Don’t get so caught up debating the granular issues over ‘muh Russia’ that you fail to elevate and see the landscape from the 30,000 ft. level.   The Rosenstein/Mueller move today is all about protecting the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) from President Trump (declassification threats); and it was specifically scheduled, timed, to be launched today as Trump leaves for the G20 to achieve maximum political damage.

Michael Cohen pleads guilty today (full pdf below) to lying in written testimony to the SSCI:

(WaPo) […] Cohen admitted as a part of his plea that he lied in part to “minimize links” between the Moscow project and Trump, and in hopes of limiting ongoing probes into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. Prosecutors said in court documents that he discussed efforts to obtain Russian government funding for the project as late as June 2016 and discussed the status and progress with Trump more than he had previously told congressional investigators. (more)

This power-move by Mueller and Rosenstein (the small-group teams within the construct and not just the individuals), is another move with a similar motivation to the plea agreement over SSCI security director, James Wolfe.  Whitaker is powerless to stop it. Rosenstein and Mueller are protecting their allies in the most corrupt committee in DC.
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The New York Post has an article today, surrounding an interview with President Trump, where the topic of declassifying the evidence behind ‘Spygate’ surfaced.
To say there is a massive schism amid supporters of the President on this issue would be an understatement.

On one hand the declassification would potentially, and finally, outline the scale of the FBI/DOJ politicization and weaponization of intelligence against the President – exposing the entire ‘spygate’ scandal in all its glory.  On the other hand that potential is also seen as political leverage against the schemes of DC and all the characters.
Here’s the quotes that matter:

(New York Post) […]  “If they go down the presidential harassment track, if they want go and harass the president and the administration, I think that would be the best thing that would happen to me. I’m a counter-puncher and I will hit them so hard they’d never been hit like that.”
“I think that would help my campaign. If they want to play tough, I will do it. They will see how devastating those pages are.”

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Outgoing U.S. Senator Jeff Flake from Arizona has given the American electorate the big middle finger for Christmas.  Flake has followed-through on his vow to block more than 20 judicial nominees; forcing the Senate Judiciary Committee to abandon six federal circuit court nominees, and 15 federal district court nominees.

WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) announced Wednesday that he is canceling votes on nearly two dozen of President Trump’s judicial nominees that were expected to come up in the Judiciary Committee this week.

The cancellation of the committee’s Thursday business meeting comes as Senate Republicans are in a standoff with outgoing Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who has vowed to oppose all court picks until he gets a vote on legislation protecting special counsel Robert Mueller.

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Funny stuff happens when a judge tells a plaintiff she has to pay $341,500 for the legal expenses of a lawsuit she lost.  All of a sudden Stormy Daniels is saying her CPL, Michael Avenatti, was acting against her wishes:

[Stormy Daniels] “For months I’ve asked Michael Avenatti to give me accounting information about the fund my supporters so generously donated to for my safety and legal defense. He has repeatedly ignored those requests. Days ago I demanded again, repeatedly, that he tell me how the money was being spent and how much was left. Instead of answering me, without my permission or even my knowledge Michael launched another crowdfunding campaign to raise money on my behalf. I learned about it on Twitter.”  (keep reading)

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The issue is basic to the construct of the USMCA (NAFTA replacement).
BMW made a multi-billion-dollar investment in Mexico in anticipation of exploiting the NAFTA loophole.  President Trump has closed the loophole.  The new USMCA agreement requires 75% of automobile parts made in North America; and 45% must come from plants with minimum labor costs ($16/hr), or face tariffs upon export to the U.S.
As a result BMW is now considering opening those higher-wage component supply operations in the U.S.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – BMW (BMWG.DE) is considering a second U.S. manufacturing plant that could produce engines and transmissions, Chief Executive Harald Krueger said on Tuesday, shortly after a report that U.S. President Donald Trump would impose tariffs on imported cars from next week
[…] BMW is considering changes to U.S. operations as sales in the region grow, Krueger said. BMW has a U.S. vehicle assembly plant, in South Carolina, is planning to open a Mexico factory next year, and is considering changes to its current scheme of importing engines and transmissions.

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers remarks to the media following a briefing of senators on Capitol Hill.  The media was primarily focused on the issues surrounding the murder of Kashoggi; and the opportunity to create a wedge issue for the Trump administration.
Many Decepticon senators, benefactors from Qatari (Muslim Brotherhood) financing against the policy of Saudi Arabia, are aligned with left-wing opposition to the President on this issue. Instability in the middle-east is a very lucrative business model for personal financial gain.

A small but interesting development in the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico highlights a backstory CTH suspected several months ago {Go Deep}. August 25th:

As USTR Robert Lighthizer was working with the trade officials representing outgoing Mexican President Peña Nieto, White House adviser/emissary Jared Kushner was quietly working behind the scenes with AMLO trade adviser Jesus Seade and outlining the possibilities if they partnered with strategic economic objectives in mind.
As a result of Kusher’s dogged efforts to bring an entirely new dual-nationalist ‘focus’ within the trade construct, removing the historic globalist baseline, the outcome of the trade deal is excellent for both the U.S. and Mexico.  So today:

MEXICO – […] Kushner will receive the prize “for his contributions to achieve the negotiation of the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA),” according to a statement by Mexico’s Foreign Relations Secretariat.
Peña Nieto will present Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, with the award on Thursday at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina, according to the Reforma newspaper.

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UPDATE: Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith easily wins: 55-45

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American Pravda, aka The Washington Post, interviews President Trump in an effort to engineer the latest set of deep state sympathetic narratives. Here’s the transcript:
Phillip RUCKER: Thanks for taking some time with us. We wanted to start with a couple topics in the news today. Afghanistan, three troops were killed overnight in that roadside bomb. Can you explain why 17 years later we’re still there? Why are Americans still fighting there?
President TRUMP: We’re there because virtually every expert that I have and speak to say if we don’t go there, they’re going to be fighting over here. And I’ve heard it over and over again. We’re in the process of doing some — you know, as you know we are talking about peace over there with the Taliban, with the group of people that have a lot to do with it. They would like to see it after all these years, and we’ll see what happens. A little bit too early to say what’s going to happen. But we are talking about things. But it’s a very sad situation when I look — we have incredible people, incredible fighters. But we’re going to see what happens. We’re going to see what happens. But it’s very sad. I just heard about the three people this morning. Terrible.
RUCKER: Are you going to make it over there to Afghanistan?
TRUMP: At the right time I will.
RUCKER: Before Christmas, you think?
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Left-wing U.S. media heavily-pushed a transparently sketchy story today about Paul Manafort meeting and coordinating with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in 2013, 2015, 2016.  The story has the same vibe as the Steele Dossier: long on innuendo, sketchy sourcing and an over-the-top narrative; in short, nonsense (Screengrab below).

Within minutes, the left-wing U.S. media began gleefully pushing the narrative.  However, almost simultaneously, all of the principal participants said the Guardian story was entirely made-up and had no basis in fact.
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