March 4th – 2019 Presidential Politics – Trump Administration Day #774

In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

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This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

President Trump Twitter @POTUS / Vice President Pence Twitter @VP

Sarah H Sanders Twitter @SHSanders45

Monday March 4th – Open Thread

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

Rand Paul Announces He Will Vote With Democrats Against President on Border Emergency Declaration…

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul becomes the fourth republican to announce he will support a resolution to rebuke President Trump’s national security declaration at the Southern border.
Paul’s vote puts the Democrat measure over the threshold of 51 votes for passage in the Senate. For Senator Paul it is a matter of ‘muh principle’:

Kentucky – […] In a speech to the crowd of nearly 200 Republican officeholders and supporters at Western Kentucky University’s Augenstein Alumni Center, Paul interjected, in a speech devoted largely to praising the work of President Donald Trump, his opinion that Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the Mexican border is a dangerous precedent.

Senator Paul joins republicans Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Thom Tillis.  There could possibly be more.  The senate still doesn’t have the votes to overcome a veto threshold. However, that’s not the really frustrating issue here.  There’s something being entirely overlooked, likely intentionally overlooked.
President Trump isn’t doing anything new or unprecedented with the National Security declaration at the border.  In fact, back in July 2014 President Obama did the exact same thing.
President Obama and DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson were rebuked by congress when they asked for $4 billion in emergency appropriations for the southern border.  Sound familiar? Oh yeah, the parallels are striking. Because President Obama couldn’t get the funding for the border “crisis”, he declared a national security emergency and shifted funds from the Obamacare budget into the UAC program.  Here’s the fully cited reminder:
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HPSCI Chairman Adam Schiff Outlines Multi Faceted Impeachment Strategy: Obstruction, Money Laundering, Conspiracy, and more…

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff appears on CBS News to outline his role in the larger Pelosi impeachment strategy.
Each House Chairman: Schiff, Cummings and Nadler, have individual roles for their part of the larger impeachment narrative.  Chairman Schiff walks through his assignment:


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Sunday Talks: Extensive Devin Nunes Interview With Maria Bartiromo…

HPSCI Ranking Member Devin Nunes appears on Fox News with Maria Bartiromo for a lengthy twenty minute interview on multiple subjects.  The first half of the interview surrounds Michael Cohen’s testimony and morphs into the Steele Dossier.
The second half discusses AG William Barr, possible accountability measures and ongoing issues with the FISA process.  The final segment touches on Chinese cyber-threats and issues.


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The second half of the interview is below:
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Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows Inform AG William Barr of Compromise Within Mueller Probe…

While a letter from congress to the DOJ amounts to further process frustration for those who bear witness to the corruption that took place; there is a valuable dynamic at play  which may help answer whether AG William Barr is factually going to address corruption, or whether he is apt to just cover it up.
Representatives Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows send a letter (full pdf below) to AG William Barr questioning the independence of two members of the Mueller team, Zainab Ahmad and Andrew Weissmann.
Both Weissmann and Ahmad were involved in contacts and discussions with DOJ official Bruce Ohr as he transferred the Clinton/Steele dossier from his wife, Nellie Ohr, and from Fusion GPS into the FBI to advance a political investigation targeting Donald Trump.
[scribd id=400969471 key=key-UJ9cl2LPrcT3C6NjowpH mode=scroll]
Over time evidence has surfaced showing how a small group of approximately eighteen officials within the DOJ and FBI worked in concert with media and political operatives to target Trump for the benefit of candidate Hillary Clinton.
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Sunday Talks: Jim Jordan -vs- Chuck Todd…

Congressman Jim Jordan appears on NBC Meet The Press with Chuck Todd to debate the congressional testimony of Michael Cohen.
When it comes to issues surrounding the Clinton/Steele dossier it is quite remarkable to see how far Chuck Todd is willing to take his Mamet act: ie. pretending not to know things, because those things are counter to his necessary Trump-Russia narrative.
Jim Jordan keeps throwing facts at Todd, and Todd keeps ducking and jiving to avoid the sunlight.


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Sunday Talks: National Security Advisor John Bolton Discusses North Korea…

The administration’s media point person for discussions following the Hanoi Summit between President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un is National Security Advisor John Bolton.
Ambassador Bolton appears on the Sunday talk circuit to discuss the ongoing negotiations. As anticipated none of the interviewers focused on the Chinese aspect at all.  Don’t look for President Trump to respond to Chairman Kim directly; instead watch how President Trump’s entire team responds to China.  Chairman Xi Jinping controls Kim Jong-un.
Likely Treasury (Mnuchin) and State (Pompeo) will focus on DPRK sanctions violations; likely USTR (Lighthizer) and Commerce (Ross) focus on hard-line trade position; likely USTR, Commerce and State focus on tech issues (Hauwei and 5G) and pressure allies.  All of these targeted approaches rightly focus on China (cause), not North Korea (symptom).
Ambassador Bolton appears on Fox News:


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Ambassador Bolton also appeared on CBS (below):
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March 3rd – 2019 Presidential Politics – Trump Administration Day #773

In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

trump-president-3

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

President Trump Twitter @POTUS / Vice President Pence Twitter @VP

Sarah H Sanders Twitter @SHSanders45

Sunday March 3rd – Open Thread

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †