Reports surface today that President Trump has cancelled the 2012/2013 covert CIA program giving weapons to ISIS and al-Qaeda in Syria.  [Washington Post Link]

Various news organizations frame the issue as cancelling the program to “arm the moderate opposition to Bashir Assad”.  However, those news reports are entirely false.

We know the Obama administration was arming ISIS as part of the larger Syria strategy because Secretary of State John Kerry went on record admitting the Obama Syrian strategy was actually to arm ISIS and extremist Islamic groups (al-Nusra) against Assad.
We also know Secretary Kerry was being truthful in that media-hidden, albeit recorded, admission because CTH specifically tracked and investigated the CIA weapons shipments as an accidential outcome of the finalized Benghazi Briefing material in 2013/2014.
The Washington Post might be claiming today that President Trump is discontinuing a covert CIA plan that armed “moderates”.  But we know, if Trump is actually canceling this program, the actual recipients of the covert weapons plan were ISIS, al-Qaeda and al-Nusra in Syria – By their own damned admissions.
There simply is no doubt of that truth.   The Washington Post is lying, and despite their earnest efforts we can actually prove their framework is a substantive and factual falsehood.    Here’s some of the proof, including Kerry’s recorded admission:
(more…)

Those who have followed the MAGAnomic trade and economic policy closely were aware a tonal shift had taken place in the last several weeks.
Specifically because of their weak position, and faced with the first U.S. President in their modern economic history who intends to stop the erosion of American wealth, China intentionally used North Korean aggression in order to create trade leverage with the U.S.
Today, at the U.S./China Comprehensive Economic Dialogue in Washington DC Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross left no room to doubt the approach President Trump and the U.S. trade team are going to take in the upcoming trade standoff.
At opening remarks between the two sides, Ross outlined the U.S. trade gap with China in unusually blunt terms. While U.S. exports to China have grown in recent years, imports have expanded even faster, leading to a $309 billion trade deficit.

“If this were just the natural product of free-market forces, we could understand it, but it’s not,” Ross said, as Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang looked on. “So it’s time to rebalance in our trade and investment relationship in a more fair, equitable and reciprocal manner.”  (video below)

(more…)

White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders held an off-camera news briefing at the White House on Wednesday, July 19:

.
Transcript will be available later tonight at this link.
(more…)

In February U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping agreed to a format for ongoing trade discussion and economic dialog.  The outcome of their discussions was a 100 day road map to include way-points for economic dialog.
An outcome from the way-point approach was a showing of good faith with China opening their market to U.S. Beef export and the purchase of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG), while allowing greater access to its financial services sector to U.S.   However, significant trade imbalance remains and ongoing U.S./China economic dialog was scheduled.
Today Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, USTR Robert Lighthizer and White House Adviser Jared Kushner  attended the next phase US – China Comprehensive Economic Dialog meeting.

.
*NOTE* after Wilbur Ross delivered his brutally honest remarks the Chinese contingent to the talks cancelled a 5:00pm press conference.
(more…)

“For seven years you promised the American people you would repeal Obamacare. People are hurting and frankly inaction is not an option.”
~ President Donald Trump

President Donald Trump held a luncheon for Senate Republicans on Wednesday and delivered stern remarks toward their failure to reach agreement on repealing or overhauling Obamacare.  President Trump demanded they keep their campaign promises and find a new healthcare approach.

.
President Trump told the 49 senators who came to a White House luncheon today they should not leave Washington for a planned August recess until they can find common ground on healthcare and do the job Americans are paying them to do.
(more…)

Earlier in the year President Trump established a commission to review U.S. election integrity.  Earlier today the first meeting of that Commission on Providing Election Integrity took place.
The meeting video is below which begins with remarks by Vice-President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump. (A Transcript follows):

[Transcript] 11:28 A.M. EDT – THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, good morning. Please be seated. On behalf of the First Family, welcome to the White House. And welcome to the inaugural meeting of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity.
(more…)

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.

President Trump Twitter @POTUS / Vice President Pence Twitter @VP

Sean Spicer Twitter @PressSec

Sometime around midnight EDT WordPress must have released a corrupted update code or something because 100% of the comments are going into moderation.
It’s not anything commentators are doing wrong, and it’s not something we can correct on the admin side.  I’ve no idea what the problem is.
WordPress has these “glitches” from time to time, usually when they release some kind of code or make some kind of update change to the platform.
Hopefully it will auto-correct soon or WordPress engineers will notice what they’ve done.  In the interim we are releasing comments from moderation as quickly as it can be done.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
 

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 †

To say that something in Minneapolis seems sketchy would be a disservice to all things sketchy. Something is seriously odd about the Minnesota shooting death of Justine Damond by a police officer originally from Somalia named Mohamed Noor.
Having followed several very high profile police shootings closely the same undisclosed media elements are present.

Officer Mohamed Noor is refusing to cooperate with, or give a statement to, investigators from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. However, the second officer who was partnered with Noor is cooperating.
Matthew Harrity gave a statement to the BCA and based in part on that statement the BCA released some information yesterday. -See Information HERE-
In a Tuesday evening news conference (video below). The weird and overly dramatic Mayor, Betsy Hodges, the Assistant Police Chief Medaria Arradondo and City Council Member Linea Palmisano addressed reporters.
(more…)