AND THE rIGHT'S DEFENSE HAS DEVOLVED DOWN TO...:

Across Washington, Trump's allies have been buzzing about the staff's competence as well as the president's state of mind. One GOP figure close to the White House mused privately about whether Trump was "in the grip of some kind of paranoid delusion."

Trump has been stewing all week, aggrieved by sharp media scrutiny of his decision to fire Comey and of his and his aides' ever-shifting explanations, and has been quick to blame his staff, according to several people who have spoken with him.

Privately, Trump has lashed out at the communications office -- led by press secretary Sean Spicer and communications director Michael Dubke -- and has spoken candidly with some advisers about a broad shake-up that could include demotions or dismissals. The president personally has conducted post-mortem interviews with some aides about the Comey saga, investigating the unending stream of headlines he considers unfairly negative, according to several White House officials, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because Trump is cracking down on unauthorized leaks.

Tweet   @brothersjudd