Truth is once again on trial. Our leaders hold their hearings to get to the truth from known liars. "If I confess to lying, am I telling the truth?" People who develop confidence tricks in an attempt to defraud another person or group after gaining another's confidence or trust are known as Con-Artists. Confidence tricks exploit vulnerable characteristics of the human psyche, such as loyalty, greed, naivete', and vanity.

     Michael Cohen is today's media poster child of a Con-Artist. My general criticism of journalists is they chase stories, and often overlook the story tellers. I believe story tellers are more important than the stories, story tellers tell. So my question: Is Michael Cohn a Con-Man, or is he a habitual liar who himself got conned? The court of public confusion will be the judge.

     Irrespective of your judgement re: Michael Cohn, we can agree that Con-Artists exist. The truth is you are at risk even if you may have very few contacts with a Con-Artist because each time you do, you are at risk for being taken. If you don't recognize a Con-Artist in time, you will be seriously damaged.

     The way to deal with a Con-Artist is to trust your suspicions. If you feel any doubt about what anyone is telling you, express it at once. A Con-Artist will almost certainly have a ready explanation. It will sound prepared. It will be. If you pay attention to your feelings something will still not sound right. Just ignore their answer and logic and say, "Something doesn't make sense here." Ask them to repeat. They will speak quickly, glossing over critical details. Take your time. Ask more questions. Listen to their answers from a distance, objectively. See if you can discern the motivation behind their words. At some point they may question how bright you are for not understanding them. This is an old ploy. Don't say, "Skip it," and allow them to continue. If you don't understand what they are saying, it probably doesn't make sense. You need to understand everything they tell you. For example, if you put money into a scheme you don't understand fully, the part you don't understand will be how you lose it.

     Remember, you will always have some feeling of doubt in dealing with a Con-Artist. Pay attention to your doubt, it may be your only warning. Ignore your doubt and these people will move in and talk you into believing their logic. Con-Artists are liars. They will tell one lie and when you question them they will back it up with another. They will do this with a straight face and thank you for asking the question. They have no moral compunction about this. In fact, they have no moral sense at all. They believe what is right is what is good for them. They lie constantly just to keep their world in order. They are the freeloaders of life.

     Con-Artists do not care one whit about you. Expect them to be lying, you will seldom be wrong.

     You sometimes have to discover Con-Artists indirectly, by their wake, by the disturbances they leave behind. They are slippery and cover their tracks deviously. They set up others to take responsibility for their mistakes. They trick people into trusting them and keeping silent. If you look closely, you'll discover that they always seem to have some kind of controversy going on around them. The people working with them seem troubled. Others often feel restricted by some secret agreement they have been coerced into and are afraid of speaking freely, like the people who were afraid to say the emperor was naked. Wherever they work, people waste time having to verify information because they always start rumors. They always claim to have some inside information that gives them power. In fact, they often structure their rumors in order to give them this power. They undermine authority, destroy team morale, and create an attitude of suspicion, blame, and distrust.

     If you hire a Con-Artist, you are in trouble. If you discover a Con-Artist and do not fire him or her, you will certainly loose. Accept this: They are saboteurs. There is no curing them. They will never confess the truth. They will destroy good will. They will use you. They will never care. They will never help you. They flatter. They convince. They talk pretty. They act pretty. They are often well liked by everyone. They prey on people's vulnerabilities.  They befriend the trusting, the lonely, the downtrodden, the insecure, and the desperate. They seek out those who want something for nothing, who want the bargain of the century, the greedy, the insecure, the misinformed, and those averse to conflict and unwilling to acknowledge the aforementioned.

      Some good questions to ask a suspected Con-Artist are:

"Will you please repeat that?" "Will you put that in writing?" Con-Artist hate this, but when they consent, look for a highly manipulative document that is vague on the precise issues you want spelled out. "Are you telling the truth?" This question is always good for shock value. "Why are you offering this to me?" "Whom else did you make this offer?" "What did they say?" "Can I have their telephone number?" If the contact is offered, make the call and listen if the other person corroborates the information exactly. Remember, Con-Artists set up everyone. Ask the contact how long they have known this person. Think about how the contact person could have been set up.

     Con-Artists love using pressure. When they do, stall and say, "Let me think this over." Take your time. Ask to delay until your accountant reviews the document. Tell them you want to talk to your lawyer. Watch their reactions. Although their reactions will be very smooth, you'll feel their discomfort. Discover if you can repeat their pitch convincingly to another person. If you can't, it means that the original presentation lacked something that their style conveyed. That style is your enemy. It blinds you by dazzling you with praise and appreciation. Remember, Con-Artists know what you need. They are the ones who will give you the most sensitive compliments. They will be the ones you will feel like befriending. You will feel that they are genuine, that they really do see you as you see yourself. Even when they are genuine they are studied. Their praise serves their purpose. You'd do best to thank them for their appreciation and let them go. You owe Con-Artists nothing.

     The only person you owe anything to is YOU.