Don’t get so caught up debating the granular issues over ‘muh Russia’ that you fail to elevate and see the landscape from the 30,000 ft. level.   The Rosenstein/Mueller move today is all about protecting the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) from President Trump (declassification threats); and it was specifically scheduled, timed, to be launched today as Trump leaves for the G20 to achieve maximum political damage.

Michael Cohen pleads guilty today (full pdf below) to lying in written testimony to the SSCI:

(WaPo) […] Cohen admitted as a part of his plea that he lied in part to “minimize links” between the Moscow project and Trump, and in hopes of limiting ongoing probes into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. Prosecutors said in court documents that he discussed efforts to obtain Russian government funding for the project as late as June 2016 and discussed the status and progress with Trump more than he had previously told congressional investigators. (more)

This power-move by Mueller and Rosenstein (the small-group teams within the construct and not just the individuals), is another move with a similar motivation to the plea agreement over SSCI security director, James Wolfe.  Whitaker is powerless to stop it. Rosenstein and Mueller are protecting their allies in the most corrupt committee in DC.

Remember, those SSCI Senators (Vice-Chair Mark Warner, Dianne Feinstein and senior staffer Dan Jones etc.) were coordinating with Fusion GPS and the Clinton campaign allies; and were direct participants in “Spygate” and the insurance policy known as the special counsel.

This is one of the reasons why it is likely, damned near certain, that senior SSCI senators instructed James Wolfe to leak information, including the March 17th copy of the Carter Page FISA application, and that is why Rosenstein and Mueller let James Wolfe plea to a much lesser one-count crime of lying.

Remember when SSCI senator Dianne Feinstein released the transcript of Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson’s testimony so that all of downstream participants could coordinate their stories?   Oh, how quickly we forget.

It is near certain that Feinstein gave up her Senate Intelligence Vice-Chair position following the 2016 presidential election because there was an inherent political risk for any intelligence-oversight Democrat in relation to the FBI’s Trump operation, “spygate”.  Feinstein’s staffer, Dan Jones, then paid Fusion-GPS $50 million to continue the efforts.

Remember Oleg Deripaska’s lawyer/lobbyist Adam Waldman having secret text messages with new SSCI Vice-Chairman Mark Warner relaying communication from Christopher Steele that Senator Warner wanted to keep quiet?

Adam Waldman texting Senator Warner about Chris Steele and outlining how Feinstein’s former senior staffer Dan Jones was coming to see him.

(link)

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is as corrupt and complicit within the entire spygate fiasco as the DOJ and FBI.  That’s why Mueller and Rosenstein (small group) are working to protect the Senators and staff just like they protect the corrupt officials in the DOJ and FBI.  Mueller’s entire operation is structured around this type of scheming cover-up.

The Cohen plea is part of creating that DC swamp leverage that benefits all of these creatures….. and it is timed to undermine the President at the beginning of the G20 because the geopolitical perspectives/policies of Donald Trump, that are counter to the indulgent life amid the benefactors inside DC, is what made Trump the original threat to the system.

This is Deep State (via Mueller/Rosenstein) fighting President Trump; and trying to blunt the declassification weapon he holds.  Nothing more:

https://www.scribd.com/embeds/394490430/content?start_page=1&view_mode=&access_key=key-PUAFspeiBECifBHWOEcB

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~By Michael Caputo:  ‘In 2009, my wife and I moved to my hometown of East Aurora, New York to have a family. Making far less money back home, we had a far better quality of life. That is, until the Trump-Russia narrative took off. Today, I can’t possibly pay the attendant legal costs and live near my aging father, raising my kids where I grew up.

‘Your investigation and others into the allegations of Trump campaign collusion with Russia are costing my family a great deal of money – more than $125,000 – and making a visceral impact on my children.

‘Now I must to move back to Washington, New York City, Miami or elsewhere, just so I can make enough money to pay off these legal bills. And I know I have you to thank for that.

‘Here’s how I know: how many of you know Daniel Jones, former Senate Intelligence staffer for Senator Dianne Feinstein? Great guy, right? Most of you worked with him. One of you probably just talked to him this morning.

‘Of course, very few of us in flyover country knew Daniel until recently. Now we know that he quit his job with your Senate committee not long ago to raise $50 million from ten rich Democrats to finance more work on the FusionGPS Russian dossier. The one the FBI used to get a FISA warrant and intimidate President Donald Trump, without anyone admitting — until months after it was deployed — that it was paid for by Hillary Clinton.

‘In fact, good old Dan has been raising and spending millions to confirm the unconfirmable – and, of course, to keep all his old intel colleagues up-to-speed on what FusionGPS and British and Russian spies have found. Got to keep that Russia story in the news.

‘Of course Dan’s in touch with you guys. We know from the news that he’s been briefing Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of this committee. Which one of you works for Senator Warner? Please give Danny my best.

‘I saw some of his handiwork just last month. Remember this lede paragraph, from McClatchy on April 13?

‘The Justice Department special counsel has evidence that Donald Trump’s personal lawyer and confidant, Michael Cohen, secretly made a late-summer trip to Prague during the 2016 presidential campaign, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

‘That’s your pal Dan, isn’t it? He came up with some kind of hollow proof that Michael Cohen was in Prague meeting with Russians when he wasn’t. He tried to sell that to reporters, and they didn’t buy it because it doesn’t check out. So, to get a reporter to write up his line of bull, he gave the documents to the Office of Special Counsel.

‘We know that’s likely, because he’s told people he’s briefing investigators.

‘So, technically, the special counsel’s office has evidence. Your pal Dan gave them more of the Democrats’ dossier, funded by more Democrats, provided again by Russian and British spies. Information no reporter would write up, but now there’s an angle: the Special Counsel has it. Now it’s a story.

‘It’s a clever but effective ruse. That’s a story, just like when reporter Michael Isikoff of Yahoo News wrote this gem on September 16, 2016:

‘“…U.S. officials have since received intelligence reports that during that same three-day trip, Page met with Igor Sechin, a longtime Putin associate … a well-placed Western intelligence source tells Yahoo News. That meeting, if confirmed, is viewed as especially problematic by U.S. officials…”

‘Dozens of stories were written from the Isikoff piece, doing real damage to the Trump campaign. Of course, now we know Isikoff’s reference to “intelligence reports” was just him renaming a dossier funded by Democrats and dug up by his longtime pal Glenn Simpson and some foreign spies. Once Simpson gave his Clinton campaign opposition research to the feds, it was news.

‘This was especially true after Isikoff intentionally labeled the campaign materials as intelligence – just like McClatchy called Dan’s information “evidence.”

‘But who is McClatchy’s second source? It couldn’t be Dan; he was the first source. It couldn’t be Simpson; he works for Dan. It can’t be the Mueller investigation; they kicked the McClatchy story to the curb with aplomb. So who could it be – perhaps one of his former Senate Intelligence colleagues? I mean, you’re all in this together. You’re the swamp.

‘What America needs is an investigation of the investigators. I want to know who is paying for the spies’ work and coordinating this attack on President Donald Trump? I want to know who Dan Jones is talking to across the investigations – from the FBI, to the Southern District of New York, to the OSC, to the Department of Justice, to Congress.

‘Forget about all the death threats against my family. I want to know who cost us so much money, who crushed our kids, who forced us out of our home, all because you lost an election.

‘I want to know because God Damn you to Hell.

(Source and Source)

Outgoing U.S. Senator Jeff Flake from Arizona has given the American electorate the big middle finger for Christmas.  Flake has followed-through on his vow to block more than 20 judicial nominees; forcing the Senate Judiciary Committee to abandon six federal circuit court nominees, and 15 federal district court nominees.

WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) announced Wednesday that he is canceling votes on nearly two dozen of President Trump’s judicial nominees that were expected to come up in the Judiciary Committee this week.

The cancellation of the committee’s Thursday business meeting comes as Senate Republicans are in a standoff with outgoing Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who has vowed to oppose all court picks until he gets a vote on legislation protecting special counsel Robert Mueller.

The notification from the Judiciary Committee didn’t specify when, or if, the committee votes on the nominations would be rescheduled. Six circuit court nominees had been expected to get a vote, as well as 15 district court nominees.  (read more)

First Lady Melania Trump delivers a speech at the Liberty University convocation, and participates in a town hall discussion of America’s opioid crisis.

President Trump and First Lady Melania participate in national tree lighting ceremony at The Ellipse.

Funny stuff happens when a judge tells a plaintiff she has to pay $341,500 for the legal expenses of a lawsuit she lost.  All of a sudden Stormy Daniels is saying her CPL, Michael Avenatti, was acting against her wishes:

[Stormy Daniels] “For months I’ve asked Michael Avenatti to give me accounting information about the fund my supporters so generously donated to for my safety and legal defense. He has repeatedly ignored those requests. Days ago I demanded again, repeatedly, that he tell me how the money was being spent and how much was left. Instead of answering me, without my permission or even my knowledge Michael launched another crowdfunding campaign to raise money on my behalf. I learned about it on Twitter.”  (keep reading)

Former FBI Director James Comey filed a motion today to avoid a congressional subpoena requiring testimony on December 5th to a joint House committee. James Comey is attempting to limit his legal risk exposure by controlling the venue for testimony.

(Tweet Link – Document Link)

In an open or public hearing classified information cannot be discussed. The primary issues surrounding his involvement in the 2015, 2016, 2017 intelligence operation against President Trump known as “spygate” surround classified information. Additionally, the structure of a 40 member open hearing limits the usefulness of that venue.

The ever conniving Comey understands how to manipulate the structure to his benefit and is attempting to avoid a closed and more purposeful hearing.  (full pdf below)  If Comey can drag things out to the next, Dem-controlled, congressional session, he’s home free.

https://www.scribd.com/embeds/394493585/content?start_page=1&view_mode=&access_key=key-XcDwHYRuO5Nt4eDvekpl

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Left-wing U.S. media heavily-pushed a transparently sketchy story today about Paul Manafort meeting and coordinating with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in 2013, 2015, 2016.  The story has the same vibe as the Steele Dossier: long on innuendo, sketchy sourcing and an over-the-top narrative; in short, nonsense (Screengrab below).

Within minutes, the left-wing U.S. media began gleefully pushing the narrative. However, almost simultaneously, all of the principal participants said the Guardian story was entirely made-up and had no basis in fact.

Jennifer Jacobs

✔ @JenniferJJacobs

Manafort in a statement says:

Representative Jim Jordan discusses the likelihood of James Comey testifying to a joint House Oversight and Judiciary Committee on December 5th. Additional topics include Rod Rosenstein and the upcoming budget battle that will likely include funding for border security.

Federal Judge Randolph Moss denies a sentencing delay for George Papadopoulos and instructs him to report to federal prison in Wisconsin on Monday; Papadopoulos will serve a 14-day sentence for ‘lying’ to  federal investigators.

The Judge rejected Papadopoulos request to delay his sentence while the legitimacy of Mueller’s probe is being challenged in a separate legal case.

[Read Court Ruling Here]

Papadopoulos argued it was possible the constitutional challenge in a separate case would result in his own conviction being set aside, and that he should therefore be allowed to remain free on bail. However, U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss noted Papadopoulos had not appealed his own conviction, having waived his right to do so when he pleaded guilty. Moss also noted Papadopoulos had not shown the appeals court case would likely conclude the special counsel’s appointment was unlawful.