Understanding that Michael Cohen is the first pre-planned Democrat House interview, first step, within a longer ‘impeachment’ strategy, it becomes easier to see why MSM are all-in to help build the false basis for the initial obstruction snowball.
In 2015/2016 Michael Cohen working for the Trump organization and exploring a business deal within Russia is nothing.  Democrats did not kick-off the public “Muh Russia” conspiracy narrative until October 2016.   In the aftermath of two years of creating the ‘Muh Russia’ planetary election conspiracy theory, a nothing-burger contact within Russia becomes a focus-point. [Ah-ha!, you were talking to Russians… ‘IMPEACH’! ]
However, for the impeachment cornerstone to take footing, Cummings, Schiff and Nadler need to present the optics of obstruction. House investigations need a plausible premise to justify the work. Media are working overtime to frame/support the ‘plausible premise’.

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It’s annoying as heck because the baseline (Russian Conspiracy) is nonsense; but creating the plausible premise is the goal of the media. This is how media help the resistance effort.
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There are two distinct narrative angles that are intersecting in the current weekend talk venues.  One is the government shutdown and how the resistance is attempting to gain maximum political benefit against the White House.  The second is how the larger ‘shutdown narrative‘ is being deployed as cover for revelations within prior testimony showing how the Obama DOJ and FBI weaponized against their political opposition.
In this regard, the shutdown (as planned by Speaker Nancy Pelosi) serves a dual purpose; it is helping to construct a larger oppositional narrative while burying a story the MSM are desperate not to cover.  The two narratives are intertwined and it would be against the interests of Pelosi, Cummings, Schiff and Nadler, to reach a shutdown agreement.
HPSCI Chairman Adam Schiff appears after VP Mike Pence on FtN and highlights this intended dual purpose. Schiff immediately transfers from the shutdown into a discussion of using Michael Cohen: the two narratives are intertwined.

*Note*:  It’s important to remember the democrat strategy is planned out.  Oversight Committee (Cummings), builds to HPSCI Committee (Schiff) who ultimately leads to Judicary Committee (Nadler).   Jerry Nadler is where they hope to initiate the ‘impeachment‘ angle.
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After President Trump put an offer on the table that was rejected by democrat leaders, Vice President Mike Pence appears on CBS Face the Nation to debate the stalemate with resistance advocate Margaret Brennan.

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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 †

White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley appears on Fox News with Jeanine Pirro to discuss the current partial government shutdown and the impasse between the White House and Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

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30 Minutes before President Trump began to outline his compromise proposal (4:00pm, from the White House), Speaker Nancy Pelosi auto-published the response position of Democrats, NO DEAL:

(From The Speaker) “Democrats were hopeful that the President was finally willing to re-open government and proceed with a much-needed discussion to protect the border.
“Unfortunately, initial reports make clear that his proposal is a compilation of several previously rejected initiatives, each of which is unacceptable and in total, do not represent a good faith effort to restore certainty to people’s lives. It is unlikely that any one of these provisions alone would pass the House, and taken together, they are a non-starter. For one thing, this proposal does not include the permanent solution for the Dreamers and TPS recipients that our country needs and supports. (read more)

President Trump outlined a common-sense bipartisan solution to reopen government.  Nancy Pelosi took a zero-sum position and rejected the proposal.  Without pressure from ‘moderate’ democrats (if any exist), the impasse continues.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Leader Steny Hoyer and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are on pre-scheduled vacation until January 25th.
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President Donald Trump will be making a widely anticipated announcement on the government shutdown and border crisis from the White House today.  The speech will likely outline a proposal to end the partial government shutdown.
The president is anticipated to outline a proposal for $5.7 billion for physical border security in exchange for “The Bridge Act” which would extend protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and legislation to extend the legal status of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders.  Anticipated start time 4:00pm EST.
UPDATE: Video Added

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Earlier today President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to Dover Air Force Base to participate in a solemn tribute to fallen Americans.  President Trump saluted the casket carrying civilian contractor Scott A. Wirtz of St. Louis, Missouri, as his body was carried from a C-17 military aircraft into a waiting van.

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Scott Wirtz and three other Americans were killed in a suicide bombing Wednesday in the northern Syrian town of Manbij.  He was assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency as an operations support specialist.
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Earlier today President Donald Trump left the White House for an unannounced trip to Dover Air Force Base where he met with the families of four Americans killed in a suicide bombing in Syria last week.

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President Trump described this trip to the Delaware base as the most difficult task of a commander in chief. “When I’m going to meet relatives of some of our great great heroes that have fallen, I think it might be the toughest thing I have to do as president,” he said. “We’ve been hitting ISIS very hard over the last three weeks, in particular over the last three weeks, and it’s moving along very well. But when I took over it was a total mess,” President Trump added. “You do have to ask yourself — we’re killing ISIS for Russia, for Iran, for Syria, for Iraq, for a lot of other places. At some point, we want to bring our people back home.”
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