The New York Times (Matt Appuzzo & Adam Goldman) published an article yesterday citing a pending DOJ Inspector General Horowitz report that points the finger at former Asst. FBI Director Andrew McCabe for leaking information to the media.

Citing four people familiar with the IG inquiry, the motive for the New York Times is transparent. The “small group” of DOJ/FBI officials are trying to head-off the disturbing aspect to the IG outline and spin a false narrative.   However, our earlier research into the text messaging of Lisa Page and Peter Strzok, in combination with the leak in question to former Wall Street Journal reporter Devlin Barrett, allows us to see through the narrative.

The unnamed officials within the back-story, clouded by the verbiage in both the New York Times recent article and the Washington Post follow-up, are all ‘small group’ members: FBI Asst Director Andrew McCabe, FBI Agent Peter Strzok, FBI Attorney Lisa Page, FBI Chief of Staff Jim Rybicki and FBI Public Relations Director Mike Kortan.

Prior reporting showed Asst. FBI Director Andrew McCabe -along with the entire small group- became aware of the Clinton emails on the Huma Abedin/Anthony Weiner laptop on September 28th, 2016.  Attempting to protect Hillary Clinton, text messages showed McCabe and crew withheld that information for several weeks until October 28, 2016, when congress was notified and a public statement was made by Mike Kortan and FBI Director James Comey.

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This evening House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes sends a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions questioning the protocol and legality of a fraudulent FISA application submitted by the FBI.   This approach sets up AG Sessions to defer the legal framework to OIG Michael Horowitz, and establishes the public basis for parallel prosecutors within the DOJ.

However, keep in mind, it’s extremely likely, almost certain, these prosecutors already exist – they are already working with Horowitz.  Evidence of this is found in the memo quotes from Bill Priestap, but those not following the granular details are unaware.

In the letter to AG Jeff Sessions (full pdf below), Nunes is requesting the DOJ provide answers to what his committee calls “clear violations of FBI protocols” in obtaining the FISA Title-1 warrant against Carter Page on October 26th, 2016.

Chairman Nunes also wants to know whether guidelines embodied in the latest 2011 version of the bureau’s Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG), outlining what the FBI must do when submitting an application for a FISA warrant, was changed to allow the bureau to obtain a warrant with less evidence. “If not, what steps has the DOJ/ and FBI taken to hold accountable those officials who violated those protocols,” Nunes asks Sessions:

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MAGAnomics baby!!  Throw dem ju-ju bones out the windows and hold on to your britches…  The U.S. Dept of Labor is reporting unemployment claims have dropped to 210,000.  That’s the lowest jobless number since December 6th, 1969.

You know what this means right?

…wait for it.

…wait for it.

That’s right. We better grab chin straps for the hard hats, because pay raises and wage rate increases are thundering toward the middle-class like an unstoppable herd of buffalo. Exactly on schedule.  Cha-ching & Ka-pow.

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For those who follow closely the strongest argument against the U.S. trade and economic policies of the past 30 years has been the outcome. We don’t need to guess what the pro’s and con’s of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce position is, we are living them. We don’t need to guess what the Wall Street economy delivers, we are living through them.

For the past 30 years the U.S. has lost jobs, wages have been depressed, and the middle-class has suffered through the implementation of economic trade policy that destroyed the U.S. manufacturing base. None of this is in question – the results stare us in the face – yet the Wall Street and multinational corporate club(s) [U.S. CoC chief among them] now demand a continuance of the same.

The economic and trade policies of the Trump administration are adverse to those interests. As we have shared for several years, candidate Trump, now President Trump is an existential threat to the multinational program.

All opposition to President Trump is about the underlying financial and economic policy of America-First. There are trillions at stake.

Those who have read here will note the media are generally oblivious to America-First economic policies; this includes the financial media.

As an example today they are trying to figure out how Steel/Aluminum tariffs would work. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross stated clearly exactly how the Steel and Aluminum policy would be carried out; yet for the financial media they claim to be clueless. The level of intellectual dishonesty is off-the-charts.

The truth is, well, two points: •Point #1 – the media don’t want to know; they are committed to selling the prior policy. •Point #2 – there’s almost no-one within the professional economic punditry class who have ever given thought to what happens during the space between two fundamentally different economic policies as executed.

What happens in the space between taking the U.S. economy off the path of ‘service-driven-globalism’, and reasserting the economy back to a balanced ‘production-based national economy’? None of the key participants within the larger discussion have ever contemplated this dynamic.

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President Trump announces he is like to impose global tariffs on imported steel and aluminum – in a broad effort to ensure U.S. national security and manufacturing capacity within a very important industrial sector.

Earlier today President Trump appeared to be accepting Commerce Secretary Ross proposals for 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and 10 percent for aluminum.  It is likely the tariffs will apply globally to all imports because targeted national tariffs have not worked.  China ships their manufactured steel to another nation first in order to avoid the tariff.  As Secretary Ross has previously stated we end up with a whack-a-mole policy.   So likely the tariff will apply globally regardless of the nation shipping the product.

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The usual, the corporate GOPe and Chamber of Commerce politicians will go bananas.

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UPDATE: 5:00pm 3/1/18:  See NYT tweet

A day after Mayor Bill de Blasio named Alberto Carvalho as the next New York City schools chancellor, Carvalho rejected the offer https://t.co/AAsEbZHXJv

— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 1, 2018

According to the New York Daily News, New York Mayor Bill De Blasio has hired Miami Dade’s former school head Alberto Carvalho to be the New York School Chancellor. This will NOT end well.  New York parents likely have no idea who their mayor just hired.

In 2013 an investigation into the Miami-Dade School Police Department (M-DSPD) uncovered several police officers, and School Resource Officers, admitting to breaking the law because they were instructed to do so by M-DSPD Police Chief Charles Hurley.  During the investigation, Chief Hurley admitted to giving the police officers instructions to hide criminal conduct by students, because of specific demands by School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.

Alberto Carvalho is a very well connected political figure among Democrats.  [Carvalho also has a zipper problem] It was Carvalho’s program to use the police to inflate statistical improvements in schools that eventually led to neighboring Broward County doing the same thing in 2013.  Those policies directly led to the recent school shooting in Parkland.

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Boy howdy, it only takes a tweet from POTUS to get everyone fired up on the AG Sessions battle-front; including AG Sessions himself.  It seems, generally speaking, responses to the tweet vary in direct relationship to the disposition of the reviewer:

My personal view is somewhat different than most.  President Trump is highlighting a genuine frustration, not necessarily with Jeff Sessions per se’, but rather within the institution Jeff Sessions dutifully represents.  This is, after all, what happens when citizen government runs into the bureaucracy of the institutions.

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As U.S. Trade Officials meet with auto executives surrounding ongoing NAFTA sector negotiations, U.S.T.R. Ambassador Robert Lighthizer appears on Fox News to discuss ongoing trade initiatives with Laura Ingraham.

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It’s challenging to discuss the basic ‘fatal flaw’ within a modern NAFTA in a short discussion segment; however, Ambassador Lighthizer, Secretary Ross and the newly positioned Peter Navarro have a strong position for withdrawal.

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Earlier today Attorney General Jeff Sessions held a press briefing to announce the opioid task force (video below).  During the Q&A segment of the presser, Fox News Catherine Herridge asked AG Sessions if the FISA court abuses outlined by Chairman Devin Nunes, Chairman Bob Goodlatte and Chairman Chuck Grassley would be investigated by the DOJ.

Attorney General Sessions affirms the FISA court abuse by the DOJ and FBI will indeed be investigated and prosecuted and directed attention to Inspector General Michael Horowitz. [watch at 37:57 of video – prompted]

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However, this statement by Jeff Sessions IS NOT NEWS.  This is exactly what those who have followed closely will note has been the direction since mid-year 2017.  As AG Sessions affirms, IG Horowitz is NOT limited in scope.  Horowitz is investigating *all* avenues of politicization within the DOJ and FBI and abuse therein; this includes FISA abuse.

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Earlier today President Trump spoke candidly with the White House assembly of U.S. Governors about the critical need to re-evaluate their position(s) on trade.  President Trump’s remarks were direct, but also remarkably nuanced toward the audience.  However, if you follow Trump’s process, you’ll note the familiar indications.

Next, far less subtle and yet following along the same predictable process, the Wall Street Journal is reporting President Trump now promoting his economic guru Peter Navarro to be Assistant to The President.   Navarro is a brilliant and strategic trade hawk who has a long track record of supporting the same trade principles as Donald Trump.

A NAFTA decision/announcement looms. ♦ As expected and predicted, a recent phone call by Mexican President Pena Nieto to POTUS Trump didn’t end well. ♦ USTR Lighthizer blasted Canada at the end of round six NAFTA renegotiation. ♦  Placing Pete Navarro inside the circle puts him directly in the right place to speak on behalf of President Trump for an upcoming announcement.   All of these NAFTA exit indicators are great news.

Our wolverine team is growing.  Now we have Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Asst. To POTUS Peter Navarro, all assembled.

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