by Fred Lucas
Five mental health professionals, some of whom have already been charged Donald Trump ‘perilous’ – prepared a risk assessment that New York State Judge Juan Merchan will take into account when deciding whether to sentence Trump on July 11, according to a forensic psychiatrist Dr. Bandy X. Leelong-time critic of the former president.
It is unclear whether all five are psychiatrists or have other training. Their risk assessment could influence the severity of Merchan’s sentence for Trump in Manhattan criminal court, which could be up to 20 years in prison for all 34 crimes of which he was convicted last month.
Lee was the editor of “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President,” first published in 2017. In May, she published a recent book titled “The Psychology of Trump Contagion: An Existential Threat to American Democracy and all humanity.”
Lee, who has taught at Yale, Columbia and Harvard, also opposed recent calls by some Republican members of Congress to invoke Amendment 25 for Biden, which would allow him to be temporarily removed by Vice President Kamala Harris and the Cabinet.
Biden reiterated such calls during Thursday night’s debate with Trump.
“The reason why so many people see problems with Joe Biden is Donald Trump projecting his mental symptoms onto Joe Biden so he can deny his own symptoms,” Lee told The Daily Signal, referring to the debate between the Democratic incumbent and his Republican opponent.
“There’s a huge difference between being incompetent and someone who doesn’t look very good,” she said. “Joe Biden’s presentation is making people lose confidence in him. This does not at all equate to danger or incompetence.”
Merchan presided over Trump’s criminal jury trial in Manhattan last month sentenced the 45th president on 34 felony charges in connection with trying to cover up an alleged sexual encounter with porn star Stormy Daniels.
Merchan will then preside over the trial during which the verdict against the former president will be announced on July 11.
Lee said mental health professionals made recommendations to the judge about the danger Trump poses to society, his likelihood of committing a crime and what message the sentence would send to future criminals.
The forensic psychiatrist said she would not make her recommendations public before the verdict is announced and declined to name the other people who signed on to them, but referred to public statements she and her colleagues have already made evaluating Trump.
Lee said she and other mental health professionals have assessed Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s 2019 Report and found Trump unfit to be president. Mueller conducted an investigation and was unable to substantiate allegations of a conspiracy between Trump and Russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
Lee argued that the mental fitness test did not require an interview. A “functional” test does not require the cooperation of the subject, while a “diagnostic” test does, she added.
Lee, however, said she and her colleagues did not perform such a functional test on Biden because they did not believe the sitting president posed a risk to society, but they believed Trump did.
“We only did this for Donald Trump because he poses a threat to society,” Lee said. “Mental health professionals have a responsibility to society and they have to act.”
Lee said neither she nor her colleagues were asked to evaluate Biden. However, she noted, “Our group recommended that Joe Biden volunteer to take the test and set the standard for future presidents.”
Lee noted that some high-ranking officers are required to undergo mental health evaluations.
During the debate, Trump noted that he passed two cognitive tests and Biden did not. Such a test only proves someone should not be placed in a nursing home, Lee said.
The forensic psychiatrist then criticized Rep. Ronny Jackson, a Texas Republican who served as White House physician to both Trump and Barack Obama.
“I have often criticized Dr. Ronny Jackson. He is not trained or qualified to conduct a mental fitness examination,” Lee said. “He was a White House employee and a subordinate of the commander-in-chief. He had a conflict of interest.”
As for Thursday’s Biden-Trump debate, Lee argued it should never have happened — and not because of Biden.
“I would suggest not to hold a debate,” she said. “Why elevate someone who is not normal like Donald Trump to a level of normality?”
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Fred Lucas is the chief news correspondent and investigative reporting project manager for The Daily Signal. He is the author of “The myth of restricting voting rights: the left’s attack on fair elections.“
