The sound of sad trombones echos through the halls of media networks today as a year of speculation, surrounding contacts between Don Trump Jr. and ‘blocked phone records’ before and after the oft-emphasized Trump Tower meeting, ends with congress identifying two long-time Trump friends and a major nothing-burger.
Three phone calls by Donald Trump Jr. to blocked numbers in June 2016 fueled rampant media speculation that DJT-Jr. was coordinating with his father, Candidate Trump, over the substance of the Trump Tower meeting, before and after it took place.
SSCI Vice-Chairman Mark Warner and HPSCI Chairman Adam Schiff both sold a suspicion narrative that candidate Donald Trump and Trump-Jr. were organizing, coordinating and colluding with “Russians”.   Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his primary investigative asset Andrew Weissmann fueled the Russian Conspiracy speculation with targeted leaks to allies in the media.  However, the truth comes out; and it is boring:

VIA ABC NEWS – Investigators on the Senate Intelligence Committee have learned the identities of three blocked phone calls with Donald Trump Jr just before and after the now-infamous Trump Tower meeting on June 9, 2016, three sources familiar with the calls told ABC News.
The calls to blocked numbers, which came on June 6, and after the meeting on June 9, were between Trump Jr.’s cell phone and two family friends — NASCAR CEO Brian France and real estate developer Howard Lorber, according to the sources.

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Attendees for the Oval office meeting include: President Donald J. Trump; Mick Mulvaney, Acting White House Chief of Staff; John Bolton, National Security Advisor; Larry Kudlow, Director of the National Economic Council; Peter Navarro, Assistant to the President for Trade & Manufacturing Policy; Matt Pottinger, Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Asian Affairs; Clete Willems, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council.
U.S. Administration team members: Secretary Mike Pompeo, Department of State; Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Department of the Treasury; Secretary Wilbur Ross, Department of Commerce; Ambassador Bob Lighthizer, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
Chinese Delegation: Liu He, Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China; Wang Shouwen, Vice Minister of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China.

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[Transcript] 3:43 P.M. EST – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. It’s a great honor to have the Vice Premier of China with us, and also the Vice Minister of Trade of China. We have had long discussions. This has been going on for quite some time. It will be, by far, if it happens, the biggest deal ever made — not only the biggest trade deal ever made. It will be the biggest trade deal by far, but it’ll also be the biggest deal ever made. The two largest countries doing a trade deal. There won’t be anything that will match that. And we’ll see what happens.
We’ve done very well. We’ve had a very, very strong relationship, as my relationship is with President Xi.
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President Trump delivers remarks [transcript below] while signing an executive order to support American Workers and American Manufacturing.  The executive order emphasizes enhanced strength for “America First” during U.S. infrastructure projects.
The president delivered comprehensive remarks on a myriad of issues. [There’s a fun little (off central focus of the camera) moment at 05:43 as President Trump gives the copy of his printed remarks to an attendee when the room’s focus is on Navarro.  It really highlights Donald Trump.]  This is the Heartbeat of MAGA!   Must watch/read.

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[Transcript] 11:59 A.M. EST – THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. I’m honored to be here with many of the great American workers as we take historic action to accelerate the incredible revival of American manufacturing. It truly is a revival. Nobody thought it was possible, actually. And not only is it possible, but we’re thriving.
We’re also grateful to be joined by Secretary Acosta, Administrator McMahon, and Representative Robert Aderholt, Mario Diaz-Balart. And we’re working on a lot of interesting projects in your neck of the woods, aren’t we, huh? How’s that all going?
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President Trump delivers a video message in concert with a series of public tweets surrounding the ongoing issues with border security funding.

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi starts shifting the semantic granules to avoid a political loss.  The financing for, and construction of, a see-through fencing system (Trump’s position) is the request of DHS and Border Patrol, and supported by the vast majority of Americans.
Today, Speaker Pelosi starts by claiming no wall will ever be permitted, then garbles her way through a pretzel response by saying “Normandy Barriers” being replaced by “Normandy See-Through Fencing”, is ok.  She’s trying to avoid a political loss. Watch:

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This is the clearest indication that Pelosi knows: (a) she’s losing the argument; and (b) the topic is now politically hazardous to her team.  It is clear that Predator Trump also smells blood in the political water.  He sees Pelosi trying to claim a “Normandy Fence” is not a wall.  He strikes:

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Fox News Catherine Herridge files a report covering the relationships between Glenn Simpson, Nellie Ohr, Christopher Steele, Bruce Ohr and the DOJ and FBI.

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Today Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham sends a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray requesting a briefing on the FBI conduct during the raid and arrest of 66-year-old Roger Stone.
However, sorry, I can’t let this go unnoticed. This letter is pure Decepticon politics.
Just yesterday FBI Director Chris Wray gave testimony before the senate for over four hours. If Republicans in the senate were actually concerned about the issue, why didn’t a single senator spend 30 seconds to ask about Wray about it?  I digress…
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This is the second time in two weeks when we have seen an actual public policy discussion where Democrats are casually advocating for ‘post-birth abortion’.   I can’t even type about this level of sheer horror without praying…. Madness. Evil madness.  How is this conversation even possible?
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, who is a pediatrician, is asked about a new State bill (thankfully it failed) that would have lifted all restrictions on third trimester abortions in Virginia.

If a mother is in labor…the infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother”

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Russia and China have invested billions in Venezuela to prop-up the Maduro regime. On Monday the U.K. denied Maduro access to $1.2 billion in gold held by the Bank of England. On Monday night a Russian aircraft landed in Caracus. On Tuesday it was reported that 20 tonnes of Venezuela gold bars have gone missing (link).

“President Donald J. Trump spoke today with Venezuelan Interim President Juan Guaido to congratulate him on his historic assumption of the presidency and to reinforce President Trump’s strong support for Venezuela’s fight to regain its democracy.”
“Interim President Guaido thanked President Trump for the United States’ commitment to freedom and prosperity in Venezuela and the region, and noted the importance of the large protests across Venezuela against former dictator Maduro, set to occur today and Saturday. They agreed to maintain regular communication to support Venezuela’s path back to stability, and to rebuild the bilateral relationship between the United States and Venezuela.”  ~ White House

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Giddy up.  Two days of intense trade discussions begin today in the Eisenhower building led by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and his Chinese counterpart Vice Premier Liu He. The stakes are high as the deadline for an agreement is March 2nd.
Ambassador Lighthizer is joined by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and China’s arch nemesis, White House trade advisor Peter Navarro.

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Adding to the intensity, the United States just charged Chinese telecommunications company Huawei Technologies and its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, with conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran by doing business through a subsidiary.  Ms. Meng was arrested in Canada at the request of the United States; her extradition has been requested by the Department of Justice.
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