this story is that White House reporter, Josh Dawsey, also provides a glimpse into Trump’s state of mind during this scandal.
He had grown enraged by the Russia investigation, two advisers said, frustrated by his inability to control the mushrooming narrative around Russia. He repeatedly asked aides why the Russia investigation wouldn’t disappear and demanded they speak out for him. He would sometimes scream at television clips about the probe, one adviser said.
Dawsey reveals Trump is reported to have been looking for a pretext to fire Comey for more than a week.
But several other people familiar with the events said Trump had talked about the firing for more than a week, and the letters were written to give him rationale to fire Comey.
By ousting the FBI director investigating his campaign and associates, Trump may have added more fuel to the fire he is furiously trying to contain — and he was quickly criticized by a chorus of Republicans and Democrats. "The timing of this firing was very troubling," said Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican.
We are reminded of Henry Kissinger’s stories about Richard Nixon, obsessed with his inability to forestall the Watergate investigations, wondering through the White House, drunk, in his bathrobe, sputterring to paintings of former presidents.
President Trump’s “adding fuel to the fire” is part of a self imposed, potential "death spiral" -- he is trapped in similarly classic systems thinking, “fixes that backfire,” aka “fixes that fail” feedback based pattern of behavior.
Like a victim stuck in quicksand accelerates his own demise by struggling in panic, Trump’s compulsion to impulsively strike out to control and smash perceived media threats repeatedly makes his situation worse. And directly creates new conditions he perceives as additional threats which will not only justify his efforts to strike back, but in his own mind require an intensification of his efforts to control and suppress the situation.
As this pattern plays out, Trump’s very attempts to control his problems turn out to become an additional driving force that makes them worse. Eventually, the driving force of his likely downfall. This will be the underlying system structure that leads to “the cover-up becoming worse than the original crime."
In an attempt to diminish media attention to the Russian investigation Trump has single handedly made his situation dramatically worse and done more to amplify the chorus of demands for a special prosecutor than any one else.
Ironically, Trump declares that Democrats should thank him for firing Comey, and we do. Thank you mister President for focusing our national attention on the immediate need for a special counsel, or prosecutor to restore confidence in our justice system being damaged by yourself and your staff.
Speaking from experience, I can share the insight that when one is caught up in this tragic pattern, one’s whole state of mind and process of perception becomes so warped, it becomes nearly impossible not to repeat the same error over and over, each time with greater intensely, leading to exponential growth in the very problem one is trying to fight off.
As an example, consider this:
In his letter dismissing Comey, Trump said the FBI director had given him three private assurances that he wasn't under investigation. The White House declined to say when those conversations happened —
Here, in his rush to convince people Comey has exonerated him three times, he unwittingly confesses to inappropriate communication with Comey during an on-going investigation of his campaign. This by it self, if true, would be grounds for an additional investigation of both Comey and Trump.
And, In this impulsive, and compulsive reaction, has provided Democrats direct and compelling evidence that a special prosecutor is not only necessary, but also inevitable.
Because, we can already predict that in his increasingly desparate attempts to resist and suppress such an investigation, he will unwittingly do whatever is necessary to guarantee that eventually even the Republicans will have to join in the chorus for both a bipartisan special committee and special counsel.
So the lesson for all is “resistance is futile, this will be investigated.” And as with Nixon, we will likely see “it is not the crime, but the clumsy attempts at cover-up that ultimately brings parties to ultimate justice."
Republicans should consider the likelihood, that at this point, the longer they resist, the more damage they will cause to themselves, their party, and our nation, for structurally similar reasons.
We need a special prosecutor and special committee now!
