The timing, purpose and narrative engineering here are transparent in the extreme.
Tonight the New York Times (Schmidt and Haberman) write an article claiming to have exclusively gained portions of a transcript of a John Bolton book manuscript that was given to the White House National Security Council for pre-publication review.

Of course The Times attempts to frame the narrative around the need for John Bolton to testify in the Senate Impeachment Trial… all too transparent in motive. Timed to work around the House fraud; impeachment article construction without Judicial review for subpoenas; and timed to bolster House managers’ unconstitutional demand for Bolton as a Senate witness.  ADD: POTUS Responds:

However, setting aside the nothing-burger details of the book as leaked, the leak itself might now reconcile an earlier event.
Remember the issue a little more than a week ago when the National Security Council senior director for European and Russian affairs, Andrew Peek, was escorted from the White House grounds and is said to be under a security-related investigation?
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Mark Meadows and Trey Gowdy appear on Fox News with Maria Bartiromo to discuss their perspectives on the ongoing impeachment trial of President Trump.  Both Meadows and Gowdy point out the important aspect in HPSCI Chairman and Lead House Manager Adam Schiff constructing false information to continue an ongoing effort; that has never ceased since the original fraudulent claims around the Russia collusion conspiracy.
Mr. Gowdy notes the unusual 2020 narrative that running for office makes you immune from any federal investigative inquiry; and contrasts that position against 2016 where candidate Donald Trump was considered a viable target by the Obama administration.

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Several days ago we anticipated a potentially important point we hoped would start the impeachment defense for President Donald Trump.   Today, attorney Patrick Philbin delivered.  The issue is a critical constitutional component that needed emphasis, and it is good to see pundits finally starting to realize the significance.
White House Counsel Patrick Philbin explains why House subpoenas were illegitimate: the subpoena power was never authorized; the initiating subpoena power was never voted on.

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Additionally, and specifically by design, absent a penalty for non-compliance, which factually makes a subpoena a ‘subpoena’, the Executive Branch had no constitutional pathway or process to engage an appellate review by federal courts. Make no mistake, this was a pre-planned purposeful trick within the Pelosi, Schiff and Lawfare road-map.
The House motive here, the forethought within their design, is very important now because it explains why they are vociferously demanding witnesses in the Senate.  The House plan was to work around the ability of the executive branch to go to court. The managers are now attempting to execute that plan, along with a manufactured political talking point, in the Senate trial.
The House intended for this to unfold exactly as it is happening.
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Did the original scope memo from Rod Rosenstein in May 2017 authorize Team Mueller to investigate allegations in the Steele Dossier?…  Allegations that were already debunked by the FBI four months earlier in mid-January 2017?

There’s more than a little irony in this brief CNN soundbite where Evan Perez is discussing the FBI’s fraudulent FISA applications.  On January 10th, 2017, it was the same Evan Perez along with CNN’s Jim Sciutto, who were operating as conduits from the FBI ‘small group’ to push the Steele Dossier as a valid investigative document. {Go Deep}
Evan Perez, Jim Sciutto, Jake Tapper and Carl Bernstein were working together with the FBI group headed by James Comey, to push the legitimacy of the Steele Dossier.
While the CNN crew was coordinating with the FBI; literally two days before the FBI renewed the FISA warrant on January 12th; and shortly after CNN pushed the narrative; FBI agents visited the U.K, interviewed Steele’s primary sub-source and determined the dossier was garbage.   It was the Steele Dossier being identified as garbage that made the FISA renewals invalid…. the same Dossier that Evan Perez was promoting in 2017:

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Inspector General Michael Horowitz informs us in his report the FBI determined the dossier was bunk “shortly after” the January 12, 2017, FISA renewal.
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President Trump personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani appears on Fox and Friends to discuss the scale and scope of corruption he has identified within the story of how Joe Biden and Hunter Biden laundered money from Ukraine for their own financial interests.
Giuliani highlights a January 2016 meeting in the White House between Eric Ciaramella (2020 CIA Whistle-blower) while on the National Security Council, and several members from the former Ukraine government, where the Obama administration and Ukraine officials entered into an agreement to frame dirt against Donald Trump and his campaign.

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Rudy Giuliani Website Launch HERE

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A good reminder of what we can expect when President Trump’s defense team has their first opportunity in five months to defend him.  During a broadcast segment on ABC news reporters in the Capitol were interviewing President Trump defense attorney Jay Sekulow.
Back in the ABC studio, Clinton operative George Stephanopoulos did not want to see ABC broadcasting statements from the defense and he is caught on camera using hand signals to tell the producers to cut-off the broadcast.   Stephanopoulos realized he was caught:

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An interesting ruling, brief and order from the FISA Court (Judge Boasberg) released today [pdf here] reflects an admission by the DOJ the 2nd and 3rd FISA renewal against U.S. person Carter Page were invalid.

The “DOJ assesses that with respect to the applications in [April and June 2017] “if not earlier, there was insufficient predication to establish probable cause to believe that [Carter]Page was acting as an agent of a foreign power.””

The original FISA application was October 21st, 2016.  The first FISA renewal was January 12, 2017 (84 days from origination).  The second renewal was April 7, 2017 (85 days from prior renewal).  The third renewal was on June 29th, 2017 (83 days from prior renewal).
The DOJ has now attested to the FISC the FISA application on April 7, 2017, and the FISA application of June 29th were invalid.  However, the DOJ has not taken a position on the validity of the original application, Oct 21, 2016, or the first renewal of January 12, 2017.
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Many people are becoming aware the Senate impeachment trial is an exercise in politics, nothing more.  The votes are already decided; the trial is simply a pantomime.
To highlight the point, Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, simply walked out during the trial when Adam Schiff was testifying; said “goodnight” and just went home.
Washington Post congressional reporter Paul Kane noted:

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To assist in page-load-time we’re breaking up the Senate Impeachment discussion threads.
There will be 24 hours of presentation by House Impeachment Managers (over 3 days); 24 hours of presentation by Defense team (over 3 days); 16 hours of Senate questioning; 4 hours of closing arguments, equally divided; and then a Senate debate/vote on further motions to include witnesses. If there are going to be witnesses, they will first be deposed prior to testimony. No witness testimony will be permitted without first being deposed.
The Senate Trial continues today with the second session at 3:50pm EST, continuing with with opening arguments by House Impeachment Managers.
PBS Livestream Link – Fox News Livestream Link – Fox Business – CSPAN Link

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Day one recap:  A series of 11 rules amendments were offered by Democrat Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.  Each proposal was defeated individually during 13 hours of arguments and debate.  The final rules package, which passed 53-47 at 01:45am this morning, is almost identical to the original draft presented by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.  The only change was spreading the 24hrs over three days instead of two.
There will be 24 hours of presentation by House Impeachment Managers (over 3 days); 24 hours of presentation by Defense team (over 3 days); 16 hours of Senate questioning; 4 hours of closing arguments, equally divided; and then a Senate debate/vote on further motions to include witnesses. If there are going to be witnesses, they will first be deposed prior to testimony. No witness testimony will be permitted without first being deposed.
The Senate Trial Begins again today at 1:00pm EST, starting with opening arguments by the House Impeachment Managers.
PBS Livestream Link – Fox News Livestream Link – Fox Business – CSPAN Link

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