Several people have inquired about the Washington DC subpoenas for former CIA Director John Brennan being withdrawn, and what does that mean. I intentionally did not write about it at the time because I wanted to look closely at the fact pattern.

The DOJ is still planning to send requests for voluntary interviews and grand jury testimony according to media reports.

From my perspective, this is a good sign. Potentially a very good sign.

The issues around the CIA targeting President Trump are extensive, attached to numerous individuals and entities, and generally complex.  Normally, an investigation of this scope would begin with questions to the outer perimeter individuals who were carrying out the instructions of those above them.

CIA Director, John Brennan and CIA Analyst, Eric Ciaramella

It is from those types of lower-level interviews that material is gathered for use in examining the truthfulness of those who organized and directed the operations.  In the example of John Brennan’s false statements to congress surrounding the ICA (Intelligence Community Assessment), or the inclusion of the Steele Dossier in the analytical material, there are key people within the Directorate of Analysis, National Security Agency and National Intelligence Council who can give first-hand statements about Brennan’s instructions.

Those types of interviews are just as important as questioning John Brennan himself, and for obvious reasons those interviews should come first.

♦ Here is where it becomes important to remember a key thing that happened between the time the investigation of Brennan began and the arrival of investigative Asst to the AG, Joe DiGenova.

Do you remember the recent criminal referral by DNI Tulsi Gabbard for former CIA Analyst Eric Ciaramella?

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Two years after the Russia-Ukraine war began, people kept wondering why I continued to ask why no western media were boots on the ground in Ukraine delivering news of the conflict.  I called it “world war reddit” for a reason.  That question loomed even bigger given the relentless on-the-ground reporting over the U.S-Iran conflict.

Why were/are international journalists almost immediately embedded in Iran to cover the details of the conflict, yet that same approach never took place in Ukraine.

For Ukraine there was no daily reports on the fighting; no frontline reports with journalists in helmets and flak jackets; no live interviews or reports of the back-and-forth battles between Russia and Ukraine; no ‘coming to you live from Kiev‘ tonight, nothing.  However, as soon as military conflict breaks out in Iran – all the familiar war/conflict reporting surfaced again.

But I see the Ukraine war reported on Telegram, some say.  True, but really?

What you “see” is through a social media prism that is structurally controlled by Western intelligence operations.  World War Reddit!

For additional context, when the U.S. went to war in Iraq/Afghanistan, how did it impact your daily life?  That’s analogous the same impact within Russia that I experienced in 2024 (3 months) and 2025 (1 month).  All recognizable impact is sanctions related.

One of the reasons I traveled from Western Russia to Poland -specifically driving across Ukraine- was to see for myself. I shared that story before.

The reality of the Ukraine conflict, World War Reddit, is entirely against the interests of those who are constructing the false impression of it.

In reality the Eastern Donbas region is very pro-Russian and when the Russian Federation took over towns and geography, driving back the Ukraine military, Russian troops were factually greeted as liberators.  Now, there is a slow-grinding stalemate, and the losses on the Ukraine side are well beyond what has been reported by government officials.

I provide this context of reality -vs- media presentation because Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi is strongly calling attention to the bias and willful blindness of European media. WATCH:

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A few years ago, I was eating breakfast in a DC hotel listening to two men talk about their schedule for the day.  Their business was decorating homes for Christmas, and they were discussing their heavy workload.

As I listened quietly the men were describing premium rates for DC families who wanted their decorating services completed fastest.  The average rate was $15,000 per residence for 30-day interior holiday decorating, and the rates went up from there. They were overwhelmed with business calls.

I sat there stunned doing spit-takes with my coffee while thinking, “holy cow, who has that kind of money to blow, just renting Holiday decorations?”  One of the client names was familiar, Kellyanne Conway.  “Jumpin’ ju-ju bones, this is an actual thing they do up here,” I thought.  My mind was blown, but this put context to the economic bubble that isolated DC from the rest of ‘real’ America.

Yesterday, I read a New York Times column describing how the professional political employees and their families have been impacted by President Trump and the downsizing of the federal workforce.

Amid the tear-filled typeset meant to generate sympathy this part jumped out at me: “The District of Columbia currently has the highest unemployment rate in the nation, at 6.7 percent, in large part because of major reductions in the federal work force, including U.S.A.I.D., and cuts to government grants and contracts.” {CITATION}

Almost all of the $35 billion spent by USAID in 2024 went to Washington-based contractors, not to people in need overseas.  Eliminating USAID has now created an unemployment problem for all of those DC-based federal contractors, NGOs and USAID employees. The NYT article gives examples of the terrible state of affairs.  This is one:

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, hold a press briefing at the Pentagon to update on the current status of “Operation Epic Fury.”  Today is day 55 of the conflict.

Secretary Hegseth outlined how the U.S. blockade of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz is ongoing.  The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps are trying to use small boats to lay underwater mines while the U.S. military continues taking them apart. WATCH (prompted):

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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.

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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 †

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Following direct remarks from both Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, a triggered Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says the U.S. will not be permitted to dictate terms of the USMCA renegotiation, now scheduled for formal talks with Mexico only beginning May 25th.

According to the Canadian leadership they do not need the United States in order to maintain their economy.  The unfortunate people of Canada are very close to finding out exactly what that level of arrogance delivers.

USTR Jamieson Greer was just in Mexico meeting with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and the Mexican trade delegation. “Mexico’s economy minister Marcelo Ebrard ​said on Monday that ‌formal negotiations to review the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact, known ​as the USMCA, ​are due to begin the ⁠week of May ​25.”

“Tomorrow and this afternoon we ​will hear the U.S. side’s views. Once that is done, ​we will move ​on to the next phase, which ‌is ⁠formal negotiations. We expect formal negotiations to begin the week of May ​25,” ​Ebrard ⁠said following a meeting with U.S. Trade ​Representative Jamieson Greer.” {source}

Meanwhile Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney continues talking to his domestic audience about fighting Donald Trump and refusing to accept any terms that do not meet his current pontifications: “It’s not a case that the United States dictates the terms. We have a negotiation, we can come to a mutually successful outcome – it will take some time,” he continued.

In Washington, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said unless Canada engaged in talks about broadening the so-called rules of origin that allow goods to enter the United States tariff-free, Washington might have to impose other border controls. {source}

As the rhetoric continues increasing, the possibility of a full block against the import of Canadian goods increases.

It is worth remembering, the recent Supreme Court decision that overturned the IEEPA tariffs also reinforced the unilateral power of the U.S. President to regulate any/all trade with any foreign country including a full block of trade if designated.  Canada is positioned to be the first nation to discover the expressed power of the U.S. President as affirmed by the United States Supreme Court.

One of the reasons why Canadians are oblivious to the potential collapse of their economy is because U.S. media reports are blocked from Canadian social media sites.  One of the infringements within the USMCA is the Canadian Law Bill [C-18, the Online News Act] that blocks information to Canadian citizens that is not supported by the Canadian government.

The people of Canada are stuck inside an Orwellian government constructed echo-chamber unable to hear opposing viewpoints.  They simply have no idea what is heading in their direction.  Which is incredibly ironic considering how much Mark Carney rails against Russian President Vladimir Putin, yet Canada has more restrictions on information than Russia.  Think about it. The need for control is a reaction to fear.

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Anyone can tell those nations who are at greatest risk from the current oil/gas shortage are those nations who either: (a) do not have the infrastructure or capability to derive their own oil/gas, or (b) those nations who intentionally chased the “net-zero” climate change nonsense and thereby created the same problem as group (a).

The middle east oil/gas disruption is clearly showing which nations intentionally put themselves into the worst possible position.  The U.K and Europe are at the top of that list.  In this 20-minute recap, Mike Steger expands on his former outline about a new global reset and points out how the crisis in Iran is only a symptom of a more structural geopolitical shift that is underway and irreversible.

Steger’s analysis explores how the United States is mobilizing its industrial base, securing global energy flows, and positioning itself for a new century of economic and strategic dominance. From emergency energy directives and nuclear expansion… to the rebuilding of the American grid and supply chains… to the unraveling of Europe’s political order — this is a turning point moment. The question is not whether the world is changing, but rather who will shape what comes next. WATCH (prompted):

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 A new American century begins
2:30 The global energy crisis explained
5:15 Trump’s industrial strategy
8:20 Ending the climate agenda
10:50 Defense Production Act mobilization
13:50 Rebuilding America’s energy system
16:25 The global order shifts
19:10 Final message

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During a healthcare event in the Oval Office (full video below fold), President Trump took questions from the assembled press pool on current events of interest.  The Q&A session lasted just short of 20 minutes.

The primary questioning focused on the ongoing Iran conflict.  WATCH:

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Full event video below:

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President Trump announced today, the U.S-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended by three weeks.

President Trump posted news of the extension on Truth Social following a meeting at the White House that included “high ranking” representatives from Israel and Lebanon in addition to Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa. “I look forward in the near future to hosting the Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, and the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun. It was a Great Honor to be a participant at this very Historic Meeting!” [SOURCE]

[LINK]

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