Today begins day five of the House impeachment hearings.  Testimony today will include Fiona Hill, President Trump’s top adviser on Russia; and David Holmes, a very sketchy State Department fellow whose wife, Stephanie Holmes, also works at the State Dept; holding a previous assignment with former Ukraine Ambassador Yovanovitch.
The foreign service office is one big internecine anti-MAGA network of mutually aligned career interests, and hard-core political operatives.  The fiasco starts at 9:00am EDT
Fox News Livestream – Fox Business Livestream – PBS News Livestream

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Thanksgiving will be here before you know it. Stella has a post on desserts up and I’m looking forward to finding some new favorites. Help us out and don’t forget to share them over there for her people too.

In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

President Trump Twitter @POTUS / Vice President Pence Twitter @VP

Stephanie Grisham Twitter @StephGrisham45

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

Attorney General Bill Barr has vociferous praise for FBI Director Christopher Wray and his team at the premier investigative agency in the world.  The FBI previously dispatched seven agents, three snipers, a full SWAT unit, two MRAP armored vehicles and an amphibious assault unit for a 5:00am raid on the home of Roger Stone.
Meanwhile the AP is reporting today how the FBI politely requested an interview through CIA agent/whistle-blower Eric Ciaramella’s lawyers last month, and the interview never happened:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI last month requested an interview with the whistleblower whose complaint fueled the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump and Ukraine, a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday.

An agent from the FBI’s Washington field office reached out to the whistleblower’s lawyers last month to seek an interview about the substance of the complaint, according to this person, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the request with The Associated Press.

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Earlier today President Trump traveled to Austin Texas to participate in the grand opening of a new Apple Inc. manufacturing facility.  President Trump has worked closely with Apple CEO Tim Cook to promote America-First manufacturing.
During the visit President Trump delivered remarks on current events and took questions from the traveling press pool.  [Partial Video and Full Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] –  THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. It’s an honor to be here. We’re seeing the beginning of a very powerful and important plant. And anybody that followed my campaign, I would always talk about Apple — that I want to see Apple building plants in the United States. And that’s what’s happening. And having — Tim Cook is somebody that I greatly respect — a great leader, a great businessman. And it’s a very special day. For me, this is a very special day.
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Last month Nikki Haley purchased a $2.4 million home in Kiawah Island, Charleston county, South Carolina (link).   Nikki Haley released her book “With All Due Respect” on November 12th (link).  Mrs. Haley also took a position on the board of directors for Boeing Co, likely an extension of success for her prior efforts recruiting Boeing to the state. (link)
The board position, home purchase and book tour follows a very predictable pattern for those who follow GOPe politics closely.  Indeed, there is speculation Nikki Haley was/is positioning for a 2024 presidential bid; speculation that generally aligns with the pattern.

However, there are some recent Big Club moves that indicate a slightly different timeline; perhaps a dual-purposed timeline.  [All citations embedded] Ambassador Haley has launched a Super-PAC [FEC Registration ID C00679472]  called “Stand For America“.  SuperPAC’s are not required to file extensive information.
In addition Haley has launched a similarly named Stand For America website (LINK) with the accompanying 501-c(4) non-profit status; and launched the accompanying traditional source & social media affiliates [ YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram ] you would expect to see with an advanced political campaign.
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After careful use of breaks to extend testimony; provide mid-morning and mid-day press statements by impeachment Chairman Adam Schiff; and maximize the manipulation of Ambassador Sondland’s testimony, the impeachment committee gavels back into session late in the day to continue their construct.
For this late evening session two deep state operatives, Laura Cooper, Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Ukrainian and Eurasian affairs and David Hale, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, continue the impeachment effort:
Fox News Livestream – Fox Business Livestream – PBS Livestream Link

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Representatives Jim Jordan and Elise Stefanik lead a press conference at the conclusion of Ambassador Sondlan’s testimony.
The first session of todays House impeachment inquiry concluded with representatives saying the witnesses had served only to highlight fundamental problems in the case against President Trump.

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Representatives Michael Turner, Jim Jordan, John Ratcliffe and Elise Stefanik question the multitude of contradictions present in the testimony of Ambassador Gordon Sondland.
Michael Turner called Sondland’s testimony “somewhat circular,” and questioned the ambassador’s assertion that “everyone was in the loop.”

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Additionally, Rep. Jim Jordan questioned Gordon Sondland about his testimony there was a “quid pro quo” in which U.S. aid and a White House meeting were contingent on Ukraine agreeing to investigate the 2016 elections and the Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
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