When Attorney General Merrick Garland made the appointment [2-pg pdf] of Special Counsel Robert Hur (a deep swamp defender), CTH outlined the reasoning: “Essentially it looks like AG Merrick Garland is appointing a special counsel, because (a) he has to deflect political criticism given the issues and the growing scale; and (b) because a special counsel appointment will now throw the bag of “a current investigation” over any efforts from the Republican House of Representatives to investigate the office of the presidency.”

Today, in a responsive letter to inquiry from House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, exactly as anticipated, the DOJ triggered the latter justification as a reason not to comply with legislative oversight.

WASHINGTON DC – […] Carlos Felipe Uriarte, the assistant attorney general for DOJ’s office of legislative affairs, sent a Monday letter to House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), pointing to Garland’s Jan. 12 selection of special counsel Robert Hur to investigate Biden’s apparent mishandling of classified information as the key reason why the DOJ was limiting its sharing of information on the Biden saga.

[…] “Your letter … requests non-public information that is central to the ongoing Special Counsel investigation,” the assistant attorney general told Jordan on Monday. “The Department’s longstanding policy is to maintain the confidentiality of such information regarding open matters. This policy protects the American people’s interest in the evenhanded, dispassionate, and effective administration of justice. Disclosing non-public information about ongoing investigations could violate statutory requirements or court orders, reveal road maps of our investigations, and interfere with the Department’s ability to gather facts, interview witnesses, and bring criminal prosecutions where warranted.” (more)

(more…)

With talking points in hand CBS’s Margaret Brennan drops all pretenses and goes straight into her role as defender of the Biden regime in the White House.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy appears on Face the Nation for a dueling narrative contest with Ms. Brennan.  WATCH (transcript below):

[Transcript] -Mr. Speaker, good morning to you.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-California): Good morning. Thanks for having me back in studio.

MARGARET BRENNAN: It must be sobering to hear that reminder.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Well, it took me a little while to get there, but it feels good.

(more…)

The website Just Security, author former CIA operative Douglas Johnson, is very concerned about the House Subcommittee on Federal Government Weaponization. [SEE ARTICLE HERE} The concern is clouded under the auspices of fearing politicization by questioning the intelligence community about weaponized government.

The article is a mainstream bureaucratic outlook where the professional intelligence apparatus views themselves as beyond being accountable to the elected public officials, specifically the House members of the committee. The permanent unelected officials have a self-perception above the reach of the elected officials.

In essence, there is no public accountability model within their view of their operation. There can only be concealment, secret briefings, darkness and ‘trust us’ type reviews of their authorities. It’s quite a remarkable thing to read.

Just Security […] that’s oversight, a bipartisan endeavor conducted in the interest of all Americans, regardless of political affiliation. The oversight structure that came from the Church Committee investigations adopted legal and sensible rules of the road and protections for all stakeholders. Such supervision is conducted in controlled settings, shielded from public exposure, in a way that promotes candor and trust among both the auditors and the audited, facilitating transparency.

Note: How has that worked out for the American people?

(more…)

Col. Doug MacGregor appears with Judge Andrew Napolitano to explain the complexity of the tanks Biden has pledged to Ukraine.  Additionally, MacGregor gives a different perspective than western media about the status of the war in Ukraine, the position and motive of the Russians and the overall status of the EU and NATO coalition.

MacGregor emphasizes that what the western public are told about the war is not consistent with the reality what is taking place on the ground in Ukraine.  The term ‘hybrid warfare,’ which includes the U.S. State Dept. pushing a very specific propaganda message to the media, eventually runs into the reality of actual war fighting on the ground that is far more conventional.

The U.S. led NATO alliance may be winning the narrative, as outlined by media; however, the Russians are winning the actual fighting on the ground in Ukraine.  In addition to noting the Russian cultural aspects of the conflict, Col MacGregor gives some somber analysis about how dangerous this is becoming as the U.S. political voices are not willing to concede or admit anything that runs counter to their promoted narrative.  WATCH (prompted):

(more…)

Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) questioned a series of Joe Biden Federal District Court nominees today including: (1) Judge Charnelle Bjelkengren who is nominated to be United States District Judge for The Eastern District of Washington; (2) Matthew P. Brookman, to be United States District Judge for The Southern District of Indiana; (3) Michael Farbiarz, to be U.S. District Judge for the District Of New Jersey; (4) Robert Kirsch to be U.S. District Judge for The District of New Jersey, and (5) Eleta Merchant to be U.S. District Judge for The Eastern District Of New York.

Judge Bjelkengren couldn’t even explain what Article II or Article IV of the U.S. Constitution are about.   It gets worse from there.

Perhaps Senator John Kennedy did not mean to expose the outcome of affirmative action, diversity and social equity as a qualification for a federal court judge, but it happened anyway.  This is beyond cringeworthy, and, well, just wow.  WATCH: 

.

“President Biden and Senate Democrats have made it a priority to elevate judicial nominees from demographically and professionally diverse backgrounds, and during the 117th Congress, we have shattered records when it comes to diversity on the federal bench… [including] a record number of nominees with experience serving not only as prosecutors, but also as public defenders, voting rights experts, and civil rights attorneys… Every one of these jurists is highly qualified and ready to serve our nation and the American people.”  ~ Senator Dick Durbin, Chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee

(more…)

The Biden administration is pushing the United States into war against Russia to protect Washington DC’s political and financial interests in Ukraine.  None of this is a surprise as both Republican and Democrat politicians in DC continue to use Ukraine as a money laundering operation for key U.S. stakeholders.

Today Joe Biden announced he is sending 31 ‘Abram Tanks’ from the U.S. arsenal into Ukraine to further push the United States into direct conflict with Russia.  The potential for direct U.S. military engagement in Ukraine is now just a matter of formality, as the Abram’s tanks will be accompanied by military advisors, trainers, and the processes to sustain and maintain them on the battlefield.   WATCH:

[Transcript] – […] “today, I’m announcing that the United States will be sending 31 Abram tanks to Ukraine, the equivalent of one Ukrainian battalion.

Secretary Austin has recommended this step because it will enhance the Ukraine’s capacity to defend its territory and achieve its strategic objectives.

(more…)

The New York Times and Politico represent the best interests of the DOJ and FBI.  The Washington Post represents the interests of the CIA and ODNI.  CNN represents the interests of the U.S. State Dept.   These are the public-private media partnerships that have evolved over decades, and the outcomes are consistent.

Adam Goldman is a man of notoriously slimy disposition, who operates as a New York Times stenographer for the administrative state.  Goldman loves to see the targeting of Americans by the DOJ and FBI apparatus and is intoxicated by his perceived assistance in the destruction of others.  Goldman genuinely gets pleasure in seeing his targets suffer under the weight of the U.S. justice system. It brings him joy.

After Adam Goldman and the DOJ/FBI worked together in the operation to target James O’Keefe (Ashley Biden diary), O’Keefe is dragging the relationship out into the open. Goldman does not like it when the tables are turned, and he becomes the target of sunlight.  WATCH:

.

(more…)

There is a pending energy issue looming just beyond the horizon that is going to become a major issue very soon.   Electricity rates, natural gas costs and home heating oil prices increased massively due to Joe Biden energy policy.  However, things are likely to get much worse in a few months.

On the issue of oil and gasoline prices, the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has dropped 40% since Joe Biden began using it to offset massive global prices increases in oil.  However, Biden is doing nothing to increase production and has not engaged energy producers in conversation to expand domestic production. Non pretending warning HERE.

Ultimately what this means is another wave of sicky price increases for gasoline are coming fast.

Additionally, Mark Wolfe, director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), is warning that continued pressure on natural gas supplies by exporting U.S. production to Europe is going to make our electricity rates go even higher as more than 40% of U.S. electricity generated comes from the use of natural gas.  Wolfe wrote a letter in October to Energy Secretary Granholm [SEE HERE], and the situation is unfolding exactly as he warned.

Electricity rates have jumped massively in the past year, and it looks like they are going to continue to rise.  The spring and summer of 2023 looks to deliver another round of higher oil prices, higher natural gas prices, higher electricity prices and higher gasoline prices.   Which brings me to the question…

It is challenging to find solid data (without noise) on regional electricity, home heating and natural gas prices. However, Treehouse readers consistently provide the most accurate assessments of reality on the ground.  You guys are the experts in checkbook economics. So, I ask you the question:

How much have your electricity, natural gas and/or home heating costs increased in the past year?

(more…)

Intellectually honest observers have long realized that Antifa, as an organized domestic violence movement in the United States, could not exist if it was not supported directly or with willful blindness by the FBI. Sometimes you just have to accept things as they are, and not as you would wish them to be.

If the FBI did not support Antifa, it would be simple to target their financial mechanisms, fundraising platforms and social media networks that showcase their communications. If the FBI didn’t support Antifa, they would simply target the networks and arrest the participants for domestic terror related activity. It is not that difficult to see the FBI doesn’t do this because the FBI/DOJ support the violence.

During his opening monologue Monday night, Fox News host Tucker Carlson outlines exactly this issue. WATCH:

.

RevCom (Revolutionary Communists), Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, Antifa etc. it’s all one long continuum of the same participants.   However, in order to accept the ideology that surrounds it, the complicit media and U.S. justice system must pretend not to know things.

(more…)

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin appears with his good friend Chuck Todd for an interview about ongoing political events to include the debt ceiling.

As Manchin and Todd finish each other’s sentences, the discussion hits on the upcoming debt ceiling battle.  Manchin surprisingly pulls out the purple card and states the super-secret thing that no one in DC will admit.  The last federal budget was signed into law September 2008, for fiscal year 2009.  From that moment forward, there has been nothing except continuing resolutions and omnibus spending bills [SIDENOTE: this approach was by design by Obama/Pelosi].

This 12-year timeline includes the entire tenure of House Speaker Paul Ryan, former Budget Committee Chair, who now uses the absence of the budget as a tool to advance his outside impression that DC is fiscally reckless, insert pearl clutching here. I digress.  Manchin is positioning himself as the ‘purple’ option for 2024. WATCH (or read):

[Transcript] – CHUCK TODD: And joining me now is Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Senator Manchin, welcome back to Meet the Press.

SEN. JOE MANCHIN: Chuck, it’s always good to be with you.

CHUCK TODD: Look, I want to get into the debt ceiling. I want to get into all this stuff. But I — we got some developments overnight with those classified documents, an FBI search — the White House said it was coordinated with the FBI. But we’ve now had an FBI search of former President Trump. Now we have an FBI search into President Biden’s residence. What’s your assessment of how the president has handled the situation?

(more…)