Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham challenges Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to amend his Mueller report resolution and permit adding the appointment of a Special Counsel to look into the numerous 2016 election abuses by the DOJ and FBI.
Chuck Schumer says ‘go spit‘. Graham stands back up and says: ‘thank you‘ but he shall endeavor to investigate the issues with, or without, Democrat support.
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The Toyota announcement is a total of $13 billion investment and includes expanded component part production in: Alabama ($288 million), Kentucky ($238 million), Missouri ($62 million), Tennessee ($50 million) and West Virginia ($111 million). Additionally, Toyota will open a new assembly plant in Huntsville, Alabama ($1.5 billion) and serious investments in several other areas. [Details Here]
The guiding decision here relates specifically to the construct of the USMCA (NAFTA replacement). Toyota was previously focused on multi-billion-dollar investments in Canada as they exploited the NAFTA loophole and procured component parts from Asia for North American assembly and shipment into the U.S. Market. However, when they renegotiated NAFTA and created the USMCA President Trump and USTR Lighthizer closed closed the loophole.
The new USMCA agreement requires that 75% of automobile parts must be made in North America; and 45% must come from plants with minimum labor costs ($16/hr); or face tariffs to access the U.S. market with the finished good. As a result Toyota has to either pay a tariff to continue importing Asian component parts, or move the higher-wage component manufacturing directly into the U.S.
Obviously, Toyota chose the latter. They made the best decision for their financial plan; and the right decision for the U.S. This outcome is exactly how tariff and countervailing duty applications are supposed to work to protect U.S. workers and manufacturing.
With the increased Steel and Aluminum manufacturing coming on-line, also a result of well-placed countervailing duties, the raw material for the Toyota component group is now available in the U.S. to make the parts 100% Made in the USA.
How’d ya like them apples.
Oddly enough we predicted these moves in August 2018 right after we learned of the USMCA details. At the 30,000 ft level, the USMCA deal positioned Mexico and Canada to retain the current multinational investments, but slowly work through a process to withdraw any advanced manufacturing investment. Through a series of sector-by-sector standards on origination the USMCA deal puts the decision-making on the companies while simultaneously closing the fatal NAFTA loophole.
The USMCA agreement makes an economic manufacturing partnership between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. For assembly products like Autos third party component providers will have to produce the actual parts and origination material within North America.
U.S.T.R. Lighthizer put the details forward: ♦The NAFTA Loophole closure is explained inSummary Form HERE; with emphasis on the Auto-Sector. The key is a 75% part origination level for auto-assembly; and a 40-45% level for parts with a minimum $16/hr wage rate. The final auto-sector source-origination rate (75%) was higher than anyone thought possible during the lengthy negotiations.
Keep in mind Toyota is not the first Auto manufacturer to respond with increased U.S. investment. Prior to the USMCA German auto-maker BMW began building a $2 billion assembly plant in Mexico. Under the old NAFTA plan most of BMW’s core parts were coming from the EU (steel/aluminum casting components, engines, transmissions etc.) and/or Asia (electronics, upholstery etc).
However, under the USMCA the Mexico BMW assembly plant has to source 75% of the total component parts from the U.S, Canada and Mexico; with 45% of those parts from facilities paying $16/hr.
The result was BMW needing to quickly modify their supply chain, build auto parts in the U.S. and Mexico, or they would end up paying a tariff on the assembled final product.
Like Toyota, BMW made the financial decision to open a new engine and transmission manufacturing plant in South Carolina…. exactly as Trump and Lighthizer planned.
And don’t forget Fiat Chrysler made a similar announcement in February: “The automaker says it will hire 6,500 workers and invest $4.5 billion by adding a new assembly plant in Detroit and boosting production at five existing factories.” (more)
Earlier today President Trump welcomed Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar to the White House and held a mini press conference in the Oval Office.
The more important lead story of this article is buried within the outcome story of ICE agents using a private license plate database to capture illegal aliens. First the headline story:
WASHINGTON – Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been using over the past year a vast license plate database to identify the location of vehicles associated with immigrants who do not have legal status, according to documents released Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
More than 9,000 ICE agents have been given access to the controversial database, which contains hundreds of millions of license plate scans from across the U.S., according to the documents obtained by the ACLU through a Freedom of Information Act request. ICE employees are able to use the database to obtain information on where individuals have been and when they were there, with data going back as far as five years.
“With access to this database, ICE can pinpoint the exact location of drivers going about their daily lives,” Matt Cagle, technology and civil liberties attorney with the ACLU, told The Hill. Cagle pointed out that ICE can use the database to identify detailed information on anyone — not just individuals wanted for deportation.
“ICE is not prohibited under this program from tracking the locations of citizens,” he said.
The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill. (more)
If you continue reading the story you come across this:
[…] “Unrestricted law-enforcement access to massive private-sector databases housing location information on hundreds of millions of Americans is clearly an idea the Framers hadn’t considered,” Wyden said.
ICE entered into a contract with Thomson Reuters at the end of 2017 for access to the license-plate reader database, which is run by a company called Vigilant Solutions. The documents released by the ACLU reveal details about how the agency has used the database since entering into that contract. (cont.)
Keep in mind, what we are talking about here is a private sector tracking database; something that might trigger long-time CTH readers to remember from several years past (2013-2014). As an outcropping of an unrelated story, we went deep, very deep, into the assembly of a nationwide private database as it was being constructed.
Use a private-sector database to track down people for missed property tax payments; or use the database to track lawful gun owners; or use the database to stop a traveler from entering an airport until they pay an unpaid parking fine, and hey, no biggie. But start using that private database to arrest illegal aliens…. and Whoa, now the ACLU says we’ve got a problem.
Hey, at least now they are admitting the database exists. Considering how strongly everyone denied it was being established six years ago, well, that’s progress I guess.
What we are talking about here are private companies, actually four specific companies, that invested multi-millions in creating a proprietary network that allowed them to build a database. Later, once that database was established, they become federal contractors and/or sell access to that database to federal contractors.
To say I found myself on the wrong side of the people assembling the process, when I was warning about them, well, would be akin to saying the Miami Dade School Police were an amicable bunch of Ward Cleaver-type chaps during our 2013 MDPSD investigation.
They ain’t. I digress…
Once they established the database the private companies then become federal contractors or sell access to the database to federal contractors. Who runs airport security? Who runs the toll booths? Who runs just about every governmental process in the day life of civic engagement? Yup – govt. contractors.
I wrote about this, and tried to warn about this, at the time (Patriots Day 2014):
As I have spent quite a bit of time researching this issue I’ve realized all of the data is essentially “vendor driven”. Meaning that 3rd parties are buying/selling (contracting) information about YOU to/from the government as a service for revenue enhancement.
The APLR system is essentially a tool in this type of service.
Let’s say you are behind on a civil fee, or local tax, or maybe you just have outstanding parking tickets……. – the 3rd party (contracts with the govt) to harvest the information, then they mine government data bases and compile a hub of information.
The vendor then becomes the extension of government collection.
You come walking out of the grocery store and find your car has a “wheel boot” which disables your ability to drive. Under the wiper is a ticket with the number to call to have the boot removed – when you call the number you find out that you must first pay “the fee or municipal tax you are in default” to get the boot removed.
The data base is proprietary to the vendor. The government entity just allows the vendor to mine their existing data network to create a hub of centralized connected data about you. The vendor gets a fee and/or percentage of payment recovery.
Where is it going …. ? Everywhere.
You go to check in at an airport (now considered a federal building) and find out your travel is suspended until you pay the municipal parking ticket from 2 years ago in Chicago that you totally forgot about (you live in Dallas).
However, the clerk smiles and says “you can pay for it right here if you like, just give me your credit card and we can take care of it for you”….
The private business (airline collector) gets a cut of the collection fee.
All of this is from private-public business partnerships – constructed as a business model – from 3rd party vendors who purchase access to data and legally act as an authorized party/agent on behalf of the government. (link)
When we originally said this is a dangerous slippery slope, the ACLU, civil rights groups and *most* conservative groups said not to worry because this isn’t government collecting data; these are only private companies. Blah, blah, blah, wash-rinse-repeat. No, honestly, the level of anger at exposing the system (as it was being built) was off-the-charts.
Well, five years later this process is now being used to capture illegal aliens. NOW, the ACLU and others have suddenly found themselves taking issue with it.
PS. Did you know that anytime you write the words “Patriots” and “Day” together in a sentence, you enter the NSA PRISM priority system for auto-review.
Earlier today President Trump received a White House briefing on drug trafficking at the border including growing concerns about fentanyl shipments entering the U.S. Additionally, the president took the opportunity to invite the media for an impromptu presser. [The media Q&A begins at 14:50]:
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[No transcript yet, but one will follow shortly]
This has to be the current leading example of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS). Keep in mind @TheDemocrats is: “the official twitter account of the democrat party”.
To understand the scale of the ‘OrangeManBad’ manipulation here, just take a review of two years of President Trump initiatives to combat the Opioid Crisis [HERE]
On October 26, 2017, President Trump announced that his Administration was declaring the opioid crisis a national Public Health Emergencyunder federal law, effective immediately. “I am directing all executive agencies to use every appropriate emergency authority to fight the opioid crisis,” the President said. (overview link)
[…] “We are already distributing nearly $1 billion in grants for addiction prevention and treatment, and more than $50 million to support law enforcement programs that assist those facing prison and facing addiction,” the President said before signing the memorandum. “We have also launched an $81 million partnership to research better pain management techniques for our incredible veterans.”
The President’s proposed Federal Budget requests $3 billion in new funding in 2018 and $10 billion in 2019 for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to combat the opioid epidemic by expanding access to prevention, treatment, and recovery support services. The funding would also go toward addressing mental health concerns. (read more)
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released some important data today surrounding the state of the U.S. economy. The first release shows the current CPI (consumer price index) or rate of inflation:
(BLS Release) […] The all items index increased 1.5 percent for the 12 months ending February, a smaller increase than the 1.6-percent rise for the 12-months ending January. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.1 percent over the last 12 months, a slightly smaller figure than the 2.2-percent increase for the period ending January. The food index rose 2.0 percent over the past year, its largest 12-month increase since the period ending April 2015. In contrast, the energy index declined 5.0 percent over the last 12 months. (read more)
As noted above, energy prices are 5.0% lower year-over-year; this is a significant reason for the current low inflationary rate. Also energy prices (fuel, gas, oil) disproportionately impact the middle-class as an unavoidable cost. Lower gas prices (currently down 9.1%) help middle-America, and also have a downstream impact of lowering product transportation costs.
An overall annual rate of inflation at 1.5 percent is exactly on target. CTH has been predicting this energy-based outcome for more than three years:
The third highest variable cost of goods beyond raw materials first, labor second, is energy. If the U.S. energy sector is unleashed -and fully developed- the manufacturing price of any given product will allow for global trade competition even with higher U.S. wage prices. (link)
The second BLS release was a review of Real Earnings and Wages.
Here the news is terrific and the results on target: Annual wage growth 3.5%
Keep in mind the wages and prices are national averages. There are regions and specific sectors of the workforce where the rate of wage growth is much higher. The average rate of wage growth is 3.5 percent; and wages are on an upward trend-line. With an ever tightening labor market we can expect to see continued upward pressure on wages.
Wage growth of 3.5% with inflation at 1.5% means higher actual income, more money in the pockets of workers, and increased purchasing or saving power.
Lastly, CTH would be remiss if we did not point out we are deep into year #2 of the steel, aluminum and China tariffs. The multinational doomsayers and financial pundits were predicting massive surges in U.S. consumer prices for the downstream products.
Wall Street’s proclaimed consequences are not happening.
Wilbur was right…
The world seems to be moving toward complete control over the freedom of movement. Most likely, we are approaching that critical point where governments are afraid of what is coming on the horizon. There are those in government who are well aware that socialism is collapsing and they indeed fear the rise of civil unrest. As a result, they are imposing restrictions on the freedom of movement. A passport is a travel document, usually issued by a country’s government, that certifies the identity and nationality of its holder primarily for the purpose of international travel.
In ancient times, there still was a requirement to prove you were somehow legitimate. Here is a Praetorian document[1] granted by the emperor giving a soldier the right to marry an alien. She was to be treated as a citizen and any children would also be considered to be a Roman citizen. There was no formal need for a passport within the Roman Empire, however, you still needed to prove your legal status somehow. A messenger or individual traveling though territories would carry some form of the mark from his patron, whether it be a sealed letter or a piece of jewelry that confirmed who he was.
Today, we have class rings to prove you went to a particular school. Here is a Roman legionary ring to prove you were a soldier. You did need something to convey who you were to protect the traveler from harassment, for he was protected by a mark in a ring or document. That person was then under the protection of whoever’s seal or mark they bore. Roman society was built around the idea of a Client-Patron relationship. Therefore, this relationship conveyed that you were under some sort of protection and thus lacking that distinction that could otherwise allow you to be robbed or whatever.
You would place yourself under the protection of a certain individual or become indebted to one and then you would owe them some favors or errands later in life. This thus allowed for safe passage through the Empire. This same sort of system was in place internationally as well. If someone from the merchant class traveled abroad to trade, he would carry the mark of his patron with him. Likewise, a diplomat would carry a symbol of the emperor or a noble family to prove his status.
Indeed, perhaps one of the earliest known references to an international travel document/passport is found in the Hebrew Bible. Nehemiah 2:7–9, dated from approximately 450 BC. It there states that Nehemiah, an official serving King Artaxerxes I of Persia, asked permission to travel to Judea; the king granted leave and gave him a letter “to the governors beyond the river” requesting safe passage for him as he traveled through their lands.
The 1548 Imperial Diet of Augsburg required the public to hold imperial documents for travel at the risk of permanent exile. But this had adopted the policies that first emerged in England when King Henry V is credited with having invented the first modern passport, as a means of helping his subjects prove who they were in foreign lands. The earliest reference to these documents is found in a 1414 Act of Parliament.
In 1540, granting travel documents in England became standard and this became the job of the Privy Council. It was about this time that the term “passport” was used. You were considered the “subject”of your king and that really meant you were his “property.” If you left England to go to France where you committed some crime, the French king could not punish you and you had to be returned to your king (owner) with an account of what crime you committed, for only he could punish his property.
This tradition of being the property of a king led to the development of territorial jurisdiction with the American Revolution, for to deport someone to their king to be punished for a crime in America made no sense when they declared to be free of a monarchy. The American Revolution meant if you committed some crime in America, you were to be punished locally and not returned to a king they did not recognize.
In 1794, the British passports became the job of the Office of the Secretary of State as a result of the American Revolution and thus became a standard practice, whereas the Privy Council formally advised the sovereign on the exercise of the Royal Prerogative which would grant a document for travel at the prerogative of the king.
Some Europeans have taken offense to what I wrote that Americans will need a visa to visit Europe starting in 2021. They say this is not a visa, but just a “screening.” They fail to understand that this is not a visa in the sense of a stamp in your passport. Beginning in 2021, all foreign citizens will be required to undergo a pre-screening and registration process, which will be known as the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) before entering European Schengen-zone[2]countries. Not all EU members are part of this Schengen agreement – notably Britain, Scotland, and Ireland.
Currently, if you want to travel to Rome for a vacation, you just hop on a plane and you do not need to apply for a visa in advance for up to 90 days. They grant you the visa there upon entry. That will all come to an end which is why we are holding what may be our LAST EUROPEAN WEC this year. Every American will require pre-screening, so in other words, you will need a quasi-visa to even get on the plane. There will be no more free travel.
The USA has the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) which is also an automated system used to determine the eligibility of visitors to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and whether such travel poses any law enforcement or security risk. This is not mandatory at this time and it does not eliminate a visa when that is required from certain countries.
This is what I call a quasi-visa, which is pre-screening. Europe will simply require all foreigners, including Americans and Canadians, to obtain a pre-screening to even board a plane in advance. The technical “visa” will still be stamped in your passport upon arrival.
So those trying to distinguish this from a visa are overlooking the fact you cannot get on a plane without the pre-screening approval, which means it is the same as if you had to apply for a visa to enter the country.
Each traveler will be required to apply for the right to visit Europe online. They will have to fill out forms with all personal biometric questions (name, date of birth, etc.), passport information, as well as questions about the applicant’s health, criminal record, and any previous European immigration history. They will be able to deny you access based upon health or even political philosophy or public statements in social media. Officially, here’s how the process works but they do not provide the hidden details.
The application will be then checked across multiple databases right down to your credit history. If the application is not flagged to be looked over manually, they claim a decision will be reached by the system “within minutes,” the site says. If an application is denied, the applicant will receive a reason as to why but you can bet it will omit all political implications and focus on anything, such as arrest records, and will deny you a visa. The shocking number of Americans who are arrested is one-thirdof those BEFORE they reach the age of 25. That alone will eliminate one-third of Americans who will be denied a visa. Then they will move to your credit history, health, and so on. And people talk about Trump’s wall? They have no problem with refugees pouring into the country, but Americans looking to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, sorry you have a bad credit history.
We are approaching the real Big Brother era. By 2020, China also plans to give all its 1.4 billion citizens a personal scorebased on how they behave. Some with low scores are already being punished if they want to travel. Nearly 11 million Chinese are not allowed to fly and 4 million are barred from trains. We are rapidly approaching the use of technology that will prevent you from traveling or doing anything if you are somehow not acceptable to governments.
Our children and grandchildren will NEVER know what freedom really was all about.
Welcome to the new age of technology. We will have to prove who we are to even move. In communism, you could not move to a different house without the permission of the government. If governments see their demise, they will do whatever it takes to retain power.
[1] EXTERIOR OF THE TABLET:
IMP(erator) CAES(ar) M(arcus) IVLIVS PHILIPPVS PIVS FEL(ix) / AVG(ustus) PONT(tifex) MAX(imus) TR(ibunicia) POT(estate) V CO(n)S(ul) III P(ater) P(atriae) PROC(onsul) / IMP(erator) CAES(ar) M(arcus) IVLIVS PHILIPPVS PIVS FEL(ix) / AVG(ustus) PONT(tifex) MAX(imus) TR(ibunicia) POT(estate) II CO(n)S(ul) II P(ater) P(atriae) / NOMINA MILITVM QVI MILITAVERVNT IN / COHORTIBVS PRAETORIS PHILIPPIAN(is) DECEM / I II III IIII V VI VII VIII VIIII X PIIS VINDICIBVS / QVI PII ET FORTITER MILITIA FVNCTI SVNT / IVS TRIBVIMVS CONVBII DVMTAXAT CVM / SINGVLIS ET PRIMIS VXORIBVS VT ETIAMSI PEREGRINI IVRIS FEMINAS IN MATRI / [blank line with pair of holes for sealing the document] / MONIO SVO IVNXER(int) / PROINDE LIBE / ROS TOLLANT AC SI EX DVOBVS CIVIBVS ROMANIS / NATOS A(nte) D(iem) VII IDVS IAN(uarias) / IMP(eratore) M(arco) IVL(io) PHILIPPO PIO FEL(ice) AVG(usto) III / IMP(eratore) M(arco) IVL(io) PHILIPPO PIO FEL(ice) AVG(usto) CO(n)S(ule) / COH(ors) V PR(aetoria) PHILIPPIAN(a) P(ia) V(index) / M(arco) AVRELIO M(arci) F(ilio) MVCIANO / VLP(ia) SERDIC(a) RETENTVS / DESCRIPT(um) ET RECOGNIT(um) EX TAB(ula) AEREA QV(a)E FIXA / EST ROM(ae) IM (sic) MVRO POS(t) / TEMPL(um) DIVI AVG(usti) AD / MINERVAM
TRANSLATION OF THE EXTERIOR OF THE TABLET:
Emperor Caesar Marcus Julius Philippus Pius Felix Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, holding tribunician power for the fifth time, consul for the third time, Pater Patriae, Proconsul, [and] Emperor Caesar Marcus Julius Philippus Pius Felix Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, holding tribunician power for the second time, consul for the second time. The names of the soldiers who served in the ten cohortes praetoriae Philippianae piae vindices – I II III IIII V VI VII VIII VIIII X – who loyally and bravely performed their military service. We have granted the right of conubium (legal marriage) insofar as individual and “primary” wives with whom they might have joined in marriage – even if they are women under the ius pergrinum (the rights of aliens) – likewise the children they raise as if born of two Roman citizens. (Dated) the seventh day before the Ides of January while the emperor Marcus Julius Philippus Pius Felix Augustus for the third time and Marcus Julius Philippus Pius Felix Augustus were consuls (7 January AD 248). Cohors V Praetoria Philippiana Vindex – For Marcus Aurelius Mucianus, son of Marcus – Ulpia Serdica – a retentus. A transcribed copy from the bronze tablet which has been affixed at Rome to the wall behind the Temple of Augustus by Minerva.
INTERIOR OF THE TABLET:
IMP(erator) CA(e)S(ar) M(arcus) IVLIVS PHILIPPVS PIVS FEL(ix) AVG(ustus) / PONT(tifex) MAX(imus) TRIB(ibunicia) POST(estate [sic) V CO(n)S(ul) III P(ater) P(atriae) PROC(onsul) / M(arcus) IVLIVS PHILIPPVS PIVS FEL(ix) AVG(ustus) CO(n)S(ul) II / NOMINA MILITVM QVI MILITAVERVNT IN / COH(or)TIBVS / [blank line with hole for sealing the document] / PRAETORIS PHILIPPIAN(is) DECEM I II III IIII V VI / VII · VIII · VIIII · X PIIS VINDICIBVS QVI PIAE ET FOR / TITER MILITIA FVNCTI SVNT IVS TRIBVIMVS CVM / VBI(i) DVMTAXAT CVM SI [hole for sealing the document] NGVLIS ET PRIMIS V / XORIBVS VT AETIA SI PEREGRINI IVRIS FEMI / NAS IN MATRI MONIO SVO IVNXERI(nt) / RCOINDE (sic) LIB(eros) / [TOLLANT] AC SI ES (sic) DVO(bus) CIVI(bus) ROMANIS
TRANSLATION OF THE INTERIOR OF THE TABLET:
Emperor Caesar Marcus Julius Philippus Pius Felix Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, holding tribunician power for the fifth time, consul for the third time, Pater Patriae, Proconsul, [and] Emperor Caesar Marcus Julius Philippus Pius Felix Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, holding tribunician power for the second time, consul for the second time. The names of the soldiers who served in the ten cohortes praetoriae Philippianae piae vindices – I II III IIII V VI VII VIII VIIII X – who loyally and bravely performed their military service. We have granted the right of conubium (legal marriage) insofar as individual and “primary” wives with whom they might have joined in marriage – even if they are women under the ius pergrinum (the rights of aliens) – likewise the children they raise as if born of two Roman citizens.. W. Eck and A. Pangerl, “Diplome für prätorianersoldaten aus der Herrschaftzeit der Philippi,” ZPE 176 (2011), §4. As made, green patina, lightly corroded upper left of exterior and corresponding area of reverse, one small chip in patina in center towards bottom, reverse thin olive brown patina, a few adjustment marks. A fine extant military diploma from the 3rd century, and especially rare, as it belongs to a praetorian soldier and notes his place of final deployment as a retentus (a soldier who continued to serve after his term of service was completed).
[2]You must apply to visit Schengen Area
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
The U.S. Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC) was created in 1973 and reports to the Attorney General through the Deputy Attorney General. The AGAC represents the U.S. Attorneys and provides advice and counsel to the Attorney General on matters of policy, procedure, and management impacting the Offices of the U.S. Attorneys.
The purpose of the AGAC is to ensure consistent interpretation and application of the Attorney General’s priority throughout the broad U.S. justice system. [28 CFR § 0.10]
As much as possible pay attention to the dates and names (highlighted) as they each play an important role in understanding what has taken place in the past two years.
Those November 2017 appointments included: U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama Richard Moore; U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah John W. Huber; U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie K. Liu; U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio Justin E. Herdman; U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina Robert Higdon; U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma Trent Shores; U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana Joshua Minkler; U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri Jeff Jensen; and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska Bryan Schroder.
AG Jeff Sessions appointed Richard Moore (Alabama) as Chairman of the AGAC, and John W Huber (Utah) as Vice-Chairman.
“I am pleased to announce the first members of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee under this administration. These U.S. Attorneys will play an important role in carrying out the Department of Justice’s mission to reduce violent crime, combat transnational criminal organizations, secure our southern border, end the devastating opioid crisis, and return to the rule of law,” said Attorney General Sessions
Four months later, on March 12th, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the appointment of six additional U.S. Attorneys to serve two-year terms on the AGAC, joining the nine members previously selected on November 13, 2017.
The six additional members were:
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox; U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Richard P. Donoghue; U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama Louis V. Franklin, Sr.; U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John R. Lausch, Jr.; U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Andrew E. Lelling; and U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware David C. Weiss. (link)
[Many of you may remember John Lausch was also the AGAC member who Jeff Sessions instructed in April 2018 to act as the facilitator for congressional document demands.]
Sidenote: Three of these AG Advisory Committee members would later play a role in the DOJ issues surrounding potential misconduct, and FISA-gate/Spygate:
♦John Huber was instructed by Jeff Sessions (November 22nd, 2017) to review congressional concerns about DOJ and FBI bias surrounding Hillary Clinton -vs- Donald Trump (election 2016), coordinate with IG Michael Horowitz, and respond with recommendations (if any). [Full stop]
♦John Lausch was instructed by Sessions (April 8th, 2018) to facilitate document delivery to congressional oversight. [That didn’t work out; likely due to Mueller probe control and a combination of departmental embarrassment.]
♦Jessie K. Liu, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, was assigned the criminal referral of fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe (April 19, 2018); and was in charge of the impaneled grand jury (Approx. July 2018); [8 months ago]
Likely selected by Attorney General Barr, Ms. Liu is soon going to be promoted, if confirmed, to be the Associate Attorney General; the Justice Department’s No. 3 top official [replacing Rachael Brand].
Hopefully now you can see additional context for why Jeff Sessions requested administrative assistance specifically from John Huber & John Lausch as it pertained to growing congressional demands of the AG. Both are on the AG Advisory Committee.
Given the distance from the original McCabe grand jury investigation (8 months); and accepting the current high-profile book tour by Andrew McCabe; and considering Ms. Liu is soon to exit as U.S. Attorney for DC; it would appear legal issues around McCabe are no longer looming. However, McCabe’s lawsuit against the DOJ is still ongoing.
Though I would be remiss in not pointing out the leak of a grand jury looking into the criminal McCabe referral (based on lies to the OIG) might make a great cover story for an ongoing review of McCabe’s involvement in constructing the FISA fraud. {fingers-crossed}
♦ Early in the morning on March 7th, 2019, the U.S. DOJ announced a sweeping operation against multiple entities surrounding “elder abuse”. More than 260 indictments (link). A few hours later AG William Barr held a press conference (link). Shortly after the press conference Barr met with victims (link); and mid-afternoon, after meeting with victims, AG Barr met with key tech industry leadership to discuss what they could do to help the DOJ combat “elder abuse” (link).
All of that is the basic background and context for THIS event which took place late in the afternoon on the same day, March 7th, 2019:
Pictured: On March 7th, 2019, newly confirmed Attorney General William Barr meets with the aforementioned Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC). Note AGAC Chairman Richard Moore standing to the left (two hands on chair), as Mr. Barr meets his AGAC Vice-Chairman John Huber.
Late in the afternoon AG William Barr held the first meeting with the AG Advisory Committee. Much speculation is being made around this meeting. Some have projected a great deal more meaning into this picture than actually exists.
The March 7th meeting was simply the introductory session of the fifteen AGAC members to Attorney General William Barr. U.S. Attorney John Huber was present for the meeting as Vice-Chairman of the AGAC, nothing more. Anything beyond that is wild speculation.
Within this meeting, AG Barr is able to meet the Advisory Committee members, assess their skills and competence and lay out his vision for the U.S DOJ under his tenure. Nothing more purposeful than an assembly of the AGAC should be read into this meeting.
U.S. Attorney Huber✔@USAttyHuber
US Attorney Utah✔@DUTnews
U.S. Attorney John Huber, who serves as vice chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, met with new AG William Barr this week in Washington, D. C. @TheJusticeDept
The absence of evidence is not necessarily evidence of absence, but Paul Sperry also did a lot of interviews looking for evidence that Huber was active and supporting the OIG effort. Sperry came away with the same conclusions [read here]. Exactly the opposite is visible, and current witnesses within the IG FISA review have not been interviewed by any U.S. Attorney.
It would appear that after the IG narrowed his investigative field to only the remaining FISA-investigation, there was no longer a direct need for U.S. Attorney Huber and he departed along with U.S. Attorney John Lausch.
Now, keeping the above dates in mind; and sticking to facts without supposition; here’s a factual timeline that tells a story and might help make sense of what’s going on:
♦On January 12th, 2017, the DOJ Office of Inspector General began investigating issues surrounding FBI policy breeches, media leaks, improper conduct by FBI officials and politicization by the FBI and DOJ (link) This initial investigation would result in two OIG reports (April ’18 – McCabe) and (June ’18 – Overall DOJ/FBI conduct)
♦On July 27th and September 26th, 2017, House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte was demanding Jeff Sessions revisit issues about potential DOJ and FBI corruption during the Obama administration.
♦On November 13th, 2017, AG Sessions responded to congress that the OIG was already looking into it; and he was going to appoint a ‘senior U.S. Attorney‘ to assist. (link) This AG response is the same day that AG Sessions announced his first nine AG Advisory Committee members, which included John Huber as Vice-Chair (link).
♦On November 22, 2017, Sessions’ chief-of-staff, Matt Whitaker, sends a formal request for administrative review to U.S. Attorney John Huber (link). Included in the request is the prior AG response to congress so that Huber can see what needs to be reviewed. (link)
♦On March 28th, 2018, IG Michael Horowitz expanded his oversight (link) and opened up a third investigation; this time into possible FISA abuse.
♦On March 29, 2018, again shortly after appointing more AGAC members (which included John Lausch), AG Sessions responds to more congressional inquiry (link) by citing the previous IG Horowitz review, now consisting of three investigations, and a John Huber assist (if needed). (link)
♦On April 13, 2018, the first Horowitz report was published (link). This report covered mostly the behavior of Andrew McCabe and was followed six days later with a criminal referral to the U.S. Attorney in Washington DC, Jessie Liu (link)
♦On June 14, 2018, the second Horowitz report was published (link). This report was much more involved and covered the totality of FBI and DOJ conduct and potential political bias throughout 2016. The report cited “poor judgement” by numerous officials, and poor internal behavior with FBI officials contacting media, but the OIG did not find “direct evidence” of political bias. There were no criminal referrals. (link)
That only leaves one OIG report remaining. The one covering potential FISA abuse:
QUESTION: If the DOJ Office of Inspector General found no intentional DOJ and FBI malfeasance in the June ’18 report covering the totality of the 2016 election; and no direct evidence of political bias within the decision-making of the officials being reviewed; what’s the likelihood of the same OIG finding malfeasance as it relates to DOJ/FBI *FISA activity* and the exact same people?
The extensive OIG election-period report found no DOJ/FBI misconduct (only some bad judgement). There were no criminal referrals. There were recommendations for internal improvement, which FBI Director Wray said the FBI would implement (link).
It’s important to note the Office of Inspector General FISA review/investigation of potential FISA abuses (opened March 28th, 2018) was launched three months prior to the “Election Activity” final report in June 14th 2018. There was obvious investigative overlap; however, the June report said “no evidence of intentional misconduct.”
The time frame covered by the “Election Activity” review (OIG report 2) and the “FISA Activity” review (OIG report 3) are the same. The topics are different (FISA being more specific), but the people under review and time-frame therein are identical.
If the OIG found no intentional corrupt activity in the June ’18 report (only bad judgement); no referrals were made; and time period and people are exactly the same; how can the OIG produce a post-facto FISA review report with substantively different conclusions? It seems unlikely.
However, that said, there is a narrow window of potential optimism for those seeking some measure of accountability inside report #3.
DOJ Official Bruce Ohr is likely still employed for the same reason the dispatch of Peter Strzok and James Baker was delayed prior to the finalization of IG report #2. The OIG and INSD (inspection division) can only reach those still inside the system.
On the narrow issue of how the DOJ and FBI assembled, handled and used the FISA application (and subsequent Title-1 surveillance warrant), against the Trump campaign and officials therein, Bruce Ohr is a key and central witness for the OIG (link).
Mr. Ohr has testified (transcript here) that he was interviewed by IG Horowitz about his role in assembling the information that was later used in gaining a FISA Title-1 surveillance warrant without following the Woods Procedure. [Note: Mr. Ohr was never interviewed by John Huber]
Unlike the previous OIG report #2 (Election-era Issues) if the OIG can find direct and intentional “gross misconduct” (by referencing traditional and historic FISA application assembly therein), toward those officials who participated in the FISA assembly, then it becomes possible the OIG report could potentially outline that the FISA application resulted in serious fourth amendment civil rights violations. And that perspective could be a narrow opening toward legal issues for DOJ and FBI officials who participated in assembling an *intentional* and fraudulently-based application to the FISA court.
Unfortunately, that approach is a very high bar for the OIG to reach. Again, the OIG would have to find “direct evidence” of “gross misconduct” resulting in civil rights violations. The defensive arguments by the corrupt group would be filled with legal justification(s) and internal process discussion. Lots of room for reasonable doubt.
Also unfortunate, any finding of “fourth amendment” FISA-abuse would be adverse to the interests of the larger U.S. intelligence apparatus and institutional participants who rely on the current use of the FISA process. Current officials would want to protect it.
I suspect the team of DOJ/FBI officials who abused the FISA court, and are now watching things unfold, are also relying upon the institutional necessity of the FISA process to protect themselves from too much scrutiny and sunlight.
An example of that unfortunate reality is found with HPSCI Chairman Devin Nunes advocating for FISA reauthorization on January 11th, 2018 (link); right in the middle of the explosive revelations and discoveries of potential abuse.
As HPSCI Chairman, Devin Nunes knew back in 2017 the FISA process was abused for corrupt political intent. However, he also knows it is a critical component and tool for the U.S. intelligence system and national security. Currently Mr. Nunes is advocating for a much larger conversation about it before any further re-authorization.
Lastly, assuming Robert Mueller is not impeding the IG’s ability to interview witnesses and gather documents; I would anticipate hearing about the end of Horowitz’s FISA report sometime in April, likely with a media leak surrounding the first draft report being submitted to principles and stakeholders for feedback.
There’s a slight chance leaks about the content therein; or at least the timing thereof; might be part of Speaker Pelosi’s recent decision to drop the impeachment narrative.
One can only imagine the downstream political chaos if IG Horowitz started cracking open the doors to possible civil rights violations from Obama-era FISA abuse.
There may not be a great deal of legal accountability forthcoming, but there could be a considerable amount of political damage. Hopefully a looming documentary declassification will deliver a thunderous amount of sunlight in all directions.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson is the latest target for the leftist horde. In response to their ultimately predictable behavior, Carlson outlines their ‘bigger picture‘ objective. Those who have followed the arc of leftist-advancement will note that within his counter-punch the remarks by Carlson are almost identical to those expressed by David Mamet.
Mamet famously stated, essentially: In order to advance their objectives, modern progressives, ie. ideological leftists, need to pretend not to know things; for it is only by pretense that leftists can avoid the inherent hypocrisy within their position.
[Recent Example: It is pearl-clutchingly immoral for Trump to call out (ie. ‘attack’) federal judges; meanwhile leftists currently attack the judge over the recent Manafort sentence.]
Ultimately the (im)moral and (non)virtuous professional leftist always accuses his opposition of what he, himself, is inherently guilty of doing. Good segment:
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It is worth noting that part of the leftist severity in reaction to President Trump, is because Trump punches back against their politically correct hypocrisy. That unapologetic push-back triggers them every time. The continued segment with Tammy Bruce is below:
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