An interview by AG Bill Barr today is making a lot of headlines. Within the interview Barr indicates that President Trump’s style of communication makes it more difficult for him to do his job.
Here’s the captured interview without pundit opinion. Watch the full interview yourself and decide:
Here’s my take…
It seemed possible yesterday, when AG Bill Barr agreed to testify to the House Judiciary Committee on March 31st, that one of the motives for Barr to coordinate a schedule two months in advance was to gain elbow room.
There never has been any coordination between President Trump and AG Barr on the agenda of the DOJ. However, by placing the testimonial date publicly on his agenda Barr seemed to be stating to those in/around the White House his intent for a disconnect from contact pending questions from highly partisan Democrats.
Given the nature of the highly partisan scrutiny; and considering the rabid media waiting to jump on any narrative engineering opportunity; and with the John Durham investigation outcome looming closer on the horizon; it makes sense for AG Barr to try and create an openly visible disconnect.
In essence Bill Barr is working to emphasize there’s no undue influence, and also emphasize the appearance of no undue influence. The problem, however, is that the media will create the impression of influence even if, and despite the reality of, no Trump influence.
Nothing Bill Barr does and/or says will stop the media from falsely creating a narrative that says President Trump and Bill Barr are colluding to target their political opposition.
With that reality in mind, the answers in the ABC interview as delivered by Bill Barr only pour fire on a furnace of media intent to controversialize President Trump’s communication approach.
Barr’s intention may have been good (albeit selfish), but declaring that President Trump’s free speech and opinion as an impediment to Barr’s ability is just nonsense.
The emphasis is on the wrong syllable.
President Trump has the right to express his opinion and share his views with The People, the American electorate, who put him into office. The President may do so in any form, manner, venue, method or presentation that fits his needs. Period. Fullstop.
It is not President Trump tweeting that makes Barr’s job more difficult; it is the DC beltway response and media apoplexy directed to the AG that makes things more difficult.
If lawyers have their feelings hurt; or if the sensibility of judges is wounded; and if the judicial system of the U.S. government is so tenuous as to be affected by words and criticism; and if AG Barr cannot simply address the issues therein by appropriately positioning a mirror to highlight that nonsense; well, that is not President Trump’s issue.
The consequence he describes, the issues underpinning Barr’s expressed concern, only further emphasizes President Trump’s point about how the justice system is being compromised by politics and media. The simple application of law is being ignored; and the system, of which Bill Barr is the apex participant, is corrupted and diminished by man-made manipulation based on politics and other factors…
If President Trump saying “this case sucks” via Twitter is enough to collapse the institutional objectives of a modern judicial system… and impede the ability of the U.S. Attorney General to do his job, well, what does that say about how weak and compromised the guardians have allowed that system to become?
Then again, that level of institutional compromise explains exactly why a fraudulent impeachment attempt was even possible.
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Breaking911@Breaking911
BREAKING: Attorney General Barr says President Trump’s tweets ‘make it impossible for me to do my job’
Bill Barr talks about how he never talked to Trump about Stone. Also, Trump never asked him to investigate anyone but he could if he wanted to in specific areas.
Bill no too happy with the Tweets. I can see how that becomes a pain in the ass.
In a new statement, Stephanie Grisham says Trump has “full faith and confidence in Attorney General Barr to do his job and uphold the law” and he “wasn’t bothered by the comments at all and he has the right, just like any American citizen, to publicly offer his opinions.”
Good News. Hope Hicks is returning to the White House as counselor to the president and senior adviser. Ms. Hicks was one of the original members of the Trump campaign in 2015 and carried the role of communications director during the first year of the administration through March 2018.
(Via Politico) […] White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham confirmed, calling Hicks “one of the most talented and savvy individuals I have come across.” Hicks departed the White House in March 2018 after working as communications director for Trump. She then moved to Los Angeles to work in a senior communications role at Fox Corporation.
[…] Hicks’ return to the White House gives Trump an ally who’s adept at translating his wishes to the broader staff.
Hicks was always well-liked among the communications and press staff, getting along well with the competing factions from the 2016 campaign and the Republican National Committee. (more)
Additionally, it is being reported that Johnny McEntee is being promoted to run the White House personnel office responsible for filling hundreds of top political jobs throughout various federal agencies. Mr. McEntee will replace Sean Doocey, who is moving over to the State Department.
The personnel office has been a key point of contention for the administration as several political appointments later became weak points with people not in alignment with the policies and objectives of President Trump. Hopefully McEntee can assist in finding and vetting the right person, with the right skillset, for the right job.
The White House has confirmed that President Trump will attend the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 16th. The big race starts at 1:00pm on Fox. [On Saturday Joe Nemecheck will race Trump/Pence 2020]
The U.S. Secret Service tweeted Wednesday that it was securing the Daytona Speedway. The security team noted drones are banned within a 30-mile radius of the event.
Also, Joe Nemechek will be using patriotic colors of ‘TRUMP / PENCE 2020’ in the NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener on Saturday for the Racing Experience 300.
[NASCAR] “The Daytona 500 is one of the greatest events in sports and the prestigious season-opening event to the NASCAR Cup Series,” track president Chip Wile said in a statement. “Daytona International Speedway has been privileged to have hosted several sitting Presidents of the United States over our history. We’re honored that the President of the United States has chosen to experience the pageantry and excitement of ‘The Great American Race’ by attending Sunday’s 62nd annual Daytona 500.”
Previously, Ronald Reagan attended the 1984 July race at Daytona, which was Richard Petty’s 200th career Cup Series win. George H.W. Bush also attended a summer Daytona race, in 1992. George W. Bush attended the 2004 Daytona 500, won by Dale Earnhardt Jr. (link)
Ladies and Gentlemen start your engines but not your drones. The Secret Service is securing the @NASCAR Daytona 500 by providing a 30 mile “No Drone Zone”. Enjoy the race.
Not surprisingly, several media outlets are reporting Jessie Liu resigned from the Treasury Department effective Wednesday evening. Interestingly, in the discussions of the issues around Liu all MSM are ignoring her involvement in the James Wolfe case/cover-up.
Ms. Liu moved from being U.S. Attorney in DC into the Treasury Department in a quest to become the Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes within the agency. However, that treasury position required senate confirmation and President Trump withdrew her nomination.
(Via NBC) […] The former U.S. attorney whose office oversaw the Roger Stone prosecution resigned from the Trump administration Wednesday, two days after President Donald Trump abruptly withdrew her nomination for a top job at the Treasury Department.
Jessie Liu had headed the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., which oversaw several cases that originated with former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, including prosecutions of longtime Trump associate Stone and former national security adviser Michael Flynn. (read more)
While she was U.S. Attorney in DC Ms. Liu was involved in several controversial cases including:
The manipulated DC legal case surrounding the Awan brothers; and how they escaped full accountability, likely due to need to protect politicians. (House of Representatives) The sweetheart plea deal.
The manipulated DC legal case surrounding SSCI Security Director James Wolfe; and how he was allowed to plea only to lying to investigators when the evidence was clearfrom the outset how he leaked classified information to his journalist concubine. Again, likely due to the need to protect politicians. (SSCI, Senate) The sweetheart plea deal.
The manipulated DC legal case surrounding Obama lawyer Greg Craig; and how he escaped accountability for FARA violations by running out the statute of limitations and burying Mueller’s evidence for 18 months. Again, likely due to the need to protect politicians (Obama White House). Sweetheart double standards.
The manipulated DC legal case, a non-filing, surrounding former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe for lying to INSD investigators about his media leaks. Again, likely due to the need to protect the administrative state. Criminal referral (April 19, 2018); grand jury (Approx. July 2018).
Rep. Devin Nunes appears on Fox Business News with Maria Bartiromo to discuss AG Bill Barr being called to testify in the House about the Roger Stone case sentencing. Additionally, Nunes discusses issues with the Mueller investigation and dirty cops.
Joe Biden’s electability meets the voters, with the same historical results as always. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump, comes off his impeachment with record high popularity, awash in so much winning. Let’s take a look at the post-impeachment landscape with a look toward the 2020 election with Bill Whittle, Stephen Green and Scott Ott. Have you signed up for our 3-night Caribbean cruise yet? http://bit.ly/StratoCruise2020 Are you already a Member? https://BillWhittle.com/register/
Last month the DOJ admitted to the FISA court that two of the four FISA warrants used against Carter Page were fraudulently obtained.
The “DOJ assesses that with respect to the applications in [April and June 2017] “if not earlier, there was insufficient predication to establish probable cause to believe that [Carter]Page was acting as an agent of a foreign power.”” (link)
However, what the DOJ did not admit publicly was how the current FBI Chief Legal Counsel, Dana Boente, participated in obtaining the April 2017 warrant. Additionally, a review of the internal FBI & DOJ scheme to obtain the fraudulent April warrant shows FBI Director James Comey couldn’t get the renewal unless he convinced Main Justice to trick the President into issuing an executive order to grant surveillance on himself.
In hindsight this story explains the ongoing issues within the FBI.
The original FISA application was October 21st, 2016. The first FISA renewal was January 12, 2017 (84 days from origination) and prior to the inauguration of President Trump. 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).
The originating FISA and first renewal were authorized by the Obama administration officials. However, it was the second renewal -now identified as fraudulent- on April 7th 2017, under the Trump administration, when the conniving FBI ran into a problem.
Here’s what happened.
On January 30th, 2017, Sally Yates was fired for refusing to defend the Trump travel ban from extremist countries. Yates was replaced on January 31st by the U.S. Attorney from the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA), Dana Boente. There wasn’t any existing AG because Loretta Lynch had left.
As a result of Yates exit and Dana Boente’s entry, Boente was Acting Deputy Attorney General, and in charge until Jeff Sessions was confirmed on February 8th, 2017.
When Jeff Sessions became Attorney General, Dana Boente became Acting Deputy AG, a role he would retain until Rod Rosenstein was confirmed on April 25th, 2017.
However, on March 2nd, 2017, Dana Boente was one of a small group who participated in a conversation that led to the recusal of Jeff Sessions from anything related to the 2016 election. This recusal included the ongoing FBI counterintelligence investigation known as Crossfire Hurricane, which was later picked up by Robert Mueller.
The other attendees for the recusal decision-making meeting (see above schedule) included Sessions’ chief of staff Jody Hunt; Criminal Chief in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, Jim Crowell; Deputy Assistant Attorney General (DAAG) in the Department of Justice National Security Division Tash Gauhar (FISA lawyer); and Associate Deputy Attorney General Scott Schools. [Note: Tash Gauhar was lawyer for FBI Clinton case; and Scott Schools was part of drafting Clinton exoneration letter.]
Boente, Crowell, Gauhar and Schools convinced AG Jeff Sessions he must recuse himself. In hindsight each of the people giving Sessions advice was connected to previously corrupt activity within Main Justice that included the Clinton and Spygate operations. Not knowing the conflict each advisor was carrying Sessions took their advice and recused himself; a big mistake.
With AG Jeff Sessions recused from anything involving the 2016 election; which included the Russia investigation; effective the evening of March 2, 2017, FBI Director James Comey now reported to Acting Deputy AG Dana Boente.
Technically, as this point in March 2017 Boente is still U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) and is only ‘acting’ as Deputy AG. This becomes an issue a few weeks later when the Carter Page FISA would be up for renewal (April, 2017).
With Sessions recused from the Russia investigation, and without a confirmed Deputy AG able to sign the FISA application, there was no-one in Main Justice who could authorize and sign-off on the FISA renewal. [Note: Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein was not confirmed until April 25th.]
The January 12th renewal was going to expire on April 12th, 2017 (90-days). FBI Director James Comey had a problem if he was going to extend the FISA warrant.
Toward the end of March 2017 FBI Director Comey was in discussions with Dana Boente about the issue.
We discover the hand-written notes later on as they were leaked to MSNBC, almost certainly leaked by the people within the Mueller investigation in April 2018. [You’ll see how we know in a minute] However, at the time of the 2018 leak there was no context for the notes that Boente was taking.
It was only after the FISA application was declassified in July 2018 that Boente’s hand-written notes and the topic therein made sense. To date no-one has connected this issue… until now. (Pay attention to the date, ComeyMarch 30th, 2017):
“Cloud as a result of Russia bus. – This makes running the country difficult.”
Note Boente puts the next note in quotations, implying a direct quote from Comey:
“”what can I do to relieve the cloud!””
Then:
“Kept coming back to it. makes it hard to difficult do best. For the country”
“-We will do the work well.”
“-Reminded him we are not invest. agency”
“”-Moft would be great to get out””
-Told AG, before recusal, I [cannot] be speaking [with] the Pres. Alone..
Obviously these notes are from a conversation between then Acting AG Dana Boente and FBI Director James Comey on March 30th, 2017. It appears to be a phone call.
In hindsight the subject matter almost certainly relates to the issue of the Russia investigation, and needing to extend the FISA warrant on behalf of the FBI’s ongoing investigation known as Crossfire Hurricane. However, with Jeff Sessions recused, and Boente in an non-senate-confirmed “acting” position, neither the AG nor the Acting DAG can sign the renewal application.
Here’s where things get interesting… Either in the background of this conversation at 08:13am on March 30th, someone has already been in contact with the White House counsel; or immediately after this phone call the White House counsel was contacted.
Because the very next day White House Legal Counsel Don McGahn has President Trump sign executive order 13787 making the U.S. EDVA Attorney the 3rd in line for DOJ succession.
Section 1. Order of Succession. Subject to the provisions of section 2 of this order, the following officers, in the order listed, shall act as and perform the functions and duties of the office of Attorney General during any period in which the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, the Associate Attorney General, and any officers designated by the Attorney General pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 508 to act as Attorney General, have died, resigned, or otherwise become unable to perform the functions and duties of the office of Attorney General, until such time as at least one of the officers mentioned above is able to perform the functions and duties of that office:
(a) United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia;
(b) United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina; and
(c) United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
This executive order solves the FISA problem for James Comey.
AG Jeff Sessions is recused (incapable); there is no Deputy AG in position; therefore the U.S. Attorney for the EDVA holds authority to perform the duties of the office. Dana Boente is the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
After the executive order is signed Dana Boente can now officially sign the Carter Page FISA application renewal.
Which is exactly what happens a week later when James Comey and Dana Boente sign the admittedly fraudulent FISA renewal on April 7th, 2017:
President Trump was tricked into signing an executive order that facilitated the FBI to continue spying on his own administration.
But wait, it gets worse…. Much worse…. This dynamic would later become even more important as the notes Boente took from conversations with James Comey became evidence for Mueller’s expanded obstruction investigation. ALSO Look at the DATES:
The special counsel team leaked the Dana Boente notes to Rachel Maddow.
RECAP: Acting Deputy AG Dana Boente advised AG Jeff Sessions to recuse himself (March 2nd, 2017). Then Acting DAG Boente and FBI Director Comey conspired to have President Trump authorize an executive order (March 31st, 2017); that changed the DOJ succession plan, thereby permitting them to sign for a fraudulent FISA application on April 7th, 2017, that was used to conduct surveillance on the Trump administration.
Keep in mind the Inspector General outlined that in January 2017, “shortly after the application was renewed” the FBI knew the Steele Dossier; which was the only evidence underpinning the FISA application; was false.
There is absolutely no doubt that the FBI knew in January 2017 the Dossier was not valid evidence that should have been included in any FISA application. The FBI was told again, with even more emphasis in March 2017:
So when FBI Director James Comey is making contact with Acting DAG Dana Boente on March 30th, 2017, for issues relating to the need for a FISA renewal in April 2017, the FBI was absolutely certain there was no validity to the underlying evidence within the FISA application.
Yet the FBI was so determined to get the fraudulent FISA reauthorized, they even went so far as to conduct an operation to convince the White House to create an executive order, modifying the DOJ succession plan, so that Acting DAG Boente could sign the April 7th, 2017, renewal.
Think about the scale of deceit and corruption involved in that scheme.
But it doesn’t end…. it gets worse.
On April 25th, 2017, Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein is confirmed. Rosenstein now takes over the responsibilities held by Acting DAG Dana Boente; this includes the FBI counterintelligence probe.
On May 9th, 2017, FBI Director James Comey is fired.
On May 10th, 2017, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe opens a criminal ‘obstruction of justice investigation’ of President Trump to parallel the ongoing counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign and administration.
Dana Boente now becomes the Asst. Attorney General and head of the DOJ National Security Divison. Simultaneously retaining role as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of VA. At that moment, guess who is Dana Boente’s legal counsel, Michael Atkinson. Yes, that’s the same Michael Atkinson who is the current ICIG who facilitated the Whistle-blower complaint. I digress…
On May 16th, 2017, Rosenstein takes Robert Mueller to the White House to meet President Trump. On May 17th, 2017, Rosenstein appoints the Robert Mueller special counsel probe. And we’re off to the Trump-Russia-Collusion-Obstruction races…
On June 29th, 2017, Rod Rosenstein and Andrew McCabe reauthorize that same fraudulent FISA application for Robert Mueller and his corrupt team of 19 special prosecutors and now 40 FBI agents to continue to exploit.
Dana Boente is still head of DOJ-NSD from May 11th, 2017 through end of October 2017 when he officially announced his intent to retire. But wait, it gets worse…. On January 23rd, 2018, FBI Director Christopher Wray announces Dana Boente has shifted over to the FBI to be Chief Legal Counsel (replacing James Baker).
Yes, that is correct. As Mueller is using 19 lawyers, and 40 FBI investigators, Boente now becomes a legal adviser to Christopher Wray, inside the FBI, while the Mueller probe is ongoing….. Oh, and as you can see from his participation with Mueller, Dana Boente is now a fact witness within the investigation.
But wait, it gets better, who do you think is in charge of the 40 FBI agents now conducting the third year of that fraudulent Mueller investigation?…
…Yup, the very same Dana Boente!
This is staggeringly unreal. It’s no wonder FBI Director Christopher Wray appears detached, disconnected and completely unfazed by the scale and scope of the corrupt enterprise he is in charge of. His own chief legal counsel was a key player in the operation to remove the president.
Last point. It always seemed odd that White House Counsel Don McGahn left in 2018; until, that is, you stand back and look at the bigger picture. The Carter Page FISA Application was officially declassified and made public in late July 2018. No doubt as McGahn looked at the issue, from his unique perspective, and saw Dana Boente’s signature on the April 7th, 2017, renewal… he likely realized in hindsight what that executive order he put together on March 31st, 2017, was really all about.
In his position as White House Counsel, Don McGahn had allowed himself to become an unwilling participant in the coup against President Trump. He would now be a fact witness if anyone started investigating. Two weeks later, in August 2018, Don McGahn submitted his resignation.
PS. The deadline for the FBI and DOJ to inform the FISA Court about their sequestration and recovery effort [ie. a proverbial search for the fruit of a poisonous tree. Where is it?] was February 5th.
President Trump and Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno deliver remarks to the press pool prior to a bilateral meeting in the White House. [Video and Transcript Below]
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[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. It’s great to be with the President of Ecuador — and it’s one of the most beautiful countries in the world — and perhaps equally as important, and maybe even more importantly, your great First Lady. Thank you very much for being here. This is a tremendous honor. Some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world and one of the most beautiful places on Earth, they say. I’ve heard that for a long time.
And we are working on trade deals, we’re working on military options, including the purchase of a lot of our military equipment. We do make the best equipment in the world, by far. And we’re negotiating some very important pacts between Ecuador and the United States.
So, Mr. President, Madam First Lady, thank you very much. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Please.
PRESIDENT MORENO: (As interpreted.) I would like to first thank everyone for — especially Mr. President, for his kindness and to invite us over to talk about these very important topics — topics which are common to both countries. I’d like to thank the President for the warmth with which he has greeted us.
And I have to stress the fact that our relationship between Ecuador and the USA is a relationship of fraternity that has been going — that dates back a very long time.
We actually have taken the foundational principles of the U.S. to — as a basis for our own foundational principles to create the first Republic of Ecuador.
We are going to be discussing issues that are common to both nations, such as democracy, liberty, freedom, respect of human rights, the fight against organized crime, the fight against drug trafficking, the fight against corruption.
And we are going to also be speaking about the importance of investment, trade, technology transfer that are all common principles to us. We know that both our peoples want to be governed with justice and equality, and that is what both of us are striving for.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: We want to thank you very much. This is a great honor to be with you.
Okay. Do you have any questions? Yeah.
Q On Roger Stone, sir. On Roger Stone: Isn’t your tweet political interference?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: No, not at all. He was treated very badly. Nine years recommended by four people that — perhaps they were Mueller people. I don’t know who they were. Prosecutors. And they — I don’t know what happened. They all hit the road pretty quickly.
Look, you had somebody — just recently, you saw what happened. He got two months. He got sentenced to two months for leaking classified information at the highest level.
Q Who’s that that you’re referring to?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: They treated Roger Stone very badly. They treated everybody very badly. And if you look at the Mueller investigation, it was a scam because it was illegally set up. It was set up based on false documentation and false documents.
If you look at what happened — how many people were hurt. Their lives were destroyed. And nothing happened with all the people that did it and launched this scam. Where’s Comey? Why — where is Comey? What’s happening to McCabe? What’s happening to Lisa and — to Pete Strzok and Lisa Page? What’s happening with them? It was a whole setup, it was a disgrace for our country, and everyone knows it too — everyone — including NBC, which gives a lot of fake news.
The fact is that Roger Stone was treated horribly and so were many other people. And their lives were destroyed.
And it turns out — if you look at the FISA warrants and what just happened with FISA, where they found out it was fixed, that it was a dirty, rotten deal. So when you look at that, and you see what happened to Roger Stone —
But think of it: A man leaks classified information — highly classified. They give him two months — Roger Stone — for doing — nobody even knows what he did. In fact, they said he intimidated somebody. That person said he had no idea he was going to jail for that. That person didn’t want to press charges. They put him in for nine years. It’s a disgrace.
And, frankly, they ought to apologize to a lot of the people whose lives they’ve ruined.
All right. Next question. Go ahead.
Q Mr. President, it’s the first time —
Q Mr. President —
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Yeah. Please, Steve.
Q — are you considering a pardon for Roger Stone?
Q — that (inaudible) official visit —
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Wait, wait, wait. What?
Q Oh, sorry.
Q Are you considering a pardon for Roger Stone?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I don’t want to say that yet. But I tell you what: People were hurt viciously and badly by these corrupt people.
And I want to thank — if you look at what happened, I want to thank the Justice Department for seeing this horrible thing. And I didn’t speak to them, by the way, just so you understand. They saw the horribleness of a nine-year sentence for doing nothing. You have murderers and drugs addicts; they don’t get nine years. Nine years for doing something that nobody even can define what he did.
Somebody said he put out a tweet, and the tweet — you based it on that. We have killers, we have murderers all over the place — nothing happens. And then they put a man in jail and destroy his life, his family, his wife, his children. Nine years in jail. It’s a disgrace.
In the meantime, Comey walks around making book deals. The people that launched this scam investigation — and what they did is a disgrace. And, hopefully, it’ll be treated fairly; everything else will be treated fairly.
Q Sir, aren’t you speaking — aren’t you speaking to the Attorney General through your tweets?
Q Mr. Donald Trump —
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Go ahead, please.
Q (As interpreted.) Mr. President, I’d like to congratulate you for the macroeconomic indicators; they’re excellent. But in that number, the growth expectations are going down, especially for the growth in Ecuador, which is at zero. How can we help Latin American economies? How can we help Ecuador, Mr. President? And congratulations.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you. I love that question. I wish we had some people like that here. He’s congratulating us on our great success as a country. And I want to congratulate you, too, because what you’ve done in Ecuador and your President have done a fantastic job. Thank you very much.
Q Mr. President, are you concerned about the four prosecutors?
Q Thank you, Mr. President —
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I’m not concerned about anything; concerned about nothing.
Q Does it show that there’s something wrong at DOJ?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I’m not concerned about anything. They ought to go back to school and learn, because I’ll tell you, with the way they treated people, nobody should be treated like that.
Go ahead.
Q Mr. President, thank you so much. It’s been 17 years since the last time a President from Ecuador visited the White House and a President of the United States did an official visit with them —
PRESIDENT TRUMP: And when was it? When was it?
Q Seventeen years ago.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Wow.
Q It was with George W. Bush in 2003. What changed now? What is your specific interest with Ecuador now?
Thank you, Mr. President.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: She did a good job. Go ahead. I think I understood it.
PRESIDENT MORENO: (As interpreted.) Ecuador has — after having gone through very hard times, and especially in regards to its international relationships — has decided to come together again with the international community and bring refreshed relationships to those who are — who have the same way of thinking as we do. We wanted to come closer to them.
(Continues answer in Spanish.) (Interpreter pauses translation.)
(Cross-talk by reporters.)
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Don’t interrupt. Don’t interrupt.
(Interpreter resumes translation.)
PRESIDENT MORENO: (As interpreted.) We need to remember that the USA is the main trade partner for Ecuador. And this is not only in terms of trade, but because we share many common values such as the love for liberty, democracy, justice, solidarity, fraternity, and the respect of human rights.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: And I can tell you the thing that has changed from our standpoint: We’re the number-one economy in the world, by far. We’ve never done better. We have the strongest markets we’ve ever had. The market is up very substantially today: 250 points, when I last looked.
And our country has never done better, militarily. We’ve rebuilt our military. We’ve cut our taxes; we’ve cut regulations at a level that nobody has ever been able to cut them.
And our country is doing great, and we’ve really reestablished a lot of relationships, but we have certainly reestablished it with Ecuador. Ecuador had a very unusual outlook on life, but with your great President, he realizes how important it is to get along with the United States.
And I want to just congratulate him, because our relationship is very good. He’s made tremendous progress.
Q Mr. President, are you open to working on a trade deal with Ecuador?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Yeah, sure, we will. And they have incredible product. And they grow it and they make it, and we like it. So, we will. Sure. And they need our product, too.
Q Is it going to be like the USMCA? That’s your model for that?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, that’s a great model. We just finished that, and it’s a great model with Mexico and with Canada. USMCA has been very successful. Already, the fruits are really taking place. You take a look at what’s happening in terms of the kind of numbers we’ll be doing with the USMCA. And this, on a much smaller scale, would be interesting. We are looking at that kind of a model, yes.
Q And on Venezuela, are you going to talk about that? And are you worried about the assault on Juan Guaidó yesterday when he arrived in Caracas?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Yeah, we’ll be looking at and talking about Venezuela. And it’s always close to our heart. We have millions of people from Venezuela living in the United States very successfully. They love our country and they love Venezuela. We’ll take care of the Venezuelan people.
Q Sir, some Republicans said they hope you learned a lesson from impeachment. What lesson did you learn from impeachment?
I think you were — you weren’t chosen. Steve, go ahead.
Q Thank you, sir. The Filipino President decided to —
Q (Asks question in Spanish.)
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Excuse me, one second. We’ll do this gentleman and then you. Go ahead. Steve?
Q The President of the Philippines decided to sever a U.S. military pact with the United States. What was your reaction to that, sir? Is there anything to convince him otherwise?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I — I never minded that very much, to be honest. We helped the Philippines very much. We helped them defeat ISIS. I get along — actually, I have a very good relationship there. But I — I really don’t mind. If they would like to do that, that’s fine. We’ll save a lot of money. You know, my views are different than other people. I view it as, “Thank you very much. We save a lot of money.”
But if you look back — if you go back three years ago, when ISIS was overrunning the Philippines, we came in and, literally, single-handedly were able to save them from vicious attacks on their islands. But I haven’t heard exactly that, what you — the way you expressed the question.
And my relationship, as you know, is a very good one with their leader. And we’ll see what happens. They’ll have to tell me that.
Q Thank you, and good afternoon, Mr. President. (Asks question in Spanish.)
(Repeats question in English.) My question is about security. We know that Ecuador has a problem with narco-traffic and some other problems. So one of the topics you’re going to talk about is security. I want to know what Ecuador wants to learn from the United States in that topic.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, we’re doing very well on our southern border. We’re doing incredibly well. We built over 100 miles now. It’s substantially more than that, of wall. Very powerful wall. It’s got all sorts of protections on it. We have alarm systems, we have lighting systems, we have everything you can have. It’s pretty much the ultimate of what you can do in terms of that. We have great protection. We have great protection with our military.
We’ve been dealing also with Mexico. Mexico has 27,000 soldiers on our southern border, and they’ve been great. And we just set another record. As you saw, the numbers have come way down in terms of people coming through our border. Way down. They’re going to be very low.
And after the wall is complete, even in the areas where we’re now over 100 miles, incredibly, the traffic has virtually stopped. It’s come to a halt. The wall has been a tremendous — a tremendous thing.
So we’ll have that finished by the end of next year. And sometime during next year, we’ll have it finished. And we’ll probably be up to close — by the end of this year, close to 400 miles of wall. And it’s made a tremendous difference.
So we have great security. We’ll be discussing with Ecuador their situation and their security. They do have a problem with the narcos, and that’s not good. And we will be working with them to help, okay?
Q (In Spanish.)
Q Mr. President, why (inaudible) nomination?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: One second. She’s going to just answer the question.
Q He’s going to answer my question.
PRESIDENT MORENO: (In Spanish.) (No translation provided.)
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Last night, as you know, we had a very interesting election, and from the standpoint of the Republican Party and myself, but from the standpoint of the Republican Party, it was a tremendous success. I got more votes than any incumbent President in many decades. That includes a lot of Presidents. And it was really incredible — the love in New Hampshire.
And, by the way, we did the same thing in Iowa, and we were actually able to quickly count our votes. We knew within minutes after the poll how many votes we had, unlike the Democrats.
So we had a tremendous success in Iowa. And last night, we had a tremendous — a very powerful success in New Hampshire. So it was a great honor.
But setting that record in both states was terrific, and now we’re off to some areas that I like very much: Nevada, you look at that; South Carolina, you look at that. And I think we’re going to do very well there. Probably setting up a major rally in South Carolina. We already have one in Nevada. So we’ll be in those two locations, and we’ll be at a few others also. But it’s been incredible.
The rally we had in New Hampshire and in Iowa — again, it was almost the same; it was — they were both spectacular. You could have put them in a big stadium. We were already in large arenas, but you could’ve put them in a big stadium. We could’ve sold it out numerous times, so it was really, really terrific. And we appreciate it. Yeah, we appreciate it.
Q Who is the Democratic front-runner, sir?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: That’s a good question. I would say Bernie looks like he’s doing very well.
Q Why is he surging?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think people like his message. He’s got energy. His people have energy. But they like his message. But a lot of people don’t like that particular message. But there is a group that probably agrees with it. And, you know, whoever it is, we’ll take them on. But it would certainly seem that Bernie Sanders has the advantage right now.
Q Will you debate whoever wins? Will you debate whoever wins?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Sure. I look forward to it, actually.
Q Lisa Murkowski, moments ago — Lisa Murkowski, earlier, said that you shouldn’t have gotten involved with the Roger Stone case. She said it’s just bad. Some Republicans have said they hoped you would learn a lesson from impeachment. What lesson did you learn from impeachment?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: That the Democrats are crooked. They’ve got a lot of crooked things going. That they’re vicious. That they shouldn’t have brought impeachment.
Q Anything about yourself?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: And that my poll numbers are 10 points higher because of fake news like NBC, which reports the news very inaccurately. Probably more inaccurately than CNN, if that’s possible. “MSDNC” and you’re “MS…” and if you take a look at NBC. No, I think they’re among the most dishonest reporters of the news.
Okay. Thank you very much, everybody. I appreciate it. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Earlier today President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed the President of the Republic of Ecuador and Mrs. Rocio Gonzales De Moreno to the White House.
Ecuador is a key country for stability in central America. A key topic of discussion between the two leaders will be Venezuela. Ecuador is suffering firsthand the effects of Nicolas Maduro and his dictatorship in Venezuela with waves of economic migrants from Venezuela arriving through Colombia to Ecuador. The refugee crisis represents a fiscal strain and also a security threat. There are 400,000 Venezuela refugees in Ecuador.
Counter-narcotics and a trade agreement are also a priority for this meeting. The United States and Ecuador are very close to a free trade agreement. USTR Robert Lighthizer has held a successful round-one negotiation for trade and investment with the Ecuadorian Commerce Ministry; and a second round is likely very soon.
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Ecuador and the United States are working toward an energy and infrastructure framework agreement under America Crece. Brazil is likely to join in March and they will join Panama, Chile, Argentina, Jamaica, Colombia, El Salvador, and hopefully Ecuador.
Now this is what we call almost too much winning…. The House Judiciary Committee is demanding testimony from U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr and specifically identifying three issues they wish to target. AG Bill Barr has agreed to testify to their concerns on Tuesday March 31st, 2020. [cloud pdf Here]
Considering the issues outlined by the Democrats; and knowing the rabid nature of their base of resistance that demands HJC action; this is the biggest briar patch in recent congressional history & AG Barr is one big rabbit proclaiming: ‘don’t throw me in’. When you read the issues of concerns, you realize this is going to be epic.
Chairman Nadler says in his letter: “we have repeatedly warned you and your predecessors that the misuse of our criminal justice system for political purposes is both dangerous to our democracy and unacceptable to the House Judiciary Committee.” Oh my!
The HJC goes on to say: “In your tenure as Attorney General, you have engaged in a pattern of conduct in legal matters relating to the President that raises significant concerns for this Committee. In the past week alone, you have taken steps that raise grave questions about your leadership of the Department of Justice.”… Oh dear!
So what are the three pressing issues that Chairman Nadler says “are enough to require our immediate attention”?
The ongoing developments following the removal of U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu, who oversaw the prosecutions of President Trump’s deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates, President Trump’s former national security advisor Michael Flynn, and President Trump’s longtime political adviser Roger Stone.
See? The HJC and Lawfare staff are clueless. First, AG Barr previously slobbered all over Jessie Liu; he couldn’t praise her enough. Barr had zero conversation with President Trump about withdrawing the nomination, and only gained an understanding of the Liu concerns independent from President Trump.
The Lawfare crew has no idea what they are walking into if they start down the path of asking about why Jessie Liu was: (a) removed; and (b) had her nomination withdrawn. For all intents and purposes AG Barr is an ally of Ms. Liu, and it only highlights the independence of his office that President Trump’s action is independent.
The creation of a new “process” by which President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani can feed the Department of Justice information, through you, about the President’s political rivals.
The “process” of receiving information on possible criminal conduct is open to anyone and everyone to report, including all Americans. Obviously the HJC and Democrats writ large are worried about their financial schemes to exploit wealth and sell influence may be hampered by any corruption investigation of Ukraine…. but more importantly, they are seeking to find out how much their own activity is exposed.
I cannot think of a single bullet-point easier for Barr to have fun with than a committee that is verklempt about the U.S. Department of Justice allowing people to report possible criminal activity. The entire framework of their argument is silly and fraught with pretzel logic. That’s the purpose of the justice system, to allow people a process to rectify criminal activity.
Secondly, didn’t the same House Committee just spend months complaining about Giuliani operating independent investigations?… and not following the “established processes and norms”? Now they don’t want Giuliani to be allowed to contact the DOJ and engage in long established processes and norms? Their argument is circular.
The decision to overrule your career prosecutors and significantly reduce the recommended sentence for Roger Stone, who has been convicted for lying under oath, at the apparent request of the President — a decision that led to all four prosecutors handling the case to withdraw from the proceedings in protest.
This point of oversight concern opens up a world of opportunity for AG Barr to lay out how members of the Mueller team were rogue prosecutors. Truth is the greatest disinfectant and Bill Barr has actual examples of tiered-justice based on political bias. Again, the point they are concerned about will backfire; bigly.
“These are not the only issues that our Committee intends to discuss with you when you appear, but they are enough to require our immediate attention”…
This March 31st hearing should be buckets of fun.
Lastly, why March 31st?
All of the points raised by the HJC are transparently easy to knock down now. Why postpone for two months? The likely answer is John Durham will be finished…. drops of information therein will take place…. the hearing is pre-scheduled… etc.
The HJC has just boxed themselves in to holding a hearing…. Think about it.
Remember, the HJC never held a hearing about the IG Horowitz FISA report because that type of hearing is adverse to the political interests of Democrats in the House. They don’t want to hold hearing where former administration DOJ & FBI abuses are discussed. However, now AG Bill Barr has a hearing scheduled on the books. Now AG Bill Barr has a date on the congressional calendar the House cannot avoid.
Now AG Bill Barr has a target date and two months to coordinate releasing the information gathered from within John Durham’s investigation. Release the Durham information a week prior to March 31st and the HJC is trapped into a holding a hearing about topics they don’t want to see public.
Chairman Jerry Nadler has just scheduled a hearing for Bill Barr.
Funny how that happens.
The timing, the purpose and the likelihood of what is going to happen is so transparently obvious it’s as if knuckleheaded Chairman Nadler is working for Bill Barr.
I have created this site to help people have fun in the kitchen. I write about enjoying life both in and out of my kitchen. Life is short! Make the most of it and enjoy!
This is a library of News Events not reported by the Main Stream Media documenting & connecting the dots on How the Obama Marxist Liberal agenda is destroying America
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