Epstein Estate Documents - Batch 7 / TEXT / 002 from House

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HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_033311
txt
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/9bq6uj0p ... tracking=1

From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Richard Kahn
9/14/2016 2:33:10 PM
jeffrey E. [[email protected]]
trump making a nice move..
Importance: High
Election Polls 1President Polls 1State Polls Senate Polls 1House Polls Governor Polls lApproval Polls
Wednesday, September 14
Race/Topic (Click to Sort) Poll
General Election: Trump vs. Clinton LA Times/USC Tracking
General Election: Trump vs. Clinton vs. Reuters/Ipsos
Johnson vs. Stein
General Election: Trump vs. Clinton Reuters/Ipsos
Ohio: Trump vs. Clinton vs. Johnson
vs. Stein
Ohio: Trump vs. Clinton
Maine: Trump vs. Clinton vs. Johnson
vs. Stein
Maine CD2: Trump vs. Clinton vs.
Johnson vs. Stein
Massachusetts: Trump vs. Clinton vs.
Johnson vs. Stein
Kansas: Trump vs. Clinton vs. Johnson
vs. Stein
South Carolina: Trump vs. Clinton vs.
Johnson vs. Stein
Kansas Senate - Moran vs. Wiesner
Maine 2nd District - Poliquin vs. Cain
Maine 1st District - Holbrook vs.
Pingree
President Obama Job Approval
2016 Generic Congressional Vote
Direction of Country
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
Colby
College/SurveyUSA
Colby
College/SurveyUSA
WBUR/MassINC
KSN News/SurveyUSA
Trafalgar Group (R)
KSN News/SurveyUSA*
Colby
College/SurveyUSA
Colby
College/SurveyUSA
Reuters/Ipsos
Reuters/Ipsos
Reuters/Ipsos
Results
Clinton 42, Trump 47
Clinton 39, Trump 39,
Johnson 8, Stein 2
Clinton 40, Trump 39
Trump 44, Clinton 39,
Johnson 10, Stein 3
Clinton 43, Trump 48
Clinton 42, Trump 39,
Johnson 9, Stein 5
Trump 47, Clinton 37,
Johnson 8, Stein 5
Clinton 54, Trump 28,
Johnson 9, Stein 4
Trump 48, Clinton 36,
Johnson 8, Stein 2
Trump 53, Clinton 38,
Johnson 3, Stein 1
Moran 50, Wiesner 34
Poliquin 50, Cain 45
Pingree 57, Holbrook 37
Approve 48, Disapprove
48
Democrats 40,
Republicans 38
Right Direction 22, Wrong
Track 65
Spread
Trump +5
Tie
Clinton +1
Trump +5
Trump +5
Clinton +3
Trump +10
Clinton +26
Trump +12
Trump +15
Moran +16
Poliquin +5
Pingree +20
Tie
Democrats +2
Wrong Track
+43
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 033311

[admin]

HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_033312
txt
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/9bq6uj0p ... tracking=1

From: Richard Kahn
Sent: 4/20/2018 5:52:34 PM
To: jeffrey E. [[email protected]]
Importance: High
is this a sign trump will escape muller investigation unharmed..
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/20/democra ... paign-and-
wikileaks-conspired-to-disrupt-the-2016-election-report.html
Richard Kahn
HBRK Associates Inc.
575 Lexington Avenue 4th Floor
New York, NY 10022
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 033312

Democratic Party files suit alleging Russia, the Trump campaign, and WikiLeaks conspired to disrupt the 2016 election
by Dan Mangan@_DanMangan
cnbc
Published Fri, Apr 20 201811:10 AM EDT Updated Fri, Apr 20 20187:39 PM EDT
https://web.archive.org/web/20221226094 ... ce=twitter

-- Our Man in London: The Scandal of the 35-Page ‘Intelligence Dossier’ Directed against Donald Trump, by Prof Michael Keefer

KEY POINTS

• The Democratic National Committee sued the Trump campaign, the Russian government, Wikileaks on Friday, accusing them of conspiring to disrupt the 2016 presidential election.
• President Donald Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. and son-in-law Jared Kushner are among the defendants.
• The DNC says Russia found a “willing and active partner” in the Trump campaign to attack American democracy and defeat Hillary Clinton.

The Democratic Party on Friday sued President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, the Russian government and the Wikileaks group, claiming a broad illegal conspiracy to help Trump win the 2016 election.

The multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court says that “In the Trump campaign, Russia found a willing and active partner in this effort” to mount “a brazen attack on American Democracy,” which included Russian infiltration of the Democratic Party computer network.

The Trump campaign, according to the lawsuit, “gleefully welcomed Russia’s help.”

The suit says that “preexisting relationships with Russia and Russian oligarchs” with Trump and Trump associates “provided fertile ground for [the] Russia-Trump conspiracy.”

The common purpose of the scheme, according to the Democratic National Committee, was to “bolster Trump and denigrate the Democratic Party nominee,” Hillary Clinton, while boosting the candidacy of Trump, “whose policies would benefit the Kremlin.”

Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said the party’s suit “is not partisan, it’s patriotic.”

“If the occupant of the Oval Office won’t protect our democracy, Democrats will. It is our obligation to the American people,” Perez said.

He called the alleged conspiracy “an act of unprecedented treachery: the campaign of a nominee for President of the United States in league with a hostile foreign power to bolster its own chance to win the presidency.”

The DNC in 1972 had sued President Richard Nixon’s election committee in connection with the break-in at the party’s headquarters in the Watergate building in Washington by burglars connected to the committee. The Nixon campaign settled that suit for $750,000 on the same day that Nixon resigned in disgrace in August 1974 as a result of his efforts to cover-up White House ties to the Watergate burglars.

The White House had no immediate comment on the new DNC lawsuit.

In a statement issued Friday afternoon, the Trump campaign called the lawsuit “frivolous,” and a “last-ditch effort to substantiate the baseless Russian collusion allegations by the nearly-bankrupt Democratic Party.”

“This civil lawsuit is completely without merit and will be dismissed in due time,” the campaign said.

The named defendants in the lawsuit include Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr., his son-in-law Jared Kushner, former campaign chief Paul Manafort and campaign official Richard Gates, and Trump ally Roger Stone.

Also named is the Russian Federation, the general staff of the Russian armed forces, a Russian intelligence services hacker known as Guccifer 2.0., Wikileaks and its leader Julian Assange, and 10 unidentified people.

The suit says Russia is not entitled to sovereign immunity from the action, because the claims stem from Russia’s “trespass on to the DNC’s private [computer] servers” to steal information.

The DNC said that while it would be impossible “to fully repair the harm caused by the defendants, the DNC has filed this civil complaint ... to hold the defendants accountable for their misconduct and to ensure transparency.”

The suit says that the Trump campaign solicited Russia’s illegal assistance and maintained secret communications with people linked to the Russian government, including a spy agency tasked with attacking the DNC.

The suit goes on to say that Russian agents trespassed into the DNC’s computer network and other electronic accounts, “collected trade secrets and other private data” and then sent that information to Wikileaks, a private group well-known for publishing secret documents.

The founder of Wikileaks, Assange, “shared the defendants’ common goal of damaging the Democratic party in advance of the election,” according to the suit.

Russia, using Wikileaks, would disseminate information stolen from the Democrats “at times when it would best suit the Trump campaign,” the suit said.

The lawsuit noted that as the stolen DNC information was released publicly, “Trump openly praised the illegal disseminations and encouraged Russia to continue violations of U.S. law through its ongoing hacking campaign.”

Perez, the DNC chairman, in a prepared statement, said, the Russian government notified the Trump campaign in advance that it had stolen Democratic emails and other information about plans by the party that Russia sought to support Trump’s candidacy.

“Rather than reporting Russia’s offer to meddle in a U.S. election, the Trump campaign welcomed Russia’s help,” Perez said. “Trump’s closest political adviser, Roger Stone, also appeared to have advance knowledge of specific plans by WikiLeaks to disseminate some of this information.”

The suit’s claims open with the words: “No one is above the law.”

“In the run-up to the 2016 election, Russia mounted a brazen attack on American Democracy. The opening salvo was an attack on the DNC, carried out on American soil.”

“In 2015 and 2016, Russian intelligence services hacked into the DNC’s computers, penetrated its phone systems and exfiltrated tens of thousands of documents and emails,” the suit says.

“Russia then used this stolen information to advance its own interests: destabilizing the U.S. political environment, denigrating Democratic presidential nominee, and supporting the campaign of Donald J. Trump ... whose policies would benefit the Kremlin,” the suit charges.

The suit alleges conspiracy, computer fraud and abuse, misappropriation of trade secrets, trespass and other violations of the law.

The full Trump response to the lawsuit is here:

Trump Campaign Responds to Frivolous DNC Lawsuit

NEW YORK, NY – Today, the Democratic National Committee filed a wide-ranging, partisan civil lawsuit in federal court against the Trump Campaign, WikiLeaks, and the Russian Government. In response, Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. notes that this frivolous lawsuit is a last-ditch effort to substantiate the baseless Russian collusion allegations by a nearly-bankrupt Democratic Party still trying to counter the will of the people in the 2016 presidential election. This civil lawsuit is completely without merit and will be dismissed in due time.

“This is a sham lawsuit about a bogus Russian collusion claim filed by a desperate, dysfunctional, and nearly insolvent Democratic Party,” said Brad Parscale, Campaign Manager of Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. “With the Democrats’ conspiracy theories against the President’s campaign evaporating as quickly as the failing DNC’s fundraising, they’ve sunk to a new low to raise money, especially among small donors who have abandoned them. There is a great deal the American public wants to know about the corruption of the Democrats, their collusion to influence the 2016 presidential election, and their role in prompting a scam investigation of the Trump Campaign. While this lawsuit is frivolous and will be dismissed, if the case goes forward, the DNC has created an opportunity for us to take aggressive discovery into their claims of ‘damages’ and uncover their acts of corruption for the American people,” he concluded.

If this lawsuit proceeds, the Trump Campaign will be prepared to leverage the discovery process and explore the DNC’s now-secret records about the actual corruption they perpetrated to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. Everything will be on the table, including:

• How the DNC contributed to the fake dossier, using Fusion GPS along with the Clinton Campaign as the basis for the launch of a phony investigation.

• Why the FBI was never allowed access to the DNC servers in the course of their investigation into the Clinton e-mail scandal.

• How the DNC conspired to hand Hillary Clinton the nomination over Bernie Sanders.

• How officials at the highest levels of the DNC colluded with the news media to influence the outcome of the DNC nomination.

• Management decisions by Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Donna Brazile, Tom Perez, and John Podesta; their e-mails, personnel decisions, budgets, opposition research, and more.

— Additional reporting by CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger.

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HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_033313
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https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/9bq6uj0p ... tracking=1

From: Richard Kahn
Sent: 6/22/2018 1:12:21 PM
To: Jeffrey Epstein [[email protected]]
Importance: High
see video at the bottom of the page as someone at rally printed a picture of you and trump together
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news ... from-rally
Richard Kahn
HBRK Associates Inc.
575 Lexington Avenue, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10022
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 033313

[admin]

HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_033314
txt
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/9bq6uj0p ... tracking=1

From: Robert Trivers
Sent: 6/28/2018 12:27:50 AM
To: Jeffrey Epstein [[email protected]]
Importance: High
i think we have divergent views on Trump and trade for obvious reasons
the best economists say all-out trade war will cost the WORLD 2-3% of its GDP
this can hardly help the stock market
but the "perturbations" are meat for you—if you can see what to buy and sell ahead of time—or very quickly—
in response to the latest tariffs you can beat the system
TIA-CRF can not
in good times, it does better than average—here it does distinctly worse—each hit is taken hard, each recovery
is feeble—precisely because it does not change its portfolio or only slowly
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 033314

[admin]

HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_033315
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https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/9bq6uj0p ... tracking=1

From: Kathy Ruemmler
Sent: 7/17/2018 12:29:07 AM
To: [email protected]
Importance: High
Your boy should distance himself from Trump. Quick.
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 033315

[admin]

HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_033316
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https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/9bq6uj0p ... tracking=1

From:
Sent:
To:
9/18/2018 8:17:46 PM
[email protected]
Importance: High
I like the confidence that Bob talked about it .... it's a real lesson of how to be strong
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/09/04/transcript-phone-call-between-president-trump-journalist-
bob-woodward/?noredirect=on&utm term=.7fb34bc85d22
Transcript: Phone call between President
Trump and journalist Bob Woodward
Aaron Blake
President Trump and Bob Woodward discuss Woodward's new book, "Fear," before its
publication. (The Washington Post)
Bob Woodward, an associate editor at The Washington Post, sought an interview with
President Trump as he was writing "Fear," a book about Trump's presidency. Trump
called Woodward in early August, after the manuscript had been completed, to say he
wanted to participate.
Over the course of 11-plus minutes, Trump repeatedly claimed his White House staff
hadn't informed him of Woodward's interview request — despite also admitting Sen.
Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) had told him Woodward wanted to talk. He also started the
phone call by saying Woodward had "always been fair" to him, but by the end he said
the book would be "inaccurate."
This is a transcript of that call, with key sections highlighted and annotated. To see an
annotation, click on the yellow, highlighted text.
Trump: Hello, Bob.
BW: President Trump, how are you?
Trump: How are you? How are you doing? Okay?
BW: Real well. I'm turning on my tape recorder, with your permission.
Trump: Oh, that's okay. That's okay. I don't mind that at all.
BW: I'm sorry we missed the opportunity to talk for the book.
Trump: Well, I just spoke with Kellyanne [Conway] and she asked me if I got a call. I
never got a call. I never got a message. Who did you ask about speaking to me?
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 033316
BW: Well, about six people.
Trump: They don't tell me.
BW: A senator. I talked to Kellyanne about it two and a half months ago.
Trump: [1.
BW: She came for lunch.
Trump: Well, it's too bad. Of course, you and I had a conversation a couple of years ago,
and so that I think got you there a little bit. And we had a conversation many years ago, if
you remember, in Trump Tower.
BW: Yeah, I do.
Trump: That has to be 20 years ago. And you were thinking about doing a book about me
then, which is interesting. Who knew it would've been on this subject? Right? That was not
in the cards at that time.
BW: That's right. Well, I'm sorry, I...
Trump: I still remember that.
BW: I spent a lot of time on this, talked to lots of people.
Trump: All right. Good.
BW: And as you know and are living, we are at a pivot point in history.
Trump: Right.
BW: And I would've liked to have done that, and I maximized my effort, and somehow it
didn't get to you, or...
Trump: It's really too bad, because nobody told me about it, and I would've loved to have
spoken to you. You know I'm very open to you. I think you've always been fair. We'll see
what happens. But all I can say is the country is doing very well. We're doing better
economically just about than at any time. We're doing better on unemployment maybe than
ever. You know, I mean, if you look at the unemployment numbers, you've heard me say it.
And we're doing better on unemployment than just about ever. We're having a lot of___a lot
of companies are moving back into our country, which would've been unheard of two years
ago. If the other administration or representatives of it had kept going, had kept___you
know, if the other group had won, I will tell you, that you would have, I think you'd have a
GDP of less than zero. I think we would've been going in the wrong direction. Because
regulations are such a big part of what we've done, Bob.
BW: Well, I understand that point of view. And as you know, it's also a difficult time where
the political system and you and my business is being tested.
Trump: Yeah. Yeah.
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 033317
BW: I take it very seriously. I've done books on eight presidents, going back from Nixon to
Obama.
Trump: Right.
BW: And I learned something about reporting, frankly, Mr. President.
Trump: Good.
BW: I've got to go talk to people and see them outside of the White House and outside of
their offices, and gained a lot of insight and documentation. And it's___you know, it's a
tough look at the world and your administration and you.
Trump: Right. Well, I assume that means it's going to be a negative book. But you know,
I'm some___I'm sort of 50 percent used to that. [Laughter] That's all right. Some are good
and some are bad. Sounds like this is going to be a bad one.
BW: It was a chance missed, and I don't know how things work over there in terms of...
Trump: Very well. We...
BW: ... getting to you.
Trump: Well, if you would call Madeleine [Westerhout] in my office ... Did you speak to
Madeleine?
BW: No, I didn't. But I...
Trump: Madeleine is the key. She's the secret. Because she's the person ...
BW: Well, I talked to Raj [Shah] about it. I talked to ... I talked to Kellyanne.
Trump: Well, a lot of them are afraid to come and talk, or___you know, they are busy. I'm
busy. But I don't mind talking to you. I would've spoken to you. I spoke to you 20 years
[ago] and I spoke to you a year and a half or two years ago.
[Listen to Woodward and Trump's call on The Post's "Can He Do That?" podcast]
BW: A couple of years ago, I understand.
Trump: And I certainly don't mind talking to you, and I wish I could've spoken to you. But
nobody called my office. I mean, you went through, I guess, different people....
BW: Well, Mr. President, how can I spend all this time talking to people and___like
Kellyanne and Raj and Republican senators?
Trump: Who were the senators? No, they never called me about it.
BW: Senator [Lindsey] Graham said he had talked to you about talking to me. Now, is that
not true?
Trump: Senator Graham actually mentioned it quickly in one meeting.
BW: Yes. Well, see. And then nothing happened.
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 033318
Trump: That is true. That is true. Well, that____no, but that is true. Mentioned it quickly, not
like, you know, and I would certainly have thought that maybe you would've called the
office. But that's okay. I'll speak to Kellyanne. I am a little surprised that she wouldn't have
told me. In fact, she just walked in. [to Kellyanne] I'm talking to Bob Woodward. He said
that he told you.
Conway: Yes.
Trump: About speaking to me. But you never told me. Why didn't you tell me?
Conway: [inaudible].
Trump: I would've been very happy to speak to him. All right, so what are you going to do?
BW: Well ...
Trump: So I have another bad book coming out. Big deal.
BW: ... it goes on, and I... What you can count on is that I've been very careful. And
Evelyn, are you on?
EMD: Yes.
BW: Evelyn Duffy, who's my assistant, Mr. President.
Trump: Hello, Evelyn.
BW: She transcribed all the tapes because, with permission, I taped people for hundreds of
hours.
Trump: Good.
BW: And I think there's nothing in this book that doesn't come from a firsthand source. Is
that correct, Evelyn?
EMD: I believe that's
Trump: But are you naming names? Or do you just say sources?
BW: Yeah, well, it names real incidents, so ...
Trump: No, but do you name sources? I mean, are you naming the people, or just say,
people have said?
BW: I say, at 2:00 on this day, the following happened, and everyone who's there, including
yourself, is quoted. And I'm sorry I didn't get to ask you about these ...
Trump: I mean, you do know I'm doing a great job for the country. You do know that
NATO now is going to pay billions and billions of dollars more, as an example, than
anybody thought possible, that other presidents were unable to get more? And it was heading
downward. You do know all of the things I've done and things that I'm doing? I'm in the
process of making some of the greatest trade deals ever to be made. You do understand that
stuff? I mean, I hope.
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 033319
BW: Certainly, I understand and I would've loved to go through a discussion with you about
NATO, because this goes back to early in your administration and your concern about it, and
the agreement that the countries have that they would increase their defense contribution,
what is it, by the year 2024? And you know . .. So anyway, we are ...
Trump: Well, you know last year, if you see the secretary, [Jens] Stoltenberg, he said I
believe $44 billion just last year, and that was from last year's meeting. And this year it's
much more money they've agreed to put up. So it's a tremendous amount of money. No
other president has done it. It was heading down in the opposite direction. So I don't know if
you're going to report it that way; probably not. But that's too bad, but that's all right, but
you know, one of those things.
BW: Everything is going to be factual. And it is not a good thing for my business, if I may
say this to you, Mr. President, to the presidency, or to the country, to not have real, full
exchanges on these. And I broke my spear on it trying to get to you.
Trump: Well, other than Lindsey [Graham], who did quickly mention it, nobody mentioned
it.
BW: You say Kellyanne's there, ask her.
Trump: Nobody told me about it. Well, let me ask her. Why don't you speak to Kellyanne.
Ask her. She never told me about it.
[Conway takes the phone.]
BW: Kellyanne?
Conway: Bob, how are you? Hi.
BW: Hi. Remember two and a half months ago you came over and I laid out, I wanted to
talk to the president? And you said you would get back to me?
Conway: I do. And I put in the request. But you know, they___it was rejected. I can only
take it so far. I guess I can bring it right to the president next time.
BW: Yeah.
Conway: But I try to follow all the protocols, or else I'm accused of being somebody who
doesn't follow protocol.
BW: President Trump, I just want you to know I made every effort.
Conway: But you had talked to [former White House communications director] Hope
[Hicks], right, who said no?
BW: Listen, I talked to anyone I could. [Laughs]
Conway: You talked to a number of people and they all said no?
BW: I talked to Raj.
Conway: Raj.
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 033320
BW: He was going to work it out.
Conway: Hope. IMe?].
[The president says something in the background that is inaudible.]
Conway: I said you tried talking to everybody? What about when you interviewed, like,
other people? They all said yes? That they'd try?
BW: Yeah, well, about six or seven people. I tried. And I couldn't have___you and I spent a
whole lunch on it, Kellyanne. And I said, I want to cover the substantive issues in foreign
policy and domestic policy. And you said you would get back to me. Nothing.
Conway: Yeah. So, I did. I presented it to the people here who make those decisions, but ...
BW: Who are the people?
Conway: But anyway, I'll give you back to the president. And I'm glad to hear that you
tried through seven or eight different people. That's good. You should tell him all the names.
[Laughs] Thank you.
Trump: But you never called for me. It would've been nice, Bob, if you called for me, in
my office. I mean, I have a secretary. I have two, three secretaries. If you would've called
directly___a lot of people are afraid ... Raj, I hardly have ... I don't speak to Raj.
BW: Kellyanne is a...
Trump: I do, I do, and Kellyanne went to somebody, but she didn't come to me.
BW: Well, does she have access to you?
Trump: And she should've come to me. She does have access to me. Absolutely. She has
direct access, but she didn't come to me. And you know what? That's okay. I'll just end up
with another bad book. What can I tell you?
BW: It's surprising to me that these people___did Raj have access to you?
Trump: Not really, but he would've been able to do it. But I have an office. You have the
office number. I have an office that's directly into my office.
Conway: [inaudible in background]
Trump: It doesn't matter. Let me tell you what matters: The economy is the best it's been in
many, many decades. And it's going to get a lot better. And the country is doing very well.
That's what's important.
BW: Yes, sir. I thought I would ...
Trump: We're doing a good job.
BW: ... never kind of say, let's not talk about this because the book is done to a president
Trump: Yeah, I know.
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 033321
BW: ... and, but that's the position we're in. And it's one I tried to avoid. You need to
know I made maximum effort.
Trump: All right. It's too bad.
BW: Yes, sir.
Trump: I'm just hearing about it. And I heard___I did hear from Lindsey, but I'm just
hearing about it. So we're going to have a very inaccurate book, and that's too bad. But I
don't blame you entirely.
BW: No, it's r] ____ it's going to be accurate, I promise.
Trump: Yeah, okay. Well, accurate is that nobody's ever done a better job than I'm doing
as president. That I can tell you. So that's ... And that's the way a lot of people feel that
know what's going on, and you'll see that over the years. But a lot of people feel that, Bob.
BW: I believe in our country, and because you're our president, I wish you good luck.
Trump: Okay. Thank you very much, Bob. I appreciate it. Bye.
[Call ends]
[Recording ends]
Regards,
Aziza
Sent from my iPhone
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 033322

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HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_033323
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https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/9bq6uj0p ... tracking=1

Does Trump Fit the Evolutionary Role of Narcissistic Sociopath?


Nathan H. Lents and Robert Trivers


There is no shortage of published psychological profiles of Donald J. Trump that attempt to diagnose him, from a distance, as either a psychopath or a narcissistic sociopath. These profiles, of course, are fatally hindered by the lack of access to Mr. Trump for personal examination and completion of personality inventories. However, exploration of the evolutionary features of these very peculiar personality types may provide insight into this important question.


Psychopaths are indeed an evolutionary conundrum because their particular behaviors are not an obvious path toward evolutionary success. For example, the majority of serial killers are childless when they are killed or apprehended. Narcissistic sociopaths, however, invariably [typically] have families and children whom they support energetically, and many of the traits specific to this phenotype can fairly be called adaptive. This raises the important issue of the evolutionary niche of a narcissistic sociopath within the societies in which they exist.


The psychological profile of narcissistic sociopathy is generally agreed upon and shares many features with psychopaths including above average intelligence, considerable social savvy, adaptability, likeability, and natural skills in the manipulation of others. They are charming, outgoing, and often feign interest in people and subjects and can convincingly fake both sympathy and conscience. If they engage in charitable acts at all, they are only in pursuit of ancillary selfish benefits. They learn well from past experiences, and show no dedication to a set of moral values, religious beliefs, truth, transparency. If they admire anyone, it is other sociopaths that they wish to emulate. Finally, they are effective liars and show a chilling unconcern for the welfare of others.


There is one particular skill that is common to both psychopaths and narcissistic sociopaths and absolutely essential to their nature: cognitive empathy. Emotional empathy, sometimes called emotional contagion, is regarded as the ability and tendency to closely identify with the emotional experience of others, even “catching” their emotions to a degree. Cognitive empathy is quite different. This is a mental skill involving the close observation and interpretation of the actions and emotions of others in order to understand and predict their behavior. It is morally neutral and common in high-functioning individuals across the moral and ethical spectrum. While social workers and therapists use cognitive empathy to help individuals improve their lives, psychopaths and sociopaths use this skill to manipulate, coerce, and deceive others in order to achieve their own ends. While emotional empathy is an innate cognitive feature we share with most social mammals, cognitive empathy is a skill that can be developed and refined and doing so is key to the behavioral patterns of both psychopaths and sociopaths.


However, the ways in which sociopaths differ from psychopaths is key to understanding their evolutionary utility. For example, psychopaths are more likely than the general public to be violent and to end up incarcerated. Narcissistic sociopaths, on the other hand, are usually nonviolent and happy to work within a system of laws and norms, insofar as it suits their goals, because, while they do not hesitate to harm others, it isn’t a specific aim. Instead, they are highly motivated toward the accumulation of riches and influence; whereas psychopaths are often motivated toward sadistic self-gratification and generally do not seek positions of power and wealth per se. (There is some crossover between these phenotypes and sociopaths who do find gratification in hurting others are labeled malignant sociopaths.) Finally, narcissistic sociopaths always seek reproductive success through procreation and aggressive nepotism, which is usually accompanied by extreme in-group identification, e.g., racism, xenophobia, and nationalism, while psychopaths show no allegiance to family, community, or country.


Therefore, the phenotype of the narcissistic sociopath is not a bizarre combination of traits, but rather a set of highly attuned social skills and behaviors aimed at increasing long-term biological fitness through wealth, status, power, and the future success of progeny. In order words, sociopaths are highly adapted. The evolutionary puzzle is not found in the phenotype itself but rather in the interaction of sociopaths with the society in which they exist. Social groups can detect dishonest and manipulative behaviors and act to punish the actors in order to either correct the antisocial behavior or remove them from the group. Dozens of mammal species have shown this very sophisticated and elastic social behavior, but humans and our close relatives are especially apt at detecting and punishing cheaters, freeloaders, and liars.


This sets up both a short-term conflict and long-term evolutionary battle between manipulative narcissistic sociopaths and the rest of society, that is, those who do not wish to be manipulated. Most individuals in a society share a vested interest in maintaining fairness and social order. The equilibrium point is reached through a concept called frequency-dependent selection, the essence of which is that phenotypes can sometimes have distinct advantages precisely because they are rare. Under this paradigm, the infrequency of sociopaths in a population is essential to their success.


Current estimates place the prevalence of narcissistic sociopathy at 1-2% and scholars have held that this rate appears stable across societies and over recorded history (insofar as such a phenotype and its frequency can be inferred from historical sources). This makes sociopathy a candidate phenotype for frequency-dependent selection, especially given how successful they often are. The rarity of narcissistic sociopaths in the population, along with their considerable skill in hiding their true motivations, makes them very difficult to detect. If they were more numerous, however, members of society would become familiar with this particular pattern of social deviance and quickly learn to neutralize it. Furthermore, when narcissists encounter one another, while they may be willing to cooperate with each other in fickle and short-lived alliances, ultimately their goals will collide and the relationship deteriorates into mutually self-defeating conflicts. This, too, acts as negative selection and maintains the low frequency of this peculiar phenotype.


On the other side of the conflict is the selective pressure on the rest of society. Because sociopaths are rare, the intensity of the pressure on society to detect and neutralize them is correspondingly weak. Weak pressure leads to poor adaptation, while sociopaths experience strong pressure and become highly adapted. However, as the sociopath phenotype finds evolutionary success, the pressure flips back the other direction as the rest of society experiences increasing pressure, adapts, and then pushes the frequency of the sociopaths back down to the basal level. In human culture, this pendulum swings in both the long time scales of genetic evolution and the short time scales of cultural evolution. In both contexts, the conflict is cyclical.


With this evolutionary framework in mind, we can now return to the question of President Trump. Clearly, he attracts devoted supporters. When it serves him, he can be affable, charming, and flattering. He reads people well and can maneuver through his relationships in order to obtain the best “deal” for himself. While many question his capacity for emotional empathy, his skills in cognitive empathy are undeniable.


However, he also has maintained an unwavering pursuit of wealth, influence, and power, even by his own admission. He has never participated in regular religious observance, is not outwardly pious, and shows no allegiance to political party. It is well documented that his views have shifted, sometimes repeatedly, on the most central political questions of the day such as abortion, government involvement in healthcare, military interventionism, federal drug policy, and LGBTQ rights. While only his critics view him as racist and xenophobic, even his supporters see him as fiercely nationalistic and his own campaign slogan of “America First” underscores this. And finally, he aggressively pursues his own biological fitness through the placement of his children in top positions in both his business enterprises and his presidential administration. Thus, an evolutionary analysis reveals that he is clearly not a psychopath.


Whether or not he is a narcissistic sociopath, then, depends on the answers to questions about his conscience or lack thereof, commitment to truth and transparency, sincerity in his religious beliefs, fidelity to political ideals, and tendency to cheat, deceive, and coerce. These questions are more like Rorschach tests in which his supporters and detractors come to the exact opposite conclusions. However, for the most part, the answers to these questions do not require a psychological analysis of the President. There is abundant evidence in the public record.

[admin]

HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_033326
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From: Richard Kahn
Sent: 10/24/2018 10:27:45 PM
To: Jeffrey Epstein [[email protected]]
Subject: The New York Times: When Trump Phones Friends, the Chinese Listen and Learn
Importance: High
When Trump Phones Friends, the Chinese Listen and Learn
The New York Times
President Trump has been repeatedly told by aides that his cellphone calls are not secure from foreign spies. But
he has refused to heed the warnings to stop talking. Read the full story
Shared from Apple News
Richard Kahn
HBRK Associates Inc.
575 Lexington Avenue, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10022
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 033326

[admin]

HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_033327
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From: Richard Kahn
Sent: 11/8/2018 8:46:41 PM
To: Jeffrey Epstein [[email protected]]
Subject: Former NJ Gov. Chris Christie visits the White House as Trump considers him to replace Jeff Sessions as attorney
general
Importance: High
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/08/trump-c ... -attorney-
general.html
Richard Kahn
HBRK Associates Inc.
575 Lexington Avenue 4th Floor
New York, NY 10022
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 033327

[admin]

HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_033328
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From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
11/21/2018 7:26:45 AM
[email protected]
Top Republicans slam Trump for indicating no strong action over Khashoggi killing - CNNPolitics
Importance: High
Does the statement will help?
https : //www. cnn. com/2018/11/20/pol i ti cs/top-republ i cans -sl am-trump-saudi -arabi a-khashoggi/i ndex. html
Regards,
Sent from my iPhone
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Top Republicans slam Trump for statement backing Saudi Arabia
by Kate Sullivan
CNN
Updated 9:32 PM ET, Tue November 20, 2018
https://web.archive.org/web/20181121042 ... INDEX.HTML

Washington (CNN)Top Senate Republicans slammed President Donald Trump for his statement backing Saudi Arabia in the wake of the death and dismemberment of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker, tweeted Tuesday, "I never thought I'd see the day a White House would moonlight as a public relations firm for the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia."

The criticism follows an official statement the White House released Tuesday, under the subject line "Statement from President Donald J. Trump on Standing with Saudi Arabia."

"Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event -- maybe he did and maybe he didn't!" Trump writes.

The President continues, "we may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi," and said, "In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They have been a great ally in our very important fight against Iran."

Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Virginia resident, was killed last month at a Saudi consulate in Turkey. He was a frequent critic of the Saudi regime. The Saudis initially denied any knowledge of his death, but then later said a group of rogue operators were responsible for his killing. But US officials have speculated that such a mission -- including the 15 men sent from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to murder him -- could not have been carried out without the authorization of Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Later in the day at a news conference, Trump said he was "not going to destroy the economy of our country" over Khashoggi's death by giving up arms deals to Saudi Arabia.

South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham wrote in a series of tweets Tuesday, "One thing I learned during the Obama years is that when you look the other way regarding problems in the Middle East, it seldom works out."

Graham said former President Barack Obama "chose to look the other way as Iran took increasingly provocative actions," and said, "Each time it led to even worse Iranian behavior and created even larger problems for the future."

"Likewise, it is not in our national security interests to look the other way when it comes to the brutal murder of Mr. Jamal #Khashoggi," Graham continued.

After Saudi Arabia admitted that Khashoggi had been killed in its Istanbul consulate, five high-ranking officials were dismissed, including bin Salman's media chief and the deputy head of the Saudi intelligence service.

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, voiced his disagreement with the President, and tweeted, "The President indicates that Saudi Arabia is the lesser two evils compared to Iran and so the US won't punish Saudi Arabia for the brutal killing and dismemberment of a dissident journalist in their consulate."

"We should, at the very least, NOT reward Saudi Arabia with our sophisticated armaments that they in turn use to bomb civilians," Paul continued.

He also said of the statement released today by the President, "I'm pretty sure this statement is Saudi Arabia First, not America First," and speculated that national security adviser John Bolton wrote the statement.

Paul said he would "continue to press for legislation to stop the Saudi arms sales and the war in Yemen."

Former 2012 Republican presidential nominee and now Utah Senator-elect Mitt Romney, tweeted: "America can't excuse & minimize the brutal & gruesome murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a US resident & columnist. Our country is defined by human values, by principle above convenience, & by commitment to morality."

"We must subject the perpetrators of this outrage to withering sanction," Romney continued.

Corker and ranking Foreign Relations Committee member Sen. Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, sent a letter to the President on Tuesday calling for him to officially determine whether the crown prince was directly involved in Khashoggi's murder.

"In light of recent developments, including the Saudi government's acknowledgment that Saudi officials killed Mr. Khashoggi in its Istanbul consulate," the letter reads, "we request that your determination specifically address whether Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman is responsible for Mr. Khashoggi's murder."