The U.S. Embassy is remaining open and staffed; however, the State Department has requested all non-emergency U.S. government employees to leave Venezuela.  Additionally, the U.S. embassy in Caracus is warning all American citizens to “strongly consider” departing the country while commercial flights are still available.
The security concerns surround a possibility an increasingly isolated dictator Nicolas Maduro may retaliate against Americans in Venezuela. National Security Adviser John Bolton discusses the current status.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department on Thursday ordered some U.S. government workers to leave Venezuela and said U.S. citizens should consider leaving the country, a day after Washington recognized an opposition politician as Venezuela’s president.
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President Donald Trump delivers remarks after the Senate failed to pass legislation to fund government and provide border security.  The president reiterates the need for the border wall/fence, and says Senate Leader Mitch McConnell is negotiating with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for an interim compromise.

Yes, the most corrupt Senate committee; at the epicenter of the legislative corruption within the ‘spygate’ fiasco; joins the resistance effort, and files a subpoena to compel testimony from Michael Cohen.

It must be remembered that SSCI Chairman Richard Burr and SSCI Vice-Chair Mark Warner, have previously admitted they are closely coordinating their efforts with Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

(CNN) President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen was subpoenaed Thursday to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee in mid-February, a source close to Cohen told CNN.
It is not clear how Cohen will respond. The source said that Cohen has the same concerns regarding the safety of his family that led him to postpone his scheduled public appearance before the House Oversight Committee next month. Senate Intelligence traditionally does their interviews behind closed doors, not publicly.

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The McConnell (Republican) amendment to the appropriations bill which would have funded government, including funding for a border wall/fence, failed to pass the Senate.
One Democrat Senator (Joe Manchin) voted to support the republican plan.  Two Republicans (Mike Lee and Tom Cotton) voted against the Republican plan.
Next up…. The Chuck Schumer (Democrat) amendment to the appropriations bill, which would have funded government without including funding for a border wall/fence, also failed to pass the Senate.
However, six republican senators joined the Democrats: Lamar Alexander, Susan Collins, Corey Gardner, Lisa Murkowski, Johnny Isakson and Mitt Romney.
No Democrats voted against their plan.
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo goes one-on-one with Martha MacCallum to discuss his message to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and Trump’s approach to NATO.  This is a really strong interview.
Secretary Pompeo brilliantly outlines the value of the nation state, and the principle that when a coalition is formed all members within that coalition (ie. NATO) have a responsibility to participate.  Watch:

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen is scheduled to appear in front of the House Oversight Committee and Chairman Elijah Cummings on February 7th.   Cummings, Schiff and Nadler have a plan to use Cohen to build their political resistance effort.

However, today Michael Cohen, through his DNC handler Lanny Davis, attempted to back out of testimony by accusing President Trump of threatening him.

New York – “Due to ongoing threats against his family from President Trump and Mr. Giuliani, as recently as this weekend, as well as Mr. Cohen’s continued cooperation with ongoing investigations, by advice of counsel” he will postpone appearing, Lanny Davis said in a statement. “This is a time where Mr. Cohen had to put his family and their safety first,” Davis added. (link)

According to prior communication, as relayed by Representative Jim Jordan, Cohen’s lawyer, Guy Petrillo, said Mr. Cohen would not be able to discuss anything concerning the investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller.  [Mueller continues to be the shield] Therefore it would appear the Cummings committee intent is to script an impeachment or obstruction narrative without Cohen able to answer specific questions.
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Earlier today President Trump held a roundtable discussion on issues surrounding immigration and border security.  At the beginning of the meeting the media remained present as President Trump made some remarks and took some questions:

The Precursor – Yesterday there was a meeting at the White House between FL Senator Rick Scott, FL Governor Ron DeSantis, FL Senator Marco Rubio, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and President Donald Trump.  Florida is home to most of the Venezuela political exiles and opposition groups who oppose Venezuela’s dictator Nicolas Maduro.
Today, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president while surrounded by thousands of supporters. At a rally that brought hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans into the east of Caracas, Guaido said Maduro had usurped power and promised to create a transitional government that would help the country escape its hyperinflationary economic collapse.

“I swear to assume all the powers of the presidency to secure an end to the usurpation,” 35-year old Guaido, the head of the opposition-run congress, told an exuberant crowd.

Minutes later, U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Guaido as the legitimate interim president.
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White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivers remarks to the awaiting press pool on current events.

The House Judiciary Committee is the lead committee on the constitutional process to evoke articles of impeachment.  Jerry Nadler is the committee Chairman.  Speaker Pelosi previously created specific rules for the House in a well planned construct to empower three committee heads (Cummings, Schiff and Nadler) toward a narrow path.
Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings is leading off on Thursday February 7th, 2019, with testimony from Trump’s former legal counsel Michael Cohen.  It should be noted Mr. Cohen is being represented at the committee hearing by DNC operative Lanny Davis. However, Mr. Lanny Davis is not being paid by Mr. Cohen; he is being paid by democrat groups supporting the ‘resistance’ strategy.

The very next day, Friday February 8th, Nadler has scheduled the DOJ to appear for his first round approach in the legislative trident.   This is all being done by a well-crafted design.  Toward that end, today Chairman Jerry Nadler sends an anticipatory demand letter (full pdf below) to Acting AG Matthew Whitaker telling him the committee will not respect any claims of executive privilege between the DOJ and the White House.

Washington, D.C. –Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker outlining a list of prepared questions concerning communications between the Mr. Whitaker and President Trump in advance of the February 8th House Judiciary Committee hearing.

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