RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/WHITE HOUSE STAFF: “The first years of President Donald Trump’s tenure were marked by chaotic attempts among aides to thwart his efforts to curtail the special counsel’s investigation, according to Robert Mueller’s redacted report, an exercise that relied on subterfuge and deceit that does little to dispel the sense of disarray reigning at the White House. Trump is depicted in the report as entirely consumed by the probe, which he bemoaned would be the ‘end of my presidency.’ One aide said the matter of Russian interference was his ‘Achilles heel.’ The resulting West Wing atmosphere was one marred by conflict and governed by deception. Portraits of the Trump administration as an untidy collection of warring advisers, overseen by an impetuous boss, have been frequent over the past two years. Frayed departing staffers have affirmed those accounts. But Mueller’s report provides a cinematic view of the disorder, recounted through named interviews delivered under criminal penalty of lying to the FBI. Trump is depicted as foul-mouthed and loyalty obsessed, ringed by aides who shrugged off his orders, scoffed at the ‘crazy sh**’ he was demanding, and carried resignation letters with them constantly. “
–Kevin Liptak, “Undermining, but protective: How Trump’s staff’s insolence may have saved him,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, April 19, 2019