“From the very beginning, make it your practice to say to every harsh impression and not at all what you appear to be.’ Next, examine and test it by the rules you posses, the first and greatest of which is this–whether it belongs to the things in our control or not in our control, and if the latter, be prepared to respond, ‘It is nothing to me'” Epictetus, Enchiridion, 1.5

The trumps gut tells him to throw up another smoke screen to deflect the Russian inquiry.