U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley went into her full Mrs. Rubio mode earlier today as she took credit for single-handily bringing North Korea to heel. Apparently Secretary Tillerson and President Trump assisted Mrs. Rubio in achieving her policy objectives.

(more…)

Dr. Sebastian Gorka appears on Sean Hannity TV show to discuss the ongoing issues with North Korea and the latest developments with U.N. sanctions.

(more…)

White House Advisor Sebastian Gorka discusses the unanimous U.N. resolution today putting massive sanctions against North Korea – BACK STORY HERE–

.

[*NOTE* Ambassador Nikki Haley will be appearing for a lengthy interview on Sunday Morning FBN news with Maria Bartiromo tomorrow (10:00am EDT).]

• FULL BACKSTORY HERE

Today, following the historic and unanimous U.N Security Council sanction vote on North Korea, U.N. Ambassador Haley appeared on CNN for an interview:

(more…)

President Trump’s strategic approach using economic leverage to gain U.S. national security has established a very rare victory in the U.N. with unanimous support for Security Council sanctions against North Korea.  Yes, China and Russia supported.
Remember, from Day #1 of his administration President Trump was faced with a threat from N-Korea.  On his departure President Obama told the incoming new President Trump that North Korea would be his #1 Geopolitical national security challenge.
The MSM will likely never give President Trump credit for the remarkable long-term economic strategy he deployed to gain China and Russia’s support today.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United Nations Security Council imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Saturday that could slash by a third the Asian state’s $3 billion annual export revenue over Pyongyang’s two intercontinental ballistic missile tests in July.

The U.S.-drafted resolution bans North Korean exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood. It also prohibits countries from increasing the current numbers of North Korean laborers working abroad, bans new joint ventures with North Korea and any new investment in current joint ventures.

(more…)

Here’s one angle to the Robert Mueller investigation that was entirely predictable.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is now seeking documents from the White House on Michael Flynn and his personal arrangement to lobby for Turkey during the 2016 election.  Specifically they are looking into the financial aspects and whether Flynn masked the lobbying payments made to him.
Before getting to the crux of the issue, CTH must remind everyone that back in November of 2016 when we first discovered (During the Transition) the possibility that Flynn was under consideration for ODNI or National Security Adviser role – WE WARNED this was going to be an issue – SEE HERE November 17th, 2016.
We knew even before the election this could be a problem.  As far as we could surmise at the time – the Trump Campaign and subsequent President-Elect transition team, had no idea that campaign advocate and campaign adviser Michael Flynn was also being paid to lobby in DC on behalf of the government of Turkey, and Recep Erdogan.
The entire Flynn lobbying arrangement was beyond sketchy.  Before the election Flynn penned an op-ed advocating heavily for Recep Erdogan –SEE HERE–  The content was entirely disconnected from the assembled foreign policy outlook of Candidate Donald Trump. The Flynn Op-Ed was actually counter to candidate Trump’s policy views.
(more…)

UPDATE: After popular request, I finally received a copy of “the map” McGurk is using and added it to the transcript to make it easier. /SD
Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Brett McGurk follows up on the “around the globe” update speech delivered by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. With this update McGurk explains the current status of the D-ISIS campaign in Syria and Iraq. (additional emphasis regionally) WATCH:

.
[Transcript] MS NAUERT: Good to see you back. I know, it’s Friday late in the day, summertime. So you all get good camper awards for coming in today. Thank you so much for being here on this Friday. We have our Special Presidential Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, Brett McGurk, who’s here with us. I know you heard from Brett just a couple weeks ago at the end of the ISIS – D-ISIS coalition meeting here in Washington. And so Brett wanted to come in today to provide you all with an update as to where things stand in the campaign.
So without further ado, Brett’s here with that.
MR MCGURK: Thank you. Okay, thanks everybody for coming. I thought what I’d do today – you heard from the Secretary for a kind of trip around the world six months in here since he arrived about everything going on in the world and the activity here at the State Department. And what I thought I’d do is drill in a little bit more on what he discussed about the very important – one of our key priorities here at the department, about the campaign against ISIS.
(more…)

After spending 72 hours looking specifically at the motives of those pushing almost identical paragraphs including the catchphrases: “holdovers”, “purging loyalists“, “unfettered access” and “Caroline Glick“; it comes as no surprise to hear the administration perceives the anti-McMasters crowd as having “jumped the shark”… “reached too far”, and  “exposed their agenda” etc.
Ironically HR McMaster appears to be safer than ever in his position as National Security Adviser not specifically because of anything he has done, but as an actual outcome of the piranha approach taken by his detractors.  The severity of his opposition’s group-think actually exposed the common denominator.

“General McMaster and I are working very well together.  He is a good man and very pro–Israel. I am grateful for the work he continues to do serving our country.”

~ President Donald Trump, August 4th, 2017

HR McMaster might not get the Afghanistan policy outcome he prefers, but his position as NSA appears safe; and we won’t have to go to war against Iran to appease his opposition.  This looks like a genuine win/win/win.  Bannon wins on Afghanistan policy; McMaster wins on Iran policy; America-First wins because we’re not going into another war in either Iran or North Korea.  Perfect.

WASHINGTON […]  John Kelly, Trump’s new chief of staff, has told McMaster he supports him remaining as national security adviser, Politico reported, citing two unnamed senior White House aides.

(more…)

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley is structuring a U.N. Security Council resolution toward North Korea by targeting a ban on DPRK exports.  This approach is in line with the larger Trump strategy to leverage economic sanctions as pressure on North Korea to stop advancing military expansion and nuclear weapons.
However, how President Trump has set Nikki Haley up for success on this resolution is something for the history books to write about:

♦First: A review of the possible enhanced sanctions against N-Korea should be incorporated with the larger issue of policy toward the DPRK’s enabler, China.  President Trump, Secretary Mnuchin and Secretary Ross have positioned a severely consequential trade reset between the U.S. and China.  [Trump and Ross delayed an announcement on trade sanctions against China which was scheduled for today.]
♦Second: The enhanced U.S. energy export initiatives, in conjunction with lower oil prices, an outcome of U.S. energy policy and a mutually beneficial relationship between President Trump and Arab states in the GCC, have severely weakened the economic position of Russia.
Russia’s energy export economy is dependent on energy prices remaining high. President Trump has brilliantly worked the geopolitical economic relationships to leverage influence over a large portion of the Russian economy.
Combine these two points and you discover the leverage President Trump’s team has created.
(more…)

According to numerous media reports Robert Mueller has empaneled a grand jury so that subpoenas can be dispatched to begin taking testimony in the ongoing investigation into Russian interference within the 2016 election.  Apparently Donald Trump Jr. in the first batch of recipients.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Grand jury subpoenas have been issued in connection with a June 2016 meeting that included President Donald Trump’s son, his son-in-law and a Russian lawyer, two sources told Reuters on Thursday, in a sign that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation is gathering pace.
The sources added that Mueller had convened a grand jury in Washington to help investigate allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. (link)

Attorney Jay Sekulow weighed in earlier (video below)
(more…)