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?
Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher has really been put into a narrow gauntlet by a military command structure that does appear to be attempting retaliation and retribution against a warrior out of spite. It is a remarkable dynamic and very troubling to see two high ranking military leaders seeming to rebuke the civilian command structure.
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Purely my opinion; but I would feel much less nervous about the stability of our military leadership if Navy Secretary Richard Spencer and Rear Adm. Collin Green resigned. Rogue military leadership is troubling in the framework of our constitutional Republic.
I can’t stop laughing…. just too darned funny. CTH has long outlined how President Trump has taken the decades-long panda-mask game/approach of Beijing and mirrored it right back upon them. Today Chinese Coucillor Wang Yi, while delivering a strongly worded statement to G20 ministers, is positively verklempt in his open admission therein.
Our President Trump is the only person who could have delivered this wonderful outcome… well done. Beijing is very angry about how a U.S. President is disrupting a new world economic order that China has so artfully manipulated for the past two decades.
It is simply beyond delicious.
(Reuters) – The United States is the world’s biggest source of instability and its politicians are going around the world baselessly smearing China, the Chinese government’s top diplomat said on Saturday in a stinging attack at a G20 meeting in Japan.
Relations between the world’s two largest economies have nose-dived amid a bitter trade war – which they are trying to resolve – and arguments over human rights, Hong Kong and U.S. support for Chinese-claimed Taiwan.
Meeting Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok on the sidelines of a G20 foreign ministers meeting in the Japanese city of Nagoya, Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi did not hold back in his criticism of the United States.
[…] The United States has, for political purposes, used the machine of state to suppress legitimate Chinese businesses and has groundlessly laid charges against them, which is an act of bullying, he added.
“Certain U.S. politicians have smeared China everywhere in the world, but have not produced any evidence.”
The United States has also used its domestic law to “crudely interfere” in China’s internal affairs, trying to damage “one country, two systems” and Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity, he added.
[…] “There is no way out for the zero-sum games of the United States. Only win-win cooperation between China and the United States is the right path.” (more)
Amped up trouble with China, North Korea, Hong Kong and the Middle East, compete for President Trump’s attention even as he’s besieged daily with the impeachment inquiry that divides his friends and excites his enemies. How is Trump under siege dealing with Kim Jong Un, Xi Jinping, Israel and the rest, during the greatest crisis of his presidency? Does he look weak to our adversaries, or is he more confident than ever as he engages in a daily struggle (at least in his mind) of good versus evil? As Bill Whittle Now with Scott Ott approaches its 300th episode, we’re grateful for the Members who have made it possible for us to analyze breaking news in the context of timeless principles. They also run their own vibrant blog, and carry on vigorous civil dialogue in the Members-only comments, forum, and private messages. Explore our deep archive and find your people at https://BillWhittle.com
Listening to the pearl-clutching from State Department foreign service officers; and looking at the circular laundry operation where DC politicians send taxpayer funds overseas and then use networks, friends and families to capture those same funds for their own personal financial benefit; while overlaying how much Hillary Clinton corruption the U.S. Justice Department, State Department and intelligence community hid in the 2016 election; the big picture emerges.
When politicians in Mexico or Afghanistan accept bribes we call it corruption, but when DC politicians participate in the exact same process we call it “lobbying”. It is no wonder the Clinton Foundation starts losing money as soon as the political influence over policy no longer exists. It is also no surprise why those same donors hate President Trump.
In the larger picture it is clear the Obama administration weaponized institutions of government to target their political opposition. It is also increasingly clear a Hillary Clinton administration would have further monetized the U.S. government.
President Obama’s team used the IRS, DOJ, CIA, FBI and State Dept. to target their opposition. The intelligence apparatus was weaponized; one small example that scratches the surface is the FBI/NSA FISA(702) database exploitation. Black files on DC politicians, private sector groups and individuals facilitating leverage, and we are still seeing the ramifications.
When business executive Patrick Byrne discussed his role within the “political espionage” operations, he was describing this exact process; not coincidentally he also seems to have retreated into a safe-space.
Big multinational interests, Big Pharma, Big Ag, Big Global Banking interests, etc, were exclusively supporting both President Obama and candidate Clinton. The domestic politics of the U.S. were/are tools toward an end; and, so long as the person occupying the Oval Office did not interfere with multinational objectives, they too would benefit financially.
It is also obvious the opposition to President Trump, those who are really coordinating and manipulating the grassroots sheeple, are funded by these same multinational interests.
The college kid wearing a pink pussy hat is oblivious, but the executive offices of the Deep State FBI and Intelligence Community under James Comey, Andrew McCabe, or even Christopher Wray and AG Bill Barr are not; they know.
Additionally, the current occupants must also know that we know. Likely a great many more people are aware of the bigger issues than ever before. Perhaps this explains the dynamic of DC resistance angst amid those same occupants.
Think about how much the DOJ and FBI did to protect candidate Clinton.
Obviously, in their down-time discussions, they would have discussed and recognized some benefit would be forthcoming.
No entity would go so far out on an obvious limb of corruption if they did not perceive some personal benefit on the horizon.
Think about how much leverage James Comey would have held over the institution of the Office of the President if they had succeeded. If the sum total of dirt on Trump filled a bucket, by comparison Hillary Clinton owns a landfill.
Thousands of bills written by the multinational lobbyists were awaiting her arrival. Think of the scale of multinational effort behind TPP (Asia), TTIP (Europe), Paris Climate Treaty (Global), etc. Literally tens of trillions of graft and scheme within reach of those global financial networks; at the fingertips of the multinational Big Club,… until Donald Trump.
Think of the scale of wealth headed to the top of the pyramid that President Trump halted. Domestically, all of those lobbyist-written bills worthless on November 9th, 2016. All of the DC politicians, sales people indulged to sell those bills, left teetering on the border of functional obsolescence…. It’s quite stunning to think about.
Thus, after the initial shock, all of those interests lashing out in rage; weaponizing every group they can muster. Dispatching urgency to the corporate media forces. The pure unmitigated hatred that started immediately becomes much more understandable in this context.
Years of leftist planning led to President Obama’s ability to weaponize government without being held accountable in the process. Years of assistance by corporate media allies, all building toward the same end goal. How rich would Hillary and Bill have become by simply allowing phase two, “the monetization“, to proceed?
Remarkable to contemplate.
James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Eric Holder, Loretta Lynch, John Brennan, Susan Rice, Sally Yates, Denis McDonough, Valerie Jarrett, Lisa Page, Peter Strzok and many more, including the aforementioned foreign service officers, all knew and anticipated the professional power and personal financial benefits that would have followed…
The U.S. multinationals on Wall Street do not want the USMCA to pass because they don’t want President Trump to have leverage that allows him to continue the fight against China and the EU. It is a simple dynamic, USMCA ratification makes the Wall Street prior investments in China worth less.
In all of these efforts U.S. multinational corporations, big companies on Wall St, are heavily opposed to President Trump because they have invested in those overseas operations. Those companies facilitated the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs.
Remember, in 2018 the Supreme Court ruled that non-union members cannot be forced to pay for union representation.
That decision led to AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka declaring supportin 2019 for illegal aliens having rights to U.S. jobs and collective bargaining.
There is also now a clear alignment between Wall Street multinationals, and democrats like Nancy Pelosi. Wall Street’s ability to pay Pelosi and political leadership to protect their multinational interests; in combination with corporate promises of funding to Pelosi’s party; has created the unholy alliance of united interests.
It is a political strategy and calculation for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to attempt to sink the U.S. Main Street economy. Weakening Trump’s China confrontation, blocking the USMCA, and impeding a trade agreement between the U.S. and U.K. are part of that calculation.
(Via CNBC) […] Pelosi and Neal’s meeting with Trump’s trade representative follows talks with a key labor leader earlier this week. After a Tuesday meeting with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, Pelosi said, “we can reach an agreement on USMCA when the Trade Representative makes the new NAFTA agreement enforceable for America’s workers.”
Their meeting with Trumka came a day after the labor leader said “we are not there yet” on an agreement. He added that “we cannot and support any deal that does not deliver for working people.”
The Trump administration needs to submit ratifying legislation to Congress for the House to move forward with approving the agreement. Once the White House submits text, it starts a 90-day window to approve USMCA.
Mexico has ratified the agreement, while Canada has not.
Labor groups and Democrats have worried the agreement will not go far enough to boost wages in Mexico and stop U.S. companies from moving jobs south. (read more)
Earlier today President Trump traveled to Austin Texas to participate in the grand opening of a new Apple Inc. manufacturing facility. President Trump has worked closely with Apple CEO Tim Cook to promote America-First manufacturing.
During the visit President Trump delivered remarks on current events and took questions from the traveling press pool. [Partial Video and Full Transcript Below]
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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. It’s an honor to be here. We’re seeing the beginning of a very powerful and important plant. And anybody that followed my campaign, I would always talk about Apple — that I want to see Apple building plants in the United States. And that’s what’s happening. And having — Tim Cook is somebody that I greatly respect — a great leader, a great businessman. And it’s a very special day. For me, this is a very special day.
Our country is doing well, probably better than ever before, certainly from the standpoint of the economy. And we’re in a state that I love: Texas.
And Tim has a couple of things to say, not only about this incredible product that is made right here — very, very unique product — but also about their expansion from this point forward. We’ve already done it up to here. But from this point forward. And the nice part: He doesn’t have to worry about tariffs. Because when you build in the United States, you don’t have to worry about tariffs. It sort of helps people make a decision to come in.
But he’s a very special person, as far as this country is concerned, because of the great job potential and the great job that he’s done. Apple is the first trillion-dollar company, and that was about a year ago. Now it’s about a trillion-three, I think you said. But Apple is doing fantastically well.
So we’re honored that you’re doing what you’re doing. We’re honored to be here with you at this special occasion. And we’ll be back. We’ll be back.
Thank you, Tim. Thank you very much.
MR. COOK: Thank you. I’d like to thank everybody for coming and joining us. And I particularly would like to thank President Trump, Secretary Mnuchin, and Ivanka, and the other members of the administration. I’m grateful for their support and pulling today off and getting us to — this far. It would not be possible without them.
What you’re seeing here — the product, the Mac Pro — is 15,000 times more powerful than the original Mac, and it can perform 56 trillion tasks per second. That’s 56 trillion tasks per second. It’s absolutely blow-away.
We cannot be more proud of the product. It’s an example of American design, American manufacturing, and American ingenuity. We want to thank everybody for coming.
And I turn it back to — oh, one other thing: This morning, we also announced a one-billion-dollar investment, groundbreaking — Rebecca was there with me for this — for a three-million-square-foot site in Austin, about 10 minutes or so away from here. So we view Austin as a very key place for the future of our company. It’s the second-largest site in the world for us, next to our home base in Cupertino.
So — and I’m hoping for, obviously, more investments to come. Thank you very much.
THE PRESIDENT: So Tim was saying, just a little while ago, that he’s starting this massive, new development also in Texas — Austin. But he’s also said something to me about the American economy because he’s, you know, all over the world. I would say there’s probably nobody that’s more over the world than Apple.
And what would you say about our economy compared to everybody else?
MR. COOK: I think we have the strongest economy in the world right now.
THE PRESIDENT: The strongest in the world.
Congressmen, please come over. Our great congressmen. And it’s great to have you. I just see you in the audience here.
REPRESENTATIVE CARTER: Thank you, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: So if anyone has any questions, go ahead.
Steve, go ahead.
Q What did you make of Ambassador Sondland’s testimony this morning?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think it was fantastic. I think they have to end it now. He said there was no quid pro quo. “The President did absolutely nothing wrong.” If you look at it — I guess you’ve seen me — I took down exactly what he said. He called and he said — he asked me where we — what should he do. I said, “I want nothing.” Then I repeated it: “I want nothing. I want no quid pro quo. Tell the President” — as you know, of Ukraine — “to do the right thing.”
And then, he finished off and he said, “This is the final word from…the President of the United States.” So what did the President want? “I want nothing.” Okay? “I want nothing.”
And let me tell you, it’s a hoax. It’s a disgrace. It’s an embarrassment to our country. Nancy Pelosi has done a terrible job as Speaker. There’s never been a Speaker that’s done so little. And she’s totally incompetent. And Shift Schiff, he stands up and he tells lies all day long. And even with that — so we have no due process, we can’t have anything. And yet, not only did we win today — it’s over. And some of the fair press — of which there isn’t too much — said this thing is over.
So the President of the United States told this guy, who is no — I mean, the question I asked — and it’s the same question that a number of the congressmen have asked: Why didn’t he put this statement into his opening remarks? It’s the most important — important statement there are.
For this country, for our country to be playing this — we’re opening up massive Apple plants. We have the greatest economy in the world. We have the greatest economy that we’ve ever had in the history of our country. We have the best unemployment numbers that we’ve ever had.
But we have a fake press. We have a phony press. We don’t have freedom of the press in this country. We have a phony press. They’re dishonest, most of them. We have some fine people from — fine journalists and reporters and companies. But most of them are fake and phony. CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, The Washington Post, New York Times — these are fake papers. They are fake press. And there is — they should be ashamed of themselves, and they hurt our country.
And, to be honest with you, I think it’s a great tribute to all of those people in swing states and all of those people in this country. We had an Electoral College — as you know, Congressman, we had a landslide — 306 to 223. We had a landslide. And they’re trying to take it away because they can’t do it fairly.
But these are bad people. Nancy Pelosi is incompetent. She’s gotten nothing done in Congress. And now, with their big star witness — this was going to be their star witness. Now, just so you know, I don’t know him very well. He’s a guy that got put there. He wasn’t even on my side. He came over to me — I didn’t even know that. He came over to me after I defeated other people. I defeated them all.
But you know what? What — what, really, we have to learn from this whole thing is the press. They ought to straighten out their act. Because we have the greatest country in the world but we have room to get even greater. But with a fake press, with the media the way it is, they should be ashamed of themselves.
Q Mr. President, have you considered taking any action against the whistleblower?
THE PRESIDENT: The whistleblower is not a whistleblower. He’s a fake. And everybody knows —
Q Would you fire the whistleblower? Or —
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me. Everybody knows who the whistleblower is. And the whistleblower is a political operative. These gentlemen know it. He’s a political operative.
And, frankly, the IG should have never brought this. Because if he would have compared what the whistleblower said, if he would have compared it to what I said in the conversation — two conversations, really — but to what I said in the conversation with the President — who I think is a terrific person — of Ukraine, he would have said, “Well, wait a minute. The whistleblower said this.” And that wasn’t the conversation because we have the transcribed conversation.
And also, Shifty Schiff — he’s a dishonest — he’s a corrupt politician. When he imitated or tried to copy my conversation, he didn’t copy it. He made up a conversation. Went before Congress, and made up a phony conversation, just like he does every time he talks. He’s a phony. He’s a very dishonest, very corrupt politician.
So, instead of — and, look, the big upset, as you folks know, was when I released the transcript. Because I don’t like doing that because you have to keep this very, very classified and confidential when you’re speaking to heads of state. But I released it because Schiff and the whistleblower made up a phony deal.
And I’ll tell you what: You ought to be ashamed of yourself. The press should be ashamed and they ought to end the witch hunt right now.
Q What did you mean — what do you mean Zelensky should “do the right thing”?
Q Would you take some kind of action against the whistleblower?
Q When you say Zelensky should “do the right thing,” what did you mean by that?
THE PRESIDENT: I didn’t say that.
Q When you told Sondland that —
THE PRESIDENT: He’s already done the right thing, because —
Q When you told Sondland that —
THE PRESIDENT: — the President — the President — if you look — of Ukraine, and his spokesman, the Foreign Minister, they put out: “There was no pressure whatsoever.” “None whatsoever.” And you knew that. You knew that very well. But you’re fake news and you should be ashamed of yourselves, and you should change, because it’s a very bad thing for our country.
Q Do you still want Ukraine to investigate the Bidens, Mr. President?
THE PRESIDENT: The Bidens is a whole different story. When you talk about corruption, when you have a guy that made no money, his father becomes Vice President, and all of a sudden he’s getting millions and millions of dollars from Ukraine, from China, from all of these countries — you just see two of them. This guy made nothing. He got thrown out of the Navy. He couldn’t get a job. And then his father becomes Vice President and the press doesn’t want to report it because the press is dishonest.
So I think it’s a disgrace. I think the whole thing with Biden is a disgrace.
Steve, go ahead. Go ahead.
Q Should Apple be exempt from China tariffs?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we’re looking at that. And, you know, the problem we have is you have Samsung — it’s a great company, but it’s a competitor of Apple, and it’s not fair if — because we have a trade deal with Korea. We made a great trade deal with South Korea, but we have to treat Apple on a somewhat similar basis as we treat Samsung.
Now, with all of that being said, we’re doing very nicely with China, but I like it the way it is now, because we’re taking in billions and billions of dollars, and we’re giving some of that money to farmers and others. But we are looking at Apple. When I wanted Apple to do, from day one — from before I got elected — I said, “Someday we’re going to see Apple building plants in our country, not in China.” And that’s what’s happening.
It’s all happening. It’s all the American Dream. Our country has never done better. It’s doing better than it’s ever done.
Unemployment, the lowest levels. The numbers just came out today. African American, Hispanic American, Asian American, the lowest they’ve ever had in the history of our country. So we’re very happy.
Thank you very much.
Q (Inaudible) other Apple products?
Q (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: Say it?
Q Will there be a trade deal in place before the end of the year?
THE PRESIDENT: So, I can tell you this: China would much rather make a trade deal than I would.
Q Then why haven’t they?
THE PRESIDENT: Because I haven’t wanted to do it yet.
Q And why haven’t you wanted to yet?
THE PRESIDENT: Because I don’t think they’re stepping up to the level that I want.
Q I spoke earlier today with Mr. Cook and he said, “Another round of tariffs would be bad for business. It would be bad for the United States.”
THE PRESIDENT: I know, but, you know —
Q Will the tariffs take effect —
THE PRESIDENT: Here — here’s what I say —
Q — December 15th?
THE PRESIDENT: Here’s what I say — here’s what I say: What do you know?
I put in tariffs, everyone said, “Oh, gee, you’re taking in billions — hundreds of billions of dollars we will be taking in.” And everybody said, “Oh, that’s going to be bad for the economy.” Well, as you just heard from Tim Cook, we have the strongest economy, by far, in the world, and we’re taking in billions and billions of dollars. So we’ll see what happens.
We are dealing with China. I have a great relationship with President Xi. They’re a great country, but we’re a greater country than China.
If I didn’t win, right now China would be a bigger economy than the United States. But because I won, we picked up — reported on your network — $11 trillion in worth, in value. And China has lost probably $25 trillion. We are much bigger than China right now, and we’re going to keep it that way.
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