Representative Devin Nunes appears on FOX Business’ with Elizabeth MacDonald to discuss how conservative voices are being censored and targeted by the ideology of Big Tech, against the backdrop of latest examples of Google targeting websites.
Apparently excerpts from former National Security Advisor John Bolton’s dossier have been released to the media. The Bolton dossier makes some of the most outlandish claims imaginable; and only the most incredibly silly media would ever believe them. So yeah, that’s exactly what’s happening.
One example within the Bolton Dossier comes from John Bolton himself as he wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal. Before citing the Bolton article it’s worth remembering CTH was following every detail of the Osaka G20 meeting closely. We took notes on every background and foreground contact and meeting, because the U.S-China Osaka meeting was at a very critical juncture. [My favorite picture from Osaka, Japan]
Bolton puts this goofball framework to the Osaka, Japan, G20:
(Wall Street Journal) […] In their meeting in Osaka on June 29, Xi told Trump that the U.S.-China relationship was the most important in the world. He said that some (unnamed) American political figures were making erroneous judgments by calling for a new cold war with China.
Whether Xi meant to finger the Democrats or some of us sitting on the U.S. side of the table, I don’t know, but Trump immediately assumed that Xi meant the Democrats.
Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Paul Howard Jr., held a press conference earlier this afternoon to announce eleven charges against police officer Garrett Wolfe for the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks. The shooting took place at a local Atlanta Wendys.
In what appears to be a decision heavily influenced by local politics, DA Howard is charging officer Garrett Wolfe with felony murder; an unlawful killing with malice, forethought and specific intent. It looks like Howard is purposefully making a mess.
During his press remarks the district attorney stated Mr. Rayshard Brooks was “calm, cordial and really displayed a cooperative nature – he was almost jovial” after he was found “peacefully sleeping” in his car outside the Wendy’s Friday night and subjected to a sobriety test. According to the DA “for 41 minutes and 17 seconds, [Brooks] followed their instructions, he answered the questions,” Howard said. “Mr. Brooks was never informed that he was under arrest for driving under the influence.”
There is something rather unusual about the way DA Paul Howard framed the encounter between the police and Rayshard Brooks, because CCTV video and body-cam footage do not support the district attorney’s version of events. Obviously in a courtroom the defense is going to replay the DA statements while they run simultaneous footage of Mr. Rayshard Brooks resisting arrest, fighting with police and ultimately taking one of the officers’ tasers to use as a weapon.
When NBC published their background conversation with Google yesterday the media outlet made a big legal mistake. NBC not only outlined the mechanics of a racketeering and antitrust violation, via Google’s power to control on-line ad revenue as a weapon to target NBC’s competition, but NBC outlined the actual collaborative communication.
NBC did the worst thing possible, they published the quotes from Google’s response to them where Google willingly accepted the request from NBC without pause. The collusion was not only clear, it was self admitted. What made the issue more explosive was the NBC article explained the motives of both organizations; the targeting was intentional and specific. The goal was to take-down The Federalist news outlet by removing their revenue. There was no ambiguity of purpose, and Google knowingly agreed with the intent.
Within hours of realizing the consequences of the publication, the legal offices of NBC and Google both activated and attempted damage control. The NBC article was completely rewritten and the communication between them and Google –as quoted– was removed. For its part Google published a statement saying no action had been taken, and later they professed no action would be taken. However, the damage was already done.
NBC’s hubris put both Google and NBC in the sunlight of their own admissions.
Google’s monopoly control of internet ad revenue made their agreement with NBC to target a competitor a transparent, and admitted, antitrust violation. Without question, that stark admission is what triggered the timing of the DOJ public statement today.
The DOJ needs congress to take action, modify the law, and update the outdated immunity for online platforms under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.
This hearing might be a little too wonky for some, but not too many other policy issues touch 100% of American lives. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will be delivering testimony today outlining the 2020 trade policy agenda.
The testimony is before the House Ways and Means Committee, and will be livestreamed on the committee website [SEE HERE] and below at 10:00am ET from the Longworth House Office Building. USTR Lighthizer is the sole witness.
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Lighthizer will also be testifying to the Senate Finance Committee at 3:00pm. [LINK]
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley delivered a speech on the floor of the senate that deserves some attention. The larger issue outlined by Senator Halwey surrounds the recent Supreme Court Bowstock decision authored by Justice Gorsuch. However, in overlaying the judicial outcome, Hawley hits on the central issue he calls the “conservative bargain.”
The entire speech is worth listening to, as the senator encapsulates many of the frustrations within the recent decision; but the segment at 07:15 cuts to the heart of the distinction between MAGA-Trump republicanism and the pathetic GOPe wing of the Mitch McConnell UniParty. We have previously called this “The Decepticon” WATCH:
The YouTube ID of hrKb_OuEy2k?start=435 is invalid.U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is testifying tomorrow at 10:00am to the House Ways and Means committee; later in the afternoon Ambassador Lighthizer will testify before the Senate Finance Committee.
The New York Times has received an advance copy of USTR Lighthizer’s opening statement, and the liberal publication is apoplectic the Trump administration plans to outline an even more aggressive stance toward the World Trade Organization (WTO).
According to the pearl-clutching Wall St. class, Lighthizer is going to inform congress of Trump/USTR plans to demand tariff reciprocity; and Lighthizer will indeed raise tariffs against any nation that continues to attempt one-sided benefit. [EU will go bananas]
One method to approach tariff inequality would be for the U.S. to lower the import value threshold for non-tariff exemptions. Currently the U.S. does not apply import duties to any product valued under $800. This is a great benefit to China, southeast Asia, and U.S. on-line retailers such as ebay and Amazon; however, the zero tariff threshold hurts U.S. manufacturers because China and other nations do not reciprocate.
It is anticipated that USTR Lighthizer will inform congress the U.S. will lower that import threshold to match the same value level applied by other nations. Obviously the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Wall Street multinationals will not like this approach.
In his opening monologue today Fox host Tucker Carlson took on the subject of Google and their control over 70% of all on-line advertising revenue. Within the very accurate segment, Carlson noted that Utah Senator Mike Lee is in charge of the antitrust subcommittee and yet does nothing, absolutely nothing, to stop the authoritarian demonetization and deplatforming action carried out through the monopoly Google holds.
No single issue will do more damage to the reelection efforts of President Trump than allowing Google to carry out their political agenda. However, that accepted, that’s also the motive for the Senate and DOJ to do nothing. This is a good, honest and painful segment:
Earlier today the DOJ filed a civil action [see pdf here] against former National Security Advisor John Bolton for refusing to comply with the classified intelligence review prior to publishing a book. [DOJ FILING LINK] Perpetual warmonger John Bolton worked as NSA to President Trump from April 2018 to September 2019.
Bolton was always an odd pick for National Security Advisor given his propensity to advance mid-east wars and advocacy for military strikes against North Korea.
…”On June 7, 2020, without Defendant giving any prior notice to the NSC, press reports revealed that Defendant and his publisher had resolved to release the book on June 23, without completing the pre-publication review process. Subsequent correspondence with Defendant’s attorney confirmed that public reporting.
Simply put, Defendant struck a bargain with the United States as a condition of his employment in one of the most sensitive and important national security positions in the United States Government and now wants to renege on that bargain by unilaterally deciding that the prepublication review process is complete and deciding for himself whether classified information should be made public.”… (pdf)
An embed of the lawsuit is below:
Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson appears on Fox News with Maria Bartiromo to discuss his committee investigation into what the U.S. intelligence apparatus was doing during the 2016 election, transition, and first two years of President Trump’s tenure in office.
It’s a good interview, and chairman Johnson outlines additional subpoenas that his committee is submitting to compel testimony and gain documents. However, it’s now mid-June 2020.