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 trade and manufacturing policy advisor Peter Navarro appears on Fox News to discuss two key economic and trade issues: (1) the current status of U.S-China trade discussions “round one”; and (2) the status of USMCA ratification (Pelosi’s delay).
Nothing in the China trade discussion is solid, until everything in the China trade discussion is settled; this is one of the key aspects to President Trump’s directive to USTR Robert Lighthizer. No deal is a more favorable outcome than the construct of a trade deal that cannot be enforced.
On the USMCA ratification, again it all falls upon the politics of Pelosi. The agreement would pass tomorrow if it were put up to a vote; there is no controversy. Speaker Pelosi is holding back the ratification vote for pure political purposes.
As a reminder John Ratcliffe is one of only four members of congress who has reviewed all of the classified documents that surrounds the current background for the Inspector General report on FISA abuse. That said, the quoted comment from Ratcliffe, while it will be overlooked by most, is the first visible sign reconciling a fundamental challenge previously highlighted.
In the 2018 IG report on FBI conduct in the 2016 election, the IG stated there was no evidence of any FBI activity being taken for political intents. Yes, there was a tremendous amount of politically motivated evidence noted within the report; but the top-line statement by Horowitz was counter to the underlying evidence.
A year ago that led us to ask: how could the IG outline political motives in the FISA investigation, if he previously stated there was no politically motivated action by the FBI?
The statement today by Rep. John Ratcliffe seems to speak to this issue. The implication within the words is that the evidence is so overwhelming the IG has few options.
Former Vice-President Joe Biden doesn’t necessarily write his tweets. The political careerists within his campaign are the ones who construct his messaging; however, the content is an accurate representation of where Biden stands on the specific issue:
The Joe Biden campaign objective is to delegitimize President Trump. Aside from the reality that Biden has just positioned himself outside the mainstream military, his position serves purposefully in using the military as a political weapon.
Politicizing the military is the same sentiment behind the impeachment crew instructing Lt. Col Alexander Vindman to wear his uniform for an impeachment hearing. Same goals; same intents; same purpose. {Go Deep}
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Representative Doug Collins appears with Maria Bartiromo and points out a position on FISA reauthorization that is hopefully carried by the majority of Republicans. Collins states an approach where he, perhaps others, would advance a “short-term” FISA extension pending a full review of the upcoming FISA report from Inspector General Michael Horowitz, prior to any longer term reauthorization.
FISA-702 authority, bulk U.S. person metadata collection, storage and surveillance, is set to terminally expire December 15th. The last FISC report from Judge Boasberg stated that all violations of FISA law are still ongoing and there have been no substantive corrections by the intelligence community to fix the abuse issues. The Judge Boasberg report was written in September of 2018 but not released (redacted) until last month. {Go Deep}
The Intelligence Community (writ large), the FBI and the DOJ are all seeking a permanent reauthorization. In my humble opinion this FISA reauthorization is the cornerstone motive for an IG report delay. There is an alignment of interests.
Representative Jim Jordan appears on CBS Face The Nation to discuss the ongoing impeachment fiasco. Ms. Brennan struggles to define a new journalistic concept for “first-hand” information as she claims David Holmes, who claims to have overheard half of a phone conversation that two other people were having, is a “first-hand” witness.
Jordan points out that Ms. Brennan is quoting from a seal transcript given to her by Adam Schiff that has not been released. [Video and Transcript Below]
This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.
President Trump Twitter @POTUS / Vice President Pence Twitter @VP
Stephanie Grisham Twitter @StephGrisham45
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 †
House Democrats on Saturday released the transcripts of closed-door testimony from Jennifer Williams and Tim Morrison (both pdf’s linked below).
The first transcript is from career foreign service officer and Vice President Pence staffer Jennifer Williams.
The House did not need to subpoena Williams who was willing to deliver testimony to the impeachment committee with support from the Vice-President.
Ms. Williams was among the officials actually on the July 25th call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. She is also one of the only witnesses who has testified with firsthand knowledge of the exchange.
Interestingly Ms. Williams, a senior staffer for Vice-President Pence, delivered testimony that later had to be modified.
Keeping in mind that Jennifer Williams was actually on the call with Trump and Zelensky, it is curious that Ms. Williams originally testified that President Trump brought up the company Burisma during the call… only later having to modify her testimony to state that it was Zelensky who brought up the company. A curious mistake all things considered.
Ms. Williams delivered her testimony on November 7th. Ms. Williams corrected her testimony on November 11th. Ms. Williams is the Senior Advisor to Vice-President Pence.
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Tonight is the last governors race of the year. Democrat Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards is facing off against a Republican challenger Eddie Rispone, a Baton Rouge businessman who emerged as the winner in last month’s nonpartisan primary.
President Trump is very popular in Louisiana and has supported Mr. Rispone in his challenge. It is expected to be a very close race, and the media is hoping for an opportunity to frame President Trump’s reelection outcome with a loss for Mr. Rispone.
If John Bel Edwards wins, the media will joyfully proclaim the victory as overwhelming evidence of President Trump’s weakness. If Eddie Rispone wins the media will play it down and say it means nothing.
UPDATE: Incumbent Governor John Bell Edwards Wins by 40,000 votes.
Louisiana Secretary of State – Election Results Here
It was Democrat votes from within Orleans Parish that overwhelmingly voted for Governor John Bel Edwards (almost 90%) and eliminated any possibility for Eddie Rispone. Orleans voted +100,000 for JBE (see graph below):
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