At a 9:00 a.m. (EST) this morning President Trump held a video conference with soldiers deployed overseas to wish them a Merry Christmas.  The President complimented each representative assembly of the military on how well were doing in the fight against terrorism, and thanked them for their service. “We’re winning. Merry Christmas.”

Gospel Lk 1:26-38

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.

President Trump Twitter @POTUS / Vice President Pence Twitter @VP

Sarah H Sanders Twitter @SHSanders45

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 †

UPDATED – In the past few days/weeks, thanks to some revealing information amid the various investigators of the DC swamp, we have been introduced to some previously unknown people.  Timeline HERE
Names like FBI Agent Peter Strzok; his mistress FBI Attorney Lisa Page; their ideological comrade Asst FBI Director Andrew McCabe; along with DOJ Deputy Bruce Ohr; and his wife, Fusion-GPS contract employee Nellie Ohr.  Fusion-GPS founder Glenn Simpson and his wife Mary Jacoby.  These are a few of the recent names that have hit the headlines as a result of ongoing investigations into the politicization of the FBI and DOJ.
But there’s one name conspicuously absent, FBI Director of Counterintelligence, Bill Priestap.

When you understand how central Bill Priestap is to the entire 2016/2017 ‘Russian Conspiracy Operation‘, the absence of his name, amid all others, creates a curiosity. I wrote a twitter thread about him recently because it seems rather unfathomable his name has not been a part of any of the recent story-lines.
Bill Priestap is the head of the FBI Counterintelligence operation. He was FBI Agent Peter Strozk’s direct boss. If anyone in congress really wanted to know if the FBI paid for the Christopher Steele Dossier, Bill Priestap is the guy who would know.
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“Ho Ho” to the Rubes he was grinch-ish-ly humming,
“they’re finding out now that no justice is coming”;
“they’re finding out now, and I know just what they’ll do”;
“why, their mouths will hang open a minute or two,
then the flyover rubes will all cry Boo Hoo.”

“That’s a noise”, said James Comey, “I simply must hear”;
so he tweeted a word, a sanctimonious sneer.
And he did hear a sound rising over the crowd;
it started in low – then it grew rather loud.

“Justice-for-us, justice-for-us, welcome justice for this place”…
“Justice-for-us, justice-for-us, welcome justice – justice day.”
“Welcome, welcome,  justice-for-us, welcome, welcome justice-for-us”…
“Justice day is in our grasp, so long as we have truth to clasp.”

But this, well this, this sound wasn’t sad.
“Why”, he sneerly snarked “this sound, sounded glad”?
Each one a Deplorable, the tall and the small,
was just singing for justice – with no worry at all.
He hadn’t stopped justice from coming, it came;
somehow or other, it came just the same.

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Earlier today the Washington Post reported that Asst. FBI Director Andrew McCabe is planning on retiring on/around March 2018; timed to receive pension benefits.
President Trump notes the conspicuous timing of Andrew McCabe’s decision:

It is important to note that in prior congressional testimony by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, the Department of Justice OIG (Office of Inspector General) has committed to release over 1.2 million pages of documents on January 15th, 2018 to the Judiciary Committee.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein affirmed the investigative documents would be released to Chairman Goodlatte and House investigators.  This release is important to overlay against the backdrop of the McCabe decision to retire.
The Inspector General may, or may not, be complete with his investigative report on/around January 15th.  However, with the House Oversight (Gowdy) and Judiciary (Goodlatte) Committees both launching investigations they are not waiting for Inspector General Michael Horowitz to conclude his final report.
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It is important to remember the Washington Post is the unofficial public relations outfit of the U.S. intelligence community: FBI, CIA, etc.  When a leaked source, or insider release of information appears within the Washington Post, it is there by collaboration with the intelligence community.
That said, the story today about Assistant FBI Director Andrew McCabe planning to retire in March 2018, should be viewed as the WaPo attempting to create leverage for McCabe to retain his position up to his pension eligibility.  It is NOT coincidental that Inspector General Michael Horowitz is planning to release his Year-Long OIG report outlining his investigative details into the politicization of the FBI and DOJ.

This maneuver by “Andy” McCabe is similar to moves by his former boss James Comey. McCabe is trying to gain leverage over a pending IG report release and ongoing congressional investigations that recently have begun to run a parallel track. By publicizing his intent to leave the FBI ahead of all the investigative outcomes being public, McCabe is attempting to change his central disposition to the scandals.
The Washington Post report is shaped to deliver a specific narrative about Andrew McCabe and assist his positioning.  The absence of any WaPo mention of the FBI counterintelligence operation, “The Trump Project”, including the absence of any mention of the FBI involvement in the Steele Dossier (FISA Warrants, Wiretaps and Surveillance), and the myriad of explosive issues therein, is evidence of WaPo’s motive:

WASHINGTON – Andrew McCabe, the FBI’s deputy director who has been the target of Republican critics for more than a year, plans to retire in a few months when he becomes fully eligible for pension benefits, according to people familiar with the matter.

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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.

President Trump Twitter @POTUS / Vice President Pence Twitter @VP

Sarah H Sanders Twitter @SHSanders45

It’s time to pull out those well thumbed cookbooks and faded old hand written recipes and share the best. We all have old family favorites, new treats we just discovered, and treasured family recipes handed down from mother to daughter, or in my case, to daughter in law, for generations.
I always look forward to getting a taste of regional favorites here too. It’s fascinating to see how different each area of the country is, and get to see some recipes for things I never have cooked before, and to hear the stories told of how families have shared this food for so long.
We hope you and yours are enjoying your best holiday season ever as you prepare to celebrate Christmas. In the midst of all the preparations, remember to choose to take time to enjoy and savor the wonder too.