2020 Election Analysis: Sanders, Biden & Warren in 3-Way Tie for Second Place


Published on Aug 28, 2019

Bill Whittle Now analyzes the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats offered by the Democratic presidential candidates now locked in a 3-way tie for second place (first in the hearts of their Democratic countrymen). Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and former Vice President Joe Biden, each come to the challenge of winning the Democratic presidential nomination with different advantages and handicaps. This 2020 election analysis comes to you free thanks to the Members who pay for it. In addition to providing dozens of new shows each month, they run a Members-only blog which fairly vibrates with reasoned thought, civil dialogue, time-tested principles and a lot of fun. Join us today and find your people at https://BillWhittle.com/register/

 

Busted by Justice Report, James Comey Stills Thinks He’s an FBI Hero


Published on Aug 30, 2019

Former FBI Director James Comey gets busted by a new Inspector General report from the Justice Department, for taking home classified documents related to President Trump. The report says Comey knowingly violated FBI rules and his employment agreement, setting a bad example for 35,000 Bureau staffers. So far, no criminal charges. Bill Whittle says this story is much worse than it looks.

 

Martin Armstrong now in Asia with a Front Row Seat


QUESTION: How long will you be here in Asia?

PP

ANSWER: It is very interesting that we have clients on both sides of all these disputes here in Asia, except in North Korea. The great concern is that if China did send into Hong Kong troops, would they leave? Would this tip the scales of Hong Kong as a financial center? Will Thailand and Singapore continue to benefit from this shift in Asia. Then there is the India crisis.

This is very interesting because we have clients on all sides here. We have held WEC conferences in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Bangkok, and Singapore. So we have always been well entrenched throughout Asia and we are inside China where Socrates publishes forecasts each day on all the top Chinese stocks.

So we are here indeed with a front row seat addressing questions on each side from such diverse positions. It looks like this will be a while. We have a lot of clients in Asia.

 

11:00pm Hurricane Dorian – Powerful and Slow Westward Movement – Parts of East Florida Coastline Now Under TS Watch…


Hurricane Dorian now presents a 150mph wind force extending 30 miles from center.  That is a 60 mile-wide category-4 wind field.  A very powerful and dangerous storm. A rapid turn north is expected; the question is ‘when‘? A Tropical Storm Watch is now in effect for: Deerfield Beach to the Sebastian Inlet on Florida’s east coast.

In addition to Florida, residents in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina should be monitoring this storm closely.  Pay attention to local officials.

At 1100 PM EDT (0300 UTC), the center of Hurricane Dorian was located near latitude 26.3 North, longitude 75.1 West. Dorian is moving toward the west near 8 mph (13 km/h), and a slower westward motion should continue for the next day or two, followed by a gradual turn toward the northwest. On this track, the core of Dorian should be near or over portions of the northwestern Bahamas on Sunday, and move closer to the Florida east coast late Monday through Tuesday.

Data from NOAA and Air Force reconnaissance aircraft indicate that the maximum sustained winds remain near 150 mph (240 km/h) with higher gusts. Dorian is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some fluctuations in intensity are likely, but Dorian is expected to remain a powerful hurricane during the next few days.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 30 miles (45 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 105 miles (165 km). (read more)

We have a lot of Treepers in the path of this storm. If you need assistance, use the comments section of any Dorian Update thread to reach out, or use the email address in the upper right of the site.

Right now you are in control.  By now you should have a solid plan in place.  Work that plan, stay busy and don’t get caught up in the national hysteria.  Stay updated via your local news stations.

Reach out to your neighbors; touch-base and check to see if they are okay or need anything.  The community restoration begins before the storm arrives. Look out for each-other.  This is why preparation and communication is key.

Regarding any evacuation plan, please pay attention to your local officials who will be coordinating with state Dept. of Transportation.  As the path and impact zone of the storm becomes more predictable your local officials will alert to best route for evacuation.

For those in the cone of uncertainty; remember, planning and proactive measures taken now can significantly reduce stress in the days ahead.  Plan when to make the best decision on any evacuation (if needed).  As the storm has slowed consider Monday mid-day the latest decision time-frame. As a general rule: take shelter from wind – but evacuate away from water.

Communication is important.  Update your friends and family contact list. Stay in touch with family and friends, let them know your plans. Select a single point of contact for communication from you that all others can then contact for updates if needed.

Check your shutters and window coverings; test your generator; re-organize and familiarize yourself with all of your supplies and hardware. Check batteries in portable tools; locate tools you might need after the storm; walk your property to consider what you may need to do based on the storms path. All decisions are yours. You are in control.

Consider travel plans based on roads and traffic density. Being proactive now helps to keep any future stress level low. You are in control. If you have pets, additional plans may be needed.

Protect your family first, then help your friends and neighbors.

Above all else, stay calm.  Actively challenge yourself to stay calm regardless of the hysteria and/or alarm around you.  Stay calm and work your plan.

♦ Look over the National Hurricane Center resources for planning assistance.

♦ Also a great resource – CREATE A PLAN

 

Rage Against The Regime – Hong Kong Demonstrators Keep Resisting Beijing Authoritarian Dictates…


The protests and demonstrations began in mid-June, centered around the now-suspended extradition bill that would have allowed people in Hong Kong to be sent to mainland China for trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party.  Today, those protests are outlawed by Chinese authorities, organizers have been disappeared, and yet the protests continue.

Eric, a 22-year-old student, told Reuters news agency: “Telling us not to protest is like telling us not to breathe. I feel it’s my duty to fight for democracy. Maybe we win, maybe we lose, but we fight.”

Hong Kong police, seemingly comprised of Chinese militia, are using semi-permanent blue dye water cannons to mark the protesting groups. This helps them later identify their targets for the arrest (ie. disappearing).

(Reuters) Protest organizers have urged the public to overwhelm road and rail links to the airport on Sunday and Monday, potentially disrupting flights. A similar so-called “stress test” of the airport last weekend failed.

Late on Saturday and into the early hours, police fired tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets and protesters threw petrol bombs, escalating clashes that have plunged the Asian financial center into its worst political crisis in decades.

Officers fired two warning shots in the air to scare off a group of protesters who had them surrounded and were trying to steal their pistols, the police said, only the second time live rounds have been used in more than three months of unrest. (read more)

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Freedom HK@FreedomHKG

First aiders were not allowed to enter the station to provide immediate medical care for the injured citizens inside the station. The first aiders standing-by outside the station confirmed that none of the injured were transported out for proper treatment for over 3 hrs

View image on Twitter

Freedom HK@FreedomHKG

This is murder, not crowd control.

Photo source: hk01

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World News Tonight

@ABCWorldNews

METRO STATION STANDOFF: Shocking video shows riot police in Hong Kong storming a metro station, using batons and pepper spraying protesters inside train cars, as pro-democracy protests continue for a 13th week; several people were arrested. https://abcn.ws/2Ldd58c 

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Five Killed, 21 Injured During Midland-Odessa, Texas Shootout, Three Police Officers Injured….


A shooting spree spread spread from Midland to Odessa, Texas, after police pulled over a man driving a gold Honda on interstate-20 and the driver began firing a rifle through his rear window, shooting one of two state troopers.

According to local reports a 30-year-old male started the shooting spree after his vehicle was stopped, and then continued shooting random bystanders, victims and responding officers as he drove from Midland to Odessa Texas.

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Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger said: one of two state troopers conducting the traffic stop was shot. She says the suspect then fled “and continued shooting innocent people,” including two other police officers.

TEXAS – At least five people were killed and 21 others were injured in shootings near Midland and Odessa Saturday before the alleged shooter was shot and killed at Cinergy Cinemas in Odessa, police said.

According to officials, the shooting started in Midland and then proceeded to Odessa. In a news conference Saturday afternoon, Chief Michael Gerke of the Odessa Police Department said the shooting began around 3 p.m. after a traffic stop. When a trooper tried to pull over the gunman — who Gerke said was a white male in his mid-30s — he shot the trooper who pulled him over and began shooting people at random, Gerke said.

The shooter eventually ditched his car, hijacked a U.S. Postal Service vehicle and continued to open fire, Gerke said. Two law enforcement officers were injured. (read more)

Archey Declarations Prove Comey/McCabe “Small Group” Hid Information From FBI Investigators, Until They Could Get Mueller Appointed…


There are two sets of documents that outline a very specific picture.  Robert Mueller’s lead FBI Agent David Archey made sworn declarations to the court, without knowledge of FBI “whistleblower” information provided to DOJ Inspector General, Michael Horowitz.

There is a distinct conflict within the IG report on James Comey (and memos) [Available Here] and the David Archey declarations [Available Here].  However, beyond the conflict there’s an even more alarming picture of how Robert Mueller was deployed, when all the information is overlaid in a timeline.   A very clear picture emerges; very clear.

In June 2017 CNN (and other media) filed a FOIA suit to gain the Comey memos.  As the lawsuit progressed through a lengthy battle -where the Mueller team did not want to turn over those memos- Mueller’s lead FBI agent, David Archey, made sworn declarations to the court.  Those statements became known as the “Archey Declarations”.  Inside those declarations agent Archey provided a specific outline of the FBI and the memos.

Note the date – Agent Archey states the “investigative team” came into full possession of the Comey memos: on or by May 12th, 2017,”…

[Page #3 of Exhibit A – Archey Declarations]

The “investigative team” would be Andrew McCabe, Bill Priestap, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, and then James Baker as lead counsel for the group.  The “Director’s staff” would be James Rybicki, who is identified by Archey as having “maintained” possession of the memos.

So this “small group”, particularly James Rybicki, is the center of the team.  This team is also confirmed by the IG Horowitz report. This team had the memos on May 12th, 2017.

Now we move into the aspect where the motives and ideology become clear when we look at the IG custodial record of the memos, as outlined by the Supervisory Special Agent in charge of Comey’s documents within the IG report, compared to the Archey declarations.

The FBI Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) in charge of Comey’s document retrieval is the “whistleblower” who eventually went to the IG.  I’ll explain why and how below; and to make understanding easier we shall use “SSA Whistleblower” to describe him.

♦On May 10th, the Comey memos were not in Comey’s office [per IG report].  At the time of the search and review of Comey’s office there were no hard copies found by SSA Whistleblower.

Now, keep in mind “by May 12th” James Rybicki had all the Comey memos in his possession, per Mueller team FBI Agent David Archey.

♦On May 12th, SSA Whistleblower went to James Comey’s house along with James Rybicki and Deputy FBI Director David Bowditch.

During this May 12th visit James Comey never told SSA Whistleblower he had the memos in his personal safe.  James Rybicki was also present for this retrieval visit and also never told SSA Whistleblower that he was holding the memos in his FBI HQ office.

♦On May 15th, three days later, James Rybicki then tells SSA Whistleblower he knows the location of the Comey memos; and Rybicki informs SSA Whistleblower he has additional relevant material.

From the IG Report: “Rybicki told the SSA that he did not tell anyone about the Memos during the May 10 inventory because he understood that process to only include Comey’s office.”   Very sketchy.

At this point SSA Whistleblower had to suspect something sketchy was happening.  Keep in mind the following day May 16th, 2017, Comey sent memo content to his friend Daniel Richman with instructions to leak to the New York Times. [Article published 5:00pm 5/16/17]

If Rybicki didn’t inform SSA Whistleblower on May 15 about the Comey memos, then SSA Whistleblower would have found out from leaked media reports the next day May 16.

If Rybicki didn’t tell SSA Whistleblower about the memos on May 15, then it would have looked like the ‘small group’ was hiding and leaking the memos.  An intellectually honest review of the timing, and considering Rybicki had indeed been hiding the memos, leads to the conclusion Rybicki knew the NYT leak was coming; Rybicki was coordinating with James Comey; and Rybicki/Comey were trying to avoid team scrutiny. [Further evidence of this surfaces in the Mueller contact timeline.]

By May 16th, 2017, SSA Whistleblower, had to see the sketchy nature of how this was unfolding.   As a result this scenario from the IG report now makes sense:

If we overlay the FBI “small group” contact with Robert Mueller an even more clear picture emerges.

“Crossfire Hurricane” – During 2016, after the November election and throughout the transition period and into 2017, the FBI had a counterintelligence investigation ongoing against Donald Trump. FBI Director James Comey’s memos were part of this time-period as the FBI small group was gathering evidence.  Then Comey was fired….

♦Tuesday May 9th – James Comey was fired at approximately 5:00pm EST.  Later we discover Rod Rosenstein first contacted Robert Mueller about the special counsel appointment less than 15 hours after James Comey was fired.

♦Wednesday May 10th – From congressional testimony we know DAG Rod Rosenstein called Robert Mueller to discuss the special counsel appointment on Wednesday May 10th, 2017, at 7:45am. [See Biggs questions to Mueller at 2:26 of video]

According to his own admissions (NBC and CBS), Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe immediately began a criminal ‘obstruction’ investigation. Wednesday May 10th; and he immediately enlisted Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

A few hours after the Rosenstein-Mueller phone call James Comey’s office was being searched by the SSA Whistleblower per the IG report on Comey’s memos.

♦Thursday May 11th – Andrew McCabe testified to congress. With the Comey firing fresh in the headlines.  McCabe testified there had been no effort to impede the FBI investigation.

Also on Thursday May 11th, 2017, The New York Times printed an article, based on information seemingly leaked by James Comey, about a dinner conversation between the President and the FBI Director.   The “Loyalty” article [link].  The IG report shows: [Daniel] Richman confirmed to the OIG that he was one of the sources for the May 11 article, although he said he was not the source of the information in the article about the Trump Tower briefing“.

♦Friday May 12th –  Andrew McCabe met with DAG Rod Rosenstein to discuss the the ongoing issues with the investigation and firing.  Referencing the criminal ‘obstruction’ case McCabe had opened just two days before.  According to McCabe:

… “[Rosenstein] asked for my thoughts about whether we needed a special counsel to oversee the Russia case. I said I thought it would help the investigation’s credibility. Later that day, I went to see Rosenstein again. This is the gist of what I said: I feel strongly that the investigation would be best served by having a special counsel.” (link)

According to Andy Biggs questioning of Mueller, on this same day, May 12th, evidence shows Robert Mueller met “in person” with Rod Rosenstein.  This is the same day when SSA Whistleblower went to James Comey’s house to retrieve FBI material and both Rybicki and Comey never informed the agent about the memos:

May 12th, is the date noted by David Archey when FBI investigators had assembled all of the Comey memos as evidence.  However, no-one in the FBI outside the “small group” knows about them.

♦On Saturday May 13th, 2017, another meeting between Rod Rosenstein and Robert Mueller, this time with AG Jeff Sessions also involved. [Per Andy Biggs]

♦Sunday May 14th –  Comey transmitted copies of Memos 2, 4, and 6, and a partially redacted copy of Memo 7 to Patrick Fitzgerald, who was one of Comey’s personal attorneys.  Fitzgerald received the email and PDF attachment from Comey at 2:27 p.m. on May 14, 2017, per the IG report.

♦Monday May 15th, McCabe states he and Rosenstein conferred again about the Special Counsel approach. McCabe: “I brought the matter up with him again after the weekend.”

On this same day was when James Rybicki called SSA Whistleblower to notify him of Comey’s memos. The memos were “stored” in a “reception area“, and in locked drawers in James Rybicki’s office.

♦Tuesday May 16th – Per the IG report: “On the morning of May 16, Comey took digital photographs of both pages of Memo 4 with his personal cell phone. Comey then sent both photographs, via text message, to Richman”

On this same day Rod Rosenstein takes Robert Mueller to the White House for a meeting in the oval office between President Trump, VP Pence, Robert Mueller and Rod Rosenstein.    While they were meeting in the oval office, the following story was published by the New York Times (based on Comey memo leaks to Richman):

Also during the approximate time of this Oval Office meeting, Peter Strzok texts with Lisa Page about information relayed to him by Tashina Guahar (main justice) on behalf of Rod Rosenstein (who is at the White House).

Later that night, after the Oval Office meeting – According to the Mueller report, additional events on Tuesday May 16th, 2017:

Interesting that Tashina Gauhar was taking notes presumably involved in the 5/16/17 meeting between, Lisa PageRod Rosenstein, and Andrew McCabe. 

This meeting at Main Justice appears to be happening in the evening (“later that night”) after the visit to the White House with Robert Mueller.  This meeting appears to be Lisa Page, Rod Rosenstein and Andrew McCabe; along with Tashina Gauhar taking notes.

Why is the Tuesday May 16th, 2017, date of additional importance?

♦ Wednesday May 17th, 2017:  Rod Rosenstein and Andrew McCabe go to brief the congressional “Gang-of-Eight”: Paul Ryan, Nancy Pelosi, Devin Nunes, Adam Schiff, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, Richard Burr and Mark Warner.

… […] “On the afternoon of May 17, Rosenstein and I sat at the end of a long conference table in a secure room in the basement of the Capitol. We were there to brief the so-called Gang of Eight—the majority and minority leaders of the House and Senate and the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. Rosenstein had, I knew, made a decision to appoint a special counsel in the Russia case.”

[…] “After reminding the committee of how the investigation began, I told them of additional steps we had taken. Then Rod took over and announced that he had appointed a special counsel to pursue the Russia investigation, and that the special counsel was Robert Mueller.” (link)

Immediately following this May 17, 2017, Go8 briefing, Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein notified the public of the special counsel appointment.

What is clear from a review of all the related and released information is the FBI small group (McCabe, Page, Strzok, Rybicki, Baker) were hiding the ongoing FBI investigation from other FBI officials (including the SSA Whistleblower), inside the department after Comey was fired.

McCabe launched a “criminal investigation” (obstruction) May 10th, and Rosenstein was in immediate contact with Robert Mueller about being a special counsel after conversations with the FBI small group. The small group were then releasing information to their media allies, and hiding the releases from FBI agents outside the small group; until they no longer needed to do so (May 15).

On May 15th, it appears the SSA was finally notified of the Comey memos because the small group already knew Robert Mueller was going to be appointed.

Comey, his lawyers and Lawfare allies, together with the small group, coordinated to leak and publish the NYT article (May 16th) the day Mueller was interviewing President Trump in the oval office. They knew Mueller was going to be appointed the following day, May 17th.  The NYT leak was cover and ammunition for Rod Rosenstein to fulfill his role.

This is the Special Counsel as the insurance policy deployed.

Everything was a set up by the small group; exclusively executed by the small group; kept hidden from other FBI agents and officials; and Mueller’s visit with President Trump was part of that investigative effort.

This overall conspiracy/plan is why the SSA turned to the Inspector General and requested Whistleblower protection.  This is also why IG Horowitz was motivated to carve out the Comey memos in his report.  KEY POINT – OIG Michael Horowitz has outlined the Special Counsel appointment as fraudulently predicated.

Because FBI Agent David Archey was not part of the original team (he did not join until August 2017); and because Archey had no idea a whistleblower had gone to the FBI when he wrote his declarations; David Archey wrote about the FBI investigative team having all of the copies of the memos on May 12th, 2017.

FBI Agent David Archey was unaware the ‘small group‘ had kept the Comey memos hidden from the FBI SSA Whistleblower until May 15th, 2017; so he inadvertently exposed their assembled disposition prior to the small group admissions to the SSA.

Lastly….

♦June 1st, 2017 – After the “small group” had successfully deployed Robert Mueller, then this same team sat down to classify the material that might have exposed their efforts to set up the special counsel appointment.