Earlier today the Washington Post reported that Asst. FBI Director Andrew McCabe is planning on retiring on/around March 2018; timed to receive pension benefits.
President Trump notes the conspicuous timing of Andrew McCabe’s decision:

It is important to note that in prior congressional testimony by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, the Department of Justice OIG (Office of Inspector General) has committed to release over 1.2 million pages of documents on January 15th, 2018 to the Judiciary Committee.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein affirmed the investigative documents would be released to Chairman Goodlatte and House investigators.  This release is important to overlay against the backdrop of the McCabe decision to retire.
The Inspector General may, or may not, be complete with his investigative report on/around January 15th.  However, with the House Oversight (Gowdy) and Judiciary (Goodlatte) Committees both launching investigations they are not waiting for Inspector General Michael Horowitz to conclude his final report.
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It is important to remember the Washington Post is the unofficial public relations outfit of the U.S. intelligence community: FBI, CIA, etc.  When a leaked source, or insider release of information appears within the Washington Post, it is there by collaboration with the intelligence community.
That said, the story today about Assistant FBI Director Andrew McCabe planning to retire in March 2018, should be viewed as the WaPo attempting to create leverage for McCabe to retain his position up to his pension eligibility.  It is NOT coincidental that Inspector General Michael Horowitz is planning to release his Year-Long OIG report outlining his investigative details into the politicization of the FBI and DOJ.

This maneuver by “Andy” McCabe is similar to moves by his former boss James Comey. McCabe is trying to gain leverage over a pending IG report release and ongoing congressional investigations that recently have begun to run a parallel track. By publicizing his intent to leave the FBI ahead of all the investigative outcomes being public, McCabe is attempting to change his central disposition to the scandals.
The Washington Post report is shaped to deliver a specific narrative about Andrew McCabe and assist his positioning.  The absence of any WaPo mention of the FBI counterintelligence operation, “The Trump Project”, including the absence of any mention of the FBI involvement in the Steele Dossier (FISA Warrants, Wiretaps and Surveillance), and the myriad of explosive issues therein, is evidence of WaPo’s motive:

WASHINGTON – Andrew McCabe, the FBI’s deputy director who has been the target of Republican critics for more than a year, plans to retire in a few months when he becomes fully eligible for pension benefits, according to people familiar with the matter.

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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

It’s time to pull out those well thumbed cookbooks and faded old hand written recipes and share the best. We all have old family favorites, new treats we just discovered, and treasured family recipes handed down from mother to daughter, or in my case, to daughter in law, for generations.
I always look forward to getting a taste of regional favorites here too. It’s fascinating to see how different each area of the country is, and get to see some recipes for things I never have cooked before, and to hear the stories told of how families have shared this food for so long.
We hope you and yours are enjoying your best holiday season ever as you prepare to celebrate Christmas. In the midst of all the preparations, remember to choose to take time to enjoy and savor the wonder too.
 

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 †

Things are getting increasingly interesting and simultaneously obvious.  Thursday night the Washington Post reported that FBI Director Christopher Wray had relieved FBI Chief Legal Counsel, James Baker, of his responsibilities within the department.
Attorney James Baker accompanied FBI Asst. Director “Andy” McCabe to the Tuesday congressional hearing with the House Intelligence Community.  Curiously, in addition to other lines of inquiry, during the questioning McCabe was asked about whether James Baker was authorized to speak to the media about the Steele Dossier and the underlying ‘counterintelligence’ operation.  Asst. Director McCabe responded that Baker would not be authorized to take such action.
Following the HPSCI hearing, republican committee leadership announced their plan to subpoena James Baker for further questioning.  [Keep in mind Baker was there.]  Two days later, at the Thursday Judiciary and Oversight Committee hearings, James Baker did not accompany Andrew McCabe.   Hours later, James Baker is removed from his responsibilities as legal counsel within the FBI.  Cause: ‘unknown‘.

Back in July, 2017, it was reported that James Baker was under a criminal investigation for leaking classified information from within the FBI, although the details of the leak content were unknown.  Politico today reports that James Baker has been identified as the likely source that released information about the Fusion-GPS/Christopher Steele “Russian Conspiracy Dossier” to David Corn of Mother Jones in October of 2016:

(Via Politico) House Republicans are investigating contact between the FBI’s top lawyer and a Mother Jones reporter in the weeks before the left-leaning outlet broke the first news story about the existence of a disputed dossier alleging ties between President Donald Trump and the Kremlin, according to two congressional GOP sources who described documents linking the two men.
The GOP sources said the documents — made available recently to lawmakers by the Department of Justice — revealed that James Baker, the FBI’s general counsel, communicated with Mother Jones reporter David Corn in the weeks leading up to the November 2016 election. Corn was the first to report the existence of the dossier on Oct. 31 and that it was compiled by a former high-level western spy.

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WASHINGTON DC – Dec. 22, 2017 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today issued a movement permit to Mr. S. Claus of the North Pole, a broker with Worldwide Gifts, Unlimited. The permit will allow reindeer to enter and exit the United States between the hours of 7 p.m. December 24, 2017 and 7 a.m. December 25, 2017, through or over any U.S. border port.
“It’s the season of giving and joy. Here at USDA we don’t want anything to delay these very important reindeer at our borders,” said Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. “We know that children all over the country – including my own fourteen grandchildren – are eagerly awaiting a visit from Mr. Claus and his team before they wake on Christmas morning. USDA issued this permit in advance and waived all applicable fees to help ensure a smooth trip on Christmas Eve night.”
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The Super-MAGA-Winning continues with more companies joining the Christmas Bonus parade.   Amid the passage of the tax reform package in congress, numerous companies have announced their intention to pass out Christmas bonuses to employees.

Previously:  ♦AT&T announced $1,000 bonuses for 200,000 employees (link); ♦Wells Fargo Bank announced they were raising the minimum wage to $15/hr and planned on donating $400 million to charity (link); ♦Fifth-Third Bankcorp joined in with its own plan for $15 minimum wages and $1,000 bonuses for 1,500 employees (link); and ♦Comcast announced they were giving $1,000 bonuses to more than 100,000 of their employees (link).
Today, the tax benefits continue: ♦Sinclair Broadcasting announced they would pass out $1,000 Christmas bonuses to over 9,000 eligible workers (link).  Not to be left out, ♦Bank of America announced $1,000 bonuses for 145,000 American workers (link); and ♦Billionaire businessman Bob Parsons joins in with $1,000 and $2,000 bonuses to each of his 600+ employees (link).

…”The passage of the tax credit is a catalyst for explosive economic growth. On a massive scale, the lowered federal tax burden on businesses will increase investment, entrepreneurship and corporate philanthropy,” said Parsons. “I’ve always believed in sharing good news and have decided to celebrate the tax plan by giving back to my staff.”…

Our big and very popular Tax Cut and Reform Bill has taken on an unexpected new source of “love” – that is big companies and corporations showering their workers with bonuses. This is a phenomenon that nobody even thought of, and now it is the rage. Merry Christmas!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 22, 2017

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The economic strategy of President Trump is so consequential and encompassing, even the domestic effects are felt globally.

♦Removing the U.S. from the multinational TPP trade deal initially planted the seeds of doubt amid multinational trade forecasters because the shift positioned the U.S. with unique leverage. They saw Trump using access to the worlds largest market as a negotiating strategy.
♦A few months later, President Trump walked away from the ridiculous regulatory restrictions within the Paris Climate Treaty.  Instantaneously this put even more strategic manufacturing and economic advance on the U.S. ledger, and simultaneously made American energy independence a foregone conclusion.
♦And now that congress has codified President Trump’s lower domestic business taxes, in conjunction with opening up ANWR for energy development (a strategic economic goal for 20+ years), the size of the U.S. economic and manufacturing advantage has just increased U.S. trade leverage to almost unimaginable levels.

Economic Nationalism – President Trump’s strategy has created: •Lower and long-term predictable energy costs, not attached to OPEC or multinational influence; •Lower and long-term raw material costs due to slashed regulatory environment; •lower and long-term business manufacturing tax rates; and now Trump begins negotiating trade deals.

Add these advantages together within the largest economic market in the world and the U.S. is now the place where manufacturers will want to do business.  Additionally, the process of utilizing Canada and/or Mexico as a workaround into the U.S. market, via NAFTA, is on the cusp of removal.
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After reporting for weeks on the DNC talking points about how horrible Trump was going to trick them with tax cuts, CBS News engineers lost one of their false narratives today.  Despite their earnest efforts, they were forced to broadcast financial results from three families they used as representative examples of the Trump tax plan.
The weeks-long media spin ran into the wall of reality: (Via CBS) “We asked an accountant to crunch the numbers for three working families to see how much they could be saving. Tony Dokoupil reports.”  WATCH: