June 26th – 2019 Presidential Politics – Trump Administration Day #888

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.

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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

Wednesday June 26th – Open Thread

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 †

Bongino and Rivera React to News of Mueller Agreement to Testify…

Fox News contributor Dan Bongino and Fox News correspondent-at-large Geraldo Rivera respond to the latest news that Robert Mueller has agreed to testify to the House Intelligence and Judiciary committees on Wednesday, July 17th.
[Toward the end of the panel segment Mr. Bongino has some additional insight into the Michael Flynn situation]


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Robert Mueller Will Testify July 17th – Nadler and Schiff Pretend Phony Subpoena…

Well, it looks like the gang has a plan… the details are sketchy, but the picture of the construction is visible.  According to Adam Schiff, Robert Mueller has agreed to deliver congressional testimony to a “joint panel” of the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, on July 17th.

♦ First, to frame the narrative for the appearance, HPSCI Chairman Adam Schiff releases a letter signed by *only* Nadler and Schiff, that “threatened” a subpoena.  This subpoena letter is a prop for a pre-planned theatrical event.  How do we know? Because only Schiff and Nadler signed it (no coordination with ranking members).  It’s an optic to set the cornerstone for a narrative that Schiff and Nadler want Mueller’s appearance.
♦ Second, the joint committee approach is also part of the strategy.  With 40 members from both committees there will intentionally only be ONE ROUND of questions.  The size of the committee is part of the design to protect Robert Mueller.  Those who follow politics closely will immediately note this motive.
Knowing Mueller was in deep discussions with Schiff and Nadler to coordinate the appearance, the optic of the letter and the size of the committee are the first two immediate flares that indicate a staged performance is being set-up.
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Jay Sekulow Discovers New Documents To Backstop Obama's Operation Against Trump – Connects To Evelyn Farkas…

In March 2017 CTH first highlighted statements by Evelyn Farkas that described a coordinated effort from within the Obama administration to push political opposition research, gathered by the intelligence community, into the media.

Jay Sekulow now discovers documents that highlight the Obama administration’s efforts in their last days in office.  This effort backstops Farkas’s earlier statements.  First, from Sekulow:

(Via Fox Op-ed) – Stunning new information just released by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) shows that the Obama administration stepped up efforts – just days before President Trump took office – to undermine Trump and his administration.

The ACLJ, where I serve as chief counsel, has obtained records that show the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, under Director James Clapper, eagerly pushed to get new procedures as part of an anti-Trump effort. The procedures increased access to raw signals intelligence before the conclusion of the Obama administration, just days before President Trump was inaugurated.

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President Trump Signs Executive Order – With Mini Press Conference in Oval Office….

Earlier today President Trump signed an Executive order establishing a White House council on eliminating regulatory barriers to affordable housing [Details Here]. After explaining the XO President Trump answered questions from the pool:
[Video and Transcript]

[Details on the Executive Order Here] – [Background Call Here]

[Transcript] – 2:07 P.M. EDT – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Appreciate you being here. I’d like to take a few moments to describe what we’re doing on numerous fronts, but we’re going to take a major step in our historic regulatory reduction campaign.
Today, we begin a bold new initiative to bring down the cost of housing for American families. So important.
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President Trump Presents Medal of Honor to Staff Sergeant David Bellavia, U.S. Army – (Video and Transcript)…

Earlier today in the East Room of the White House U.S. President Donald Trump presented the nation’s highest honor for bravery to Staff Sergeant David Bellavia, U.S. Army [Video and Transcript Below]


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[Transcript] – 3:36 P.M. EDT – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Please. Thank you, Chaplain, very much. It’s really beautiful.
Today, it’s my privilege to award the highest military honor to an American soldier who demonstrated exceptional courage to protect his men and defend our nation. Will you please join me in welcoming Staff Sergeant David Bellavia? David, thank you. (Applause.)
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Trump and Xi G20 Meeting Saturday – U.S. Position: "No Concessions" – Sad Panda…

Sometimes we just read and think; sometimes we just read and laugh. This is the latter.
China continually looks at President Trump and the U.S. trade position through the wrong prism. Those around Chairman Xi genuinely seem to be incapable of understanding a U.S. President who independently represents long-term U.S. larger interests, and simultaneously leverages the U.S. market as a customer in a one-sided transaction.
The disconnect in Beijing analysis of the dynamic is really quite something.

After last weeks strategic magnanimous panda maneuver, Beijing was shocked, shocked, that President Trump continued to maintain “wrong thinking” toward the upcoming discussion with Chairman Xi.
It appears China fully expected some reciprocal trade bargaining based on their implied promise to release North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un from manipulation; but Trump didn’t flinch.  Instead, of acquiescence to magnanimous panda, President Trump sends Chairman Kim a letter filled with “excellent content“. Beijing was snubbed.
So yesterday as a follow-up Beijing indicates a willingness to revisit the prior agreement by putting the face of Vice-Premier Liu He back into their negotiation position:
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Excellent Choice – Stephanie Grisham Selected to Replace Sarah Huckabee Sanders as White House Press Secretary…

Stephanie Grisham has served as spokeswoman for First Lady Melania Trump since March 2017. She’s sharp as a tack, fierce as a wolverine and intensely loyal to the first family. [Twitter Here]
Today First lady Melania Trump announces Stephanie Grisham will replace Sarah Huckabee Sanders as White House press secretary.

[Tweet Link]

Ms. Grisham will also serve as White House communications director, a position that has been vacant since Bill Shine stepped down in March to advise President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign.  “I can think of no better person to serve the Administration & our country,” Melania Trump tweeted Tuesday.
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Transcript of Michael Flynn Status Hearing – June 24th (full pdf)…

One of the reasons why the Flynn legal situation is so interesting is not really because of Flynn himself; but rather because the Flynn situation is a likely example of President Obama’s surveillance network in operation.

Tenuous legal theories (Logan Act) and obscure laws (technical FARA violations) appear to have been exploited by DOJ administration officials, in close ideological alignment with the Lawfare Group.  In association with overall Obama administration officials, the fellow travelers used the legal system to create a DC surveillance network.
At the 30,000 ft. level Obama’s surveillance network looks like this:

• White House identifies a target; •passes request to the DOJ National Security Division (middlemen); •who then use the auspices of possible FARA violations to pass the instructions to the FBI contractors; •who data-mine the NSA database.

•The FBI results are then passed back to the DOJ-NSD; •who weaponize the information for FISA applications (becomes legal cover); and •pass the authorized surveillance (spying) results back to the White House etc.

It’s a circle of surveillance activity that could encompass almost every politician in Washington DC as they network with foreign lobbyists and special interests.
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