Senator Lindsey Graham appears on Fox News for a pre-scheduled interruption to Sean Hannity’s hour long monologue.   During the eight minute appearance, Graham was able to speak for 2:16 seconds and discussed: the Florida election; the intent of Jeff Flake to derail any Judicial nominations: and the likelihood of Robert Mueller continuing an investigation of President Trump.  Graham is optimistic for the next congressional year.

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President Donald J. Trump delivers remarks earlier today in a White House event calling on Congress to take action and support the bipartisan prison reform legislation, the FIRST STEP Act.

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[Transcript] Roosevelt Room – 4:38 P.M. EST – THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. Thank you very much for being here. Appreciate it. And thank you very much, everybody. I’m grateful to be here today with members of the House and Senate who have poured their time — and they really have — their heart, and energy into the crucial issue of prison reform.
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If you pause for a few minutes and look at every recent headline, and the story therein that delivers frustration;… I mean really elevate and look at the bigger issue inside each of the examples… there’s a connective thread surrounding a shift in law-and-order to focus on “criminal intent.”
“Intent”, not consequence, is now the larger shield being applied toward excusing the action of people within institutions of government and society.

Hillary Clinton was not guilty, because James Comey said they couldn’t prove intent. Recent DOJ releases highlighting: “declined to prosecute” all surround intent.  Illegal alien entry, and accountability for fraud, all downplayed because there’s no proof of intent.
In the larger picture, the focus on intent -a specific decision made within the administration of justice- has become a shield against consequence.
It was a “mistake”…. he/she/it made “a poor decision” etc.  A pattern of obfuscation downplaying consequence and allowing those decision-makers charged with delivering accountability to withdraw or apply the rules of law based on their individual overlay of ‘intent’.
That shift is factually visible everywhere now.
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Voices selling a pending conclusion to the Mueller investigation of President Trump were dealt a set-back today as Robert Mueller files a motion with the court extending the 2016 Russian interference investigation deep into 2019.
The Associated Press is citing court documents filed within the Rick Gates case where the special counsel is requesting additional time for sentencing as an outcome of ongoing cooperation that has expanded the investigation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert Mueller isn’t done with former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates.
That’s according to a new court filing from the special counsel’s team. Prosecutors say they’re not ready for Gates to be sentenced because he is continuing to cooperate with “several ongoing investigations.” And they’re asking a federal judge to give them until mid-January before they have to give another update about his case.

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In a move that supports President Trump, the U.S. Justice Department, Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), has released a lengthy memo [pdf available here] outlining the legal support for the interim appointment of Matthew Whitaker as Acting Attorney General.

(Via Wall Street Journal) […] The Justice Department’s opinion is aimed at critics who say Mr. Whitaker’s installation is an invalid run around the Constitution’s requirement that the Senate provide “advice and consent” for senior executive-branch nominations. It comes a day after the state of Maryland asked a federal judge to block Mr. Whitaker from serving, arguing that job should fall to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
A judge Wednesday set a hearing on that argument for Dec. 19.

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The GOPe big club know how to control political outcomes.  During internal party elections today current republican Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who failed to keep a republican majority, was approved by a vote of 159-43 to become the new 2019 minority leader.  It is likely McCarthy will be successful in retaining the GOPe minority.

California Republican Kevin McCarthy was challenged by Ohio Republican Jim Jordan, but overwhelmingly McCarthy was seen by House republicans as the more moderate, less controversial, representative.  The House is now positioned to play the preferred role of loyal opposition when the flags change color amid the spire of the UniParty House.
There’s an irony in McCarthy elevating to the Minority Leadership role within the same election cycle that sees Dave Brat defeated in Virginia and Paul Ryan retiring from congress.  Brat defeated Eric Cantor, the former GOPe Majority Leader; stunning the GOPe leadership (Boehner, Ryan, Cantor and McCarthy) and derailing Wall Street’s 2014 open-border GOPe immigration agenda. [Cantor-primaried ’14; Boehner-retired ’16; Ryan-retired ’18; and now the lone McCarthy takes control.]
Biggest Winners:  Tom Donohue, Rupert Murdoch and the Koch Brothers.
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Excellent reporting from Ami Horowitz (Daily Wire) who traveled to Mexico to find out the real reason why there is a caravan of migrants on its way to the United States’ border with its southern neighbor.  Within the video report you can get an understanding of who is inside the group (95% young males); and why they are making the journey.
Horowitz actually embeds with the migrants to ask questions and understand how it is logistically possible for tens-of-thousands of people to travel, eat and sleep over such a great distance.  What he discovers is the network of facilitating agencies who are spending tens-of-millions to challenge U.S. sovereignty and overwhelm our immigration laws.

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Last night there were several reports that Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen might be replaced.  Those reports evolved today toward “exit likely but timing uncertain.”  The issue with removing Nielsen is her attachment to current Chief-of-Staff John Kelly; if Trump removes Nielsen, he would likely also have to replace General Kelly because they are essentially a professional pairing and have been for several years.

However, there’s a fantastic report now swirling that former ICE Director Tom Homan might be the lead candidate for Homeland Security Secretary.  That would be an excellent spot for Homan; with all of the current border issues now weighing on the larger national security dynamic.  Hopefully, this ends up being the switch-out.
If it is correct that Nielsen and Kelly are inseparable (most say yes), the issue would then become who would/could replace John Kelly as Chief of Staff.   My own irrelevant recommendation would be toward either current SBA Director Linda McMahon, or perhaps even bring back former Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert.

Mark Levin discusses the midterm election result with Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, and Texas Representative-elect Chip Roy.  Both discuss why the party failed to hold onto the House while gains were made in the Senate on ‘Life, Liberty and Levin.’

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Robert Mueller (the entire team) was put into place by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in 2017.  The specific selection of Robert Mueller was an outcome of recommendations and advice from FBI Chief Legal Counsel, James Baker, and FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
In hindsight; and specifically against the backdrop of known illegal activity [remember, McCabe is under criminal referral] there was a motive of self-interest within Baker and McCabe, specifically to cover for the 2015/2016/2017 DOJ and FBI activity that preceded the firing of FBI Director James Comey.
From the initial perspective of self-interest, Mueller’s role had/has three essential aspects:

♦(1) Create an investigation – Just by creating the investigation it is then used as a shield by any corrupt FBI/DOJ official who would find himself/herself under downstream congressional investigation.  Former officials being deposed/questioned by IG Horowitz or Congress could then say they are unable to answer those questions due to the ongoing special counsel investigation.  In this way Mueller provides cover for officials.
♦(2)  Use the investigation to keep any and all inquiry focused away from the corrupt DOJ and FBI activity that took place in 2016, 2016, 2017.  Keep the media narrative looking somewhere, anywhere, other than directly at the epicenter of the issues. In this way, Mueller provides distraction and talking points against the Trump administration.
♦(3) Use the investigation to suck-up, absorb, any damaging investigative material that might surface as a result of tangentially related inquiry.  Example: control the exposure of evidence against classified leak participants like SSCI Director of Security, James Wolfe. In this way Mueller provides cover for the institutions and the administrative state.
In all of these objectives the Mueller special counsel has been stunningly effective.
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