Earlier today President Trump traveled to Dana Incorporated, a manufacturing facility for axel housings and machined products in Warren, Michigan, to celebrate the signing of the USMCA trade agreement with American workers.  [Video and Transcript Below]

.
[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Okay, let’s get back to work. Come on. (Applause.) I love that song, but every once in a while, we have to get back to work. (Laughter.)

So I am very honored to be at Dana Incorporated, a tremendous company, a plant in Warren, Michigan. We’re very proud of Michigan. (Applause.) Dana has been around — I also like it because we happened to win here, so I was very happy with that. (Applause.) Very happy with that.

(more…)

Senator Rand Paul appears on Fox News with Martha MacCallum to discuss how the impeachment process originated.   One of Senator Paul’s concerns centers around staff of Adam Schiff and the HPSCI plotting the impeachment process.
Former NSC member Sean Misko (currently on Schiff’s staff), and former DOJ-NSD head, Mary McCord, may have participated in constructing a whistle-blower complaint eventually presented by CIA operative Eric Ciaramella; using false evidence provided by current NSC member Alexander Vindman.

(more…)

While presiding over the Senate impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump, apparently Chief Justice John Roberts will not allow questions that are targeted to the origination of the House impeachment plot.  WATCH:

.
Senator Rand Paul’s question was:

“Are you aware that House intelligence committee staffer Shawn Misko had a close relationship with Eric Ciaramella while at the National Security Council together; and are you aware -and how do you respond to- reports that Ciaramella and Misko may have worked together to plot impeaching the President before there were formal house impeachment proceedings?“

(more…)

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released their first estimate of Q4 GDP growth today.  The BEA first estimate is 2.1 percent growth for the fourth quarter and 2.3 percent growth for the year. [Data Here]   The U.S. economy is now approximately $21.7 trillion.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross appeared on Fox Business with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the ‘big picture’ outlook for the U.S. economy.  Strong employment, strong wage growth, strong consumer spending, and now the USMCA passage delivering the backdrop for domestic capital investment.   Good interview:

.
The headwinds by Boeing and the GM strike had some negative impact.  However, 2019 was dominated by Wall Street multinational investors taking the ‘wait-n-see’ position on the China/Asia -vs- USMCA trade dynamic (manufacturing investment) overall.
The USMCA passage gives certainty to North American manufacturing investment.  The China ‘phase-one’ agreement allows time for re-positioning, and/or time to extract profits from prior investment.  A corporate decision to manufacture in China is now based on an entirely different set of considerations than 24 months ago…. ‘phase-one’ buys time but doesn’t reduce the long-term risk.  North America is now the place for investment stability.
(more…)

Upon taking office one of the first initiatives from President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump was to organize a full government effort to tackle an extreme opioid crisis impacting many American communities.  In October 2017, President Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency.  Today the White House and CDC announce some incredible results as a result of the effort.  [CDC Data Here]
Fatal drug overdoses dropped in 2018 for the first time in 30 years; and as a result average life expectancy for Americans increased for the first time in four years.  Drug overdose deaths are still an urgent health emergency; and the entire program will remain a priority; however, the upward trend has been stopped and is starting to reverse.
Senior Counselor Kellyanne Conway, ONDCP Director Jim Carroll, and Asst. Secretary of Public Health Admiral Brett Giroir hold a press conference to announce & discuss:

(Politico) […] New CDC data released Thursday provides hope that the major contributors to three years of stagnant or declining life expectancy may be relenting. (more)

(more…)

In response to potential health risks; and anticipating multiple agency aspects of the U.S. government would need a unified approach; President Trump has assembled a unified task force to coordinate all response efforts across the totality of government.

[White House] – President Donald J. Trump announced the formation of the President’s Coronavirus Task Force. Members of the Task Force have been meeting on a daily basis since Monday. At today’s meeting, which the President chaired, he charged the Task Force with leading the United States Government response to the novel 2019 coronavirus and with keeping him apprised of developments.
The Task Force is led by Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, and is coordinated through the National Security Council. It is composed of subject matter experts from the White House and several United States Government agencies, and it includes some of the Nation’s foremost experts on infectious diseases.
(more…)

Senators Ron Johnson and Chuck Grassley are on a fishing expedition to unearth the origination of conflicts within the IG report on FISA abuse. However, a word of caution, they could be on a snipe hunt and here’s why.
First, their letter. Grassley has a history within this story. Grassley has been lied to by the FBI about their use of dossier author Christopher Steele. Two years ago Grassley/Graham called out the FBI lies by sending the DOJ a criminal referral for Chris Steele.  Not surprisingly the referral went no-where and was summarily ignored by the DOJ.
Now, Grassley/Johnson want four IG footnotes declassified by Bill Barr.

(pdf link)

Grassley and Johnson are noting contradictions within the IG report.  If they are looking to reconcile contradictions, save yourself some research and read an article by Margot Cleveland SEE HERE which seems to be the north-star Chuck and Ron are following.
People are starting to question the assembly of the IG report because the underlying explanations by the FBI officials within it are fraught with a lack of candor.
Many of the officials who gave explanations to the inspector generals’ office are the same FBI officials who participated in the scheme to target Donald Trump, president-elect Trump, and President Trump.   As a consequence the FBI contradictions stem from sketchy FBI surveillance explanations that do not match the documented FBI activity.
(more…)

Earlier today Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced an agreement with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for the Senate questioning phase of the impeachment trial that begins tomorrow.

Senator Schumer and McConnell have agreed to alternating back-and-forth questions from Republicans and Democrats over the course of two days totaling a maximum of sixteen hours.   The alternative would have been 8 hours of questioning by Democrats followed by 8 hours of republican questions.  Obviously, and curiously, McConnell and Schumer see a benefit to alternating back-and-forth over the two days.
Additionally, according to several media reports, McConnell took a ‘whip of the Senate’ regarding witness testimony and does not currently have enough republican votes to block the pre-planned House Managers’ unconstitutional scheme to call witnesses.
The appropriate constitutional position for the Senate to take would be that the House investigates; the House calls witnesses within their investigation; the House assembles articles of impeachment; and the Senate is the trier of fact from those articles.
Ergo if a witness was not included in the article assembly, that would be a defect of the House articles; incurable in the Senate.  However, it appears there are enough republicans willing to establish a new extra-constitutional process whereby the House can assemble speculative supposition; avoid the executive branch using their lawful process to appeal to the judicial branch for opinion; and put the burden of witness testimony on the Senate.

(more…)

Tonight President Trump travels to Wildwood, New Jersey to hold a campaign rally with tens-of-thousands of supporters.  For two days thousands of rally goers have been camped out to show their support as an impeachment debate continues in Washington, DC.
The venue is the Wildwood Convention Center which has a max capacity of 25,000 and there will be jumbo-screens for simulcast outside the venue.  An incredible turnout.
RSBN Livestream Link – Fox News Livestream – Fox10 Livestream – Alternate Livestream

(more…)

Earlier today President Trump unveiled a proposal for a new vision, constructing a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.  Within the vision proposed by President Trump is a new map presenting a two state solution. [Outlined Here]
After presenting the proposal President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu delivered remarks from the White House. [Video and Transcript Below]

.
[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Thank you.

Today, Israel takes a big step towards peace. (Applause.) Young people across the Middle East are ready for a more hopeful future, and governments throughout the region are realizing that terrorism and Islamic extremism are everyone’s common enemy.

(more…)