UAE Announces Departure from OPEC Effective May 1st


Posted originally on CTH on April 28, 2026 | Sundance

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced they are leaving OPEC in order to manifest their own sovereign economic destiny and increase domestic oil production without the limits and rules of the OPEC cartel. This is a significant alignment with President Donald Trump who has actively argued against the OPEC assembly and the oil price controls they have historically imposed.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday it will leave OPEC effective May 1, stripping the oil cartel of one of its largest producers and further weakening its leverage over global oil supplies and prices.

The UAE’s decision had been rumored as a possibility for some time, as it pushed back in recent years against OPEC production quotas it felt had been too low — meaning it wasn’t able to sell as much oil to the world as it had wanted.

“Having invested heavily in expanding energy production capacity in recent years, the bigger picture is that the UAE has been itching to pump more oil,” Capital Economics wrote in an analysis. “The ties binding OPEC members together have loosened,” it said, particularly after Qatar withdrew from the cartel in 2019. (read more)

As noted by CNBC, “The UAE has played an influential role in OPEC’s decisions over nearly six decades. It was the group’s third-largest oil producer in February behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The Gulf state joined OPEC in 1967, seven years after the organization was founded.”

This is where things get really interesting….  Because the UAE can effectively eliminate the Hormuz chokepoint, and Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent previously outlined something very important to the UAE:

LAST WEEK:

WASHINGTON – US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that a number of allies in the Gulf region and in  Asia have requested currency swap lines from the United States to help deal with energy shocks and other fallout from the Middle East war.

Bessent told US senators that both the US and the United Arab Emirates would benefit from a proposed swap line that President Donald Trump said he was considering on Tuesday.

Bessent did not name the countries making such requests, but told a US Senate Appropriations subcommittee budget hearing that such facilities would help stabilize financial markets amid turmoil from the Iran war.

“And swap lines, whether it’s from the Federal Reserve or the Treasury, are to maintain order in the dollar funding markets and to prevent the sale of the US assets in a disorderly way,” Bessent said. “So, the swap line would benefit both the UAE and the US, and as I said, numerous other countries, including some of our Asian allies, have also requested them.”

The US Treasury last October provided Argentina with a $20 billion currency swap to help stabilize the country’s peso during a tumultuous election period that helped strengthen the position of President Javier Milei’s party.

That swap line, backed by the Treasury’s $219 billion Exchange Stabilization Fund, provided Argentina with a safety net of dollars that the central bank could use to help prop up the value of the peso and prevent a devaluation ahead of the vote. It has since been repaid.

REQUESTS FOR RUSSIAN OIL

Bessent also said that he extended sanctions relief on Russian seaborne oil for another 30 days after requests from a number of countries that are most vulnerable to oil shortages from the closed Strait of Hormuz. The requests came during last week’s International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings, he said.

The action reversed his comments last week that he would not renew expiring sanctions waivers. A separate waiver to allow countries to buy Iranian oil stranded at sea lapsed on April 19. (more)

The UAE can bypass the Hormuz chokepoint, and Saudi Arabia can pump oil to the Red Sea via their east/west pipeline.

If Trump keeps the blockade against Iranian oil shipments in place, the UAE and Saudi Arabia can fill the global oil void; however, they need to get outside the OPEC restrictions to do it.  Thus, the UAE exiting OPEC makes strategic sense both now and in the geopolitical longer term.

However, in the short run the UAE needs financial stability as the switch is done.  Enter Scott Bessent with the currency swap lines for the UAE.

Brilliant planning.

Iran just lost all their leverage.

DOJ Indicts Former FBI Director James Comey for Threats to Harm President Donald Trump


Posted originally on CTH on April 28, 2026 | sundance

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced today a two-count indictment against former FBI Director James Comey from the Eastern District of North Carolina for threats against President Donald Trump. [Indictment Here]

According to the Press Release: […] “The Indictment includes two counts, first in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 871, alleging that James Comey, 65, knowingly and willfully made a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States. This charge alleges that on May 15, 2025, by publicly posting an image over the internet via Instagram depicting “86 47”, which a reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States.

The Indictment also charges Comey in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 875(c), that James Comey consciously disregarded a substantial risk that his communication would be viewed as threatening violence, and that he knowingly transmitted a communication in interstate commerce that contained a threat to injure the person of another, which a reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to a person.” (SOURCE)

James Comey is charged with Threatening the President in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 871(a) and Transmitting a Threat in Interstate Commerce in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 875(c). If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Additionally, similar to the criminal referral connected to former ICIG Michael Atkinson, today’s grand jury indictment creates a pressure point for ongoing DOJ investigations into additional related matters concerning FBI Director James Comey.

Promethean Action Outlines Visit of King Charles Against Backdrop of Trump Assassination Effort


Posted originally on CTH on April 27, 2026 | Sundance | 48 Comments

You cannot have King Charles in the USA without checking on the perspective of Promethean Action. After all, Queen Elizabeth II and her offspring King Charles III were the arch nemesis of Lyndon LaRouche.

“Susan Kokinda links a third assassination attempt on Donald Trump at the Washington Hilton—where a 31-year-old Californian, Cole Tomas Allen, charged a Secret Service checkpoint with firearms and knives—to a broader political struggle she frames as the British imperial system versus Trump’s “American System.” She argues Trump’s own remarks about assassinations point to a pattern of targeting “impactful” leaders, comparing today’s climate to anarchist-era killings around 1900 and the 1901 assassination of William McKinley. Kokinda ties the attack’s timing to King Charles’ Washington visit, a new book, The Queen and Her Presidents, and a House of Lords/Chatham House report on “rebalancing” the UK–US partnership, highlighting UK dependence on the postwar “rules-based order” and concerns about a lasting US shift under Trump.”  WATCH:

.There’s also a funny little video gif below that ties into this nicely.


Canadian Prime Minister Claims All Nations Tell Him Privately They Regret Making Trade Deals with President Trump


Posted originally on CTH on April 27, 2026 | Sundance |

Today is not a good day for the Canadian trade team.

It started with Quebec’s new Premier in Washington DC meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer {citation} in order to talk trade {SEE TIMELINE} saying on Twitter, “Quebec wants a renewal of the [USMCA] to ensure a stable and predictable framework for our economic exchanges.” However, Mrs. Christine Fréchette (pictured left) then bragged about having strategic discussions with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. {citation}

For those who might not know, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a parasitic Wall Street and K-Street lobbying organization that has been locked out of trade influence since President Trump took office in 2017.  It was the U.S. CoC who sold out our manufacturing base, paid-off prior administrations and wrote the actual trade language in almost every trade deal that destroyed U.S. manufacturing.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a lobbying organization who focuses on the bottom-line profits of U.S. multinational corporations, and they don’t care what happens domestically to American jobs, American manufacturing and American wages.  The CoC is the organization who created the rust belt and destroyed our manufacturing base under the guise of promoting a “service driven economy.”

If Canada want’s a successful trade negotiation with the USA, the Chamber of Commerce is the last organization they should be strategizing with.

Then comes Prime Minister Mark Carney who not only steps on a rake, but he also publicly insults President Trump and the entire U.S. trade team by saying every country in the world privately tells him they regret making a trade agreement with President Trump. ¹{Citation at 28:10 of Video}

I’m going to post the entire video of Prime Minister Mark Carney discussing USMCA (Canada calls CUSMA) trade negotiations because the tone deafness of it is off the charts. That includes the Canadian Prime Minister saying that Section 232 national security reviews are a violation of the U.S-Canada trade agreement.  Carney believes any independent U.S. trade position that negates trade with any Canadian sector is a violation of trade rules, yet he is afraid to sue over Sec 232 because he doesn’t want to discover the flaw in his mindset.

Carney, like Trudeau before him, is highly upset about the U.S. tariffs on Steel, Aluminum and Softwood Lumber.  Factually, those raw material sectors of the Canadian economy have been dumping product into the USA for decades despite the Canadian government simultaneously dismantling their industrial dirty jobs.

♦ This is how the Canadian system works:

Canada dumps raw materials into the USA market, then skips the manufacturing part (dirty jobs) because they are not climate friendly, then imports manufactured component parts from China and elsewhere, assembles the components and then tries to find markets for their finished goods, usually in the USA.

President Trump has worked to stop the “dumping part” by placing tariffs on the Canadian raw materials (Steel, Aluminum, Softwood Lumber), in order to generate our own industrial sectors of mining, logging, steel and aluminum works.

This tariff block creates a situation where Canada needs to find other outlets for their raw material dumping….. which them becomes funny because Europe has already rejected them (same reason as Trump) and China doesn’t need them.

As a consequence, Canada has no choice except to try and force the USA to accept the dumping by lobbying Democrats and various business interests like the Chamber of Commerce to put political pressure on President Donald Trump.   So far, their approach not only isn’t working – but it’s also insulting.

If Prime Minister Mark Carney keeps promoting this type of ridiculous anti-Trump trade narrative for domestic consumption (orange man bad), the Canadian people are going to be blindsided when the backfire surfaces.  It has already backfired; the Canadian people just don’t see it yet.

Video prompted to 18:51 where Carney discusses trade relations with the USA:

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¹We are drawing attention to this because we understand administration officials review these CTH research inputs.  President Trump is not going to like this insult.

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump Welcome King Charles and Queen Camilla to the White House


Posted originally on CTH on April 27, 2026 | Sundance |

Over the weekend King Charles called President Trump to make sure the events of this week were still secure following the attempted assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents Dinner.

Today, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed King Charles and Queen Camilla to the White House.  Video Below:

Today: President Trump and the first lady greet the king and queen “informally,” per Buckingham Palace. Then it’s off to a garden party at the British ambassador’s residence, just up the street from the vice president’s home.

Tonight: a formal White House welcome, complete with a ceremonial military review.

Tomorrow: President Trump and King Charles hold a bilateral meeting, while the first lady hosts Queen Camilla. Then the king will address a joint meeting of Congress — a rare honor. Queen Elizabeth II was the first monarch to do so, in 1991.

The day tomorrow wraps with a White House state dinner.

Before heading to New York, the royals will lay a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery, marking the military partnership between the U.K. and U.S. Then Thursday shifts south to Virginia (location to be announced), where the itinerary leans Americana: Appalachian cultural performances, a 250th anniversary “block party.” A national park visit focused on conservation and Indigenous communities. Then, separately, a horse farm stop for the queen.  {Per Axios}

Senator Chuck Grassley’s Office Requests Answers from DOJ and FBI About Purposefully Ignored (and Buried) Investigations into Hillary Clinton


Posted originally on CTH onApril 27, 2026 | Sundance | 

First, it becomes very important for people to understand some of the inside baseball in Washington DC circles in order to hold context for what has been made public today by the office of Senator Chuck Grassley.

Inside Chuck Grassley’s office there is an investigative team that every GOP senator and congressman will admit consists of the very best researchers and knowledgeable staff officials on how the Deep State operates.  Grassley’s office is the venue, the vehicle or vessel, for those investigators to operate; Chuck Grassley is not organizing this group – he facilitates it.

Just as Robert Mueller served as the figurehead holding the legislatively authorized power of the special counsel—while the actual investigative work was carried out by his team—Chuck Grassley similarly acts as a symbolic leader, with the real action happening within the organization he oversees.

Mueller at 75-years old (2019) was to the special counsel as Grassley at 93-years old (2026) is to senatorial inquiry.

That said, today the office of Senator Chuck Grassley sent a dispatch of connected information about Hillary Clinton from DOJ/FBI files retrieved over the past several years as part of a longer-term investigation. Grassley’s office released the FBI Washington Field Office’s 12-page “electronic communication” (EC) that opened a preliminary investigation into the Clinton Foundation. [SEE HERE]

They also released a trove of documents showing overwhelming evidence of pay-to-play criminal activity by the Clinton family and emphasize lack of response from the DOJ which highlights both politicalization and weaponization of information by the Department of Justice and FBI.

The FBI and DOJ buried the investigations of Hillary Clinton, yet the evidence of corruption was simply overwhelming.  With time running out on their ability to retain the venue, in essence Grassley’s office is urgently asking the DOJ and FBI, how could this not have been prosecuted?

[SOURCE – With 91 Page of Detailed information]

Chuck Grassley, who turns 93 in September, has served in the U.S. Senate for 45 years. Grassley has spent more than 50 years in Congress overall, having served in the U.S. House from 1975 to 1981 before being elected to his first term as senator.  In 2022, Grassley was elected to an eighth term, winning against Democratic challenger Michael Franken with 56% of the vote — a smaller margin of victory than in many of his previous elections. He will be 95 by the time his current term ends in 2028.

Currently, Grassley serves as president pro tempore of the Senate, in addition to being the Senate Judiciary Committee chair.

I strongly doubt there will be another Grassley term in office and given the stakes of the 2026 midterm election it looks like the people in his office are trying to push out as much information as possible while it can still do some good.   I would bet you a donut this is the correct context to view this information flow.

DOJ and FBI Hold a Press Briefing to Update on Weekend Assassination Attempt Against President Trump and Cabinet Members


Posted originally on CTH on April 27, 2026 | Sundance 

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel hold a press briefing in Washington DC, to update on the weekend attempted assassination effort by suspect Cole Allen, a schoolteacher from California.

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Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Delivers Media Briefing, April 27, 2026


Posted originally on CTH on April 27, 2026 | Sundance 

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a press briefing from the Brady Room of the White House.

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UPDATE: President Trump Gives 60-Minutes Interview on Events During Attack at WHCA Dinner


Posted originally on CTH on April 26, 2026 | Sundance 

President Trump details his experience at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where a gunman charged toward the ballroom. President Trump says he wasn’t worried and praised the actions of law enforcement. WATCH:

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UPDATE: The full extended 40-minute interview including the parts that did not air on television is below:

President Obama Stands to Be Recognized – Cole Allen’s Motives Are Unknown


Posted originally on CTH on April 26, 2026 | Sundance

The leader of all things politically radical and progressive, transmits the message to all obedient followers.

[SOURCE]

Once again emphasizing that what David Mamet said almost two decades ago:  In order for modern leftists and progressives to continue advancing a radical and extreme political ideology, they must pretend not to know things!