What a tangled web is weaved….  Hillary Clinton paid her lawyers at Perkins Coie for opposition research on candidate Donald Trump.  In turn Perkins Coie paid Fusion GPS to gather information.  Fusion GPS paid Christopher Steele to write the “Russian Dossier”.
The FBI also paid Christopher Steele.  Additionally, prior evidence surfaced suggesting the FBI used the dossier to get FISA warrants against the Trump campaign. And NOW we discover that Fusion GPS paid journalists and five media companies to participate.
Oh, if this ain’t just sketchy as all hell:

WASHINGTON – Newly filed court documents confirm that Fusion GPS, the company mostly responsible for the controversial “Trump dossier” on presidential candidate Donald Trump, made payments to three journalists between June 2016 until February 2017.
The revelation could be a breakthrough for House Republicans, who are exploring whether Fusion GPS used the dossier, which was later criticized for having inaccurate information on Trump, to feed anti-Trump stories to the press during and after the presidential campaign. The three journalists who were paid by Fusion GPS are known to have reported on “Russia issues relevant to [the committee’s] investigation,” the House Intelligence Committee said in a court filing.

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Oh, this is SWAMPY – and the timing is epic.  Pennsylvania Congressman Bob Brady is a ranking member of the Committee on House Administration which oversees settlements paid by Congress for sexual discrimination and harassment complaints.
Additionally, representative Brady is also under FBI investigation for false statements, conspiracy and campaign fraud, according to FBI documents revealed on Tuesday:

PHILADELPHIA –  The FBI has reason to believe U.S. Rep. Bob Brady unlawfully concealed a $90,000 payment made by his campaign to get an opponent to quit a 2012 primary race, according to court documents that confirm the Philadelphia Democrat is under investigation in a widening campaign finance probe.
In unsealed court documents made public Monday, the FBI requested a search warrant and has obtained data from an email account belonging to Brady. The FBI agent who filed the warrant wrote that there is probable cause Brady violated contribution limits and produced false documents, and there is evidence that he and others knowingly circumvented campaign finance rules.

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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

Alabama campaign officials who support Roy Moore held a press conference yesterday to outline the reason for their continued support.  Additionally, several officials confronted and deconstructed the accusations.
The audio is a little sketchy in the beginning:

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 †

This one is going to be a tough call for the Democrat apparatus.  88-year-old Representative John Conyers is the longest serving member of the house, and generally insulated from criticism by the congressional black caucus and identity politics.
Initially on Tuesday Conyers denied ever paying for sexual harassment claims against him. A few hours later his office reversed position and admitted paying.

(VIA NBC) Rep. John Conyers admitted Tuesday to reaching a financial settlement with a former staffer who had accused him of sexual misconduct but the lawmaker denied having done anything improper.  The House Ethics Committee announced several hours later it had opened an investigation.
“I expressly and vehemently denied the allegations made against me, and continue to do so,” Conyers, a Michigan Democrat, said in a statement. “My office resolved the allegations — with an express denial of liability — in order to save all involved from the rigors of protracted litigation. That should not be lost in the narrative.”

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CBS has fired long-time figurehead Charlie Rose as three more victims come forward to outline his history of sexual harassment.  Additionally, PBS and Bloomberg news have also dropped Rose from their media networks.

(Via CBS)  CBS News has fired “CBS This Morning” co-host Charlie Rose over allegations of sexual misconduct, CBS News president David Rhodes announced Tuesday.
“Despite Charlie’s important journalistic contribution to our news division, there is absolutely nothing more important, in this or any organization, than ensuring a safe, professional workplace — a supportive environment where people feel they can do their best work. We need to be such a place,” Rhodes said in a statement Tuesday.

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Go through the archives and you’ll note a strategy unfolding that few, including us, could fully conceptualize when it first appeared.  Way back when candidate Trump first began to put his economic plans into platform outlines the subtle signature was there, but few were paying attention.
In order to reverse three decades of middle-class economic erosion, there were indicators that Trump’s strategy was a radical change in approach.  In essence the strategy was to split the economic policy into two areas and sequence the policy: highly-consumable goods (first) and durable goods (second).
Both product sectors have historically been viewed and approached by economic policy makers using a single financial strategy.  That singular approach gave rise to Wall Street benefiting and Main Street suffering.  Investment-class gained; middle-class suffered.
Trump outlined an approach –albeit vaguely– that was multidimensional.
His policy would first target multinational corporations, using the U.S. Treasury (Mnuchin) to weaken their grip and influence; simultaneously, he would use energy policy to drive down domestic prices in highly-consumable products (fuel, food, energy sector).  These sectors are not measured in fed inflation indexes; however, if lowered, these facets of consumer spending can also increase the amount of disposable income available for workers.
In essence, expand the economy by lowering the aggregate cost of living for the middle-class who live paycheck-to-paycheck.  Use monetary policy, fiscal policy and trade policy), to entice domestic investment and create jobs; and ultimately put upward pressure on wages.
That’s where we are now.
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Almost too much winning… almost, but I think we can take it.  The New York federal reserve has raised their anticipated fourth quarter GDP growth forecast to 3.8%.  That’s only a week after previously raising it to 3.2%.
The Stock Market closes again at yet another all time high today:

Yup, as widely anticipated, the impact from Trump’s MAGAnomic policies are creating a massive upward dynamic on the Main Street economy.  The increase in consumer confidence; the recent increases in wages; the increase in disposable income as an outcome of lowered energy costs and downward prices on high consumables (fuel, food, etc.); the increases in housing starts; the reductions in imported durables; the expansion of exports in energy products and agriculture, and the expanding domestic investment, are all factors in expanding the GDP.
The NY Fed have revised their projection upward to 3.8%, and THAT’S BEFORE they get a first analysis on holiday spending (due out the end of the month); and well before they can quantify the November and December retail sales results which account for two-thirds of GDP math.   So don’t be surprised, as we shared on their last revision, if you see that GDP growth number go much higher.
Oh, the winning…. squeeze the kids.  REMEMBER:
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President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump depart White House en route to West Palm Beach, Florida and their Mar-a-Lago resort residence where the first family will gather for Thanksgiving.
President Trump delivers remarks to the press pool and answers some questions: