There’s a clear set of battle lines now evident amid the ongoing political and legal dynamic:  Nadler, Pelosi, Lawfare and the Deep State media -VS- Durham, Barr, Trump and the MAGA movement.
Playing directly into this dynamic today Obama appointed Judge Beryl Howell has ruled (full pdf below) an impeachment by unilateral decree is constitutionally valid; and as an outcome House Judiciary Committee Jerry Nadler can have access to some of the Mueller grand jury material that was used as evidence in the “Mueller-Weissmann Report”.

It’s important to note Judge Howell granted access to only that grand jury material that was used in the Mueller Report, not a blanket authority to gain all witness testimony or grand jury material writ large.  However, having said that, the most troubling part of the decision is the background construct of the Weissmann team’s original objective.
From the outset; from the moment they started; from day number one; Weissmann, Lawfare and crew (Mueller was a special counsel figurehead only) always intended for the grand jury material to be handed to Chairman Jerry Nadler for the specific purposes of writing articles of impeachment.   This is absolutely critical to remember.
The originating goal was to use the special counsel investigation to assemble evidence of obstruction. Then to frame the assembly of all evidence toward the future goal of writing articles of impeachment.  This was the sole purpose of their coordination with Lawfare.
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Ms. Maria Butina, a young Russian idealist who was caught up in the 2016 election frenzy and the vast Russian conspiracies, had strong connections to high powered Russian oligarchs.
Today she was released from federal prison and immediately deported back to Russia.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Convicted Russian agent Maria Butina was released from a Florida prison on Friday after serving most of her 18-month sentence for conspiring to influence U.S. conservative activists and infiltrate a powerful gun rights group, and taken into custody by immigration officials to be deported to her native country. (read more)

Ms. Butina pleaded guilty in December 2018 to one count of conspiring to act as a foreign agent and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.  However, the under-reported backstory to the 31-year-old Russian is actually connected to the 2016 election and FBI efforts to weaponize Ms. Butina as a FISA-enabling virus.
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Chopper pressers are the best pressers.  Earlier today President Trump stopped to answer questions from the assembled press pool as he departed the White House.  [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Hi, everybody. Hi. How are you? So, the stock market is doing very well. The economy is booming. We have a new record in sight. It could happen even today. But we have a new stock market record. I think it’ll be about 118 times that we’ve broken the record. Jobs look phenomenal.
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Representative John Ratcliffe is one of only four House members who have reviewed every known classified document surrounding the 2016 political surveillance, Spygate and the use of the FISA court; including John Brennan’s two-page ‘electronic communication’ that started the FBI investigation.  So when John Ratcliffe is discussing what potential criminal activity John Durham is investigating and he says “FISA act and court“, that specific use of wording is subtle like a brick through a window to those who follow closely.
Everyone is aware that IG Michael Horowitz is looking at the Carter Page FISA application and potential misrepresentations to the FISC; that’s the “FISA court” part.  However, no-one has even hinted that anyone in government might be looking at the FBI abuse of the NSA database; and/or the outlined surveillance violations by Judge Rosemary Collyer; which would fall under the “FISA act” part.   Interesting word choices.  WATCH:

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In a lengthy court filing surrounding the issues of Brady discovery material, Mike Flynn’s lawyer, Sidney Powell, drops some serious evidentiary bombshells on the court.  Ms. Powell brings Lady Justice to the courtroom, and her revelations are stunning. [Full pdf’s below]

We’re going to go through the primary filing and four exhibits to the evidence Attorney Sidney Powell is delivering to Judge Emmet Sullivan which contain some explosive discoveries.  Toplines including:
(1) Lisa Page edited the Flynn 302’s, then forgot when questioned by DOJ officials, then re-remembered when shown her texts. (2) The 302’s themselves were written with lies that do not match notes taken during the interview. (3) The felony leaker of the Flynn-Kislyak phone call is named (James Baker). (4) New texts from Page and Strzok that highlight the entrapment plan. (5) ODNI James Clapper telling WaPo reporter Ignatius to “take the kill shot on Flynn“. (6) The purposeful use of Judge Contreras to take the December 1st 2017 plea agreement; and much, much more.

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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 †

The reaction from CNN to news that U.S. Attorney John Durham is now conducting a criminal investigation is actually quite funny when contrast against their positions in 2017 and 2018.  Jeffrey Toobin doesn’t have any idea about the background of Joseph Mifsud, and his narration is a jumbled mess of dissonance: “clearly no evidence” he proclaims.
When Weissman and Mueller were traveling the world to investigate Trump-Russia it was an example of prudent and thorough investigative approaches.  However, Durham and Barr doing the same thing is an example of the most horrific investigation imaginable.  When Mueller sent a subpoena it held a seriousness that could not be ignored; however, if Durham sends a subpoena, everyone can just shrug-it-off and “take the fifth”.
Accordingly, Weissmann & Mueller opened investigations, the targets were automatically guilty and should be alarmed.  However, when Durham & Barr open investigations, it means nothing to the targets and not even the possibility of guilt.  Meanwhile, former ODNI James Clapper’s muttering responses are, well, also quite humorous. WATCH

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This would appear to be one of the few positive indicators that AG Bill Barr and U.S. Attorney John Durham are indeed doing more than bondo.  The New York Times is reporting the Durham “review” has now officially moved into a full “criminal investigation”.  [All emphasis mine]

WASHINGTON — For more than two years, President Trump has repeatedly attacked the Russia investigation, portraying it as a hoax and illegal even months after the special counsel closed it. Now, Mr. Trump’s own Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into how it all began.

Justice Department officials have shifted an administrative review of the Russia investigation closely overseen by Attorney General William P. Barr to a criminal inquiry, according to two people familiar with the matter. The move gives the prosecutor running it, John H. Durham, the power to subpoena for witness testimony and documents, to impanel a grand jury and to file criminal charges.

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A letter from DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz provides both good news and bad news.   The goods news is Horowitz letter says likely no need for a “classified version” which means AG Bill Barr likely declassifying a lot of it.
However, the bad news is on page #2 where Horowitz says the final draft assembly is still ongoing, and the “review phase” has not yet begun.  Which means the report is not likely to be made public before Thanksgiving.
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