January 31, 2019
President Trump delivers a video message in concert with a series of public tweets surrounding the ongoing issues with border security funding.
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Tag Archives: Impeachment
Nancy Pelosi: Replacing “Normandy Barriers” with “Normandy Fencing” is OK – Not a Wall…
January 31, 2019
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi starts shifting the semantic granules to avoid a political loss. The financing for, and construction of, a see-through fencing system (Trump’s position) is the request of DHS and Border Patrol, and supported by the vast majority of Americans.
Today, Speaker Pelosi starts by claiming no wall will ever be permitted, then garbles her way through a pretzel response by saying “Normandy Barriers” being replaced by “Normandy See-Through Fencing”, is ok. She’s trying to avoid a political loss. Watch:
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This is the clearest indication that Pelosi knows: (a) she’s losing the argument; and (b) the topic is now politically hazardous to her team. It is clear that Predator Trump also smells blood in the political water. He sees Pelosi trying to claim a “Normandy Fence” is not a wall. He strikes:
More About the Ohr’s (Nellie and Bruce), Simpson, Steel and the FBI and DOJ ….
January 31, 2019
Fox News Catherine Herridge files a report covering the relationships between Glenn Simpson, Nellie Ohr, Christopher Steele, Bruce Ohr and the DOJ and FBI.
POTUS Interview: Speaker Ryan Lied on Border Wall Funding Promise to Get Omnibus Signed…
January 30, 2019
President Trump gave an exclusive interview to the Daily Caller. Part of that interview entailed President Trump outlining the back-story behind him signing the Omnibus spending bill and a promise from Paul Ryan.
[Transcript]THE DAILY CALLER: Well, the people who elected you are very interested in the immigration decision and what’s going on with this negotiation. Republicans in charge of Congress for two years didn’t get to your wall promise in Congress. How big of a roadblock to wall funding was Paul Ryan, now that he’s gone?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well, I was going to veto the omnibus bill and Paul told me in the strongest of language, ‘Please don’t do that, we’ll get you the wall.’ And I said, ‘I hope you mean that, because I don’t like this bill,’ although I love the bill for what it did for the military. And therefore, if it weren’t for the military, I would have vetoed it.
Just so you understand, our military needed funding desperately. Totally depleted. And this bill was great for the military. Had I vetoed it, you would never have gotten the numbers back that I got. 700 and 716 billion dollars over the past two years. Which is substantially more — much more than President Obama was able to get for the military.
So that was a negative, but a big factor as to why that was the reason I signed it. But another very big factor was the fact that Paul told me in the strongest of terms that, ‘please sign this and if you sign this we will get you that wall.’ Which is desperately needed by our country. Humanitarian crisis, trafficking, drugs, you know, everything — people, criminals, gangs, so, you know, we need the wall.
And then he went lame duck. And once he went lame duck it was just really an exercise in waving to people and the power was gone so I was very disappointed. I was very disappointed in Paul because the wall was so desperately needed. And I’ll get the wall.
THE DAILY CALLER: Did he lie to you? Did he play you?
TRUMP: I don’t want to say he lied. I think he probably meant it at the time, I guess. I hope. So I don’t call that lying. But when he went lame duck, meaning, he said he’s not running again — and it was very unusual because usually they’ll do that sometime after an election and he didn’t want to do that because it’s somewhat misrepresenting and I understand that too. But maybe you don’t run, okay? Maybe you just don’t run. And he had an excellent person taking his place in Congress, he ran a really great campaign, did a really good job.
So Paul said, please sign the omnibus bill. Now, in all fairness to Paul, I may have signed it anyway because it was so much more money than anyone ever thought possible for the military and equal to the wall, and maybe even greater than the wall was my promise to refurbish the military. (More)
Moral of the story: Never Trust a NeverTrumper….
Additional Transcript of POTUS Discussing Mueller HERE
Whoa Nellie, More Leaked Transcripts – Nellie Ohr Researched Trump Kids While Working for Fusion GPS…
January 30, 2019
So far the joint house committee transcripts have been leaked to: John Solomon (The Hill), The Epoch Times, The New York Times, and now The Daily Caller. Someone is trying to get additional traction to these structured transcripts.
The content is also interesting. The only thing we knew previously about the testimony of Nellie Ohr was that she evoked ‘spousal privilege’ during her deposition. However, now the Daily Caller is reporting that Nellie Ohr gave testimony about her research with Fusion GPS, to include doing research on Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr’s travels:
Daily Caller – The wife of a Justice Department official who worked for Fusion GPS during the 2016 campaign told Congress in 2018 that one of her tasks at the opposition research firm was to research President Donald Trump’s children, including their business activities and travel.
Nellie Ohr, a former contractor for Fusion GPS, also told lawmakers during an Oct. 19 deposition that she recalls that Christopher Steele gave her husband, Justice Department official Bruce Ohr, materials from the infamous anti-Trump dossier funded by Democrats.
Ohr said during the testimony that Steele, who like her was a contractor for Fusion GPS, hoped that her husband would pass the materials to the FBI.
“My understanding was that Chris Steele was hoping that Bruce could put in a word with the FBI to follow up in some way,” Ohr testified to members of the House Oversight and House Judiciary Committees, according to transcripts confirmed by The Daily Caller News Foundation. (read more)
According to the prior leaked transcript Bruce Ohr gave testimony he accepted a thumb drive from Glenn Simpson (Nellie’s employer – Fusion GPS), and another from his wife Nellie Ohr, and he passed them along to FBI Special Agent Joe Pientka.
The interesting aspect to the Daily Caller report of Nellie Ohr’s testimony is her apparent focus on research into the Trump family travel:
“How about Donald Trump Jr.? Did you do more in-depth research on Donald Trump Jr. than some of the others?” she was asked.
“I’m afraid it was relatively superficial. It was,” adding that, “I looked into some of his travels and you know not sure how much detail I remember, at this point.”
“Ivanka Trump?”
“I looked into some of her travels,” said Ohr.
The goal was “to see whether they were involved in dealings and transactions with people who had had suspicious pasts.” (read more)
This becomes more of a central issue when we go back to the mistake about Michael Cohen within the Steele Dossier; that was also a mistake about travel. [Cohen in Prague] Our suspicion has always been that Nellie Ohr was exploiting her CIA authorized access to the FBI/NSA database doing research (ie. FISA abuse).
Additionally, it has always appeared to be evident that Nellie actually sent her research material to Christopher Steele (another Fusion GPS contractor), who was tasked to verify, find supplemental sourcing, launder the research and present it as a more official looking intelligence product…. The Steele Dossier.
It would just make sense the place where Nellie Ohr would be researching travel would be the FISA database (FBI/NSA). Where else could she access that information?
Senator Lindsey Graham Sends a Letter to FBI Requesting Briefing Over Roger Stone Arrest….
January 30, 2019
Today Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham sends a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray requesting a briefing on the FBI conduct during the raid and arrest of 66-year-old Roger Stone.
However, sorry, I can’t let this go unnoticed. This letter is pure Decepticon politics.
Just yesterday FBI Director Chris Wray gave testimony before the senate for over four hours. If Republicans in the senate were actually concerned about the issue, why didn’t a single senator spend 30 seconds to ask about Wray about it? I digress…
President Trump Calls Venezuela Interim President Juan Guaido…
January 30, 2019
Russia and China have invested billions in Venezuela to prop-up the Maduro regime. On Monday the U.K. denied Maduro access to $1.2 billion in gold held by the Bank of England. On Monday night a Russian aircraft landed in Caracus. On Tuesday it was reported that 20 tonnes of Venezuela gold bars have gone missing (link).
“President Donald J. Trump spoke today with Venezuelan Interim President Juan Guaido to congratulate him on his historic assumption of the presidency and to reinforce President Trump’s strong support for Venezuela’s fight to regain its democracy.”
“Interim President Guaido thanked President Trump for the United States’ commitment to freedom and prosperity in Venezuela and the region, and noted the importance of the large protests across Venezuela against former dictator Maduro, set to occur today and Saturday. They agreed to maintain regular communication to support Venezuela’s path back to stability, and to rebuild the bilateral relationship between the United States and Venezuela.” ~ White House
(Via White House) RECOGNIZING THE LEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT OF VENEZUELA: The United States has officially recognized Juan Guaido as the Interim President of Venezuela.
- President Trump officially recognized the President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Juan Guaido, as the Interim President of Venezuela on January 23.
- Venezuela’s National Assembly invoked the country’s constitution to declare Nicolas Maduro illegitimate and declared the presidency vacant.
- Other governments in the region and across the world have joined the United States in recognizing Guaido as Venezuela’s Interim President.
- The Administration has authorized Guaido to receive Venezuelan Government assets held at the United States Federal Reserve and other insured United States financial institutions.
- Venezuela’s legitimate government, led by Guaido, must be allowed to safeguard its assets for the benefit of the Venezuelan people.
PRESSURING MADURO AND HIS CRONIES: The United States has imposed tough sanctions on Maduro and members of his previous regime.
- President Trump signed an Executive Order to make clear that United States sanctions continue to target Maduro and his corrupt cronies.
- The United States will not tolerate those who seek to undermine Venezuela’s democratic institutions and loot Venezuelan resources to enrich themselves at the expense of the people.
- The Trump Administration is blocking assets in the United States owned or controlled by Venezuela’s state-owned oil company.
- This action will further international efforts to disconnect Maduro and his cronies from their revenue sources, while preserving critical assets for the future of Venezuela.
- More than 100 individuals, entities, and aircraft have been designated as blocked property.
- The United States is confident that energy markets will remain well supplied despite reduced imports of Venezuelan oil.
- Respected forecasters like the United States Energy Information Administration expect global oil supply to exceed demand in 2019 and 2020.
- Over the next year, United States production is forecasted to increase to an all-time high of more than 12 million barrels per day.
STANDING WITH THE VENEZUELAN PEOPLE: President Trump stands with the people of Venezuela as they demand democracy, human rights, and prosperity denied to them by Maduro.
- The United States continues to provide humanitarian assistance to the Venezuelan people.
- Food and medicine have long been – and remain – exempt from our sanctions.
- More than three million people have fled Venezuela since 2015 and the United Nations estimates that number may swell to more than 5.3 million by the end of 2019.
- As of December 2018, there were more than 280 known political prisoners in Venezuela.
- Venezuelans have suffered from violence at the hands of the security services, including extrajudicial killings and arbitrary arrests.
- Mismanagement by Maduro led to hyperinflation exceeding one million percent in 2018, worsening already dire economic circumstances.
- (LINK)
U.S. and China Begin High-Level Trade Talks in DC…
January 30, 2019
Giddy up. Two days of intense trade discussions begin today in the Eisenhower building led by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and his Chinese counterpart Vice Premier Liu He. The stakes are high as the deadline for an agreement is March 2nd.
Ambassador Lighthizer is joined by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and China’s arch nemesis, White House trade advisor Peter Navarro.
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Adding to the intensity, the United States just charged Chinese telecommunications company Huawei Technologies and its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, with conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran by doing business through a subsidiary. Ms. Meng was arrested in Canada at the request of the United States; her extradition has been requested by the Department of Justice.
President Trump has made sure the Chinese are aware the status quo cannot stand. Additionally, USTR Lighthizer has previously affirmed that significant, substantive and deliverable progress must be made to avoid pending tariff increases.
This is the first time China has faced such significant and openly hostile push-back within a trade discussion. To say the talks are tense would be a massive understatement. President Trump wants a deal; however, Trump, Lighthizer, Ross and Mnuchin have already put the consequences for failure in the middle of the table.
China knows what will happen on March 2nd, if they do not negotiate in full faith.
Beijing has provided little indication these current officials are willing to address the core U.S. demands to fully protect American intellectual property rights and end policies that Washington has said force U.S. companies to transfer technology to Chinese firms. Thus the severity of the two-day talks takes on a very confrontational tone.
Additionally the U.S. Team have previously accused China of cyber theft and illicit acquisition of U.S. technological trade secrets. China’s prior acquisition of U.S. technology firms is the basis for President Trump to leverage pending U.S. tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports.
If an agreement is not reached President Trump will raise tariffs on $200 billion of goods from 10 percent to 25 percent, effective with the March 2nd deadline. The U.S. administration has also threatened new tariffs on the totality of all remaining Chinese products shipped to the United States.
Initially China retaliated with their own tariffs; however, following the dinner between Chairman Xi and President Trump China suspended some of their reciprocal tariffs on U.S. agriculture.
Lastly, President Trump has blunted the traditional leverage of the Red Dragon by agreeing to meet with North Korea Chairman Kim Jong-un. Not coincidentally the timing for that summit intersects with the deadline for the U.S-China trade deal.
When you plant your trees in another man’s orchard, don’t be surprised if you end up paying for your own apples…
Roger Stone Discusses His Indictment With Laura Ingraham…
January 30, 2019
Roger Stone pleaded not guilty today in DC court. Mr. Stone appears on Laura Ingraham to discuss all the recent events.
Regardless of opinion of Mr. Stone, myself being generally ambivalent, there’s an element of his flamboyant approach and fortitude that seems oddly admirable. I find myself hoping he’s the guy who can flick a booger on Weissmann.
Part II – The Presidential Declassification Counter-Punch…. (Read Part I first)
January 29, 2019
The background here is that any unilateral declassification by President Trump will end up putting him in opposition to a variety of corrupt interests. As a direct result he will be facing legal action from the legislative branch. With that accepted, here is the most strategic approach.
In anticipation of litigation:
President Trump informs the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, that he wishes to have a full intelligence briefing on the following documents:
- All versions of the Carter Page FISA applications (DOJ) (FBI) (ODNI).
- All of the Bruce Ohr 302’s filled out by the FBI. (FBI) (ODNI)
- All of Bruce Ohr’s emails (FBI) (DOJ) (CIA) (ODNI)
- All relevant documents pertaining to the supportive material within the FISA application. (FBI) (DOJ-NSD ) (DoS) (CIA) (DNI) (NSA) (ODNI);
- All supportive documents and material provided by Bruce Ohr to the FBI. (FBI)
- All intelligence documents that were presented to the Gang of Eight in 2016 that pertain to the FISA application used against U.S. person Carter Page; including all intelligence documents that may not have been presented to the FISA Court. (CIA) (FBI) (DOJ) (ODNI) (DoS) (NSA)
- All unredacted text messages and email content between Lisa Page and Peter Strzok on all devices. (FBI) (DOJ) (DOJ-NSD) (ODNI)
- The originating CIA “EC” or two-page electronic communication from former CIA Director John Brennan to FBI Director James Comey that started Operation Crossfire Hurricane in July 2016. (CIA) (FBI) (ODNI)
- The full and unredacted April 2017 FISA court 99-page opinion written by Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer outlining the compliance audit conducted by the NSA in 2016. (NSA) (ODNI) (DOJ) (FBI) (DOJ-NSD)
The President selects a date for this briefing and informs the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, to inform and coordinate with all executive branch lead intelligence officials, who were/are stakeholders in the compartmented intelligence products as described above, of their request be present for the briefing.
Further, all of the compartmented intelligence is to be collectively assembled by the ODNI into one volume of a singular Presidential Daily Briefing (PDB). There are to be eighteen printed copies of the PDB assembled and secured for the briefing.
Additionally, the office of the president informs the ODNI of the executives’ intent to invite for the briefing each member of the Intelligence Community legislative oversight known as the Gang-of-Eight.
And, after the briefing by the executive level department officials, while remaining in a closed and classified session, the full and comprehensive content of this collective intelligence product will be discussed with the full assembly of the U.S. Legislative Branch Intelligence Oversight known as the Gang of Eight.
Therefore, National Security Advisor John Bolton is instructed to coordinate with the ODNI for the attendance of the Gang of Eight: Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Minority leader Kevin McCarthy, HPSCI Chairman Adam Schiff, HPSCI Ranking Member Devin Nunes, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, SSCI Chairman Richard Burr and SSCI Vice-Chair Mark Warner. [Topic “TBD”]
In order to facilitate the briefing. Each member of the participating group will be provided with one full printed copy of the material assembled by the ODNI during the briefing.
[Each of the participants carries the pre-requisite clearances, legal and constitutional authority to engage with the classified document according to their position and status. Only the executive can assemble the product for Go8 review and feedback]
At the conclusion of the briefing; and after hearing from, and engagement with, each of the participating members of the executive intelligence offices and duly authorized legislative oversight representatives; and after listening to their opinion as to the subject material discussed; the president announces to the fully assembled leadership of both the Executive and Legislative Branch it is his opinion the National Interests of the United States can best be served with the American people having a full, transparent and honest review of the material that was discussed.
The President, no-one else, only the President, then collects the printed portfolios as they were distributed to the participants, exits the briefing, and walks directly into the Press Briefing room within the White House; handing each of the awaiting twelve members of the national media a copy of the briefing material to be published on behalf of the American people.
Done.
Litigation begins.
