U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hold an off camera press conference to debrief media on the sideline discussions within the G20 meetings.   T-Rex outlines the content of the Trump/Putin meeting at length.

President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for 2 hours and 15 minutes extending their conversation by four times the length anticipated.  Both leaders covered a lot of geopolitical ground. The length of the meeting has U.S. media in meltdown mode.

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*Note* Until today virtually no-one was emphasizing the important role of Secretary Mnuchin amid all of the international issues. Again, we remind everyone, against international finance issues -including economics- Mnuchin plays the largest national security role in the cabinet. Tillerson, Mnuchin, Ross, Mattis, Kelly et al are all in sync with the larger President Trump approach toward ‘America-First’ policy and security.

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U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin as apoplectic international media cling on every syllable.

*Noted* Our President wears American Flag lapel pin. All G20 leaders wear G20 commemorative pin.

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Earlier today President Trump spoke at the Three Seas Initiative Summit in Warsaw Poland. Energy use via gas pipelines from Russia is a strong factor in the Baltic states political relationship.

President Trump presented the opportunity to create economic and political breathing room by affirming the U.S. willingness to export LNG (liquified natural gas) to the region.

“Let me be clear about one crucial point. The United States will never use energy to coerce your nations, and we cannot allow others to do so,” President Trump said at a press conference flanked by European leaders. “You don’t want to have a monopoly or a monopolistic situation.”  (NBC article link)

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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson delivered a statement on the situation in Syria just prior to leaving for the G20 Summit.  That statement surrounds the reality that ISIS is almost defeated, they are down to less than a few miles of occupied space within their control.  That statement follows the video.

En route to the G20, and against the backdrop of the released statement, Secretary Tillerson delivers a short presser about expectations of the discussion between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin:

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State Department Statement – Rex Tillerson: Before I depart for the G20 summit in Hamburg, I would like to comment on the current situation in Syria, which is a topic the President will raise in his meeting with Russian President Putin.

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Sharing only because CTH readers have a more thorough understanding than most; and we are entering a phase of extreme consequence.

Donald Trump doesn’t bluff.

Bluffing is for those who accept they may or may not win.  The outcome is based on an unpredictable response from the opponent.

In business or in life, go review the decades of available information and you will see that Donald Trump, now President Trump, doesn’t bluff.  It’s one of the reasons he so openly owns the downsides.  It’s also the reason he has never engaged in the stock market.

President Trump controls outcomes.

Donald Trump the person, doesn’t wait for an entity, ally or opponent to enter his orbit. He greets them at the perimeter.   Trump doesn’t sit with his back to the door, he positions to see all upon entrance.   Donald Trump doesn’t try to hide his interest, he’s quite open about any engagement he is focused upon.

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U.S. Officials are now confirming the North Korean missile test was an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The ICBM, which is believed to be “two-stage,” officials said, would have a range of at least 3,500 miles, and thus be capable of reaching Alaska. (NBC link)

This launch represents another escalation by Kim Jung-Un in his ongoing quest for long-range intercontinental ballistic nuclear missiles.  The ICBM test is another in a series of violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning the launches, and is simultaneously a slap in the face to Chinese President Xi Jinping who is presumably trying to get North Korea to back down.

China’s support of North Korea will become even more of an issue with the increased escalations.  Understanding the perspective of President Donald Trump toward these events, we would/should anticipate a series of economic actions by the U.S. administration against China.

The U.S. cannot focus exclusively on North Korea, their enablers must be targeted for corrective leverage. Economic sanctions can increase internal regional pressure.

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President Trump and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke at length today in advance of the upcoming G20 summit in Hamburg Germany and they set up a pre-summit meeting for Thursday.   President Trump leaves for Europe this Wednesday 7/5/17.

President Trump is expected to promote U.S. natural gas exports (LNG) during a scheduled enthusiastic visit to Poland.  Fraulein Merkel is not happy; not one little bit.  Merkel wants EU to buy LNG from Russia.

There’s a massive amount of irony in the narrative that Merkel is the savior of global leftist ideology yet she wants to be even more cozy with Russia for energy.  Meanwhile, regarding President Trump, the Merkel supporting left is on an anti-Russia crusade.  Go figure.

(Via Reuters)  […] Europeans will be watching to see whether Trump clarifies his administration’s position on a new pipeline to pump Russian gas to Germany, known as Nord Stream 2.

The U.S. Senate in June passed a package of sanctions on Russia, including provisions to penalize Western firms involved in the pipeline. The new sanctions have stalled in the House of Representatives.

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As storms and high winds disrupt the summer vibe in Moscow, Moscowvites are forced to take evasive action to avoid the onslaught of runaway porta-potties in Red Square.

Yikes.

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The Associated Press becomes the latest news organization attempting to distance themselves from the ‘Vast 2016 Russian Election Conspiracy Theory’ narrative, otherwise known as ‘muh Russia’.  [LINK]

Obviously posting their “clarification” over six months of Fake News citations, late on a Friday night leading into a holiday weekend shows the slyness of the creeping toward the exit.  Nothing to see here folks, move along, move along; pay no attention to the creepy journalists hugging the walls slinking off… nothing to see here.

This latest AP walk-back follows on the heels of the New York Times exit a few days ago.

Both corrections reference a Russian Election Interference Joint Analysis Report, widely called the “Russian Intelligence Report”, which has been falsely used by most media to frame a narrative that 17 agencies within the U.S. intelligence community agreed that Russia attempted to interfere with the U.S. election.

It is not coincidental the two most politicized intelligence operatives, John Brennan (CIA) and James Comey (FBI), presented the information along with like-minded political traveler ODNI James Clapper. While Admiral Mike Rogers (NSA) is also included in the report authorship, it is largely -and intentionally- overlooked that Rogers only held a “moderate confidence” in the overall report finding. It was Brennan and Comey who claimed “high confidence” in the report content.

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An interesting New York Times “correction“ appears today providing yet further evidence of a convenient retreat from six months of media propaganda.

The correction references a Russian Election Interference Joint Analysis Report, widely called the “Russian Intelligence Report”, which has been falsely used by most media to frame a narrative that 17 agencies within the U.S. intelligence community agreed that Russia attempted to interfere with the U.S. election:

(Link)

The Times Correction somewhat opaquely clarifies that only the CIA (Brennan), FBI (Comey) and NSA (Rogers) participated in the December Intelligence Analysis that underwrites the overall report.  ODNI (Clapper) is a hub for gathering and sharing information and does not generate intelligence as an entity in/unto itself.

It is not coincidental the two most politicized intelligence operatives, John Brennan (CIA) and James Comey (FBI), presented the information along with like-minded political traveler ODNI James Clapper. While Admiral Mike Rogers (NSA) is also included in the report authorship, it is largely overlooked that Rogers only held a “moderate confidence” in the overall report finding. It was only Brennan and Comey who claimed “high confidence” in the overall report content.

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