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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Outlines “Multiple Tools” Now Deployed in Tariff Policy – Sec. 232, 301 and 122 Explained

Speaking to the Economic Club of Dallas, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent outlines what technical procedures the Trump administration will trigger now to retain tariff authority.  As anticipated Bessent outlines section 232 tariffs, section 301 tariffs, and Section 122 tariffs.  WATCH (prompted):

Section 232 [Steel and Aluminum examples] of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. §1862, as amended) authorizes the President to impose trade restrictions—such as a tariff or quota—if the Secretary of Commerce determines, following an investigation, that imports of a good “threaten to impair” U.S. national security. {SOURCE}

Section 301 tariffs are a trade enforcement mechanism established under the Trade Act of 1974. They allow the U.S. government to impose tariffs on imports from countries that are found to be engaging in unfair trade practices. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) conducts investigations to determine if a country is violating trade agreements, and if so, it can impose tariffs as a corrective measure {SOURCE}

Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 allows the U.S. president to impose tariffs of up to 15% to address “large and serious” balance-of-payments deficits. This authority can be exercised without prior congressional approval for a limited duration of 150 days. After this period, any tariffs must be extended by Congress. {SOURCE}

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President Trump Holds a Press Availability on the Issue of Tariffs – Livestream

President Donald Trump delivers remarks and holds a media availability following the Supreme Court 6-3 decision on the meaning of the word “regulate.”  WATCH:

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Supreme Court Rule 6-3 Against President Trump’s IEEPA Tariff Authority – The “Regulate” Opinion

The frustrating issue with the Supreme Court ruling [SEE HERE] is not simply the legal logic applied, which essentially boils down to actionable definitions surrounding the word “regulate,” but also the high court’s seeming blindness to the “emergency” part of the reason IEEPA was used.

Economic security is national security, and the hollowing out of our ability to independently sustain our national economic system posed a real and substantive threat to our nation.  The court never evaluated the ‘urgency’ behind the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as used by President Donald Trump.

Instead, the court began their legal analysis by seeking to define the word “regulate” as it applies to IEEPA.  Part II–B, concluding: (a) IEEPA authorizes the President to “investigate, block during the pendency of an investigation, regulate, direct and compel, nullify, void, prevent or prohibit . . . importation or exportation.” §1702(a)(1)(B) under the Act.

The majority of the court decided presidential ability to levy countervailing duties is not part of the ability to “regulate” importation.

In the opinion of the court, the President can block imports, nullify imports and prohibit imports, but the president cannot “regulate” imports through the use of tariffs.  This is the representative logic of a John Roberts court, the voice of Bush Inc.

It is what it is – and many of us saw this nonsense as a likely outcome, but it is still frustrating to see such a detached parseltongue approach to legal opinions when the national security of our nation is at stake.  These are the judicial minds who will watch the nation burn to the ground, just so they can remain in power ruling over the ashes.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch joined the court’s three liberals in the majority.  Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.

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President Trump Gives Speech on the Economy from Rome, Georgia – 4:00pm Livestream

President Trump travels to Rome Georgia today to deliver remarks on the economy from Coosa Steel Corporation. The anticipated start time is 4:00pm ET. Livestream Links Below.

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President Trump Participates in a Washington DC Assembly of the Board of Peace

President Trump invited global leaders to Washington DC to participate in the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace. U.S President Donald Trump, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner all delivered remarks during the event.

Participating countries include Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, El Salvador, Hungary, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

The Vatican and Pope Leo rejected an invitation to participate, concerned the Global Board of Peace may overshadow the United Nations, and that would not be acceptable to the Catholic Church or the European Union. Full video of the event below:

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Brother of King Charles III, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Arrested Under Suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office

In a rather stunning development, former Prince Andrew who had his title stripped when the original Epstein controversies erupted, was arrested earlier today from his home in Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, U.K.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, related to claims surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and the facilitation of young women for sex. The specific allegations are that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor shared confidential information with Epstein regarding his official duties as a trade envoy. British political pundit Piers Morgan reacted to the news. WATCH:

(Via Associated Press) – LONDON (AP) — The brother of King Charles III, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in connection with his close relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

His arrest Thursday follows years of allegations over his links with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison in 2019. The accusation at the heart of his arrest is that Mountbatten-Windsor, who was previously known as Prince Andrew until October when his brother stripped him of his titles and honors, shared confidential trade information with the disgraced financier.

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Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Answers Questions about Potential Military Attacks in Iran and Ongoing Ukraine Peace Negotiations

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt gives the ¹official statements from the White House on a variety of topics and matters of great interest.  The video below is prompted to the beginning of the media question segment.

Around the 10:00 minute mark Leavitt notes the likelihood of President Trump taking military action against Iran. WATCH:

¹There is a tremendous amount of false or manipulated information from media sources, allies and critics of the administration. We are at a critical juncture where it is a best practice to listen directly to President Trump or his specifically assigned spokespeople.

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Strong Possibility of SCOTUS Ruling on President Trump IEEPA Tariffs – Friday, Tuesday or Wednesday

The high court has indicated it will be releasing opinions on one or more of the previously argued cases on Friday February 20, Tuesday Feb 24, or Wednesday Feb 25.  The decision over tariffs triggered by President Trump using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) is one of the decisions now considered highly likely to surface.

If the decision doesn’t come this Friday, a rather interesting situation unfolds.  The following week falls into the Tuesday Feb 24 State of the Union address.

Typically, several Supreme Court justices sit in front row of the House floor during the speech.  The decision could be released on the morning of the speech, or justices could actually sit in the audience – knowing the outcome and the morning after the State of the Union address, the ruling could be released.

Now, there is a possibility the ruling will not come out in this cycle, but that is diminishing possibility considering the length of time the Supreme Court has sat on this opinion.

The court knows the importance of this decision, and they obviously know the State of the Union speech is scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday the 24th.  This will be an interesting dynamic to watch unfold.

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Dan Bongino Interviews FBI Director Kash Patel

Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino is helping to spearhead a coordinated message campaign for President Trump as he returns to podcasting.  Bongino is hoping to fill the void for voices who speak positively about ongoing DOJ and FBI efforts and share information about ongoing Justice Department efforts.

Today, Dan Bongino interviews FBI Director Kash Patel.  At 01:08:36 of the video below, Kash Patel outlines some pending information that is likely to reach the headlines about the funding mechanisms behind Antifa.  I have prompted the video to the entire interview between Bongino and Patel. {Direct Rumble Link} – WATCH:

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Disinformation Board Member Jennifer Daskal Appointed as FISA Court Advisor

A good catch by Chuck Ross at WFB drawing attention to the latest Amici curiae appointed to the FISA Court.

Adding to a string of leftist ‘advisors to the court’ Jennifer Daskal has been appointed by FISA Court Presiding Judge Anthony Trenga.

Daskal was the Biden administration principal deputy general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security who launched the Disinformation Governance Board (Ministry of Truth) ultimately led by Nina Jankowicz.

Jennifer Daskal’s career has centers around controlling information from a leftist perspective and was one of the core officials who used the term dis-mis-mal-information to censor speech on social media platforms around COVID-19 and the vaccination protocol.

Daskal’s reach and control into big tech and social media is well documented. Appointing her as an advisor to the FISA court is troubling as she has joined Amy Jeffress, appointed amicus curiae in 2015 (Biden’s personal attorney), David Kris, a 2016 amicus curiae selection (denied Carter Page FISA application contained fabrications), and the infamous Mary McCord appointed amicus curiae in 2021 (sits at the center of every stop-Trump operation).

Washington Free Beacon – A Biden administration official who launched the Disinformation Governance Board and served as co-chair of the so-called Ministry of Truth has been appointed to advise the powerful Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, prompting concerns from some Republican lawmakers.

The presiding judges of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review appointed Jennifer Daskal on Feb. 1 to serve as amicus curiae for the court. Amici curiae, known as “friends of the court,” advise judges on legal issues related to foreign surveillance warrants in national security cases. Daskal served as acting principal deputy general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security under Biden. In that role, she drafted the charter for the Disinformation Governance Board, according to a Jan. 31, 2022 memo. (read more)

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