Checks and Balances…

One of the least understood aspects of congressional oversight is the elite group of elected politicians who are charged with congressional oversight over all intelligence activity. This highly important oversight group is called the Intelligence “Gang of Eight”.
The Gang of Eight are briefed on every covert operation that our various intelligence agencies carry out. They are directly responsible for oversight of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
The Go8 are responsible for overseeing all executive office policy as it relates to intelligence gathering and corresponding activity.  In short these eight elected representatives are in charge of all oversight of all U.S. intelligence operations, open and covert.  The incoming 2017 Gang of Eight is:

A position within the Gang of Eight comes as a result of holding one of the following eight positions: 1. The Speaker of the House, 2. The Minority Leader of the House, 3. the Majority Leader of the Senate, 4. the Minority Leader of the Senate, 5. the Chairperson of the House Permanent Committee on Intelligence, 6. the minority leader from the same committee; 7. The Chairperson of the Senate Intelligence Committee and 8. the minority leader of the same committee.
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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 Trump/Pence presidential victory.

Transition Website HERE

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

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 †

President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump’s use of social media will continue to be a “really exciting part of the job” after he takes office.

Donald Trump is known for his use of social media, specifically Twitter and Facebook, to spread his message and communicate directly with supporters.

“His use of social media in particular is going to be something that’s never been seen before, he has this direct pipeline to the American people, where he can talk back and forth”.

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There are moments within investigative research when your jaw can stand agape as you recognize the scope of what you are reading or hearing.  A brutally down-played audio of Secretary John Kerry is just such an occasion.

♦ In August of 2014 President Obama (wearing a tan business suit) gave a press conference where he stated he “did not have a strategy” against ISIS. –Video Link–

♦ Two months later, in October of 2014, Josh Earnest gave a press conference where he stated:  “Our ISIS strategy is dependent on something that does not yet exist” –Video Link–

However, on September 30th 2016 the New York Times quietly released a leaked audio recording of Secretary John Kerry meeting with multiple factions associated within Syria.
When you listen to the audio recording (embed below) it becomes immediately obvious what was going on when both of those 2014 statements were made by the White House.  In addition, you discover why this jaw-dropping 2016 leak/story was buried by the U.S. media and how it connects to over 5 years of perplexing U.S. mid-east policy.
This evidence within this single story would/should forever remove any credibility toward the U.S. foreign policy under President Obama.  It also destroys the credibility of a large number of well known republicans.  What the recording reveals is substantive:

♦ First, only regime change, the removal of Bashir Assad, in Syria was the goal for President Obama. This is admitted and outlined by Secretary John Kerry.

♦ Secondly, in order to accomplish this primary goal, the White House was willing to watch the rise of ISIS by placing their bet that ISIS’s success would force Syrian President Bashir Assad to acquiesce toward Obama’s terms and step down.

♦ Thirdly, in order to facilitate the two objectives, Obama and Kerry intentionally gave arms to ISIS and even, arguably, attacked a Syrian government military convoy to stop a strategic attack upon the Islamic extremists killing 80 Syrian soldiers.

Pause for a moment and consider those three points carefully before continuing.  Because this audio (below), along with accompanying research now surfacing, not only exposes these three points as truth – but also provides the specific evidence toward them.
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…“and we will win, and you will win, and we will keep on winning, …and eventually you will say we can’t take all of this winning, …please Mr. Trump …and I will say, NO! …we will win, and we will keep on winning”..

~ Donald Trump

Major Award

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The death toll in the Reina nightclub massacre remains at 39 with an additional 69 people wounded or injured. One of the injured is now reported to be a U.S. national, but no Americans were killed. There is a manhunt underway for the primary gunman, however the Turkish authorities are seeking three suspects.
New CCTV video of the gunman entering the nightclub and shooting what appears to be a Kalashnikov rifle, or AK variant, has surfaced. Warning: the content is disturbing as it shows people at the entrance to the club being shot.

(Via ABC) A manhunt is underway in Turkey after a gunman went on a rampage in a crowded Istanbul nightclub during New Year’s Eve celebrations early Sunday morning, killed at least 39 people and injured at least 69 more, according to Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu.
The popular Reina club had attracted a diverse crowd of between 400 and 500 patrons from foreign countries as well as Turkey to ring in the new year before the attack by an apparently lone shooter at around 1:15 a.m, authorities said.
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Jonathan Karl fills in for George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s This Week and has a lengthy interview with incoming Trump Press Secretary Sean Spicer:

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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 Trump/Pence presidential victory.

Transition Website HERE

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

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 †