Oh dear, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes, is asking President Trump to question U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May:
In a clear signal toward the trade conflict with the United States, Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping is preparing his nation for a protracted trade conflict. Chinese state-run media have been deploying propaganda to shift public opinion toward the U.S. as a direct threat, and the latest developments by Xi showcase that agenda.
(South China Post) Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for the nation to embark on a new Long March and “start all over again”, in the most dramatic sign to date that Beijing has given up hope of reaching a trade deal with the United States in the near term.
Xi is in Jiangxi province for his first domestic tour since the escalation of the trade war two weeks ago. Jiangxi is where China’s defeated Red Army started its fabled Long March in 1934, and Xi’s choice of destination is being viewed as an effort to invoke a spirit of endurance and to rally public spirit amid rising tensions with Washington.
In a May 2nd interview with Fox News Catherine Herridge, President Trump was questioned about the pending declassification of documents.
The president replied: “I’m going to be allowing declassification pretty soon, I’m going to be doing it very soon, far more than you would have even thought.” Herridge asked: “May, June, July?” to which the president responded: “No, soon. I mean whenever they need it. Whenever they need it I’ll be doing it. But I will be declassifying it. Everything.”
Considering “whenever they need it”…. Many of the most consequential releases centering around ‘Spygate’ have happened when the President is outside of Washington DC.
In the next few days President Trump and First Lady Melania will be traveling to Japan for a state visit (May 25 – 28th); and then on to the U.K (June 3rd – 5th) for another state visit, finishing the trip in Shannon Ireland June 5th. [Memorial Day is May 27th.]
Devin Nunes outlines his request to intelligence agencies to prove Joseph Mifsud is a Russian intelligence operative. Apparently the current FBI is avoiding a response.
Further evidence there will be no further engagement with China surfaces in an announced specific shift in directive from President Trump today focusing Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and USTR Lighthizer on a sector, not a specific nation.
The auto industry is the key sector on two specific trade fronts: the EU trade reset and the ongoing negotiations with Japan. Both trade agreements center heavily on the auto-sector; and both Japan and the EU have cemented intransigent trade positions.
Enter President Trump to cut the Gordian knot.
It’s a small but important note that President Trump had previously assigned geographic trade responsibilities. Wilbur Ross has the EU as his primary focus and Robert Lighthizer has authority over Asia. Today the White House connects the objective of both Ross and Lighthizer as President Trump instructs the U.S. Trade Representative to engage in discussions around the specifics of the auto-sector:
White House – […] Following an extensive review of the Department of Commerce’s Section 232 automobile report, President Trump today issued a proclamation directing the United States Trade Representative to negotiate agreements to address the national security threat, which is causing harm to the American automobile industry. (more)
The President has designated the auto industry as a critical component of national security [More Here]. With Ross’s report in hand, the possibility of increasing tariffs on foreign automobiles is the leverage POTUS gives to Lighthizer along with the mandate to engage.
(more…)
Funny how that happens. Less than 24 hours after President Trump declared new tech telecommunication is a national security issue; and one day after Secretary Wilbur Ross bans Huawei (and affiliates) from buying parts and components from U.S. companies without U.S. government approval; all of a sudden the UK is having second thoughts.
…Huh, go figure:
LONDON (Reuters) – China’s Huawei poses such a grave security risk to the United Kingdom that the government must not allow it to have even a limited role in building 5G networks, a former head of Britain’s MI6 foreign spy service said on Thursday.
In what some have compared to the Cold War arms race, the United States is worried that 5G dominance would give any global competitor such as China an advantage Washington is not ready to accept.
Here we go…. President Trump is laying the groundwork to ban telecommunication companies based on identified risk to national security (ie. Huawei). Nations who engage in 5-G technology agreements are on notice they may be cut-off from communication partnerships with the U.S.A.
[Executive Order] By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,
I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, find that foreign adversaries are increasingly creating and exploiting vulnerabilities in information and communications technology and services, which store and communicate vast amounts of sensitive information, facilitate the digital economy, and support critical infrastructure and vital emergency services, in order to commit malicious cyber-enabled actions, including economic and industrial espionage against the United States and its people.
(more…)
Against the backdrop of media reports surrounding U.S. Attorney John Durham, and an investigation into potentially corrupt 2016 investigators, perhaps it’s worthwhile to pause, evaluate, reset the outlook and review the backstories.
There’s room for cautious optimism, but there’s also reason to temper expectations. First within the latest Fox News report, the following is noted:
Fox News – […] Durham, known as a “hard-charging, bulldog” prosecutor, according to a source, will focus on the period before Nov. 7, 2016—including the use and assignments of FBI informants, as well as alleged improper issuance of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants. Durham was asked to help Barr to “ensure that intelligence collection activities by the U.S. Government related to the Trump 2016 Presidential Campaign were lawful and appropriate.”
There’s a remarkable political restructuring happening on the other side of the Atlantic. Nigel Farage has led the U.K. Brexit Party into the leading political force in a matter of weeks.
With frustration over the intransigent unwillingness of the political elites who control power in the U.K. to deliver on the Brexit referendum, the grassroots “Brexit Party” was formed. According to recent polling the movement now leads in advance of upcoming EU Parliament elections. It’s possible another political earthquake is about to happen:
(Via Breitbart Media) New polling for the upcoming European Parliament elections shows another astonishing surge in support for Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party, while the governing Conservatives have crashed to fourth place on just 11 per cent.
The Opinium poll of 2,004 people, conducted online between the 8th and 10th of May, showed support for Mr Farage’s weeks-old party up 6 points to 34 per cent, more than Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour — down seven points to 21 per cent — and Theresa May’s Conservatives — down three points to just 11 per cent — combined.
Following the refusal of the professional political class within the U.K. to honor the Brexit votes of the majority, British leader Nigel Farage came off the sidelines and said ‘enough’.
Farage and a group of independent British politicians have formed the Brexit party to take down the two-party structure and finally deliver the voice of the people. Their Brexit party campaign has been criss-crossing the nation ahead of elections on May 23rd. The response has been exceptional…. “A Movement for Democracy”.
Nigel Farage delivered remarks during a rally today [Prompted to 01:18:30, just hit play]
