While I believe the remarks by Rod Rosenstein are being ridiculously taken out of context by dismissing the originating question, there is a solid argument to be made that enough is just simply enough with this *redaction* nonsense.
It is clear, the political left are determined to use Lawfare tactics to impeach President Trump and destroy anyone/everyone around him. Accepting this, and knowing the Lawfare scheme can only succeed in an environment of rumor, innuendo and false witness, the fastest way to destroy the narrative is full transparency.
President Trump’s aide Michael Caputo righteously told the corrupt Senate Intelligence Committee exactly what they deserved. Those who have followed the corruption within the committee, SEE HERE and SEE HERE, know exactly why this was needed.
~By Michael Caputo: ‘In 2009, my wife and I moved to my hometown of East Aurora, New York to have a family. Making far less money back home, we had a far better quality of life. That is, until the Trump-Russia narrative took off. Today, I can’t possibly pay the attendant legal costs and live near my aging father, raising my kids where I grew up.
‘Your investigation and others into the allegations of Trump campaign collusion with Russia are costing my family a great deal of money – more than $125,000 – and making a visceral impact on my children.
It was originally reported on April 30th, 2018, that Kim Jong-un had moved three U.S. nationals (w/ South Korean ancestry) from labor camps to Pyongyang where they were undergoing medical treatment, rehabilitation and rest in advance of a plan to be released.
Those initial reports are now being confirmed by alternate media sources. The original report from inside the DPRK stated they were “reportedly being prepared to be released to US authorities either prior to or on the day of the US-North Korea summit”; and the captives were being debriefed (“coached” or “indoctrinated”) to tell authorities their human rights were not violated during their stay in the DPRK.
(left to right) Kim Dong Chul, Kim Sang Duk, Kim Hak Soon
Kim Dong Chul, Kim Sang Duk, Kim Hak Soon are the names of the three hostages being released. Two of the captives, Hak-Soon and Sang Duk, belong to the Pyongyang Univ of Science & Technology and were taken in in Apr & May 2017: they’ve been held for a year. The third, Kim Dong Chul, is an ordained minister taken in 2015 when he was commuting to Rason from China and and has been serving a 10-year sentence on espionage charges.
Yesterday Texas and six other states filed a lawsuit against the the Trump administration over the Presidents’ failure to terminate DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals); an Obama-era program created through ‘executive action’ that allowed work permits and legal status for hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens brought to the U.S. as children.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Brownsville on Tuesday; asking the court to rule on whether President Obama’s 2012 decision to grant deportation protections and two-year work authorizations to young undocumented immigrants — without congressional approval — was lawful.
A similar program in 2014 known as DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans) was ruled unconstitutional in 2016. However, the first executive action, ‘the DACA policy’, has never been challenged in court.
Today, a judge was assigned by random draw for the DACA case, and universal karma has come full circle with the outcome. Federal Judge Andrew Hanen was drawn as the presiding judge for the DACA challenge.
It cannot be overstated how significantly damaging that judicial draw is to the activist groups who are trying to support the Obama Executive Action. Judge Andrew Hanen was the original judge on the 2015 DAPA challenge.
A great deal of excitement today centers around President Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence participating in a formal swearing-in ceremony for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. I must say, that’s more spirit that I’ve heard from the State Department in a long time — many years. (Laughter.) We can say many years, and maybe many decades. It’s going to be a fantastic start, a fantastic day. And that spirit will only be magnified, will only — with this man right here. I know that for a fact.
Ambassador Lighthizer comments on NAFTA prior to departing for China. In the auto sector, Mexico and Canada are still arguing for more Asian/Chinese parts for U.S. automobiles. The U.S. position is for higher North American content. Loggerheads.
I still find it stunning how many people cannot see the ridiculous side of the Mexican and Canadian position; and how that showcases the insanity of NAFTA. Can/Mex are not arguing for more Canada and Mexico content, they are holding out for more Asian content. Their economic models are nothing more than brokering the assembly of cheap Asian goods through their NAFTA access to the U.S. market. Ridiculous.
WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Tuesday that if a deal to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement cannot be reached with Canada and Mexico in about three weeks, its approval by the U.S. Congress could be in jeopardy.
Lighthizer said at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event that a deal to update NAFTA was needed quickly because of the lengthy notification process for congressional approval of trade deals.
In many regards the transfer of the CIA Director to the Position of Secretary of State is a natural continuum. Most career foreign office CIA operatives work under the auspices of being State Department personnel. The CIA and State Department are inherently connected.
[A familiar reference would be, the synergy of Leon Panetta and Hillary Clinton during their Libya and Syria operations in 2010, 2011, 2012.]
Today Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives at Foggy Bottom (State HQ) in Washington DC to meet the diplomatic corps. He delivered introductory remarks:
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[Transcript] DEPUTY SECRETARY SULLIVAN: Thank you. Thank you, everyone, for being here. It’s a great honor to be here to introduce our new Secretary of State. Before I do so, I wanted to thank all of you, each and every one of you, for your hard work over the last six weeks. The pace of world events doesn’t pause to allow the United States Government to change from one secretary of state to another, but it’s because of your dedication and professionalism that this department has continued to meet its mission for the American people. So thank you to all of you for all you’ve done the last six weeks. (Applause.)
House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte sends a letter (full pdf below) to Attorney General Jeff Sessions requesting an investigative review of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and the potential interference/influence by Principal Asst. Deputy Attorney General (PADAG) Matthew Axelrod.
In the letter Chairman Goodlatte references the previous Inspector General report which outlined an October 26th, 2016, conversation between Main Justice and the FBI about the investigation of the Clinton Foundation. The concern is undue influence by the DOJ over the investigation; potentially leading to a compromise of the investigation itself.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has requested another delay in the sentencing of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, citing the status of the special counsel’s investigation.
WASHINGTON DC – Lawyers for both special counsel Robert Mueller and President Trump’s former national security adviser want two more months until Michael Flynn is sentenced.
In a court filing in Washington on Tuesday afternoon, Mueller’s office asks for a postponement “due to the status of the special counsel’s investigation.”
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross discusses the ongoing trade initiatives with China ahead of the U.S. delegation departing later tonight. Secretary Ross, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, U.S. Trade Representative/Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, Economic Council Chairman Larry Kudlow and White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro are all heading to Beijing to meet with their Chinese counterparts.
Secretary Ross is like the Babe Ruth of trade-baseball. Wilburine has a way of taking complex issues pitched to him, and knocking them out of the ballpark with an extremely fast common sense bat. He makes it look effortless. Watch:
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Two quick thoughts. First, I think this is the first time every member of Team America (Ross, Mnuchin, Lighthizer, Kudlow, Navarro) has unified into one specific set of trade negotiations. That helps understand the scale of importance of the China trade relationship.
Second, there’s no traveling parallel contingent consisting of outside government members/advisers from of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This is a significant change from the past 30 years of Wall Street policy manipulation by the CoC. Many people may not be aware but until President Trump the U.S. government didn’t actually write the trade agreements.
For all prior administrations the actual negotiations and agreements were willingly sub-contracted out to U.S. Chamber of Commerce delegations. This is how the multinationals took control of trade policy and eventually the U.S. economy. CoC President Tom Donohue must be apoplectic now that he is facing an administration actually writing the trade agreements.
