Speaking from the colonnade in front of the oval office, President Trump and Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu answer media questions.  [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – Q Mr. President, what’s your response to the Bolton manuscript? And does this increase the chances he could be called to testify?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I haven’t seen a manuscript, but I can tell you: Nothing was ever said to John Bolton. But I have not seen a manuscript. I guess he’s writing a book. I have not seen it.

Q Well, you know what the allegation is.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: We’ll talk inside.

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There will be 24 hours of presentation by House Impeachment Managers (over 3 days); 24 hours of presentation by Defense team (over 3 days); 16 hours of Senate questioning; 4 hours of closing arguments, equally divided; and then a Senate debate/vote on further motions to include witnesses. If there are going to be witnesses, they will first be deposed prior to testimony. No witness testimony will be permitted without first being deposed.
The Senate Trial continues today on day six at 1:00pm ET. Today is the second day of the Trump defense and will continue with approximately 8 hours of presentation.
Fox News Livestream – Fox Business Livestream – Alternate GST Livestream Link

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The “House Bolton Maneuver” was a pre-planned operation to use a timed NSC ‘resistance’ leak to frame a new demand for testimony in the Senate. From the beginning the House intentionally constructed an impeachment process to avoid the judicial branch because the construction of the articles was dependent on an unconstitutional creation: impeachment by decree of the Speaker.
As a result of their approach, the House fully intended to usurp their lack of judicial subpoena authority by placing political pressure on the Senate to call the trial witnesses they knew were unattainable due to separation of powers within the constitutional process.  By design the House plan puts the burden of compulsory witness testimony upon the Senate because the House refused to create their own authority with a vote to initiate the impeachment process.
The House effort was, and is, an end-run around the constitutional outline for impeachment.  This was not a flaw; it was a feature of the House creation.

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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

Stephanie Grisham Twitter @StephGrisham45

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 †

The timing, purpose and narrative engineering here are transparent in the extreme.
Tonight the New York Times (Schmidt and Haberman) write an article claiming to have exclusively gained portions of a transcript of a John Bolton book manuscript that was given to the White House National Security Council for pre-publication review.

Of course The Times attempts to frame the narrative around the need for John Bolton to testify in the Senate Impeachment Trial… all too transparent in motive. Timed to work around the House fraud; impeachment article construction without Judicial review for subpoenas; and timed to bolster House managers’ unconstitutional demand for Bolton as a Senate witness.  ADD: POTUS Responds:

However, setting aside the nothing-burger details of the book as leaked, the leak itself might now reconcile an earlier event.
Remember the issue a little more than a week ago when the National Security Council senior director for European and Russian affairs, Andrew Peek, was escorted from the White House grounds and is said to be under a security-related investigation?
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Mark Meadows and Trey Gowdy appear on Fox News with Maria Bartiromo to discuss their perspectives on the ongoing impeachment trial of President Trump.  Both Meadows and Gowdy point out the important aspect in HPSCI Chairman and Lead House Manager Adam Schiff constructing false information to continue an ongoing effort; that has never ceased since the original fraudulent claims around the Russia collusion conspiracy.
Mr. Gowdy notes the unusual 2020 narrative that running for office makes you immune from any federal investigative inquiry; and contrasts that position against 2016 where candidate Donald Trump was considered a viable target by the Obama administration.

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Representative John Ratcliffe appears with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the fraudulent construct of the House impeachment articles.  Ratcliffe highlights how the ‘whistle-blower’ (CIA Eric Ciaramella) and the Intelligence Community Inspector General, Michael Atkinson, have conflicting testimony in the House and that’s why Impeachment Manager Adam Schiff will not release those transcripts.  WATCH:

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Senator James Lankford appears on ABC This Week with George Stephanopoulos to discuss his perspective around the ongoing senate trial of President Trump.
During the interview DNC operative Stephanopoulos attempts to retain an opposition false narrative and Senator Lankford just fillets the arguments with facts.  Stephanopoulos is visibly upset with his inability to upend Lankford.

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*Posting late today because I’ve been deep in the weeds, assembling years of data, and solving a nagging question about Chris Steele’s primary sub-source [SEE HERE]. I’m now comfortable in predicting who that PSS is.  I will outline more on that soon.
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Alan Dershowitz will present a constitutional argument against senate impeachment during arguments next week.  This weekend he appears on Fox News with Chris Wallace to discuss the impeachment trial so far.

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