Yes, the most corrupt Senate committee; at the epicenter of the legislative corruption within the ‘spygate’ fiasco; joins the resistance effort, and files a subpoena to compel testimony from Michael Cohen.

It must be remembered that SSCI Chairman Richard Burr and SSCI Vice-Chair Mark Warner, have previously admitted they are closely coordinating their efforts with Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

(CNN) President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen was subpoenaed Thursday to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee in mid-February, a source close to Cohen told CNN.
It is not clear how Cohen will respond. The source said that Cohen has the same concerns regarding the safety of his family that led him to postpone his scheduled public appearance before the House Oversight Committee next month. Senate Intelligence traditionally does their interviews behind closed doors, not publicly.

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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

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 †

A magnanimous and deferential President Trump announced via Twitter his intent to delay the State of the Union address until after the partial government shutdown impasse is resolved…

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo goes one-on-one with Martha MacCallum to discuss his message to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and Trump’s approach to NATO.  This is a really strong interview.
Secretary Pompeo brilliantly outlines the value of the nation state, and the principle that when a coalition is formed all members within that coalition (ie. NATO) have a responsibility to participate.  Watch:

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen is scheduled to appear in front of the House Oversight Committee and Chairman Elijah Cummings on February 7th.   Cummings, Schiff and Nadler have a plan to use Cohen to build their political resistance effort.

However, today Michael Cohen, through his DNC handler Lanny Davis, attempted to back out of testimony by accusing President Trump of threatening him.

New York – “Due to ongoing threats against his family from President Trump and Mr. Giuliani, as recently as this weekend, as well as Mr. Cohen’s continued cooperation with ongoing investigations, by advice of counsel” he will postpone appearing, Lanny Davis said in a statement. “This is a time where Mr. Cohen had to put his family and their safety first,” Davis added. (link)

According to prior communication, as relayed by Representative Jim Jordan, Cohen’s lawyer, Guy Petrillo, said Mr. Cohen would not be able to discuss anything concerning the investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller.  [Mueller continues to be the shield] Therefore it would appear the Cummings committee intent is to script an impeachment or obstruction narrative without Cohen able to answer specific questions.
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Earlier today President Trump held a roundtable discussion on issues surrounding immigration and border security.  At the beginning of the meeting the media remained present as President Trump made some remarks and took some questions:

The Precursor – Yesterday there was a meeting at the White House between FL Senator Rick Scott, FL Governor Ron DeSantis, FL Senator Marco Rubio, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and President Donald Trump.  Florida is home to most of the Venezuela political exiles and opposition groups who oppose Venezuela’s dictator Nicolas Maduro.
Today, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president while surrounded by thousands of supporters. At a rally that brought hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans into the east of Caracas, Guaido said Maduro had usurped power and promised to create a transitional government that would help the country escape its hyperinflationary economic collapse.

“I swear to assume all the powers of the presidency to secure an end to the usurpation,” 35-year old Guaido, the head of the opposition-run congress, told an exuberant crowd.

Minutes later, U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Guaido as the legitimate interim president.
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Attorney Robert Barnes explains to ‘Fox & Friends’ that any ‘false statements’ made about the students needs to be retracted and corrected within 48 hours or the subjects who targeted the Covington High School students will face lawsuits.
Mr. Barnes explains the specific laws that apply to minors; the process for libel damages under the current circumstances; and further outlines he is providing his legal services free of charge in order to stop malicious smears.

President Donald Trump sends a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi regarding concerns over the State of the Union and the temporary government shutdown.   UPDATE: Speaker Pelosi responds; revokes initial invitation; refuses to call for joint session.

Dear Madam Speaker:

Thank you for your letter of January 3, 2019, sent to me long after the Shutdown began, inviting me to address the Nation on January 29th as to the State of the Union. As you know, I had already accepted your kind invitation, however, I then received another letter from you dated January 16, 2019, wherein you expressed concerns regarding security during the State of the Union Address due to the Shutdown. Even prior to asking, I was contacted by the Department of Homeland Security and the United States Secret Service to explain that there would be absolutely no problem regarding security with respect to the event. They have since confirmed this publicly.

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