There were two background press interviews between the media and President Trump’s legal team that were withheld from public release until today.
You can read INTERVIEW ONE – and – INTERVIEW TWO here.

During one question and answer period on Saturday, following the first round of defense points, the key framework of unconstitutional impeachment was raised:

[…] TRANSCRIPT – Question from Jeff Mason with Reuters: Can you walk us through the discrepancy between your side and the House impeachment managers with regard to the President — you guys alleging that the President was shut out from representation during the hearings? They preemptively said that that was false.

(more…)

In an effort to improve page load-time we are breaking up the trial discussion threads.
There will be 24 hours of presentation by House Impeachment Managers (over 3 days); 24 hours of presentation by Defense team (over 3 days); 16 hours of Senate questioning; 4 hours of closing arguments, equally divided; and then a Senate debate/vote on further motions to include witnesses. If there are going to be witnesses, they will first be deposed prior to testimony. No witness testimony will be permitted without first being deposed.
The Senate Trial continues today on day six at 6:45pm ET with the evening session of the second day for the President Trump defense.
Fox News Livestream – Fox Business Livestream – Alternate GST Livestream Link

(more…)

There will be 24 hours of presentation by House Impeachment Managers (over 3 days); 24 hours of presentation by Defense team (over 3 days); 16 hours of Senate questioning; 4 hours of closing arguments, equally divided; and then a Senate debate/vote on further motions to include witnesses. If there are going to be witnesses, they will first be deposed prior to testimony. No witness testimony will be permitted without first being deposed.
The Senate Trial continues today on day six at 1:00pm ET. Today is the second day of the Trump defense and will continue with approximately 8 hours of presentation.
Fox News Livestream – Fox Business Livestream – Alternate GST Livestream Link

(more…)

The timing, purpose and narrative engineering here are transparent in the extreme.
Tonight the New York Times (Schmidt and Haberman) write an article claiming to have exclusively gained portions of a transcript of a John Bolton book manuscript that was given to the White House National Security Council for pre-publication review.

Of course The Times attempts to frame the narrative around the need for John Bolton to testify in the Senate Impeachment Trial… all too transparent in motive. Timed to work around the House fraud; impeachment article construction without Judicial review for subpoenas; and timed to bolster House managers’ unconstitutional demand for Bolton as a Senate witness.  ADD: POTUS Responds:

However, setting aside the nothing-burger details of the book as leaked, the leak itself might now reconcile an earlier event.
Remember the issue a little more than a week ago when the National Security Council senior director for European and Russian affairs, Andrew Peek, was escorted from the White House grounds and is said to be under a security-related investigation?
(more…)

Mark Meadows and Trey Gowdy appear on Fox News with Maria Bartiromo to discuss their perspectives on the ongoing impeachment trial of President Trump.  Both Meadows and Gowdy point out the important aspect in HPSCI Chairman and Lead House Manager Adam Schiff constructing false information to continue an ongoing effort; that has never ceased since the original fraudulent claims around the Russia collusion conspiracy.
Mr. Gowdy notes the unusual 2020 narrative that running for office makes you immune from any federal investigative inquiry; and contrasts that position against 2016 where candidate Donald Trump was considered a viable target by the Obama administration.

(more…)

Representative John Ratcliffe appears with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the fraudulent construct of the House impeachment articles.  Ratcliffe highlights how the ‘whistle-blower’ (CIA Eric Ciaramella) and the Intelligence Community Inspector General, Michael Atkinson, have conflicting testimony in the House and that’s why Impeachment Manager Adam Schiff will not release those transcripts.  WATCH:

(more…)

Within the House impeachment construction, one of the most egregious examples of fabricating evidence was when the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, completely made-up a version of the Trump-Zelensky phone call and read it into the congressional record as if it were factually true.
During opening statements today by the Trump defense team, attorney Mike Purpura highlighted that ridiculous moment for the Senate to review.  WATCH:

(more…)

Several days ago we anticipated a potentially important point we hoped would start the impeachment defense for President Donald Trump.   Today, attorney Patrick Philbin delivered.  The issue is a critical constitutional component that needed emphasis, and it is good to see pundits finally starting to realize the significance.
White House Counsel Patrick Philbin explains why House subpoenas were illegitimate: the subpoena power was never authorized; the initiating subpoena power was never voted on.

.
Additionally, and specifically by design, absent a penalty for non-compliance, which factually makes a subpoena a ‘subpoena’, the Executive Branch had no constitutional pathway or process to engage an appellate review by federal courts. Make no mistake, this was a pre-planned purposeful trick within the Pelosi, Schiff and Lawfare road-map.
The House motive here, the forethought within their design, is very important now because it explains why they are vociferously demanding witnesses in the Senate.  The House plan was to work around the ability of the executive branch to go to court. The managers are now attempting to execute that plan, along with a manufactured political talking point, in the Senate trial.
The House intended for this to unfold exactly as it is happening.
(more…)

There will be 24 hours of presentation by House Impeachment Managers (over 3 days); 24 hours of presentation by Defense team (over 3 days); 16 hours of Senate questioning; 4 hours of closing arguments, equally divided; and then a Senate debate/vote on further motions to include witnesses. If there are going to be witnesses, they will first be deposed prior to testimony. No witness testimony will be permitted without first being deposed.
The Senate Trial continues today on day five at 10:00am ET. Today is the first day of the Trump defense and will only be three hours long by request/agreement with the Senate.
RSBN Livestream –  Fox10 Livestream – Fox News Livestream – Fox Business Livestream

.

(more…)

A quiet (oral) request from the DOJ/FBI is noted in a late Friday release from FISA Court Presiding Judge James Boasberg. [LINK]

The previous deadline was January 28th.  As noted the FISC has granted a one week  extension until February 5th.   [Some Possible Ramifications Outlined Here]
This is a hot mess.  Remember, IG Horowitz said he only found evidence of a FISA warrant against Carter Page, no other Trump campaign or Trump administration official was investigated using a FISA application. That statement is a little more important now.
As I go back through my notes seeing if I can identify the downstream consequences impacted by a rather stunning sequestration effort, I find myself wondering if the HJC case(s) for 6(e) material and Don McGahn testimony might even be part of the pull-back material as a derivative of the special counsel probe’ use of the Carter Page Title-1 surveillance warrant.  After all, there had to be an investigative reason for Mueller to want the renewal on June 29, 2017, long after Carter Page was gone from the Trump orbit.
Remember, the special counsel team used some form of pre-existing warrant authority to capture all of the Trump transition team emails and communication from the GSA, and then lied about it to the Trump White House. Perhaps National Security Letters (NSL’s).
(more…)