By now everyone has reported about ABC journalist Brian Ross and his Producer Rhonda Swartz resigning from the network.  However, almost everyone pointing back to Ross’s fake news report on Michael Flynn in December; and almost no-one is pointing out the more obvious motive for the resignation.
Brian Ross was almost guaranteed to be “Reporter 4” in the federal indictment of Senate  former senior senate intelligence committee staffer James Wolfe.  The notorious Senate Intelligence “leaker”.

CTH originally pointed this out when the details of the indictment were released (full pdf below), and research was possible to determine each reporter.  It did not come as a surprise to see the staff from this specific committee leaking secret and top-secret classified information.  The committee rots from the head down.
According to the indictment Wolfe was notified by the FBI of a classified intelligence leak investigation on/around October 30th, 2017.  From the indictment we see that Wolfe was interviewed and confronted by FBI investigators on December 15th, 2017.  After admitting he lied to those FBI investigators Wolfe resigned from his position.
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Today U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue announced another campaign to protect and defend his Wall Street contributors against initiatives that benefit Main Street U.S.A. This is not the first time, and unfortunately it will likely not be the last time.
For a great historic reference consider THIS ARTICLE from 2014; when the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced their direct attack against the Tea Party backed candidates that threatened to remove the massive lobbying power of Tom Donohue’s corrupt officials. That 2014 reference point has two parts. I strongly urge anyone who would defend the U.S. CoC approach to read both.

The overwhelming majority of economic punditry and opinion come from salespeople on the purchased payroll, direct and indirect, of the chamber. It is one of the most, check that, it is the most corrupt and abusive enterprise in the history of our nation. They are pulling out a very familiar playbook.

(Reuters) – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday denounced President Donald Trump’s handling of a global trade dispute, issuing a report that argued the tariffs imposed by Washington and retaliation by its partners would boomerang badly on the American economy.

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Mexico’s president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador “AMLO” easily won yesterday’s election with 54% of the vote; the highest vote total in three decades.  In addition his MORENA party won an absolute majority in both the Mexican Senate (38% +/-) and the Chamber of Deputies (38% +/-).

The multinational financial community is in the process of evaluating how the nationalist win will impact all prior investing.  One of the key issues is NAFTA.  Multinational corporations have poured billions into Mexico as a structural method to utilize the trade deal to gain access to the U.S. market.
Despite his campaign position, AMLO is now affirming a positive intention to renegotiate NAFTA; however, he is speaking from both sides of the current issue.  Example:

[Today] Lopez Obrador said he supports reaching a deal on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement with the United States and Canada.
[…]  Lopez Obrador said he will propose that his own team of experts be included in the talks. The winning candidate said he will make that proposal in a meeting Tuesday with current President Enrique Pena Nieto.

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White House national security adviser John Bolton appears on Face The Nation with Margaret Brennan to discuss North Korea and Russia.  Within the interview Bolton says the U.S. could dismantle North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs within a year if the North Koreans committed to scrapping their arsenal in accordance with the agreement reached in Singapore last month.

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The BBC’s condescending Emily Maitlis demands support for the European Union and challenges the sovereign authority of Hungary to self-determination.   Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó was having none of that nonsense, and pushed back against little Miss feelings.

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This occurs on the heels of Italy rebuking the EU immigration platform; and a weakened German Chancellor Angela Merkel having to beg political allies in Bavaria for support:

BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s political future rests in the hands of the Christian Social Union (CSU) on Sunday, when the Bavarian party’s leadership meets to decide whether to accept migration deals she brought back from Brussels.

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Within the German economy the auto-sector holds the largest political influence.  Because of this dynamic all German politicians kneel at the knee of the big industrial auto manufacturers.  It has been said that losing support from within the auto-sector is much worse on a German politician than losing support from party or parliament.
Because of this dynamic; and specifically because the German auto-sector is dependent on the United States as their biggest customer, President Trump holds leverage over German Chancellor Angela Merkel.  This makes Fraulein Merkel unhappy.

President Trump wants three EU issues resolved: 1) Germany to contribute the minimum 2% of GDP for their own NATO defense.  2) Germany/EU to support enhanced sanctions against Iran; and  3) President Trump wants all German/EU protectionist trade barriers and tariffs lowered or eliminated – and new trade deals negotiated.
To gain momentum on these initiatives, President Trump is using the economics of trade as leverage.  Trump has suggested a 20% tariff on all EU automobiles shipped into the U.S. [The same standard now likely proposed toward Canada]  The German auto-sector, and as a consequence the German economy, simply cannot survive without low cost access to the U.S. market, their biggest customer.
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Today Canada released an updated list of retaliatory tariffs designed as countermeasures to the U.S. Steel and Aluminum tariffs [SEE HERE] which will begin Sunday, July 1st.
Additionally, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, and Employment and Labour Minister Patty Hajdu, announced they would initiate an emergency program to use Canadian taxes compensate workers, expand unemployment benefits, and subsidize impacted industry.  Yes, in a transparent display of political ideology (throwing capitalism directly out the window), Canada doubles-down on centralized government subsidies to offset market impacts.   Brilliant ‘eh!

Chrystia Freeland made the announcement on the floor of a Hamilton steel factory Friday. In a rare backdrop, Ms. Freeland actually entered a factory with machines and things, to deliver the carefully choreographed political message (video below – watch the last minute to understand).
Team U.S.A. have applied tariffs to Canadian softwood lumber, Steel and Aluminum as Canada refuses to negotiate new terms for NAFTA where North American products are prioritized.  Canada demands the ability to continue importing Asian, mostly Chinese, products for their assembly-based market.
With the latest counter-move by Justin and Chrystia from Canada, it is increasingly likely President Trump will levy a 20% tariff on imported Canadian automobiles.  Last month (May) the Canadian economy dropped over 31,000 Full-Time jobs.
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The House Judiciary Committee has primary oversight authority over the DOJ.  House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte discusses the testimony from FBI Agent Peter Strzok, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, along with the next steps.

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Louie Gohmert questions Rosenstein about Bruce Ohr (Deputy Asst Attorney General DOJ-NSD), Tashina Gauhar (Deputy Asst. Attorney General for DOJ-NSD), and Trisha Beth Anderson (FBI Office of Legal Counsel):

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Rosenstein says he never knew Bruce Ohr was communicating with Fusion GPS and Chris Steele? Rosenstein says he never knew Bruce Ohr’s wife was an employee of Fusion GPS and communicating with FBI. Rosenstein says he cannot imagine a scenario where the DOJ-NSD and FBI would purposefully mislead the FISA Court.
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Within the issue of Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein signing the FISA reauthorization (application renewal #4) Congressman Matt Gaetz confronts Rosenstein. DAG Rosenstein obfuscates his answer and uses the opaque nature of FISA to avoid direct response. However, interestingly Rosenstein says the public information shared about the FISA application does not match the briefing he received about the application content.
This central “spygate” evidence now looks like it is going to become a bigger issue for the FBI and DOJ.

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