Don’t get so caught up debating the granular issues over ‘muh Russia’ that you fail to elevate and see the landscape from the 30,000 ft. level.   The Rosenstein/Mueller move today is all about protecting the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) from President Trump (declassification threats); and it was specifically scheduled, timed, to be launched today as Trump leaves for the G20 to achieve maximum political damage.

Michael Cohen pleads guilty today (full pdf below) to lying in written testimony to the SSCI:

(WaPo) […] Cohen admitted as a part of his plea that he lied in part to “minimize links” between the Moscow project and Trump, and in hopes of limiting ongoing probes into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. Prosecutors said in court documents that he discussed efforts to obtain Russian government funding for the project as late as June 2016 and discussed the status and progress with Trump more than he had previously told congressional investigators. (more)

This power-move by Mueller and Rosenstein (the small-group teams within the construct and not just the individuals), is another move with a similar motivation to the plea agreement over SSCI security director, James Wolfe.  Whitaker is powerless to stop it. Rosenstein and Mueller are protecting their allies in the most corrupt committee in DC.
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The New York Post has an article today, surrounding an interview with President Trump, where the topic of declassifying the evidence behind ‘Spygate’ surfaced.
To say there is a massive schism amid supporters of the President on this issue would be an understatement.

On one hand the declassification would potentially, and finally, outline the scale of the FBI/DOJ politicization and weaponization of intelligence against the President – exposing the entire ‘spygate’ scandal in all its glory.  On the other hand that potential is also seen as political leverage against the schemes of DC and all the characters.
Here’s the quotes that matter:

(New York Post) […]  “If they go down the presidential harassment track, if they want go and harass the president and the administration, I think that would be the best thing that would happen to me. I’m a counter-puncher and I will hit them so hard they’d never been hit like that.”
“I think that would help my campaign. If they want to play tough, I will do it. They will see how devastating those pages are.”

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Outgoing U.S. Senator Jeff Flake from Arizona has given the American electorate the big middle finger for Christmas.  Flake has followed-through on his vow to block more than 20 judicial nominees; forcing the Senate Judiciary Committee to abandon six federal circuit court nominees, and 15 federal district court nominees.

WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) announced Wednesday that he is canceling votes on nearly two dozen of President Trump’s judicial nominees that were expected to come up in the Judiciary Committee this week.

The cancellation of the committee’s Thursday business meeting comes as Senate Republicans are in a standoff with outgoing Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who has vowed to oppose all court picks until he gets a vote on legislation protecting special counsel Robert Mueller.

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers remarks to the media following a briefing of senators on Capitol Hill.  The media was primarily focused on the issues surrounding the murder of Kashoggi; and the opportunity to create a wedge issue for the Trump administration.
Many Decepticon senators, benefactors from Qatari (Muslim Brotherhood) financing against the policy of Saudi Arabia, are aligned with left-wing opposition to the President on this issue. Instability in the middle-east is a very lucrative business model for personal financial gain.

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UPDATE: Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith easily wins: 55-45

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Left-wing U.S. media heavily-pushed a transparently sketchy story today about Paul Manafort meeting and coordinating with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in 2013, 2015, 2016.  The story has the same vibe as the Steele Dossier: long on innuendo, sketchy sourcing and an over-the-top narrative; in short, nonsense (Screengrab below).

Within minutes, the left-wing U.S. media began gleefully pushing the narrative.  However, almost simultaneously, all of the principal participants said the Guardian story was entirely made-up and had no basis in fact.
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Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, National Security adviser John Bolton and National Economic Council Chairman Larry Kudlow hold a very important press briefing from the White House.
Chairman Kudlow discusses current economic issues, and the upcoming possible trade discussions with China at the G20 meeting in Buenos Aries, Argentina. At 19:00 minutes NSA John Bolton takes over to discuss the scheduling details of the G20.  [Interesting trilateral mentioned: Trump, Modi and Abe] At 30:00 minutes Sarah Sanders takes over.

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You might remember the journalist delivering the ground report here.  His name is Gadi Schwartz, and he was the guy who did the ground report outlining how the FBI completely botched the investigation of the New Mexico jihadist compound [Reminder Here]
MSNBC was constructing a very specific narrative about the make-up of the migrants who attempted to cross the U.S. border when they asked Gadi Schwartz to explain what he was seeing on the ground.  The answer didn’t support the narrative.  Watch:

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You know the media is in a completely failed state of operations when the rare highlight moments are because they accidentally tell the truth.
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Donald J. Trump holds a campaign style rally at the Tupelo Regional Airport in Tupelo, Mississippi, hoping to help republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in the special election being held tomorrow.  The anticipated start time for President Trump is 6:00pm EST.
The political corruption & internecine GOP political constructs in Mississippi is legendary. This is Haley Barbour territory.  Ms. Hyde-Smith was a life-long democrat who voted for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton (switched parties 2010). The Mississippi republican machine selected her to replace Thad Cochran; Hyde-Smith took the GOP appointment, and now President Trump campaigns for her.  That’s the Mississippi GOP in a nutshell.
RSBN Livestream Link – PBS Livestream Link – GST Livestream Link – Alternate Link

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The Ukraine/Crimea/Russia crisis flares up again today as Russia blockaded the Sea of Azov then fired upon three Ukrainian naval ships who attempted passage Sunday.  After wounding several sailors, the Russians then seized the three boats; igniting another crisis between the two countries and initiating an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting tomorrow.
The EU and NATO alliance will likely call for U.S. assisted military intervention of some sort.  The structure of the Ukrainian government is full of western intelligence assets; and once again we can expect the professionally republican and professionally democrat to unite in common cause and demand we go to war….

(Reuters) Russia’s FSB security service said early on Monday its border patrol boats had seized the Ukrainian naval vessels in the Black Sea and used weapons to force them to stop, Russian news agencies reported.
The FSB said it had been forced to act because the ships – two small Ukrainian armored artillery vessels and a tug boat – had illegally entered its territorial waters, attempted illegal actions, and ignored warnings to stop while maneuvering dangerously.

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