Continued from previous entry.

Nice party, had a great time.

4:07 pm

I love the expression on Chairman Nadler's face while Gohmert was talking. 

Donald John Trump broke the law and sought to intimidate a head of state which CAUSED a delay in military assistance to Ukraine. Donald John Trump caused hardship in Ukraine. What is there to know beyond that?

Obtuse, there is a news article I posted here that unemployment claims were filed at an all time high in the past two years. Republicans do not know what they are doing but they talk about it like they do.

It doesn't matter if President Zelenskyy or any other leader of Ukraine states "There is no pressure," because they have been compromised by Donald John Trump in power in the Oval Office of the USA. That is an amazing realization. A president of the USA compromised a world leader and in doing so, if there was no Whistleblower, would have handed Russia a victory over the people of Ukraine.

The Trump administration has been deregulating anything they could get their hands on and it is nothing but corruption. Trump has yet to end corruption in his own administration.

SHAPIRO: So you've talked to experts who work on fighting corruption. (click here) What do they have to say about the Trump administration's anti-corruption efforts

RASCOE: So they point to two decisions made early on after Trump took office that they say really set the tone. The Securities and Exchange Commission had issued a rule that would've required oil and gas companies to disclose any payments they made to governments around the world. The rule was really aimed at preventing bribery, which is an issue for oil and gas companies who may be working in countries where oversight isn't that tight. But big oil companies were not a fan of this regulation, and Trump signed a law rescinding the rule. He argued that these rules were burdensome and might hurt businesses.

I spoke with Alexandra Wrage, who is president of TRACE, an anti-bribery business organization, and she said that decision was highly symbolic.

ALEXANDRA WRAGE: It's consistent with his pro-business, anti-regulation position, but it is incredibly unfortunate because the U.S. had been perceived as a leader in this field. And now when I travel, people comment on how quickly we've ceded that leadership role....

Hello? Trump's anti-corruption record is abysmal. 

December 12, 2019
By Yusuf Kahn

Saudi Aramco stock surged on the second day of trading (click here) after its record IPO. The company's market cap hit the $2 trillion mark.

At 12:00 p.m. in Riyadh (4:00 a.m. ET), Aramco's stock rose 8.2%, after pushing up 10% on its first day of trading on Wednesday.

Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman had been seeking a valuation of $2 trillion prior to the state-owned company's IPO in order to fuel his Vision 2030 plans to try and diversify the Saudi economy away from oil....

And what and with whom is Saudi Arabia spending their money? It is a darn shame the Trump Moscow Tower wasn't built.

5 October 2017
By Oliver Carroll

The Saudi King met with Russia’s President in the Kremlin (This isn't Saudi Junior, either.)

A faulty golden aircraft escalator (click here) and anger from Moscow’s elite about a 200-strong Saudi retinue taking over all the city’s 5-star hotels failed to dampen the fanfare accompanying King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on his first state visit to Russia. Met with an honour guard of dignitaries and the Preobrazhensky military orchestra, the Saudi king was sped along on a highway specially lined with billboards advertising the visit and a week-long festival of Saudi culture.

This was a big deal for Russia – with multi-billion energy and defence contracts in the balance – and it wanted King Salman to know.

Ahead of the visit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described the event as “an historical moment”. At the summit in the Kremlin on Thursday, Vladimir Putin agreed: This was a “landmark event” that would provide a “boost” to relations. And King Salman returned the compliments. Russia was “a friendly country,” he said.

According to the Kommersant newspaper, agreement has already been reached on a $3bn (£2.2bn) deal to supply the Saudis with Russia’s most advanced air defence missile system, the S400 Triumph. According to the publication, the deal will be signed off at a WTO meeting at the end of October. There may be other deals forthcoming on aircraft and helicopters – that depending on the success of talks....

The Republicans are completely wrong about Trump's anti-corruption policies on a global basis.

The sale of Javelins were already canceled when the phone call was made to the president of Ukraine to demand an investigation on other Americans. Don't try to say Trump is the anti-corruption angel to lead the world out of it's hell. Trump is lighting hell's fire in leading corruption in his policies and pen.

...RASCOE: After that rule was rescinded, the Trump administration followed that up by pulling the U.S. out of this international effort to set a global standard for transparency in oil and gas resource management. This is known as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. But somewhat ironically, Ukraine is actually still a part of this initiative, even though the U.S. is not.

SHAPIRO: So in both of those instances, the Trump administration countered efforts to boost transparency. And presumably, transparency helps eliminate corruption. So has the administration taken any proactive steps to fight international corruption?...

The Javelins were already canceled by Trump when he made that phone call to President Zelenskyy and when the sale of those Javelins was raised by President Zelenskyy TRUMP NEVER SAID A WORD ABOUT THE WITHHOLDING OF THE JAVELINS OR HOW UKRAINE COULD REDEEM ITSELF. TRUMP WAS WAITING FOR THE SALE TO EXPIRE. 

NOT A SINGLE WORD WAS MADE BY TRUMP TO PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE SALE OF THE JAVELINS.

NOT A WORD WAS SPOKEN BY TRUMP WHO WAS WAITING FOR THE EXPIRATION OF THE ABILITY OF UKRAINE TO PURCHASE THEM.

NOT A WORD!

Trump was not fighting corruption, he was handing Russia an advantage at the very least.

Trump was selling the USA's national security down the drain to satisfy Russia.

That cannot be contested. Trump is more than impeachable and quite frankly, the current Articles of Impeachment should go further!

December 12, 2019
By Dominique Mosbergen

Former Attorney General Eric Holder (click here) was unequivocal in his criticism of William Barr, the current attorney general of the United States, in a searing op-ed published in The Washington Post on Wednesday.

Holder, who served as the country’s top law enforcement officer from 2009 to 2015 and as deputy attorney general from 1997 to 2001, accused Barr of shameless partisanship and of having behaved in a way that’s “fundamentally inconsistent with his duty to the Constitution.”

Barr is “incapable” of serving effectively as attorney general, Holder said.

“As a former U.S. attorney general, I am reluctant to publicly criticize my successors. I respect the office and understand just how tough the job can be,” Holder began his op-ed. “But recently, Attorney General William P. Barr has made a series of public statements and taken actions that are so plainly ideological, so nakedly partisan and so deeply inappropriate for America’s chief law enforcement official that they demand a response from someone who held the same office.”...

The day before Trump was pressuring Ukraine for an investigation of other Americans, Russia was breaking a ceasefire.

25.07.2019 (July 25, 2019)

On Wednesday, July 24, (click here) the armed formations of the Russian Federation adhered to the so-called “harvest ceasefire” in the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) area in eastern Ukraine. Today, the invaders launched one attack on Ukrainian positions.

“On July 24, the armed formations of the Russian Federation and its mercenaries adhered to the sustained ceasefire regime,” the press center of the Joint Forces Operation Headquarters reports.

No casualties among Ukrainian troops were reported over the past day.

Today, the Armed Forces of Ukraine adhere to the sustainable ceasefire, while the armed formations of the Russian Federation and its mercenaries have already violated ceasefire once.

In the zone of action of tactical force “North”, Russian-led troops launched one attack from hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher and heavy machine gun on Ukrainian positions near Prychepylivka (50km north-west of Luhansk).

As a result of shelling, one Ukrainian serviceman was wounded.

Got that? Hand held anti tank grenade launcher is used against Ukraine soldiers. What did President Zelenskyy ask Trump about which he received no answer?

From the July 25th phone call: President is Trump.

...From the start, (click here) Merkel has played an impressive role in responding to the Ukraine crisis. In fact, her actions have allowed Germany to assume geopolitical leadership of Europe for the first time since 1945. Dropping her customary style of leading from behind, Merkel immediately declared Russia’s armed takeover of Crimea to be unacceptable in Europe’s hard-won “peace order” of the past 70 years. Like U.S. President Barack Obama, she sensibly rejected putting Western boots on the ground in a theater where Russia enjoys overwhelming military dominance. She also agreed with Obama that in order to counter Russian aggression, the West had to gamble on pitting its long-term financial might against Russia’s short-term military muscle.
...

Timeline - EU restrictive measures in response to the crisis in Ukraine (click here)

Regardless of the truth by the EU in leveraging sanctions and renewing those sanctions, this is what President Zelenskyy stated. There is every indication that President Zelenskyy already felt compromised and praised him and honored him in order to have the last statement in this paragraph addressed.

The two last statements are: 

"I would also like to thank you for your great support in the area of defense. We are ready to continue to cooperate for the next steps specifically we are almost ready to buy more Javelins fro the United States for defense purposes."

There is normally considerable preparation by the staff and president before these calls occur. Did Trump immediately know the status of the Javelins? Yes, he did. He knew he canceled the delivery. And, does Trump answer President Zelenskyy's statement about purchasing the canceled Javalins? No. This is what he said.

"I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say Crowdstrike..."



Trump goes on to say:

"As you saw yesterday, that whole nonsense ended with a very poor performance by a man named Robert Mueller, an incompetent performance, but they say a lot of it started with Ukraine. Whatever you can do, it's very important you do it fi that's possible."

Why would Trump bring up the very competent Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III and paint him as an incompetent? This was brought up the day after the Special Counsel made testimony to the US House. Trump was thinking about Mueller in his conversation with Zelenskyy. Why? How does that tie into Javelin missiles? 

Trump was intimidating Zelenskyy and was illustrating even the powerful US Congress could not help him.

The US House Republicans and Senators who have spoken out so far without a trial being conducted are grabbing at extraneous facts to the corruption of the Trump White House. Every time Trump has withheld monies from countries acting in support of the USA national interests, such as the Northern Triad, it has turned into a nightmare. 

Donald John Trump is incompetent and needs to be removed from office. He is only interested in his own priorities and not that of the American people.

Off topic:

The US Federal Communications Commission (click here), or FCC, just officially proposed a new 3-digit, toll-free "988" code for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.

The hotline's current number is 1-800-273-8255.

Can we please expedite this?

Rep. Jordan has changed his statements in changing the "idea" President Zelenskyy had no pressure during this conversation with Trump on July 25, 2019. Before this hour, 1917, Jordan and his colleagues stated clearly there was no pressure on President Zelenskyy when the phone call was made because the Ukraine president knew nothing of the cancelation of the Javelin's missiles. Now, Jordan states President Zelenskyy knew about the cancelation of the Javelin's before the July 25, 2019 telephone call. I wish Mr. Jordan would make up his mind about which lie he wants to continue, the one that President Zelenskyy had no pressure during the phone call because no one knew about the cancelation of the Javelins or the lie that President Zelenskyy did feel pressure at the time of the phone call because he did know the Javelins were canceled. 

Lies. The obtuse Republicans only have lies to make amendments and rants about the activity of Donald John Trump.

How did Radcliffe get a soliloquy? He is more of a Bubba than Collins. No one is calling the President of Ukraine a pathological liar. Radcliffe is not capable of doing anything coherent for more than 5 minutes and without a script. The Republicans are showing their fatigue at this long hour and it is time for them to go to bed.

Speaking of judges:

This is the caliber of the people being placed in judgeships.

December 11, 2019
By Mark Joseph Stein

The Senate confirmed Lawrence VanDyke (click here) to a lifetime appointment on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday by a vote of 51–44. Every Republican present except Sen. Susan Collins voted for the nomination; every Democrat present opposed it. Like Sarah Pitlyk, a judicial nominee confirmed just last week, VanDyke received a rare “Not Qualified” rating from the American Bar Association. After conducting 60 interviews, the ABA found that VanDyke has a reputation as “arrogant, lazy, an ideologue, and lacking in knowledge of the day-to-day practice including procedural rules.” Video of VanDyke lecturing, scolding, and interrupting judges during oral argument while serving as Nevada solicitor general lends credence to that assessment....

continued in next entry

Mr. Collins is violating the truth of the American people by providing a personal opinion of the detailed statement regarding the "Minority Day" provision of the US House rules. It is completely obvious Chairman Nadler took the demand for the "Minority Day" rule (click here) seriously by researched it extensively before ruling on the request.

Mr. Collins did not pay attention to the detailed statement of the Chairman in regard to his request and decided to disregard every word stated honoring his request for the "Minority Day" rule and continued to insult the process beyond what is reasonable. That is a violation of the public trust.

Mr. Collins continues to abuse his power as a Minority Leader with insults that are out of order and personal. The impeachment is valid and the crimes obvious. Denial of the facts is a violation of the trust of the American people.

Mr. Collins' hollow insults and screaming are itself rubber stamping tactics to delay the procedure of impeachment of the president of his party.

Thank you, Congressman Deutch. He is correct. The president himself has refused the opportunity to call witnesses and be heard, there really is no other discussion that falls in line with "good practices" of policy.

Mr. Jordan is a prime example of obtuse practices of Republicans. They are obtuse by the choice of their time spent on actually reading documents and legislating vs phone calls to fundraising. Their foul attitude and yelling may be a result of their inability to be on the phone for money. But, to continue with the identity of obtuse, the Republican practices are not interested in legislating so much as empty measures of time (What did the Republicans accomplish to carry out the business of the American people?).

Their obtuse condition of their occupation of the seats of power of the USA federal government is "filled in" by populous votes rather than votes based in fact, procedure and policy. The Republican Party is wrongly named, it is a populous party with very poor legislative practices surrendered to the power of money rather than the business of the country.

I find with every statement of these Republican committee members evidence of a sincere lack of interest in the sovereign state of the USA and protections of the USA Constitution.

I believe that was Congressman Cicilline who stated the facts leading to the impeachment were clear and overwhelming.

Congresswoman Lesko is cherry-picking which "committee" hearing she is paying attention to, again obtuse. There are enormous amounts of documentation and hearings conducted by the US House Intelligence Committee passed along to other members of the US House in understanding every member of the US House would have to vote. Deciding she is unable to understand those facts because the US Judiciary Committee needed to hold their own hearings is a poor use of time with a president violating the powers of the presidency and his overt disdain for the US House of Representatives in disclosing witnesses to carry out a full and robust set of hearings.

There is no further reason to continue with the hearings. If be known I am disappointed there weren't more facts coming from the US House Finance Committee, but, they are held up in court.

Congresswoman Lofgren basically seconded the statements of Congressman Cicilline in stating there were evidence presented to the US Congress in a secure room.

Sensenbrenner is nothing but hot air. He is making empty statements not based in fact because Impeachment is not a legal process, it is a Constitutional process that defends the very document that allows the proceedings today. This is not a Kenneth Starr proceedings, the laws have changed. Again, Sensenbrenner is insulting the processes of the US House by insulting the testimony of the Special Counsel as a "fizzle." He is not interested in the country or the US Constitution, he is interested in being obnoxious and time consuming.

Title 28: Judicial Administration (click here)

The electric power to my home went down a few minutes ago. The weather is not that bad and the bill is paid. 

I have to resort to my phone. Amazing.

That's better. Gohmert is again obtuse. The laws governing Ken Starr is completely different than exists today.

Jordon needs to go home and provide dignity and validity to those victimized under his responsibility as an assistant coach.

Congressman Jefferies is once again stating the facts known as investigations previous held to a great deal of time and trouble by the US House on Intelligence Committee.

Abuse of Power is codified:

25 CFR § 11.448 - Abuse of office.

Abuse of power, (click here) in the form of "malfeasance in office" or "official misconduct," is the commission of an unlawful act, done in an official capacity, which affects the performance of official duties. Malfeasance in office is often grounds for a for cause removal of an elected official by statute or recall election.

The facts are plain regardless of the hissy fit by Mr. Gaetz. The STATEMENTS BY OTHERS AFTER the fact are invalid. The people involved after the fact are compromised. "Compromise" is a real term in real use in investigation and decisions.

18 U.S. Code § 1505. (click here)

Obstruction of proceedings before departments, agencies, and committees

Republicans are obtuse to the facts and the law.

Once again, Congresswoman Jayapal reiterates the facts and points of law in answer to the obtuse statements and responses by Republicans.

Congresswoman Escobar is again emphasizing the law by displacing it in another context to illustrate what would happen to other Americans if they committed the crimes Donald John Trump is accused of these impeachment hearings.

Congressman Jayapal states, "Is it ever okay to condition official action on personal gain?"

"That was the whole deal to them." Testimony is evidence. The statements after the fact are irrelevant. They are obtuse and there is no rational response to their disinformation.

After the fact is not relevant, but, Jordan is going to yell about it all the more. Even though the monies were released and there was no announcement by the president of Ukraine is irrelevant, the CRIMES WERE ALREADY COMMITTED.

"I would like you to do us a favor though" followed THE FACT the aid was canceled. When the Former Vice President Biden stated he would withhold support to Ukraine it was stated directly to the public. Trump was acting covertly even to the president of Ukraine. At no time did the Ukraine leadership, even in the military, understand why the military aid was not forthcoming. TRUMP ACTED COVERTLY.

The Republicans, including Mr. Johnson, refuses to recognize the testimony of those closest to the confusion of the lack of forthcoming military aid. There is significant testimony to the holding of military aid and impending deadlines to the loss of that aid. The US House is moving to impeachment because of the overwhelming delay by Trump to subpoenas. There is plenty of evidence now. There is no reason to postpone the obvious.

The Republican Amendments are fraudulent in missing facts to act on.

The majority of the Committee is doing a great job. I am sure they are capable of discerning fact from fiction in Republican amendments.

Off topic:

A troubling report regarding a jump in unemployment claims.

The number of Americans (click here) applying for unemployment benefits jumped by the most in two years last week, but the sharp increase likely reflected seasonal volatility. 

The Labor Department said Thursday that initial jobless claims rose 49,000 to a seasonally adjusted 252,000 in the week that ended December 7. That was the highest level since September 2017 and compared with forecasts for 212,000 claims. 

The rise was likely driven by the Thanksgiving holiday, which could have interfered with government estimates. In the previous week, jobless claims dropped to a seven-month low. The less volatile four-week moving average rose by 6,250 to 224,000 in early December.

I find that odd. Holiday hiring doesn't usually end or reverse until after Christmas and even into January with returns and sales. Was the Thanksgiving holiday not provide what was expected hence resulting in layoffs to counterbalance the loss in anticipated income.

I wish the US House Judiciary Committee success in passing the Articles of Impeachment. I think the Republican Party is a loss as a partner to the USA Constitution. The extremists are evident on this committee and provide no reassurance of security.

I am going to attend a holiday party with dear friends, including those that are Republicans and Libertarians that are disillusioned by the glib approach by the Republicans on this committee.

Until later.

Mr. Collins, the Ranking Member of the US House Judiciary Committee is a danger to the USA's Constitution.

He is engaged in half-truths STILL.

The truth behind this evening's hearing regarding the impeachment of Donald J. Trump begins with patriots, men and women that have devoted their lives to this country. Those that see the truth should proceed tonight with confidence and resolve.

People like Ambassador Taylor are the Americans that take on the responsibility, they take on the danger and they provide the dignity that conveys the best of the USA. They can't be let down by the very US Congress they have provided with the truth. They matter, their testimony is important and it is in the US House meeting room to carry forward the truth and resolve.

William B. Taylor (click here)

Ambassador, UkraineTerm of Appointment: 06/05/2006 to present

Inevitably, (click here) in the days to come, Republicans will rely on their supporters in the media to present the impeachment hearings as a matter of interpretation. In the moment, though, Taylor, a West Point graduate, Vietnam veteran, and longtime diplomat, was sober and deliberate. Like his co-testifier today, George Kent, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Taylor took pains during his opening remarks to describe himself as nonpartisan. “I am not here to take one side or the other,” he said. “My sole purpose is to provide facts as I know them.” He carefully described the situation he stepped into when he became the acting Ambassador this summer. There were, he discovered, two channels of American policy toward Ukraine. There was the “regular” channel, in which he interacted with Kent and officials at the National Security Council, and there was the “irregular” channel, which included Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s lawyer; Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff; and others. It was through this “irregular” channel, Taylor said, that hundreds of millions of dollars in security assistance and a White House visit were used to pressure Ukraine to provide Trump with political ammunition against the campaign of Joe Biden....

Ambassador Taylor walks the same land as President Zelenskyy and would never compromise the Ukraine president as Donald J. Trump has.

Hardly six months into his tenure as the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky has already learned to temper his expectations. He does not expect his first round of peace talks with Russia, which are scheduled to take place in Paris on Dec. 9, to end the war that has been raging along their border for the past five years. Nor does he expect too much from his Western allies going into these negotiations, Zelensky said in a wide-ranging interview on Saturday....

...But (click here) he also pushed back on Trump’s recent claims about corruption in Ukraine, and questioned the fairness of Trump’s decision to freeze American aid. “If you’re our strategic partner, then you can’t go blocking anything for us,” he said. “I think that’s just about fairness. It’s not about a quid pro quo.”...

Collins owes the country an apology for his lies in the opening statement of the Ranking member. All the money legislated to Ukraine still has not been delivered.

November 20, 2019
By Shiro Tarlo

The White House (click here) is still withholding some of the congressionally approved military aid to Ukraine that President Donald Trump froze over the summer, even as impeachment investigators scrutinize whether the commander-in-chief used the funds as leverage to pressure a foreign leader to commit publicly to investigations that would benefit him politically.

More than $35 million of the nearly $400 million in military aid that Trump had halted has not been released to Ukraine, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday, citing Pentagon spending documents it had obtained. Instead, the aid for Ukraine remains in U.S. accounts. The newspaper noted it is unclear why the money has not been released....

Senator Crapo needs to move on because he does not have evidence to bias beyond that of the Inspector General.

Crapo is trying to interject politics into an official document. There is no evidence beyond that of the Inspector General. If Crapo has more evidence he needs to introduce it.

THERE IS NO DEEP STATE, CRAPO!

The degree of those involved is due to the high profile of the case.

"Review of Four FISA Applications..." (click here)

Why do I get the feeling as though I have to read this? The level of political dialogue introjected into this report is hideous and contrary to the national security of the USA.

"Lisa Page is not in the FISA discussions."

Gee, what a disappointment, she is such a recognizable scapegoat.

This report was originally issued on December 9, 2019. The report was updated on December 11, 2019, with the following changes (page references are to the public version of the report):

On pages iv, xvi, 400, and 407, we changed the phrase “before and after” to “both during and after the time.” In all instances, the phrase appears in connection to the time period during which we found that the Crossfire Hurricane team used Confidential Human Sources (CHSs) to interact and consensually record conversations with Page and Papadopoulos. The corrected information appearing in this updated report reflects the accurate information concerning these time periods that previously appeared, and still appears, on pages 305 and 313 (e.g., the statement on page 305 that “the Crossfire Hurricane team tasked CHSs to interact with Page and Papadopoulos both during the time Page and Papadopoulos were advisors to the Trump campaign, and after Page and Papadopoulos were no longer affiliated with the Trump campaign”).

There are others that have conducted an assessment of all this as well.

Crossfire Hurricane: Inside Donald Trump's War on the FBI (Hardcover)

By Josh Campbell

It is January 6, 2017, (click here) two weeks before the inauguration. Only a handful of people know about the Steele dossier, and the nation is bitterly divided by the election results. As rumors begin to circulate that something might be brewing with the newly elected president and Russia, FBI special agent Josh Campbell joins the heads of the US intelligence community on a briefing visit to Trump Tower in New York City. He does not yet know that this meeting will eventually lead to the firing of his boss, James Comey, or that within weeks his former boss Robert Mueller will be appointed to investigate collusion and obstruction of justice at the highest level. He does not yet know that the FBI will come under years of sustained attacks from the commander in chief of the very nation its agents have sworn to protect. But, from his unique position within the FBI, he will watch it occur.

In this gripping fly-on-the-wall narrative, Campbell takes readers behind the scenes of the earliest days of the Russia investigation—codename: Crossfire Hurricane—up to the present...

I am quite certain a professional such as Josh Campbell makes a far more interesting and informed assessment of this examination of the FBI. "Crossfire Hurricane" is the name of the Russian investigation, not the work of the IG.

continued...

An FBI examination of Clinton's server found over 100 emails containing classified information, including 65 emails deemed "Secret" and 22 deemed "Top Secret". An additional 2,093 emails not marked classified were retroactively classified by the State Department.

(It is noteworthy to realize none of the emails found on the Clinton server of a former Senator and First Lady, besides Secretary of State made it into the hands of enemies.)

Hawley is a good soldier for Trump. Donald J. Trump was not the only candidate involved with the FBI during the 2016 elections.

I think he didn't pay attention to the role Comey carried out in bringing alarm to the country about EMAILS FOUND ON A LAPTOP.

August 24, 2019
By Angelo Fichera

Q: Did the FBI (click here) wait until after the 2016 election to review the Hillary Clinton emails found on Anthony Weiner’s laptop?

A: No. A viral story misinterprets an FBI document and ignores widely reported facts.

This is what occurs with any degree of information from official announcements made to the American people, it becomes fact when it is not. 

When James Comey announced the discovery of emails that reached the Clinton offices on a laptop owned by Anthony Weiner it was an announcement of the discovery. These were not assigned to an investigation into the Russian investigation either. That was no at issue with these emails. Not every email discovery is linked to the Russian investigation.

The Viral Story (click here)

August 4, 2018

Elder Patriot – Yesterday’s FBI release from the their “vault” files (click here) on Hillary Clinton brings us one giant step closer to uncovering the massive systemic corruption that the Clinton’s and Obama seeded throughout our government.

The newly released documents discuss the contents of Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin’s laptop.  The laptop was seized, under court warrant on September 25, 2016, by the NYPD as part of their investigation into the Weiner sexting case.

While the NYPD was conducting a forensic analysis of the Weiner/Abedin laptop, it was discovered that the hard drive contained 350,000 of Hillary Clinton’s emails and 344,000 Blackberry communications.  But, you already knew that.

Here’s what you were never told by the HRC-BHO protective media.

These were never reviewed by the FBI investigators assigned to help lead agent Peter Strzok.  Nor, was any attempt made to analyze the newly discovered files until after the election was over.  From the vault release:...

Lindsay Graham didn't pay attention. It is why Republicans are obtuse, the worse of which is in the White House.

October 14, 2016

By Dana Priest and Tom Hamburger

Former senior U.S. national security officials (click here) are dismayed at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's repeated refusal to accept the judgment of intelligence professionals that Russia stole files from the Democratic National Committee computers in an effort to influence the U.S. election.

The former officials, who have served presidents in both parties, say they were bewildered when Trump cast doubt on Russia's role after receiving a classified briefing on the subject and again after an unusually blunt statement from U.S. agencies saying they were "confident" that Moscow had orchestrated the attack....

Donald J. Trump was impossible to deal with as a candidate. He was refusing reports from the military and intelligence all during his candidacy and once elected he locke the door of the Oval Office to the intelligence agency.

November 24, 2019
By Kristen Welker, Ken Dilanian and Alexander Jaffe

President-elect Donald Trump (click here) has had only two intelligence briefings since he won the election more than two weeks ago, intelligence sources told NBC News on Wednesday — a much lower number than his predecessors had and fewer even than Vice President-elect Mike Pence.

A senior intelligence official cautioned that it was too early to gauge the significance of Trump's sparse briefing schedule, given that he is in the middle of his transition process.

But the news, first reported by The Washington Post, will likely fuel critics who've questioned Trump's knowledge of foreign affairs and national security issues....

It is frightening.

February 5, 2019

By John Walcott

In the wake of President Donald Trump’s renewed attacks (click here) on the U.S. intelligence community this week, senior intelligence briefers are breaking two years of silence to warn that the President is endangering American security with what they say is a stubborn disregard for their assessments.

Citing multiple in-person episodes, these intelligence officials say Trump displays what one called “willful ignorance” when presented with analyses generated by America’s $81 billion-a-year intelligence services. The officials, who include analysts who prepare Trump’s briefs and the briefers themselves, describe futile attempts to keep his attention by using visual aids, confining some briefing points to two or three sentences, and repeating his name and title as frequently as possible.

What is most troubling, say these officials and others in government and on Capitol Hill who have been briefed on the episodes, are Trump’s angry reactions when he is given information that contradicts positions he has taken or beliefs he holds. Two intelligence officers even reported that they have been warned to avoid giving the President intelligence assessments that contradict stances he has taken in public....

This is proof of how the Trump White House and the Senate Republicans are talking to the American people in "half-truths." Sure, Trump didn't receive briefings about important issues to USA national security BECAUSE HE REFUSED THEM AND THEN LIED ABOUT IT.

Graham has no right to grandstanding the hearing for political points to push through half-truths to the American people.

Peter Strzok and Lisa Page were wrongly exploited by the Republicans for their own political purposes. I probably should have addressed this a long time ago, but, there are only so many hours in the day.

The "talk" by Strzok is STUPID. There are no complete dialogues known to the American people either and that is why there is an Inspector General. The Inspector General sorts through all the mess, including complaints about superiors and looks to where the law was broken and how it mattered. I do have to say that Peter Struck should have provided a little pride in the work before him realizing Trump could become president, hence, those under him probably saw "a threat" rather than the task of finding facts.

Peter Strzok was a horrible supervisor, that does not make him a bad FBI agent. That is also true of Lisa Page, a lover to Peter Strzok. She was a good agent, but, entertained all the STUPID "talk" by her lover. That dynamic of STUPID TALK is a culture, not the law and it is why some of those under Strzok's supervision took the investigation in wrongful directions.

December 11, 2019

Lisa Page, (click here) the former FBI lawyer who exchanged anti-Trump text messages with another FBI employee, is suing the Justice Department and FBI over the disclosure of those text messages to the media. Her attorneys argue in the suit that the revelation of her text messages violates the Privacy Act, which bars "disclosing a covered record 'about' an individual unless an exception applies or the individual who is the subject of the record consents in writing to the disclosure."

The Justice Department declined on Tuesday to comment on the lawsuit.

About 375 of Page's text messages with former FBI agent Peter Strzok, who led the FBI's probe into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was Secretary of State, were released in December 2017. In the texts, exchanged during the presidential campaign, the two often expressed distaste for Mr. Trump....

Lisa Page is absolutely correct in suing the departments that LEAKED her emails for political purposes. The Republicans had a field day with her and Strzok in the public. She should have been brought before supervisors when those in the Congress and/or White House had objected to the content and context of those emails. This is NOT NORMAL procedure and she is correct.

The Republicans discovered the word, "emails" and continued to push that "evil" content in their days after the election in any why they could. That "email" culture in the US Congress with the Republicans is still alive today as witnessed by Lindsey Graham and his grandstanding.

The American people need to hear from the Inspector General to understand the purpose and procedure for finding wrong doing in the way it matters to the country's national security.

The Inspector General is correct, in that, any and all bias (potential or actual) has to be reported to the court. That does not mean the court would rule differently. 

The Inspector General conducts these reviews to rout out corruption of the process. There is no way of turning back the clocks to redo the FISA hearings, but, going forward there will be safeguards/guardrails within the practices of the FBI when seeking FISA warrants.

There was no prosecution of Carter Page and the FBI was correct in suspecting Russian influence with Carter Page because he had/has significant connections to Russia. In fact, Carter Page was being courted by Russia to influence the Trump Campaign. To try to change that TRUTH is a danger to the USA.

The lack of disclosure and the "snowballing dynamic" of the investigation has brevity in realizing the extent Carter Page's innocense in acting against the USA within the Trump Administration was heralded by the FBI. The lack of coordination between the FBI and CIA is either comical or egotistical and it has to be addressed.

Nothing happened to the Trump Campaign and he successfully won the election WITH assistance of the Russian government. Anyone can debate whether THAT FACT has adversely effected the country and the worry by the FBI was warranted. 

The flip side of Graham's focus is the question, "Was the FBI properly authorized to end the Russian influence during the elections of 2016?"

The country has a real problem. A man running for office won the nomination of a major party in the USA and continued on to win the presidency of the USA. He did this with help by a foreign power. That is fact. The idea he wanted to repeat that dynamic is the subject of a current process of impeachment. The damage Trump has done to the USA domestically and internationally will never be fully understood or measured, but, it is immense.

The responsibility of the Inspector General is as enormous as that. His truthful facts are important and this hearing will be viewed as yet another step in containing either too much power or not enough power of the FBI in conducting the national security of the USA when it comes to foreign interference in maintaining the efficacy of the USA Constitution.

The fact that Graham has focused on Strzok and his prejudice in STUPID TALK is important to a certain extent, but, is not the entire subject of the Inspector General report. The Inspector General did not exonerate anyone in the chain of command and whether those in the chain of command see themselves as wrongfully held responsible for the FISA warrants is yet to be determined.

Lisa Page obviously believes she was wrongfully used in the public realm as a problem in the investigation. I believe she is correct and any undo and ACTUAL influence by her in the investigation should have been maintained as an internal process of the FBI. She is an American with a life to live and not a celebrity by choice that may welcome public exposure. The USA government and may I say, Donald J. Trump personally should be held responsible for adverse effects of her employ that continues in her life. She should sue Trump in his use of her identity in his politics. She can sue him personally for his exploitation of her.

The Inspector General is correct again, in that, STUPID TALK was not the issue so much as that prejudice moving into the investigation. That should not have happened and the REASON for that has to be determined. If the agents involved in the chain of command felt more threat than empowerment, that has to be explored. They took the investigation into their own hands to some extent and it may be because they were not empowered to carry forward their concerns in a way that empowered their fears for the country. That is a legitimate concern and it should be the concern of Congress and the country.

This is the USA. Donald J. Trump is not the USA.

This is a country that doesn't disappear from the face of Earth, because, it is a great people that make the USA great. Great people endure history, just ask Benjamin Franklin, "A Republic, if you can keep it."

December 10, 2019
By Catherine E. Shoichet

New Haven - The principal's voice (click here) piped through the PA system at Wilbur Cross High School with a startling announcement.

ICE had detained a student.

"Everyone was worried and asking around," says Sandy Martinez-Paz, a 17-year-old junior at the school. "We wanted to know who it was."

Students later learned that Mario Aguilar, an 18-year-old who enrolled in the school last year, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at a nearby courthouse where he'd gone to face charges after a traffic accident.

It's the kind of case that unfolds frequently across the United States, but often goes unnoticed or quickly fades from view.

At Wilbur Cross, something different happened....

I thought he might have stopped in to make a deal for potassium iodide considering Russian's nuclear program is out of control.

December 9, 2019
By Shannon Pettypiece and Hallie Jackson

Washington - President Donald Trump (click here) plans to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the White House on Tuesday as the Democratic impeachment inquiry raises fresh questions about his relationship with that nation.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will also attend the meeting intended to "discuss the state of the bilateral relationship," a senior administration official said....

Supposedly, Pompeo asked Lavrov to stay out of the 2020 elections. From "Stars and Stripes:"

December 10, 2019
By Matthew Lee and Deb Riechmann

...Lavrov met earlier in the day with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, (click here) who warned against Russian interference in U.S. elections. Lavrov repeated denials of Russian interference, calling them “baseless." Special counsel Robert Mueller, who took over the Trump-Russia investigation from the FBI, determined that Russia interfered in the election in an effort to help Trump beat his 2016 Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

“I was clear: It's unacceptable, and I made our expectations of Russia clear,” Pompeo said of election interference. "The Trump administration will always work to protect the integrity of our elections. Period. Should Russia or any foreign actor take steps to undermine our democratic processes, we will take action in response.”...

Something tells me the request by Pompeo didn't reach the Foreign Minister's ears, perhaps Trump's interpreter was in order.

The New York Times is reporting that Pompeo was discussing nuclear arms with Lavrov. I suppose miracles happen, but, in September 2019 Lavrov was stating "The West" is in decline.

September 28, 2019
By Edith M. Lederer and Sarah DiLorenzo

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, right, walks onto the stage to address the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters Friday, Sept. 27, 2019.

United Nations - Russia’s foreign minister (click here) took aim at the West on Friday, saying its philosophies are out of step with the times and that it is struggling to accept what he called its diminishing dominance in world affairs.

In his speech before the U.N. General Assembly, Sergei Lavrov blamed the countries that declared themselves winners of the Cold War between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union for the current challenges facing the world, and for the increasing fragmentation of the international community.

Who worries about that? No one worries about that. If there has to be a determination about the Cold War then it is easy to say, THERE IS NO MORE SOVIET UNION!

He pointedly scorned much of the “West,” a term Russian officials typically use to refer to the United States and its traditional allies in Europe. He accused them of manipulating their citizens, disseminating false information, and preventing journalists from doing their work — all charges that the West has long lobbed at the Russian government and its predecessor, the Soviet Union....

WHEN ARE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE GOING TO WAKE UP TO THE FACT RUSSIA IS AN ENEMY OF THE USA AND A PRESIDENT THAT ENTERTAINS THEM ARE EQUALLY A THREAT?

There is no meaningful discussion about a nuclear non-proliferation treaty. There never will be.

Everything Trump does is political and removes funding from the government infrastructure.

Is Director Wray nearing retirement? Sorry to tell Director Wray that Trump is scapegoating him, no different than any other FBI Director he could not get to play his game, as Barr does.

If I may?

The US House is currently and rightfully drawing up Articles of Impeachment. While the US House carried out an Impeachment Inquiry we heard how the DOJ Inspector General was preparing a document that would show how the FBI spied and sought to undermine the Trump campaign. 

That didn't happen. Now, Trump turns to pandering Barr and a US Attorney that is bringing information from abroad into the review of the agency. I can't help but speculate that the US Attorney what's his name? Durham? Dunham? Whatever, will carry the theme, "From Russia with love."

I fully expect there to be Russian information that implicates Ukraine in the 2016 campaign. That is the propaganda circulating through the Trump universe and it will be a bottom line to some of that information. What the US Attorney will have no CONTROL over is the acceptance of this information. While the DOJ would not NORMALLY accept foreign government information to taint determination of a review of the FBI, Trump wants this and Barr will demand it.

It is normal for international intelligence agencies to SHARE information, a foreign government is not a review participant. It is ridiculous to think about the lack of control the FBI would experience in trying to please the world instead of focusing on the USA's national security.

Barr will justify the tainting of the US Attorney's review because of a certain dossier and it's citation of information from Russia. It is childish to say the least and definitely political to seek retribution over an opposition research document.

So, while Director Wray is bending over backwards to prevent politics from tainting the agency, it won't matter and he will be scapegoated as lacking the ability to carry out the work of the FBI. 

It is not a legal process under Barr, it is a political process. Barr's history in the DOJ demands that assessment. He is living up to his past and at the same time in doing so is attempting to bury it. If Barr can deliver a "Deep State" for Trump he will also alleviate from and rewrite his past.

The document coming from the US Attorney is contaminated with corruption. Already. What valid investigation by a US Attorney would be made public before the fact?

I do believe Director Wray has a vital agency to run to protect the USA's security from enemies foreign and domestic. I wish him peace in his decisions.

I am happy because the unions have done well under this trade agreement.

It isn't easy in the year 2019 to have smiles on the faces of union leaders, but, Congressional Democrats did exactly that. 

Democrats – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) (click here) is also having a good day. Democrats get to show America that they are capable of doing things beyond impeachment. They also wielded a lot of leverage during the negotiations, forcing Trump -- as well as Mexico -- to accept more stringent enforcement of labor rights in the final deal. Pelosi is touting that Democrats helped make the deal “infinitely better,” a play to her base.

Labor – Labor unions, especially AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, really pushed hard here. Trump’s top trade negotiator consulted them frequently during the original USMCA deal in 2018, and unions stood their ground in 2019 to force even more favorable provisions to ensure U.S. jobs don’t flee quickly to Mexico. The result is USMCA is expected to create 176,000 new jobs in the United States and labor rights are poised to expand in Mexico. A committee will monitor Mexico’s progress and if the nation fails to achieve certain benchmarks, there will be punitive action.

US Unions are vital to the American Middle Class. I know for a fact they were involved with this trade agreement as they held public awareness initiatives through digital media. The union leaders in the USA made a difference. This is what it is all about, the Middle Class has its champions. 

Bill Barr is interested in hypotheticals and not facts. The facts are overwhelming and real. If Bill Barr applied himself to the facts we could better decide if he is actually interested in fulfilling his oath rather than loyalty to Trump.

There were excellent reasons for the FBI to investigate the 2016 elections, besides the hacking of the DCCC and Clinton Campaign.

November 2, 2019
By Kevin Poulsen

If the stories broadcast by the Trump-endorsed One America News Network (click here) sometimes look like outtakes from a Kremlin trolling operation, there may be a reason. One of the on-air reporters at the 24-hour network is a Russian national on the payroll of the Kremlin’s official propaganda outlet, Sputnik.

Kristian Brunovich Rouz, originally from the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, has been living in San Diego, where OAN is based, since August 2017, reporting on U.S. politics for the 24-hour news channel. For all of that time, he’s been simultaneously writing for Sputnik, a Kremlin-owned news wire that played a role in Russia’s 2016 election-interference operation, according to an assessment by the U.S. intelligence community....

"One America News" sounds like a Russian operative's idea of influencing Americans. It is also a goal by Donald J. Trump. He would like nothing more than one media outlet for the entire country and he would be in control of it.

Regardless of it's large corruption, it is still there. OANN (click here)

There is a lot of Russian propaganda at OANN. Lutsenko is one of the two Prosecutor Generals removed from office because of their willingness to be corrupt and ignoring corruption in Ukraine.

December 8, 2019

One America’s Chanel Rion (click here) has been tracking down Ukrainian witnesses as part of an exclusive OAN investigative series, which dismantles the baseless Adam Schiff impeachment hoax. She spoke with Ukrainian former Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko, who said Yovanovitch perjured herself before Congress....

OANN is operating in the USA. Those that value the truth and want to end Russian propaganda in the USA should be demanding equal time. The reporting of this media outlet is very, very onesided in promoting Russian propaganda.

I can't even give brevity to the opinion section because there is no way of knowing if they are also Russian operatives or sympathizers. The commenters are simply wrong and quite possibly because they are reading a one-sided news media outlet. They have no facts from this news outlet to balance their ability to formulate a legitimate opinion. The commenters can't  be taken seriously.

Republicans say elections matter, well, here it is.

The people spoke. They don't trust Trump and they are proven correct in their assessment.

McCarthy is obtuse.

On November 6, 2018, (click here) 470 seats in the U.S. Congress (35 Senate seats and all 435 House seats) were up for election. The Democratic Party won control of the House, and the Republican Party retained control of the Senate.

Democrats gained a net total of 40 U.S. House seats, 17 more than the 23 seats they needed to win control of the House. Heading into the election, Republicans controlled the House with a 235-193 majority (plus seven vacancies). From 1918 to 2016, the president’s party lost an average of 29 seats in midterm elections.

Republicans gained a net total of two U.S. Senate seats. Heading into the election, Republicans held 51 seats, Democrats held 47 seats, and the remaining two were held by independents who caucused with Democrats. In 2018, Democrats defended 26 seats—two held by independents—while Republicans defended nine seats. Ten Democratic seats were in states that supported Donald Trump (R) over Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016....

The US House acts on their oath of office.

Articles of Impeachment

Abuse of Power - A misuse of power by someone in a position of authority who can use the leverage they have to oppress persons in an inferior position or to induce them to commit a wrongful act.

President Trump acted against President Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, in asking for a favor to open an investigation against a political opponent in the 2020 elections.  In addition, he stated to another authority in his administration that President Zelensky ONLY needed to announce the investigation. The investigation into Former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden wasn't valid in it's brevity. This was one of the worst abuses of power imaginable by Donald J. Trump. He wanted the president of Ukraine to pretend there was an investigation to secure his re-election in 2020.

I don't see how any US Senator can look the other way. What is next? A fictitious investigation into them by another country, like Russia, to bring about compliance to any demand by Russia? This cannot be ignored and swept under the carpet in additional corruption of our US Constitution.

Obstruction of Congress

Also known as Contempt of Congress.

I don't have to speak to this, Congress has already spoken.

Obstruction of Congress: (click here) A Brief Overview of Federal Law Relating to Interference with Congressional Activities
Charles Doyle Senior Specialist in American Public Law 
November 5, 2010

I have immense regard to the Whistleblower to end the abuse of power by Donald J. Trump. The Whistleblower, in great courage, has changed the course of history and protected the lives of innumerable people in Ukraine.

There is a peace process between Ukraine and Russia today because the Whistleblower acted and Ukraine is a strong and independent sovereign country. Ukraine must maintain it's strong profile to end a war with Russia.

The Whistleblower complaint was never about politics, it was always about the sovereign country, Ukraine. The US Congress cannot allow any such threat by a US president to continue.