According to numerous media reports Robert Mueller has empaneled a grand jury so that subpoenas can be dispatched to begin taking testimony in the ongoing investigation into Russian interference within the 2016 election.  Apparently Donald Trump Jr. in the first batch of recipients.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Grand jury subpoenas have been issued in connection with a June 2016 meeting that included President Donald Trump’s son, his son-in-law and a Russian lawyer, two sources told Reuters on Thursday, in a sign that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation is gathering pace.
The sources added that Mueller had convened a grand jury in Washington to help investigate allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. (link)

Attorney Jay Sekulow weighed in earlier (video below)
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The ongoing saga of intelligence community and DC government official leaks targeted to undermine the presidency of Donald Trump has created a large group of people wondering why Attorney General Jeff Sessions has done nothing about it.
In an effort to respond to the growing voices of inquiry the Attorney General and those who advocate on his behalf, has been teasing out a “leak  investigation” announcement for approximately three weeks.

The latest “DOJ announcement” date was established as tomorrow, Friday August 4th.  However, on the eve of the announcement the Department of Justice is positioning a lowering of expectations.

WASHINGTON – […] Sessions will be joined by Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and National Counterintelligence and Security Center Director William Evanina on Friday in Washington to discuss “leaks of classified material threatening national security,” the Justice Department said Thursday afternoon. (read more)

Tomorrow’s pending discussion marks the possible announcement that might actually lead to a future briefing wherein the DOJ could announce the potential for a formal investigation into a series of leaks that have damaged the Trump administration since he took office in January.  Fingers crossed.
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There is a considerable amount of visible internet and social media angst surrounding the National Security Council and staffing decisions made by National Security Advisor HR McMaster.   CTH has no insight into the inner workings of disagreements within the current NSC, however, with a modest amount of both skepticism and cynicism the current level of alarm appears over indulged.

Within any work group there’s going to be differences of opinion.  Within any national security working group there’s going to be ideological differences of opinion.  The issues are important and very complex.  The differences should never be dismissed or marginalized in their potential consequence.  That said, it’s not the differences of opinion that present problems – it’s when those differences become entrenched in opposition to the reason for the groups primary function.  That’s when differences become problems.
Consider the foreign policy proposals, and worldviews therein, of candidate Donald Trump and candidate Ted Cruz.  Now think about taking the foreign policy/NatSec principals from both candidate camps, and the outlooks carried therein, and put them into the same council chamber to hammer out papers of recommended action toward policy.
Can you see the structure for an underlying problem?  Now overlay the ideological interests of the institutional military with a healthy dose of both deep state and religious (centered principle outlook) career ideology, and you’ve got a recipe for disagreement.  Well, that’s essentially what I see when reviewing various media reports of internal group conflict points. (more…)

On December 12th 2014 the Republican controlled House of Representatives passed a 1,600 page continuing resolution, an “omnibus” spending bill of over $2 trillion dollars.  Every one of President Obama’s policy and agenda items was fully funded; including Obama’s executive action on immigration called DACA (Deferred Action for Children of Americans).

Approximately two months later, February 2015, the key-note speaker for the CPAC conference was Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan.  The same Paul Ryan who just passed a $2+ trillion Omnibus and eliminated the debt ceiling. At the conclusion of his speech over 1,000 members of the CPAC audience gave Speaker Ryan a standing ovation.
During a discussion of the irony and hypocrisy someone coined the phrase “Battered Conservative Syndrome” to describe the audience.   What, exactly, did that CPAC audience see as “conservative” in the fiscal action of Paul Ryan in the preceding two months?
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#NeverTrump Brent Bozell takes on #NeverTrump Jeff Flake.

“On behalf of my late father and my family, I am denouncing Senator Jeff Flake and his new book, dishonestly titled, Conscience of a Conservative.
Since entering the Senate in 2013, Jeff Flake has, time and again, proven he is part of the indulgent hypocrisy in Washington. While he waxes poetically about conservative principles, his Conservative Review Liberty score is an abysmal 53%, also known as: “F”. In 2013, I watched first-hand as Flake refused to sign a letter pledging to defund ObamaCare, among his many betrayals to conservatism. Jeff Flake is neither a conservative nor does he have a conscience.
As every conservative leader knows, my father, L. Brent Bozell, Jr., ghost-wrote Conscience of a Conservative for Barry Goldwater. While the Goldwater Institute may own the rights to the book’s title, neither the organization nor Senator Flake have the right to unjustifiably trade on my father’s work. Conscience of a Conservative is the greatest selling polemic in history, and Senator Flake is trading on its reputation to shamelessly promote himself and disguise his own conservative deficiencies. My father would be appalled to see this fraud as the author of the so-called “sequel,” which it most certainly is not.
The media need to know, when reporting on Senator Flake and his “book,” that the author is a deceiver out for personal and financial gain.  I also call on my conservative brethren to denounce this impostor, who dishonorably claims to speak for conservatism, in the strongest possible terms.”   ~ Brent Bozell
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There’s another “explosive” and “exclusive” article from the latest chaf and countermeasures unit, Sara Carter, reporting Ben Rhodes as a “subject of interest” for the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into ‘unethical’ and possibly ‘illegal’ unmasking.
Understandably all discussion, and likely a large segment of Sean Hannity’s TV show, will focus on the intended target of the newly drawn attention. However, what’s more interesting to those who look into the deep swamp is the identification of Carter’s sources: ie. who’s feeding her?

“according to congressional sources who spoke with Circa.”

Track down who those people are – and you’ll identify the motives therein. And I can guarantee you it has nothing to do with bringing justice upon the ‘unethical‘ and potentially ‘illegal‘ activity.
Remember, the staffers -writ large- for the House Intelligence Committee are people like the Awan Brothers crew.  Generally speaking the entire congressional staff, including the staffers with security clearances inside Intelligence Committees etc., are sympathetic to the interests of the Swamp, it’s simply a self-interest aspect.
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Today Secretary of State Rex Tillerson highlighted events over the past six months.  T-Rex takes another stroll around the globe discussing regional policy, specific state policy, and ongoing challenges.  Secretary Tillerson then takes questions from the media at the conclusion of his remarks.
Very informative. Very well worth watching (T-Rex Begins at 03:40):

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[*Note* We’ll capture and share transcript as soon as possible.]
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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson responds to criticism from inside the U.S. State Department –EXAMPLE HERE– stemming from the professional career bureaucrats who cannot accept a change in objectives within the Depart of State.

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Almost no-one has watched Paul Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, Eric Cantor, John Boehner AND republican leadership of the House Freedom Caucus admit they intentionally hide their support for amnesty and immigration reform because they know the electorate doesn’t support it.  Yet it’s right there on camera: video showing exactly that. –SEE HERE–
The video is highly controlled by PBS and Frontline (legal), and in my opinion tightly controlled because PBS fully understands what would happen if the story of republicans in that video reached the larger awareness of U.S. voters. –The Last Hour is Critical–
There is only one political party in Washington DC.  There are two wings, but only one political and ideological apparatus.  An accurate frame of reference for watching this border wall video released today from Paul Ryan is only possible with the understanding from that FrontLine video in 2014.  What you see below is 100% political manipulation:

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House Speaker Paul Ryan is attempting to pull off the Alex Castellanos strategy through the utilization of political policy; it’s a strategy the UniParty uses effectively.
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CTH doesn’t know enough about General John Kelly (specifically) to be overly concerned about his political influence as Chief-of-Staff.
However, CTH does know how the Administrative State operates, and therein everyone should watch closely and cautiously.
If the President becomes isolated from his base of support, and consequently removed from his campaign promises, John Kelly will be the cause.
The administrative state, facilitated by both Republicans and Democrat wings of the UniParty, have a descending list of priorities.  At the top of that list are: •continuance of the Multinational Corporate financial system, •crony capitalistic trade deals, •control over multinational banking systems, and •a porous U.S. border to include massive migration.
To facilitate and retain these priorities the President must be marginalized. To gain that marginalization the Deep State agenda is to isolate the existential threat that is Trump. One of the key indicators on John Kelly will be if the “physical structure” of the Southern Security Border Wall is abandoned.  That’s a tripwire to watch.

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