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132 / THE ALGER HISS TRIAL
perhaps his closest friend. . . .
If these facts are true, what is your opinion of his mental condition?
A. I think he has a mental disease known as a psychopathic personality. Psychopaths are deceptive and often paranoid. They have abnormal sexuality and abnormal emotionality. They may be alcoholics or drug addicts. Their actions are often bizarre. They are untidy. They cannot form stable attachments. They constantly lie. They often withhold information and often steal.
The psychopath knows what he is doing but he does not always know why he does it. His acts are frequently impulsive and often bizarre, so they don't make much sense to ordinary people. Psychopaths believe that their fantasies are true. They may be a hero at one moment and a gangster at the next. They claim friendships where none exist, just as they make accusations which have no basis in fact. Chambers has all the marks of a classic psychopath except alcoholism and drug addiction.
Binger gave examples: Chambers had stolen books from the Columbia Library and documents from the federal government. His untidiness was seen in his disheveled appearance and his bad teeth, which he only recently had had fixed. He had withheld information from the
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