FBI/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TWITTER: “Donald Trump is acting like he feels the walls are closing in. The President perceives a marauding special counsel, an FBI plot to persecute him and a conspiracy within his own government to unfairly pry deep into his personal confidences held by a cherished confidant and personal attorney. Aides say he believes he has the right to fire Robert Mueller, is sizing up Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and is fuming behind closed doors while groping for a way out. The President set off new questions about his state of mind and the possibility he was trying to divert attention from his legal woes in a tweet Wednesday [4-11-18] in which he taunted Russia over its ability to shoot down US missiles in an apparently looming strike on Syria. Trump’s tunnel vision about widening legal probes surrounding him and his White House may not reflect reality, or even the views of many supposed allies on Capitol Hill, but it’s a powerful driving force behind his actions, as everyone waits with dread to see what happens next following Monday’s [4-9-18] FBI raid targeting his personal lawyer Michael Cohen.
– Stephen Collinson, “Trump’s perceived persecution fuels unrest,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, April 11, 201810:50 am