As anticipated the majority of the Senate Judiciary hearing was a two-step.  Most of the questions presented to Inspector General Horowitz and FBI Director Chris Wray did little to advance the understanding of the issues at hand.  There was only one round of questions, several missing senators, and no senators for the duration. The hearing wrapped up early shortly after 5:00pm.
Here’s the only three question segments that approached the central issues.  We discover that former FBI Director James Comey is the subject of an ongoing investigation.  We also discover there is a grand jury impaneled.
Senator Lindsey Graham:

The ultimate disruption.

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Representatives Matt Gaetz and Ron DeSantis appear on Fox News to discuss the DOJ inspector general report after release:

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U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer appears on Fox News with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the current status of the U.S. -v- China trade reset.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Ambassador Robert Lighthizer are the targeted one-two punch behind the ‘America-First’ reciprocity program.  In this interview Lighthizer discusses the connectivity of tariffs within the larger trade strategy.

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We are very fortunate to have an awesome wolverine trade and economic team; stunningly so.  The main reason for their effectiveness is the reality that for the first time in our lifetimes we have an economic team acting entirely without influence from Wall Street, K-Street, special interest groups and CoC lobbyists.

As unbelievable as it sounds, we actually have pro-USA administration and government officials writing the actual trade policy without any influence by corporate interests.  And with trillions at stake, this is driving the multinationals -writ large- bananas.

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Michael Horowitz: FBI Agent Peter Strzok walks like a biased duck… looks like a biased duck… sounds like a biased duck… has all the same characteristics of a biased duck… and took the exact action a biased duck would take; therefore “We do not have confidence” FBI Agent Peter Strzok is not a biased duck.

[…] when one senior FBI official, Strzok, who was helping to lead the Russia investigation at the time, conveys in a text message to another senior FBI official, Page, that “we’ll stop” candidate Trump from being elected—after other extensive text messages between the two disparaging candidate Trump—it is not only indicative of a biased state of mind but, even more seriously, implies a willingness to take official action to impact the presidential candidate’s electoral prospects.

This is antithetical to the core values of the FBI and the Department of Justice. Moreover, as we describe in Chapter Nine, in assessing Strzok’s decision to prioritize the Russia investigation over following up on the Midyear-related investigative lead discovered on the Weiner laptop in October 2016, these text messages led us to conclude that we did not have confidence that Strzok’s decision was free from bias. (p.420)

Christopher Wray: “I take these findings seriously, and we accept these findings and recommendations.” … “This report did not find any evidence of political bias or improper considerations actually impacting the investigation under review.”

This is the infuriating part.  Think about this carefully.  This is not some arbitrary irrelevant institution within the bureaucracy of government.  The FBI is the “premier” law enforcement investigative apparatus within the entirety of the United States homeland security apparatus.  We rely upon the FBI’s investigative skills, training and application of common sense as they carry out their official responsibilities.

In essence the FBI has the primary responsibility for ensuring the internal safety and security of Americans through a process of evaluating evidence and threats; and more importantly taking action on clear evidence of those threats to avoid public safety issues.

Yet, the most important investigative body; within the system of U.S. law and order; cannot identify, admit, accept and take action upon a clear and present threat within its own organizational ranks. A political bias that is transparently obvious to the rest of America.

Allow me to put the IG/DOJ/FBI principle, at the heart of the matter, another way…

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FBI Director Christopher Wray will be holding a 5:30pn press conference to discuss the issues and fallout from the DOJ Inspector General report released earlier today.

UPDATE: Video Added

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Those reading the report will note the executive summary and conclusions were not written by the same IG officials who wrote the body of the investigative findings.  The investigation doesn’t match the summary.  The media is using the summary for their narrative; however the content within the IG report is entirely devastating.

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The 18-month Inspector General review of the DOJ/FBI investigation of the Hillary Clinton email has been released – OIG RELEASE LINK HERE

This IG inquiry is specifically looking into whether the FBI investigation was corrupted by political influence in their determination of the Clinton outcome. The IG report provides background on the overall issues, the potential crimes; the subsequent coverup; and the corruption that infested the 2016 Department of Justice and the FBI.

Here’s The Report:

[scribd id=381806566 key=key-4WfKaOih0Xm7EA7gdK93 mode=scroll]

(pdf link)

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Don’t Comment Unless You’ve Read The Full Report

Important note.  Read, but don’t focus on, the “executive summary” or “conclusions”; those two sections were written by political administrators in FBI and DOJ leadership.  Focus on the substance of the documented facts within the IG report.  You’ll note the specific facts don’t support the “summary/conclusion”.

Analysis will follow.

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The Potomac Two-Step

♦ Statement from Trey Gowdy. [SEE HERE] Given the nature and construct of the statement it was obviously written before today and timed for a release at a specific time of day today. Reeks of familiar UniParty swamp defense. Chaff and Countermeasures.

WASHINGTON, DC – House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy released the following statement after the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report on FBI and DOJ actions in advance of the 2016 election.

“I am alarmed, angered, and deeply disappointed by the Inspector General’s finding of numerous failures by DOJ and FBI in investigating potential Espionage Act violations by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. (read more)

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Until last night South Carolina politician Mark Sanford had never lost an election. However, a strong MAGA candidate confronted his opposition to the Trump agenda and challenged him in a primary race.  Sanford was defeated by Katie Arrington.

Mrs. Arrington appeared on Fox News with Lou Dobbs to discuss her campaign and her support for President Trump and the MAGA agenda.  One of the interesting points made by Arrington is the #1 question from her district voters: ‘do you support our president’?

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Simultaneous to Katie Arrington appearing with Lou Dobbs, a defeated Mark Sanford was appearing with Martha MacCallum [insert your favorite metaphor here]

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Fox News host Sean Hannity sat down with President Trump for a discussion prior to the president departing Singapore.  Good interview in two parts:

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Part 2 below:

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