Monthly Archives: May 2018

May 9 2018

Interesting Primary Race Elections Today – Results and Open Discussion Thread….


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on May 8, 2018 by

There are key mid-term primary races taking place today in multiple states.  Some of the primary challenges and outcomes could potentially have larger ramifications for the November mid-terms.

In Ohio the race for governor and Senate is interesting. The former Obama ideologue from within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Democrat Richard Cordray, is up against outsider Dennis Kuchinich for the Democrat governors race. Additionally, there are multiple Republican candidates hoping to win their party position for a Senate challenge to incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown.  Also, a bright young Republican candidate, Christina Hagen, is seeking a congressional seat in the Ohio 16th district.

Indiana has a closely watched Senate race. In a state where Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton by 19 points in 2016, two GOP representatives, Todd Rokita and Luke Messer, and State Rep. Mike Braun will battle it out to determine who takes on Democrat Sen. Joe Donnelly, considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats up for re-election this year.

Then in West Virginia there’s a very visible Republican primary contest to determine who will square off against Democrat Senator Joe Manchin.   Trump beat Clinton by over 40 points in West Virginia and the GOP primary is a toss-up.  Rep. Evan Jenkins battling Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and outsider Don Blankenship, former CEO of Massey Energy Co.  This race is being widely watched.

CNN Election HQ Results – Available HERE

Fox News Election HQ – Available HERE

New York Times Election Results – Available HERE

May 9 2018

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Joint Statement with Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Three House on May 8, 2018 by

NAFTA is at a critical stage.  Mexico has committed themselves to a full-court press this week in an effort to retain the investment influx from multinational corporations.  To retain their advantage, Mexico needs to keep the NAFTA loophole allowing Asia and EU to use Mexico and Canada as back-doors to the U.S. market.

Additionally, AM-LO, a self-described soft-Marxist (similar to Hugo Chavez) is likely to win the July 1st Mexican election.   Yesterday, Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray travels down the street to the State Department for a meeting with Secretary Pompeo. From the U.S. perspective, anything from Secretary Videgaray is essentially moot at this point; the Mexican government is moving toward a more socialistic economic model.

[Transcript] SECRETARY POMPEO: Good afternoon. Today it is my pleasure and a great honor to welcome the Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray to the State Department. Welcome.

We had a great discussion and we had so because Mexico is one of the United States’ closest partners. Together we are working to build a more secure, prosperous, and democratic hemisphere. We are neighbors, allies, and friends.

The conversation, as I said, was forthright. We talked about a range of issues. In particular, we spoke of four vital areas in which we work with Mexico every day: trade; management of our shared border; security; and the shared regional and global priorities of our two countries.

First, it comes as a surprise to no one that our economic interests are deeply intertwined. Mexico is our second largest export market, third largest trading partner. The importance of modernizing NAFTA cannot be overstated, and we will continue to work towards an agreement with Mexico and with Canada.

Second, we manage a couple-thousand-mile border. Every day more than $1.7 billion in trade crosses that border back and forth, supporting thousands of jobs on both sides of that border. We seek to improve efficiency at our ports of entry to support the legitimate flow of commerce between our two countries.

Third, we work together to enhance our shared security by disrupting transnational criminal organizations. We recognize the demand of – for drugs is principally on the American side of the border, and that this problem is destroying communities and tearing families apart. That is why the President has renewed efforts to prevent and treat addiction here at home and to combat the flow of drugs coming into our country from abroad.

Our security is linked to one another’s. It will take our shared resources and commitment to disrupt criminal groups that illegally traffic drugs, weapons, and human beings. Continued cooperation under the Merida Initiative advances our mutual security objectives. We’ve made some progress through the U.S.-Mexico Strategic Dialogue to disrupt these transnational criminal organizations. We should be proud of that. This will continue to be a priority for the administration.

Fourth, and finally, we work together with Mexico on regional and global challenges. For example, we are working with our partners in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador to reduce insecurity and violence, enhance economic opportunity, and fight corruption. These shared efforts address the underlying conditions driving illegal immigration. We also cooperate with Mexico to build regional consensus on the crisis in Venezuela. Thank you for your leadership, Secretary, on this issue in particular. I echo the message of Vice President Pence from earlier today at the OAS meeting: We urge our entire hemisphere to impose strict accountability on the corrupt and brutal Maduro regime.

We are always looking for new ways to deepen our partnership with Mexico. Today, good news: the signing of the U.S.-Mexico Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement further expands our relationship and will benefit the North American and U.S. suppliers in the nuclear energy industry.

Again, Foreign Secretary, I want to thank you for coming here today to discuss the many pressing issues facing our two countries. I’m deeply appreciative of having my first press conference here at the State Department with you. Thank you, Foreign Minister.

FOREIGN SECRETARY VIDEGARAY: Thank you very much, Secretary. Although I’ll be speaking in Spanish in a moment, I just want to say that I am very, very proud and very honored to have this first conversation with you as Secretary of State, because we’ve met before, but not in your role as Secretary of State, so I am very, very, very honored. And we had, as you said, a very productive, very frank first conversation as such. Let me switch to Spanish.

(Via interpreter) Since the beginning of the administration of President Trump, the Mexican Government, the government of President Pena Nieto, has promoted and offered an institutional relationship of mutual benefit and mutual respect. We acknowledge that we share threats, that we have opportunities that we can take advantage of together; and we also need to say we also have some differences, some of which are public and well known, but we cannot allow those differences to define this relationship. We need to be able to work for the interest of two neighboring countries and two neighboring peoples who are brothers so as to overcome our differences. Mexico, Mr. Secretary Pompeo, is a large country, a proud country, proud of its history, enthused about its future, and we are a sovereign state. And as a sovereign state, we offer the United States our friendship, the will to work together on the issues that join us to do good things – good things for the people of the United States and of course for the people of Mexico.

The relationship between Mexico and the United States finds itself at a turning point of the decisions made between our governments in the next few months, even in the next few days. Well, this will determine the relationship between our two countries for the next years and even the next few decades.

We find ourselves at that crucial moment in the renegotiation and modernization of NAFTA, a renegotiation that Mexico faces in good faith with constructive spirit, convinced that North America can be the most competitive region in the world, and with the belief that we have huge, concrete opportunities for prosperity and well-paid jobs for all of our inhabitants.

We have shared challenges on the issue of security, and moments ago Secretary Pompeo was mentioning the work we’ve done throughout a new high-level group to fight transnational criminal organizations. We will continue along that path. This is what we have agreed upon on the understanding that the problem does not have to do with supply or demand; the problem is a market at the regional level that needs to be disarticulated so as to be able to fight successfully this phenomenon.

With regards to migration, we face common challenges. Mexico has stopped become – being simply an origin country; we are also becoming a country that receives migrants. We need to continue to think about priority to the fundamental dignity of migrants, whatever their migratory condition. Of course, we will continue to work on the regional issues where we share values and a vision. This is the case with regards to Central America. In particular with the countries of the so-called Northern Triangle – Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras – we will continue to promote development and security. We have agreed upon the fact that in the next few weeks we will have in the city of Washington the second conference that puts together Mexico and the United States as cohosts with the three governments of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, and other regional partners that will continue to be part of this effort.

With regards to Venezuela, we share to a very large extent the concern given the situation of systematic disruption of democracy. We will continue to call for a solution arising from Venezuelans themselves who can find a peaceful solution to re-establish democracy in their country. Of course, we will continue to work on different causes at multilateral organizations where we share values and purposes.

I’d like to take advantage of this opportunity to underscore the fact that the Government of Mexico is very pleased with the progress made to achieve the denuclearization of the North Korean Peninsula. We recognize the work of Secretary Pompeo in this regards. This is an issue that affects us all around the world.

Finally, I’d like to thank the Department of State, the Department of Energy, and the entirety of the Trump administration who was part of this for the signature of the Cooperation Agreement for the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy. This agreement, which will be presented throughout a newsletter in the next few minutes, will allow us to continue strengthening cooperation, specifically in the area of technological transfers so that Mexico can continue to develop its nuclear energy so that the next governments in Mexico can continue to develop the use of nuclear technology for medical purposes, for example, or for the generation of electricity if that is decided in the future.

Thank you, Secretary, for the signature of this agreement which I believe it is important to highlight; beyond everything we see on the media and the differences we might have, this shows we continue to work together, we continue to address specific issues that are useful for our peoples and creating a better future for our region. I wish you the greatest of success. It is an honor for me to be back at the Department of State and to be here with you at your first message to the media in this hall. Thank you, Secretary Pompeo. We are ready to continue working together.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Thank you very much. This is wonderful. Thank you so much.

[End Transcript]

May 9 2018

McNaughton: “There comes a time when you have to take a stand, Expose the Truth!”…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree house on May 8, 2018 by

Artist Jon McNaughton uses his incredible talents to outline the frustration felt by many. In his latest artwork titled “Expose the Truth“, McNaughton highlights the frustration of a presidency and the efforts of Robert Mueller:

From the artist:

“There has been a crusade in this country led by a group that wishes to overturn the election and impeach President Trump. Robert Mueller leads a special council of at least 17 partisan Democrat attorneys who have yet to find a single piece of evidence against the President, yet they ignore the mounting verifiable evidence against Russian collusion with the DNC and the Clinton Foundation. The political bias and negligence of those who have lead the Department of Justice and the FBI is forthcoming. There comes a time when you have to take a stand, Expose the Truth!”  (link)

May 9 2018

The Souvenirs of Public Political Executions?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics

Re-Posted May 9, 2018 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong, I believe you mentioned at one of the conferences that the Chinese dragged a member of their high court out into the square and set him on fire in his judicial robs.  Am I correct in that statement? When was that exactly?

MS

ANSWER: You are not far off. Zang Tang (? – 116BC) drafted the laws under Emperor Wudi (Wu-ti) ( 漢武帝) (141-86BC), and made treasonous thoughts (CONSPIRACY) the death penalty, was eventually he himself compelled to commit suicide as his view of the law led him to be the most hated among all of the ministers under Wudi. Yet the minister Chao Cuo (? – 154BC) under the previous emperor Ching-ti (Liu Ch’i)(157-141BC), earned the hatred of other ministers after he introduced 30 new laws. The outrage was so intense, he was dragged out and executed in his judicial robes in the town marketplace. There was far greater resistance toward changing the laws in China than there was in Rome. These incidents of publicly executing ministers who tried to make the laws even harsher were not unique but became far more common in China compared to the West.

Still, that is not the worse of such events to drag public officials out and execute them. Back in 1672, the Dutch killed and even ate their Prime Minister. I wonder if some people who hate Trump that much would not do the same today and CNN would probably broadcast it as a special event. Back then, the Dutch House of Orange was the nearest the republic had to royalty. They were at war with England and France and the effective Prime Minister was Johan de Witt. He was seen as being supported by the merchants who profited by war.

Johan de Witt visited his brother who had been arrested on trumped-up charges of plotting to assassinate Willem of Orange. During a visit with his brother in prison, on August 20th, 1672, a mob gathered outside the prison and then stormed it taking both brothers who they then hanged and then mutilated carving them up. Willem never prosecuted anyone for this event which made it appear he sanctioned it.

Nevertheless, what has been handed down in history is accounts that some among the mob were taking parts of the bodies, and eating them. One man is even said to have eaten Johan’s eyeball. This may sound very gruesome. Nonetheless, the culture at that point in time was extremely cruel.  It was a common practice for people to keep souvenirs of public executions. There were accounts that the beheading of King Charles I of England was accompanied by people dipping their handkerchiefs in the blood of the king.

 

May 9 2018

Why National Debts Eventually Default


Armstrong Economics Blog/Sovereign Debt Crisis

Re-Posted May 9, 2018 by Martin Armstrong

 

QUESTION: If governments have been borrowing without limit since world war 2, are you saying that there is some line that is cross in debt to GDP that results in default?

Thank you

JU

ANSWER: No. The debt to GDP ratio is interesting. The USA is at about 103% and China is at 250%. The ratio is at 180% for Greece and France is at 96.5%. If we used exclusively these numbers, China should be worse than Greece. If France’s debt is less than the USA, then why is the French economy doing so badly? So what is the real issue that causes defaults?

To answer that question we need to introduce currency. France and Germany were less impacted by converting to the Euro than Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Why? Currency Inflation! Southern Europe had always issued debt and over time you were paying back with cheaper currency. The USA is insulated in that manner. $1 million in 1930 could buy 1,666 Cadillacs. Today, financed for 39 months, the cost of a Cadillac is $26,700, which means that $1 million will only buy 37.4 cars. The debt issued in 1940 has been devalued over time. This is how debts have escaped the theory that a national debt has some limit.

Then countries like Germany worry about the debt so they raise taxes to keep the ratio down below 70%. In taking that approach, they lower the standard of living of their population to support the government. The government spending as a percent of GDP in Germany has run on average about 46.5% of GDP compared to the USA average at  36.57%. The higher that ratio the lower the standard of living. It also warns that there is a limit to taxation before you reach the threshold of revolution – remember No Taxation without Representation?

The debt crisis we are currently in has been accelerated by two factors:

  1. deflation making past debt more expensive and
  2. artificially low interest rates

Greece converted its past debt to Euro which then doubled in value as the Euro rallied from 80 cents to $1.60. That meant the past debt was now double in real terms and there was no possible way Greece could pay such a load. In real terms, the debt rose relative to its GDP because you converted the currency base.

The crisis we face globally is that as interest rates rise, the servicing of the debt will rise exponentially. This will impact everyone around the world. Now, if the dollar rallies sharply because of the structural crisis in Europe and the turning down of the economies elsewhere, then the past debt of the USA will rise in real terms as was the case with Greece. Then add to this Cauldron and stir gently rising interest rates.

Shabam! You reach the threshold of a debt crisis!

May 9 2018

Has Draghi Just Lost It?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Central Banks

Re-Posted May 9, 2018 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Why are long-term yields on risky European debt below that of US Treasuries? Is this the European bubble madness?

HN, Frankfurt

ANSWER: This is unquestionably a bubble, but the buyer has been the ECB (European Central Bank). Yields on risky European bonds have been driven below the yields of long-dated US securities. The financial system may appear to be riddled with anomalies, distortions and erroneous prices, but all of those labels assume it is the madness of crowds rather than the government.  Mario Draghi has created the worst possible financial nightmare perhaps in modern history since governments began borrowing in the 12th century. These are not driven by a free market, but one that is manipulation of a central bank gone absolutely mad.

The average return on European junk bonds is below “risk-free” US government bonds. This is completely driven by the insanity of the ECB. In fact, Draghi purchased around $ 2.6 trillion in securities since his Quantitative Easing began in March 2015. He assumed that this would stimulate the economy. However, all it has done is kept the member states on life-support.  He is trapped and has no way out, which is why he has come out and said that the ECB will reinvest when the bonds they hold mature. There will be no end to this madness and he has single-handedly wiped out the bond markets. There is no free-market remaining so the question becomes – how will governments ever sell its debt in the future?

May 8 2018

President Trump Announcement on Iranian JCPOA – 2:00pm EST Livestream…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on May 8, 2018 by

President Trump is scheduled to make an announcement about his final determination on the future of the Iran Deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Due to EU allies desire to remain in the sketchy deal with Iran, the most likely announcement is a staged U.S. exit over 90-days prior to the re-imposition of sanctions.

The announcement will be delivered during public remarks in the diplomatic room of the White House. Scheduled Time 2:00pm EST.

WH Livestream Link – GST Livestream Link – PBS Livestream Link

May 8 2018

Curious Note – Robert Mueller Interviewed NSA Mike Rogers Immediately Prior To Rosenstein Renewing Third FISA Extension…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on May 7, 2018 by

Throughout 2015, and until April 28th, 2016, there were unknown “outside government” contractors with access to the FBI/NSA database. Those outside government agents were conducting unlawful searches of the FISA database. The 99-page FISA Court opinion by presiding justice Rosemary Collyer proves this with absolute certainty. CTH has long suspected those outside agents were doing political opposition research; and were allowed to do so as part of the political misuse of the intelligence apparatus.

Pg 83. “FBI gave raw Section 702–acquired information to a private entity that was not a federal agency and whose personnel were not sufficiently supervised by a federal agency for compliance minimization procedures.”

(2017 FISA Court Opinion – 99 Page Brief)

With the revelation of Daniel Richman, a close friend of James Comey, being an “special access employee” of the FBI, hired by Comey, CTH anticipates Richman will be discovered as one of those previously described “outside government” unpaid contractors with access to the FISA database. The new information of Richman, along with what we know of Fusion-GPS, is an example of the hidden connective tissue between the Lawfare group (outside government) and the “small group” of DOJ and FBI officials inside government.

NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers ordered a FISA-702 audit, and shut down the contractor access to FISA-702(16)(17) [“to/from”(16), “about”(17)] systems on April 28th, 2016.  Those contractors -together with their inside allies- doing oppo-research, moved to make the unofficial use of the database, official.

Toward this end, Fusion GPS (an FBI contractor) hired Nellie Ohr (wife of DOJ Deputy Bruce Ohr) in May 2016. And by July 2016 the collective group of insiders and outsiders had assembled enough sketchy data-points/information to frame the outline needed for an official investigation. This is the origin of the July 2016 FBI Counterintelligence operation.

The left-wing alliance doing the work (insiders and outsiders contributing) was successful in morphing opposition research into an official FBI counterintelligence operation; that began at the same time as the GOP convention in July 2016. This is the broad-stroke outline, demonstrably provable through exhaustive research.

A year later, sometime in late June of 2017, a month after the appointment of Robert Mueller, the special counsel met with Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, and NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers. The New York Times cited the meeting in an article posted on June 14th of 2017.

Mr. Mueller wants to question Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence; Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency; and Richard Ledgett, the former N.S.A. deputy director. (LINK)

Remember, DNI Dan Coats and NSA Mike Rogers were working together in March and April of 2017.  It was thanks to Dan Coats we have access to the critical declassified FISA report (Rosemary Collyer) in April of 2017.  Coats declassified the content, albeit with redactions – it is from this release of information that much is learned in 2017.

Depending on who was questioning; and considering that these are apex intelligence members who would be interviewed by only senior members of the special counsel, likely Robert Mueller himself; and considering Robert Mueller was one of the key architects of the FISA court (post 9-11); there is almost NO WAY Dan Coats and Mike Rogers would not inform Mueller of the DOJ and FBI FISA issues and the political corruption therein.

This conversation between Coats, Rogers and Mueller, is likely around the end of June, or beginning of July, 2017…..  Now, consider and overlay:

One of the most frequent questions about Asst. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein circles around his decision to reauthorize the FISA Title-1 surveillance warrant used against Carter Page and by extension the Trump campaign. In this outline we take the timeline and overlay new information that helps to understand what was going on:

  • Why did Rosenstein renew that sketchy FISA warrant July 18th, 2017?
  • Why did Mueller request clarity two weeks later on August 2nd, 2017?

To understand the dynamic we must remind ourselves what was known at key dates in the investigative decision-making. None of this is intended to exhibit an opinion toward the motives of those making decisions; however, in hindsight we can clearly outline what was known and what was not known at the time these decisions were made.

Recently we have gained clarity toward the scope of investigative evidence held by Robert Mueller. Thanks to some debriefing interviews by ‘witness’ Michael Caputo we more thoroughly understand what evidence is held by Robert Mueller; and, more importantly the scale of that evidence leads to a reasonable conclusion about how it was obtained.

It appears Special Counsel Robert Mueller began his investigation of Russian interference and the possibility of Trump campaign collusion, right where the FBI counterintelligence operation left-off. This is additionally supported by reviewing the original investigative instructions as outlined by Rod Rosenstein the day Robert Mueller was appointed as Special Counsel:

The key phrase here is: “to serve as Special Counsel to oversee the previously-confirmed FBI investigation of Russian government efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election”… Here, Rosenstein is clearly instructing Robert Mueller to pick-up the former Counterintelligence Investigation previously headed by FBI Asst. Director of Counterintelligence Bill Priestap, and his #2 FBI Agent Peter Strzok.

The date of this appointment is May 17th, 2017. Approximately a week after President Trump fired James Comey on May 9th.

(LINK)

So there we have the three areas of direct authority: ¹Links or coordination between the Russian Government and the campaign of Donald Trump. ²Matters that may arise from the investigation of the Russian government and the campaign of Donald Trump. And ³other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a). [<- ie. ‘Jurisdiction‘]

So there’s the instructions to Robert Mueller and his team on May 17th, 2017.

As an outcome of this May 2017 reassignment of investigative authority, Mueller now takes over from Bill Priestap. The Special Counsel takes over the investigation from the FBI.

The lead FBI investigator, Peter Strzok, is in immediate communication with Robert Mueller’s point person Aaron Zelby via email; and FBI agent Peter Strzok eventually finds himself part of the Special Counsel investigative team.

It is important to remember, at the time all of this is taking place, no-one inside the DOJ Inspector General’s office (DOJ-OIG) or the Internal Investigation Division (INSD) of the FBI is aware of the evidence that FBI Agent Peter Strzok and DOJ assigned Special Counsel Lisa Page have been part of a group shaping a months long “insurance policy” against the candidacy and presidency of Donald Trump. Nor is anyone aware that Andrew McCabe, Michael Kortan, Lisa Page and Peter Strzok are leaking frequently to their media allies. Those discoveries come later.

In May 2017 Robert Mueller and Rod Rosenstein would not know the history of what activity was happening inside the FBI “small group” scheme; however they would likely know of the FISA abuse in 2016 as outlined by NSA Director Mike Rogers.

It was ten months before the Special Counsel was assigned when Page and Strzok were messaging each-other about the “insurance policy” discussed in Andrew McCabe’s office. The Page/Strzok messages were on August 18th, 2016.

That “insurance policy” is widely believed to have been short-hand to describe an effort to conduct surveillance on candidate Trump, which could later ensure a strategic plan to disrupt and possibly eliminate Trump if elected, via the Russia collusion narrative.

That plan needed legal FBI authority to conduct surveillance – which could be used to weaponize intelligence. That plan culminated in the Carter Page Title-1 FISA warrant as the deployment mechanism, on October 21st, 2016.

Apparently, without knowledge of the underlying sketchy context inside the application (Steele Dossier) of the FISA Title-1 surveillance warrant, on July 18th, 2017, Asst. AG Rod Rosenstein renews the FISA warrant as the 3rd continuance of an investigative tool. This time to be used by Robert Mueller. And with this intensely broad and intrusive surveillance authority Mueller’s investigative unit now has the legal authority to capture the records of everyone within two-hops of Carter Page. That includes the entire Trump campaign and likely almost all of the Trump administration.

This explains why Michael Caputo said: “Mueller has everything, on every person related to the campaign.” Including calls, emails, text messages, the works.

However, between the start of the Mueller special counsel (May) and the date of the FISA renewal (July 18), OIG and INSD investigators began to discover issues as a result of an internal leak investigation. [OIG Report on McCabe] Questions to FBI Communication Director Mike Kortan, Andrew McCabe, and his lawyer Lisa Page resulted in contradictions within their statements.

  • •May 2017 McCabe denies leaking for WSJ story (to FBI).
  • •July 2017 McCabe denies again (to IG Horowitz).
  • •July 20th, 2017 Horowitz gets Strzok/Page text messages. Proving McCabe constructed the WSJ story and lied to FBI investigators and Inspector General.

Immediately after Rosenstein reauthorizes the FISA warrant (7/18/17), Lisa Page turns over text messages to support her version of events. OIG and INSD investigators get the Page/Strzok messages on July 20th, 2017:

[Congressional Report – Page 18, Item #3, second paragraph] “The DOJ OIG obtained the initial batch of text messages on July 20, 2017.”

Now things get interesting.

As a result of those messages delivered July 20, soon thereafter the IG informs Robert Mueller there are big issues with Lisa Page and Peter Strzok who were/are both on the special counsel team. Obviously INSD and OIG investigators are pouring through the messages.

As a result of that IG notification Robert Mueller removes Peter Strzok. It is reported that Lisa Page left a few weeks before. In “Appendix C” we discover the final text from Lisa Page to Strzok took place on June 25th, 2017: “Don’t ever text me again“. This final message follows Strzok’s heavily redacted text message June 22nd about not being able to reach out. So we can assume, with reasonable accuracy, Lisa Page was a non-factor in the Robert Mueller investigation around late June and Peter Strzok is removed sometime shortly after Mueller gets the details about their compromise late July/beginning August.

It is likely Rod Rosenstein is informed of the same issue(s) soon after he reauthorized the FISA warrant, July 18th. Prior to that initial IG notification; and prior to OIG and FBI Inspection Division review of the scale of the issue; no-one outside the “small group” new about the scheme, or the “insurance policy”.

However, at the beginning of August 2017 both Rosenstein and Mueller now have some idea something is seriously wrong within the prior corrupt FBI investigation that was using the FISA Title-1 surveillance warrant Rosenstein just renewed two weeks earlier.

So what happened next?

Well look at the date of this “newest special counsel instruction“:

(full pdf available here)

In hindsight it is now clear why Robert Mueller would be reaching out to Rod Rosenstein and telling the Asst. Attorney General that, against the revelations of what the prior FBI investigative unit was doing; and with Mueller having interviewed Admiral Mike Rogers earlier; Rosenstein better provide Mueller increased clarity as to the specifics of what he is authorized to review.

By the very end of July, 2017, the released investigative evidence is clear – both Rod Rosenstein and Robert Mueller become aware of the initial issues with Page and Strzok, and likely how those issues were quickly escalating as the IG and INSD discover through reviews of evidence and in-person interviews the outline of a broad conspiracy.

It’s no surprise that Mueller takes pause and requests clear instructions in writing; but we still don’t know what’s behind that massive redaction.

SUMMARY: An honest review of the timeline shows the third FISA renewal happened right before Rosenstein and Mueller became aware of the first signs of the corruption. Additionally, a clear hindsight review of the content within the application, vis-a-vis the fraudulent use of the Clinton-Steele dossier, shows a clear reason why it was never reauthorized again; and easily why Carter Page was never charged with anything.

Once the IG and INSD investigators had the time to go deeper into the internal investigation, this is around the point when Utah federal prosecutor John Huber is brought into the findings surfacing within the IG and INSD investigation. Huber’s task likely to review all of the discoveries for potentially criminal conduct, grand jury evidence and possible criminal indictments if warranted.

However, all of that said, none of this explains why Asst. AG Rosenstein did not shut down the special counsel investigation in/around Sept. or October 2017 as soon as the scale of internal corruption was known. Unless the extraneous Flynn, Papadopolous and Manafort findings, some of which likely stemmed from the use of the FISA extensions in the period from May through October, became the agenda for continuance.

Here’s where everyone wants to know motive(s) behind Mueller, Rosenstein and the corresponding investigators. Truthfully, this is also where an argument can be made in both directions.

So, you decide for yourself.

May 8 2018

The Muslim Brotherhood in France: Full episode of Israeli investigative piece


Click on text below to watch video

THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IN FRANCE:
Full episode of Israeli investigative piece

May 8 2018

Has the Dollar Turned?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Pound

Re-Posted May 8, 2018 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: You models called for a rally in the pound sterling into April and it seems like that is spot on. We did bound off of the 144 level.  In your year-end report, you said the resistance in the pound for 2018 was at the 14500-14600 level throughout 2018. Living here in Britain, I really get a laugh out of these people who keep saying the dollar is in a bear market forever. They are clueless about what is going on outside the United States. I know you are not, but the view of Americans from across the pond is they are ignorant of anything outside the States particularly the Goldbugs who are notoriously wrong for decades. So has this begun to turn?

PHN

ANSWER: Granted, there are a lot of Americans who see the world only in dollars and the United States. They usually hate my guts because they have been wrong. Yes, we came close to the resistance level, but we still did not reach it. This is part of the consolidation period that was broader than just the stock market. Capital as a whole has been confused and trying to figure out which direction everything is going.

Gold has run up and then runs down. It too has been unable to breakout out. This is yet another confirmation of the entire overall consolidation pattern our computer saw for early 2018.

People have to get their head around interest rates. Will rising rates be bearish for stocks, bonds, and everything else? So much opinion and propaganda have been spilled out for decades that people cannot see clearly.

In the pound, we elected 3 of the four Weekly Bullish Reversals – not the fourth. We elected only ONE Monthly Bullish at the next one stands at 14775 level, which we have been unable to reach. So how anyone can claim that the dollar is in some long-term bear market is just bias because that is what they WANT to believe usually so their gold will rise. They seem to be the only people who refuse to open their eyes and just peek at the other markets and political trends outside the USA.

They will never be able to survive what is on the horizon because they are too biased to be objective. They cannot even understand that a weak dollar helps everything and a strong dollar creates the deflation and collapse in debt.

Greece got in trouble BECAUSE they joined the Euro, the Euro then doubled in value and their previous national debt then cost twice as much deal with. Hello? Why can’t they get this through their heads? Probably because their mortgages are in dollars. In Canada, Europe, Australia, they alone understand when you borrow in a foreign currency, and the currency rises, you lose money.

I Helped some of the takeover boys during the 1980s to converting debt into a PERFORMING asset. We would borrow in a currency that would depreciate against the asset. We made more money on the currency than on the asset. Such things are just over their heads.