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 †

Finally…. F.i.n.a.l.l.y, Devin Nunes outlines the origin of the spying operation as it began in 2015 and extended into 2016.  During an interview to discuss his criminal referrals to Attorney General Barr [see here] Devin Nunes outlines the big picture.  WATCH:

[Transcript @02:08] Devin Nunes:  “Well Sean, let’s just, let me make it as clear as I possibly can. Okay, and now, thank God, we have an attorney general who calls spying for what it is.”
“In late 2015, early 2016, spying began on the Trump campaign.”
“That information leaked; that led to, what they consider to be, “legal spying” that began, that they’ve acknowledged that they started doing in the end of July; you just had Carter Page on; they considered that all “legal spying.”

(more…)

Trey Gowdy appears on Fox News to discuss the current issues and political arguments around “spying” -vs- “wiretaps and surveillance”.  This interview is not quite as noteworthy as one Gowdy gave yesterday… however, the notation about someone wearing a wire into the Trump campaign is interesting. Both interviews are worth watching/mining:

.
Last night Trey Gowdy gave an interview that was much more interesting.  In last nights interview Gowdy discusses the two-page EC and FBI origination documents he reviewed where the “Trump Campaign” was outlined as the target:
(more…)

There is considerable interest surrounding a federal indictment (full pdf below) of President Obama legal counsel Greg Craig today for lying to federal investigators about his lobbying efforts for Ukraine.  However, some of the details within the indictment are being conveniently glossed over.  First the DOJ announcement:

WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury today returned an indictment charging Gregory B. Craig, a Washington-based lawyer, with making false statements and concealing material information about his activities on behalf of Ukraine from the Department of Justice, National Security Division’s Foreign Agents Registration Act Unit (FARA Unit).
The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia, and Assistant Director in Charge William F. Sweeney, Jr. of the FBI’s New York Field Office.

(more…)

White House Council of Economic Advisors Chairman Kevin Hassett gives an interview to discuss the current state of the U.S. economy.  After discussing President Trump’s Fed pick Herman Cain, Hassett outlines how inflation is non-existent; and also discussions around ongoing U.S-China trade discussions.

(more…)

President Moon Jae-in the the Korean equivalent of Barack Obama.  Today President Donald Trump and First-lady Melania Trump welcome President Moon and Mrs. Kim Jung-sook to the White House.  During the oval office meeting President Trump took questions from the press corps [Video and Transcript below]

.
[Transcript] – 12:19 P.M. EDT – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. It’s a great honor to have President Moon of South Korea with us and a very, very great privilege to have Mrs. Kim. Thank you very much. Very much. We hope you enjoy your stay.
(more…)

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was forcibly removed from the Ecuadorian embassy in London today and taken to the Westminster Magistrates Court where he was charged with skipping bail.  [Details Here] Assange will likely spend 12 months in British jail while pending extradition to the U.S. for crimes related to the Chelsea Manning classified information leak – also outlined in a U.S. indictment unsealed today (full pdf below)
In the U.S. Assange is charged with a conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for his role in assisting Manning. [DOJ Press Release Here] The simultaneous operation to remove Assange, charge and hold on the bail violation, and unseal the U.S. indictment, appears to be a coordinated effort by the U.S. and U.K. government. Holding Assange for the bail violation allows U.S. authorities the time needed for the criminal extradition process.
That said, the issues with Assange and how they related to British and American interests is a multi-layered story with various ramifications for both governments.
(more…)

Wow, CPL is having a very bad day. [Details Here] The scale of the new grand jury indictments against Avenatti for his alleged criminal behavior is clear; if convicted on all counts he could spend 335 years in prison.
Attorney Michael Avenatti has been charged in a 36-count federal indictment alleging he stole millions of dollars from clients, did not pay his taxes, committed bank fraud and lied in bankruptcy proceedings.

.

DOJ Details on Avenatti Indictment HERE

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

Sarah H Sanders Twitter @SHSanders45

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 †