With research files on the ’15, ’16 and ’17 political surveillance program; including information from the Mueller report and information from the IG Horowitz report; in combination with the Obama-era DOJ “secret research project” (their words, not mine); we are able to overlay the Obama-era domestic IC  operations and gain a full understanding of how political surveillance was conducted over a period of approximately four to six years.
Working with a timeline, but also referencing origination material in 2015/2016 – CTH hopes to show how the program(s) interacted and operated.  A full review explains an evolution from The IRS Files in 2010 to the FISA Files in 2016.
More importantly, the assembly of government reports and public records now indicates a political exploitation of the NSA database, for weaponized intelligence surveillance of politicians, began mid 2012.
The FISA-702 database extraction process, and utilization of the protections within the smaller intelligence community, became the primary process. We start by reviewing the established record from the 99-page FISC opinion rendered by Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer on April 26th, 2017; and explain the details within the FISC opinion.
(more…)

The original requests to declassify the Carter Page FISA application came in January 2018 as a result of the Nunes memo.   A classified and heavily redacted version of the application was released July 21st, 2018.  A month later, in August 2018, Congress again requested the Trump administration to declassify the document(s).
In September 2018 DAG Rod Rosenstein told the President if he followed through with the request Special Counsel Mueller would consider that an obstruction of his investigation:

As a consequence of the Rosenstein threat President Trump reversed course (tweets above) and announced after Horowitz completed his investigation the FISA would be declassified and released.
The mid-term elections were held in November 2018; democrats took over the House.
In March 2019, after the Special Counsel finished his investigation, a now minority in congress again formally asked President Trump (3rd time) to declassify the FISA application.
On May 23rd, 2019, President Trump announced he was giving Attorney General Bill Barr the authority to declassify the FISA application, timed to support the IG investigation:
(more…)

Big Win For President Trump !

As we expected the Supreme Court has granted the petition for a writ of certiorari and will hear cases related to attempts to gain President Trump financial records and tax filings.
The Supreme Court has issued a stay upon all lower court action and consolidated the cases into one writ.  The court will hear arguments in March and release a ruling later in the summer of 2020.
President Trump went to the Supreme Court after the House Financial Services and Intelligence Committees issued subpoenas to Deutsche Bank and Capital One seeking President Trump’s tax records. In his request to the court [Read Here] Trump asked SCOTUS to block the subpoenas on the ground they go beyond the committees’ powers.
Justice Ginsburg stayed the lower court decision and ordered the House of Representatives to file a response by Wednesday, December 11.  The cases and issues were then discussed at their private SCOTUS conference.  Today’s writ is the outcome.
(more…)

President Trump hosts a press availability prior to a bilateral meeting with President Abdo Benitez of Paraguay.  [Video and Transcript Below]

.
[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. It’s great to have the President of Paraguay here. We’re doing a lot of work with Paraguay on terrorism, on drugs, on trade — a lot of different things. And we’ve had a great relationship. So, Mr. President, it’s an honor to have you. Thank you very much.
(more…)

Last night President Trump congratulated Prime Minister Boris Johnson on his great win in the U.K. election, noting the possibilities for a big trade boost are “massive”:

Not accidentally, the geopolitical economic and trade planets have aligned splendidly.   The cornerstone USMCA agreement has bipartisan support and will ratify quickly in congress.  A “phase one” trade agreement with China is likely, and prior plans for a strategic trade deal with the U.K. have increased as a result of the U.K. election.
First rule in geopolitics, it’s always about the economics.  Second rule in geopolitics: refer to rule #1.    Understanding this basic truism is the key to understand how President Trump is able to be so effective.  There are trillions at stake, and many interests.

“Economic security is national security.” ~President Trump

All politics circles back to the underlying economics; whether it is an individual financial self-interest for a specific politician, or whether it is a larger financial interest for a group or even a nation.  Everything is always about the money; and that essential truth is why Donald Trump is so uniquely qualified, influential and stunningly effective.
(more…)

The fiasco within the House Judiciary Committee assembling articles for impeachment went from partisan bias to unilaterally ridiculous when Chairman Nadler used banana republic tactics to adjourn the committee and simultaneously schedule a vote on the two articles of impeachment for 10:00am tomorrow.

Obviously the House democrats are beginning to panic as each day American voter support is dropping fast.  Combine that political reality with an international earthquake in the U.K. elections, and the reverberations travel into the impeachment debate.  It is clear from their behavior that Pelosi and Nadler need to finish this mess; and fast.
Nadler surprised the committee when he arbitrarily ended the mark-up session, and out of nowhere adjourned the committee shortly before midnight.  The chairman announced the HJC would reconvene at 10:00am on Friday the 13th (apropos all things considered) to vote the two articles out of committee.  There was no discussion with Ranking member Doug Collins and no communication with the minority at all. A unilateral declaration.
Representative Doug Collins was at first surprised, then furious at the shameful and partisan committee rule-breaking by Chairman Nadler.   House democrats are taking a big gamble by manipulating a process in the extreme and hoping Americans will not punish their blood-lust for impeachment, and political abuse of power.  WATCH:
(more…)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appears on Fox News to discuss the upcoming impeachment trial and the processes within the Senate that will be followed.
McConnell states he will be working closely with White House counsel and the President’s lawyers.  The Senate Leader said “there’s no chance the President is removed from office”.

.
[Sidebar (somewhat): I find it to be interesting timing for this interview… U.S-China trade agreement, phase-one, announced today and Senator McConnell comes out in full-throated defense of presidency. Perhaps just a coincidence.]
(more…)

The House of Representatives holds a markup hearing to assemble two articles of impeachment against President Trump.  Afternoon Session – 2:30pm
CSPAN Livestream Link – PBS Livestream Link – Fox Business Livestream

(more…)

There are several dozen critical issues that stem from revelations about the DOJ and FBI conduct in/around the Carter Page FISA application (2017) and Steele Dossier writ large; but DOJ official Bruce Ohr still being employed isn’t one of them, and here’s why.

Bruce Ohr on right

What exactly would Bruce Ohr be held accountable for?
What Mr. Ohr did wrong was back-channel information from dossier author Christopher Steele into the FBI; made worse because this is after Chris Steele was persona non grata; and done by Ohr without telling his bosses at Main Justice.  Obviously, not good.
However, considering the time-frames of the FD-302 reports written by Ohr’s handler FBI agent Joseph Pientka, Bruce Ohr was channeling information into the Crossfire Hurricane team in 2017.  That same FBI team became the Mueller investigation FBI team, and from the 302 notes we know Ohr was channeling information from Christopher Steele into the Mueller team after the administrations’ changed.   Again, not good, but…
(more…)

Representative Jim Jordan recaps the history of the investigative targeting of President Trump and the malicious partisan political impeachment.  “They don’t like us”… “that’s why they want to get rid of us”… “that’s why they want to weaponize the government”…

.
You know why the entire apparatus is united against President Trump. You know why the corrupt Wall Street financial apparatus is united against President Trump. You know why every institutional department, every lobbyist, every K-Street dweller, every career legislative member, staffer, and the various downstream economic benefactors, including the corporate media, all of it – all the above, are united against Donald Trump.
Donald Trump is an existential threat to the existence of a corrupt DC system we have exposed to his disinfecting sunlight. Donald Trump is the existential threat to every entity who benefits from that corrupt and vile system.
(more…)