President Trump has asked the Supreme Court to allow the legal arguments with presidential immunity to follow the traditional path through the appeals court [pdf court filing].  Special Prosecutor Jack Smith wants to sidestep the appeals court and go directly to the Supreme Court for resolution.

As noted by Politico, President Trump’s lawyers “repeatedly warning the justices to avoid “haste,” Trump’s lawyers skewered Smith for taking extraordinary steps to preserve the March 4, 2024, trial date without detailing why taking the case to a jury just over two months from now is so critical.”  In essence, Jack Smith is trying to force a fast trial on schedule to gain maximum interference with the GOP primary election, while Trump’s lawyers are calling him out for it.

Jack Smith filed a response to the Trump filing, again reasserting, “the public interest in a prompt resolution of this case favors an immediate, definitive decision by this court. The charges here are of the utmost gravity. This case involves — for the first time in our nation’s history — criminal charges against a former president based on his actions while in office. And not just any actions: alleged acts to perpetuate himself in power by frustrating the constitutionally prescribed process for certifying the lawful winner of an election,” wrote Mr. Smith. “The nation has a compelling interest in a decision.”

Smith is worried the appeals court arguments and final decision will extend beyond the 2024 term of the Supreme Court, setting up a lengthy continuation of the DC case against Trump into October and November of 2024.   Trump’s team is saying the issues before the court are unprecedented and careful deliberation is needed.

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This is somewhat of a predictably tragic outcome all things considered. I remember a previous conversation on these pages when GM moved massive investment into China to build their mid-size SUV brand, Encore.

Continuing the U.S. decline of the brand, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that approximately half of all Buick dealership in the U.S. have opted to take a buyout from GM, as opposed to spending millions in retooling, restructuring and retraining their staff to accommodate the EV influx.

Most of the EV’s shoved onto the dealer lots sit idle without customers to purchase them.

Wall Street Journal – General Motors (GM) has bought out about half of its 2,000 Buick dealers nationwide, based on their decision to not sell electric vehicles, according to a company spokesman Wednesday.

Dealers who are taking the buyout would give up the Buick franchise and no longer sell the brand, he said. The dealer can continue to sell other GM models, such as Chevrolet or GMC, that often account for a higher percentage of sales.

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In this brief prelude segment, Tucker Carlson discusses the bigger picture of the Colorado Supreme Court decision to block Donald Trump from the 2024 republican presidential primary ballot. {Direct Rumble Link}

As accurately noted by Tucker, the terms used by professional leftists are always coordinated for a purpose.  This seems glaringly obvious with the repeated use of the term “insurrection” as applied to the events on January 6, 2021.  The hardline leftists are now moving to phase two, the actionable elements of the word use. WATCH:

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Sometimes I feel like I’m out in the wilderness shouting at trees, and other times it feels like we are making progress.  Today is a progress day.

Start with THIS ARTICLE in GatewayPundit.

That GP article starts to scratch the surface, but if people ever decide to dig, I mean really dig, they will find McCord is a thread that unravels some of the biggest undiscovered background stories in DC media. Including: (1) The likely leaker of the Flynn conversation with Russian Ambassador Kislyak, and (2) the almost certain leaker of the Supreme Court “Dobbs Decision.”  Hint: They eat dinner together nightly.

First, a context review, because so many are only just awakening.

If there is one corrupt DC player who has escaped scrutiny for her corrupt endeavors, it would be Mary McCord.  More than any other Lawfare operative within Main Justice, Mary McCord sits at the center of every table in the manufacturing of cases against Donald Trump. {GO DEEP} Mary McCord’s husband is Sheldon Snook; he was the right hand to the legal counsel of Chief Justice John Roberts.

When the Carter Page FISA application was originally assembled by the FBI and DOJ, there was initial hesitancy from within the DOJ National Security Division (DOJ-NSD) about submitting the application, because it did not have enough citations in evidence (the infamous ‘Woods File’).  That’s why the Steele Dossier ultimately became important.  It was the Steele Dossier that provided the push, the legal cover needed for the DOJ-NSD to submit the application for a Title-1 surveillance warrant against the campaign of Donald J. Trump.

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The headline is the non-pretending reality.  Now that Joe Biden has designated EPA mandates for U.S. automobiles that include having at least 50% of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030 {LINK}, three major Chinese EV manufacturers are reportedly building manufacturing facilities in Mexico.

Blackrock investments steer WH policy {Go Deep}. Blackrock investments are heavy in China and EV production.  Blackrock returns on their investments would be substantial with Chinese EV production in Mexico.  Quite a coincidence.

BUSINESS INSIDER – Three major Chinese EV companies are planning to build new factories in Mexico, sparking concern among US officials, according to a new report.

MG, BYD, and Chery are all looking at sites to build new factories in the country, according to unnamed sources cited by The Financial Times, and this investment is causing angst in Washington as it seeks to keep China out of the US electric car market.

US officials have reportedly raised concerns with their Mexican counterparts over Chinese investment, with the new sites potentially including a new $1.5 billion to $2 billion MG electric car factory and a factory investment worth hundreds of millions of dollars from Warren Buffett-backed Tesla rival BYD.

China’s electric vehicle market is booming, and local manufacturers are increasingly looking to expand overseas amid cutthroat competition for customers back home.

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Aidan Maese-Czeropski, an aide to Democrat Senator Ben Cardin, filmed himself having anal sex in the Hart Senate Office Building hearing room.  The video was shared on a platform where gay men share their pornographic sexual activity.   The Daily Caller received a copy of the video and published the story.

After the story went viral, Senator Ben Cardin removed Mr Maese-Czeropski from his staff and delivered the following statement.  “Aidan Maese-Czeropski is no longer employed by the U.S. Senate. We will have no further comment on this personnel matter.”

Understandably, most Democrats are attempting to downplay and/or ignore the indecency exhibited by the behavior.  However, given recent events in the world of leftist politics, the extreme nature of the degeneracy is simply another step in the direction of leftism in both culture and politics.  As Representative Mike Collins (GA-10) noted, “Gay porn in the Senate, swearing in ceremony on child porn in Virginia, tranny tap dancers in the White House, and Satanic statues in Iowa,” the vile nature of the leftist perversions are on full display.

History is replete with examples of Marxism (satanic influenced depravity and indecency), advancing through society with public expressions of cultural evil, degeneracy and perversion.  Boundaries of civility are not just removed; they are destroyed in favor of perversion.  The absence of moral behavior in the Senate chamber is not a new phenomenon, but the scale of recent indecency reflects a toxic exhibition of evil as manifest.

Personally, I have a very difficult time even discussing this story.  It is evil, sick and reflects a level of depravity that makes most people extremely uncomfortable.  However, it is also important to put context behind the cultural attacks that are taking place, and we must bear abhorrent witness to the mindset of people who operate in Washington DC.

We must accept things as they are, not as we would pretend them to be.   As a nation, we are in a struggle against evil.  These leftist forces are demonic in scope.

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The irony and hypocrisy is thick.  Charles McGonigal was an FBI counterintelligence official in charge of the FBI New York field office. McGonigal was tasked with investigating Russian collusion and Russian sanction violations.

McGonigal was sentenced to four-years in federal prison today for colluding with a Russian (Oleg Deripaska) to avoid sanctions.

As noted by Politico, “McGonigal, who lives in New York, was separately charged in federal court in Washington, D.C., with concealing at least $225,000 in cash he allegedly received from a former Albanian intelligence official while working for the FBI. He faces sentencing in that case on Feb. 16.”

NEW YORK — A former top FBI counterintelligence official was ordered Thursday to spend over four years in prison for violating sanctions on Russia by going to work for a Russian oligarch seeking dirt on a wealthy rival after he finished his government career.

Charles McGonigal was sentenced to four years and two months in prison in Manhattan federal court by Judge Jennifer H. Rearden, who said McGonigal harmed national security by repeatedly flouting sanctions meant to put economic pressure on Russia to get results without military force. He was also fined $40,000. (read more)

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House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) Chairman Mike Turner is celebrating the passage of HR 6611, the 2023 FISA reauthorization bill.

Chairman Turner would have granted a clean FISA renewal, he’s that kind of Republican; however, several Republicans demanded changes to the FISA-702 authorities that capture the data of American citizens without a warrant.  Thus, the HPSCI modified the authorities within HR 6611, but they made it worse.

(Via CDT) – Tucked away near the end of the bill the House Intelligence Committee reported on December 7 (H.R. 6611, the “HPSCI bill”) is a provision that would dramatically expand surveillance under the controversial Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (“FISA 702”), which sunsets on December 31 unless reauthorized. Section 504 of the bill, innocuously captioned “Definition of Electronic Communications Service Provider,” would expand the types of entities that can be compelled to disclose internet communications whether in storage or in transit.

FISA 702 permits the U.S. government to compel communication service providers to disclose for foreign intelligence purposes the communications of persons reasonably believed to be non-U.S. persons abroad. No warrant is required; a belief that the communications relate to U.S. foreign affairs or national security is sufficient.  Under current FISA 702, only entities that provide communication services like email, calls, and text messaging can be compelled to disclose these communications. 

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Last Tuesday, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) pressed the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard and MIT about rising antisemitism on college campuses and whether the speech calling for “intifada” or the elimination of the Jewish people violates their schools’ codes of conduct. The alarming responses are now leading to severe blowback on the presidents.

“Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Penn’s rules or code of conduct?” Rep. Stefanik asked. “It is a context-dependent decision,” replied UPenn’s Elizabeth Magill. “If the speech becomes conduct, it can be harassment.” Stefanik was stunned.  “‘Conduct’ meaning committing the act of genocide?” an incredulous Rep. Stefanik asked. “The speech is not harassment. This is unacceptable.”

The New York Republican then went on to ask each of the university presidents the same series of questions.

“Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard’s rules on bullying and harassment?” she asked Harvard’s Claudine Gay. “It can be, depending on the context,” Ms. Gay responded. “What’s the context?” Rep. Stefanik followed up. “Targeted at an individual,” the Harvard president said. “It’s targeted at Jewish students, Jewish individuals,” Rep. Stefanik shot back. “Do you understand your testimony is dehumanizing them? Do you understand that dehumanization is part of antisemitism?” WATCH:

Today, Ms. Liz Magill was removed from her position as U-Penn president.

(Politico) – […] University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill on Saturday voluntarily stepped down from her role after facing intense blowback following a House Education committee hearing this week.

Magill has agreed to stay in her role until an interim president is selected, according to a statement from Penn Trustee Board Chair Scott Bok.

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Inside the construct of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Congress has agreed to extend the current FISA-702 authorization through April 19. 2024.  Why April 19th?  I believe, based on DOJ/FBI history, there is a very nefarious intent.  I’ll explain.

First the report of the FISA-702 extension.

WASHINGTON – Congress is preparing to extend its deadline for untangling a complicated fight over warrantless government surveillance – which will mean yet another headache for House GOP leaders.

Top lawmakers are attaching a short-term extension of the government wiretapping power known as Section 702 to a sweeping defense policy bill, according to seven aides and lawmakers familiar with the text of the bill.

The extension would give Congress until April 19 to figure out how to reauthorize Section 702, named for its specific section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The provision is meant to target foreigners abroad but has long stoked controversy for its ability to sweep in Americans.

Whether to attach a surveillance powers extension was one of the final sticking points on the defense bill, whose text is now finalized and expected to be released later Wednesday. Both the House and Senate still need to pass the defense bill, and there is bipartisan backlash already brewing over the decision to attach a surveillance extension.

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