When disturbed characters make excuses, they’re really making a very conscious attempt to cast themselves in a more favorable light while manipulating others into seeing their point of view.
Both of my books point out that when it comes to covert-aggressive personalities or any other disturbed character, “they already see, they just disagree.”
Manipulators and other disturbed characters sometimes like to openly threaten or brow-beat someone else into giving-up or giving-in to their demands. They like to terrorize others into submission.