Never let a crisis go to waste… And right on cue the Democrats in Washington DC see an opportunity to use the Coronavirus as a tool to spend and expand dependency initiatives.
One of President Trump’s biggest and non-discussed success stories has been his economic policy initiatives allowing people to be financially secure, independent and non-reliant on government hand-outs.  However, the financial health and success of Americans is adverse to the political interests of Democrats who structure all of their policy objectives upon creating a dependent citizenry.
Weaponizing Coronavirus now becomes a tool for House Democrats to push-back against economic freedom; diminish the last several years of independence; and return to the era where more people become dependent on government.

It is not a question of “if legislation will happen”, it is simply a matter of “what” legislation will look like.  What elements will the Democrats attempt to exploit most?  The answer is very predictable when looking at their preferred approach.
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The media is attempting to initiate panic about the Coronavirus in 2020 the same way the media attempted to manufacture panic about an upcoming U.S. recession in 2019.  The level of panic pushing is over-the-top ridiculous.  Congress is now considering legislative action to include payments for people to stay home & expanded food stamp distribution.
Vice-President Mike Pence and the COVID-19 task force will be delivering the latest information via a press briefing at 5:30pm  UPDATE: Video Added

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The White House Coronavirus Task Force includes: Vice President Mike Pence; Ambassador Debbie Brix, White House Corona Virus Response Coordinator; Secretary Alex Azar, Department of Health and Human Services; Dr. Robert Redfield, Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. Anne Schuchat, Principal Deputy Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. Stephen Hahn, Commissioner of Food and Drugs, Food and Drug Administration; Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
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An assembly of government reports and public records now indicates a political exploitation of the NSA database, for weaponized intelligence surveillance of politicians, began mid 2012.  After an initial attempt to exploit IRS records, the legal tool used to access the NSA database was the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.
With research files on the ’15, ’16 and ’17 political surveillance program; including information from the Mueller report and information from the IG Horowitz report; in combination with the Obama-era DOJ “secret research project” (their words, not mine); we are able to overlay the Obama-era domestic IC operations & gain a full understanding of how political surveillance was conducted over a period of four to six years.

The FISA-702 database extraction process, and utilization of the protections within the smaller intelligence community, became the primary process only after a previous DOJ effort ran into trouble. The established record from the 99-page FISC opinion rendered by Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer on April 26, 2017, helps explain the details.
I would strongly urge everyone to read the FISC report (full pdf below) because Judge Collyer outlines how the DOJ, which includes the FBI, had an “institutional lack of candor” in responses to the FISA court.  Very specifically, the court outlined how the Obama administration was continually lying to the court about both their activity, and the rate of fourth amendment violations for illegal searches and seizures of U.S. persons’ private information. These violations continued for multiple years throughout Obama’s terms.
Unfortunately, due to intelligence terminology Judge Collyer’s brief and ruling is not an easy read for anyone unfamiliar with the FISA processes outlined. The complexity also helps the media avoid discussing, and as a result most Americans have no idea the scale and scope of the issues. So we’ll try to break down the language.
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In November of 2019 buried deep in the congressional budget Continuing Resolution (CR) was a short-term extension to reauthorize the FISA “business records provision”, the “roving wiretap” provision, the “lone wolf” provision, and the more controversial bulk metadata provisions [Call Detail Records (CDR)], all parts of the Patriot Act.  As a result of the FISA CR inclusion the terminal deadline was pushed to March 15, 2020.

~ Something has to happen this week

The Senate is scheduled to recess March 13, 2020.  Additionally, the DOJ/FBI response to the FISA court order (due February 5th) has still not been made public.  If congress is going to reauthorize the controversial FISA provisions, they now have only *FIVE* days; and the good news today is Doug Collins confirming the House does not have enough votes to support a “clean reauthorization.” Hopefully, that means FISA is going to change.

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According to Senator Rand Paul, President Trump is committed to seeing that FISA is not reauthorized without “significant” reform. Senator Paul has proposed to significantly change the FISA process by forcing the DOJ, FBI and Intelligence Community to apply for search and surveillance warrants to Title-3 courts in order to access any NSA database containing private information of American citizens.
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An interesting on-the-fly interview with Mark Meadows on the topics of FISA renewal and the nomination of John Ratcliffe for DNI.  The incoming White House chief-of-staff notes an internal executive debate is still happening about how best to reform the FISA process as it is used upon/against American citizens.
AG Barr, Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham insufferably want a clean renewal.  President Trump, the righteous House team and Senators Paul, Lee and Cruz want far more substantial reform.  Senator Paul has the best proposal which is to force the DOJ, FBI or domestic intelligence apparatus to go before a traditional Title-3 court any time a U.S. citizen is identified as a target for surveillance.  Save FISA for foreign targets.
Additionally, Meadows notes the shift in support for John Ratcliffe as DNI comes as an outcome of SSCI Chairman Richard Burr likely supporting the nomination.  Unspoken, albeit obvious implication: McConnell green-lighted Burr to support Ratcliffe.

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This afternoon National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow discusses the jobs report, coronavirus fears, the Federal Reserve, and the steps the Trump administration is taking to address the illness.  Two background issues should be noted:
First, the Wall Street multinationals are starting to propose that the federal government should be considering ‘bailing them out’. The Coronavirus is hurting business operations overseas, and the corporations who left the U.S. to exploit overseas profits are now asking for a “bailout”. No way, no how, it should never be considered.
Secondly, there are politically manipulative localized regions, under the control of Democrats, that are cancelling public events under the auspices of Coronavirus containment. In many cases these control agents appear to be making efforts to disrupt localized economies; and create a wider, weaponized, economic impact. Watch which areas cancel which events and you will see a pattern of left-wing control of the area (ex. Miami-Dade FL, Austin TX, Chicago IL, Seattle WA, etc.)
The administration needs to be smart and wise to the underlying efforts. Shut up and listen to Trump; he’s got this. Here’s Kudlow:

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Earlier today New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo complains to the media about only getting $35 million in initial emergency funding for Coronavirus impacts.  WATCH:

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Last night CTH did our first review of the $8.3 billion COVID-19 appropriation as it passed through congress.  It is loaded with pork spending and foreign aid.  The bill was $7.8 billion at the beginning of the day and ended with $8.3 billion on final passage.
The emergency Coronavirus appropriation passed 96-1 in the Senate. The Senator voting against the bill was Rand Paul of Kentucky.
The foreign aid section is roughly $3 billion of the spending.  Senator Rand Paul proposed an amendment to rescind unobligated balances of current foreign aid appropriations because so much new money is being spent on this bill.  His amendment was defeated.
Here’s the breakdown:
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U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams appeared for an interview this afternoon to discuss the coronavirus along with ongoing efforts by the administration to address illnesses and continue proactive containment.  [COVID-19 Website Here]
General Adams emphasizes “keeping things in perspective” and apply common sense approaches that everyone should follow: Wash hands frequently; cover your cough; clean household surfaces with disinfectant, and maintain good personal hygiene standards.

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Representative Doug Collins appears with Lou Dobbs to discuss the expiring FISA authorization and a push by some in DC for a clean renewal instead of structurally changing the FISA system to prohibit abuse.
Additionally, Mr. Dobbs asks Collins about Mitch McConnell’s back-room effort to block his senate campaign.  McConnell has a well-used playbook he deploys to retain power at all costs and select candidates that will be indebted to his Senate schemes. Doug Collins is up against the same Senate machine readers here are very familiar with:

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The White House Coronavirus Task Force includes: Vice President Mike Pence; Ambassador Debbie Brix, White House Corona Virus Response Coordinator; Secretary Alex Azar, Department of Health and Human Services; Dr. Robert Redfield, Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. Anne Schuchat, Principal Deputy Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. Stephen Hahn, Commissioner of Food and Drugs, Food and Drug Administration; Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Earlier today Vice-President Mike Pence and the COVID-19 task force held a press conference. [Video Below]

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