Real Clear Investigations has a deep dive into the underpinnings of the Mueller report surrounding the sketchy conclusions about Russian interference.  What Real Clear outlines parallels our own review where most of the substance claimed by Andrew Weissmann, Robert Mueller and Rod Rosenstein is essentially baseless.

(RCI) […] The report claims that the interference operation occurred “principally” on two fronts: Russian military intelligence officers hacked and leaked embarrassing Democratic Party documents, and a government-linked troll farm orchestrated a sophisticated and far-reaching social media campaign that denigrated Hillary Clinton and promoted Trump.
But a close examination of the report shows that none of those headline assertions are supported by the report’s evidence or other publicly available sources. They are further undercut by investigative shortcomings and the conflicts of interest of key players involved: (read more)

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In a new report Fox News journalist Catherine Herridge outlines a “reluctant witness” who has recently agreed to cooperate with DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz and his review of potential FISA abuse by the Obama DOJ and FBI.

Fox News – Key witnesses sought for questioning by Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz early in his investigation into alleged government surveillance abuse have come forward at the 11th hour, Fox News has learned.

Sources familiar with the matter said at least one witness outside the Justice Department and FBI started cooperating — a breakthrough that came after Attorney General William Barr ordered U.S. Attorney John Durham to lead a separate investigation into the origins of the bureau’s 2016 Russia case that laid the foundation for Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe.

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In our opinion the content of the diary by former FBI Director James Comey, as outlined in what has formally been called “The Comey Memos”, is devastating to the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI.   How do we know? Because the FBI is fighting like hell to keep even descriptions of the memo(s) content from becoming public.

Rather complex backstory with citations HERE and HERE and HERE.

In the background of what was The Mueller Investigation, there was a FOIA case where the FBI was fighting to stop the release of the Comey memos.  Within that courtroom fight Mueller’s lead FBI agent David Archey wrote a series of declarations to the court describing the content of the memos and arguing why they should be kept classified.
The FOIA fight shifted.  The plaintiffs argued for public release of the content of the FBI agent’s descriptions, now known as the “Archey Declarations”.
After a lengthy back-and-forth legal contest, on June 7th Judge James E Boasberg agreed to allow the FBI to keep the Comey memo content hidden, but instructed the DOJ/FBI to release the content of the Archey Declarations.
Today, the U.S. Department of Justice -under Attorney General Bill Barr- while waiting until the last minute (28 days since prior ruling), filed a motion [full pdf below] to block the release of the Archey Declarations, despite the June 7th court order.
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Chopper pressers are the best pressers.  Earlier today President Trump stopped to deliver remarks and answer questions from the assembled media prior to boarding Marine-One.
There is a ton of updated current event information in this chopper presser. [July 4th, Economics, Fed, China, Biden, Wilbur Ross, Census, G20, Trade Deals, etc.]  The full transcript is below the video.

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[Transcript]  THE PRESIDENT: That’s a great crowd of people. We had a phenomenal crowd last night, and it was a fantastic evening for our country. You’re going to have a lot of people being recruited, I think, based on that. We’re going to have a lot of — a lot of people joining our military. And we really needed that.
Our job numbers are so good that the military has a hard time getting people. And I think, really, that you’re going to see a big spike. I’ve already heard it — a lot of people calling in. No place like our military. I think we showed that last night.
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A group of spectators and supporters were gathered near the South Lawn to watch President Trump depart the White House.  The visiting group included Representative Mark Meadows and likely some of his North Carolina constituents.
President Trump takes the time to visit with the group of normal Americans, and arm himself with support, prior to engagement with the assembled hyenas.

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This is sad…. hopefully those around him -who care- will stop this soon; before it gets embarrassing for him.   Former Vice-President Joe Biden appears on CNN for a friendly interview about his current candidacy.  Unfortunately what follows is an exhibition in Biden’s growing cognition issues.
Mr. Biden, referencing his position that Russia was meddling in the Brexit, U.S. and EU elections in 2015 and 2016, says those examples would not have happened under his watch:

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This is only one snippet of the interview. However, even in this short snippet it’s obvious something is wrong. Candidate Biden is losing his ability to cognitively compartmentalize multiple aspects of a conversation simultaneously.
Biden will not be the presidential nominee of the 2020 Democrats. That’s clear now.
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National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow appears on Fox News to discuss the June jobs report, current Federal Reserve policy, the Trump administration’s trade negotiations with China and former Reagan Economist Art Laffer receiving the Medal of Freedom.
On the China front there’s a weird, seemingly disconnected, dynamic appearing at the surface level within China.  The position of Chairman Xi Jinping and Vice-Premier Liu He seems unusually separated from Beijing messaging (more on that later). Here’s Kudlow:

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A recap of President Trump’s historic celebration of American independence July 4th, 2019, (w/ full speech transcript):

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[Transcript] – July 4, 2019 – THE PRESIDENT: Hello, America. Hello. The First Lady and I wish each and every one of you a Happy Independence Day on this truly historic Fourth of July! (Applause.)
Today, we come together as one nation with this very special Salute to America. We celebrate our history, our people, and the heroes who proudly defend our flag — the brave men and women of the United States Military. (Applause.)
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Apparently the rumors of our economic demise were greatly exaggerated.  Yes, amid the gnashing teeth of the Wall Street pundits hoping for another lucrative Fed rate decrease, the Main Street economy continues to defy expectations:

“Today’s jobs report shows the U.S. economy continues to create jobs at a strong pace even as we enter the longest period of economic expansion on record.” ~Tony Bedikian, Citizens Bank.

According to the BLS Report – June saw 224,000 jobs added; and importantly the private sector wage growth knocks a very solid +3.2% year-over-year. [Table B-8]  You might remember in the May 2019 jobs report 299,000 people moved from Part-Time to Full-Time employment.  In today’s report total payrolls added another 224,000 workers.

These are stunningly numbers.  The 224k new jobs this month is higher than same month last year (2018).  The Main Street economy is continuing to expand.  Private sector growth in wages continues to run above 3% for the 11th straight month.   Wage Growth is a critical driver because over inflation is around 1.3%. Wage growth is more than double inflation.
Key Point: Economic numbers, statistics, are subject to narrative engineering.  Those pushing a negative economic narrative are Wall Street pundits.  Wall St. has a self-interest to push negative economic news to get lower interest rates.  Lower interest rates means cheap money and a higher stock market.
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Justin Amash, aka “Justin China”, chooses the Fourth of July to announce his political departure from the Republican party.   No big surprise here; and choosing the Washington Post as the venue for his proclamation is a cherry atop his insufferable nonsense.

Justin China is specifically at risk from the ‘America First’ trade and economic policy of President Donald Trump.  [Detailed Here]  With extensive family financial holdings dependent on Chinese manufacturing there is a specific level of transparent self interest.
Additionally, as President Trump noted in his response, Justin was likely to lose a republican primary challenge from within his district that was going to see him removed from office.  His attempt to re-position his political defense while decrying the “partisanship of politics” is the height of hypocrisy.
Good riddance.
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