Vice President Mike Pence, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Minority Whip Steve Scalise and Senate Majority Whip John Thune describe the events at a White House meeting with President Trump, Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Dick Durbin….  Things did not go well:

.
It would appear congress is at loggerheads over border security, with democrats unwilling to provide any funding that might secure the southern border.  Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer have stated the border is secure; there are no illegal border crossings actually taking place; and there is no crisis.  As such, the partial government shutdown continues.
(more…)

Reports from inside the DOJ to allied resistance media announce that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will leave the DOJ once special counsel Robert Mueller (the team, not the person) submits their investigative report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Generally speaking, media reporting can be taken with a grain of proverbial salt; however, with these events it’s likely allied resistance media have embeds within the special counsel and DOJ coordinating leaks on their behalf.  Additionally, this latest report aligns almost identically with the CTH prediction for legislative action.  In short, it just makes sense.

WASHINGTON — Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who had been overseeing the special counsel investigation, plans to step down after Robert Mueller submits his report, according to administration officials familiar with his thinking.

A source close to Rosenstein said he intends to stay on until Mueller submits a report to the Justice Department on the Russian meddling investigation. The source said that would mean Rosenstein would remain until early March.

Several legal sources have said they expect the Mueller team to submit its report by mid-to-late February, although they said that timeline could change based on unforeseen investigative developments. (read more)

This report aligns with the predictable sequencing of events we previously outlined from reviewing Democrat plans and Pelosi’s legislative rules requests and schedules.
(more…)

Democrat Representative Rashida Tlaib was sworn in today as one of the first Muslim women in Congress.  As a self-described Palestinian-American she represents Detroit and the surrounding suburbs, and is being heralded as the new voice of the Democrat party.

To highlight Representative Tlaib’s professional and political ideology; and showcase the progressive resistance intent her regional constituency provides to the United States Congress; Ms. Tlaib delivered the following message to her enthusiastic supporters:

.
Yes, this is the modern professional Democrat party:

“We’re going to impeach the motherfucker”.

(more…)

Remember when we warned [November 8th, 2018] that a convergence of left-wing groups, activists, DNC donors and specifically the Lawfare team, would align with (and meet) incoming Democrat leadership to construct a road-map for the “resistance” priorities?
Well, exactly that planned and coordinated outcome is visible as incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi presents her new rules for the 116th congress.

[IMPORTANT: Keep in mind that Speaker Pelosi has selected former insider DOJ official Douglas Letter to be the Chief Legal Counsel for the House.  That becomes important when we get to the part about new powers granted to the House Counsel.]
The Pelosi House rules clearly present the outline for an impeachment calendar as directed by changes to the oversight committees.  Additionally, there is a myriad of new processes which appear to have been developed through the Lawfare alliance.  Here’s some of the overview (full pdf below):
(more…)

CTH previously outlined the likely path Democrats will follow when they take control of the key congressional committees starting tomorrow {Go Deep}.  For those who walk through the deep weeds of DC politics, the sequence of 2019 events -based on accepting the historic resistance pattern- is entirely predictable.

Today, Fox News confirms the intention of Jerry Nadler (House Judiciary), Elijah Cummings (House Oversight) and Adam Schiff (HPSCI) as soon as they are sworn into office:

WASHINGTON DC – They’re about to get subpoena power – and they plan to use it.

As Democrats officially take back control of the House when the new Congress is seated Thursday, newly empowered House Committee chairmen are preparing to launch a slew of Trump administration investigations.

(more…)

Don’t get so caught up in a furor over Senator-elect Mitt Romney writing a political hit piece against the President of the United States that we forget to look at the big picture.
Senator-elect Mitt Romney’s niece is Ronna McDaniel, Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee (RNC). Senator Romney didn’t just wake up on New Year’s Day and haphazardly write a specifically constructed character assassination against the President of the republican party; who is currently the President of the United States.
No, this attack was done with forethought and specific intent.

Think rationally and logically.  Why write the op-ed at all?  What is the purpose behind writing the op-ed?  What does the author have to gain by writing the op-ed?…
And specifically, given the nature of the familial relationship between republican Senator Romney and RNC Chairwoman McDaniel, not to mention the political profession therein, with the senator writing something highly damaging; well, there’s obviously a larger intended purpose on Romney’s end of the equation.
Likely many will believe Ms. Ronna McDaniel was generally unaware that her uncle was going to take such a position of expressed opposition.  She didn’t know?  Mitt Romney wouldn’t, given the circumstances, tell his niece of his intention?
Let’s presume Romney didn’t tell his niece.  What does that tell us about the character of Mitt Romney; his obvious self-interest; and, in the bigger picture, what does that tell us of his relationship to republican party objectives, writ large?
What exactly is this ‘republican party‘, Romney’s frame-of-reference (under such a presumption), all about?  Who would Mitt and Ann Romney believe is operating it?
If Mitt Romney felt his current DC entry point, constructed by his specific intent, would leave him entirely isolated from any influence and/or affluence from his position – he wouldn’t do it.  Right?  But he did…. so he doesn’t view this adversarial starting point as damaging to his political objectives.
(more…)

President Trump was asked about Senator Elizabeth Warren as a 2020 presidential challenger.  The response was, well, epic.  WATCH:

(more…)

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ Warren has previously sent smoke signals indicating her desire to run as a presidential candidate for 2020.  Today Ms. Liawatha announced her launching of a presidential exploratory committee:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Monday took the first major step toward launching a widely anticipated campaign for the presidency, hoping her reputation as a populist fighter can help her navigate a Democratic field that could include nearly two dozen candidates.
“No matter what our differences, most of us want the same thing,” the 69-year-old Massachusetts Democrat said in a video that highlights her family’s history in Oklahoma. “To be able to work hard, play by the same set of rules and take care of the people we love. That’s what I’m fighting for and that’s why today I’m launching an exploratory committee for president.”  (read more)

There are three key congressional events likely in the first quarter of 2019. The sequencing of those events will be key to the “Resistance” political year.

The baseline is that Democrat leadership are cunning political strategists; and have likely already drawn out the big picture road-map with details to be filled in as they proceed.

• The first event is the congressional use of Michael Cohen for a series of public committee hearings. [Oversight (Elijah Cummings) and possibly -though less likely- Judiciary (Nadler) and HPSCI (Schiff)] This likely has to happen before March 6th, 2019, when Cohen is scheduled to enter federal prison. It’s almost certain Cohen’s incarceration deferment contains the unwritten agreement to appear. [Democrat leadership almost certainly coordinated this plan with team Mueller and the SDNY some time ago.]
• The second event is the release of the Team Mueller political report which, despite its inability to find criminal wrongdoing, will most certainly be written with highly charged innuendo as damaging to President Trump as possible. The release of this report will absolutely fuel several public committee hearings [Oversight/Reform (Cummings), HPSCI (Schiff) and Judiciary (Nadler)] without any doubt.
• The third event is the release of the OIG Horowitz report on possible FISA abuse. Due to the nature of Mueller’s proprietary investigative blackout (Horowitz not allowed to  see investigative material or witnesses with Mueller probe ongoing), the Horowitz report will  likely come out *after* Mueller.

That’s the three key events the Democrats and media will be most likely to exploit for maximum political benefit in the first quarter of 2019.   The sequence between Mueller and Horowitz might reverse (though unlikely and I’ll explain later). Other investigative resistance paths will spur from these three primary Q1 events.
(more…)

Incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has selected corrupt former DOJ career embed, Douglas N Letter, as Chief Legal Counsel for the House of Representatives.  Mr. Letter has agreed to come out of retirement to aid the House effort, and structure legal pathway to impeach President Trump.

San Francisco — Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi announced today that she will appoint Douglas N. Letter to be the new General Counsel of the House of Representatives.
Until February 2018, Letter served as the Director of the Civil Division Appellate Staff at the U.S. Department of Justice, retiring this year after 40 years of distinguished service at the agency. He is now a Senior Litigator at the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at the Georgetown University Law Center, where he is also a Visiting Professor of Law. He is a recipient of many prestigious honors, including the Presidential Meritorious Rank Award.

(more…)