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 †

Judge Rudolph Contreras recused himself from the case surrounding Michael Flynn, and people are wondering why.  There’s one very distinct possibility.

POLITICO – President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, will face a different judge to be sentenced than the one who took Flynn’s guilty plea to a felony false statement charge last week, court records show.
Judge Emmet Sullivan was randomly assigned to take over the case after Judge Rudolph Contreras recused himself. (more)

As soon as CTH saw the name Judge Rudolph Contreras our spidey sense alarm bells began ringing.  You know why?…
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Again with the timing…  Delicious.
After House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes almost derailed the Muh Russian Collusion Conspiracy in March/April 2017, the UniParty pushed him into an ethics blender claiming he disclosed classified information.
As an outcome of his Chairmanship role Representative Nunes is also a member of the elite intelligence oversight team known as the Gang of Eight.  Today, the House Ethics Committee cleared Nunes of any wrongdoing, and stated the information he discussed was not classified.
Chariman Nunes is now free to go full wolverine on the usurping intel agents.
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First Lady Melania Trump visited Childrens National Hospital in Washington, D.C., today to visit with patients, families and staff members. The tradition of First Lady visits to Childrens National dates back more than 60 years to First Lady Bess Truman; however, this is Melania Trump’s third visit to the hospital for visits with the children.
Mrs. Trump began today’s visit by touring the neuroscience center, where she spent time with patients and their families, as well as doctors, nurses, and other staff. After the visit, Mrs. Trump, escorted by two patients, arrived in the hospitals main atrium where she read one of her favorite holiday books, The Polar Express and answered questions from some of the patients about the holidays and what they mean to her.
https://youtu.be/FuXXzYWnwcI?t=3m15s
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Child: Ms. Trump what is your favorite Christmas song?
FLOTUS: My favorite Christmas song is Oh, Holy Night. And what is yours?
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Senator Al Franken used the legal immunity provided within the venue of the Senate Chamber to avoid libel suits for his accusations against President Trump and Senate Candidate Roy Moore, while also stating he will likely resign from his office at some point in the future.
WASHINGTON DC – Calling it “the worst day of his political life,” Minnesota Democratic Sen. Al Franken said Thursday he will resign from the U.S. Senate following a wave of sexual misconduct allegations against him that ranged from groping to forcibly trying to kiss women.

Franken, who said that some of the complaints against him were “simply not true” and that he remembers others “differently,” also took a parting shot at President Trump.
“There is some irony in the fact that I am leaving office while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office, and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the Senate with the full supoort of his party,” Franken said, referring to Trump and Roy Moore, the Republican candidate for Senate in Alabama.

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Identity politics driven to new lows in the Alabama Senate race. According to an Alabama Voter the democrats have decided to play the race-card against Roy Moore with a racially driven mailer:

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President Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence met earlier today with congressional leadership: House Speaker Paul Ryan, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
[Video and Transcript of remarks below]  When Nancy Pelosi began talking the look on VP Pence’s face is, well, priceless. Additionally, anticipating Pelosi and Schumer are going to hold up the budget by threatening military spending, the ever-strategic Trump invited General Mattis into the discussion so the Democrat leadership could tell him to his face why they would be willing to put American military lives at risk.  Epic.

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[ Transcript] 3:08 P.M. EST – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. We’re all here as a very friendly, well-unified group. It’s a well-knit-together group of people. And we hope that we’re going to make some great progress for our country. I think that will happen, and we appreciate it very much.
And, Chuck, Nancy, would you say anything — like to say anything? Chuck?
LEADER SCHUMER: Well, we hope we can come to an agreement. Funding the government is extremely important, helping our soldiers is very important, and helping average citizens is very important.
So we’re here in the spirit of: let’s get it done.
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Earlier this afternoon President Trump signed a proclamation recognizing National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.  Together with living survivors of Pearl Harbor, President Trump honored their legacy. Don’t miss the song at 06:10:

[Transcript] 2:15 P.M. EST – THE PRESIDENT: These are great men. Thank you for being with us. On this day, 76 years ago, more than 2,000 Americans were killed in a surprise attack on our homeland; hundreds more were injured. Battleships, cruisers, destroyers, and aircraft carriers in our Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor suffered crippling losses. Everybody knows about it. America was at war. These folks know about it more than anybody.
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“The Predicate”

FBI Director Christopher Wray appears before the House Judiciary Committee today to answer questions about the ongoing mission objectives of the FBI.  However, the opportunity for Wray’s appearance is being used to further investigate and unravel the ongoing issues surrounding the politicization of the FBI under the former leadership of Director James Comey.  Specifically how the FBI was weaponized against the campaign of candidate Donald Trump to the benefit of 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
In the questioning segment below Ohio Representative Jim Jordan questions Director Wray about the role of FBI Deputy Head of Counterintelligence, FBI Agent Peter Strzok. Jim Jordan outlines the role of Strzok -as it is currently known- and asks if Agent Strzok then took information from Christopher Steele (author of the ‘Steele Russian Dossier’) and used that dossier as the predicate to organize the FISA application that began the surveillance of people associated with the Trump campaign:

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This line of questioning is critical because when combined with a year of investigation by the Dept of Justice, Office of Inspector General, the sunlight takes a two-pronged approach:
♦The IG is working from the inside to investigate the politicization, a more apt term is ‘weaponization‘, of the FBI and DOJ within those organizations.  The IG is then identifying specific people and specific behavior.
♦The oversight committees (Judiciary, Intelligence) are working from the outside of the organizations to spotlight the consequences from those people and from that behavior.
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