A new John Solomon article today, based on an interview with Russian Billionaire Oleg Deripaska, is essentially confirming a May 2018 article where it was presumed that Oleg had hired Christopher Steele at the same time Steele was working with Nellie Ohr and Fusion GPS to write the Trump dossier.  Here’s the interview:

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The report on the FBI contacting Oleg Deripaska in September 2016 for help to structure a narrative of Russian involvement in the Trump Campaign via Paul Manafort has some ramifications.
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Portland, Oregon, is located in the Northwestern United States. Portland is considered the cultural mecca for the most refined vision of Democratic Socialism. Known as a Marxist hub for modern cultural and political violence, all tourists are eligible for complimentary helmets as they travel to and from various points of interest.
In addition to teaching your kids new words, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler welcomes each visiting family.  Together, he and his leadership team are committed to maximum excitement during your stay. Welcome to Portland – You’ll fight like hell to enjoy it, or else:
[wpvideo lrghtxKh]
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Is it possible to manufacture outrage as a profit strategy? Yes.  Brand imagery is part of the overall business model for any business. Begin with an ideological executive office; consider a manufacturing model dependent on a China/Asia supply chain; add a dose of political calculations into the mix; turn loose the actuaries and a unified CFO and CEO could easily find a way to turn market grievance into profit.
I’m not saying that NIKE is manipulating their market price.  However, I am saying if they were to consider their brand scale to enhance financial results, and buying back shares of their own stock to be timed with coordinated media events, you could see a benefit behind the controversy.
It just strikes as too coincidental the latest NIKE “issue” happens at the beginning of a new financial quarter.  Nah, probably nothing.

(Via CNBC) Nike is pulling sneakers featuring an early American flag after former NFL football player Colin Kaepernick told the company it shouldn’t sell a shoe that he and others consider offensive, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday evening, citing people familiar with the matter.
Nike shares were falling less than 1% in premarket trading Tuesday following the news. Shares had closed Monday up nearly 2% and have rallied 15% this year, bringing the retailer’s market cap to about $134.2 billion.

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BREAKING: The U.S. government has just announced to trial attorneys the 2020 U.S. census will proceed without the controversial citizenship question included.

According to lawyers involved in the case the DOJ has announced the decision and emailed the parties accordingly. [citations below]  The census will be printed for use without the question of citizenship.
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As anticipated the media script via democrat presidential polling narratives are now showing ‘Crazy’ and ‘Creepy’ dropping while ‘Spank-Me’ and ‘How’ gain significant positions.   CNN is now calling Biden, Harris, Warren and Sanders the ‘Top Tier’.

In a heavily promoted poll of Iowa voters, pushed hard by CNN, Creepy has dropped to 24%, Spank-Me jumps to 16%, How gains ground to 13% and Crazy drops to 9%.  All others seemingly irrelevant now.
There’s something very Big Club and Clintonesque about the DNC framework surrounding Kamala Harris.  An argument can made that she checks all the boxes for controlled candidacy.  The DNC club move to re-position California in the 2020 primary could very well be the same club motive that moved Florida in the 2016 cycle for the GOP club.
Unlike the GOP in 2016, in the DNC 2020 race there are no ‘outsiders‘; so the club rules mean more control.  [The DNC 2020 is akin to the RNC in 2012.]
Those who watched the Kamala Harris launch January 21st; then the Jussie Smollett fake MAGA lynching on January 29th; then the Feb 14th lynch legislation, and then connected the seemingly pushed narrative (all bearing the familiar sniff of Clinton Politcal-Ops) are undoubtedly noting how Harris’s campaign hired Marc Elias, who heads Perkins Coie’s political law group and was Hillary’s campaign lawyer in 2016.
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An interesting discussion between Representative John Ratcliffe, former congressman Trey Gowdy and Fox News Host Jason Chaffetz surrounding: the pending Inspector General Report into FISA abuse; the upcoming Mueller testimony; and the activity of U.S. Attorney John Durham.
Within the interview Ratcliffe notes he has recently spoken to Inspector General Horowitz about the timing of his upcoming report where Ratcliffe says the “investigative work is complete”. WATCH:

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If previous reports of Christopher Steele being willing to speak to U.S. authorities about his dossier work in 2016 are accurate; and if Horowitz has completed his investigative work; then it’s likely Horowitz has already interviewed Steele.
The IG FISA investigation began in May of 2018, approximately 14 months ago. The assembly of the investigative details into a draft report should be expected to take about four to six weeks depending on the OIG referencer team and the scale of the summary documentation assembled.
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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 †

Well, this will not come as a surprise to CTH readers, but it affirms prior suspicion of Chairman Xi Jinping’s motives and intents in the pre-G20 trip to North Korea.  There is also an aspect to this propaganda highlighting that Beijing actually had this narrative written prior to the outcome, I’ll explain below.

As predicted, China’s state media are proclaiming that Chairman Xi Jinping, playing the role of magnanimous panda, is responsible for the success and restart of the discussions between President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un of North Korea:

CHINA – […] Ten days before the Kim-Trump meeting, President Xi Jinping made a historic visit to North Korea, with one of the key aims being to show political support and help North Korea and the US to break the deadlock in their negotiations, Zheng said.
Xi also met Trump in Osaka on the sidelines of the G20 Summit on Saturday, when they also discussed the peninsula issue. Xi has encouraged both Kim and Trump to push forward negotiations and reach an agreement eventually.
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Fox News host Tucker Carlson traveled to Osaka Japan for the G20 meeting between President Trump and China’s Chairman Xi Jinping.  After the summit meeting Carlson interviews President Trump and broadcast the interview this evening:

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Additionally, Tucker Carlson traveled with President Trump to South Korea for the DMZ visit with Kim Jong-un.
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