The White House announces the primary trade negotiators who will be heading to China next week for another round of trade discussions.  In the background, yesterday President Trump announced there was no planned meeting between himself and Chinese Chairman Xi, which would indicate there is still a considerable distance between the trade delegations.
USTR Robert Lighthizer is the tip-of-the-spear, and has been very direct about his approach.  Lighthizer stated that without very specific, actionable and measurable deliverables included in the terms of agreement, the March 1st tariff increase will proceed without impairment.

[White House] Today, President Donald J. Trump announced the members of an official United States delegation to China to discuss the trade relationship between the two countries. United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin travel to Beijing for principal-level meetings that will take place from February 14 through February 15, 2019. These meetings will be preceded by deputy-level negotiations that will begin on February 11, 2019, led by Deputy United States Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish.

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Congressman Jim Jordan questions AAG Matt Whitaker on the August 2017 scope memo (shown below) that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein delivered to Robert Mueller.
Representative Jordan asks if there are specific people named within the hidden (redacted) scope memo. Initially AAG Whitaker says “yes”, and then appears to back away from that answer.  The exchange is below:

Oh man, this is unethically priceless.  John Solomon received photographs of Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson meeting with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff in 2018 during the height of the ‘Spygate‘ cover-up… [STORY HERE]

The Hill […] When confronted with the Aspen conference photos of Schiff, in sport coat and open-neck dress shirt, and Simpson, wearing casual attire, representatives for both men tried to minimize their discussion, insisting nothing substantive about the Russia case was discussed.

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There has been considerable discussion about the ridiculously over-aggressive manner in which the FBI conducted the arrest of 67-year-old Roger Stone.  Now video is surfacing showing just how over-the-top it was. [CBS 12 Footage Here]

Multiple heavily armed members of law enforcement and FBI are seen on CCTV video knocking on the door of the Stone residence and positioning themselves such that Mr. Stone was staring down the barrel of multiple rifles when he opened the door.

“I opened the door and in my front yard, I was staring down barrel of two assault weapons and I saw a dozen other FBI agents in the background, all wearing night goggles, full SWAT gear, sidearms, and so-on. On the ground was a large metal device used to break down a door which was unnecessary,” Stone told Sinclair Broadcast Group Chief Political Correspondent Scott Thuman in an earlier interview.  Behind the house, more agents arrived by boat.  (read more)

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ACTION ALERT: The Decepticon caucus inside the senate, under the control of U.S. Wall Street’s primary CoC Lobbyist and Big Club President Tom Donohue, are assembling to launch a full frontal assault against President Trump’s trade policies. Seriously watch out for Senators Pat Toomey, Rob Portman and Ron Johnson:

Toomey said reining in Trump’s tariff powers also has strong backing from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable and dozens of other trade associations. “There’s clearly a lot of momentum, but only time will tell whether it’s enough to get over the goal line.” (link)

National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow appeared on Fox Business today to discuss President Trump’s State of the Union address and the Trump administration’s economic policies.

David Malpass is President Trump’s nominee to lead the World Bank.  Mr. Malpass sat down with Trish Regan for his first media interview as the nomination process proceeds.

It’s beyond a dumpster fire now.  Virginia Congressman Bobby Scott is admitting he was previously informed about the victims’ sexual assault claims against Virginia Lt. Gov Justin Fairfax back in 2017.  Oh, and there’s transcripts of text messages… Oh, and Bobby Scott has also been accused of sexual harassment…. [Popcorn shortage in Virginia and surrounding hamlets.]

The victim is Dr. Vanessa Tyson.  She accuses Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax of sexual assault and battery.  Evidence now surfaces to support her claim.  In addition to telling the Washington Post of her attack in 2017, she also told Virginia congressman Bobby Scott details of the sexual assault prior to the 2017 Virginia election.

VIRGINIA – Aides to Scott confirm to ABC News that Tyson first reached out him in an e-mail on October 20, 2017, expressing that she was “not a fan” of then-candidate for Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax.
In a Nov. 29 email, Tyson expressed her dislike for Fairfax and wrote that she would like to “talk about it,” with Congressman Scott.

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HPSCI Chairman Adam Schiff could never get away with the nonsense he promotes if it were not for an intentionally blind media apparatus. Here is his latest insufferable grandstanding:

You might remember back in September 2018, those HPSCI transcripts were already released by Devin Nunes, given to the Intelligence Community [See Here], the DOJ/FBI, and also to Robert Mueller. Of course, the media ignore the manufactured Schiff grandstanding and run with the ‘Muh Russia‘ narrative as if it’s something new.  Silly.
Additionally, Michael Cohen is/was scheduled to appear before the House Oversight Committee tomorrow (Chairman Elijah Cummings), and later to testify to the House Intelligence Committee (Chairman Adam Schiff).   Well, Schiff makes a big deal out of postponing/rescheduling Cohen until February 28th:
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Last night President Trump announced he will be meeting with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un in Vietnam on February 27th and 28th.  [Note: remember the deadline for China trade deal is March 2nd]   Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appears on Fox Business with Maria Bartiromo to fill in some details:

The look on Mitt Romney’s face is, well, priceless….  Too Funny: