Judge TS Ellis sentenced former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort to 47 months in prison for tax evasion and bank fraud.  The sentence is considerably less than federal prosecutors had sought. The judge said he believed the recommended sentence of 19-24 years would be “excessive”.
(Via Associated Press) 6:59pm EST –  Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been sentenced to 47 months in prison for tax and bank fraud related to his work advising Ukrainian politicians.

Judge T.S. Ellis III imposed the sentence Thursday, capping the only jury trial following indictments stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
A jury last year convicted Manafort on eight counts, concluding that he hid from the Internal Revenue Service millions of dollars he earned from his work in Ukraine. (link)

Ohio Representative Jim Jordan appears on Laura Ingraham show to discuss the National Security Emergency at the U.S-Mexico border and the Pelosi impeachment plan.

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Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham appears with UniParty apologist Martha MacCallum for a discussion about current political events and challenges for President Trump.
According to Senator Lindsey Graham, President Donald Trump and Senator Graham spent an hour-and-a-half discussing challenges including the ongoing border crisis.

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HPSCI Chairman Adam Schiff and Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler are hiring members of the anti-Trump “legal resistance movement”, ie Lawfare, to fill their key investigative staff roles.
Chairman Schiff announced his hiring of former SDNY U.S. Attorney Daniel Goldman today [See Here].  The associated network surrounding Goldman is filled with familiar names and ideological alignment.  The Schiff hiring of Goldman follows on the heels of Chairman Nadler hiring Obama Administration lawyer Norm Eisen and criminal defense attorney Barry Berke [See Here].

A brutally obvious aspect to this is how all of these Trump-hating characters have interests, multiple tiered conflicts, and are vested in the outcome of the congressional investigation of President Trump.  Heck, many of the players being absorbed by the congressional team staff are direct or indirect stakeholders in the investigative outcome.  Thus we see a typical Lawfare control pattern.
The appointment of Robert Mueller was primarily a shield against discovery of Obama White House, DOJ and FBI misconduct of historic proportions.  Mueller’s team was/is comprised of many active participants in the weaponization of government. The Mueller probe was/is a tool to defend themselves from exposure.
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Earlier today President Donald Trump hosted an annual gathering for the National Association of Attorneys General.  Video and Transcript)

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[Transcript] – State Dining Room, 4:30 P.M. EST – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Please. Thank you very much. I’m very honored to welcome our State Attorneys General back to the White House.
We were together last year, and I said, “I’m inviting you back.” And a lot things have been done, a lot of progress has been made. And, Vice President, thank you very much for being here. You were here last year and we’re here again, Mike.
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House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler has produced his committee witness list to initiate the predictable groundwork for his ‘impeachment’ process.  Pelosi’s trio of organized co-horts Schiff, Cummings and Nadler each have a role in the process.
Chairman Nadler provides some specifics within his planned approach, announcing three investigative prongs: ¹Obstruction of Justice; ²Public Corruption and ³Abuses of power.

It seems Nadler will tackle the “obstruction” aspect; Cummings will specialize on the “public corruption” angle and Schiff will likely tackle the “abuse of power” approach.

Washington, D.C. – Today, House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) unveiled an investigation by the House Judiciary Committee into the alleged obstruction of justice, public corruption, and other abuses of power by President Trump, his associates, and members of his Administration.  As a first step, the Committee has served document requests to 81 agencies, entities, and individuals believed to have information relevant to the investigation.

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Interesting to note.  Though it’s not really a surprise, many thought former AAG Matt Whitaker would be retained within the DOJ in some anti-corruption capacity/effort; that is not the case. It would appear AG William Barr did not make an effort to retain him.

WASHINGTON DC – Former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has left the Justice Department. Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec says Whitaker’s last day was Saturday.
Whitaker was replaced last month when William Barr was confirmed as attorney general. He became a counselor in the associate attorney general’s office. (more)

HPSCI Ranking Member Devin Nunes appears on Fox News with Maria Bartiromo for a lengthy twenty minute interview on multiple subjects.  The first half of the interview surrounds Michael Cohen’s testimony and morphs into the Steele Dossier.
The second half discusses AG William Barr, possible accountability measures and ongoing issues with the FISA process.  The final segment touches on Chinese cyber-threats and issues.

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The second half of the interview is below:
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While a letter from congress to the DOJ amounts to further process frustration for those who bear witness to the corruption that took place; there is a valuable dynamic at play  which may help answer whether AG William Barr is factually going to address corruption, or whether he is apt to just cover it up.
Representatives Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows send a letter (full pdf below) to AG William Barr questioning the independence of two members of the Mueller team, Zainab Ahmad and Andrew Weissmann.
Both Weissmann and Ahmad were involved in contacts and discussions with DOJ official Bruce Ohr as he transferred the Clinton/Steele dossier from his wife, Nellie Ohr, and from Fusion GPS into the FBI to advance a political investigation targeting Donald Trump.
[scribd id=400969471 key=key-UJ9cl2LPrcT3C6NjowpH mode=scroll]
Over time evidence has surfaced showing how a small group of approximately eighteen officials within the DOJ and FBI worked in concert with media and political operatives to target Trump for the benefit of candidate Hillary Clinton.
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Congressman Jim Jordan appears on NBC Meet The Press with Chuck Todd to debate the congressional testimony of Michael Cohen.
When it comes to issues surrounding the Clinton/Steele dossier it is quite remarkable to see how far Chuck Todd is willing to take his Mamet act: ie. pretending not to know things, because those things are counter to his necessary Trump-Russia narrative.
Jim Jordan keeps throwing facts at Todd, and Todd keeps ducking and jiving to avoid the sunlight.

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