Former Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann appeared on Jim Baker’s broadcast last week and indicated she might possibly enter the 2018 special election Senate race open due to Al Franken’s resignation.  [Video Here]

Mrs. Bachmann was known as a deficit hawk and previously represented Minesota’s 6th District from 2007 to 2015. In addition to founding the Tea Party Caucus in the House of Representatives, she also ran for the 2012 presidential nomination.  She is now 61-years-old.
Interesting consideration.  During her previous time in office she was often a target of severe sexist attacks from left-wing media pundits and Democrat opposition.

Tomorrow, January 3rd, is the deadline presented by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes for the FBI to turn over responsive documents, their field agent investigative notes and contact summaries.
The FBI Counterintelligence Division began an official investigation on/around July 15th, 2016. The target of the investigation was the Donald Trump campaign.  The FBI has refused to answer questions or allow investigative oversight toward the origin of their endeavor.
Numerous leaks from the FBI imply the leadership is attempting to shape the narrative surrounding the origin. Suspicions are high.  Key questions we hope to see answered soon with specific detail are:

• 1.) who was the FISC judge that signed off on the FISA application?
• 2.) what was the underlying evidence presented to the FISA court?

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♦FBI Agent Peter Strzok has been reassigned to the HR department.  ♦FBI Lawyer Lisa Page, personal legal aide to FBI Asst. Director, Andrew “Andy” McCabe, has been returned to the DOJ side. ♦FBI Chief Legal Counsel James Baker has been relieved of his duties by FBI Director Christopher Wray. ♦FBI Asst Director Andrew McCabe has announced his intent to retire in March.
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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley delivered strong remarks today during a press briefing surrounding U.S. policy toward Pakistan and Iran.

“The administration is withholding $255 million in assistance to Pakistan. There are clear reasons for this. Pakistan has played a double game for years. They work with us at time, and they also harbor the terrorists that attack our troops in Afghanistan. That game is not acceptable to this administration.”

WATCH:

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Think BIGLY – On a geopolitical level the U.S. relationship with Pakistan is shadowed by a strong  Pakistani economic relationship with China.  China is Pakistan’s biggest investor.  China has also recently been identified as covertly propping up North Korea with smuggled oil shipments: “Very Disappointing“.
The central U.S. Pakistani relationship has always been about our fight against the terrorist networks of the Taliban in Afghanistan.  Pakistan has played both sides of that coin.  In August of 2017 President Trump warned Pakistan our relationship with them would be different if they did not stop enabling the Taliban.
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Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, the second-longest serving U.S. senator, plans to retire at the end of his current term.  In a video shared via his twitter feed, the 83-year-old Republican announced today his plan to leave the Senate after more than 40 years.  Senator Hatch is the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, his announcement comes after the Republican tax plan he helped to create was signed into law.

[…] “When the president visited Utah last month, he said I was a fighter. I’ve always been a fighter. I was an amateur boxer in my youth, and I brought that fighting spirit with me to Washington. But every good fighter knows when to hang up the gloves. And for me, that time is soon approaching. That’s why, after much prayer and discussion with family and friends, I’ve decided to retire at the end of this term. Although I will miss serving you in the Senate, I look forward to spending more time with family, especially my sweet wife Elaine, whose unwavering love and support made all of this possible.”

2018 was looking to be a difficult year for Senator Hatch as he was caught between his newly espoused loyalty to President Trump and his life-long relationship with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
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Buckle up folks, 2018 is well positioned to be the single most exciting political year in our lifetime.  Even Suspicious Cat is optimistic; suspiciously optimistic.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders kicks of the year with the first press briefing of 2018. Anticipated start time 2:00pm EST
UPDATE: Video Added

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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

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 people of Iran continue to call for an end to the oppressive regime of the Mullahs and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.  Directly calling for the removal of Khamenei is a significant shift in the tone of the protests.  It is against Iranian law to confront or criticize Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
However, the protesting groups are not backing down.  As oppressive regime enforcers and state police confront the freedom groups; the rebels burn the police stations – it ends up being a smart tactic as the soldiers fear the backlash.
Almost nine years since the original “Green movement” reformist protests were crushed by the state, today the U.S. and Israel voice support for for the resurgence of the reformers.
U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted: “The great Iranian people have been repressed for many years. They are hungry for food & for freedom. Along with human rights, the wealth of Iran is being looted. TIME FOR CHANGE!”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the “brave Iranians” taking to streets to protest a regime that “wastes tens of billions of dollars spreading hate”.  “I wish the Iranian people success in their noble quest for freedom,” he said in a video posted on his Facebook page.

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There’s a lot of people worried the sheer scale and totality of the FBI and DOJ corruption will be buried by the Swamp scum.  I’m not one of them.  As a ninja level cynic who has spent so much time investigating the deep weeds of DC corruption, this time I can see a difference.

The Bigger media voices will eventually catch up to the story.  Right now the scale of the story is so large, and the consequences so damaging to the Republic, they are scared to call it out… but that won’t last too much longer.  Unless they are genuinely all paid political operatives of the UniParty, by the end of this month the sunlight will be so intense their worries about losing invites to the best cocktail parties will be overcome by the enormity of the truth.
When the righteous march past the praetorian guard media carrying pitchforks, feathers and buckets of brutally obvious truth;  yes, even the ‘CONservative’ professional media guardians will have to admit they can’t defend the protected class from this one.  Their own need for relevance will mean they’ll eventually admit, the baby is damn ugly.
If a little corner of the internet can lay out the raw data, and all of that data only points in one direction, yes, the total “they” (media, congress, and our President) all know this same stuff you have been reading.  More importantly, as uncomfortable as admissions might be, they know it is real and they know what it means.
If we can put it together, so can they.
So too can Robert Mueller.  He knows.
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On August 21st, 2017, President Trump began a very familiar process toward Pakistan within the geopolitical strategy known to us as The Trump Doctrine: ‘the accurate assignment of responsibility’, by honestly calling out the historic nature of the relationship.
In a remarkable speech on Afghanistan policy, President Trump addressed the nation and stated the continued Pakistani support of the Taliban extremists was only impeding the quest for peace.
The Trump policy goal was not Pakistan eliminating the Taliban, but rather outlining how the Afghanistan solution begins with the Taliban entering negotiations with the Afghan government.  Pakistan -supporting the Taliban- continues to undermine that goal.
With little change since August, today President Trump calls out Pakistan:

(Twitter Link)

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