The U.S. mediating team met with Ukraine and Russia negotiators for the second day in Geneva, Switzerland.  Unfortunately, despite the high praise and customary diplomatic niceties spoken, there was not much progress.

There was, however, a rather remarkable accusation hurled by Russian media about uninvited British officials going to Geneva in order to conduct surveillance of the negotiations. Apparently, this is part of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s efforts to retain maximum involvement and influence.

STEVE WITKOFF – “Today, at President Trump’s direction, the United States moderated a third set of trilateral discussions with Ukraine and Russia. Thank you to the Swiss Confederation for being gracious hosts for today’s meetings.

President Trump’s success in bringing both sides of this war together has brought about meaningful progress, and we are proud to work under his leadership to stop the killing in this terrible conflict. Both parties agreed to update their respective leaders and continue working towards a deal.” (source)

RUSTEM UMEROV (UKRAINE) – “In Geneva, the second day of trilateral negotiations has begun.

Consultations are taking place in working groups by areas within the political and military tracks. We are working on clarifying the parameters and mechanisms of the decisions discussed yesterday.

We are focused on substantive work. We will provide additional information on the results.” (source)

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The high court has indicated it will be releasing opinions on one or more of the previously argued cases on Friday February 20, Tuesday Feb 24, or Wednesday Feb 25.  The decision over tariffs triggered by President Trump using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) is one of the decisions now considered highly likely to surface.

If the decision doesn’t come this Friday, a rather interesting situation unfolds.  The following week falls into the Tuesday Feb 24 State of the Union address.

Typically, several Supreme Court justices sit in front row of the House floor during the speech.  The decision could be released on the morning of the speech, or justices could actually sit in the audience – knowing the outcome and the morning after the State of the Union address, the ruling could be released.

Now, there is a possibility the ruling will not come out in this cycle, but that is diminishing possibility considering the length of time the Supreme Court has sat on this opinion.

The court knows the importance of this decision, and they obviously know the State of the Union speech is scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday the 24th.  This will be an interesting dynamic to watch unfold.

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Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino is helping to spearhead a coordinated message campaign for President Trump as he returns to podcasting.  Bongino is hoping to fill the void for voices who speak positively about ongoing DOJ and FBI efforts and share information about ongoing Justice Department efforts.

Today, Dan Bongino interviews FBI Director Kash Patel.  At 01:08:36 of the video below, Kash Patel outlines some pending information that is likely to reach the headlines about the funding mechanisms behind Antifa.  I have prompted the video to the entire interview between Bongino and Patel. {Direct Rumble Link} – WATCH:

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There is an awful lot to unpack in this seemingly obscure article talking about Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and a new trade approach he is pitching to Pacific/Asia and Atlantic/European nations. [Story Here]

Before getting to the substance of the outline, something important needs to be shared for context.

Do you remember the 2014, 2015 and 2016 top story conversations and debates over the Transpacific Partnership trade deal known as TPP?

You might also remember the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership trade deal known as TTIP.

The TPP (Pacific) and TTIP (Atlantic) were two major multinational trade deals negotiated between 2013 and 2016. While both sparked plenty of debate, most of the spotlight was on the TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Hillary Clinton was in favor of TPP as were most of the traditional republican field of candidates in ’15/’16.  However, Donald Trump was strongly against TPP and pledged to exit out of any negotiations and scrap the U.S. participation if he was to win the 2016 election.  Some of you may begin to remember this.

Donald Trump agreed with our position, that TPP was being falsely sold as a beneficial 12-nation massive trade agreement between the USA and pacific rim countries including Australia and Southeast Asia nations.

With the history of NAFTA behind us, we could see two major issues with TPP:  #1: It was structured with a back door to let China into the deal. And #2) it was created to ensure the USA remained a “service driven economy.”

Supporters of TPP and TTIP claimed this multinational trade deals would create smooth supply chains and align on ‘rules of origin.’ They believed TPP would benefit companies and lead to cheaper products. Critics, however, argued that the agreements were designed to exploit the U.S. consumer market and prevent the country from ever regaining a strong manufacturing base.

I share those reminders to set up the big 800-lb gorilla question.

If the TPP was such a great trade deal for all parties involved, why didn’t the group finalize it after the USA withdrew? It’s been a decade, so why haven’t the TPP nations completed their trade agreement?

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An interesting thing happened last weekend, President Trump went golfing with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. {SOURCE} Simultaneously, President Trump released the following statement from his Truth Social account.

(Via Truth Social) – “The Board of Peace has unlimited potential. Last October, I released a Plan for the permanent end to the Conflict in Gaza, and our Vision was unanimously adopted by the United Nations Security Council. Shortly thereafter, we facilitated Humanitarian Aid at record speed and secured the release of every living and deceased Hostage.

Just last month, two dozen distinguished Founding Members joined me in Davos, Switzerland, to celebrate its official formation, and present a bold Vision for the Civilians in Gaza, and then, ultimately, far beyond Gaza — WORLD PEACE!

On February 19th, 2026, I will again be joined by Board of Peace Members at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., where we will announce that Member States have pledged more than $5 BILLION DOLLARS toward the Gaza Humanitarian and Reconstruction efforts and have committed thousands of personnel to the International Stabilization Force and Local Police to maintain Security and Peace for Gazans.

Very importantly, Hamas must uphold its commitment to Full and Immediate Demilitarization. The Board of Peace will prove to be the most consequential International Body in History, and it is my honor to serve as its Chairman.” PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP

I said a few weeks ago that I would not be surprised to see President Trump announce the appointment of Ron DeSantis to be the Chief Executive Officer of the Board of Peace.  DeSantis’ executive experience in combination with his relationship with Israel functionally makes him a good fit.  Just a guess.

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Secretary Marco Rubio went out of his way in this joint presser to emphasize the personal relationship between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and U.S. President Donald Trump.  Orban is facing a serious election challenge this April and all of the EU/NATO systems are actively trying to create pressure points to remove him.

Secretary Marco Rubio is in Budapest today for meetings with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his government to include the signing of a civilian-nuclear cooperation agreement heralded by the Trump administration. Hungary is one of the few voices within the European Union who is pushing back against Brussels efforts to go to war against Russia.

Prime Minister Orban has been very critical of Ukraine, openly stating his opposition to EU membership for the embattled country. In response President Zelenskyy has weaponized Ukraine’s geographical stewardship of oil and gas pipelines to shut down Hungarian energy and drive-up prices. VIDEO:

[Transcript] – MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.  May I extend my most cordial welcome to all of you, and may I extend my most special welcome to His Excellency Mr. Marco Rubio, Secretary of State of the United States of America, at the press conference and signing ceremony organized on the occasion of his visit to Hungary.  Let me also extend my warm welcome to Mr. Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary, members of the U.S. and Hungarian delegations, and all our esteemed guests.

At today’s event, the agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Hungary to facilitate cooperation on the civilian nuclear program in Hungary will be signed.  The signatories to the agreement on behalf of the United States of America, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and on behalf of Hungary, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Mr. Peter Szijjarto.

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Through the years I didn’t really have much of an opinion of Steve Bannon, I approached any story of interest that surrounded him by simply looking at the factual details of the current event in question.

CTH well understood that Bannon, and subsequently his expressed opinion and objective, was simply an outcome of his position – downstream from the billionaire of the moment who paid him.

In essence, Steve Bannon always seemed to be, much like Kellyanne Conway, an advocate for whoever was financing him. From Robert/Rebekah Mercer at Breitbart forward to any endeavor thereafter, it always just appeared the same.

That said, with the release of the Epstein files, the relationship between Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein is something CTH did not expect. {HERE} Bannon and Epstein were very close and talked to each other about seemingly everything.

I can never unsee what I have read.  Nor will CTH ever entertain the possibility that Bannon was ever a good element within the MAGA effort.  There is a solid argument to be made that the Bannon War Room was funded, or organized in the funding mechanisms, by Jeffrey Epstein. {HERE}

The files of messages between them contain some shocking stuff happening in the background while Steve Bannon was in very close proximity to candidate and President Trump.  The level of disdain Bannon had for Donald Trump’s family and for Donald Trump himself is really something CTH did not expect to see. {examples: HERE and HERE}

I am left to wonder now how much of the vitriol against Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, ie. “Javanka hatred”, actually originated from the Braintrust behind Bannon and the assembly of people in his immediate orbit. {HERE}

Initially, I saw some Twitter accounts attempt to defend Steve Bannon by saying Epstein did all the talking in their text exchanges and Bannon was less communicative. However, that only applied to the first batches of files reviewed.  As a few days went along and people started citing files, reading them gives a much more fulsome picture of the relationship.

Steve Bannon may have been focused on the financial gains and perhaps networks of people in his association with Epstein; but he certainly got deep into it and expressed extreme praise for Epstein, even going so far as to call him a god. {LINK} These were two men in a very close friendship. There is no political or ideological distance between Bannon and Epstein.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio took a different path on his European visit than Brussels wanted to see. After his time at the Munich Security Conference, Rubio headed to Slovakia and Hungary for conversations with the two nations who are not at all in alignment with Brussels leadership on the issue of Ukraine.

UPDATE: Better video and Transcript Added

Rubio speaks very bluntly on the topics that are of key concern to Prime Minister Robert Fico, including the topic of energy which is a major problem for both Slovakia and Hungary right now.  Toward the end of the presser, the very last response by Fico [44:20 of video] is very interesting.

Prime Minister Fico directly claims that Ukraine is purposefully withholding oil and gas from pipelines that travel from Russia through Ukraine, into Slovakia.  Fico notes he is not going to blame either Ukraine or Russia for previously detonations at the oil refinery and transport hub, but he is very sure Ukraine is purposefully withholding energy products from Hungary as blackmail until Hungary changes their position on Ukraine achieving status in the European Union.

You can tell from the way Fico presents the subject and from the prior points of Rubio this hot button issue is why Fico flew to Mar-a-Lago a few weeks ago for a talk with President Trump.  WATCH:

MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) Hello, ladies and gentlemen.  Please, welcome to our press conference after mutual meeting of the Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico and Secretary of State of the U.S. Marco Rubio.  So, Prime Minister, please, you have the word.

PRIME MINISTER FICO: Thank you. (Via interpreter) Dear Secretary of State, dear Marco Rubio, please allow me to welcome you once again – you and your whole delegation – to Bratislava and our office of the Government of the Slovak Republic.  Dear ladies, dear gentlemen, we had a shared, short tete-a-tete meeting with the Secretary of State, and then we had delegations’ discussion when we went into details, where we discussed topics that are the point of our today’s meeting. I’ll try to briefly sum up the conclusions of our discussions, be it in Four Eyes or, let’s say, in our meeting of delegations.

First of all, I deeply appreciate the fact that this visit comes quickly after our meeting in Florida, where I had a chance to speak with the President of the United States Donald Trump with Mr. Rubio being present.  So, it’s a great follow-up and great country, nation.  And after a short while when we met in Florida, we could discuss how much we achieved during those few weeks about topics we discussed.

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I find this statement by Andrew Wilson to be generally accurate: “The Epstein files create so much emotional charge that having rational discourse about them is basically impossible. People want arrests but don’t know who they want arrested. They want justice but don’t know who they want justice for. Totally Incoherent outrage. Mob panic.”

A mass formation psychosis has fallen upon the Epstein matters and clouded the judgement of reasonable people.

It’s the “reasonable people” facet that became the challenge that Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna needed to control.

Led by financing from the anti-Trump administrative state allies, they created a controversy.  Thomas Massie needed to create a political crisis he could manufacture, exploit and manage. Something his political paymasters could benefit from and simultaneously use as a pivot issue maximize his income capacity.  His wife is dead; this is the payday opportunity to relaunch his mid-life masculinity and gain Instagram celebrity status to align with his physical makeover.

Together with Ro Khanna, Massie thirsts for the viral dopamine hit of “fighting the deep state.” They mounted a full-court press: public letters, hearing grandstanding, coordinated X and TikTok outrage campaigns, the whole performative circus. Algorithmically boosted appearances via social media allies, then promoted by content creators and influencers who adhere to the financial control dials within the algorithm.

Visibility looks organic, but it’s not.  The consuming public, the mob, are mice with their head in a vice, gaze affixed to the content of a screen with images on a repeat pattern they do not control. Swipe – swipe, there it is again. Why, this must be trending or something.

“Release EVERYTHING immediately!” the mob shrieked.  Implying that any delay, any careful review, was proof of a cover-up protecting whichever boogeyman the algorithmic boosters hated that week.  Trump, Clinton, Gates, Trump, Musk, Bannon, Trump, Lutnick, take your pick. Psychologically, the screenplay is textbook narcissistic projection fused with political opportunism.

Institutional caution must be defined as corrupt, because institutional credibility has been shattered. Like classic narcissists they weaponized a crisis they created because their motives are impure: sway, clout, money – influence and affluence – and the delicious thrill of wielding moral superiority over faceless bureaucrats. Even Ted Cruz and Casey DeSantis blush at the scale they never attempted.

Yes, they whipped the social media mob into a frothing “transparency or treason” frenzy, leaving the DOJ with two choices: take the time to do it right and be accused of obstruction, or just dump it all and tell Massie to FU.

Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche just gave Thomas Massie the middle finger.

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Overnight in the USA time zones, Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a very important speech at the Munich Security Conference [3:00am ET].  The video is below [prompted] and a FULL transcription will soon follow Added Below:.

This is a critically worded speech that is very important to listen to with great deliberation.  Within his remarks Rubio is telling Europe that we want to remain allied in our interests, but we are no longer going to allow the system of “globalism” to destroy our uniquely American life.

The United States is separating from the madness; this is not up for debate. The only question is whether Europe is too far gone, or whether they will join us.

The euphoria that followed the collapse of the Berlin Wall, “led us to a dangerous delusion.  That we had entered quote the end of history. That every nation would now be a liberal democracy; that the ties formed by trade and by commerce alone would now replace nationhood. That the rules-based global order, an overused term, would now replace the national interest, and that we would now live in a world without borders where everyone became a citizen of the world. This was a foolish idea that ignored both human nature and it ignored the lessons of over 5,000 years of recorded human history, and it has cost us dearly.” 

[Transcript] SECRETARY RUBIO:  “Thank you very much.  We gather here today as members of a historic alliance, an alliance that saved and changed the world.  When this conference began in 1963, it was in a nation – actually, it was on a continent – that was divided against itself.  The line between communism and freedom ran through the heart of Germany.  The first barbed fences of the Berlin Wall had gone up just two years prior.

And just months before that first conference, before our predecessors first met here, here in Munich, the Cuban Missile Crisis had brought the world to the brink of nuclear destruction.  Even as World War II still burned fresh in the memory of Americans and Europeans alike, we found ourselves staring down the barrel of a new global catastrophe – one with the potential for a new kind of destruction, more apocalyptic and final than anything before in the history of mankind.

At the time of that first gathering, Soviet communism was on the march.  Thousands of years of Western civilization hung in the balance.  At that time, victory was far from certain.  But we were driven by a common purpose.  We were unified not just by what we were fighting against; we were unified by what we were fighting for.  And together, Europe and America prevailed and a continent was rebuilt.  Our people prospered.  In time, the East and West blocs were reunited. A civilization was once again made whole. ”

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