For the sake of urgency I’m going to talk in direct and bold terms about the targeting of Tulsi Gabbard.  The IC system is attempting to remove her as a disruptive influence by using Iran as a wedge to get her out, but the issue they have with Director Gabbard has nothing to do with Iran.

CTH approaches this after being very concerned about Tulsi Gabbard’s ability.  Not because of intent, but rather we doubted her understanding of the scope of the IC opposition aligned against an effective Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Gabbard started out with these weaknesses, but she learned quickly – grasped the opposition– and has become a transformative force within the Intelligence Community.  Director Gabbard’s recent efforts within the Intelligence Community Inspector General office is another feather in her cap of competence.  Gabbard is now a threat.

If President Trump allows or supports the removal of DNI Gabbard, he is opening up the backplate of his armor, and making himself vulnerable.

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Chairman Tom Cotton, the disassembled National Intelligence Council and a host of Intelligence Community embeds would like to see Gabbard removed.   DC wants to see her removed because the traditional role of the DNI has been a willfully blind tool of the Intelligence Community; Gabbard is not that.

As DNI Mrs Tulsi Gabbard has ♦ chased down intelligence community leakers, ♦ released the JFK files, ♦ released Joe Biden’s domestic terrorism surveillance plan, ♦ intercepted an NIC plot to impeach President Trump (confirmed by Rubio), ♦ taken control of the Presidential Daily Briefing, ♦ and more recently begun to confront the weaponized corruption within the IC Inspector General organization. These are actions, not words, and those actions speak boldly.  Suffice to say, her effectiveness has placed a target on her back.

In the past few weeks, ever since she began intercepting the ICIG issues and using her own personnel to monitor the IC network, she has been targeted with several direct smear campaigns. It is obvious the targeting is coming from inside the intelligence apparatus, and perhaps even the orbit around/under CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

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Texas Senator Ted Cruz came from the Bush administration following his legal work on the Florida electoral challenge to George W Bush.  As Karl Rove notes in his book, Courage and Consequence, Cruz wanted to be the United States Attorney General for the Bush administration.  Dubya would not consider him, so Ted Cruz set about a new career path to run for the U.S. Senate from Texas.

Cruz worked as Texas Solicitor General (2003-2008), giving him statewide name recognition.  Ted Cruz ran for U.S. Senate and won in 2012.  In 2014 Robert Mercer (Breitbart) and Mark Levin began promoting Cruz as a presidential candidate for 2015/16; the ‘Cruz crew’ was born.  The same ‘Cruz Crew’ coalition later evolved into the Ron DeSantis team in 2023.  One of the four cornerstones of the Cruz/DeSantis political base, which includes a targeted evangelical following, has always been strong support for Israel.

This alignment is why we see the Cruz/DeSantis coalition as extremely supportive of the Israeli campaign against Iran, despite their generally soft support for President Trump on other matters.  Obviously, the political gravity of President Trump is very strong – so those with future aspirations must remain Trump-adjacent, if not directly in his orbit.

In this somewhat adversarial interview, Tucker Carlson confronts Senator Cruz about his support for Israel, against the backdrop of the current Israeli zero-sum conflict with Iran.  I am providing the interview for discussion only because the same conflict dynamic is playing out on several platforms, and it is of great interest to many Trump supporters.

Chapters:

0:00 Why Does Cruz Want Regime Change in Iran?
06:28 Is the US Currently Acting in Its Own Best Interest?
07:49 Was Regime Change in Syria Beneficial to the US?
12:31 Was the Iraq War a Mistake?
18:55 Why Aren’t US Politicians Focused on Fixing America’s Problems?
27:02 How Much Money Is the US Sending to Israel?
29:17 Does Cruz Think It’s Okay That Foreign Governments Spy on America?
31:47 How Much Money Has Cruz Taken From AIPAC?

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During an oval office event to celebrate the Juventus team, President Trump took questions from the assembled press pool.  The questions begin at 01:44 of the video below – prompted.

President Trump notes a situation room meeting was scheduled for updates in approximately 1 hour.  The president also notes the Iranian delegation wants to meet to discuss the ongoing conflict; President Trump is not in a hurry to hear the requests at the current time.

President Trump is asked about what changed his perspective and leaned toward a willingness to engage with U.S. support for the physical removal of the Iranian nuclear capabilities.  Trump notes Israel is proceeding “well” on a planned course of action to eliminate the threat Iran represented. WATCH: 

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President Donald Trump participates in the first raising of the U.S.A. flag at the White House.

President Trump commissioned the two new flagpoles carrying our nation’s colors at the White House last month. Construction was undertaken in the past several weeks and today the first flags were raised on the South Lawn.  WATCH:

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For the past several months it has become increasingly obvious that conservative America is witnessing a battle between two external elements, Qatar and Israel.  MAGA has been stuck in the middle.

The battle has centered around political influence and seems most obvious in the framework of what are called “influencers” of public opinion.  The tug-of-war has been happening for several months, and with Israel now targeting Iran militarily, the intentionally seeded dynamic has exploded around all platforms in the information space.

Friends, families and alliances are being fractured within the battle.  In a very visible example, Tucker Carlson (team Qatar) uses his platform to target Ted Cruz (team Israel).  WATCH:

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According to Carlson, the full interview will be released later today.

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

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Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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Thank you to all readers and members of the Conservative Treehouse fellowship for your continued support.  Without your help this little corner of the research and discussion internet just could not exist. I will always work earnestly to be deserving of that support and fellowship.

We are fortunate, blessed and protected by a loving God who has confidence in our stewardship.

As new visitors attest every day, the fellowship in this commenting community is unique, insightful, articulate, intelligent and funny.  I love you guys.

As many of you are aware, in April last year we lost our primary Ad revenue because we refused to enforce Google moderation rules in our comment system.

The ridiculous demand for content control within our proprietary commenting system was actually the culmination of years of effort by Google and tech allies who were looking for ways to demonetize our platform and control information from this site.

As a direct and specific result without your direct support now, CTH cannot exist.

Retaining our ability to research, share and most importantly, discuss ongoing events, has been my #1 priority.  Thank you again for your insight, wisdom, humor, friendship and support.

There are currently two methods to support CTH 2.0, our ongoing mission and discussion. However, depending on your browser settings (and ad blocker software) the second option may not be visible.  There is a screengrab below showing what I am talking about.

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I post the direct statements from President Trump on the calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin because if you read the background, both before and after the Israel strike operation, you can clearly see the strategy. [Check Dates]

President Trump is doing what modern U.S officials never did, showing respect to the aligned nuclear powers and positioning any action for the least amount of geopolitical collateral damage.  President Trump knows one of the key geopolitical influences upon Iran is the Russian Federation.

You do not have to be pro or anti-Trump to understand how executive level respect and diplomacy works. This is why the leadership of the Russian Federation respect Trump (firm but thoughtful), even if they are in opposition to his positions.

Remember the statements yesterday in Canada, at the G7, specifically about the Russian sanctions.  These statements above should be read with the context of before and after the strikes in Iran began; then overlay the statements yesterday about the sanctions.  There is a very clear message conveyed.

President Trump does not want a targeted problem to escalate into a regional geopolitical conflict.  So, he takes proactive and ongoing steps to ensure containment.  This is the part that French President Macron (doofus) cannot intellectually conceptualize; hence, President Trump’s curt remarks.

Even before the Israeli operation against Iran began, President Trump draws safe proactive perimeters that all traditional agents of governmental influence can understand.

Like you, I completely do not want expanded conflict that could potentially draw the U.S. into something far more dangerous.  However, I also don’t see that as a likely outcome.  President Trump is in the support position to eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons from Iran; let him work without our dark imaginings injecting something that does not exist.

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Hopefully these are the political stunts that will force the reluctant hand of Attorney General Pam Bondi to intervene.  Criminal arrests and federal prosecutions of politicians pulling these stunts are needed.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander locked arms with an illegal alien as immigrations officials were removing the target for deportation.  Lander purposefully interfered in a federal apprehension of a criminal alien, and should be prosecuted.

The media are selectively showing a portion of the video after Lander is handcuffed by police.  However, in the earlier segment below you can clearly see Mr Lander intentionally locking arms with the target in an effort to stop ICE enforcement from taking custody.  WATCH:

.@bradlander just arrested at immigration court pic.twitter.com/nDqEK1Lzcw

— Courtney Gross (@courtneycgross) June 17, 2025

Judicial warrants are not required to apprehend and deport illegal aliens.

NEW YORK — New York City mayoral candidate Brad Lander was handcuffed and detained by federal agents Tuesday afternoon while escorting migrants from immigration hearings in Lower Manhattan.

Footage and video of the hectic incident is firing up the third-place candidate’s suddenly energetic campaign, as he shows himself taking on an issue that’s central to President Donald Trump’s political agenda.

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