Holy cow, what an abject lesson in media-created nuttery this is.  Eric Wemple writes a column in the Washington Post skewering Rachel Maddow for selling her gullible audience on the credibility of the Steele Dossier for almost three years.  However, judging by the reaction to Wemple’s tweet, the left-wingnuts still believe the Dossier is viable and accurate despite the only source, Steele’s primary sub-source, saying the Dossier material was completely bunk; “mostly innuendo”, “bar-talk”, and “internet rumor/gossip”.
Then there’s this:

There’s a cognitive pathology that clings to denial as a survival mechanism at this level.  It’s called cognitive dissonance, or what David Mamet referred to as an inherent need for the collective left to pretend not to know things in order to retain their views.
Let there be no doubt the U.S. media created this.  It might seem odd in hindsight, but CTH wrote about where we would be today, two years ago.
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An interesting CTH discussion on Carter Page is worth expansion.  Factually I have not spent much time thinking about Mr. Page because he always seemed irrelevant.  However, some people have put a great deal of smart thought into how Page plays into the larger SpyGate dynamic.  That analysis is interesting & the various possibilities are a good read.

From the initial CTH review of Page he always seemed to be a tool. Something akin to a disposable syringe.  The viral agent in the syringe is important; the motives of those using the syringe obviously important; but Page himself seemed disposable to the sharps bag.
Maybe that’s the wrong way to look at him.
Having not spent much time thinking about him, it’s very interesting to read Treeper comments about him and the various possibilities his appearance in 2016 might represent.  So please use this thread to discuss your own opinion(s).
What role do you think Mr. Carter Page played in the larger objectives of the coup crew?

The Dept. of Labor reveals [DATA HERE] initial claims for unemployment fell again last week, creating the following Reuters headline: “The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits fell last week in a sign of ongoing labor market strength.”   Another strong labor report, followed by another media report outlining how the results beat all economic analyst expectations; a consistent theme throughout 2019.

White House – DRIVING A RECORD-SETTING ECONOMY: The booming economy and strong labor market allow Americans of all backgrounds to find work and succeed.
♦ The current labor market revival is not a continuation of past trends, but instead a direct result of President Trump’s pro-growth policies.

• Since President Trump was elected, more than 7 million jobs have been added to our economy – surpassing the Congressional Budget Office’s predictions by 5 million jobs.
• This year, the unemployment rate has fallen to 3.5%, its lowest level in 50 years.
• Unemployment for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and those without a high school diploma have all reached record lows under President Trump.
• The President’s policies are bringing people off the sidelines and into the labor force.
• The prime age labor force has grown by 2.1 million under President Trump.
• The surge in labor demand has resulted in 7 million job openings, which outnumber job seekers by more than 1 million.
• Before President Trump took office, there had never been more recorded job openings than unemployed workers.

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I’m not sure exactly who they are, and there’s a possibility they might just be one person; however, it appears there are three distinct FBI officials engaged in an overall investigative capacity, attempting to break the truth through the corrupt machinery.
Each individual is noted within a specific event or outcome. Hopefully AG Bill Barr has tasked his deputy James Rosen to hold an honest ‘climate assessment‘ discussion with these individuals.
♦The first honorable FBI Agent is the FBI official who enhanced the DOJ sentencing memo for James Wolfe. The DOJ prosecution, namely DC U.S. Attorney Jessie K Liu -possibly following instructions from Rod Rosenstein- was trying to cover-up the classified intelligence leak of SSCI Security Director James Wolfe in order to protect powerful Senators.
One FBI agent was obviously not happy with that DOJ leadership decision and seeded the DOJ ‘sentencing memo’ with a key sentence that exposed the cover-up:

For him or her we are thankful. That sunlight, though unsuccessful in stopping the corrupt cover-up, provided just enough undeniable evidence to highlight the severity of a cover-up initiated by those running the DOJ in 2018.
We note everyone associated with that decision has since been removed.
♦The second FBI official to note, might actually be a key top-level DOJ official – though that seems less likely. The second FBI official is however high ranking. The high ranking FBI position is likely because the top level security clearance was needed for this FBI agent to travel to CIA headquarters and review the CIA operational file on Carter Page.
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Whooo-doggies, middle-class Americans spent more this holiday shopping season than any year before it.  Despite losing a week due to the late Thanksgiving holiday, total Christmas sales growth was +3.4 percent year-over-year.

(Reuters) […] The holiday shopping season is a crucial period for retailers and can account for up to 40% of annual sales. But this year, Thanksgiving, which traditionally starts the U.S. holiday shopping period, was on Nov. 28, nearly a week later than last year’s Nov. 22, leaving retailers with six fewer days to drive sales between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
E-commerce sales this year made up 14.6% of total retail and rose 18.8% from the 2018 period, according to Mastercard’s data tracking retail sales from Nov. 1 through Christmas Eve. Overall holiday retail sales, excluding autos, rose 3.4%.
“E-commerce sales hit a record high this year with more people doing their holiday shopping online,” said Steve Sadove, senior adviser for Mastercard.

Now watch the Reuters spin…
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To understand why there’s no-one in the administrative mid-tier of the FBI acting in a whistle-blowing capacity requires a background perspective looking at the totality of corruption.  The institutions are protecting themselves; and yes, that protection applies to the internal dynamics.
Former DAG Rod Rosenstein was dirty.  He might not have started out dirty, but his actions in office created a dirty mess.  Rosenstein facilitated the McCabe operation against Trump during the May 16th, 2017, White House FBI sting against Trump with Mueller.  Rosenstein also facilitated the special counsel (writ large), and provided three scope memos to expand the corrupt investigation of President Trump.  According to the inaction of AG Bill Barr, we’re not allowed to see those authorizing scope memos.

Additionally, despite knowing the Trump investigation held a false predicate, Rosenstein signed the 3rd renewal of a fraudulent FISA application.  Worse yet, even if Rosenstein was caught up by corruption around him, he did nothing to stop the fraud once identified.
Why is Rosenstein a key inflection point?  Because Rod Rosenstein recommended current FBI Director Christopher Wray to President Trump.  POTUS then allowed Wray, as he does all department heads, to select his deputy – Wray chose David Bowditch.
♦Keep in mind the National Security Division of the DOJ (DOJ-NSD) was/is the epicenter of many corrupt activities, including filing the fraudulent FISA application, manipulating interpretations of law for FARA (§901) violations, and doing all of this while denying any inspector general oversight. As FISA Judge Rosemary Collyer recently noted, the DOJ-NSD is positioned as a rogue legal arm of the U.S. intelligence apparatus.
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Yesterday we identified one FBI Confidential Human Source who was part of the Trump campaign [SEE HERE].  Today we identify another, more interesting, one.
Throughout the 478-page IG report on FBI FISA misconduct there are several mentions of Confidential Human Sources (CHSs) who were either officially “tasked” or unofficially involved in the 2016 FBI investigation of the Trump campaign.
The inspector general review of the CHS activity is fraught with examples of the FBI denying many of the numerous “non-tasked” sources were acting in an official capacity.
The inspector general’s office knowing the FBI were lacking candor is one thing; however, proving that is another matter entirely.  The ‘having to take them at their word‘ dynamic appears throughout the chapters on the use of Confidential Human Sources.
Horowitz report shows the level of denial and justification by FBI officials in Washington DC surrounding the deployment of human sources stretches credulity. It really is quite something to take the totality of the FBI denials, for repeated and specific events, place them all together and then determine all of this is just random, happenstance activity.
Despite FBI denials, perhaps because of them; and despite the IG not being able to find specific evidence that would refute their denials; the IG found far too many coincidences for all of the activity to be coincidental.  This led to Inspector General Horowitz writing a break-out report on just the use of Confidential Human Sources [Nov. 19, 2019].
CTH has identified another key “non-tasked” (their claim) CHS that appears to have been the final straw for Horowitz amid a mountain of FBI denials.  The FBI claims around this specific person is what eventually led to the November 19th, 2019, break out report.
[NOTE: I am identifying these redacted individuals and sources because there is a bigger issue at stake.  There is growing evidence of an ongoing battle within the current FBI.  One side wants to push out the truth, the other side is intent on hiding it.]
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CTH was always curious why one specific member of the Trump campaign and transition team was abruptly departed (Nov 15, 2016) immediately after the visit by NSA Director Mike Rogers was scheduled, and two-days prior to their meeting.  It’s a weedy question, likely only considered by those who were watching closely at the time…
However, perhaps Inspector General Michael Horowitz has provided some background on the move. [Page 336, 337, fn #474]

Based on the arc of the post-election timeline described in the segment of the report that touches upon “non-tasked” Confidential Human Sources (CHSs), beginning page 336; and based on other information in/around the specific CHS described; there’s a very strong likelihood we can identify this one.
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Perhaps the status of the economy in China is even worse than many have suspected.  An interesting public statement from their State Council today highlights a promise by China to support jobs during their current economic downturn.

Against the backdrop of Hong Kong’s protests toward Beijing oppression, a rebellion of the people against the command authority is the single-most feared action by those in charge of government.  If the economy is in worse position than previously thought, this latest statement might explain some of Beijings’ recent trade and economic concessions.

(Reuters) – China will step up support for employment to cope with rising pressure on job security due to internal and external challenges, the cabinet said on Tuesday, as the world’s second-largest economy slows.
Simultaneous downturns in the services and manufacturing industries pose a major problem for authorities seeking to keep a lid on unemployment and prevent social unrest as economic growth decelerates to near three-decade lows.

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Following a Christmas eve call to U.S. service members, President Trump answers questions on a variety of topics from the press pool.  [Video Below]