Federal Judge Morrison England from the U.S. District Court in Sacramento, California, has blocked the implementation of a California law intended to force President Trump to release his tax returns in order to qualify for the federal election ballot.
The judge agreed with the argument the U.S. constitution and federal law outlines the qualifications for office.  The California law is suspended pending appeal.

California – A federal judge on Thursday temporarily suspended a California law aimed at forcing President Donald Trump to release tax returns ahead of the state’s March 3, 2020 primary.
Trump’s lawyers argued in court Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento that the law was unconstitutional because the federal government has jurisdiction over requirements for candidates running for president.

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Michael Pillsbury traveled to Hong Kong recently to help explain the goals and objectives of President Trump’s U.S-China trade position.  During an interview, Mr. Pillsbury warns Beijing interests not to interpret the current U.S. position as aggressive, because the dragon has yet to see the severe side to Trump’s position.

During an interview with the South China Morning Post, Pillsbury points out there are a great many more ways that President Trump is prepared to respond if the combative trade position from China remains hostile to any concessions.  This first option was their best option.  However, should they choose further trade conflict, President Trump will happily oblige.
CTH research on Trump’s outlook, vis-a-vis China, has led us to believe there is no upper limit to the economic weapons President Trump is willing to deploy; and considering that Pillsbury can be relied upon to deliver honest, accurate and deliberate remarks about the White House position, these warnings from a close advisor to the President should be weighted accordingly.

(South China Morning Post) – The United States is set to ramp up the pressure on China if a trade deal is not agreed soon, a key White House adviser said, adding that Washington has so far imposed only “low level tariffs” on the Asian giant.

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To fully absorb the backstory to the latest allied effort between politicians and the intelligence apparatus, it is helpful to remember when the Vice-Chair of the SSCI, Senator Dianne Feinstein, abdicated her position after the 2016 election.

For years CTH has discussed the internal dynamic of Democrat politicians (legislative branch) working in concert with Intelligence Community (executive branch) officials to protect their interests. Ultimately the biggest example of this surfaced when Donald Trump won the 2016 election despite the efforts of the deep state. Trump became target #1.  Remember also, Feinstein’s chief-of-staff, Dan Jones, leaving and going to work on the outside including paying Fusion-GPS to keep up their efforts?
We have provided the trail of overwhelming evidence, showing how the intelligence apparatus writ large, including select members of the Gang-of-eight, were working with politicians (House and Senate) against candidate, president-elect and President Trump. No doubt the internal plans therein was a step too-far for Feinstein. She bailed.
However, Feinstein’s departure was only one aspect, there were many more – including: Senator Harry Reid working with CIA Director John Brennan on the dossier distribution (letter to FBI etc.); the 2017 censure of HPSCI Devin Nunes, after discovery of the Trump campaign unmasking etc; the 2016 use of FBI/NSA databases by political operatives and “contractors” to extract opposition research; and obviously the combined efforts of the CIA, DNI, FBI and DOJ in what is now known as “spygate”, the surveillance of the Trump campaign.
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Fox News host Maria Bartiromo had Kevin McCarthy and Larry Kudlow on Fox Business to discuss the status of ratification for the USMCA agreement.   After McCarthy outlines the politics of Nancy Pelosi intentionally holding back the ratification vote, and states if the agreement is not passed prior to Thanksgiving it will not be done, Larry Kudlow follows up with a more optimistic outlook.

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Keep in mind, Speaker Pelosi doesn’t know that close trade followers are aware of her deal with Justin Trudeau to hold back on ratification in an blatantly political effort. Here’s Kevin McCarthy’s full interview.
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Jim Jordan questioning IG Horowitz and cutting to the nub of the “matter”:

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Part II:
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While the Tick Tock club remains excited about another Horowitz report, Representative Louie Gohmert slaps the cold fish on the table…

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Promises made – Promises Kept…

President Donald Trump delivers remarks to the media today while touring border wall construction in Otay Mesa, California.   As a builder himself, the president outlined some of the more particular details of the construction project including the difference between compressive strength and tensile strength of 5,000/lb concrete.  There is apparently some additional aspects to the wall that are kept secret (they’re wired for sound).

The President was briefed on the project by Douglas Harrison (Acting San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent, United States Customs & Border Protection); Kathleen Scudder (San Diego Sector Deputy Chief Patrol Agent, United States Customs & Border Protection); Scott Garrett (San Diego Sector Division Chief, United States Customs & Border Protection); James O’Loughlin (Border Wall Program Lead, Emergency Action Programs, Department of Defense), and various local officials.
[Video Below, Transcript Will Follow]

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DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz testified before congress today on matters relating to the overall IG office.  However, with Democrat majority chairs refusing to call Horowitz for testimony on the recent Comey Report, republicans on the House Oversight Committee took advantage of the opportunity to ask questions about the FISA investigation and the prior IG reports on James Comey and Andrew McCabe.
The full hearing is below. However, to save time the key parts of the discussion are time sequenced and identified (each prompted, just hit play):
[@59:55] IG questioning by Rep. Hice begins to center on issues related to the IG report on FISA.  Mr. Horowitz discusses the current status of the FISA IG report as under rough draft review by AG Bill Barr, where decisions on classification are taking place.

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Chopper pressers are the best pressers; even when they are from the tarmac at LAX in California.  Moments ago President Donald Trump talked to the press pool with his newly named national security adviser, Robert O’Brien.  [Video below Transcript ADDED]

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. We’re with Robert O’Brien, who, as you know, is the new National Security Advisor. He’s worked with me for quite a while now on hostages, and we’ve had a tremendous track record with respect to hostages. Robert can tell you about it.
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Housing starts (and permits) have been a long-term key performance indicator for the economic stability and strength of Main Street USA for generations. Across all key metrics, the economics of middle-class America is defined by confidence in housing. A strong housing market reflects worker/purchaser confidence in their economic position.

The U.S. Commerce Department reports today that U.S. housing starts and permits has reached a 12-year-high. [data here] This is a key point because it cuts to the heart of the difference between a thriving Main Street economy and the disconnect surrounding issues with Wall Street (multinational) financial markets.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. homebuilding surged to more than a 12-year high in August as both single- and multi-family housing construction accelerated, suggesting that lower mortgage rates were finally providing a boost to the struggling housing market.

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