September 6, 2018
Epic. Will likely never be outdone…. Not this year. GOAT?
(Backstory) – More on Backstory from Yesterday HERE
Make Zina Bash the next Attorney General.
Tag Archives: Weaponization of the IRS
Press Conference: Lee Zeldin and Members of Congress Call on President Trump to Declassify Critical Documents…
On Thursday, September 6, 2018, Congressman Lee Zeldin, Mark Meadows, Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz, Andy Biggs, Keith Rothfus, Jody Hice, Louie Gohmert, Brian Babin, Claudia Tenney, Scott DesJarlais and Scott Perry called on President Donald Trump to declassify and release the Carter Page FISA applications (including specifically pages 10-12 and 17-34 and relevant footnotes), all of the Bruce Ohr 302s and other relevant documents, including exculpatory evidence regarding Carter Page and others, that were presented to the Gang of Eight, but not presented to the FISA Court.
Everyone who is interested in the granular aspects of the DOJ and FBI corruption, need to spend time watching this with a notepad. There’s a lot of new information, VERY important information, within this press conference. I’ll have more on it later.
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Dramatic Acting – Embarrassing Moment as Senator Corey Booker Declares He is Spartacus…
Today presents yet another example of lunacy from the political left as Democrat Senator Corey Booker declares he is Spartacus; except he isn’t – not even a little bit.
Using his best dramatic voice Booker said he would “knowingly” violate Senate rules to release emails marked “committee confidential” showing that nominee Brett Kavanaugh discussed racial profiling as a White House lawyer in 2002.
Playing to the television audience Booker declared his bravery and referred to his actions as an act of “civil disobedience”. Saying: “This is about the closest I’ll probably ever have in my life to an, ‘I am Spartacus’ moment.” ::Dun-Dun-Duh:::
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Except, what dramatic Booker failed to mention was the super-secret Kavanaugh emails he was bravely releasing were, well,… already cleared for release.
Via Fox – “We cleared the documents last night shortly after Senator Booker’s staff asked us to,” said Bill Burck, a lawyer for Bush involved in the release of documents. “We were surprised to learn about Senator Booker’s histrionics this morning because we had already told him he could use the documents publicly.”
“Apparently, some just wanted to break the rules and make a scene, but didn’t check their email,” a spokesman for committee Republicans said in a statement. The committee posted the same documents. (more)
But wait…. it gets better.
Cory Booker’s Spartacus moment, the bombshell hit on nominee Judge Kavanaugh, is that Kavanaugh was a Republican opposed to profiling by race during the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
Whoopsie. But hey, thanks for bringing this to light, senator Spartacus!
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Former President Barack Obama presents the award for: “Best Dramatic Acting in a C-SPAN Congressional Hearing” – Senator Corey Booker in “Muh Spartacus”!
Vice President Mike Pence Discusses Anonymous Op-ed…
After reviewing a weird CNN report on the backstory of the anonymous op-ed, it becomes more clear the entire construct of the New York Times publication was a manufactured political operation between like-minded allies in DC politics and media.
An anonymous person worked with another anonymous person, who acted as an anonymous go-between, between the second anonymous person and the media. In essence, there is no originating official; it’s all made up.
WaPo Report: Grand Jury Hearing Witness Testimony Against Fired Asst. FBI Director Andrew McCabe…
There are some interesting overlays amid a Washington Post report just published which outlines that a Grand Jury is hearing witness testimony in a criminal probe of former FBI Director Andrew McCabe.
You might remember it was April 19th, 2018, when the initial criminal referral from the Office of Inspector General, Michael Horowitz, was first made public. The actual timing of the referral, to a “D.C. U.S.Attorney” took place some time prior to April 19th.
The original IG referral to the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office was after the inspector general concluded McCabe had lied to investigators and possibly his own boss, then-FBI Director James B. Comey, on four occasions, three of them under oath. The details were outlined in the first IG report into the conduct of Andrew McCabe [See Here]
Within today’s Washington Post report they specify a grand jury has been hearing from witnesses surrounding that referral and potentially other matters, in an effort to “lock down” witness statements.
WaPo – Federal prosecutors have for months been using a grand jury to investigate former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe — an indication the probe into whether he misled officials exploring his role in a controversial media disclosure has intensified, two people familiar with the matter said.
The grand jury has summoned more than one witness, the people said, and the case is ongoing. The people declined to identify those who had been called to testify.
The presence of the grand jury shows prosecutors are treating the matter seriously, locking in the accounts of witnesses who might later have to testify at a trial. But such panels are sometimes used only as investigative tools, and it remains unclear if McCabe will ultimately be charged. (read more)
A few things about this are interesting.
First, it must always be remembered that corrupt officials within the intelligence apparatus customarily use the Washington Post as an outlet to tamp down any issues that are adverse to their interests. History has shown the reports from the WaPo indicate an effort to cover the preferred narrative(s), in advance of bad news in headlines.
Second, this report is published at the same time a customary 60-day window closes around elections when the DOJ essentially drops activity toward any current politician in office or public official. There are multiple former officials, and current politicians, who might be in the investigative spotlight.
It is unknown if the DOJ led by Jeff Sessions will pause current investigations until the mid-term elections play out. The political-left, including the media, would like to eliminate the distinction within the unwritten DOJ policy between “current politicians” and “former officials.”
The preferred narrative from the political-left would be to advance the talking point that Sessions’ DOJ cannot continue processing any investigation that might carry collateral damage for politicians in the 2018 mid-term. No-one really knows what approach Jeff Sessions and Rod Rosenstein would take toward that custom.
President Trump expressed his disappointment recently that his AG, Jeff Sessions, would make criminal investigative announcements against republican politicians so close to this customary window of non-action by the DOJ.
Donald J. Trump✔ @realDonaldTrump
Two long running, Obama era, investigations of two very popular Republican Congressmen were brought to a well publicized charge, just ahead of the Mid-Terms, by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department. Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time. Good job Jeff……
Donald J. Trump✔ @realDonaldTrump
….The Democrats, none of whom voted for Jeff Sessions, must love him now. Same thing with Lyin’ James Comey. The Dems all hated him, wanted him out, thought he was disgusting – UNTIL I FIRED HIM! Immediately he became a wonderful man, a saint like figure in fact. Really sick!
Venezuela & the Flight of Capital from Public to Private
Armstrong Economics Blog/ECM
Re-Posted Sep 7, 2018 by Martin Armstrong
COMMENT: Mr. Armstrong; The chart you posted on the Venezuela share market really made me see what you have been saying. Collapse the confidence in government and capital flees to the private sector. This is never taught in school! You have to write a book for posterity. Please!
RW
REPLY: The Venezuelan share market has soared in terms of local currency. This does illustrate the entire point. When a currency collapses, the value of tangible assets rise. In the case of Venezuela, you have a socialist government that refuses to relinquish power in fact of a complete economic disaster with millions of people fleeing the country. Here we have a double hit. The currency normally is sufficient to bring about regime change. In this case, the army is still willing to kill its own people to support a leftist regime. This is the profound difference that concerns me about leftist governments. They are filled with such hatred and propaganda that killing anyone who disagrees is seen as justified because THEY are the people who have ruined the state – never the leftists who seek to vindicate their victimization.
In the case of Venezuela, the last check against the leftist government will be capital. They will be unable to borrow ANY money and they will not be able to offer fixed assets because there is no rule of law and they can then nationalize whatever stupid Western fund manager buys thinking it is a cheap deal. Just look at such revolutions in Iran and Nigeria. Whoever invested in those countries their assets were just confiscated. By no means invest in ANY fund that invests in Venezuela. Get out before you lose 100%.
In March 1951, the Iranian parliament (the Majlis) voted to nationalize the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) and its holdings, and shortly thereafter the Iranian public elected a champion of nationalization, Mohammed Mossadegh, Prime Minister. You cannot trust such regimes. Mossadegh was the head of an ostensibly democratically elected government that simply sought to confiscate foreign assets. He was eventually removed in a CIA coup in 1953 and the United Kingdom’s Secret Intelligence Service.
I have stated numerous times, my deep concern is what comes AFTER Trump? There is no question they will seek to stuff a career politician into office be it Democrat or Republican. As the debt crisis expands, they will turn to raise taxes. They will in the process destroy the very democratic process and we will witness rising taxes quite dramatically until the entire political system breaks apart.
This is simply the pattern throughout history. I do not see anyone who would stand in the way of this trend among the ranks in Washington. Nobody from the private sector will dare step forward again. Any career politician will defend their own self-interest and raise taxes trying to hold on to power regardless if they are Democrat or Republican. This is simply how the West enters its Decline and Fall and China will emerge as the sane economy after 2032.
You can see the policy already in Europe. Brussels will defend the Euro at all costs even if it suppresses the people because now it is just about their pensions and jobs. The Euro fails and there goes Brussels and its bureaucracy off the edge. There is no hope on the horizon of a knight in shining armor to come to save the day
Beware of Political Uncertainty
Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics
Re-Posted Sep 7, 2018 by Martin Armstrong
QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; I take it your concern over Trump from the market perspective is the sheer uncertainty that is evolving. How do you see this playing out for the world economy?
Thank you. I agree. These people who hate Trump just hate him so passionately.
MRU
ANSWER: Markets do not like UNCERTAINTY. These people who want to see Trump gone have no clue what may result in the aftermath. My concern is global. This is far beyond Trump. We have chaos in Turkey, Argentina spilling over into other Emerging Markets. We have politicians trying to punish Britain and German companies asking what are they just nuts in Brussels? Britain is the BIGGEST market for Germany cars in Europe. We have building uncertainty in Southern Europe. We have the head of Australia playing the game of musical chairs. We have new political parties emerging in Canada and Ireland. We have private debt concerns in China. We have South Africa following the mistakes of Zimbabwe and we have major change sweeping the Middle East. The discontent in Iran is building toward yet another revolution and in Japan, Abe Economics is failing. South America is in turmoil which has spread even to Mexico.
In all honesty, throughout my career, there have been places that are in turmoil and it was crystal clear where capital would move. I honestly have to say I have NEVER witnessed a period quite like this. There is no place that is a safe haven at this point. The entire world is just coming unglued. All we can do is now rely on the computer for personal opinions will be probably the most dangerous things upon which to base forecasts.
My concern about US politics stems from our computer. Here is the array on 3rd party trends out into 2029. The people who hate Trump so much may be crying later if he is forced out for they will find their lives completely destroyed economically if confidence in government collapses as they try to put in one of their own career politicians. We have a Panic Cycle arriving in Politics in 2021 and again in 2024. The presidential elections will be 2020 and 2024. Note that both Panic Cycles are aligned with these events. I am NOT joking about blood in the streets. Those who hate Trump so much right now will be the very people hunting others who disagree with them. It will not take much to turn them extremely hateful – that is 100% always the case throughout history.
Caution – The Left Never Plays Nicely with Others
Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics
Posted Sep 7, 2018 by Martin Armstrong
COMMENT: I know a guy who just hates Trump and claims he hates Trump because he is a racist and incompetent and says I am a racist because I did not like Obama. But nobody that I ever knew hated Obama with such personal vindictiveness. These people would rather burn the house down and seem to refuse to live under any Republican. Just insane. I can see that we are definitely headed into a civil war. They are just hateful people.
HD
REPLY: Ironically, the left also accused the last Emperor of Russia of being a racist and hurled almost identical insults at him as well as they are doing to Trump – history repeats. They published anti-Semitic materials and the Emperor condemned that so they claimed he defended the Jews (“rich”) they portrayed as a separate race, which of course they are not. The left not merely staged a revolution seizing all the property of anyone who had it, but they then killed the Emperor and his entire family. The hatred is a pattern that will always manifest on the left. They are really blaming everyone else for their failures in life.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 involved the collapse of an empire under Tsar Nicholas II and the rise of Marxian socialism under Lenin and his Bolsheviks. This is really the goal here and the people who call Trump a racist are displaying the same patterns. They also simply hate the “rich” and you can guarantee this will eventually manifest into a rise in anti-Semitic movements they will justify by blaming the bankers during the next crisis. Tsar Nicholas II (r. 1894 – 1917) had complete control over the bureaucracy and the army refusing to share his power which led to people regarding him as incompetent as well. During the summer of 1915, the Duma (parliament), demanded a government with democratic values and which responded to the people’s needs. Later that year, however, Nicholas dissolved the Duma and went to the war front. His leaving was detrimental for there the opposition made its move.
We see the same insults hurled at Trump of being a racist and incompetent. It is a cyclical pattern that strangely emerges. As soon as someone calls Trump a racist you know they are blind with hate and are weak-minded spouting out propaganda they just regurgitate. Muslim is a religion, not a race and Mexican is also not a race. There are only four races and you will find them among all Mexicans as well as Muslims. Both the Russians and the Germans called Jews a separate race to really justify seizing their property.
So as soon as they call Trump a racist it demonstrates their lack of intelligence and their incompetence to have any sort of an independent mind. I too agree. I did not like Obama for the fact that he supported the NSA, installed Obamacare which failed to work but supported the insurance companies, and raised taxes. Nobody I ever heard called him vicious names. It was a disagreement with politics. The left is incapable of drawing such a line and their hatred is always personal. To call you a racist because you disagreed with those policies also demonstrates the lack of intelligence and the high probability that is some person who will eventually take out their hatred and support the civil war against anyone who disagrees with them. That is why all revolutions begin from the left. These are people who cannot sleep at night hating others who typically have more.
This is a shame, but it is what our future holds. The left should just put a bumper sticker on their cars – CAUTION – Do not Play Nicely with Other
Can Mueller Indict Trump or Can Only Congress Impeach?
Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics
Re-Posted Sep 6, 2018 by Martin Armstrong
QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; You said the constitution forbids arresting a member of Congress on his way to the hill. I have never heard of that. Is this why you warn that trying to indict Trump is constitutionally risky?
Thank you for your education
HS
ANSWER: Yes. To Indict any president is really a risky adventure. This act can result in the complete nullification of the entire democratic process. It is known as the Speech or Debate Clause in the United States Constitution (Article I, Section 6, Clause 1). The clause states that members of both Houses of Congress
…shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their attendance at the Session of their Respective Houses, and in going to and from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.
Members of Congress cannot even be interrogated and delayed to prevent the business of Congress. The Founding Fathers understood that an opponent could bribe some police officer to charge them or even delay them to alter the vote on the floor of Congress. We are really playing with fire here. Any opponent could conjure up some allegation to question a president and then indict him simply because they do not like what he proposes. They could have done that to Obama and his land deal in Chicago that simply looked like corruption. There were plenty of people who disagreed with Obama and his healthcare reforms. Obama’s polls were the worst since 1945. NOBODY tried to string together something to justify interrogating him and then try to charge him someway with a felony or perjury to remove him from office to stop his agenda. We have crossed all lines here this time and adopted a scorched earth policy to get Trump out of office.
The only way to remove a President is by Impeachment. The Constitution specifies under USCS Const. Art. II, § 4:
“The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors”.
Any official must be charged by the House and then tried by the Senate. There is no other process that would actually specifically authorize Mueller to indict Trump. That is not to say that they would not try to do so to influence political elections. There just seems to be some desperate movement here to overthrow Trump even if it destroys the Constitution. Normally, the Senate would have to impeach him and remove him from office and then Trump could be liable to trial and punishment in the courts for civil and criminal charges. We are dealing with a very risky attempt for if Mueller indicted Trump, it would forever alter the structure of government and probably end any democratic process. We are talking about impeachment of Trump because there is a 19-year cycle and the last was Bill Clinton who was charged in December 1998 by the House and led to a trial in the Senate for the impeachment on two charges, one of perjury and obstruction of justice. These charges stemmed from a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Clinton by Paula Jones. That is the precedent. Clinton was subsequently acquitted by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Therefore, 2018 is perfectly a 19-year cycle on the mark.
President Andrew Johnson found himself, like Trump, in direct confrontation with the Republican-dominated Congress who greatly opposed his Reconstruction program for the South after the Civil War. They called it the “Radical Reconstruction” by repeatedly overriding the president’s vetoes. Congress wanted to punish the south and grind them into the dirt much as the EU has been trying to do with Britain.
They could not remove Johnson from office but make any mistake about it, the calls to impeach Trump are because those who lost supporting Hillary just refuse to accept Trump regardless of what he does. (see Special Report on the Impeachment of Donald Trump)
This is the problem with the law. You can pass a law you cannot kill your spouse. You do and argue that you were never really married and are therefore innocent despite their death. Any attempt to indict Trump would be doing the same thing. It is the constitution forbid arresting a Congressman but it does not mention specifically a president. The Constitution is not a “collection of popular slogans. We are dealing with instruments of government.” Bridges v California, 314 US 252, 284 (1941). The Constitution is not to be interpreted as a means to an end to justify an immediate dislike for a President. It “is not the formulation of the merely personal views… ” Cooper v Arron, 358 US 1, 24 (1958).
We no longer appear to be a nation of laws. It seems we are degenerating into an angry mob and the danger is that such a twist of the law becomes precedent so any future president the opposition disagrees with can concoct a scheme to get rid of him. We then move into the danger of the collapse of Rome when leaders can be deposed at will. We are in danger of creating a really wild 2019 in the financial markets. Get ready. This is going to be really nuts. Proof of the Vertical Market of which I have warned about is just looking at the chart of the Venezuela share market. It has risen in proportion to the decline in the confidence of government reflected in the currency. We seem to be headed directly into a financial storm that few people will survive without understanding how markets even trade under such circumstances
Trump the Person v the President
Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics
Re-Posted Sep 6, 2018 by Martin Armstrong
QUESTION: I know you do not support Trump as an individual. It seems most Americans cannot look at this political crisis as detached as you do. They seem to think anything that says Trump is correct is interpreted as total support for Trump. From the other side of the pond, it looks like Americans have lost their minds. Is it some virus?
The real question is more self-interest as you say, Adam Smith. Do you think Trump’s fall will impact our markets in Europe as well beyond the United States?
JF, Frankfurt
ANSWER: People do not separate Trump the Individual from the President. They seem to think you can just chase him out of office and everything will be fine. This seems to be the brain-dead view on the Hill. But that is their self-interest speaking. They see Trump as an outsider and from that view they just want him gone and that includes many Republicans as well as Democrats. This crazy OP_ED illustrates the point. People hate Trump so much they look the other way entirely! This is very dangerous, to say the least. This view that if we just drive Trump from office everything will be back to normal is insane. We have crossed the Rubicon. There is no going back.
My concern is the OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENCY, not Trump!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Those who are so blind that they cannot distinguish between the two, that is what is really frightening. The way law is made is PRECEDENT. No president has ever been indicted and the question has been regarded as never decided. If you press this issue because you hate Trump, you then create the precedent that any president can be indicted and then you have destroyed the office of the Presidency. You will have to be crazy or purely corrupt where you own everyone as insurance to ever seek such an office. This is not good for the nation regardless who is in office. The Constitution forbids the arrest of any person in Congress on their way to the Hill. The Founding Fathers understood that you could arrest a member to prevent him from voting. The same principle applies to the President. This would be a case of first impression.
There is absolutely NO POSSIBLE WAY that Trump can be removed from office and there will not be a major disruption to the world financial markets. Removing Nixon set off the chaos of the 70s into the collapse in confidence of government that led right into 1980. Perhaps the fall of Trump is the final straw that brakes the confidence in government bonds. Certainly, career politicians will not curtail debt and they will probably increase it more. Interest rates will rise, that is certain and replacing the head of any state results in caution at the very least. Capital can just give up and run for the hills into equity and start selling government debt.
If we undermine the CONFIDENCE in the US government, with the rest of the world in a state of chaos, perhaps this is what the computer is projecting which honestly scares the hell out of me. We are opening a door that is not going to lead to a nice safe place. The future is absolutely not going to return to normal. Just not going to happen. What comes next? Authoritarianism? Historically, that is what follows. The People of Athens voted for Pericles. The Oligarchs hated him. They trumped up charges to put him on trial. They won and destroyed Athenian Democracy. Perhaps history will repeat?
Centinel2012 