A response to the formal summons from the Senate, notifying the Executive Office of the President of impeachment proceedings, was due at 6:00pm ET today.   The White House has responded [WH pdf link – and embed below] with a seven-page position answer.

[Via White House] THE HONORABLE DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, HEREBY RESPONDS:
The Articles of Impeachment submitted by House Democrats are a dangerous attack on the right of the American people to freely choose their President. This is a brazen and unlawful attempt to overturn the results of the 2016 election and interfere with the 2020 election—now just months away. The highly partisan and reckless obsession with impeaching the President began the day he was inaugurated and continues to this day.

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It has always been a curious question about who released the controversial text messages between FBI lawyer Lisa Page and FBI Supervisory Agent Peter Strzok.  In a DOJ court brief (full pdf below) in support of a motion to dismiss the lawsuit of Peter Strzok, former Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein explains how and why he authorized the release:
It would have been a little more interesting if Rosenstein could have narrowed down the timing of OIG notification from “in the summer of 2017”, as it would outline specifically when Rosenstein became aware of the controversial issue.  Before or after he joined the crew in authorizing -and signing- a false FISA application?….
Obviously, at least in my opinion, the lack of specificity here is evidence of Rosenstein’s CYA motive.  If Rosenstein was aware of the texts from inside the key participants of the Crossfire Hurricane team, prior to authorizing the third FISA renewal… he was either a complete doofus, or complicit and willfully blind.   I digress.
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There is a remarkable confluence of data-points surrounding a second amendment rally in Virginia this holiday weekend that bear a strong note of caution.  Something akin to an astroturf event appears in the background.  ♦ Data-points:
♦ Billionaire Michael Bloomberg is running for President.  Bloomberg has funded the majority of Virginia anti-gun legislators who are now proposing considerable restrictions on lawful gun ownership in the commonwealth.
♦ It is also worth noting in the wake of the astro-turfed Charlottesville narrative, the professional political messaging of the Democrat apparatus, via Joe Biden, proclaimed in April 2019 that Charlottesville represented “the battle for the soul of this nation.”
If there is one consistent aspect to DNC activists (Occupy Wall Street, Antifa etc.), it’s that they use the same playbook.
♦ Provoking civil unrest to achieve political objectives is a well known strategy of the Alinsky wing of the apparatus.  ie. “never let a crisis go to waste”; and they are very good at creating the appearance of an organic crisis.  It’s usually in hindsight when the astroturf originating the crisis is identified.
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Remarkable interview between the attorney for Michael Flynn, Sidney Powell, on WMAL radio with Larry O’Conner.  Ms. Powell describes the current status of the case and the filings to withdraw the guilty plea.  Additionally, Ms. Powell drops a bombshell in that they have a witness to the original Flynn-302 the government says doesn’t exist.
O’Conner does a great interview because he understands the background and details to the case.  His probing questions allow Ms. Powell to share valuable insight.
The original FBI report is reported to have statements to the effect that Michael Flynn was not lying.  The prosecution says no such FBI FD-302 report exists; however, Ms. Powell now shares that they have a witness to it.   [Audio Below]  Just hit play on toolbar:

Trey Gowdy appears on Fox to discuss the anticipated points and counterpoints, accusations and defenses, and strategy within the upcoming impeachment trial.
Today it was also announced that President Trump’s defense team added Ken Starr, Alan Dershowitz, Robert Ray, Pam Bondi and Jane Raskin.  Those five will join Pat Cipollone and Jay Sekulow who are the primary defense lawyers.

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Few people have read the entire inspector general report on the FBI’s FISA misconduct, and fewer still have an understanding of the depth of troubling findings within it.  In an effort to provide information about the content, John Spiropoulos has produced a documentary going over many of the reports’ more important findings.
The exceptionally well produced documentary called “FISA, Spying on Team Trump” is an hour long broadcast created by John Spiropoulos, a former MSM journalist and producer for Channel 7 in Washington DC (1979 – 1989).  John spent a month going through every page of the report, pulling out some of the key details and overlaying information from IG Michael Horowitz congressional testimony.
The investigative report will premier tonight at 7:00pm EST / 4:00pm PST on One America News (OAN).  Here’s an exclusive preview:

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There are new revelations within the documentary, and the report will rebroadcast on Saturday January 18th, and Sunday January 19th at 11am Eastern / 8am Pacific time.
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Another New York Times report of James Comey under investigation for unscrupulous, potentially illegal, leaks surrounding the FBI Clinton investigation. However, a note of caution: is this simply chaff and countermeasures intended to keep the heat off corruption monitors Bill Barr and John Durham?

In 2018 congressman Jim Jordan noted James Comey had a special employee on assignment ‘off-the-books’.  People started asking questions and Fox News Catherine Herridge detailed how Daniel Richman held special access privileges to the FBI, as an outcome of former FBI Director James Comey authorizing his friend as a “Special Government Employee” or SGE.
According to The Times the current issues surround media leaks from James Comey to his “special FBI employee” friend Daniel Richman related to the Clinton investigation:

(VIA NYT) […] The latest investigation involves material that Dutch intelligence operatives siphoned off Russian computers and provided to the United States government. The information included a Russian analysis of what appeared to be an email exchange during the 2016 presidential campaign between Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democrat of Florida who was also the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee at the time, and Leonard Benardo, an official with the Open Society Foundations, a democracy-promoting organization whose founder, George Soros, has long been a target of the far right.

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Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, the coolest cat in the crew, appeared tonight for a discussion on economics and trade with Lou Dobbs.  Secretary Ross discusses the current status of the economy and how the two trade agreements have established the foundation for a completely restructured U.S. trade relationship for years to come.
Wilburine notes the Europeans are nervous thinking about the wolverine teeth that will soon be heading in their direction.  Good Stuff.  WATCH:

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What makes the Trump economic team so effective is their independence from any influence outside of the America-First agenda.  President Trump, Secretary Wilbur Ross, and Secretary Steven Mnuchin were already independent billionaires -with wealth gained from private industry- before they entered office.  There is no financial influence upon them except to see Main Street USA thrive….
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Adopted today by unanimous consent:

• A Summons to the White House notifying them of the impeachment trial will be issued by the Senate and delivered by Saturday January 18th, 2020, 6:00pm,
• The House of Representatives (impeachment managers) have a deadline of 5:00pm Saturday, January 18th, 2020, for the filing of their impeachment brief to the Senate.
• The White House (defense lawyers) have a response deadline of 5:00pm Monday, January 20th, for their response to the House impeachment brief.
• The House of Representatives (impeachment managers) have a deadline of Noon Tuesday, January 21st, for their rebuttal brief to the White House defense brief.
• The Senate Trial begins at 1:00pm Eastern, Tuesday January 21st, 2020.

Senators will not be allowed to bring their cell phones or any electronic device into the Senate chamber while the trial is underway.
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Sickening.  Earlier today Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a media event signing ceremony complete with commemorative pens for dozens of her Democrat colleagues, and initiated the parade ceremony for the march across the Capitol with the articles.  Upon arrival at the upper chamber of congress, Senate Leader Mitch McConnell accepted delivery and began the process of organizing the procedure through a series of rules by unanimous consent.

[McConnell] “A few minutes ago, the Senate was notified the House of Representatives is finally ready to proceed with their articles of impeachment. So, by unanimous consent, we’ve just laid some of the groundwork that will structure the next several days.”

• We have officially invited the House managers to come to the Senate tomorrow at noon to exhibit their articles of impeachment.
• Then, later tomorrow afternoon at 2:00pm, the Chief Justice of the United States will arrive here in the Senate. He will be sworn in by the President Pro Tem, Senator Grassley.
• Then the Chief Justice will swear in all of us senators. We will pledge to rise above petty factionalism and do justice for our institutions, for our states, and for the nation.
• And then we will formally notify the White House of our pending trial and summon the President to answer the articles and send his counsel.

‘So the trial will commence in earnest on Tuesday.

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