ODNI John Ratcliffe made an interesting, frightening & stunningly open direct statement yesterday when he described intelligence evidence that China is putting on a full-court press against governors and local officials to retain their influence campaign in 2020.

Essentially what DNI Ratcliffe described boils down to Beijing threatening economic blackmail against U.S. officials who were comfortable being reliant on local Chinese investment and purchases of U.S. companies, assents and interests.

With that stark statement in mind; and keeping the full national security ramifications in the forefront; it is worth remembering a foreboding speech given by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in February.

This is specifically important now against the backdrop of how some U.S. politicians appear to be reacting to the COVID-19 challenges, perhaps even weaponizing the virus to achieve political objectives; and with a perspective toward the way media outlets, some businesses and many politicians appear to be influenced by China. The background context for this speech takes on an entirely new dimension.

Pompeo’s remarks were made to the National Governors Association (NGA) Feb 8, 2020; and there’s an interesting segment where Pompeo reveals his awareness of a list of U.S. governors compiled by China’s communist party; and their alignment with China’s interests. A transcript of the key excerpt from his speech is provided. WATCH:

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A fifteen year argument is finally over…. We win.  Most CTH readers probably don’t even remember the reason for the name: “The Last Refuge” upon this little corner of the internet.  However, for well over a decade we have tried to share the truth behind the financial mechanisms that run Washington DC; and the primary machine has always been a completely corrupt, deceptive and anti-American U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Against the entirety of the conservative media; and against the entirety of every organized group that ever attended CPAC; this website has attempted to educate people about the genuinely fraudulent purposes of the U.S. CoC and their President Tom Donohue.  I have written hundreds of articles over the years outlining “there are trillions at stake” and the elements of importance behind that statement.   Every single mainstream conservative voice has denied the truth; and likely most of them are probably on the CoC payroll.

Every former administration took massive payments from the CoC and allowed the Chamber to write trade agreements language for decades.  The CoC business model was to take payments from Wall Street multinationals and then write the agreements to their benefit.  Politicians were paid to keep quiet and support the CoC.  The chamber is the largest lobby organization in DC.  The chamber spends more money on influence than any other lobbying group by a massive amount.  The CoC is at the heart of DC corruption.

President Trump knew about the CoC business model; that’s why he never allowed them a seat at the ‘America First’ table.  That was the original source of our support for candidate Donald Trump.  And now, after a decade of our trying to highlight the CoC scheme and the reason for it; yesterday, the U.S. Chamber dropped their pretense and admitted they were now supporting democrats because the CoC effort can only succeed by destroying Main St.

WASHINGTON DC – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is poised to endorse nearly two dozen freshmen House Democrats for reelection, triggering a revolt within the right-leaning organization and drawing fierce push-back from the group’s powerful GOP donors.

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United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and China’s Vice-Premier Liu He release a joint statement showing renewed emphasis on phase-1 purchases.

Washington, DC – Ambassador Lighthizer and Secretary Mnuchin participated in a regularly scheduled call this evening with China’s Vice Premier Liu He to discuss implementation of the historic Phase One Agreement between the United States and China. The parties addressed steps that China has taken to effectuate structural changes called for by the Agreement that will ensure greater protection for intellectual property rights, remove impediments to American companies in the areas of financial services and agriculture, and eliminate forced technology transfer.

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Keep an eye open for information related to President Trump shifting the economic dynamic in the late summer and fall as he takes a more intense approach toward those who have acted against U.S. interests.  One such example is a restart of 10% tariffs on Canadian aluminum effective August 16th.

WHITE HOUSE – […] The Secretary has now advised me that imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminum from Canada, which accounted for 59 percent of total aluminum imports from Canada during June 2019 through May 2020, increased substantially in the twelve months following my decision to exclude, on a long-term basis, Canada from the tariff proclaimed in Proclamation 9704.

Imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminum from Canada during June 2019 through May 2020 increased 87 percent compared to the prior twelve-month period and exceeded the volume of any full calendar year in the previous decade. Moreover, imports of these articles from Canada continue to increase, reaching in June of this year the highest level of any month since I decided to adjust imports of aluminum articles in Proclamation 9704.

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the July jobs report earlier this morning.  Overall during this phase of the economic recovery the U.S. added 1.8 million jobs in July, with strong recovery in: Leisure and Hospitality (+592k), Retail Trade (+258k) and professional and business services (+170k).  [Full Report Here]

Strong steady gains continue in manufacturing, construction and transportation as more businesses begin to re-open and provide products and services into an economy with strong underlying demand.  Durable goods inventories are low, those need to be replaced.

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When ODNI James Clapper walked into the oval office on January 4, 2017, with “tech cuts” (transcript excerpts) from the Flynn/Kislyak phone call, essentially Clapper infected the White House with a paper record that the Obama administration was aware of the FBI investigating the incoming administration.  Re-creating plausible deniability was the primary motive behind the January 5th meeting and the subsequent Susan Rice memo.

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Why is it important to understand the duality of purpose for the appointment of the special counsel run by the figure-head (in name only) of Robert Mueller?…

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Well done Team U.S.A.

This is a very significant trade development as it is the culmination of a lot background work and a trilateral trade alliance based on economic nationalism. The U.S, Japan and India have been working on the Indo-Pacific trade reset for several years.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Trump already sealed their component.  Now it appears India and the U.S. have reached terms. Very important. First, the report:

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India and the United States are closing in on a trade deal, India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday, after two years of negotiations.

“In the long term, I believe we have a quick trade deal which has some of the pending matters built up over the last couple of years, which we need to get out of the way quickly. We are almost there,” Goyal said at the U.S.-India Business Council’s India Ideas Summit, being conducted virtually.

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White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows appears on Fox Sunday with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the administration efforts to continue COVID-19 mitigation while opening schools and restarting the economy during an election year.

In the second half of the interview Mark Meadows discusses the ongoing Durham probe and the recently released declassified documents:

…”You are going to see a couple of other documents come out in the coming days that will suggest that not only was the campaign spied on, but the FBI did not act appropriately as they were investigating.  It’s all starting to come unraveled -to unravel- and I tell you it’s time for people to go to jail or indicted”…

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Eyes forward my friends.

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The media are reporting that Wilburine has been hospitalized with an undisclosed illness.  Fortunately, the media reports are optimistic.

WASHINGTON – Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, 82, went to a hospital in upstate New York on Friday night, sources told Fox News.

A Commerce Department spokesperson on Saturday confirmed to Fox News: “Secretary Ross has been admitted into the hospital for minor, non-coronavirus related issues. He is doing well and we anticipate his release soon.”

Two of the sources told Fox News that Ross was not feeling well on Friday evening and went to the hospital. One source said his illness is not related to COVID-19. (link)

Secretary Ross is one of the key architects, designing and executing President Trump’s economic and trade policy. He is an incredibly brilliant mind and has been an essential component throughout.  One of Ross’s primary responsibilities is organizing a restructured trade agreement with the EU.  Prayers for a speedy recovery.

Today at 4:00pm ET President Trump will be delivering remarks on ‘Rolling Back Regulations’ to help Americans. The speech is from the south lawn of the White House. [Livestream Links Below]

White House Livestream – Fox News Livestream – Alternate Livestream Link

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