U.S. Trade Rep Robert Lighthizer’s work on the U.S-China trade negotiations is easily the most technically challenging and legally complex trade deal in the history of U.S. Commerce.
Lighthizer is not focused on selling more U.S. product, he is focused on bigger issues and enforcement therein.
Think about it.  This is a deal between a U.S. open market economy and a communist controlled closed market economy in China.  No nation has a comprehensive trade deal with China on anything except individual business sectors.
Despite China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, no nation has ever achieved anything close to an aggregate FTA (Free Trade Agreement) with China.  This deal would be the first comprehensive deal, and as such Lighthizer is essentially mapping out an agreement that all other nations could follow….  This is big-league.
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Former Canadian Attorney General Wilson-Raybould shocked the systems of government last week when she gave detailed testimony outlining how Justin Trudeau’s government conducted a sustained campaign to influence her decision in a bribery and corruption case surrounding a company called SNC-Lavalin. [More Here]
Today the scandal deepened as another Cabinet Minister, Ms. Jane Philpott, resigned her Treasury position citing the political corruption within the SNC-Lavalin case and her inability to support the Prime Minister’s Office.

CANADA […] “In Canada, the constitutional convention of Cabinet solidarity means, among other things, that ministers are expected to defend all Cabinet decisions. A minister must always be prepared to defend other ministers publicly, and must speak in support of the government and its policies,” Philpott said in a resignation letter posted to her website on Monday afternoon. “Given this convention and the current circumstances, it is untenable for me to continue to serve as a Cabinet minister.”

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Shocked, S.H.O.C.K.E.D,.. well, not really….. actually ‘predictable‘; I digress.
Mr. Saikat Chakrabarti, the chief-of-staff for Ms. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has been caught using sketchy financial PAC constructs to construct dark money schemes.
Oh dear.

WASHINGTON DC – Two political action committees founded by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s top aide funneled over $1 million in political donations into two of his own private companies, according to a complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission on Monday.
The cash transfers from the PACs — overseen by Saikat Chakrabarti, the freshman socialist Democrat’s chief of staff — run counter to her pledges to increase transparency and reduce the influence of “dark money” in politics.

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House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler has produced his committee witness list to initiate the predictable groundwork for his ‘impeachment’ process.  Pelosi’s trio of organized co-horts Schiff, Cummings and Nadler each have a role in the process.
Chairman Nadler provides some specifics within his planned approach, announcing three investigative prongs: ¹Obstruction of Justice; ²Public Corruption and ³Abuses of power.

It seems Nadler will tackle the “obstruction” aspect; Cummings will specialize on the “public corruption” angle and Schiff will likely tackle the “abuse of power” approach.

Washington, D.C. – Today, House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) unveiled an investigation by the House Judiciary Committee into the alleged obstruction of justice, public corruption, and other abuses of power by President Trump, his associates, and members of his Administration.  As a first step, the Committee has served document requests to 81 agencies, entities, and individuals believed to have information relevant to the investigation.

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Mitch McConnell doing what Mitch McConnell does best…. Setting-up, isolating, President Trump to own the National Border Security declaration without party support:

(Link to Article)

Reminder (February 14th, 2019):

..”and I’ve indicated to him that I’m going to support the national emergency declaration”…

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House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff appears on CBS News to outline his role in the larger Pelosi impeachment strategy.
Each House Chairman: Schiff, Cummings and Nadler, have individual roles for their part of the larger impeachment narrative.  Chairman Schiff walks through his assignment:

Presidential Harassment by “crazed” Democrats at the highest level in the history of our Country. Likewise, the most vicious and corrupt Mainstream Media that any president has ever had to endure – Yet the most successful first two years for any

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2019

….President. We are WINNING big, the envy of the WORLD, but just think what it could be?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2019

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HPSCI Ranking Member Devin Nunes appears on Fox News with Maria Bartiromo for a lengthy twenty minute interview on multiple subjects.  The first half of the interview surrounds Michael Cohen’s testimony and morphs into the Steele Dossier.
The second half discusses AG William Barr, possible accountability measures and ongoing issues with the FISA process.  The final segment touches on Chinese cyber-threats and issues.

While a letter from congress to the DOJ amounts to further process frustration for those who bear witness to the corruption that took place; there is a valuable dynamic at play  which may help answer whether AG William Barr is factually going to address corruption, or whether he is apt to just cover it up.
Representatives Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows send a letter (full pdf below) to AG William Barr questioning the independence of two members of the Mueller team, Zainab Ahmad and Andrew Weissmann.
Both Weissmann and Ahmad were involved in contacts and discussions with DOJ official Bruce Ohr as he transferred the Clinton/Steele dossier from his wife, Nellie Ohr, and from Fusion GPS into the FBI to advance a political investigation targeting Donald Trump.
[scribd id=400969471 key=key-UJ9cl2LPrcT3C6NjowpH mode=scroll]
Over time evidence has surfaced showing how a small group of approximately eighteen officials within the DOJ and FBI worked in concert with media and political operatives to target Trump for the benefit of candidate Hillary Clinton.
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Congressman Jim Jordan appears on NBC Meet The Press with Chuck Todd to debate the congressional testimony of Michael Cohen.
When it comes to issues surrounding the Clinton/Steele dossier it is quite remarkable to see how far Chuck Todd is willing to take his Mamet act: ie. pretending not to know things, because those things are counter to his necessary Trump-Russia narrative.
Jim Jordan keeps throwing facts at Todd, and Todd keeps ducking and jiving to avoid the sunlight.

The appearance of long-time Trump confidante Lynne Patton at the congressional testimony of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen created a considerable stir amid Washington DC.   However, the context of her appearance takes on even more drama when considered against Patton’s Facebook post from January 18th of this year:

Lynne Patton: […] 3) Many of you may already know that I considered Michael Cohen to be one of my very best friends. Countless people can confirm that we were virtually inseparable during my employment at Trump – and that he is, single-handedly – responsible for introducing me to the Trump family and effectively changing my entire life. I would be lying if I didn’t admit that my heart still breaks for him and for his family, with whom I had grown extremely close.
4) What many of you may not be aware of is the fact that I can personally confirm that the ONLY reason Michael Cohen “turned on” the President of the United States is because Mueller threatened to throw his wife in jail for up to 30 years. Period. She is the co-guarantor of a $20M personal loan that Mueller discovered Michael secured back in 2015 by falsely inflating the value of his taxi medallions – effectively making her part & parcel to the federal charge of “Making False Statements to a Financial Institution,” to which Cohen ultimately plead guilty. This is also the reason why Cohen’s longtime taxi medallion partner, Evgeny “Gene” Freidman, was granted immunity. (read more)

This is a rather stunning statement.  However, it holds the elements of truth and explanation as to why the Special Counsel, Robert Mueller/Andrew Weissmann, would pass off their assembled Cohen prosecution to the Southern District of New York.
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