Senator Thom Tillis appears to have been granted a larger slice of the lobbyist money from Thune and McConnell because he certainly is taking up a position next to Joni Ernst in strategic opposition to President Donald Trump.

The level of passive aggressive threat-speak within Tillis’ very carefully selected wording is quite concerning.  “President Trump enjoyed a great deal of Republican support in his first term,” Tillis notes.  “But if people want to play the outside [pressure] game, they run a lot of risk,” he continues. “Four votes is all it’s going to take to kill a nomination here, so they should take pause,” Tillis reminds everyone.

Senator Tillis from North Carolina represents the aloof mindset of the Senate at large, and the detached mindset of the Republicans in the senate specifically.

The republicans in North Carolina in 2024 are highlighting just how similar they are to the republicans in Georgia, circa 2020.

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So many people have seemingly forgotten that Mitt Romney was the 2012 Republican presidential nominee.  He was crushed by Barack Obama despite record turnout by republican voters who held their nose, yet again, one last time and voted for the last of the GOP ‘next in line’ crew.

As he exits a career in politics, Mitt Romney reflects upon his professional legacy of ‘lightly held stances’ and expert level graciousness in losing; he’s had lots of practice.  As Mitt Romney concedes the Republican party to the MAGA movement, this is somewhat of a reflective moment.  WATCH:

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Incoming national security adviser Michael Waltz talks to Face the Nation with dramatic acting Margaret Brennan.  The first part of the interview discusses drones, fears and “gaps in our security” according to Waltz.

Within the interview Brennan questions Waltz about Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán personally meeting with President Trump and carrying a potential message from Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Waltz notes that Orban “clearly has a good relationship” with President Trump and that will be key to ending the war in Ukraine.  WATCH:

As National Security Advisor, Waltz likely won’t last a year.  “Gaps in our capabilities,” is DC intel codespeak for more rules, regulations, control mechanisms and anti-freedom national security legislation is needed.

My Spidey sense indicates a CNN gig in his future.  Waltz just gives off that ‘he will believe everything the IC tells him’ vibe.

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President Trump notes, “Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge. I don’t think so!” via his Truth Social account.  And of course, the simplicity of calling out a nonsense fear narrative doesn’t fit the PERT chart.

CTH previously noted the absurdity of the story narratives around these “drones.”  Of course, the U.S. military know what these drones are and exactly what they are about.

Occam’s Razor applied essentially links back to this press release from 2023:

EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES, June 2, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — An agreement to create a test and evaluation corridor for the development of Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) and automated Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) technologies was recently signed by officials representing U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), Air Mobility Command (AMC), the National Aerospace Research & Technology Park (NARTP), and the Atlantic County Economic Alliance (ACEA).

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The Office of the Inspector General for the DOJ (DOJ-OIG) has outlined an 88-page report on events around the January 6th, 2021, DC protest. The report is AVAILABLE HERE.

FBI Director Chris Wray announced his decision to resign from office one day before the Inspector General report was released. The report shows that 26 FBI Confidential Human Sources (CHSs) were used officially and unofficially during the J6 events. Four entered the Capitol building, another 13 entered the restricted area around the building.

[OIG REPORT HERE]

The report found that no official FBI employees participated in the events, but 26 confidential human sources were used.  The media are jumping on the part about no FBI employees being present in order to call those who view the FBI as facilitating and coordinating the events of J6 as “conspiracy theorists.”  However, the FBI’s use of CHSs is downplayed and dismissed.

A major topline takeaway from the report in general is how much effort the FBI put into investigating the assembly pre J6.   When you read the IG explanation of the CHSs [Page 50 and beyond] you get a really good feel for how the FBI was focused and positioned before the day unfolded.

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It’s a good thing for FBI Director Christopher Wray to announce his resignation, because President Trump was going to fire him.

A preplanned resignation allows Director Wray to continue portraying FBI officials and agents as victims, and this approach gives corporate media the time to shine the halos and organize their best magnanimous political exit so far.

Swans will likely wear black necklaces in the reflecting pools at the national mall….. and slow muffled drums will follow Wray to every event.

WASHINGTON DC – “After weeks of careful thought, I’ve decided the right thing for the Bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current Administration in January and then step down,” Wray said Wednesday, according to prepared remarks released by the FBI’s press office.

“My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day,” Wray said.

“In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work,” the director said. (read more)

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One of the least understood aspects of congressional oversight is the elite group of elected politicians who are charged with congressional oversight over all intelligence activity. This highly important oversight group is called the Intelligence Community “Gang of Eight”.

A position within the Gang of Eight comes as a result of holding one of the following eight positions: 1. The Speaker of the House, 2. The Minority Leader of the House, 3. the Majority Leader of the Senate, 4. the Minority Leader of the Senate, 5. the Chairperson of the House Permanent Committee on Intelligence, 6. the minority leader from the same committee; 7. The Chairperson of the Senate Intelligence Committee and 8. the minority leader of the same committee.

With Senator Marco Rubio being pulled out of the Senate to work as Secretary of State, we have been waiting to see who would be appointed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune to be the Rubio replacement as Senate Intel Committee Chair and Go8 member. It now looks like Sea Island attendee Tom Cotton will take up position as SSCI Chair and Gang of Eight member.

WASHINGTON DC – Senate Republicans have discussed elevating Sen. John Cornyn to chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, according to party officials, a move that would hand Cornyn a prized gavel as consolation for losing his GOP leader bid and could help induce him to run for reelection in two years.

The complication, and almost certain deal-breaker: Cornyn would have to leapfrog the Republican next in line to chair the Intelligence Committee, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), and Cotton has privately made clear to Cornyn he would claim the position.

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President Trump is scheduled to arrive in Paris this weekend.  Today, almost in an act of divine providence, the government collapsed.

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier will submit his resignation to French President Emmanuel Macron tomorrow, according to France’s BFMTV. He is expected at the Elysee Palace at 10am local time. Barnier’s resignation is a constitutional obligation after he lost a vote of no-confidence earlier Wednesday evening triggering the collapse of his government.

SUMMARY of EVENTS: •Michel Barnier lost a no-confidence vote, triggering the collapse of govt. •It marks the first time a French government has been toppled in this way in more than 60 years. •Barnier is now the shortest-serving prime minister in France’s modern Republic. •Left and far-right parties united to oust him following anger over his unpopular 2025 budget. •Both tabled motions of no-confidence after he used special powers to adopt part of the budget this week without a final vote in parliament. •Nationalist leader Marine Le Pen said the public needed to be protected from the “toxic” budget, and that pressure on Macron is getting “greater and greater”.

FRANCE – The government of President Emmanuel Macron collapsed Wednesday after the National Assembly voted for the first time in more than a half-century to oust a prime minister from office, a sign of the political gridlock that has paralyzed France. The development leaves the country’s public finances in limbo.

A no-confidence motion against the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier won the support of 331 lawmakers in the 577-seat lower house, forcing him to resign.

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The New York Times is admitting something they previously pretended did not exist, Mitch McConnell is ready to fight Donald Trump.  You guys have watched this battle before, and you guys know that John Thune is the exact same ideological construct as his mentor, Mitch McConnell.  We do not need to pretend here.

An additional aspect to watch closely.  We know the Intelligence Community, the “Six Ways from Sunday” group, are going to do whatever is needed in order to protect their equity interests from the return of President Trump.  Again, no pretending is needed.

Currently, as Senate Majority Leader, John Thune elevates to the intelligence “oversight” group known as the Gang of Eight.  Four members of the Gang of Eight (Go8) come out of the Senate, and four from the House.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, SSCI Vice-Chairman Mark Warner, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are three of the four from the Senate.  However, we still do not know who will join Thune from the GOP side. Who will be the Republican SSCI Chairman?

Internally, Susan Collins is now Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.  Mitch McConnell is now Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, a specifically taken position to retain control of Senate rules (think Cloture, Filibuster and importantly, Recess Appointments via Senate schedule).

With Thune on the Gang of Eight, Collins as Appropriations (spending), and McConnell in charge of ‘rules’, who joins Thune on the Gang of Eight?

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The nomination of former Florida AG Pam Bondi for the position of U.S. Attorney General is a big mistake; not for the corrupt background of Bondi that we presume President Trump is not aware of, but rather for the background of Pam Bondi the Deep Swamp is almost certainly aware of.

Within the background story of state AG corruption and unlawful activity, Pam Bondi is very easily leveraged, blackmailed and controlled.

I presume at this writing that President Donald Trump is completely unaware of what Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi did during her time in office.  The Florida Governor at the time was Rick Scott, who could most certainly corroborate much of the background, albeit now with layers and layers of serious political ramifications.

If you followed the story around the Trayvon Martin shooting and the subsequent arrest, jail and trial of George Zimmerman, you probably know the majority of what Florida AG Pam Bondi did.  However, it was almost 12-years-ago now.  So, for those who don’t remember here’s the story.

On the evening of February 26, 2012, in Sanford Florida, George Zimmerman fired one shot into the heart of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, fatally killing him.

The Sanford Police lead investigator into the shooting was Chris Serino; the Police Chief was Bill Lee, and the local prosecutor was Norm Wolfinger.

Detective Chris Serino questioned and investigated George Zimmerman, who used a traditional “self-defense” justification for the shooting.  Eventually the case went to trial and the same “self-defense” justification was used in court.  Despite what you might have heard in the media, it was never a “stand your ground” defense.  It simply was not needed.

In addition to questioning Zimmerman, Serino documented two eye-witnesses to the shooting.  One woman in an apartment who saw the initial encounter between Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman, and another eye-witness, a man in an adjacent apartment who saw and partially recorded, the entire confrontation as it unfolded on the pathway approximately 20 feet from him.

The second witness called 911 and described in real time what he was seeing.  Trayvon was straddling George in an “MMA style” position and slamming Zimmerman’s head into the sidewalk.  During the 911 recording you can hear Zimmerman calling out, “help me; somebody help me.” [NOTE: Both of those witnesses as well as the recording were later buried but came out at trial.]

After a thorough investigation, all of the statements by George Zimmerman were corroborated by the eye-witnesses, the forensic evidence, the audio recording, and all the physical evidence found at the scene.  Detective Chris Serino gave his investigative report to Police Chief Lee along with the recommendation that Zimmerman’s claim of self-defense was valid and justified.  Serino and Lee then consulted with prosecutor Norm Wolfinger who reviewed the evidence and agreed.

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