Robert Mercer the multi-billionaire hedge fund co-chief of Renaissance Technologies; owner of Breitbart media; previous backer of Ted Cruz and currently reformed supporter of President Trump is making significant moves.
The overarching direction of the repositioning appears to be common sense. The end result, at least from a 30,000 ft level, positions Mercer toward the pragmatic MAGA Trump movement (CTH perspective) and politely distanced from the gnats and Bannon Bros.

Mr. Mercer sent a letter to his hedge fund principles (investors and pension advisers) notifying them of his stepping down from Renaissance Tech, including the board of directors, though he will remain deeply involved in the research and analytics side of the operation.
Additionally, Mercer appears to have caught-on to the general direction where the gnat swarm was/is headed and is now distancing himself from the nuttery side of right-minded political engagement.  Mercer is shifting controlling ownership of Breitbart media to his two daughters.  This is good news for team common sense and bad news for the hungry gnats.
In a very rare statement attributed directly to Mr. Mercer, he explains his perspectives on Steve Bannon and how despite the general agreement on intent, the methods and approach by Bannon is not always in alignment with Mercer’s own outlooks on politics.
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More MAGA winning today as another senatorial blockage in the swamp is cleared. Senator Jeff Flake announces he will not seek reelection.

Toodles !

Senator Jeff Flake told The Arizona Republic ahead of his announcement that he has become convinced “there may not be a place for a Republican like me in the current Republican climate or the current Republican Party.” Gee, ya think?
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If you thought paying for four simultaneous committee investigations into the vast 2016 ‘muh Russia’ conspiracy was enough effort for your money; well hold on… they’re not done…
Not only did DC throw in a special counsel investigation, just because your worth it; but they’re not done yet…  For a limited time, if you act fast, you too can own another brand new set of joint committee investigations tailored only for this special Flak and Countermeasures offer. Act know, because this offering will surely last forever.
That’s right, House Republicans have opened a joint investigation into the Justice Department’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, the lawmakers announced Tuesday. Brilliant. Congress, via the House, will now be investigating the investigators; and if we’re lucky, and if Bob Corker can double the value prior to departure, the Senate will soon follow and investigate the investigation of the investigators.

How lucky are we? Six, that’s right, SIX launched congressional investigations, with the possibility of two more coming soon. Allow yourself to relax and forget you don’t have healthcare coverage; forget “Repeal and Replace”. Enjoy the freedom from focusing on those pesky “budgety things”; sip slowly… ah yes, the joyful life of willful ambivalence where worries of tax reform simply melt away into the obsequity of the swamp.
The just announced probes will be conducted by two congressional panels responsible for overseeing the Justice Department and government operations in general. The investigators will review then-FBI Director James Comey’s various decisions pertaining to the Clinton investigation, such as his unusual announcement that she should not face indictment. But they will also review whether the Justice Department erred in its handling of investigations pertinent to President Trump’s campaign.
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President Trump became the first sitting president to deliver a speech at the Value Voters Summit in Washington DC. The Summit is a gathering of faith-based leaders and political voices from within the faith-based community.
President Trump had spoken at the Summit twice before, including his attendance as the 2016 Republican presidential nominee. His address today at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in DC was his third at the Summit and the first for a sitting president.

[Transcript] 10:22 A.M. EDT – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Tony. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. You know, I’ve been here before. (Laughter.) You do know that. Before the big day on November 8th, I was here. I want to thank Mark Meadows and all of the folks that have really made this possible. And, Tony, tremendous guy.
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The issues outlined in this article about Philadelphia are systemic and intentional “glitches” in other states motor-voter laws.   CTH has previously received first hand information with a technology insider who explained how the programming on one states motor-voter system was intentionally created to allow voter registration when the checkbox was left blank on the eligibility question.
Additionally, California has a motor-voter system that was intentionally changed in 2016 to block the cross-referencing of issued “non-citizen” drivers licenses with the secretary of state’s voter registration files.   There are multiple states and municipalities who intentionally construct electronic voter registration programs with the intent to allow illegal aliens to vote.
Philadelphia is definitely not alone.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt says a glitch in the state’s “motor-voter” process has allowed non-U.S. citizens to register to vote, even though he thinks they did so accidentally.
The glitch has had no impact on elections, as the number of people mistakenly registered was small, but Schmidt thinks that statewide there could be many more and he wants the state to review registrations. He also wants it to cross check all active voter registration records against all current PennDOT records containing INS Indicators.
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Zogby Analytics is out with a new survey of 1,300 “Likely Voters” and shows President Trump’s approval numbers are climbing and now around 45%.  However, the interesting aspect of the survey is the groups showing the highest gains in approval.
It won’t surprise you to discover the strongest gains in support for President Trump can be found amid the middle-class and working population of the U.S.  Those who are benefiting the most from Trump’s America-First Main Street economic policy are the constituent group with the largest gains in support.
Highlights:

♦Trump’s approval numbers have moved up slightly, especially among his base and a few other sub-groups not known for their support of the president.

♦When it comes to party, President Trump’s numbers are steady among Republican likely voters; he has a 76% approval/22% disapproval rating among Republicans, which is almost identical from our July poll. Among Independents, Trumps numbers have improved nearly seven points to 40% approval/50% disapproval. The president’s numbers are still down among Independents from a few months ago.

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Kayleigh McEnany [@kayleighmcenany] left her job as CNN contributor to take on a role for the Donald Trump campaign.  From a production office in Trump Tower Ms. McEnany now will be a spokesperson for delivering news and information as it relates to President Trump.

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions Deputy Attorney General, Rod Rosentein, appears on Fox News Sunday to discuss leak investigations and the ongoing Mueller probe into the 2016 election.
If special counsel Robert Mueller finds any crime outside the scope of the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, then he’ll have to seek permission, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said.

If there’s evidence of a crime that’s found within the scope of what they have agreed, then Mueller has free rein, Rosenstein explained. If it’s outside the scope of the probe, then “he needs to come to the acting attorney general, at this time me, for permission to expand his investigation,” he added. Rosenstein noted this as a precedent, which was also followed by independent counsel Ken Starr during the Clinton years.
Reports have come out over the past couple months about how the probe is investigating Trump for obstruction of justice, and that Mueller has impaneled grand juries, capable of issuing subpoenas.
These reports and more have relied on anonymous sources, against whom Rosenstein cautioned could be unreliable. He dubbed these reports, “speculation in the news media.”
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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…)

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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