In November 2019 activist Federal District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson ruled former White House counsel Don McGahn must appear before Congress; however, she also ruled McGahn retained the ability to “invoke executive privilege where appropriate” during his appearance. The central issue is separation of power.

The White House appealed the ruling to the DC appellate court on constitutional grounds, and on February 28, 2020, a three judge panel from the DC circuit agreed with the White House position.  The House of representatives could have appealed the decision; however, instead, the main lawfare activist, House counsel Doug Letter, took a different approach and sought to argue the case based around their right to enforce a subpoena.

Today a politically divided DC appeals court panel ruled the House can’t go to the judicial branch to enforce legislative subpoenas because there is no statute giving the legislative chamber the authority to force the executive branch to enforce an action against its own constitutional interests.

DC Via Politico – […] “The decision is likely to spark a renewed debate over the House’s power of “inherent contempt” — its long-dormant ability to fine or jail witnesses who refuse to comply with its oversight requests.

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White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany provides a red-pill briefing from the Brady room.  [Video below – Transcript will follow]

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I have a standing rule never to write about current events in a state of anger; forgive me for violating my own standard… this is infuriating (albeit not unexpected).  The two-tiered judicial process to target a ‘transparently innocent’ man continues.  [Links Below]

As anticipated, on the last day prior to DC Circuit Judge Griffith departure, the DC en banc panel has rejected the Flynn writ of mandamus and now sends the case back to Judge Emmet Sullivan for final disposition.  One way of looking at this is the DC circuit attempting to save face for Judge Sullivan by granting him the ability to do the right thing.

Another way of looking at this is a judicial stall tactic allowing the case to drag on even further until after the election.  [60-page ruling pdf here – also available here]

As expected the majority of the panel hung their argument on the fact that Judge Sullivan had not yet ruled prior to the request for the writ of mandamus; and as an outcome Sullivan should be allowed to reach final disposition.  As noted: “we expect the District Court to proceed with appropriate dispatch“…

The unopposed motion to dismiss the case against Michael Flynn is now back in the court of presiding Judge Emmet Sullivan.

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ODNI John Ratcliffe made an interesting, frightening & stunningly open direct statement yesterday when he described intelligence evidence that China is putting on a full-court press against governors and local officials to retain their influence campaign in 2020.

Essentially what DNI Ratcliffe described boils down to Beijing threatening economic blackmail against U.S. officials who were comfortable being reliant on local Chinese investment and purchases of U.S. companies, assents and interests.

With that stark statement in mind; and keeping the full national security ramifications in the forefront; it is worth remembering a foreboding speech given by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in February.

This is specifically important now against the backdrop of how some U.S. politicians appear to be reacting to the COVID-19 challenges, perhaps even weaponizing the virus to achieve political objectives; and with a perspective toward the way media outlets, some businesses and many politicians appear to be influenced by China. The background context for this speech takes on an entirely new dimension.

Pompeo’s remarks were made to the National Governors Association (NGA) Feb 8, 2020; and there’s an interesting segment where Pompeo reveals his awareness of a list of U.S. governors compiled by China’s communist party; and their alignment with China’s interests. A transcript of the key excerpt from his speech is provided. WATCH:

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Former Acting DNI Richard Grenell appears on Sunday Morning with Maria Bartiromo to expand on the challenges facing current DNI John Ratcliffe.

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From the Office of Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe appears on Fox News with Maria Bartiromo to discuss latest events amid the intelligence apparatus.  Ratcliffe outlines his approach to foreign election interference as a national security threat.

Additionally DNI Ratcliffe discusses pending declassification of documents once it can be determined that such a release would not impede the investigation by John Durham.

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A fifteen year argument is finally over…. We win.  Most CTH readers probably don’t even remember the reason for the name: “The Last Refuge” upon this little corner of the internet.  However, for well over a decade we have tried to share the truth behind the financial mechanisms that run Washington DC; and the primary machine has always been a completely corrupt, deceptive and anti-American U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Against the entirety of the conservative media; and against the entirety of every organized group that ever attended CPAC; this website has attempted to educate people about the genuinely fraudulent purposes of the U.S. CoC and their President Tom Donohue.  I have written hundreds of articles over the years outlining “there are trillions at stake” and the elements of importance behind that statement.   Every single mainstream conservative voice has denied the truth; and likely most of them are probably on the CoC payroll.

Every former administration took massive payments from the CoC and allowed the Chamber to write trade agreements language for decades.  The CoC business model was to take payments from Wall Street multinationals and then write the agreements to their benefit.  Politicians were paid to keep quiet and support the CoC.  The chamber is the largest lobby organization in DC.  The chamber spends more money on influence than any other lobbying group by a massive amount.  The CoC is at the heart of DC corruption.

President Trump knew about the CoC business model; that’s why he never allowed them a seat at the ‘America First’ table.  That was the original source of our support for candidate Donald Trump.  And now, after a decade of our trying to highlight the CoC scheme and the reason for it; yesterday, the U.S. Chamber dropped their pretense and admitted they were now supporting democrats because the CoC effort can only succeed by destroying Main St.

WASHINGTON DC – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is poised to endorse nearly two dozen freshmen House Democrats for reelection, triggering a revolt within the right-leaning organization and drawing fierce push-back from the group’s powerful GOP donors.

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President Donald Trump accepts the republican nomination for President on the final night of the RNC convention.  In his remarks our president outlined his objectives and priorities for the next four years.

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Earlier today President Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence traveled to FEMA headquarters or a briefing on response efforts to Hurricane Laura.

[Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – ADMINISTRATOR GAYNOR: So, sir, again — Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, Secretary Wolf, welcome to FEMA and welcome to the initial brief for Hurricane Laura. And, sir, I’ll defer to you if you have any opening comments, and then we’ll move to the Secretary to get kicked off.

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The DOJ announced today they are requesting data from several states that mandated COVID-19 patients be sent into nursing homes.  “Data will help inform whether the Department of Justice will initiate investigations under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) regarding New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan’s response to COVID-19 in public nursing homes.”

[DOJ Press Release] – Today the Justice Department requested COVID-19 data from the governors of states that issued orders which may have resulted in the deaths of thousands of elderly nursing home residents. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan required nursing homes to admit COVID-19 patients to their vulnerable populations, often without adequate testing.

For example, on March 25, 2020, New York ordered: “No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to [a nursing home] solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. [Nursing homes] are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission.”

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