Friday November 30th – 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 †

Panda Requests "Fair Minded" Trade Discussion in Advance of G20 Dinner…

President Trump took all the ‘dragon slayers’ with him to Argentina likely anticipating a rapid Chinese evolution from Panda to Dragon.  Trump’s delegation selection sends exactly that message.  If cunning Chairman Xi exhibits wounded sensibilities, well, tough.
China deployed the panda mask for over a year in an effort to wait-out President Trump, fair enough; however, that strategy has a severe downside.
If lack of engagement is part of Beijing’s economic defense mechanism, ie. retaining the status quo,  you can expect President Trump to provoke the confrontation.
Does Xi feel rucky?

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China and the United States can reach a trade agreement at the G20 meeting in Argentina this week, the state-run China Daily newspaper said in an editorial on Friday, but Washington must be “fair minded” if it wants to defuse spiraling tensions.
“Beijing wants a deal, just as Washington does. And it is willing to cooperate with Washington in dealing with concerns about trade if they are fair-minded,” the paper said.

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White House / EU Auto Summit Scheduled For December 4th…

This is one of those reports that seems small and appears way over there on the periphery. However, if MAGAnomics and trade are important to you, this story is very much worth paying attention to.
As CTH shared last week the White House reached out to EU auto executives to request a meeting.  There is a VERY STRONG likelihood the message within this meeting will surround potential tariffs, and questions from team Trump about the intents of EU (mostly German) automakers against the backdrop of the USMCA.
The potential for auto-tariffs terrifies the EU (specifically Germany), because most of their profits from within the industry come from access to the U.S. market.   Few major markets in the world can afford the scale of automobile purchases as a wealthy U.S.A. does.  The profit margins are much smaller in all other countries.  Without the U.S. market, these auto companies would be in deep financial trouble.  Enter Trump’s leverage:
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James Comey Files Motion to Avoid Congressional Testimony….

Former FBI Director James Comey filed a motion today to avoid a congressional subpoena requiring testimony on December 5th to a joint House committee. James Comey is attempting to limit his legal risk exposure by controlling the venue for testimony.

(Tweet LinkDocument Link)

In an open or public hearing classified information cannot be discussed. The primary issues surrounding his involvement in the 2015, 2016, 2017 intelligence operation against President Trump known as “spygate” surround classified information. Additionally, the structure of a 40 member open hearing limits the usefulness of that venue.
The ever conniving Comey understands how to manipulate the structure to his benefit and is attempting to avoid a closed and more purposeful hearing.  (full pdf below)  If Comey can drag things out to the next, Dem-controlled, congressional session, he’s home free.
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Michael Cohen Pleads Guilty to Lying to SSCI…

Don’t get so caught up debating the granular issues over ‘muh Russia’ that you fail to elevate and see the landscape from the 30,000 ft. level.   The Rosenstein/Mueller move today is all about protecting the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) from President Trump (declassification threats); and it was specifically scheduled, timed, to be launched today as Trump leaves for the G20 to achieve maximum political damage.

Michael Cohen pleads guilty today (full pdf below) to lying in written testimony to the SSCI:

(WaPo) […] Cohen admitted as a part of his plea that he lied in part to “minimize links” between the Moscow project and Trump, and in hopes of limiting ongoing probes into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. Prosecutors said in court documents that he discussed efforts to obtain Russian government funding for the project as late as June 2016 and discussed the status and progress with Trump more than he had previously told congressional investigators. (more)

This power-move by Mueller and Rosenstein (the small-group teams within the construct and not just the individuals), is another move with a similar motivation to the plea agreement over SSCI security director, James Wolfe.  Whitaker is powerless to stop it. Rosenstein and Mueller are protecting their allies in the most corrupt committee in DC.
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November 29th – 2018 Presidential Politics – Trump Administration Day #679

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.

trump-president-3

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

Thursday November 29th – 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 †

President Trump Discusses His Decision Not to Declassify "Spygate" Documents…

The New York Post has an article today, surrounding an interview with President Trump, where the topic of declassifying the evidence behind ‘Spygate’ surfaced.
To say there is a massive schism amid supporters of the President on this issue would be an understatement.

On one hand the declassification would potentially, and finally, outline the scale of the FBI/DOJ politicization and weaponization of intelligence against the President – exposing the entire ‘spygate’ scandal in all its glory.  On the other hand that potential is also seen as political leverage against the schemes of DC and all the characters.
Here’s the quotes that matter:

(New York Post) […]  “If they go down the presidential harassment track, if they want go and harass the president and the administration, I think that would be the best thing that would happen to me. I’m a counter-puncher and I will hit them so hard they’d never been hit like that.”
“I think that would help my campaign. If they want to play tough, I will do it. They will see how devastating those pages are.”

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