President Trump Delivers Remarks During White House Summit on Child Care and Paid Leave – Video and Transcript…

Earlier today President Trump outlined principles for common sense, innovative child care policy reforms and practices that increase access to quality care, choice, and flexibility for America’s working parents.  [Video and Transcript Below]
The booming economy and strong labor market are allowing Americans of all backgrounds to find work and succeed.  The Child Care and Paid Leave initiatives are designed to support the needs of the U.S. workforce and simultaneously support a strong family life.


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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) What a nice group. Thank you very much. Hi, everybody. Hi. Well, thank you very much. And I had a very busy time and a very busy day, and my daughter said, “You will be here.” So — (laughter) — that was the end of that busy day, right? When a daughter says, “You have to be here.” But she’s done such an incredible job.
So I want to thank Ivanka. And from the very beginning — (applause) — that’s true. Yeah. From the very beginning, it’s been an extraordinary — she has been so extraordinary, in terms of her advocacy for America’s working families. Fourteen million people she’s gotten jobs for, where she would go into Walmart, she would go into our great companies and say, “They really want help. They really want you to teach them,” because the government can’t teach like the companies can teach. And companies would take a half a million people, a million people.
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Wakey Wakey – Exit Polls Show Landslide Conservative Boris Johnson Win in U.K. Elections – Open Discussion Thread….

A “landslide”, a complete “wipe-out”, a “massive victory” appears looming for Boris Johnson and the conservative party in the U.K. if exit polls are accurate.

These blowout results guarantee a faster Brexit from the European Union and the leftist labor party in the U.K. has been crushed.  Conservatives look to have picked up 50 seats and Labor has lost 71 seats; the Scottish National Party (SNP) has picked up 20.
The “Remainers” in the U.K. have been decimated, and the voters who want to “Leave” the EU have fueled a massive victory for Boris Johnson.  Liberal heads are blown-out, bigly.

(Via Daily Mail) Boris Johnson hailed his new blue-collar Tory army tonight as it emerged he is on track to secure a staggering landslide in the election battle – with Labour’s ‘red wall’ of Brexit-backing strongholds imploding.

A dramatic exit poll shows voters handing the Tories a massive 368 seats, with Labour languishing on 191 – down 71 on 2017 and the worst performance in modern history.

The bombshell numbers would give a huge Commons majority of 86, the biggest since Margaret Thatcher’s triumph in 1987, and are equivalent to a 10-point lead in the popular vote. (more)

This result also has massive ramifications for a U.S-U.K trade deal; and subsequently major leverage for the U.S. (independently) and a U.S. – U.K. alliance in future trade negotiations against the European Union.
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House Impeachment Markup Hearing – 2:30pm Livestream…

The House of Representatives holds a markup hearing to assemble two articles of impeachment against President Trump.  Afternoon Session – 2:30pm
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DOJ Official Bruce Ohr is Not Fired, and That's Okay – For Now….

There are several dozen critical issues that stem from revelations about the DOJ and FBI conduct in/around the Carter Page FISA application (2017) and Steele Dossier writ large; but DOJ official Bruce Ohr still being employed isn’t one of them, and here’s why.

Bruce Ohr on right

What exactly would Bruce Ohr be held accountable for?
What Mr. Ohr did wrong was back-channel information from dossier author Christopher Steele into the FBI; made worse because this is after Chris Steele was persona non grata; and done by Ohr without telling his bosses at Main Justice.  Obviously, not good.
However, considering the time-frames of the FD-302 reports written by Ohr’s handler FBI agent Joseph Pientka, Bruce Ohr was channeling information into the Crossfire Hurricane team in 2017.  That same FBI team became the Mueller investigation FBI team, and from the 302 notes we know Ohr was channeling information from Christopher Steele into the Mueller team after the administrations’ changed.   Again, not good, but…
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Jim Jordan Delivers Remarks During House Impeachment Mark-up: "they don't like us, that's what this is all about"…

Representative Jim Jordan recaps the history of the investigative targeting of President Trump and the malicious partisan political impeachment.  “They don’t like us”… “that’s why they want to get rid of us”… “that’s why they want to weaponize the government”…


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You know why the entire apparatus is united against President Trump. You know why the corrupt Wall Street financial apparatus is united against President Trump. You know why every institutional department, every lobbyist, every K-Street dweller, every career legislative member, staffer, and the various downstream economic benefactors, including the corporate media, all of it – all the above, are united against Donald Trump.
Donald Trump is an existential threat to the existence of a corrupt DC system we have exposed to his disinfecting sunlight. Donald Trump is the existential threat to every entity who benefits from that corrupt and vile system.
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House Judiciary Committee Debates Articles of Impeachment – 7:00pm ET Livestream…

Tonight the House Judiciary Committee is urgently rushing to debate articles of impeachment against President Trump.  The hearing begins at 7:00pm ET.
♦Article One is “Abuse of power” – and structured on a false premise that President Trump “exercised the powers of his public office to obtain an improper personal benefit, while ignoring or injuring the national interest.”
♦Article Two is “Obstruction of Congress” – and structured on a ridiculous premise that President Trump “engaged in unprecedented, categorical, and indiscriminate defiance of the impeachment inquiry”, by challenging congressional subpoenas and seeking relief from the judicial branch.
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Horowitz Testimony: "The Only FISA We Found That Existed Was The One For Carter Page"…

Amid the investigative and research questions over the past several years, there was always a question about who, within the Trump orbit, may have been subject to FISA court authorized surveillance during their activity in 2016.
Because they were initially the four targets of the FBI investigation, there was speculation Paul Manafort, George Papadopoulos and/or Lt. General Michael Flynn were also subjects of Title-1 FISA Court authorized surveillance, in addition to Carter Page.
Today during his testimony, Inspector General Michael Horowitz specifically noted there was no other FISA application against any other campaign official. [See 05:23 of testimony to questions by Senator Chris Coons – prompted just hit play]:

“The only FISA we found existed was the one we have written about here as to Carter Page”…

That means all other FBI investigative evidence documented against Manafort, Papadopoulos, or Flynn had to come from some other method of surveillance.
This begs a significant question….
Carter Page was not associated with the campaign or transition after the election, so under what authority did the DOJ allow the Mueller team to gain access to all of the Trump transition emails, texts, electronic and phone communications?  (more…)

IG Horowitz Senate Testimony on FBI FISA Abuse During Election – 10:00am ET Livestream…

The Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing entitled “Examining the Inspector General’s Report on Alleged Abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act” will be held today at 10:00am Eastern.
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USTR Robert Lighthizer Delivers Remarks at USMCA Signing Ceremony in Mexico City…

U.S. Trade Ambassador Robert Lighthizer traveled to Mexico to put the finishing touches on the revised USMCA agreement.  Ambassador Lighthizer delivered remarks at the signing ceremony hosted by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer stressed the United States has a stake in Mexico’s success as representatives from the United States, Mexico and Canada gathered in Mexico City to sign modifications to the USMCA, a historic trade agreement.


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USMCA Gains Bipartisan Support in House – Senate Leader Mitch Jinping Says Not-so-Fast, Impeachment First…

It’s funny to watch this transparently predictable stuff play out in real time.
After Pelosi gives the nod for USMCA ratification in the House, Senate Leader Mitch McConnell declares he will not allow Senate support until he extracts his impeachment indulgency fees.

WASHINGTON (Reuters)Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday the U.S. Senate would not take up the USMCA trade deal next week before congressional recess.

The Republican leader said that trade deal likely will come up in the Senate after the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. McConnell said the Senate does hope to tackle the defense and spending bills next week. (link)

Too funny…. and way too predictable.
Now, if you are wondering what the heck is going on, it might be worthwhile to remember the question CTH presented about this dynamic last week:
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