Another New York Times report of James Comey under investigation for unscrupulous, potentially illegal, leaks surrounding the FBI Clinton investigation. However, a note of caution: is this simply chaff and countermeasures intended to keep the heat off corruption monitors Bill Barr and John Durham?

In 2018 congressman Jim Jordan noted James Comey had a special employee on assignment ‘off-the-books’.  People started asking questions and Fox News Catherine Herridge detailed how Daniel Richman held special access privileges to the FBI, as an outcome of former FBI Director James Comey authorizing his friend as a “Special Government Employee” or SGE.
According to The Times the current issues surround media leaks from James Comey to his “special FBI employee” friend Daniel Richman related to the Clinton investigation:

(VIA NYT) […] The latest investigation involves material that Dutch intelligence operatives siphoned off Russian computers and provided to the United States government. The information included a Russian analysis of what appeared to be an email exchange during the 2016 presidential campaign between Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democrat of Florida who was also the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee at the time, and Leonard Benardo, an official with the Open Society Foundations, a democracy-promoting organization whose founder, George Soros, has long been a target of the far right.

(more…)

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, the coolest cat in the crew, appeared tonight for a discussion on economics and trade with Lou Dobbs.  Secretary Ross discusses the current status of the economy and how the two trade agreements have established the foundation for a completely restructured U.S. trade relationship for years to come.
Wilburine notes the Europeans are nervous thinking about the wolverine teeth that will soon be heading in their direction.  Good Stuff.  WATCH:

.
What makes the Trump economic team so effective is their independence from any influence outside of the America-First agenda.  President Trump, Secretary Wilbur Ross, and Secretary Steven Mnuchin were already independent billionaires -with wealth gained from private industry- before they entered office.  There is no financial influence upon them except to see Main Street USA thrive….
(more…)

Earlier today President Trump held an oval office event focused on protecting every student’s constitutional right to pray in school. The president is updating Federal guidance regarding protected prayer and religious expression in public schools (not updated since 2003).  The new guidance makes clear that students can read religious texts or pray during recess and other non-instructional periods, organize prayer groups, and express their religious beliefs in their assignments.  [Video and Transcript Below]
The president also answered questions from the attending press pool:

.
[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. A couple of things happened today that are very exciting. The USMCA passed the Senate. It’s one of the biggest trade bills ever made.
And then, yesterday, as you know, China passed, and that’s something that is extraordinary. And it’s going to have tremendous far-reaching effects, including our relationship, long term, with China, our farmers and manufacturers and bankers, and everybody. It’s jobs. It’s jobs like we’ve never seen before, and that’s going to be something very special. And USMCA today, which just passed by a very comfortable vote — a very high vote — we are very proud to have that.
(more…)

Adopted today by unanimous consent:

• A Summons to the White House notifying them of the impeachment trial will be issued by the Senate and delivered by Saturday January 18th, 2020, 6:00pm,
• The House of Representatives (impeachment managers) have a deadline of 5:00pm Saturday, January 18th, 2020, for the filing of their impeachment brief to the Senate.
• The White House (defense lawyers) have a response deadline of 5:00pm Monday, January 20th, for their response to the House impeachment brief.
• The House of Representatives (impeachment managers) have a deadline of Noon Tuesday, January 21st, for their rebuttal brief to the White House defense brief.
• The Senate Trial begins at 1:00pm Eastern, Tuesday January 21st, 2020.

Senators will not be allowed to bring their cell phones or any electronic device into the Senate chamber while the trial is underway.
(more…)

White House Manufacturing Policy Advisor, Peter Navarro, appears on Fox Business with Charles Payne to discuss the ramification of China ‘phase-one’ and the USMCA for the middle-class blue-collar economy.  Excellent interview, WATCH:

(more…)

Excellent sales report from the Dept. of Commerce reflects a 5.8 percent increase year-over year for December 2019.  U.S. consumer sales drive two-thirds of GDP; the December result is another indicator the GDP growth in the fourth quarter will likely be much higher than expected.

(Via CNBC) […] The Commerce Department said on Thursday retail sales increased 0.3% last month. Data for November was revised up to show retail sales gaining 0.3% instead of rising 0.2% as previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales would gain 0.3% in December. Compared to December last year, retail sales accelerated 5.8%.

It is weird to see how CNBC takes the good news, cites the factual impact of retail sales on GDP, and then proclaims the economy is likely faltering.  What the heck?
(more…)

Sickening.  Earlier today Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a media event signing ceremony complete with commemorative pens for dozens of her Democrat colleagues, and initiated the parade ceremony for the march across the Capitol with the articles.  Upon arrival at the upper chamber of congress, Senate Leader Mitch McConnell accepted delivery and began the process of organizing the procedure through a series of rules by unanimous consent.

[McConnell] “A few minutes ago, the Senate was notified the House of Representatives is finally ready to proceed with their articles of impeachment. So, by unanimous consent, we’ve just laid some of the groundwork that will structure the next several days.”

• We have officially invited the House managers to come to the Senate tomorrow at noon to exhibit their articles of impeachment.
• Then, later tomorrow afternoon at 2:00pm, the Chief Justice of the United States will arrive here in the Senate. He will be sworn in by the President Pro Tem, Senator Grassley.
• Then the Chief Justice will swear in all of us senators. We will pledge to rise above petty factionalism and do justice for our institutions, for our states, and for the nation.
• And then we will formally notify the White House of our pending trial and summon the President to answer the articles and send his counsel.

‘So the trial will commence in earnest on Tuesday.

(more…)

After the signing ceremony to celebrate a historic U.S-China ‘phase-one’ trade agreement, President Trump and the U.S. trade delegation hosted Vice-Premier Liu He and the Chinese delegation for a luncheon. [Video and Transcript Below]

.
[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: I thought that we would do it the way other; that the more I thought about this, the better it is. It’s — you can get your arms around it better the way we’ve got it. I like it better the way we’ve done it.

I just want to say this is a great day for both China and the United States. This is an agreement that people have been talking about for 40 years and never were able to get even a piece of paper signed. And we never had an agreement. And this is going to be a great agreement for both countries. It’s far greater than $200 billion, and it’ll grow every year. It also unifies the countries.

(more…)

White House National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow appears on FOX Business for his first interview since the signing of the U.S.-China trade deal.  Mr. Kudlow is optimistic but also shares notes of caution for the compliance and enforcement aspects.

.
In the background of the delegation it should be noted Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping sent a hard-line handler, Commerce Minister Zhong Shan, to accompany the more moderate Vice-Premier Liu He.  Zhong Shan was noted at the center of the signing ceremony and directly opposite Robert Lighthizer at the luncheon.
The two Beijing representatives highlight the ongoing Dragon -vs- Panda dynamic within China.
Internal to Chinese politics…. If the reformers are successful (Liu He) the compliance and enforcement mechanisms will succeed and ‘phase-one’ will lead to future negotiations.  However, if the hardliners block reform (Zhong Shan), then the compliance and enforcement mechanisms will fail and ‘phase-one’ becomes a dead end.
(more…)

Earlier today President Trump, together with his trade delegation and the delegation from China represented by Vice-Premier Liu He, signed a new, fully-enforceable Phase One Trade Agreement. This is the first ever trade agreement any nation has attempted to change the dynamic of how a free-market system (USA) can engage with the Communist system within China. [Video Below – Transcript ADDED]
While ‘phase-one‘ was structurally created to set the foundation, and test the principles of enforcement, this historic trade agreement will frame the text that all other free-market nations will follow in their own efforts to come to a substantive agreement with Beijing.
This is a really big deal on a worldwide scale of international commerce.  Structurally the biggest changes inside China relate to Intellectual Property protections, U.S. ownership of assets, and changes within the Chinese legal system to stop Forced Technology Transfer.
During the ceremonial remarks Vice-Premier Liu read a statement from Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping to commemorate this historic trade agreement.

.
[Transcript]  PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. Please. We greatly appreciate your joining us at this White House event. This is a very important and remarkable occasion.

Today, we take a momentous step — one that has never been taken before with China — toward a future of fair and reciprocal trade, as we sign phase one of the historic trade deal between the United States and China. Together, we are righting the wrongs of the past and delivering a future of economic justice and security for American workers, farmers, and families.

(more…)