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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According to the progressive-left Michael Avenatti is a strong presidential candidate in their 2020 objectives.
Unfortunately, those hopes and aspirations may have encountered a set-back today as the Creepy Porn Lawyer, Avenatti, is arrested for felony domestic violence.
TMZ is reporting that CPL is in police custody after beating his estranged wife.

CALIFORNIA – […] Our law enforcement sources say Avenatti was arrested Wednesday after his estranged wife filed a felony DV report. We’re told her face was “swollen and bruised.”
Our sources say the alleged incident occurred Tuesday, but there was a confrontation Wednesday between the two at an exclusive apartment building in the Century City area of L.A.

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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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At the White House today President Trump participated in the Diwali Ceremonial Lighting of the Diya, the Hindu festival of lights.  Anyone paying close attention to the Trump administration over the past two years will note the warmness expressed toward India and Hindu.
We should all pay close attention because you might not see it now, but this will have a direct impact in your household.  While the action by the President is an open and genuine expression of cultural respect and warmth, there is also a stunningly not subtle geopolitical aspect via President Trump’s background diplomacy/strategy to use India (remember: “indo-pacific) as leverage in the larger Red Dragon confrontation.
India is key part of Trump’s counter-strategy that deconstructs Chairman Xi’s One-Belt/One-Road approach toward global economic conquest. Keep watching:

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[Transcript] Roosevelt Room – 2:04 P.M. EST – THE PRESIDENT: I am thrilled to be here for the celebration of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, and I am honored to host this beautiful ceremony at the White House. Very, very special people.
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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.

This is what I call representing the red-blooded patriotic American.  Plain-speak, direct truth; what every middle-American would say to in the same or similar circumstance. And ironically, this is also (almost verbatim) one of the reasons Donald Trump earned my support in 2015:

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The blood of Americans, provided the current freedom of France. Period.
Our inherent American DNA strain is liberty and freedom.  Within that core we achieve, drive, and transfer our united national essence into everything we do.  Even the wealth and economics of our nation are dependent on this cornerstone; it drives our entrepreneurial existence.  We know how to do things, create things, and think completely outside the box on new and innovative ideas for things.
Yes, we are exceptional like that.
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