# Post x_861554864542941185

- Post ID: `x_861554864542941185`
- Platform: X (Twitter)
- Posted: 2017-05-08T12:14:21.000Z (UTC)
- Deleted: no
- Repost: no
- Canonical URL: https://trump.fm/post/x_861554864542941185
- Analysis page: https://trump.fm/post/x_861554864542941185/analysis
- Audio narration: https://static.trump.fm/audio/x_861554864542941185.mp3 (a synthesized voice reading the post text, not a recording)

## Post text

> Ask Sally Yates, under oath, if she knows how classified information got into the newspapers soon after she explained it to W.H. Council.

## Engagement

- Likes: 21,739
- Reposts: 6,818
- Replies: 0
- Views: unknown
- Metrics collected: 2026-01-31T23:43:13.390Z (UTC)

# Analysis

_Machine-generated by trump.fm on 2026-03-11T12:36:16.283Z (UTC): a model's reading of this post, not his words. Its psychological terms describe the language, not a clinical assessment of him._

## Summary

This post exemplifies Trump's characteristic response to narcissistic injury through exposure: complete reframing of the narrative. Hours after Sally Yates testified that she warned the White House about Michael Flynn being compromised by Russia, Trump ignores the substance entirely and redirects attention to the question of who leaked information to the press. This DARVO pattern (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender) recasts the whistleblower as the wrongdoer. The rhetorical question format ("Ask Sally Yates, under oath...") insinuates guilt without making a direct accusation—a legally cautious but psychologically aggressive move. The misspelling of "Counsel" as "Council" is a minor homophone error consistent with hasty early-morning posting. The post demonstrates intact strategic cognition: the deflection is purposeful and the framing is deliberate, suggesting this is a calculated defensive maneuver rather than impulsive rage.

## Analysis: Post x_861554864542941185 (2017-05-08)

### Content Summary
Trump posts about Sally Yates's Senate testimony, insinuating she leaked classified information about Michael Flynn to the press. Notable misspelling: "Council" instead of "Counsel" (White House Counsel).

### Timing & Authorship
Post at 12:14 UTC = 8:14 AM EDT. Trump was likely in Washington, D.C. This is early morning—consistent with his pre-staff-arrival posting habit. The misspelling "Council" for "Counsel" and the accusatory, deflective tone strongly suggest authentic Trump authorship.

### Psychological Analysis
This post is a textbook preemptive/reactive deflection. Yates had just testified that she warned the White House about Flynn being compromised. Rather than address the substance, Trump reframes Yates as the leaker—classic DARVO (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender). The "under oath" framing is an attempt to weaponize legal gravity against someone who just testified under oath against his administration.

### Defense Mechanisms
- **Projection**: Accusing Yates of wrongdoing (leaking) to deflect from the actual issue (Flynn's compromise)
- **Distortion**: Reframing the narrative from "White House ignored warnings about compromised NSA" to "who leaked?"

### Cognitive Note
"Council" for "Counsel" is a homophone substitution error—common in hasty typing, not necessarily clinically significant, but worth tracking longitudinally.

## Fact Verification

| Claim | Verdict | Evidence |
|-------|---------|----------|
| "Classified information got into newspapers soon after Yates explained it to White House Counsel" | **Half True** | Yates warned WH Counsel Don McGahn about Flynn on Jan 26-27, 2017. The Washington Post reported Flynn's Russia contacts on Feb 9, 2017—nearly two weeks later, not 'soon after.' Multiple sources could have been responsible; no evidence points to Yates as the source. |

Overall Veracity: 50%

## Authorship Analysis

**Self-Written** (score: 90%)

### Indicators

- Misspelling 'Council' for 'Counsel'
- Early morning posting (8:14 AM ET)
- Accusatory rhetorical question style
- Reactive to news cycle

## Psychological Profile

### State

**Grandiose State**

**Trigger:** Narcissistic Injury — Exposure (Sally Yates testimony revealing White House was warned about Flynn)

Sentiment: -0.40

### Clinical

**Malignant Narcissism:**
- Narcissistic: 50%
- Antisocial: 30%
- Paranoid: 40%
- Sadism: 10%

**Defense Mechanisms:**
- projection (immature)
- distortion (pathological)

**Cognitive Complexity:**
- Complexity: 50%

Cognitive Markers:
- phonemic paraphasia

**Parasocial Techniques:**
- rhetorical question inviting audience to join suspicion
- framing adversary as wrongdoer

## Danger Assessment

**NONE**

### Gaslighting

- Reframing Yates from whistleblower to suspected leaker
- Redirecting public attention from Flynn compromise to leak investigation

## Fact Checks (1)

_The model's verdicts from 2026-03-11._

> Classified information got into newspapers soon after Yates explained it to White House Counsel

**HALF TRUE**

Yates warned WH Counsel Don McGahn about Flynn on Jan 26-27, 2017. The Washington Post reported Flynn's Russia contacts on Feb 9, 2017—nearly two weeks later, not 'soon after.' Multiple sources could have been responsible; no evidence points to Yates as the source.

Sources: Known events: Sally Yates testimony

Overall Veracity: 50%

## Tags

- deflection (90%)
- Flynn scandal (80%)
- Sally Yates (90%)
- DARVO (70%)

## That day

_From trump.fm's machine-generated digest of the day, not his words._

**Day-Long Defensive Campaign Against Yates Testimony Sets Stage for Comey Firing**

Trump spent most of the day in damage-control mode after former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates testified that she warned the White House about Michael Flynn being compromised by Russia. The morning started with a light golf congratulations, but quickly shifted to a sustained effort to reframe the Yates testimony as a leak scandal rather than a Flynn scandal. By evening, a rapid burst of four posts in under ten minutes revealed growing frustration, with the final tweets showing cracks in the confident facade. Notably, this rhetoric served as groundwork for the firing of FBI Director James Comey the very next day.

Full digest for 2017-05-08: https://trump.fm/date/2017-05-08/analysis

## Citation

- APA: Trump, D. J. (2017, May 8). Ask Sally Yates, under oath, if she knows how... [Social media post]. X (Twitter). trump.fm. https://trump.fm/post/x_861554864542941185
- MLA: Trump, Donald J. "Ask Sally Yates, under oath, if she knows how classified..." X (Twitter), 8 May. 2017. trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_861554864542941185. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.
- Chicago: Donald J. Trump, "Ask Sally Yates, under oath, if she knows how classified...," X (Twitter), May 8, 2017, archived at trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_861554864542941185.

## For agents

- Site overview: https://trump.fm/llms.txt
- API specification: https://trump.fm/openapi.json
- MCP server: https://trump.fm/mcp (search and fetch tools, no auth)
- This post as JSON: https://trump.fm/api/posts/x_861554864542941185
- Analysis as JSON: https://trump.fm/api/analysis/x_861554864542941185
- All citation formats: https://trump.fm/api/cite/x_861554864542941185
- Same day: https://trump.fm/date/2017-05-08
- The record alone, without the analysis: https://trump.fm/post/x_861554864542941185.md?analysis=false

_Markdown view of a trump.fm page. Post, analysis, date, feed, contradictions, search and about pages answer in markdown at their URL with `.md` appended (`/index.md` for the home page), or when sent `Accept: text/markdown`._