Former Navy SEAL Rob O’Neill appears on Fox News to discuss the political corruption in amid the Flag officers within the military. WATCH:
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O’Neill rightly points out how DC bureaucrats are confusing the purpose of warfighters and President Trump is focused on the common sense approach. Former Navy Secretary Richard Spencer embarrassed himself by violating the chain-of-command and then criticizing President Trump over a lack of “order and discipline” within that same command structure. Ridiculous.
CBS Evening News
✔@CBSEveningNews
CBS NEWS EXCLUSIVE: Ousted Navy Secretary Richard Spencer tells @CBSDavidMartin Pres. Trump does not understand the “full definition of a war fighter” after the president stopped the Pentagon review of SEAL Eddie Gallagher & called him a “great fighter.” https://cbsn.ws/2KS51cn
Earlier today President Trump signed H.R. 724, the “Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act,” which makes it a Federal crime to engage in animal crushing. Quite remarkably this law is the first ever federal anti-cruelty statute to protect animals in U.S. history. [Video and Transcript Below]
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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. This is a very important signing, and we’ve had two now in a row that are very, very important and inspirational, I might add. Right? When you think of it.
Thank you all for being here today. I’m pleased to sign the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act into law. Animal cruelty. This is something that should’ve happened a long time ago and it didn’t. But the people behind me and others have been incredible, and I just want to congratulate you.
And I ask the same question I asked for another bill that we just signed: Why hasn’t it — this happened a long time ago? And I give you the same answer: because Trump wasn’t President. (Laughter.)
This commonsense legislation restricts the creation and distribution of videos or images of animal torture. It is important that we combat these heinous and sadistic acts of cruelty, which are totally unacceptable in a civilized society.
We’re pleased to be joined by some of the very important people that got this done. And they worked very, very hard on it. Representative Vern Buchanan — fantastic person. Sheriff Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh. Kitty Block, President and CEO of the Humane Society. Jack Hubbard, COO of American Humane. Rory Diamond, CEO of K9s for Warriors. Marty Irby, Executive Director of Animal Wellness Action. Laura Sellards, President and Executive Director of the Warrior Dog Foundation. Lauree Simmons, President and Founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue. John Thompson, Executive Director of the National Animal Care and Control Association. Sara Amundson, President of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. Tracie Letterman, Vice President of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. Anna Marie Malloy, Senior Legislative Specialist at the Humane Society Legislative Fund.
And these people really worked hard together with some of your friends that are in different states all over the country right now, that we were able to get this done a little bit quicker than people thought. And so they send all of their regards, and some of them are watching this right now, as we do this.
From battlefields to hospitals, from the ranches of the frontier to the backyards of America, from animals of service to animals of war, our nation’s animals have played a vital role in the development, settlement, security, and happiness of our country. So true. We had a great dog named Conan here, just a little while ago. It’s very fitting that it was on the same day, but that’s a little bit what you’re talking about. Conan was something and created quite a stir.
We have a responsibility to honor the dignity of God’s creation. With today’s act, we take the critical step toward being more responsible and humane stewards of our planet and all who we want to cherish and take care of, and all of those who live on it.
And I will now sign this very important piece of legislation. And I want to congratulate everybody here. And after I’m finished, I’d like you to have you maybe say a few words to the media, if you’d like. Okay? Thank you very much.
(The bill is signed.)
Okay, so who’s supposed to get this pen? (Laughter.)
PARTICIPANT: Right over there, the Congressman.
REPRESENTATIVE BUCHANAN: Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: And your sons? Introduce your sons and say a few words.
REPRESENTATIVE BUCHANAN: James and Matt.
THE PRESIDENT: Great job.
MR. MATT BUCHANAN: It’s great to be here.
REPRESENTATIVE BUCHANA: And thank you for your leadership on animals. I can tell you this has been six years and coming — about torturing animals and cruelty to animals. But without your leadership, this wouldn’t be a reality today. So thank you very much, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. Great job. Great job.
See that, Jeff?
MR. IRBY: It’s the first ever anti-cruelty statute in American history. So, you broke another record.
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, wow. That’s fantastic. (Applause.)
MR. DIAMOND: In one stroke of the pen, the President has done more to protect animals and stop animal cruelty in America than anyone in history. That’s incredible.
THE PRESIDENT: That’s really a very nicely put statement. Thank you very much.
MR. DIAMOND: Yes, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate it.
MS. BLOCK: This bill — this now passage — it’s a watershed moment. Animal protection is such a vital issue. We are so grateful for the signing today and for the support of the American people and all the legislators who stood behind us. This is an incredibly important moment and for such a great cause. So thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: That’s great. That’s a great honor. Thank you.
MS. BLOCK: Thank you. Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: My great honor. Please.
SHERIFF WELSH: Mr. President —
THE PRESIDENT: Hi, Sheriff.
SHERIFF WELSH: How are you? On behalf of law enforcement, this is another effort on your part and success on your part to assist federal, state, and local agencies to work together, because animal cruelty — the cruelty of animals, the destruction in the home, domestic violence — everything is related. And what this does is enable law enforcement to work together on the federal, state, and local level to investigate and prosecute animal cruelty. And we thank you for that.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Sheriff. And she’s one of the toughest people in the country — (laughter) — for law and order. So that’s a pretty —
SHERIFF WELSH: Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: — interesting combination of events.
Please. Go ahead.
MS. SIMMONS: We see animal abuse every day in rescue throughout the southeast, throughout the country. And I really feel that this bill will make people think twice about — before they abuse an animal, and hopefully end the horrific torture that some of these animals endure.
Mr. President, I want to thank you for getting behind this, for helping the animals of the United States. And hopefully you can work a deal and — with your China trade that we can — the meat trade over there too.
THE PRESIDENT: That’s pretty tough toward animals, isn’t it, when you think of it, right? We’re doing actually very well in that regard.
Tell me, why wasn’t this done many years ago? Could you — do you want to answer that?
MR. DIAMOND: There is no good answer, sir. Until you became President, it wasn’t going to happen.
THE PRESIDENT: Pretty amazing, you know? It’s almost common sense, right?
MR. DIAMOND: Exactly.
THE PRESIDENT: From the heart. But almost common sense. That’s pretty amazing.
Anybody would like to say something?
MR. IRBY: Yeah, Mr. President. Thank you so much for all that you’ve done as our President — and, Mr. Buchanan, you –for making this the first-ever anti-cruelty statute in American history. I know you must think a lot of that, and that really says a lot about everything you do as our President. And we’re proud to have you.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. I appreciate it. Anybody? Please.
MR. THOMPSON: Mr. President —
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
MR. THOMPSON: Yeah, I just want to say that, you know, animals are changing in our society. It used to be they were just animals; now they’re family members. And what you’ve done today has another toolbox in the men and women who — in animal care and control who go out there and fight every day. Sooner or later, we’re going to put an end to this and the evil that comes with it.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, that’s very nicely stated. Thank you very much.
REPRESENTATIVE BUCHANAN: Let me only add, also —
THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead.
REPRESENTATIVE BUCHANAN: — Mr. President, I just wanted to say that this is a big bipartisan win. It takes time, unfortunately — you know better than anybody — to try and get something done up here. But with your leadership — and we’ve got some other good bipartisan wins we’re going to have shortly, I think. But this — this is how it came together. There was a lot of work by a lot of different groups and members of Congress on both sides.
THE PRESIDENT: What were the numbers?
REPRESENTATIVE BUCHANAN: A hundred percent, pretty much, for both sides, the House and the Senate. But again, that’s because of your leadership and what you brought to this effort.
THE PRESIDENT: That’s really great.
REPRESENTATIVE BUCHANAN: Thank you very much.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Pam Bondi, would you like to say something?
MS. BONDI: I’ve prosecuted way too many of these cases, President. Way too many of these cases were prosecuted. And thanks to you, you’re going to save so many animals. Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Pam.
Well, thank you all very much. And we appreciate it. Maybe stay back and we’ll take a couple of pictures and we’ll let the media go. Thank you all very much. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you.
The Supreme Court has issued a ruling maintaining the block against House Democrats receiving President Trump’s tax returns. The one paragraph order [pdf here] essentially maintains the stay and requests the Trump administration to file a formal request for review by the court, a “writ of certiorari”, by December 5th (noon).
It seems likely, almost certain, the House Democrat leadership was expecting this outcome; hence their earlier request for the Supreme Court to delay this predictable ruling for ten days.
The administration will almost certainly file the formal request for review by the court; and if the request is granted (very likely considering the wording of the order), the Supreme Court will hear the arguments in the spring of 2020 with a ruling sometime around June 2020 to settle the issue once and for all.
The underlying House case has several defects.
Attorney Ristvan previously provided a good encapsulation of the problems for the House that explains why President Trump would likely win the case:
House Oversight is one of three committees that 26USC§6103(f) requires the IRS to turn over individual returns “upon request”.
They requested (PDJT taxes for 6 years 2013-2018) long before Pelosi announced her impeachment inquiry, way before the House vote on same, to which Pelosi said Sunday, (paraphrased) “We haven’t decided to impeach. We are only inquiring about it.”
The ‘upon request’ is not as absolute as it seems. The request must still be predicated on a legitimate legislative purpose. SCOTUS has held (I skip the rulings, since previously commented on here many months ago) that there are only two valid purposes, both constrained to legislative powers expressly granted by A1§8.
1. An inquiry into making, repealing, or amending an A1§8 law.
2. Oversight of executive administration of an existing law.
With respect to (1), a legitimate legislative purpose would be reviewing real estate tax law for possible changes. BUT then, the request should have come from Ways and Means (Neal) where tax laws originate. AND, it should have included requests for tax returns from other big real estate developers also. Singling out only PDJT is a fatal defect to this purpose.
With respect to (2), after Nixon/Agnew the tax code was amended to require a special IRS audit of annual POTUS and VPOTUS returns, with the results held in the National Archive. Reviewing those special audits by IRS would be a proper Oversight and Reform legislative purpose, BUT ONLY for 2017-2018 after PDJT was inaugurated. The earlier 4 years demanded are a fatal defect to this purpose.
Both these valid points were raised by President Trump and were already on their way to SCOTUS. Now the committee is trying to ‘cure’ these fatal request defects by claiming the returns are necessary for impeachment. This raises four new issues where PDJT can also win.
1. Impeachment is not a legislative purpose within A1§8.
2. Articles of Impeachment have historically been the the province of Judiciary, NOT Oversight.
3. The demand was made BEFORE the impeachment inquiry unofficially started and cannot be retrospectively cured.
4. No tax ‘high crimes of misdemeanors’ have even been alleged. Impeachment fishing expeditions are unconstitutional.
IMO this case has the potential to set a major constitutional precedent about POTUS harassment via political impeachment. The constitutional convention minutes and Federalist #65 both make it clear why ‘maladministration’ (the original third test after treason and bribery, and which WOULD allow for political impeachment) was replaced by ‘High Crimes and Misdemeanors’. The phrase was borrowed from prior British law, has a specific set of meanings, and DOES NOT allow political impeachment. (link)
There is another Trump taxes case currently stemming from the Southern District of New York. The administration has request the Supreme Court to also take up that prior ruling and there is a possibility that both lower court decisions could be wrapped into one.
If you have liberal family members around for this weeks Thanksgiving feast and celebration it would be wise to understand the scale of their disappointment, even if they have yet to recognize it. Perhaps the best course will be just smiling.
…”I want to discuss this with my constituents and colleagues before I make a final judgment on this,” Schiff said.
Amid diminishing public support for the impeachment fiasco; and with more Americans starting to realize the past two months were an abject lesson in political narrative building and legislative manipulation; HPSCI impeachment committee chairman Adam Schiff transmits a letter today to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler.
If Schiff were in the MMA venue this letter, describing the HPSCI report to the House Judiciary Committee (HJC), would be a double tap to the mat:
Well, there’s a slightly less than strong impeachment position: Impeachment by “inference”.. he says. Previously Mueller and Weissmann attempted to prosecute President Trump, the fictitious horse-thief, for attempting to obstruct his hanging; now Schiff is inferring guilt because President Trump didn’t present alibis for his whereabouts when the fictitious horse wasn’t stolen…. Yup, it’s looking like a fail.
Schiff continues:
Wait,… President Trump has done terrible, horrible, dastardly stuff that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, says makes President Donald J Trump an “imposter” in the office. But now the assembly of the three committees need to figure out whether such imposter behavior is “compatible with the office of the presidency”?
See the obfuscation?
Pelosi, Schiff, Nadler and Lawfare are in “political extraction mode”. That is, trying to walk backwards to the impeachment exit and only stepping into their prior footprints so that the left-wing nuts cannot identify their retreat.
Oh man, the Democrat base is going to go bananas if the House doesn’t have an impeachment vote…. and yet Pelosi could lose her gavel if the House has an impeachment vote that results in two foolish House Managers showing up to the Senate chamber with legally limp articles of impeachment.
Earlier today President Trump and Bulgarian Prime Minister Borissov held a press availability in the oval office prior to their bilateral meeting. [Video and Transcript]
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[Transcript] – PRIME MINISTER BORISSOV: (As interpreted.) The Bulgarians like you so much, and they expect to have the problem with the visas solved — like with Canada.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Ah, okay. Well, we’re going to work on that problem.
I want to just thank the Prime Minister of Bulgaria for being here. It’s an honor to have you at the White House, in the Oval Office. We have meetings coming up in a little while. You have your representatives. I have my representatives. And I think we’re going to have very productive meetings.
They’ve ordered some F-35s and some other things. They buy a lot of military equipment from the United States — the best equipment in the world. And I look forward to our meeting.
PRIME MINISTER BORISSOV: (As interpreted.) We have 3.1 percent of the national — 3.1 percent, instead of 2 —
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Good.
PRIME MINISTER BORISSOV: (As interpreted.) — the membership requirement of NATO.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: That’s very interesting. We’ll have to think about that, right? That’s very good. You should tell that to Germany. (Laughs.) You understand.
PRIME MINISTER BORISSOV: (As interpreted.) You will say it, sir.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, we have a big NATO meeting coming up very soon, as you all know. But we’ve had a very, very good relationship, and now we’re going to formalize some things. We — the relationship we have with Bulgaria has been very strong. Great people.
Okay? Thank you.
Q Mr. President, what was your thinking behind the Navy Secretary this weekend?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: We’ve been thinking about that for a long time; that didn’t just happen. And I have to protect my warfighters. I’ve been — gotten — a lot of people have — a lot of warfighters and people in the military have thanked us very much. It’s been — it’s about time. They had one young man in jail for six years. He had many years to go. And a lot of people think he shouldn’t have been there. And I gave him a pardon.
With Eddie Gallagher — you know that story very well — they wanted to take his pin away, and I said, “No, you’re not going to take it away.” He was a great fighter. He was the — one of the ultimate fighters. Tough guy. These are not weak people. These are tough people.
And we’re going to protect our warfighters. And I’ve been given a lot thank-yous, including we just had some very great Special Forces people come to the White House, and they brought Conan. But they were here for themselves also. I wanted to see them. I wanted to meet them. They gave us a rundown on what happened with al-Baghdadi. And they were incredible.
But they were very thankful. Somebody has their back, and it’s called the “President of the U.S.” Okay? We’ve got their back.
Q Mr. President — Mr. President —
Q Bulgarian media, please.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Say it?
Q Bulgarian media. What’s the thinking about Bulgarian and USA friendship, Mr. President?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, we have a great friendship. They’re great people. You have a lot of people from Bulgaria that are in this country, live in this country. They’ve become citizens of the United States. And we’re going to be talking about the visa program, as per the request of your Prime Minister. But, no, they’re great people. We have a very good relationship.
Q Mr. President, are you at all concerned that with some of your comments about the Navy Secretary and Lieutenant Colonel Vindman, that you’re disparaging members of the armed forces?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: No, I think what I’m doing is sticking up for our armed forces. And there’s never been a President that’s going to stick up for them and has, like I have, including the fact that we spent two and a half trillion dollars on rebuilding our armed forces.
And some very unfair things were happening. You let Sergeant Bergdahl go. You let others go, including a young gentleman, now a person who President Obama let go, who stole tremendous amounts of classified information. And you let that person go. But Sergeant Bergdahl — we just lost another man who went after — you know he died last week. He went after — from — he was paralyzed from just about the neck down, and he died last week, going after Sergeant Bergdahl, trying to find Sergeant Bergdahl.
So when you have a system that allows Sergeant Bergdahl to go, and you probably had five to six people killed — nobody even knows the number, because he left — and he gets a slap on the wrist, if that; and then you have a system where these warriors get put in jail for 25 years — I’m going to stick for our warrior. I will stick up for the warriors.
Okay, thank you very much everybody.
Q Mr. President what do you make of —
PRESIDENT TRUMP: The person I’m talking about is Chelsea Manning, by the way, if you had any doubt. So you have Chelsea Manning, who after — after Chelsea Manning was, I assume, pardoned by President Obama, Chelsea Manning went around and badmouthed President Obama, on top of everything else.
So when you have a Chelsea Manning who stole classified information and did many, many things that were not good and gets pardoned — or whatever happened — and you have a Sergeant Bergdahl who gets — virtually nothing happens; a slap on the wrist — and then they want to put these warriors in jail for 25 years. One of them, Lorance, served six years in jail; had many years left as a fighter. No, we’re not going do that to our people.
Q Mr. President, what do you make of Giuliani saying — what do you make of Rudy Giuliani saying he has insurance?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Oh, I don’t know. Rudy is a great guy. Rudy was —
Q Is there any chance he would flip on you?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Rudy was the — and he covered that himself. You know that. Rudy is — Rudy is the best mayor in the history of New York. In my opinion, the strongest mayor, the best mayor. Rudy is a great crime fighter, corruption fighter. Probably the best in 50 years. When he was here, and also when he was at the U.S. Attorney in Southern District, he was phenomenal. Rudy is a great person.
And I think that maybe the press isn’t treating Rudy very well, and I think that’s unfair. But Rudy was a great mayor and a great crime fighter.
Thank you very much.
Q (Inaudible.)
PRESIDENT TRUMP: What?
Q Do you come to Bulgaria? And do you know that the — what do you think about Bulgarian position in (inaudible)?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I might come. I might come. It’s a country where we have a lot in common. And we have a Prime Minister that we like a lot. So, that could happen.
Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Q Mr. President, what about USMCA?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: By the way, USMCA, I can tell you it’s sitting on Nancy Pelosi’s desk.
Q Mr. President, when can we travel without visa?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Wait, please.
Q When can I travel without visa?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Please. Please. Please.
USMCA — that’s the deal — the trade deal, the great trade deal for the farmers, manufacturers, workers of all types, including union. It’s sitting on Nancy Pelosi’s desk. She’s incapable of moving it. It looks like she can’t. Everybody knows it’s a great deal. She knows it’s a great deal; she said it. She keeps saying she wants to get it done, but we’re talking about many, many months sitting on her desk, no votes.
And she doesn’t have to help with the Democrats because they’re going to vote for it — most of them. And, I guess, all of the Republicans are going to vote for it.
But the system is — the way the system works, she has to put it up for a vote. And she hasn’t wanted to do it because I understand a couple of the unions — AF of L-CIO — they are asking her to hold it for a while because maybe you’ll look — make Trump look bad, although I get a lot of votes out of the AF of L-CIO, except for maybe the top, who I actually like. Richard Trumka — nice guy.
But Nancy Pelosi should put it up for a vote because, at some point pretty soon, you’re going to have Canada and you’re going have Mexico say, “What’s going on? Send the agreement back. Let’s not make the deal.” And I wouldn’t blame them at all. And that’s okay. We’ll just blame Nancy.
She’s got to put U.S. — that’s United States-Canada-Mexico trade deal — a phenomenal deal for our farmers, for everybody. It’s a great deal for our country. It replaces one of the worst trade deals ever made — that’s NAFTA. So, we have a great deal. She has to put it up for a vote. She doesn’t have to talk to anybody. All she has to do is say, “We’re putting it up for a vote,” like immediately. And a lot of time is being wasted.
But you’re going to have Mexico and Canada pull it pretty soon. And if they do, it’s her fault, not mine. We gave you a great deal. It’s her fault. And got to get going. Got to get going. She’s really traumatized.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much, everybody.
Q How was the dog?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Huh?
Q How was the dog?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Good. Cute, huh? Unbelievable. More friendly — more friendly than I thought.
Earlier today President Trump, First Lady Melania and Vice-President Pence welcomed one of the heroes from the special-ops mission to kill/capture ISIS leader al Baghdadi.
“Conan” the special operations Belgian Malinois canine who helped track Baghdadi during the mission, and was wounded during the effort, was honored today at the White House. [Video and Transcript below]
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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. So this is Conan — right now, probably the world’s most famous dog. I don’t think — I have to use the word “probably.” And Conan is an incredible — it’s an incredible story. I learned a lot about this particular type of dog. And it’s trained that, if you open your mouths, you will be attacked. You want to be very, very careful.
But Conan came over from the Middle East — just arrived — with some of the great people from the Special Forces that did the incredible fl- — it was a flawless attack. And al-Baghdadi is gone. But that was a flawless attack. And I just met quite a few of them.
And we just gave Conan a medal and a plaque. And it’s really — and I actually think Conan knew exactly what was going on. But a dog that is very, very special and we could maybe say — Mike, come on over. Maybe you want to say something about the type of dog and —
They were going to put a muzzle on the dog and I thought that was a good idea, but then it gets even more violent, John. So I had a choice. But, no, the dog is incredible. Actually incredible. We spent some good time with it. And so brilliant, so smart — the way it was with the Special Forces people that it worked with. And for obvious reasons, they can’t be out in front of the media.
But they did a fantastic job. Conan did a fantastic job. And we’re very honored to have Conan here and to have given Conan a certificate and an award that we’re going to put up in the White House.
Mike, would you have something to day?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: It’s great to be here, Mr. President. I know you just finished a meeting with some of the very same Special Forces who completed the successful raid that took down the leader of ISIS.
But I recall, Mr. President, when you made the decision, right up there in White House.
THE PRESIDENT: Yep.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: The day before the raid, you had talked about measures that were available to protect our soldiers. And it had been described to us, about the fact that they had dogs that could go in, in the event that al-Baghdadi had on him an explosive vest — that you put the premium on the safety of our Special Forces.
And this dog was there; suffered some injury. We were able to complete the raid without any American casualty. And so I think having the Special Forces here today, who obviously can’t come out in the public, but also having this extraordinary dog here today is all a reflection of our armed forces and the great job that they do.
But Conan is really a hero. It’s really a — it’s a real joy to be able to help welcome him here to the White House with you.
THE PRESIDENT: It’s true. And Conan was very badly hurt, as you know. And they thought maybe was not going to recover. Recovered, actually very, quickly and has since gone on very important raids.
As you know, we captured 100 percent of the ISIS caliphate. When I took office, we had almost nothing. It was as though they were just forming again, and now it’s 100 percent. And we have done a lot of work since then. We have done a lot of work since the raid. Certain things have happened that are very important. So we’re in very good shape. We’re in very good shape.
We’ve had a lot of help, too, from other countries. We’ve had a — we’ve really done a job.
I just want to thank you all. So, this is a special time for Conan. And we really appreciate it. And I was told about the breed. I was told about Conan himself. And Conan is a tough cookie. And nobody is going to mess with Conan.
I asked one question. I said, “So, what chance, with Conan…” I got to see how fast Conan can move. I said, “What chance would a strong man have — really strong, tough, a fighter — what chance would this person have against Conan, without the guns? What chance?” And I guess the answer, pretty much, was “none.” He would have no chance. So, it’s amazing.
And yet, you see how beautiful and how calm, during a situation like this, is. And you’re very lucky he doesn’t — he’s not in a bad mood today, Jeff. (Laughter.) Not in a bad mood. You’re safe. Anyway.
So I want to thank you all. Thank you very much. And this is a great honor to have Conan here. A great honor to have the Special Forces here. They’re in the Oval Office.
Q Do you want to adopt the dog, Mr. President?
Q Is Conan retiring?
THE PRESIDENT: I love this dog. No, Conan is not retiring yet. Conan is primetime, age-wise. Primetime. I asked that question.
They go for about six years — like an athlete. Six years. They start — they like to get them at one and a half or two years old, and they’ll go for about six years from that time. After that, it happens where maybe the reflexes aren’t quite as good. You know, things like that happen. It would never happen to us. But the dog, primetime, is those six years after two. And they’re very special dogs. They’re very hard to get. This particular dog is — this is the ultimate fighter, ultimate everything.
Ultimate in terms of sniffing drugs. We have a — we’ve spent a tremendous amount of money on drug equipment at the border. And I was talking to the people, and I say, “Well, is there anything better than this equipment?” “No, sir. The only thing better is a dog.” A dog — this type of dog, exactly, because it’s a certain type of dog. And it’s pretty amazing. But they are really better.
We had a case where we had drugs in a — the cylinder of a car. And it was undetectable by this very expensive machinery, which is really amazing machinery. But still, it was undetectable. The dog came in — wah, jumped on the hood, pointing — you know. Opened the hood and knew exactly. It’s incredible, the sense of smell or whatever it may be — probably sense of smell.
So they’re incredible animals. And thank you all very much.
Q Do you have confidence in Mick Mulvaney, Mr. President?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I do. Yes. Of course.
Q Melania, do you want to adopt the dog for Barron?
This decision (full pdf below) was easily predicted for the past several weeks. The HJC -vs- White House case for McGahn testimony will be appealed and join the HJC -vs- White House case surrounding grand jury information in the DC appellate court.
WASHINGTON — A federal judge ruled late Monday that former White House counsel Don McGahn must obey a subpoena for his testimony issued by the House Judiciary Committee.
Federal District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson [pictured right] said McGahn must appear before Congress but retains the ability to “invoke executive privilege where appropriate” during his appearance. The judge did not put her own ruling on hold, but the Trump administration will likely seek one to put the effect of her ruling on hold while it pursues an appeal. (link)
Nancy Pelosi and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler need a full House impeachment authorization vote to try and overcome the current obstacles they are facing. The authority for the House Judiciary Committee (HJC) to penetrate the constitutional firewall that protects the separation of power in the main issue; but there are other structural/legal issues that also exist.
Here’s the McGahn ruling that will most certainly go to the appeals court next:
Any loss in three currently pending cases will undermine the validity of the prior impeachment inquiry…. that’s obviously an issue. There are three cases, each of them appears heading to the Supreme Court; one is already there.
♦The first case is the House Oversight Committee effort to gain President Trumps’ tax returns as part of their impeachment ‘inquiry’ and oversight. That case is currently on-hold (10-day stay) in the Supreme Court. Written briefs soon, arguments perhaps in early December? Outcome pending. There is a very strong probability Pelosi will lose this case because Oversight doesn’t have jurisdiction and the case began back in February.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. granted the administration’s request to stay the federal appeals court ruling against Mr. Trump until “further order” — for now — as the high court decides whether or not to hear the president’s challenge.
[…] Douglas Letter, general counsel for the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, had sent a letter to the court, agreeing to a brief 10-day stay while the parties filed their court papers debating the need for an injunction while the case is being considered. (link)
Probability of loss to Pelosi 90%.
♦The second case is the House Judiciary Committee (HJC) effort to gain the grand jury information from the Mueller investigation. The decision by DC Judge Beryl Howell was stayed by a three member DC Appellate court. Oral arguments were November 12th, the decision is pending. [Depending on outcome, the case could will also go to SCOTUS]
[…] the appeals court in a brief order said it would not immediately release the documents “pending further order of the court.” The court also asked the House and the Justice Department for more briefings and set a Jan. 3 date for another hearing. (link)
Probability of SCOTUS 100%
♦The third case is the HJC effort to force the testimony of former White House legal counsel Don McGahn. Issue: subpoena validity. The HJC asked for an expedited ruling. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson delivered her ruling November 25th.:
Federal District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson said McGahn must appear before Congress but retains the ability to “invoke executive privilege where appropriate” during his appearance. The judge did not put her own ruling on hold, but the Trump administration will likely seek one to put the effect of her ruling on hold while it pursues an appeal. (link)
Probability Appeal 100% – Probability SCOTUS 90%
Pelosi, Schiff, Nadler and Lawfare are hoping a full House vote to authorize impeachment will help them retroactively in any judicial decision (court, appeals or SCOTUS). The only case where that seems possible is the last one; and that has a long way to reach SCOTUS.
Remember, the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on any ancillary case that touches upon the validity of the unilaterally declared House impeachment process. The Supreme Court has not ruled on any case that touches the impeachment “inquiry”.
The issue at stake is whether the legislative branch can penetrate the constitutional firewall which exists within the separation of powers.
If the House loses the Tax case in SCOTUS (likely), and/or either HJC case in appeals or SCOTUS it will mean there was no constitutional foundation for the “impeachment inquiry” upon which they have built their legal arguments.
Without the constitutional recognition of the judicial branch Pelosi and Schiff’s HPSCI status as a constitutional impeachment process would be fatally flawed. The product from all of that effort could be considered invalid; and possibly the Senate could ignore any House impeachment vote that uses invalid evidence gathered in the fatally flawed process.
Pelosi and Schiff are racing the SCOTUS for their legal foundation; and simultaneously facing the IG FISA report release which will likely challenge the foundation of their narrative.
There is a very strong likelihood the documentary material that FBI Lawyer Kevin Clinesmith falsified was actual communication from Carter Page to the FBI where Page was seeking their help in 2017. This revelation would explain and reconcile two seemingly contrasting points:
Point one – The media have asserted, based on leaks from the principal reviews, the woods file manipulation by Clinesmith did not impact the validity of the original FISA application on October 21st, 2017.
Point two – The material Kevin Clinesmith did manipulate was so egregious and unethical, it stands as one of the most clear examples of corrupt FBI abuse of power in recent history.
This outline will highlight a VERY disturbing picture:
Start by remembering the timeline of the Carter Page targeting through the use of a FISA application to the FISA Court (FISC). The original application was submitted on October 21st, 2016. The first FISA renewal was January 12, 2017 (84 days from origination). The second renewal was April 7, 2017 (85 days from prior renewal). The third renewal was on June 29th, 2017 (83 days from prior renewal).
Avoid the spin, and let’s focus on the facts. According to all reporting on the falsified evidence created by FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, the manipulation of the woods file, happened during one of the renewals.
Michael E. Horowitz, uncovered errors and omissions in documents related to the wiretapping of a former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page — including that a low-level lawyer, Kevin Clinesmith, altered an emailthat officials used to prepare to seek court approval to renew the wiretap, the people said. (NYT Link)
The renewals were: Jan 12th, April 7th, June 29th, 2017. However, we know from the redacted release of the FISA application there was no material added in the first renewal in January 2017. So that leaves either the April ’17 renewal or the June ’17 renewal.
We know from the Washington Post and the New York Times leaks, again based on principal reviews of the IG report content, that FBI Lawyer Kevin Clinesmith modified an email:
…Horowitz found that the employee [Kevin Clinesmith] erroneously indicated he had documentation to back up a claim he had made in discussions with the Justice Department about the factual basis for the application. He then altered an email to back up that erroneous claim… (link)
That means Kevin Clinesmith modified an email, which then became part of the woods file evidence (citation by FBI FISA warrant lawyer Sally Moyer) to support either the April renewal or the June, 2017, renewal of the FISA application.
Now we look to Carter Page’s reaction to the reporting on the Clinesmith manipulation:
The stunning likelihood here is that the email Kevin Clinesmith edited and falsified as part of his FISA renewal manipulation was email communication from Carter Page himself.
It is also important to note the phrase: “and his colleagues“; and then overlay what Carter Page says there with an earlier leaked explanation: “Mr. Clinesmith took an email from an official at another federal agency that contained several factual assertions, then added material to the bottom that looked like another assertion from the email’s author, when it was instead his own.”
It is jaw-dropping to think about the FBI team manipulating communication from the target of an unlawful investigation to continue targeting that individual. Yes, this speaks to stunningly criminal intent…. and that criminal exposure would extend to any individual or entity participating in such an egregious, unlawful and unconstitutional violations of Page’s fourth amendment rights with a falsified application to the FISA court.
UPDATE 5:45pm: Techno is in contact with the background participants; he is able to relay information. Carter Page is confirming he emailed with the FBI including Kevin Clinesmith at 07:43:51 EDT on April 6th, 2017, the morning of the day before the second FISA renewal:
This April 6th date confirmation and contact timeline now makes additional sense.
Considering NOTHING was ever changed in the January renewal; and considering the DOJ/FBI legally had to have *something* change in order to get the April renewal; there would have been a great deal of pressure on FBI lawyer Clinesmith to create something if nothing existed.
Important context: The FISA application (and first renewal documentation) was delivered to the SSCI (via James Wolfe) on March 17th, 2017, as requested by democrat Senator Mark Warner. We know this from the release last year. This SSCI delivery is three weeks before the second renewal on April 7th. This SSCI FISA delivery was also leaked by SSCI Security Director James Wolfe to journalist Ali Watkins at Buzzfeed. Keep this in mind.
Carter Page emailing with Kevin Clinesmith on the morning of April 6th prior to Clinesmith manipulating the content of an email to support his falsified documentation for the next renewal, April 7th, highlights the lack of evidence the FBI was able to discover in the seven previous months. However, the FBI team wasn’t going to be deterred by the lack of evidence; instead they just made it up.
The timeline here is critical.
Clinesmith likely manipulated the FISA renewal in April because by law extending the FISA surveillance must be based on new evidence gathered. In the following month Clinesmith transfers to the newly created Mueller probe. According to the New York Times and Michael Horowitz: “[Clinesmith] was among the F.B.I. officials removed by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, after Mr. Horowitz found text messages expressing political animus against Mr. Trump.”
The manipulated evidence FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith fabricated was then used by the team of Peter Strzok, Andrew Weissmann, Robert Mueller and Clinesmith for the objectives of the special counsel.
Again, another overlay, keep in mind that Robert Mueller asked Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein to extend the scope of his investigation twice more after the original appointment of the special counsel.
That means Special Counsel Robert Mueller used a falsified FISA warrant as part of his investigation; and that material exploitation continued after team members within the special counsel became aware the FBI members were compromised and likely the FISA warrant application itself was falsified.
Yeah, depending on what people within the Mueller knew and when they knew it, this IG report on FISA abuses could be much more consequential than the media would currently like to admit.
Within the FBI Kevin Clinesmith was responsible for material evidence that underpinned the FISA warrant. Clinesmith then hands that material to Sally Moyer. Ms. Moyer is responsible for the legal compliance within the FBI counterintelligence operations that generated FISA applications.
Sally Moyer was FBI unit chief in the Office of General Counsel (counterintelligence legal unit within the FBI Office of General Counsel). Her assembly of the FBI material is to ensure the citations are in place to support the Woods File requirement. Then she hands it off to Main Justice, the DOJ National Security Division (DOJ-NSD).
Receiving the FISA warrant application in the DOJ-NSD is Tashina Guahar, Deputy Assistant Attorney General (DAAG) in the Department of Justice National Security Division (DOJ-NSD) with responsibility over the assembly of FISA applications in Main Justice. In essence, Tashina Guahar is the working Main Justice FISA lawyer.
Shortly after IG Horowitz delivered the draft of his investigative report to AG Bill Barr last September, not only did Kevin Clinesmith leave the FBI but also Tashina Guahar quietly leaves the DOJ-NSD {Go Deep} and is reported to have taken a job with Boeing Corp.
In hindsight the reason for Tashina Guahar’s mysterious exit also makes sense.
QUESTION: You have been silent on the Trump impeachment proceedings. What is your opinion?
HT
ANSWER: It is just a dog and pony show all intent upon trashing Trump for political reasons. In doing so, they are trying to indirectly to pretend what Joe Biden did was ethical, which it was not. Biden admitted he personally withheld $1 billion in loan guarantees unless they fired the prosecutor investigating the company that hired his son. To say Trump should be impeached because he withheld aid unless Ukraine investigated Biden is really amazing. Clearly, Biden personally said he would not provide aid unless they fired the prosecutor investigating the company that hired his son to gain influence with the Obama Administration shows this is all about politics. This was not a decision Obama made, but Biden personally when his family was involved. If Trump should be impeached for asking Ukraine to “investigate” when Biden demanded to end an investigation, then shouldn’t Biden have been impeached as well?
Welcome to the political corruption which has engulfed the world.
Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) discusses the upcoming drafting of a partisan report derived from witness testimony and the likelihood of an independent minority report. Unfortunately Rep. Zeldin, just like Adam Schiff and House leadership, is not sure what comes next (other than Thanksgiving).
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