White House manufacturing policy advisor Peter Navarro has an important discussion with Maria Bartiromo about the consequences of the Coronavirus which includes the need for U.S. companies to return manufacturing to the United States on key medical products and pharmaceuticals.   A very important subject.

Both Navarro and Bartiromo note that our dependency on Asia for medical products is a problem when a global virus erupts, global demand for those products peaks, and the supply of those products becomes most urgent.

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It would seem obvious (to me) that medical products and pharmaceuticals would be two sectors for the Commerce Department (Sec. Wilbur Ross) where a national security review would be well worth the time & effort.  The multinationals would fight the administration, but it might be worth this fight.

Former U.S. Attorney for DC Ms. Jessie K. Liu, of Virginia, will be questioned by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affiars this week during a confirmation hearing to become the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes at the Department of the Treasury. The hearing is Thursday February 13th at 10:00am.

Unfortunately the Senate Committee is made up of squish republicans [SEE HERE] so the questioning of Ms. Liu will likely be soft and non-controversial.

However, given Ms Liu’s propensity to run cover-up operations, her movement into Treasury and FinCin is problematic.

Some Background: In addition to her prosecution of Lt. General Michael Flynn, what do the following four points have in common?

• 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); Status?… Oh, wait for it….

If you note the common thread is: U.S. Attorney for DC, Jessie K Liu, well, you would be entirely accurate. Oh, but wait, we’ve only just begun.

Timelines tell a story…

While newly confirmed Attorney General William Barr was “getting his arms” around ongoing corruption within the organization he now leads, there was an announcement on March 5th, 2019, about U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu becoming the #3 official at the DOJ.

Three weeks later, on March 28th, there was an announcement about a change of plans, and U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu’s name was withdrawn from consideration.

In addition to AG Bill Barr “getting his arms around” issues within the department, what else happened between March 5th and March 28th, 2019, that would so drastically change plans for Ms. Liu?:

On March 21st Representatives Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows send a letter (full pdf available here) to Attorney General William Barr wanting to know what is the status of the year-old (April 19th, 2018) criminal referral for fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. (link)

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Answering the letter from Jordan and Meadows would be easy. The AG picks up the phone, calls Ms. Liu, asks the question and then sends back a response. Except, well, there was no response. Instead, a week after receiving the letter Ms. Liu’s name is withdrawn from consideration for promotion…. and later AG Barr admits there was ‘spying’.

Keep in mind Meadows and Jordan obviously suspected –as did we– that no DOJ case against McCabe was being pursued; after all, the evidence was previously gathered, it doesn’t take a year. Additionally, when Mark Meadows is directly asked about the status of this specific issue today with Maria Bartiromo what does he answer? He doesn’t… [watch the interview] he avoids the question completely.

Put it all together and be intellectually honest…. McCabe’s non-worried book-tour status was directly in-line with the politically convenient Awan, Wolfe and Craig approach.

See the picture?

Obviously in April 2019 we did not yet have a history to reference AG Barr’s motive and intentions.  However, granting benefit of doubt, CTH can imagine an eyes-wide-opendiplomatic response from any Bill Barr ‘hands-around-it‘ line of inquiry….

Hence, Liu withdrawn.

Now some might ask why Barr would simultaneously make Jessie Liu the chair of the Attorney General Advisory Committee on the same day her name is withdrawn (March 28th announcement); however, Barr doesn’t have a choice about the DC U.S. Attorney sitting on the AGAC. By law [28 CFR § 0.10] the Attorney General can pick all of the AGAC members, with one exception. The DC U.S. Attorney is required to be a member.

[Nice little deep state continuity trick]

Given that Barr is bringing in people from outside the DOJ –specifically from his prior law practice- that he knows he can trust, CTH suspects Barr made Liu Chairwoman of the AGAC for two reasons: (1) keep eyes on her; and (2) busy her with administrative work.

But wait…. it gets better.

Accepting that Ms. Jessie Liu is a career participant in the DOJ aspects of deep state preservation; even acting in a role as Deputy Chief of Staff for the DOJ National Security Division (yes, the DOJ-NSD division at the heart of the FISA issues); and remembering that Ms. Liu was also a member of the Trump transition team…. well, who the hell recommended her for those roles?

Someone ‘inside’ the Trump operation had to recommend Jessie Liu as a member of the transition team knowing full well her ideology would protect the administrative state. Who was that person who recommended her, and brought her in?

Additionally, regarding the recent March 5th, 2019, recommendation for Associate Attorney General (position #3), there has to be a point-of-contact between the DOJ and the inner circle of the White House. A person who would carry a recommendation from the DOJ institution, internally, to President Trump. Who was/is that person specifically?

If the 2016/2017 recommending transition member is the same as the 2019 recommending administration member… well, that’s the person who is directly working to the detriment of President Trump’s agenda.

Again, for those who might prefer to look-away from cold data, go back to the four points of specific reference we started with and research:

• 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); Status?…

Look up those specific backstories.

Ms. Liu should be questioned about all of it during any responsible Senate confirmation hearing.  Unfortunately, the DC system seems incapable of policing itself.

FUBAR.

Millions of us are praying for Rush Limbaugh.  On Friday Mr. Limbaugh returned to his broadcast and began the show explaining his current status and then describing the events that led to him attending the State of the Union address Tuesday in Washington DC.

If you missed the broadcast, do yourself a favor and listen or read Rush’s explanation of how his State of the Union attendance unfolded.  The video of his broadcast is below, and if you don’t have the time to watch, you can READ IT HERE:

[Transcript Available Here]

Enjoy…

(Link To Tweet)

[NYT] […] “I was advised today that the president intends to recall me effective immediately as United States Ambassador to the European Union,” Mr. Sondland said in a statement just hours after Colonel Vindman’s dismissal. He expressed gratitude to Mr. Trump “for having given me the opportunity to serve.” (link)

The focus on a new EU trade deal based on reciprocity just got a little more intense…

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, the twin brothers who work at the NSC & who participated in an attempted coup to remove President Trump, were both escorted from the White House and removed from their position “with no explanation” on Friday.   No word yet on whether the White House kept their coats.

Hey, President Trump was previously accused of breaking up families at the border; well, this time he kept them together.  Out!… Now let’s get rid of ICIG Michael Atkinson

Politico – Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a central witness in the impeachment charges against President Donald Trump, was removed from his job and escorted out of the White House on Friday, according to his lawyer, raising concerns that the president has kicked off a long-foreshadowed campaign of retribution.

Vindman’s removal from a detail at the National Security Council, first reported by CNN, came just two days after Trump’s acquittal in his impeachment trial and hours after the president told reporters he was “not happy” with the NSC aide.

[…] Vindman’s attorney indicated that the Iraq War veteran’s twin brother Yevgeny, who serves as a senior lawyer on the NSC, was also removed from his post and exited the White House alongside his brother. (more)

No word yet on when the Alexander Vindman CNN contract will begin.

All those corrupt local Puerto Rico officials who have used U.S. disaster response aid to enrich themselves had better watch out.  President Trump has just assigned Coast Guard Rear Admiral Peter J. Brown to take charge of all U.S. efforts on the island.

Rear Admiral Brown is an excellent man with a servants heart, but he is also a very deliberate and serious man.  And this man knows the island; we have crossed paths….

[White House] President Donald J. Trump has named U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Peter J. Brown of Florida as his Special Representative for Puerto Rico’s Disaster Recovery. In this capacity, Admiral Brown will coordinate United States Government efforts to build the infrastructure and resiliency of Puerto Rico.

The island of Puerto Rico was devastated by Category 4 Hurricane Maria in September 2017, suffering significant loss of life and catastrophic damage to infrastructure. In January 2020, Puerto Rico was struck by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake and hundreds of additional aftershocks and tremors, damaging hundreds of homes and infrastructure.

Multiple Federal agencies continue to respond to the needs of the people of Puerto Rico, and billions of dollars in Federal funding have been allocated responsibly to response and recovery work. Admiral Brown will be the White House coordinator for those ongoing efforts at the national level, in collaboration with other White House components, including the Office of Legislative Affairs, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, and Office of Management and Budget.

In addition, he will work with senior officials in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Congress to ensure that their concerns are communicated to the appropriate departments and agencies and to ensure the resources of hardworking taxpayers are effectively used to help the people of Puerto Rico.

On Wednesday, February 5, Rear Admiral Brown met with Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vazquez Garced, along with Puerto Rico’s Congressional Representative, Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon. Admiral Brown, Governor Vazquez, and Congresswoman Gonzalez-Colon discussed the Administration’s commitment to the people of Puerto Rico and Admiral Brown’s new role to help further Puerto Rico’s ongoing recovery.

Before joining the White House in July 2019 as the Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor, Rear Admiral Brown was the Commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District headquartered in Miami, Florida, where he was responsible for all Coast Guard operations in the Southeast United States and the Caribbean Basin.

A career Coast Guard officer with more than 34 years of service, Rear Admiral Brown’s first duty station in the Coast Guard was in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and he has served more than half of his career in the Caribbean. Originally from Somers, New York, Rear Admiral Brown is a 1985 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy with a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry. He also earned a Master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Miami and a law degree from the University of Connecticut. (link)

President Donald Trump and Rear Admiral Peter Brown

White House trade and manufacturing policy advisor Peter Navarro appears on Fox News to discuss the strong January jobs report of 225,000 gains.  Navarro highlights something few pay attention to.  The Trump administration not only focuses on the macro policy principles to create the economic environment for job growth, but President Trump also personally engages on specific company, state, and regional efforts.

The engagement of a U.S. president to discuss and influence U.S. jobs on a company by company basis, and get down in the details of deals, is a completely unique political standard in the modern era.  President Trump is very uniquely fighting for each job.

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It is very disappointing to hear vulture capitalist Jeff Bezos having a disinterest in protecting American intellectual property rights, and instead choosing to accept/allow cheap Chinese, knock-off goods as the backbone of his Amazon business model.