THE NYT TRUMP INTERVIEW

20 July, 2017

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher,

101 Main Street #380

Huntington Beach, CA 92648

Dear Congressman,

Re: The NYT Trump interview

I wonder if you read the excerpts of the interview with Trump (sorry, I still refuse to think of him, let alone refer to him as president)? Any honest assessment of that interview would surely conclude that the man is severely limited intellectually, if not actually demented. He whines, he waffles, he blames, he lies, he oversimplifies, he indulges in needless self-aggrandizement… The interview is mostly painful to read, but I especially enjoyed the part where he waxed on about the French president liking so much to hold his hand. The little boy finally emerged, innocent and undisguised.

One line caught my attention. At one point, when he is talking about his meeting with US Senators about the health care bill, he declares: “Believe me, do I know bad people.” And on this point, yes, I do actually believe him. I believe that he is where he is, a purported billionaire, precisely because he knows bad people. I believe, despite his frequent denials, that he has had dealings with bad people. He may have no buildings in Russia, as he once again claims in this interview, but he has surely enabled the money-laundering needed by Russian oligarchs to protect their assets. He has surely profited obscenely from abetting these “bad people.” Remember, Junior boasting about how all that money was flooding in from Russia? Oh, yes, I do believe he knows them.

I see no other explanation, quite frankly, for his adamant refusal (again, in this interview) to reveal information about his personal finances; he makes it clear that he would seriously consider firing special counsel Mueller if he crossed what Trump calls this “red line.” And yet… this is what it’s all about, isn’t it? In what ways is he obligated to the Russians, that they worked so hard to assure his election?

I hope we find out, don’t you? Is that not the patriotic course, to defend our country against the aggression of hostile nations? Or perhaps, given your documented friendship with our adversary, you have a different view?

Respectfully,

Peter Clothier, Ph.D.