This is how most people resolve cognitive dissonance. He wants the money and a clear conscience about the decision that brought it. The only way he can have bot

This is how most people resolve cognitive dissonance. He wants the money and a clear conscience about the decision that brought it. The only way he can have both is if he'd been tricked, so even though that's not what happened that's the narrative he prefers. What he probably doesn't realize yet is that he has just created a new counterpoint to his perception of himself as an honest and ethical person. The cycle will continue until he learns to take responsibility for the moral consequences of his own actions. I wish him the best of luck on that journey.