The School Shooting Blamed on Trump!

Is There “Stormy” Weather Ahead?

The 2017 Trump

Presidency - #27
March 8tthh, 2018 to March 16tthh, 2018

The Talks With North Korea Might Change

Things And Make Trump A Great
President If It’s Not A Trap!
A
Arrttiicclleess C
Coom
mppiilleedd FFrroom
mTThhee IInntteerrnneett iinn O
Orrddeerr B
Byy D
Daattee
B
Byy FFrreedd JJaam
meess
1
 PRINTED FOR RESEARCH USE ONLY

Not For Sale

____ of 10 Copies

[Articles and Pictures & Cartoons Found On The Net]

Disclaimer: We encourage all comments and feedback on our articles as we value free speech and
everyone's right to express themselves. We also will not tolerate abusive language, threats or other
behavior that could be considered unlawful. Anything to the contrary will be deleted.

©2018
WARNING CONCERNING COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS:
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code)
governs the making of photo copies or other reproductions of copyrighted material.
Under certain conditions specified by law, libraries and archives
are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction.
One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be
"used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research."
If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction
or purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

This printing typeset / compiled by Fred James

F.R.E.D. Productions
February 2018
FIRST EDITION
0987654321
2
CONTENTS

3
4
5
6
CAUGHT ON VIDEO=> Unhinged Leftist Heckles,
Hurls Russian Flag At Paul Manafort – Then Is
CONGRATULATED By Media (VIDEO)
By Jim Hoft
March 8, 2018, 5:02 Pm

Former Trump campaign manager

pleaded not guilty today to n 18-count
Mueller indictment that pertained to
business dealings from as far back as
2006 — about a decade before Donald
Trump decided to run for president.
On Thursday a far left protester with a
Russia sign heckled Paul Manafort
outside the federal courthouse.

Investigative journalist Lee Stranahan

was outside the courthouse when
Manafort was harassed and heckled.

Lee took a photo of the protest signs.

Cover-Up Caucus is linked to MoveOn.com

The unhinged protester hurled a

Russian flag at Paul Manafort and
7
 screamed, “Traitor!” as he left the The far left protester was hugged by
courthouse. laughing reporters.

Via Lee Stranahan at CitizenJournalismSchool.com. Via Lee Stranahan at CitizenJournalismSchool.com.

Then this happened.

They’re all on the same side.
.

8
 United Steelworkers' Leo Gerard: Members Won't Forget
What Trump Did, He Stopped Wealth Transfer
Posted By Ian Schwartz
Date March 8, 2018
In an interview with a combative Chuck Todd, Leo Gerard,
President of the United Steelworks, praised the effect of
President Trump's newly proclaimed tariffs would have on
the U.S. steel market. Gerard praised Trump for making it
clear he is going to "tackle trade deficits" which he called a
"wealth transfer" because they are "taking good jobs
away."
Gerard said Trump was able to "see the steelworker
agenda" and "he's going to have a major impact on our
members" with what he has done.
"It's going to make it very hard for our
members to ignore what he just did and
what makes me sad is we've been trying to
get Democrats to this for more than 30
years," Gerard told Todd.
Gerard said Trump is finally "going to help us get a level
playing field" after 20 years of promises from Democratic
and Republican presidents. While unions are notoriously
large supporters of Democrats, Gerard said Trump's
administration has recognized that if the next 20 years are
like the last 20 years then "we have a national security
problem." Gerard made it clear his union will work with
the administration to prioritize U.S.-made steel.
NBC's Chuck Todd argued that while there are some
countries where there is trade deficits but there is a
"national security component" because "we're exporting
values" like democracy to make a financial ally. Gerard
said he doesn't understand his point because these
countries aren't dumping unemployment on the economy
when they dump steel in the U.S.
9
Meet the Press Daily host Chuck Todd asked Gerard if he
thinks tariffs should just be targeted at China and he
answered, no,
"we should look at all the cheaters."
"Who else is cheating in steel as bad as
China?" Todd quizzed Gerard.
"China. South Korea. India. Vietnam.
Russia -- not only on steel but aluminum,"
Gerard told Todd.
"The president has made it really clear that
he's going to tackle the trade deficits,"
Gerard said Thursday on MSNBC. "It is
unacceptable that America would have an
$800 billion trade deficit but when you
subtract services, roughly $600 billion
annual trade deficit. That's a wealth
transfer and you can't argue that those
trade deficits are creating good jobs. Those
trade deficits are taking good jobs away."
"All we're asking for is a level playing field
and with the president has done is send a
signal that he's going to help us get a level
playing field," Gerard said. "And we gave
the Republicans and we gave the
Democrats -- we've given every
government since before Clinton hope that
they would do something. And [Secretary
of Commerce] Wilbur Ross and [Director of
Trade and Industrial Policy] Peter Navarro
and [United States Trade Representative]
Bob Lighthizer deserve to be complimented
for recognizing that if the next 20 years are
like the last 20 years, we really have a
national security problem. And we need to
make sure that our friends are with us and
not against us."
Chuck Todd attempted to turn things political and asked
Gerard if Trump will truly "win over some of your rank
and file." Gerard said Trump "was able to see the
steelworker agenda," something that he has been fighting
to get for over 30 years from the Democrats.
 "Let me say this," Gerard began. "That
Donald Trump was able to see the
steelworker agenda, what he did is what
we've been fighting for more than 30 years.
And I think what happened is that he's
going to have a major impact on our
.
10
members. It's going to make it very hard for
our members to ignore what he just did and
what makes me sad is we've been trying to
get Democrats to this for more than 30
years."
 Joe Scarborough Claims 'Most People
Have Hardly Covered' Stormy Daniels
By Bill D'Agostino
March 8, 2018 5:29 PM EST
In an astounding display of obliviousness, panelists on
MSNBC’s Morning Joe claimed multiple times on
Thursday that the Stormy Daniels story had not been given
much media attention.
Co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski stated on
separate occasions that the controversy had been spared
the spotlight, both on their show and across the news
media in general. As Mark Leibovich and Elisabeth
Bumiller of The New York Times were bemoaning the
disproportionate attention that such scandals tended to
receive, Brzezinski cut in to offer her take.
“I’d like to point out, we haven’t really
covered the Stormy Daniels story with
great fervor,” she insisted. “I mean, this – at
this point we kind of have to.”
To be fair, Brzezinski may have been referring specifically
to Morning Joe; but even then, her claim doesn’t pass a
sniff test. At the time of her assertion, 61 minutes of
coverage had elapsed on the show that morning, 31 of
which had centered around Daniels. The previous day,
Morning Joe had dedicated three segments to the story,
and every installment of the show that week had included
at least one such segment.
Scarborough’s characterization of the supposed dearth of
headlines was more brazen – and more incorrect. During
the show’s third hour, he asserted that this scandal was
11
“obviously a story that we’ve hardly
covered and most people have hardly
covered.”
While this claim falls flat with regard to his own show,
how does it apply to the reset of the media?
According to a NewsBusters analysis of CNN’s
Wednesday evening news coverage, the Stormy Daniels
story took up more than half of the network’s air time
(53.2 percent). In fact, the scandal received almost twice as
much attention as all other Trump-related topics combined
– including the Russia investigation and the ongoing
narrative of chaos in the White House. The situation was
no different in print media, with The New York Times
featuring four new articles about the scandal between
Monday and Wednesday alone, and The Washington Post
publishing an additional seven within the same period of
time.
Journalists appear to have given this story more than
enough attention without help from the hosts of Morning
Joe. Scarborough’s claim was made even more ludicrous
by his earlier comments from that same day. In a previous
segment, he’d purported to agree with Leibovich and
Bumiller’s lamentation that sex scandals generally
received too much attention:
Back in the 1990s, I was on the Government Reform and
Oversight panel. There were so many things that were
concerning about Donald Trump – I mean, about Bill
Clinton – the most concerning to me was the selling of
technology to the Chinese by one if Bill Clinton’s biggest
contributors to the DNC...
We talked about that, we talked about one lie after another
lie, nobody paid attention. And suddenly Monica
Lewinsky comes up, and suddenly everybody wants to talk
about Monica Lewinsky. And you’re still going, “Wait,
why does that draw the focus, but the exchange of missile
technology so one of Bill Clinton’s contributors could
make millions of dollars doesn’t matter?
Despite these complaints, Scarborough and his cohorts
continued to pick apart the scandal.
 Category Five Stormy: CNN Primetime Spends 149
Minutes Ogling Stormy Daniels Scandal
By Curtis Houck
March 8, 2018 4:49 PM EST

At the Jeffrey Zucker-led CNN, they can be trusted to go
all-out whenever they find a news story that they deem
worth obsessing over. Whether it was the missing
Malaysian plane or Sam Nunberg, CNN has proven itself
incapable of covering more than one topic at a time.
“I’m not sure this Stormy Daniels thing
is in way, shape, or form in the national
interest” and that it’s “a really troubling
and problematic thing” that Daniels is the
focus and not the Russia investigation.

On Wednesday, CNN’s primetime Sanders laughed at Cooper’s Daniels questions before

programming showed that with over 149
minutes pushing the Trump scandal
involving porn star Stormy Daniels and
another 86 minutes on other Trump-
related scandals.
informing him during the 8:00 p.m. Eastern hour:
“[T]here are enormous problems facing
our country....and what are we talking
about over and over again? Stormy
Daniels. Let me respectfully suggest
that I do not think Stormy Daniels is one
of the major issues facing our country.”

This left roughly 44 and a half minutes for a whopping 11

other topics, ranging from 14 minutes and 14 seconds on
trade to seven seconds for health care.

All told, here were the nine other topics:

Guns, Jeff Sessions in California, the

poisoning of a Vladimir Putin critic,
Dodd/Frank rollbacks, North Korea, a poll
ranking Trump as the worst President since
From 5:00 p.m. Eastern to 12:00 a.m. Eastern, World War II, Trump’s Wednesday dinner
plans, First Lady Melania Trump’s public
the four CNN programs devoted 84 events, and DACA.
percent of its airtime to Trump scandals.
The porn story drew 149 minutes of
CNN’s attention, 72 and a half minutes
on the Russia probe, nearly 10 minutes
on White House staff turmoil, and
almost four minutes on HUD.

CNN hosts Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper,

and Don Lemon couldn’t let this porn story slip away, but
even that was too much for Democratic Congressman Jim
Himes (Conn.) during The Situation Room and Bernie
Sanders during Anderson Cooper 360 as both denounced
CNN’s fetish for a porn star’s possible affair with
President Trump.
The Stormy Daniels lawsuit is certainly a big story; it’s
worth finding out what the President knew and when in
Himes told Blitzer that specific regards to the settlement and hush money
organized by Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen.

12
At the same time, CNN has embarrassed itself by
obsessing over a porn star and giddily seeking details of
possible sexual encounters between the President and
Daniels (whose real name is Stephanie Clifford). This
infatuation has come at the expense of viewers learning
more about the President’s trade policies, new gun laws
passed in Florida, and so many other worthwhile topics
that aren’t, say, X-rated in nature.
.
13
While CNN is falsely accusing conservative sites of not
covering (or insufficiently covering) the porn star with
salacious b-roll footage, they have yet to publish an
article on the cozy relationship between congressional
Democrats and the anti-gay and anti-Semitic Louis
Farrakhan.
 MRC President Brent Bozell: Behar Apology
A ‘First Step,’ But Must Be Done Publicly
By NB Staff
March 8, 2018 5:17 PM EST
Here’s Bozell:
RESTON, VA -- Media Research Center (MRC) Founder
and President Brent Bozell released the following
statement on Thursday in the wake of the news that View
co-host Joy Behar had privately apologized to Vice
President Mike Pence for her hateful, anti-Christian
remarks from February 13. Bozell described the act as a
“good first step,” but called for a public apology. He
confirmed that the MRC’s campaign to hold ABC’s
advertisers accountable will continue.
14
It is a good first step that Joy Behar
privately apologized to Vice President
Pence, but it is not nearly enough. Behar
and ABC need to publicly apologize for the
bigoted slurs on ‘The View.’ The bigoted
statements made about the Vice
President's Christian faith offended
hundreds of millions of Christians across
the country, the largest faith group in the
United States. Their apology should
therefore be as public as their insult. When
they do that, this whole matter will be put to
rest. Until they do, we will not let up our
campaign to let the world -- including their
advertisers -- know of their anti-Christian
bigotry.
 Adam Schiff Hits Panic Button As Demands For Second
Special Counsel To Investigate Obama’s
FISA Abuse Escalates
By Cristina Laila
March 8, 2018, 5:30 Pm
Leaker Adam Schiff hit the panic button
on Thursday as lawmakers put pressure
on AG Sessions to appoint a second
special counsel to investigate Obama’s
FISA abuses.
On Thursday, desperate leaker Adam Schiff once again
floated the idea Trump obstructed justice by talking to his
lawyer about firing Mueller.
On Tuesday, House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-
VA) and Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) demanded the
appointment of a second special counsel to investigate
FISA abuses
Last week, GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin sent a letter to AWOL
Attorney General Jeff Sessions urging him to appoint a
Special Counsel to investigate FISA abuses and how/why
Hillary’s probe ended and Trump’s Russia probe began.
At the time of this publication, thirteen GOP Reps. have
signed Zeldin’s letter.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions told Fox News’ Shannon
Bream Wednesday evening in an exclusive interview he
has appointed someone outside of Washington to
investigate allegations the House Judiciary Committee sent
the DOJ.
The much-anticipated report from IG Michael Horowitz
will also be released within the next few weeks.
The noose is tightening.
15
As previously reported, dirty cop Robert Mueller is now
investigating if founder of the security firm Blackwater,
Erik Prince misled the House Intel Panel over a meeting he
had in the Seychelles islands in January of 2017.
Erik Prince is being accused of trying to set up a secret
back channel with Russia during this meeting in the
Seychelles.
In reference to that new report about Erik Prince,
Schiff tweeted:
We’ll need to interview George Nader &
receive further testimony and documents
from Erik Prince. Prince’s testimony is
inconsistent with reports that the
Seychelles meeting was part of an effort to
set up a backchannel to Russia. It’d be
negligent of us not to find out the truth.
In a desperate move, Schiff then said President Trump may
have obstructed by having a conversation with his lawyer
about firing Mueller. Mueller was never fired, but
according the mentally deranged liberals such as Adam
Schiff, that may be considered obstruction.
Schiff tweeted: These two reports should be viewed
together:
—Trump instructed McGahn to falsely
claim President never ordered Mueller fired
—Trump helped craft the false statement
about the meeting in Trump Tower
If true, both actions shed light on the issue of obstruction Adam Schiff has been working overtime trying to hide
& corrupt intent. evidence from the Intel Committee and previously hit
Chairman Nunes with a bogus ethics complaint in an effort
to obstruct.

Schiff is panicking. He knows it’s only a matter of time

until a serious investigation into Obama’s FISA abuse is
launched.

16
 BREAKING: North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Extends
Invitation To Meet President Trump
By Joshua Caplan
March 8, 2018, 5:36 Pm

A day after North Korea signaled it is

willing to discuss giving up its nuclear
weapons, the South China Morning
Post reports that South Korea officials
will deliver a “very unconventional”
message from Kim Jong Un to the
Trump administration.
Chung will deliver “conditions from the North Korean side
to start some bilateral dialogue with the United States,” the
source said.
Now this…

SCMP reports:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may

propose sending his sister, Kim Yo-jong, to
the US as part of efforts to launch direct
talks between Washington and Pyongyang,
according to a South Korean diplomatic
source.
That may be one of a number of possible
messages South Korean envoy Chung Eui-
yong will deliver to US National Security
Adviser H.R. McMaster in Washington this
week, the source told the South China
Morning Post, speaking on the condition of
anonymity.
“Kim Jong-un has a certain message,
which is not publicised to be delivered
directly to the Trump administration. It’s
something very unconventional and
something very unusual. I don’t know if the
US will disclose this message to the
public.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has invited President
Trump for a meeting, a U.S. official tells Fox News.
FOX News reports:
South Korea is expected to announce
Thursday night that North Korean dictator
Kim Jong Un is extending an invitation to
meet with President Trump, a senior U.S.
official revealed to Fox News.
South Korean National Security Adviser
Chung Eui-yong will also announce an
upcoming meeting between South Korean
president Moon Jae-in and the North
Korean leader, Fox News has learned.
There currently are no plans to change U.S.-South Korea
military exercises nor is their a commitment by Kim Jong
Un to stop his nuclear testing.

17
On Thursday, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi called on
the U.S. and North Korea to hold diplomatic talks as soon
as possible.
“History tells us that whenever tensions
over the Korean peninsula subside, the
situation will be clouded by various
interferences,” Wang said in Beijing.
.
18
“We have now again come to a crucial
moment for testing whether the parties
involved are truly sincere in resolving the
Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.”
“The United States and North Korea must
engage in dialogue as soon as
possible,” Wang added.
 Nothing To See Here: MSNBC Buries Poll Favoring GOP,
Trumpets Early Voting Numbers
By Bill D'Agostino
March 8, 2018 6:03 PM EST
For the week of March 5, MSNBC’s coverage put the
liberal media’s biased gatekeeping practices on full
display. After feverishly reporting on favorable
Democratic early voting numbers during the first half of
the week, many of the same shows fell silent on Thursday
concerning a new Axios poll which suggested Republicans
might be better situated for the upcoming midterms than
many had previously expected.
In a Thursday piece titled, “Exclusive polls: Big warning
signs for Senate Democrats,” Axios reporter Alexi
McCammond determined that if the midterms had been
held that day, five Democratic Senators would have lost
their seats. Additionally, the poll found that three of the ten
Senate Democrats featured in the article had approval
ratings under 50 percent. This data poses an issue for the
narrative of the coming “blue wave” that many in the
media have predicted will flood the 2018 midterm
elections.
But as of 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, MSNBC had given the
poll no on-air recognition, which is likely no surprise to
readers here. In all fairness, although polls do have some
predictive power, they do not guarantee the outcome of an
election, particularly for one that is still ten months away.
However, the same could be said of early voting statistics,
which nonetheless had percolated across the network two
days earlier. Those figures, which favored Democrats,
received considerable coverage by MSNBC on Tuesday.
.
19
Eight out of the ten shows airing between 6:00 a.m. and
6:00 p.m. Eastern cited early voting numbers, while hosts
and their guests claimed the trend signaled an impending
“blue wave”:
"Early voting numbers have more than
doubled in at least 15 counties for
Democrats."
Amber Phillips, MSNBC Live With Hallie Jackson
"In the past two weeks, Democratic
voters have shown up in force. Their
early voting was up 105% compared to
2014. Early voting among Republicans
increased just 15%."
Ali Velshi, MSNBC Live With Velshi And Ruhle
"There's some enthusiasm and
excitement on the Democratic side, and
an increase in early ballots."
Vaughn Hillyard, MSNBC Live With Craig Melvin
"Guys, people are voting again! In
Texas, nearly 50,000 more Democrats
than Republicans voted early."
Katy Tur, MSNBC Live With Katy Tur
"Early voting among Democrats has
been extraordinarily high."
Chuck Todd, MTP Daily
In skewing their coverage, MSNBC attempted to make hay
out of their role as gatekeepers. Liberal news networks
have made a habit of bolstering their pet narratives by
controlling what information their viewers are exposed to;
this discrepancy is just the most recent example in an
ongoing trend that will no doubt continue for the
forseeable future.
 FLASHBACK: Hillary Clinton Says President Trump’s
“Cavalier Threats” To North Korea Are
“Dangerous, Short-Sighted”
By Jim Hoft
March 8, 2018, 6:08 Pm

Bill Clinton signed a nuclear deal with
North Korea and gave them $4 billion to
sign the deal.
The North Koreans lied and broke the
agreement almost immediately.
But that didn’t stop Hillary Clinton from
spouting off in October 2017 against the
American president during her trip to
South Korea.
Hillary told South Korean reporters that
President Trump’s “cavalier threats” to
North Korea are ‘dangerous, short-
sighted’.

Hillary was reading the words from a

Teleprompter.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright shared a toast with the North

Korean dictator after the nuclear agreement was signed in 1994.

The Clinton administration gave them $4

billion in bribe money to sign the deal.
***********

On Thursday the Trump White House

announced North Korean leader Kim
Jong Un invited Donald Trump to sit
down for meetings.

20
21
 SIREN=> President Trump Agrees To Historic Meeting
With North Korea’s Kim Jong Un (VIDEO)
By Joshua Caplan
March 8, 2018, 6:22 Pm

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has invited President

Trump for a meeting, a U.S. official tells Fox News.

FOX News reports:

South Korea is expected to announce

Thursday night that North Korean dictator
Kim Jong Un is extending an invitation to
meet with President Trump, a senior U.S.
official revealed to Fox News.
South Korean National Security Adviser
Chung Eui-yong will also announce an
upcoming meeting between South Korean
president Moon Jae-in and the North
Korean leader, Fox News has learned.
There currently are no plans to change U.S.-South Korea
military exercises nor is their a commitment by Kim Jong
Un to stop his nuclear testing.
President Trump has agreed to meet with North Korea’s
Kim Jong Un by the month of May, says South Korean
National Security Adviser Chung Eui-Yon.
.
On Thursday, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi called on
the U.S. and North Korea to hold diplomatic talks as soon
as possible.
“History tells us that whenever tensions
over the Korean peninsula subside, the
situation will be clouded by various
interferences,” Wang said in Beijing.
“We have now again come to a crucial
moment for testing whether the parties
involved are truly sincere in resolving the
Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.”
“The United States and North Korea must
engage in dialogue as soon as
possible,” Wang added.

22
AG’s Office Confirms Sessions Appointed Separate “Senior
Federal Prosecutor” Outside Of DC
To Investigate FISA Abuse
By Cristina Laila
March 8, 2018, 6:37 Pm

At the time of this publication, thirteen GOP Reps. have

Attorney General Jeff Session sat down with signed Zeldin’s letter.
Fox News’ Shannon Bream for an exclusive
interview Wednesday evening. Wednesday evening AG Sessions confirmed to Shannon
Bream he has appointed someone outside of Washington
When asked about a second special counsel to investigate to investigate.
FISA abuse, AG Sessions said he appointed someone
outside of DC to investigate the allegations brought forth Video:
by the House Judiciary Committee.

This statement left a lot of people confused. Who was

Sessions talking about? Is he talking about the Inspector
General or a special counsel?

On Thursday, Shannon Bream confirmed with the

Attorney General’s office that Sessions was not talking
about the Inspector General, but a separate “senior federal
prosecutor.”

On Tuesday, House Judiciary Chairman Bob

Goodlatte (R-VA) and Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-
SC) demanded the appointment of a second
special counsel to investigate FISA abuses

Last week, GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin sent a

letter to AWOL Attorney General Jeff
Sessions urging him to appoint a Special
Counsel to investigate FISA abuses and
how/why Hillary’s probe ended and Trump’s
Russia probe began.
The name of the senior federal prosecutor is unknown at
this time.
The Gateway Pundit will update as more information
becomes available.

23
 Flashback: North Korea Sentences
President Donald Trump To Death Over Fat Joke
By Jim Hoft
March 8, 2018, 6:43 Pm
In November President Trump responded to North Korea’s
threats in an epic tweet to the third generation Marxist
tyrant.
The tweet that sent the liberal media into a
death spiral.
And the North Korean regime later
sentenced President Trump to death for
pointing out they have a short, fat dictator.
24
The New Zealand Herald reported:
North Korea’s state media has said U.S.
President Donald Trump deserves the death
penalty for insulting dictator Kim Jong-Un in a
tweet.
Last week, the President took to his preferred social media
channel to air his grievance that Kim had called him “old”,
adding that he had refrained from calling the North Korean
dictator “short and fat”.
In response, North Korean Workers’ Party newspaper
Rodong Sinmun wrote that Trump had now been
“sentenced to death by the Korean people”, the MailOnline
reported.
“The worst crime for which he can never be
pardoned is that he dared [to] malignantly hurt
the dignity of the supreme leadership,” the
editorial said.
***********
On Thursday the Trump White House
announced North Korean leader Kim Jong
Un invited Donald Trump to sit down for
meetings.
 “That Is The Reality Here”: CNN Admits Trump Solving
North Korea Issue Would Make Him
‘Great President’ (VIDEO)
By Joshua Caplan
March 8, 2018, 7:38 pm

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has
invited President Trump for a meeting, a
U.S. official tells Fox News.
FOX News reports:
Shortly after the announcement, CNN’s Erin Burnett
admitted that Trump would go down in history as a “great
President” if the talks lead to peace between North Korea
and the world.

South Korea is expected to announce Thursday

night that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is
extending an invitation to meet with President
Trump, a senior U.S. official revealed to Fox
News.

South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong

will also announce an upcoming meeting between South
Korean president Moon Jae-in and the North Korean
leader, Fox News has learned.

There currently are no plans to change U.S.-South Korea

military exercises nor is their a commitment by Kim Jong
Un to stop his nuclear testing.

President Trump has agreed to meet with North Korea’s

Kim Jong Un by the month of May, says South Korean
National Security Adviser Chung Eui-Yon.
Burnett: “Just an extraordinary thing and of course
opening the door to the big question. If President Trump
can truly solve this problem, that would be going down as
a great President and there’s no way around that. That is
the reality here.

Infowars editor-at-large Paul Joseph Watson noted “Even

CNN is admitting Trump solving the North Korean crisis
could make his presidency great. The far-left and the
“resistance” must be in tears tonight.”

25
 Attorney Victoria Toensing Blasts Lying Dems For
Claiming Uranium One Informant Provided ‘No Evidence’
Of Clinton ‘Quid Pro Quo’
By Cristina Laila
March 8, 2018, 7:51 Pm

He told investigators that he “looked on Google to see

On February 7th, William D. Campbell, the
FBI informant on the Uranium One scandal
broke his silence in an explosive testimony.
Campbell gave over 4 hours of testimony
and answered every question from three
Congressional committees; the Senate
Judiciary, House Oversight and House
Intelligence committees, according to
attorney Victoria Toensing.
On Thursday, the lying Democrats claimed Campbell gave
no evidence of Clinton quid pro quo.
what CFIUS was about” after the deal was approved in
2010.
Attorney Victoria Toensing unleashed on the lying Dems
and fake news media in response to the report from The
Hill.
Toensing tweeted: #FakeNews. Reporter NEVER called
me. Campbell said Russians bragged about influence with
#Clintons. Said Russians paid APCO $3M to do free work
for corrupt #ClintonFoundation. WJC got $500,000 for
speech from Russians backing #UraniumOne stock.
Guilty. #maga

Attorney Victoria Toensing unleashed on the Democrats.

A confidential informant billed by House Republicans as

having “explosive” information about the 2010 Uranium
One deal approved during Hillary Clinton’s tenure as
secretary of State provided “no evidence of a quid pro
quo” involving Clinton, Democratic staff said in a
summary of the informant’s closed-door testimony
obtained by The Hill on Thursday.

[…]

During the interview, Democratic staff say, Campbell was
unable to point to anything to support his claims that the
review process had been improperly influenced
“other than the fact that the [Committee on
Foreign Investment in the United States
(CFIUS)] allowed the deal to go through.”
Toensing then said: #UraniumOne witness also told
Congress Russians were confident Deal would be
approved because of their influence with corrupt
#Clintons. Russians mocked #Obama for being weak and
naive about what they were doing. Dem Memo omits and
twists facts. #maga

“When asked whether he had any evidence that

Russian influence on the Clintons affected
CFIUS’s review of the Uranium One deal, Mr.
Campbell stated that ‘that was outside my pay
grade’ and that the topic was ‘not my bailiwick,’
” according to Democrats.

26
All Russian roads lead to Hillary Clinton. The Obama administration was so desperate to keep the lid
on the Uranium One scandal that they threatened William
The Uranium One scandal is one of the biggest scandals to Campbell in order to silence him.
ever rock Washington D.C.
We need a special counsel to investigate the Uranium One
Hillary Clinton and the Democrats constantly shriek about scandal.
how dangerous Putin is, yet they can’t explain the rationale
behind Hillary’s State Department approving the sale of
20% of our Uranium reserves to the Russians.

27
 ABC, NBC Neglect Support
For Tariffs From Some Senate Democrats
By Nicholas Fondacaro
March 8, 2018 8:58 PM EST
As unpopular and questionable as President Trump’s new
tariffs on steel and aluminum were, they did have some
appeal to a seemingly unlikely group: Senate Democrats
(along with a few House members). With the President
signing the necessary documents in front of the cameras on
Thursday flanked by American steelworkers, Senators let
the press know they supported the move. But if you were
only watching ABC’s World News Tonight and NBC
Nightly News, you would think there was only opposition.
Even though they only gave one example, CBS Evening
News was the lone network program to even mention the
support for tariffs from some Democrats.
“Some of the strongest support for the plan
came from rust belt Democrats like Joe
Manchin of West Virginia,” reported national
correspondent Chip Reid.
“I'm encouraged. I really am. And I think it gives
us a chance, basically, to reboot, get jobs back
to West Virginia, back to America. I'm excited
about that,” explained Democratic Senator Joe
Manchin (W.V.) in the CBS clip.
In addition to Senator Manchin, a few Democrats such as
Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, Pennsylvania Senator Bob
Casey, and Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly put out press
releases with glowing support for the tariffs.
“When foreign countries cheat on trade,
Pennsylvania workers lose their jobs. I
commend the Administration for taking action,”
Casey said. He even asked for Trump to “refine
this order” by going further and ratcheting it up
by “consider[ing] additional action on
downstream products, like transformer cores.”
28
The Senator also urged Trump to “go after
China and other trade cheaters.”
Meanwhile, Brown sounded like he was reading from a
Trump stump speech:
For far too long, Chinese cheating has shuttered steel
plants across our state and put Ohioans out of work.
Today’s action finally sends a clear message to our trading
partners that we aren’t going to allow them to cheat
Americans out of their jobs and infect global markets. By
standing up for steel jobs today, we’re also protecting
American jobs up the supply chain from becoming the next
victims of Chinese cheating.
Donnelly stated that he was “pleased that President Trump
is taking action,” and planned to “carefully review the
details of his proclamations.” He wanted the tariffs
because, “trade is critical for Indiana’s economy—from
our manufacturers to our farmers—but it must be fair. For
too long Hoosier workers have fought unfair competition
from countries like China.”
Where these Democrats were on board with the President,
ABC and NBC focused almost solely on those who
disagreed.
“The President calls the tariffs a matter of
national security, but sources familiar with
the deliberations tell ABC News that national
security adviser, H.R. McMaster and defense
secretary James Mattis are both opposed,”
ABC’s Jon Karl said. “In Congress,
Republicans overwhelmingly oppose the
tariffs.”
While the full ramifications of the tariffs were yet to be (…)
determined, the liberal media were more in favor of just
piling on Trump by just showing the opposition. CHIP REID: Some of the strongest support for the plan came
from rust belt Democrats like Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
Transcript below:
JOE MANCHIN: I'm encouraged. I really am. And I think it gives
CBS Evening News us a chance, basically, to reboot, get jobs back to West Virginia,
March 8, 2018 back to America. I'm excited about that.
6:36:04 PM Eastern [15 seconds]
(…)
.

29
 Judicial Watch Chief Investigator Chris Farrell:
Bruce Ohr Funneled Steele Dossier Into
The Justice Department (VIDEO)
By Joshua Caplan
March 8, 2018, 9:52 Pm
Conservative watchdog Judicial Watch is
suing the Justice Department for records
connecting Bruce and Nellie Ohr to Fusion
GPS and the Steele dossier.
Fox News reports:
The suit was filed Monday, following the Justice
Department’s failure to respond to Judicial
Watch’s December 2017 Freedom of
Information Act requests about the couple and
their connection to research firm Fusion GPS.
Judicial Watch’s first lawsuit, related to their FOIA
request from Dec. 7, 2017, seeks records of contact or
communications between Ohr, Steele, and Fusion GPS co-
founder Glenn Simpson, along with any other Fusion GPS
employees; calendar entries, and travel requests for Ohr.
The second suit is connected to the group’s Dec. 12, 2017
FOIA request, seeking emails, text messages and chats
between Justice Department officials in the Attorney
General’s office and Nellie Ohr.
Bruce Ohr, who has since been demoted from a top post at
the Justice Department, was a close contact for British ex-
intelligence agent Christopher Steele, who compiled the
dossier on behalf of Fusion GPS.
On Thursday, Judicial Watch’s chief investigator Chris
Farrell explained to Bill O’Reilly why the watchdog sued,
arguing it’s important to learn more about how Bruce Ohr
funneled the Steele dossier into the Justice Department.
FARRELL:
30
“Ohr was the conduit for all information from
Fusion GPS and Christopher Steele into the
Justice Department. At the time he was the
number four ranking guy. His wife Nellie was
working at Fusion GPS. He had met Steele
personally. They knew each other, they were in
contact. So, this guy acts as the funnel to this
whole phony dossier, all the information
pertaining to it to get into the Justice
Department. Meanwhile, he’s part of the circle
of the Andy McCabe-Strzok-Page group. So,
they are synchronizing their efforts, so we want
to know what was communicated and who the
interaction was with.”
Recently, experts have begun to ask if Fusion GPS used
Mrs. Ohr to influence top government officials. If the
answer is “no,” then why did the recently demoted Ohr
hide his wife’s Fusion GPS compensation from ethics
officials?
“Payments from Fusion GPS to Bruce Ohr’s family,
funded by the DNC, have the appearance of a ‘government
for hire,’ i.e. bribing a DOJ official to push the
case,” says the Daily Caller’s Luke Rosiak.
Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton said more attention
should be paid to Bruce Ohr in relation to the dossier
drama.
“The fact that the Senate Intelligence
Committee is bringing in Bruce Ohr, this Justice
Department official involved with Fusion GPS
and the Clinton dossier, shows you where the
collusion scandal is,” Fitton told OANN‘s John
Hines last December.
“It’s with the Clinton campaign, the DNC, the
FBI, the Justice Department,” said Fitton before
asking, “how did they use this dossier?”
“How did they use this dossier? Was Mueller
using this dossier? Was it used to justify to a
court to get warrants to spy on Trump and his
team?”
“That’s the collusion,” added Fitton. Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson
recently admitted in a court document that his firm hired
“Bruce Ohr is the first indication that we have Nellie Ohr, the wife of Bruce Ohr to investigate then-
that the Justice Department was involved in this candidate Donald Trump.
dossier that’s been so controversial.”
.

31
 Composite: Liberal Media Hacks Blast Trump For His
Tough Talk On Fat And Short Rocket Man (VIDEO)
By Jim Hoft
March 8, 2018, 10:16 Pm

But now the North Korean tyrant wants to meet with

It wasn’t that long ago that the liberal media President Donald Trump.
hacks were wetting their pants after Trump
poked fun of the fat and short North Korean The liberal media was wrong again.
tyrant.

In November President Trump responded to North

Korea’s threats in an epic tweet to the third generation
Marxist tyrant.

On Thursday night Sean Hannity put

together a collection of liberal media hacks
The tweet that sent the liberal media into a berating President Trump over his tough
death spiral. talk on North Korea.

And the North Korean regime later This was great!

sentenced President Trump to death for
pointing out they have a short, fat dictator.
Via Hannity:

32
 CNN’s Oliver Darcy Tried Calling
Out The Daily Caller — It Didn’t Go So Well
Joe Simonson - Media Reporter
10:59 PM 03/08/2018

Except such an accusation isn’t supported by reality.

As The Daily Caller Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Ingersoll

pointed out, the story “STORMY SUES TRUMP” was
prominently featured on the site’s homepage for over 12
hours.

LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 27: Adult film actress/director

Stormy Daniels attends the 2018 Adult Video News Awards at the
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on January 27, 2018 in Las Vegas,
Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Oliver Darcy, the conservative wunderkind turned Jeff

Zucker lapdog, has decided in the last year or so that his
chief mission in life is to hold conservative-friendly media
organizations accountable. Problem is, he’s not very good
at it — as evidenced by his latest attacks on The Daily
Caller’s reporting over the Stormy Daniels controversy.

As the drama continues to erupt between the former porn

star and President Donald Trump, Darcy thought
the real story was about how much coverage outlets like
Fox News and The Daily Caller were giving it.

His Thursday piece

“Pro-Trump media sweeps Stormy Daniels

story under rug,” accused TheDC of a
“blackout.” His evidence? The supposed
fact that there merely “was one story on the
No reasonable person who actually bothered to check the
homepage of The Daily Caller, a
site could come to the conclusion that it was “buried”
conservative news website founded by Fox
under other articles.
News host Tucker Carlson, but it was
buried under a slew of other stories.”

33
Moreover, even if Darcy’s assertion was true, it doesn’t
appear that the site’s readers had any difficulty accessing
the coverage. David Brooks, The Daily Caller News
Foundation’s deputy editor, showed that a separate
Daniels story was among the current the most popular
articles on the site.
34
If readers want to find more stories on the scandal, they
can just click one of the tags at the bottom of the article
and read one of the dozen-plus stories on the alleged affair
— hardly the work of some evil right-wing organization
dedicated to misleading its audience.
Such dishonesty wasn’t even the most pathetic part of
CNN’s so-called reporting. Darcy, with the help of ex-
Politico journalist Hadas Gold, claimed TheDC didn’t
“immediately respond to requests for comment.”
Of course, you wouldn’t find that now. After Ingersoll
pointed out that he did in fact respond to their request —
and had even spoken to Gold minutes before their article
went up — CNN removed the line, without any sort of edit
note or official update.
I asked both Darcy and his editor via Twitter if such a
practice was common (it’s not). They didn’t respond.
Translation:
CNN thinks their readers are too stupid to
notice substantial corrections — or perhaps
they’re not worthy of them.
Scrutiny of the press is a necessary and worthy job. I’m
confident there are actual real journalistic scandals or
episodes of misconduct that CNN could be directing its
vast resources into investigating. Perhaps they could start
internally.
 CNN, MSNBC Journalists Give Trump
Glowing Praise FOR North Korea Move AS
Obama Flacks Lose It
By Curtis Houck
March 8, 2018 11:37 Pm Est
It was quite a sight on the Thursday editions of CNN’s
Erin Burnett OutFront and MSNBC’s Hardball as liberal
journalists heaped effusive praise on President Trump for
his “remarkable,” “significant,” and “stunning”
willingness to meet soon with North Korean dictator Kim
Jong-un. All the while, each network’s former Obama
administration officials experienced weapons-grade
meltdowns.
Since this site is dedicated to the media, let’s go first to the
journalists. CNN’s Erin Burnett led the way, seemingly
flabbergasted after the announcement as she told viewers
“[t]hat was a stunning statement” by the South Korean
national security adviser.
“That is incredible thing and I don't
think there’s anybody watching this or
any expert on Korea who expected that
response at this time, pretty stunning,”
she added.
Before a commercial break at 7:35 p.m Eastern, Burnett
offered this jaw-dropping quote of praise for the
President:
“Just an extraordinary evening and, of
course, opening the door to the big
question: If President Trump can truly
solve this problem, that would be going
down as a great President and there’s
no way around that. That is the reality
here.”
35
Global affairs correspondent Elise Labott
suggested that it was “good for [Trump]
for lowering the temperature” with North
Korea as evidence that his “maximum
pressure campaign” worked.
Later, she went further:
I think you have to trust but verify and the
U.S. is not going to just give away
everything. President Trump does have
good advisers around him. I think it is a
different moment. I think it's significant. I
think President Trump, as we have said,
does deserve credit for this maximum
pressure campaign working, but I think you
need to be skeptical about what the North
Koreans are going to do.
Over on MSNBC, nuclear arms expert Joe Cirincione told
Chris Matthews that
“[t]his is actually moment that very few
of us thought we would ever see”
and one in which the United States has conceded nothing
besides a willingness to speak with the North Koreans.
Chief White House correspondent Hallie Jackson spoke
from just outside the West Wing driveway to tell Matthews
that, from her perspective,
“it is certainly a remarkable evening
here at the White House...that’s for
sure.”
“[T]his a big deal. This is something that
President Trump, he has had very harsh
words for — for North Korea and for
Kim Jong-un...But since they've kind of
had this cooling off period with the
Olympics, he has expressed that he is
willing to kind of work with the North
Koreans,” Reuters correspondent Ayehsa
Rascoe later exclaimed.
Meanwhile, the former Obama officials were beside
themselves. While not a direct Obama official, CNN’s Phil
Mudd couldn’t help but take a swing at Trump, telling
Burnett to “count me as a skeptic” and downplayed the
North Korean concessions.
Former Kerry State Department spokesman John Kirby
sought to place almost all the credit on the South Koreans,
emphasizing that
“it's not about President Trump, it's
about Moon Jae-in.”
Speaking of Kim Jong-un, Kirby tamped down
expectations since Kim
“has more credibility at negotiating
table now because he has more capable
militarily and he’s not going to give that
up anytime soon and so he knows he’s
going into this with a bit of an upper
hand.”
Obama-era National Security Council member Sam
Vinograd suffered the biggest meltdown, whining that they
“would spend months preparing for the
most basic meetings that President
Obama used to have.” Therefore, she
claimed “[t]here is no way that President
Trump can be ready by May to have a
high-stakes negotiation on
denuclearization on the Korean
Peninsula.”
“It’s just impossible....You can't wing it.
Kim Jong-un is going to be fully
prepared. I think that he's playing to the
President's ego and the President’s
weaknesses by flattering him...If President
Trump does meet with Kim Jong-un,
he's going to be going in unprepared
and he’s going to be giving to Kim what
Kim wants, which is positive photo op,”
she added.
36
Going quickly to MSNBC, former Assistant Secretary of
Defense Evelyn Farkas bitterly warned that no one should
“get overly enthusiastic” even though many “are excited
now.”
“But we have to maintain the pressure.
Because remember what got them to the
table, the sanctions and unfortunately
probably some of the bluster coming
out of the White House,” Farkas
lamented, admitting that the President’s
tough talk and sanctions may have worked.
Editor's Note: This piece has been updated
to reflect the White House's denial that the
President had received a letter from Kim
Jong-un but instead a verbal message
dictated to him by South Korean officials.
This stands in contrast to what CNN
(among others) had previously reported.
To see the relevant transcript from CNN’s Erin Burnett
OutFront on March 8, click “expand.”
CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront
March 8, 2018
7:13 p.m. Eastern
ERIN BURNETT: Alright. That was a stunning statement. Let's
just start with the most stunning part. That was the national
security adviser for South Korea, Chung Eui-yong, and he is
saying in his meeting with President Trump — President Trump
expressed his eagerness to — I'm sorry Kim Jong-un expressed
his eagerness to meet President Trump as soon possible. And
President Trump responding, saying yes — not holding it out
there whether he will. He said yes. He will meet Kim Jong-un and
he will do so by May. That is incredible thing and I don't think
there’s anybody watching this or any expert on Korea who
expected that response at this time, pretty stunning. Also, you
heard from the National Security Advisor of South Korea — a lot
of flattery from South Korea to the President of the United States
and saying that Kim Jong-un reiterating his position that North
Korea would refrain from anymore nuclear tests. Okay, There is
so much to talk about here.
(....)
ELISE LABOTT: Look, President Trump wants to be the leader already have the capability. If I'm the North Korean, I can deliver
that no — he wants to do what no other leader has done, right? missiles and I can deliver nukes, why not cement the progress
He wants to meet with Kim Jong-un, get a commitment from the I’ve made and have the Americans say, that’s okay, let's talk. If
North Korean leader, and you know good for him for lowering the I'm the President, I got two questions. What's on the table? And it
temperature. This maximum pressure campaign as you saw, the doesn’t sound to me like denuke. It sounds to me like freeze. And
South Korean envoy, flattering President Trump, speaking to his, number two, what happens if you fail? I didn't hear either one of
you know, ego a little bit — well, some would say ego, and those.
saying, look, your leadership has brought you to this point. But,
you know, these talks that the U.S. would have with North Korea, (....)
if President Trump were to sit down with Kim Jong-un tomorrow,
what would he say? I mean, there is no — and you talk to U.S.
BURNETT: Is this actually a great endorsement and a victory for
officials, there is no strategy for what they want from North
President Trump?
Korea, how would this go, these kind of important summits, while
it would be historic, you would want to think the ground work was
laid and, you know, he's going to put advisers in a very tough
position right now to prepare the ground for these talks. It's
historic and it's very significant. Might be a little premature.

(....)

SPIDER MARKS: Well, he said he was going to meet him by

May which, I mean, I'm blown away here, I’ve got to tell you. I
just took my tie and put it back down in front because I was —
frankly, totally unprecedented. But I think what is not
unprecedented should be our skepticism about how this thing is
going to evolve. The President indicated he’ll meet by May, but
there are, as Elise pointed out, there will be preconditions. This
has to be completely set up so the President doesn't walk in and
is totally ambushed and walking away from what ends up being a
stillborn outcome. There has to be preconditions. There have to
be inspections if there is going to be a freeze on nuclearization in
terms of missiles and test. That has to be inspected. We have to
be able to verify this is moving in the right direction. So there is a
lot of green on that table. That pool table between good
intentions and execution.
BURNETT: But Phil, to this point where, you know, General
Marks talks about being blown away, I mean to say you could do
it and do it by May, I mean, were you also stunned by that?
MARKS: Totally stunned. Absolutely. I was not expecting this
announcement to include this.
JOHN KIRBY: Yeah, let me tell you something else about the
dynamics on the timing her, Erin, it's not about President Trump,
it's about Moon Jae-in. Kim Jong-un knows very well that he may
never — not another shot like this with as such a liberal President
of South Korea. Somebody who is almost tripping over himself to
engage and to make something happen and the other thing we
have to think of is it’s not just Kim Jong-un here being cowed by
Donald Trump. Yes, I think Will’s right that the sanctions are
biting, certainly he's a little bit concerned by the military
uncertainty. Sanctions. But so too are our allies in south Korea.
President Trump has rattled them. So when we talk about what's
bringing this about and timing behind it. It, almost as much to do
with the tensions and feelings and fear south of the DMZ as it
does with the uncertainty to the North.
BURNETT: But is all of that, Admiral, about Donald Trump?

KIRBY: Yeah, I do think —

BRUNETT: Yeah, sorry, Phil.

BURNETT: He's the guy who’s created — I mean, is this a

PHIL MUDD: Yeah, but, let's put a couple of things on the table
here. Because count me as a skeptic as well. Look, I don't have
any problem with the White House trying to lower the
temperature with the North Koreans. This is better than the
President tweeting that the head of North Korea is little rocket
man. We don't need that. But Bush failed. Clinton failed. Obama
failed and let's look at the language that was just used a couple
of moments ago at the beginning of this program, Erin. They
didn't say they would reverse. That is the South Koreans. They
didn't say they had a promise from the North Koreans they would
reverse. They said they would refrain from future testing. What
did we see in the past year or two? The development of ballistic
missile and missile testing, which suggests to me that they
37
different moment on every single level than it was with Bill
Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, right? President after
President who failed? Is this different and is it different because
of one person Donald Trump?
KIRBY: It does — it certainly does feel like a different moment for
me. I don't think that you can look at tonight’s development and
not say that it is and I do think President Trump deserves some
of the credit here because the sanctions that he put in place and
the international pressure is starting to have affect, because he
has created uncertainty in the minds of both the south and north
about what he might do militarily, yes he gets credit for that but
two other things are really important, Erin. One, Kim is not his
father. He has more credibility at negotiating table now because
he has more capable militarily and he’s not going to give that up
anytime soon and so he knows he’s going into this with a bit of
an upper hand. Number two is Moon Jae-in as we just talked
about Moon Jae-in is the other factor here that we haven't
discussed. It's because he wants to engage so much, Kim knows
that, Kim’s taking advantage of that, and he, to some degree he's
running the table here.
BURNETT: Alright and let's me go back to team of experts. Sam,
back to you, you obviously were part of whatever conversations,
intermediaries there were with President Obama. Does this feel
different with you with this extraordinary development of a
meeting between Trump and Kim.
MSNBC’s Hardball
March 8, 2018
7:14 p.m. Eastern
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Joe, it seems a bit dramatic statement
they're talking about. Kim Jong-un is actually talking about total
denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. That just means —
that means not just stopping testing, stopping development but
stopping his program in its tracks. What do you make of that
suggestion?

SAM VINOGRAD: It does. But it doesn't mean we should rush

into a nuclear summit. Erin, we would spend months preparing
for the most basic meetings that President Obama used to have.
Talk to your intelligence community, talk to your diplomats. There
is no way that President Trump can be ready by May to have a
high-stakes negotiation on denuclearization on the Korean
Peninsula. It’s just impossible. So we’re looking at scenario now
where the President perhaps because he wants a PR
opportunity, perhaps because he's desperate to do a deal is JOE CIRINCIONE: This is actually moment that very few of us
going to be rushing into a nuclear negotiation and guess what? thought we would ever see, the North Koreans agreeing to put
You can't wing it. Kim Jong-un is going to be fully prepared. I denuclearization on the table, agreeing to talks with the South
think that he's playing to the President's ego and the President’s Koreans, inviting the President of the United States to have the
weaknesses by flattering him and by inviting had into Pyongyang talks, agreeing to suspend their nuclear missile tests while
. But this is major concession. If President Trump does meet with they're doing it in exchange for what? In exchange for nothing.
Kim Jong-un, he's going to be going in unprepared and he’s The deal that we’ve — people have been working on is a freeze
going to be giving to Kim what Kim wants, which is positive photo for freeze — a freeze on our exercises. But you just heard the
op. South Korean national security adviser say that they understand
that the U.S./South Korean exercises will go on, will — these are
(....) major irritants to the North Koreans but they're apparently willing
to swallow this. So we’re seeing a lot of carrots put on the table
LABOTT: Could it be a photo op? Yes. Could it be a start of on the North Korean side. Will we ever get to the eat the carrots?
something? A warming of tensions? It's been pretty tense on the We don't know. But this is definitely an initiative worth pursuing.
Korean Peninsula. I do think this is different. I agree with Will The talks themselves while they go on will freeze the program.
Ripley entirely that Kim Jong-un sees that President Trump might That is a major national security achievement.
be, you know, the most favorable deal he's going to get and if
he's going to do something, he might as well try and do it now. I
think you have to trust but verify and the U.S. is not going to just
giveaway everything. President Trump does have good advisers
around him. I think it is a different moment. I think it's significant. I
think President Trump, as we have said, does deserve credit for
this maximum pressure campaign working, but I think you need
to be skeptical about what the North Koreans are going to do.

(....)

BURNETT: Just an extraordinary evening and, of course,

opening the door to the big question: If President Trump can truly
solve this problem, that would be going down as a great MATTHEWS: Let me go to Evelyn on this —
President and there’s no way around that. That is the reality
here. CIRINCIONE: The South Koreans are giving credit to President
Trump and that's a good thing to do.
To see the relevant transcript from MSNBC’s Hardball on March
8, click “expand.”

38
MATTHEWS: Evelyn Farkas, it seems we learned at the end of
the Cold War the degree to which the cold war rivals the eastern
block like Honecker in East Germany. What they really wanted
was recognition by the west, they wanted to be able to go to the
white House and be received with honors. Could it be would Kim
Jong-un really wants the respect and the prestige from sitting
across the table against the greatest leader in the world, the
President of the United States? Could that be the carrot?
EVELYN FARKAS: Chris, he definitely wants respect. There is
no question about that. But I would caution everyone not to get
overly enthusiastic. I think we are excited now because again, in
the contrast between this negotiating and fire and fury, you know,
military action which is what we were hearing out of the White
House is scary and so we're happy that we have engagement.
But if you remember what Vice President Pence said coming
back from the Olympics. He said we're going to look at
engagement and maximum pressure. And I think it's really
important to remember, I mentioned earlier, twice before we've
been here with the North Koreans where they offered to freeze
their nuclear weapons programs, right? And twice before, we
actually let up on our sanctions and the negotiations fell part. The
North Koreans pocketed what we gave them, the assistance and
various other things and they left the negotiating table. So I really
believe that while we should absolutely go forward and we should
pocket the concessions we can get from them, and we should
negotiate in good faith, but we needed to keep the pressure on.
MATTHEWS: I understand.
FARKAS: We can't agree we're going to take the pressure off
because, otherwise, it’s —
MATTHEWS: But Evelyn, this time — this time we're not putting
coal up, we’re not giving them coal like the last time. We're not
giving them stuff like the previous presidents have.
FARKAS: Right. We're not taking them off the terrorism — the
state-sponsored terrorism list, right?
MATTHEWS: I agree. What have we got to lose by talking at this
point?
FARKAS: Nothing. We have to talk and I agree with Joe that you
know, we buy time. We buy time and if what they really will be
satisfied with is respect and normalization, great, we can give
that to them. But we have to maintain the pressure. Because
remember what got them to the table, the sanctions and
unfortunately probably some of the bluster coming out of the
White House.
(....)
MATTHEWS: Hallie, we're already talking about place, location
—
HALLIE JACKSON: Yeah.
39
MATTHEWS: — where they're going to meet by May, if it's by
May, can you imagine President Trump heading all the way over
to this guy so he can have a home court advantage in
Pyongyang along the 38th Parallel? Is that what they're talking
about? Something where he’s actually at home, greeting us? Our
President goes to him?
JACKSON: I wish I could give you more information on that,
Chris. Right now, it is as much a question mark here in
Washington, D.C. as it is there in South Korea in Seoul where
Kelly Cobiella is as she just talked about. I will tell you that during
the discussion, during the announcement and the briefing, you
could call it from the South Korean national security adviser, a
number of White House aides were standing just behind where
the row of reporters was here including Sarah Sanders, including
top NSC officials, including top officials from, example, the Vice
President's office like his chief of staff and right as the — the
session ended, we tried to get some answers. Nothing yet
although I expect that at some point tonight, the White House will
frankly, Chris, have to answer some of these questions at least
preliminarily about where this is going to happen. By May leaves
very little time. We're already in March here, Chris. So for
discussions this monumental, you're looking at a pretty tight time
frame. I can pretty much guarantee over at the Executive Office
Building behind me, you have National Security Council staffers
who work on this issue scrambling to start getting prepared for
this or to continue getting ready for these an apparent
discussions that are going to happen. So, I think, at this point,
more questions than answers and I have to remind you that all of
this of very unexpected, at least for the timing of this and the
timing of this announcement tonight. This was not — I just can't
emphasize this was not preplanned. It's not as if it was a rollout
on a new policy announcementas it relates to North Korea. This
all came up just in the last few hours that this was going to be
announced tonight. Now, I think back to what the President said
just six days or five days ago at that Gridiron Dinner here in
Washington where he said he would be of course, open to talks if
in fact, North Korea committed to the potential for
denuclearization, abandoning its nuclear weapons program and it
seems like that's where we are. I do think South Korea is going to
be the intermediary here, going to continue to be the intermediary
here as they have been. But it is certainly a remarkable evening
here at the White House, Chris, that's for sure.
(....)
AYESHA RASCOE: Yeah. I mean, this is — this a big deal. This
is something that President Trump, he has had very harsh words
for — for North Korea and for Kim Jong-un and he said, you
know, called him Rocketman and all those things and threatening
fire and fury. But since they've kind of had this cooling off period
with the Olympics, he has expressed that he is willing to kind of
work with the North Koreans and he said earlier this week he
thought they were sincere in saying they wanted to have these
talks.
MATTHEWS: Well, here's the question. It's all about the objective
facts. We've got to stop them from developing a nuclear program
capable of threatening us. That's the bottom line.
(....) director of South Korea said was it was the President's
leadership, Trump's leadership and his pressure politics that did
this. Why would they give all the credit except maybe to flirt or
flatter?

RASCOE: I think know the importance of that —

MATTHEWS: With Trump.

RASCOE: — with President Trump and it goes a long way to give

MATTHEWS: Well, I thought it was interesting about the nice
words because the first thing the national — the national security
.
him credit and to say look, you were the one who made this
possible. And you know, President Trump has said over and over
again this should have been dealt with by many presidents and
I'm the one who’s going to fix it. So, to give them that — to give
him that credit has to carry a lot of weight for him.

40
 Maddow Seethes Over Trump
Leading Possible Peace Talks With North Korea
By Nicholas Fondacaro
March 9, 2018 12:30 AM EST
President Trump shocked the world Thursday night when
it was announced that he planned to sit down with North
Korean dictator Kim Jong-un in the coming months.
The political world was so overwhelmed by
the news that even the journalists at CNN
were more or less optimistic.
Yet over at MSNBC, host Rachel Maddow was anything
but enthused by the idea as she spewed skepticism and
threw shade at the commander-in-chief for accepting North
Korea’s offer.
Towards the beginning of her bitter rant, Maddow seemed
to question the President’s intelligence and/or knowledge
of history for taking the meeting:
You might think another president in this circumstance,
you can imagine a president asking himself or herself,
“why has no other American president ever
agreed to do this? Why has no sitting
American president ever met with a leader
from North Korea? Why has that never
happened in all the decades North Korea
existed as a nation? Should I take that to
mean that this might be particularly risky or
even an unwise move?”
Maddow whined about how Trump wasn’t doing what
most presidents and even most people would do in
approaching the situation.
“I think a lot of people probably suspect
tonight that those are not the kinds of
41
questions that this president asked
himself before agreeing to this meeting,”
she said. “But this is the president we
have and he said yes to North Korea.”
But meanwhile, this is the same MSNBC
journalist that fawned over President
Obama for the Iran nuclear deal. “[It’s] the
major foreign policy achievement, not
only of this presidency, but of this
American generation,” she obnoxiously
declared at the time. Maddow also
gushed about how Obama had reached
out to the dictatorial government of Cuba.
The MSNBC host was joined, via phone, by NBC National
Security and Military reporter Courtney Kube and
questioned her about what kind of problems Trump could
cause and who in the “national security establishment”
would stand up to him.
“It's definitely risky,” Kube said, stating
the obvious. “So, one of the things this
would do, if we have a picture of Kim
Jong-un and President Trump standing
next to one another, this actually
achieves one of Kim Jong-un's long-
standing and his father's goal which is
to elevate North Korea.”
Maddow was clearly flummoxed by the massive shift in
U.S. policy following a year of other historic and
unorthodox interactions with the regime that had built up
to this move.
 “It has been through Republican and
Democratic administrations, the whole
strategy not only for the United States
but for the United States as leader of the
free world, to the extent that we are, has
been to treat North Korea as a pariah
state and thereby try to change their
behavior,” she huffed.
A face-to-face meeting with Kim Jong-un was a unique
and groundbreaking development in the ongoing war
between the two Koreas. Even Maddow’s MSNBC
colleagues Chris Matthews and Joe Cirincione recognized
the significance of the news. On CNN’s Anderson Cooper
360, former Director of National Intelligence James
Clapper (who’s adamantly anti-Trump) was glad to see
this moment come to fruition because it meant real
progress in the ability to negotiate.
The relevant portions of the transcript are below, click
expand to read:
MSNBC
The Rachel Maddow Show
March 8, 2018
9:04:14 PM Eastern [7 minutes 6 seconds]
(…)
RACHEL MADDOW: Now you might imagine another president
in this circumstance. Kim Jong-un makes a request, “you want to
meet?” You might think another president in this circumstance,
you can imagine a president asking himself or herself, “why has
no other American president ever agreed to do this? Why has no
sitting American president ever met with a leader from North
Korea? Why has that never happened in all the decades North
Korea existed as a nation? Should I take that to mean that this
might be particularly risky or even an unwise move?”
I think that's how most presidents would approach the idea of a
personal presidential meeting with the North Korean dictator. I
think a lot of people probably suspect tonight that those are not
the kinds of questions that this president asked himself before
agreeing to this meeting. But this is the president we have and he
said yes to North Korea.
(…)
MADDOW: This is, correct me if I'm wrong, Courtney, you know
more about this than I do. But in my living memory as a human
being that pays attention to the news, I feel like there have been
other announcements from North Korea they were freezing the
nuclear program, that they were stopping tests and in the past,
they’ve even pledged to dismantle their nuclear program. That's
what they had pledged to the Clinton administration. During the
.
42
Clinton administration, of course, that all fell apart during the
George W. Bush administration. There have been previous
announcements from them about them stopping or taking apart
the program, right?
(…)
MADDOW: Courtney, let me just ask you one last piece of this.
Obviously, the huge headline here is that no other American
president—no other sitting president has ever agreed to meet
one on one, to meet in person with the North Korean dictator.
And because this was a surprise, because the Secretary of State,
you know, isn't there, the Secretary of State is in Africa right now,
there isn't a South Korean ambassador, the long-time head of
North Korea policy at the State Department just left his job just
left last week.
Is there any concern that the President by agreeing to take this
meeting, that he may be doing something risky? That there may
be people within the national security establishment and in the
military who may object to the President taking this meeting one
on one?
COURTNEY KUBE: It's definitely risky. So, one of the things this
would do, if we have a picture of Kim Jong-un and President
Trump standing next to one another, this actually achieves one of
Kim Jong-un's long-standing and his father's goal which is to
elevate North Korea. It’s to make them be seen as a major world
power. You can make the argument that 2017 was actually really
a banner year for North Korea, for the ballistic missile, and their
nuclear testing. They achieved three intercontinental missiles that
the Defense Intelligence Agency just said this week had the
potential—had the capability of hitting North America.
You could make the argument Kim Jong-un reached the point
that he wants to be at. He’s a nuclear power, he has missiles
capable of hitting the United States. And now if he is to meet with
President Trump, well now he's seen as a world leader, you
know, that optic of him potentially being seen as an equal to the
leader of the free world, the president of the United States.
MADDOW: Wow.
(…)
MADDOW: This is a remarkable change. Right? It has been
through Republican and Democratic administrations, the whole
strategy not only for the United States but for the United States
as leader of the free world, to the extent that we are, has been to
treat North Korea as a pariah state and there by try to change
their behavior. This is obviously a big change if the President is
going to shake hands and meet with this guy and sit down with
him one on one at the table.
(…)
 ‘Trump Has Changed
The Game,’ North Korea Experts Say
South Korean Official Credits The President's Policies And Pressures For
Dramatic Offer From Leader Of Rogue Regime; Others Urge Caution
By Brendan Kirby
Updated 09 Mar 2018 At 6:39 AM
North Korea’s dramatic offer on Thursday to give up its
nuclear weapons program is a clear sign that President
Donald Trump’s attempts to squeeze the dictatorial
communist regime are working, according to foreign-
policy experts.
South Korean national security adviser Chung Eui-yong
passed on the offer from North Korean dictator Kim Jong-
un and then announced it to the world in front of the White
House.
Fred Fleitz, a former CIA analyst whose book on North
Korea will be published next Wednesday, told LifeZette
that Trump deserves credit for forcing a dramatic
turnaround.
“What this proves is how fundamentally
President Trump’s policies have
transformed the relationship … Trump has
changed the game,” he said.
Chung also credited the Trump administration for the
North Korean overture.
"His leadership and his maximum pressure
policy, together with international solidarity,
43
brought us to this juncture," he told
reporters.
Chung said Kim expressed his commitment to
denuclearization and pledged to halt further nuclear and
ballistic missile tests. In addition, Chung said the North
Korean leader recognizes the need for routine joint
military exercises to continue between the United States
and South Korea. That is a significant concession for a
regime that has made disrupting those exercises a top goal.
Most dramatically, Chung said Kim "expressed his
eagerness to meet President Trump as soon as possible"
and that the president responded that he would do so by
May. The White House later confirmed that Trump is
willing to meet Kim but did not confirm the timetable.
Fleitz, who is senior vice president of policy and programs
at the Washington-based Center for Security Policy, said it
would be a mistake for Trump to meet Kim without
significant concessions, given that country's long history of
reneging on international agreements.
"We don't know how sincere the North
Koreans are, and they're going to have to
do a lot to prove their sincerity," he said.
Fleitz said sanctions ratcheted up under Trump have taken
a toll.
"The sanctions are much tougher, and
they're being enforced," he said.
Fleitz also said the United States must demand four things
— unfettered inspections with no restrictions; a complete
accounting of the regime's nuclear and missile programs; a
shutdown of all nuclear facilities; and the removal of spent
nuclear fuel rods.
In addition, Fleitz said, the Trump administration should
avoid the traps that have ensnared his predecessors.
"We have to have negotiators who are
willing to walk away," he said.
Robert Kaufman, a professor of public policy at
Pepperdine University, who this year is a visiting
conservative professor at the University of Colorado
Boulder's Center for Western Thought, agreed North
Korea is responding to pressure. But he urged the Trump
administration to proceed with caution.
"Part of this is very dangerous … Before
we get euphoric, let's remember how we
got into this in the first place," he said. "We
have to keep the pressure on."
.
44
Previous administrations made deals with North Korea
only to catch the regime cheating on its commitments,
Kaufman said. He said U.S. officials need to be
"very careful not to let the negotiations become Prozac."
Kaufman said the United States should insist on a final
deal that resembles the one America struck with Libya, in
which the regime turned over its nuclear materials.
"Look at the Iran deal as a template of what
not to do," he said.
 Pelosi Changes Her Tune – Praises Tax Cut Bonuses She
Once Called “Crumbs” And “Armageddon” (VIDEO)
By Jim Hoft
March 9, 2018, 7:56 Am

Pelosi Changes Tune – Praises Tax Cuts Speaker Pelosi:

She Once Called “Crumbs”
It wasn’t that long ago that Nancy Pelosi Certainly we love when people get a bonus
warned the Trump tax cuts were and when they get a raise.
“armageddon” and would be “the end of the Via FOX and Friends:
world.”

Then after the tax cuts passed Nancy Pelosi repeatedly

called the tax cut bonuses “crumbs.”

But now Nancy Pelosi is praising the tax cuts.

Then this happened… 4,000,000 Americans will receive

Trump tax cut bonuses this year.

Now Pelosi is praising the wildly popular tax cut bonuses.

45
 JOBS BLOWOUT=> Trump Economy Created 313,000
Jobs In February – Dec, Jan Revisions Add Another
54,000 Jobs To Economy
By Jim Hoft
March 9, 2018, 8:33 Am

Nonfarm payrolls increase by 313,000 in February from

CNBC.

This was the eighth time President

Trump broke the record for the number
of working Americans.

CNS News reported:

The number of employed Americans has

Nonfarm payrolls rose by 313,000 in
February – a HUGE number.
The Labor Department also announced
significant upward revisions for
December of January – a total of 54,000
jobs more than had been previously
reported.
now broken eight records, most recently in
February, since President Donald Trump
took office.
155,215,000 Americans were employed in
February, 785,000 more than last month’s
record 154,430,000, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported on Friday.
The number of employed Black Americans
hit a record high of 19,087,000 last month,
and a record 72,530,000 women 16 and
older were counted as employed.
The labor force participation rate increased
three-tenths of a point, and the nation’s
unemployment rate remained at a low 4.1
percent for a fifth straight month.

46
 313,000 Jobs Added In February,
Unemployment Steady At 4.1 Percent
Tim Pearce - Energy Reporter
8:53 AM 03/09/2018

of the growth took place in the industries of construction,

retail trade, professional and business services,
manufacturing, financial activities, and mining, according
to the Department of Labor.

Average hourly earnings grew 0.1% from January, hitting

below economist projections of 0.2% and even lower than
January’s 0.3% rise. However, wages are up 2.6% from a
year earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The U.S. nonfarm payroll employment increased by
313,000 jobs in February, the 89th straight month jobs
have been added on to what is the longest streak of
monthly job growth on record.

The number of jobs added exploded passed estimates.

Economists predicted job growth in February to come in
around 200,000, according to CNN.

The unemployment rate has remained unchanged since

December at 4.1 percent, the lowest rate since 2000. Most
.

47
 At The Box Office And Voting Booth,
Leftist Fantasies Bomb
By Andrew Klavan
March 9, 2018
Early on in a life spent studying the art of storytelling, I
came upon an interesting example of narrative power. In
his encyclopedic study of mythology, The Masks of God,
Joseph Campbell quotes an essay by German ethnologist
Leo Frobenius. Frobenius tells of a little girl who plays
with three matchsticks, pretending they are Hansel, Gretel
and the witch. After a time, she lets out a shriek of terror.
When her father asks her what's the matter, she replies,
"Daddy! Daddy! Take the witch away!" In her
imagination, the matchstick has become the witch she
pretended it was.
Something similar has happened to the Democratic Party
and its communications arm, by which I mean so-called
journalists and Hollywood entertainers. They have
convinced themselves that their duty to defeat the demonic
evil of Donald Trump overrides their obligations to do
their various jobs. Instead of governing, informing and
entertaining us, they have spun out a fairy tale of heroic
resistance against authoritarian wickedness, conspiracy
and corruption. And now, like the little girl in the
anecdote, they are shrieking in terror because they believe
Donald Trump is what they pretended he is instead of what
he is in fact.
What is the president, in fact? Well, without dabbling in
psychology or mind-reading — that is, judging only by
what we know of his presidential record so far — he seems
to be a run-of-the mill conservative Republican who is
getting quite a lot done. Oh, and he has an obstreperous
personality and a big mouth.
Because most people live in something vaguely resembling
the real world, the disparity between the left's hysteria —
their imaginings of Russian conspiracy, of Gestapo
governance, of abusive power — and the facts of Trump's
actual presidency — tax cuts, regulation rollbacks,
Constitutional judges and the occasional unruly tweet —
makes the self-serious emergency activism of the
"resistance" seem like a child's game, a silly fantasy.
And so, instead of the hero's welcome the left always
seems to be expecting, the people keep giving them the
bum's rush.
48
Weepy former man Jimmy Kimmel acknowledged as
much in his opening monologue at the Oscars,
"Of the nine best picture nominees only two
of them made more than a hundred million
dollars. But that's not the point. We don't
make films like Call me By Your Name for
money. We make them to upset Mike
Pence."
In Kimmel's imagination, of course, the vice president,
being a Christian, cooks and eats homosexuals in his secret
lair deep within the bowels of his subterranean church. In
real life, however, I doubt Pence gives a rat's covfefe what
gay dreams Hollywood dreams, and most people
understand he's just a typical religious man with
conservative political leanings, not a dragon worth battling
at the expense of profit and entertainment.
Thus, not only did Hollywood's political movies do poorly
at the box office, the self-righteously politicized Oscar's
ratings hit an all-time low.
Likewise, in the Texas primaries, the media expected a
motivated left to show up in force to fight the horrors of
the Trumpian White House.
As Karl Rove reported in the Wall Street
Journal, biased reporters saw "rising
Democratic enthusiasm," "surging
Democratic tallies," and "a massive surge
in [Democrat] voter enthusiasm" that might
even "make Texas blue."
In the event, high Democrat turnout was outmatched by
the equally enthusiastic Republicans.
And then, there's CNN. The cable news outlet has spent
the last fourteen months and more giving 24/7 coverage to
a Russia-Trump conspiracy for which there is zero
evidence, an epidemic of gun violence that does not exist,
and what Brian Stelter, in a panic attack reminiscent of the
little girl in Frobenius's anecdote, recently called "a rolling,
ongoing, crisis" at the White House.
The result? Like the Oscars, CNN's ratings have tanked.
They are now running well below the loons at MSNBC,
who at least have the common decency to admit they're
left-wing crackpots, and so far beneath Fox News that
Sean Hannity can no longer even hear himself being
demonized.
Why won't Americans watch Hollywood heroes fight the
good fight at the movies and the Oscars? Why aren't they
turning up at voting booths to answer tyranny with the oft-
.
49
promised blue wave? Why aren't they tuning in to hear
about the latest conspiracy and crisis?
Because none of it's real, that's why. There are no
conspiracies. No crises. No tyranny. No Hollywood
heroes.
The left may have begun to believe its own fantasies. Not
so the rest of us.
 White House Tells All On North Korea —
Leaves Time For A Swipe At Hillary
Saagar Enjeti - White House Correspondent
9:25 AM 03/09/2018
National security council spokesman Michael Anton
explained the process by which President Donald Trump
agreed to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in
a Friday morning interview with Fox and Friends.
WATCH:
The NSC spokesman laughed it off saying
Anton explained that South Korea’s national security
advisor traveled to the U.S. after meeting Kim Jong Un in
Pyongyang days earlier and delivered an oral offer of a
meeting to Trump. The White House spokesman further
credited Trump’s sanctions and pressure campaign on
North Korea with the breakthrough offer along with the
diplomatic vigor of South Korean president Moon Jae-In.
Anton also reacted to a clip of former Democratic
presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s criticism of the
Trump administration’s North Korea policy.
.
50
“Cavalier threats to start a war are
dangerous and short-sighted,” the former
secretary of state stated. “I am worried
about some of the recent actions from the
new administration that seem to raise
tensions. Our allies are now expressing
concerns about America’s credibility and
reliability. And by the way, picking fights
with Kim Jong Un just puts a smile on his
face.”
“to me, personally, it brings me back to the
1980s and the days of the Cold War and
Jane Kirkpatrick’s famous phrase the San
Francisco Democrats, a reference to the
1984 Democratic Convention always
blaming America First.”
“I think it’s extraordinary to hear a former
secretary of state talk about the United
States engaging in provocations during a
year of 2017 when the North Koreans
tested over one dozen long-range missiles,
fired missiles over Japan,” he continued.
“Threatened U.S. allies. Test you had
nuclear devices and engaged in an
extraordinary campaign of provocation that
this administration and our allies and
partners had no choice but to respond to.”
 Boom! Trump Assistant Blasts Pelosi After Record Jobs
Report: Her Perspective Of Economic Armageddon
Remains Out Of Touch (VIDEO)
By Jim Hoft
March 9, 2018, 9:27 Am

Over 4.4 million working Americans in over 400

corporations have received a Trump tax cut bonus since
the law passed in December.

Pelosi says the bonuses are “crumbs.”

Marc Short: I just think her perspective of what economic

Armageddon looks like continues to remain out of touch.

Via Varney and Co.:

Marc Short, the current White House Director of

Legislative Affairs and Assistant to the President for U.S.
President Donald J. Trump, went on Varney and Co.
Friday morning after the record jobs numbers were
reported for the month of February.

Short responded to Minority Leader Pelosi over her

continual trashing of the Trump tax cut bill that put more
money into the pockets of working Americans.

51
 Mark Levin Rips Into 'Praetorian Guard Media' For
Protecting Obama Unmasking, Spying
By Tim Graham
March 9, 2018 9:47 AM EST
On his radio show Thursday night, Mark Levin grew angry
at how the "Praetorian guard media" are protecting the
Obama team from the emerging story of how they
unmasked Trump campaign officials -- as well as
Blackwater founder Erik Prince, he charged -- and leaked
word of their meetings with Russians to their media
buddies.
It becomes major "news" whenever it's
deemed that special counsel Robert
Mueller is "looking into" it.
He said it was an “absolute disgrace” that the media
protect Obama, not report on him.
“They’re not upholding the First
Amendment and free press — they’re
destroying the First Amendment and the
free press!”
“Never in American history … you can
bring up Watergate, you can bring up
whatever you want -- have we seen
anything like this!” Levin said. "It's appalling
that the press in this country is a part of the
Democrat Party's propaganda machine. It
.
52
is appalling -- the unequal treatment of a
Republican president versus a Democrat
president.It is appalling that the FBI and the
intelligence agencies can be used the way
they were used."
He reminded his audience that the Obama administration
spied on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
and Jewish organizations in its push for an Iran arms deal,
and even meddled in the 2015 Israeli elections by having
the State Department fund a group organizing against
Netanyahu (which even hired a political consulting firm
with ties to President Obama’s campaign).
He continued:
"This is the same FBI, the same
Department of Justice, the same President
of the United States who spied on the
Associated Press, who spied on James
Rosen of Fox News, who spied on his
parents. They're quite capable of this. And
you bastards in the media sit on your fat
asses attacking people like me who have
the guts to point it out!” Levin said.
"You clowns at CNN! You clowns at
MSNBC! You clowns at the networks! You
are disgusting! You're a disgrace. You're
not journalists."
Audio from Conservative Review below:
 Wow: CNN's Camerota Demands Democrats
Give Trump Credit For Noko Meeting, Other ‘Successes’
By Kristine Marsh
March 9, 2018 9:53 AM EST
After spending Thursday evening giving President Trump
glowing praise for being the first sitting U.S. president to
get North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to agree to a
meeting, CNN was still flabbergasted the following
morning on March 9’s New Day. Remarkably, anchor
Alisyn Camerota even confronted a Democrat politician
on-air and demanded to know why his party wouldn’t
acknowledge the president’s accomplishments.
While speaking with guest Senator Richard Blumenthal
(D-CT), Camerota asked the Democrat what he thought
about the agreed to meeting. Of course, he had only
negative things to say, doubting the meeting would go
anywhere and also calling it a “risky” move “which seems
to validate this totalitarian regime.”
Surprisingly the CNN anchor gave some pushback.
“But do you give President Trump credit
for the economic sanctions that have
allowed this to happen and brought Kim
Jong-un to the table?” she asked.
Blumenthal predictably gave Democrats credit for the
sanctions, saying Trump bowed to their pressure. Again,
Camerota pushed back, asking,
“Why do you say he only reluctantly
imposed the sanctions, when he, let’s
be honest, he is the first U.S. President
to come this far with North Korea.
Doesn't that say that he is doing
something different?”
53
The Democrat complained that Trump wasn’t the right
person to meet with the totalitarian leader, and he needed
“professional” diplomats in his team to “lay the
groundwork.” But Camerota surprisingly kept trying to get
Blumenthal to acknowledge how big a step this was for the
U.S., forcing the Senator to listen to a list of Trump’s
successes and own up to his own party’s dismissal of
them:
We just threw together this sort of ad
hoc list of what the president's
successes have been since he took
office. It is by no means complete and
you might quibble with some of them
but let me just lay them out for you.
North Korea is in decline. The economic sanctions are
working. ISIS caliphate gone. Strong relations with Israel.
Saudi Arabia is now trying to modernize. Very strong
economy at home, obviously. Look at what’s happening
with the jobless numbers that will be out this morning and
the stock market. Lowest corporate tax rate ever. And
people on both sides said they wanted to bring the
corporate tax rate down.
So why, from where you sit, I don't hear
Democrats often giving the the
President credit for this. What gets in
your way of giving him credit for some
of these things?
Blumenthal lamely deflected, saying there was still more
problems in this country. “Of course,” Camerota agreed,
stressing again,
“But do you give him credit for those
things I just outlined?”
Of course the Democrat couldn’t do that, “I will give him
partial credit for some of them,” he quickly offered, before
predictably claiming that President Obama was responsible
for the current economic boom.

Despite this extraordinary back-and-forth, the show started
off with CNN waffling between praising the president for
securing the meeting, and bashing him for “getting in the
way of his own successes.” Co-anchor Chris Cuomo set
the tone at the top of the show, telling guest, New York
Times’ Maggie Haberman:
This could very well be a positive step. We
haven’t seen it happen before.
There is obviously a need for diplomatic
channels...however, how he does it get,
gets in the way of his own success.
We see that every day. They economy
does have green shoes. Does have good
.
54
metrics. But the way he either doesn’t tell
the truth about what’s going or attributes to
it, he causes his own problems.
Camerota took the same note, arguing that Trump’s
successes “ended up being eclipsed by scandal.” (Never
mind the role the media plays in hyping the scandals
versus the successes, apparently!)
We have drawn up just a quick little list
of some of the president's successes
that do end up being eclipsed by then
the scandal.
So North Korea is in decline. The economic sanctions,
regardless of what happens at this meeting, the economic
sanctions appear to be working. They're in decline. They
have become open to this overture. ISIS caliphate, gone.
Strongest relations with Israel. Saudi Arabia, trying to
modernise. Strong economy obviously at home. Lowest
corporate tax rate that everybody said they had always
wanted. So he has done all of these things. And then every
week one of these things happens, there is a Stormy
Daniels, or there’s a Rob Porter, or there’s a Jared Kushner
or a John Kelly spat. It’s dizzying.
 The Mooch Accuses Maddow Of Having Trump
Derangement Syndrome, Tells Her To Take Her Meds
Nick Givas - Media And Politics Reporter
10:00 AM 03/09/2018

largest economy in the world. The

The Mooch Accuses Maddow Of Having Trump
Derangement Syndrome, Tells Her To Take Her Meds -
Fox & Friends 3-9-18
Former White House Communications Director Anthony
Scaramucci ripped MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Friday on
“Fox & Friends” for her criticism of President Donald
Trump, telling her to take her meds.
president has a great relationship with
President Xi. They obviously don’t like
talking about that. And the combination of
those forces have now allowed for this
opportunity to take place for the world.”
“It’s a more complicated story than what
she’s saying,” he continued. “But you can
tell she’s got a little bit of that Trump
derangement syndrome, which I like. I’m
hoping that one of these comedians will
come up with an anti-anxiety medication for
these liberals. Just take one tablet a day.
Maybe a suppository and take it easy.”
WATCH:

“Fox & Friends” played a clip of Maddow mocking

Trump’s efforts to sit down with North Korean dictator
Kim Jong-un, prompting Scaramucci to go on the attack.

“[Maddow’s] also missing the nuance here.

One of the reasons why we never met with
the North Koreans is out of the respect for
the Chinese. When we cut that deal in
1953 — the armistice,” Scaramucci said.
“China has grown. It’s now the second
.

55
 Conventional Wisdom On N. Korea
Has ‘Gone Out The Window’ Under Trump
Michael Pillsbury, Michael Fuchs, Walid Phares Praised President's
Foreign-Policy Strategy And Tough Talk For Bringing About
Concessions From 'Little Rocket Man'
By Kathryn Blackhurst
Updated 09 Mar 2018 At 10:27 AM
Foreign affairs and defense expert Michael Pillsbury said
Thursday on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” that “the
entire set of conventional assumptions about North Korea
has gone out the window” under President Donald Trump.
Pillsbury, director of the Center on Chinese Strategy at the
Hudson Institute and an assistant undersecretary of defense
for policy planning under former President Ronald
Reagan, spoke hours after Trump shocked the world by
agreeing to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un
by May.
The North Korean leader had requested the meeting with
Trump “as soon as possible,” according to South Korean
officials who previously met with Kim and conveyed his
request to the president.
North Korea also made significant concessions by agreeing
to halt nuclear and ballistic missile tests while preparations
for the meeting proceed, and recognizing the need for
continued joint military exercises between the U.S. and
South Korea.
56
"It's time to celebrate a great victory when it
happens," Pillsbury said, noting that "the
mainstream left-wing media has been
beside themselves — that this really can't
be happening, or they don't really know
how to explain it."
"It wasn't purchased. There's no
concessions. The American exercises can
continue for the next two months. The
entire set of conventional assumptions
about North Korea has gone out the
window," Pillsbury said.
Host Laura Ingraham attributed the wholly unexpected
turn of events to Trump's willingness to defy convention
foreign-policy wisdom — and to the way in which he
"talked tough" from the outset of his presidential
administration.
"[Trump] didn't get there because he
played, you know, patty-cake with Kim
Jong-un," Ingraham said. "He said, 'You
come near this country with a nuclear
weapon, we will destroy you.' That's
basically what he said."
But mainstream media outlets, Democrats and GOP
Establishment members freaked out during nearly every
step of the way, as Ingraham and Pillsbury noted. Trump's
critics focused particularly on his multiple tweets warning
of "fire and fury" in response to North Korean aggression,
and on mocking Kim as the "Little Rocket Man."
 "The critics have focused on the president's
tweets. What they have missed is
everything else," Fox News national
security and foreign affairs analyst Walid
Phares said. "They did not see that the task
forces were surrounding North Korea. They
did not see that we were putting pressure
on China, that we were mobilizing Japan
and South Korea. It was well-crafted. But
they missed the big game."
Pillsbury agreed, noting that he believed China was
"equally surprised as we are that Rocket Man" made these
concessions.
"The Chinese didn't help very much, but
they helped a little. So they're going to try
to take credit for this as much as they can,"
Pillsbury said. "I think this whole plan
began during the transition. I think it's been
well thought out. President Trump, when he
was campaigning, did not make North
Korea his number-one issue. He did it after
the transition."
Michael Fuchs, a senior fellow at the liberal Center for
American Progress who specializes in U.S. foreign policy,
said the "big question" prompted by the day's big news is
Fuchs warned that the U.S. must
"be very clear-eyed about what can be
realistically achieved here with North
Korea."
Pillsbury agreed, noting that he has
"a lot of confidence in President Trump's
team."
"But the main thing is the negotiations,
while they go on, which could be a year or
two, will result in a freeze in both nuclear
tests and sale tests," Pillsbury said. "So
now time is in our side."
Trump took to Twitter late Thursday to tout the news of
the day, writing,
"Kim Jong Un talked about
denuclearization with the South Korean
Representatives, not just a freeze. Also, no
missile testing by North Korea during this
period of time. Great progress being made
but sanctions will remain until an
agreement is reached. Meeting being
planned!"

"What is the plan?"

As a result, Fuchs said,

"We have rushed in a complete 180 from

talk of potential war and military conflict to
a summit meeting. So I do think the real
question now is, what is the North Korean
game here, and what strategy does the
United States have to actually extract real
concessions from the North Koreans?"

57
 REPORT: Susan Rice Told NSC Officials To ‘Stand Down’
In Response To Russian Meddling Attempts
Saagar Enjeti - White House Correspondent
10:35 AM 03/09/2018
Former national security advisor Susan Rice issued a stand
down order to national security council officials
developing aggressive options to respond to Russian
meddling in the 2016 presidential election, a new excerpt
from Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War
on America and the Election of Donald Trump reveals.
NSC officials were reportedly alarmed by Russia’s
attempts to meddle in the 2016 presidential election,
including the hacking of Democratic National Committee
officials’ emails, and those belonging to Hillary Clinton
campaign chairman John Podesta.
Michael Daniel, an NSC official responsible for the Russia
portfolio, told to the book’s authors of multiple plans to
strike fear in Russian President Vladimir Putin with the
aim of ending Russia’s election meddling. These plans
included surreptitiously releasing personal information
about Putin’s family, which revealed corruption in Putin’s
.
58
political party, and even crafting a large cybersecurity
exercise as a public threat to Russia.
Daniel additional told the authors that when Rice caught
wind of his planning, she called him and berated him.
One day in late August, national security adviser Susan
Rice called Daniel into her office and demanded he cease
and desist from working on the cyber options he was
developing.
“Don’t get ahead of us,” she warned him.
The White House was not prepared to endorse any of these
ideas. Daniel and his team in the White House cyber
response group were given strict orders:
“Stand down.” She told Daniel to “knock it
off,” he recalled.
Obama officials have since lamented “we sort of choked”
in response to the Russian meddling in the 2016
presidential election. The former president instead took it
upon himself to warn Putin in person during a face-to-face
meeting in September 2016 to “knock it off” in terms of
election meddling with an explicit warning of
consequences if it continued.
 Scarborough: North Korea Meeting Is
Just 'A Distraction' From Stormy Daniels
By Bill D'Agostino
March 9, 2018 11:06 AM EST

Some of us are old enough to remember a day when Joe compatriots stumbling over each other and decided to
Scarborough lamented that tabloid sex scandals were bulldoze the conversation:
distracting from important political discussions. It was
yesterday. But Friday was a new day – a day in which
Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski
would see through the charade of a President meeting with
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un for what it truly was:
an attempt to bury the Stormy Daniels scandal.

On Thursday night, CNN and MSNBC hosts failed to find

fault with an announcement confirmed by the White House
that President Trump would be meeting with the North
Korean leader. By Friday morning, panelists on Morning
Joe had reached a consensus that the move was in fact
detrimental. They just hadn’t agreed yet on exactly why
that was the case.
But Donald Trump, again, he just makes a
Scarborough kicked off the first segment of his show by decision on tariffs because of Hope Hicks,
giving an overview of the situation: and he makes a decision on North Korea
because of Stormy Daniels. And people
can deny that all they want, but if you’re
Suddenly you have the foreign policy community shocked doing that, you’re in the tank for Donald
and caught off guard by the most significant Trump, because it’s painfully obvious that
announcement a commander in chief could make in 2018. that is what’s going on.
So, tariffs and North Korea, all to distract from a President
that didn’t go through the proper channels or use the
proper inter-agency processes once. He continued:

Co-panelist Willie Geist opted not to expand on
Scarborough’s take and instead provided a lengthy analysis
of the announcement, which he described as having been
done in “a pretty ad hoc manner.” When he finished,
Scarborough veered off at a 90-degree angle and continued
to push his own pet theory:
“Or again, a distraction to change the
headlines from Stormy Daniels.”
Brzezinski perked up. “I think, yeah, that’s
exactly what it is,” she concurred.
Panelists proceeded to analyze the potential ramifications
of the meeting in further detail, bouncing different
narratives off of each other in a search for the most
effective angle from which to attack the President. After
several minutes of this, Scarborough tired of watching his
“You know what? He did not want The
Washington Post to have the words Stormy
Daniels on the front page today.”
Brzezinski agreed that the President did
not “want it on the front pages.” Determined
not to play the fool and be distracted by the
President’s elaborate scheme, she vowed,
“It’s not going to go away.”
How dare Donald Trump distract from a perfectly good
scandal with something as frivolous as foreign policy?
This angle reveals reluctance on the part of Scarborough
and Brzezinski to abandon a story that they felt was
incredibly damaging to the President. Rather than letting it
go, they instead crafted a narrative which they hoped
might force the scandal back into the public consciousness.
Viewers of MSNBC will be relieved to know there is still
at least one show determined to talk about the real issues.

59
 PAPER: Poisoned Russian Spy’s
Ties To Dossier Author Christopher Steele Revealed
Robert Mendick, Chief Reporter , Hayley Dixon , Patrick Sawer,
Senior Reporter , Luke Heighton Of The Telegraph.
7 March 2018 • 10:24pm March 9, 2018, 11:12 Am

On Wednesday, The Telegraph Steele notoriously assembled a series of memos containing

revealed Col Sergei Skripal, the Russian anti-Trump opposition research to Fusion GPS, the first
double agent who was poisoned in seventeen of which were compiled into the
Salisbury, England last weekend, is unverified “Trump-Russia” dossier which the FBI relied
linked to dossier author on to obtain a spy warrant against a Trump campaign
Christopher Steele. associate.

UK media is buzzing about the drama

surrounding Skripal, with some going as far
as calling it an “absolutely brazen, full-on
challenge to Britain,” by Russia’s Vladimir
Putin.

Col Sergei Skripal – who is currently in intensive care

after he and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with a
suspected nerve agent – was recruited by MI6 while
working at the British embassy in Estonia, according to
Russian intelligence services.

When Russia discovered that Skripal had allegedly been

paid $100,000 by MI6 to expose undercover Russian
intelligence agents in 2006 – the same year Russian
double-agent Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned, he was
sentenced to 13 years in prison. In 2010, however, Skripal
was one of four prisoners released by Moscow in exchange
for 10 US spies – after which he moved to the UK and
befriended an employee of Christopher Steele.
Police have called in the British military to help investigate
The Telegraph understands that Col the attempted murders.
Skripal moved to Salisbury in 2010 in a
spy swap and became close to a
The assassination attempts come amid reports that Steele
security consultant employed by
knew that the Clinton campaign was footing the bill for the
Christopher Steele, who compiled the
anti-Trump dossier and yet the FBI never included this
Trump dossier. –Telegraph
information in its FISA court application for Carter Page.
A recently deleted LinkedIn account revealed that the
Steele, who was tasked with compiling the ‘Trump
British security consultant is based in Salisbury, and his
dossier’ for opposition research firm Fusion GPS,
employer is Orbis Business Intelligence – Steele’s firm.

60
has admitted in court that the discredited document
contains “limited intelligence.”
Steele also admitted part of “his final
December memo,” was unvetted.
.
Steele infamously compiled the discredited dossier
detailing alleged sex acts performed by then-businessman
Donald Trump inside a swanky Moscow hotel suite in
2013.

61
 CNN Analyst: ‘There Is No Way
President Trump’ Can Pull Off This N. Korea Meeting
Christian Datoc - Breaking News And Engagement Editor
11:14 AM 03/09/2018

(RELATED: Erin Burnett — North Korea Deal Would

Make Trump Go Down As ‘A Great President’)

“We’re looking at a scenario now where the

CNN national security analyst Samantha Vinograd
defiantly stated Thursday that “there is no way President
Trump” will be prepared to meet with North Korean
dictator Kim Jong Un by May.
“It does,” the former Obama administration
national security official stated when asked
by host Erin Burnett if this moment felt
different compared to past dealings with
North Korea. “But that doesn’t mean we
should rush into a nuclear summit.”
WATCH:
(RELATED: White House Gives Details On Trump’s
Meeting With Kim Jong Un)
president now perhaps because he wants a
P.R. opportunity, perhaps because he’s
desperate to do a deal is going to be
rushing into a nuclear negotiation. Guess
what, you can’t wing it. Kim Jong Un will be
fully prepared. I think that he’s playing to
the President’s ego and the President’s
weaknesses by flattering him and by
inviting had to Pyongyang.
“If President Trump does meet with Kim
Jong Un, he’s going to be going in
unprepared and he’s going to be giving to
Kim what Kim wants, which is a positive
photo op.”

“We would spend months preparing for the

most basic meetings President Obama
used to have. Talk to your intelligence
committee, talk to diplomats,” she
continued. “There is no way President
Trump could be ready for May to have high
stakes negotiation on denuclearization on
the Korean Peninsula. It’s just impossible.

62
 Who Poisoned Russian Agent Sergei Skripal?
Who Had The Most Reason To Off Him? …
Was It Russia Or Deep State?
By Jim Hoft
March 9, 2018, 11:24 Am
On Wednesday, the Telegraph revealed
Col. Sergei Skripal, the Russian double
agent who was poisoned in Salisbury,
England last weekend, has ties to the
author of the infamous anti-Trump
dossier and former British spy
Christopher Steele.
TGP’s Josh Caplan reported on this latest development on
Friday morning.
Sergei was poisoned last week in England.
The former spy was convicted in 2006 of spying for
Britain and imprisoned in Russia. He was freed in 2010 as
part of a swap in which the U.S. agreed to hand over 10
members of a Russian sleeper cell found operating in
America in return for four Russians convicted of spying
for the West.
According to Zero Hedge Sergei Skripal
actually WORKED FOR Christopher
Steele’s company in England.
The Telegraph understands that Col
Skripal moved to Salisbury in 2010 in a
spy swap and became close to a
security consultant employed by
Christopher Steele, who compiled the
Trump dossier. –Telegraph
A recently deleted LinkedIn account revealed that the
British security consultant is based in Salisbury, and his
employer is Orbis Business Intelligence – Steele’s firm.
Steele notoriously assembled a series of memos containing
63
anti-Trump opposition research to Fusion GPS, the first
seventeen of which were compiled into the
unverified “Trump-Russia” dossier which the FBI relied
on to obtain a spy warrant against a Trump campaign
associate.
Skripal and his daughter are still in
critical condition in a British hospital
after the Salisbury poison attack that
affected 21 people.
So who poisoned Sergei Skripal?
Who had the most to gain from his assassination?
Russia has denied the poison attack:
Russia’s foreign minister expressed
resentment at suggestions Moscow was
behind the attack and said the Kremlin was
“ready to consider” lending a hand in any
investigation, “whether it’s [about]
poisoning of some British subjects, whether
it’s rumors about interference in the U.S.
election campaign.”
Skripal worked for Deep State
Christopher Steele’s group linked to the
phony Russia dossier.
Steele worked for the Hillary Campaign and DNC in 2016
and joined Deep State officials in their contempt of
Republican Donald Trump.
It was Steele’s bogus dossier that the corrupt FBI-DOJ
leaders used to spy on Trump, his family, his associates,
his transition team and his administration.
So what did Skripal know about the Steele dossier?
Will we ever know?
.
64
Russia has a long history of poisoning
its enemies.
But Deep State has more on the line if
their phony Russia narrative is ever
exposed.
Is Deep State desperate enough to kill
those who might expose them?
 CNN Is Angry At The Daily Caller,
But They’re Wrong (And It’s Super Creepy)
Christopher Bedford- Senior Editor, The Daily Caller; Editor In Chief, Thedcnf
11:24 AM 03/09/2018
CNN President Jeff" Zucker at the Mobile World Congress in
February 2018 in Barcelona. Lluis Gene/AFP/Getty Images)
CNN doesn’t think The Daily Caller covers Stormy
Daniels enough, “Stormy” being the stage name of a porn
star who has accused President Donald Trump of an affair.
The first problem with CNN’s argument is simple enough:
Their premise is false. The second
problem, though, is their premise is
insidious. And both problems are tenets of
the same faith: the cult of The Narrative.
The Narrative:
A new orthodoxy that has a rule for any sin
man can dream of, from doubting gender
fluidity to doubting Russian collusion to
using “man” instead of “people” — an
orthodoxy that is enforced with the kind of
pious zeal you can only feel when you don’t
have an actual religion to keep your culture
rooted.
Oliver Darcy, a former conservative and a recent CNN
hire, is the perfect little zealot: a convert-turned-inquisitor.
He’s made it his business to attack center-right media that
strays from the The Narrative, and on Thursday, he lashed
out at The Daily Caller in an article called “Pro-Trump
Media Sweeps Stormy Daniels Story Under Rug.”
“There was one story on the homepage of
The Daily Caller, a conservative news
website founded by Fox News host Tucker
Carlson,” Darcy cried out to the multitude,
“but it was buried under a slew of other
stories.”
In the interest of the arbitrary “Thursday
morning” timeline CNN set to substitute for
actual analysis, TheDC posted an article
65
shortly after 10 a.m. Titled “REVEALED:
Trump Lawyer Won Restraining Order
Against Stormy Daniels In Secret
Proceeding,”
it was one of the most popular on the site that day, trending
for hours and showing clear audience interest in the story.
This must be the story we’re credited for.
A second “Stormy” story was posted in the 3 p.m. hour, a
third just after 4.
The day before,
“STORMY SUES, Wants To Tell All
About Alleged Affair,” was posted in the
morning package in the top column of
TheDC’s homepage, on the same level as
the top story, remaining there for a solid 12
hours and indicating a clear editorial
interest. Oliver wouldn’t have even had to
be up before lunch to have caught this: He
simply could have used the Wayback
Machine, a widely-used tool for checking
what happened on the internet while
“senior media reporters” are sleeping
soundly on their waterbeds.
(RELATED: Here’s A Photo Of Hillary Signing Copies
Of Newsweek’s ‘Madam President’ Issue)
The Daily Caller, in fact, has published 25 stories on
“Stormy” since Jan. 12, when she debuted on our pages
with,
“REPORT: Trump Lawyer Arranged
$130,000 Payment For Adult-Film Star’s
Silence.”
Fox News was also not spared CNN’s zealous gaze.
“A search in TV Eyes, a media monitoring
search engine,” Oliver reported
breathlessly, “returned only two segments
in which the unfolding drama was
discussed on the network Thursday
morning.”
Pity he didn’t check the day before, when The Daily Caller
News Foundation’s editor in chief weighed in on the
scandal on one Fox News.
(LAST MONTH: Fox News Wins Landmark
Copyright Lawsuit Over Media Clipping Service
TVEyes)
This too is outside the arbitrary “Thursday morning”
timeline established by the prosecution, but that arbitrary
timeline is necessary if one is bent on defending The
Narrative. We must defend The Narrative.
(RELATED: Snopes, Which Will Be Fact-Checking
For Facebook, Employs Leftists Almost Exclusively)
And so we get to the insidious side. After the 2016
elections, which saw debate moderators, network
commentators, politics reporters, fact-checkers and entire
newspapers caught betraying objectivity for political ends,
the press, facing plummeting levels of trust, called for
censorship of the things it deemed outside the faith.
(RELATED: The Media Is Consolidating Power After
A Disastrous Election)
President Barack Obama’s own press secretary had to
remind reporters four times in a single press conference
about the First Amendment before reporters turned to the
priests of Silicon Valley, who were more obliging in their
censorship, retreating slightly only after they were exposed
for gross abuses of power. Undeterred, CNN hired its own
little inquisitors and tasked them with enforcing the
orthodoxy. “Does The Daily Caller’s homepage look
different from our own?” they may have asked themselves.
“Collusion,” they may have answered.
“Take it to the Twitter. There — there! —
we will see true justice.”
66
(RELATED: The Call To Censor Bad News Isn’t New,
Doesn’t Make Sense, And Should Frighten You A
Great Deal)
See, there’s a pack mentality in the American media. Some
think it’s the product of liberal bias seasoned with coastal
upbringing. A few call it a product of stupidity peppered
with laziness. Still others, a product of the overwhelming
urge to self-congratulate on Twitter until some memory of
high school bullying stops hurting. Most likely, it’s a
combination of all of this, and it’s why we’ve seen more
than a year of breathless Donald Trump scandals, reported
as if by choir. It’s why Sam Nunberg, a troubled man
whose heavy drinking has been known to reporters for
years, was touted as the missing link to a Russian collusion
scandal, allowed to fall to pieces drunk and apparently
manic, and was kept on air long after his state became
apparent. (RELATED: Zuckerberg Berates Facebook
Employees Who Think ‘All Lives Matter’)
The Daily Caller covered Stormy Daniels, and will
continue to cover Stormy Daniels so long as it is
newsworthy. The Daily Caller will never emulate CNN,
nor tailor our coverage to make CNN’s “tail
wag.” (RELATED: BuzzFeed Caught Citing Fake Data
In Its ‘Fake News Won The Election For Trump’
Argument … Again)
Every free news outlet in the country is a product of the
news, combined with its editors’ and reporters’ interests,
informed by their life experiences, and nudged within the
confines of its audience’s interests. Every editor and every
reporter knows the disappointment of seeing that not
everyone shares their enthusiasm for this or that
story. Expecting every outlet to look and react the same, in
holy unison, is the business of an inquisitor, not a “senior
media reporter.” Then again, if the media is your new
religion, then it all makes sense.
And please protect The Narrative.
 Russian Billionaire: Fusion GPS Funded
By George Soros & Mystery Silicon Valley Elites
By Joshua Caplan
March 9, 2018, 11:52 Am

Does Fusion GPS receive funding from
progressive billionaire George Soros
and secretive Silicon Valley elites? One
of Russia’s richest men says the answer
is ‘yes.’
self-described former FBI agent and, as
we now know from the media, an ex-
Feinstein staffer — met with my lawyer,
Adam Waldman, and described Fusion
as a “shadow media organization
helping the government,” funded by a
“group of Silicon Valley billionaires and
George Soros.” My lawyer testified these
facts to the Senate Intelligence Committee
on Nov. 3.

As Jim Hoft of The Gateway Pundit previously reported,

The Washington Free Beacon, funded by Wall Street
billionaire Paul Singer, hired Fusion GPS to dig up dirt on
a host of 2016 presidential candidates.

The Washington Examiner reported:

Zerohedge via the Daily Caller reports: The Free Beacon funded the project from
the fall of 2015 through the spring of 2016,
whereupon it withdrew funding and the
In a Daily Caller op-ed calling the Russian project was picked up by the Democratic
meddling narrative a “false public National Committee and the Hillary Clinton
manipulation,” Russian billionaire Oleg campaign.
Deripaska claims that Daniel Jones – a
former FBI investigator, Feinstein
The original arrangement between the Free Beacon and
staffer and now a Fusion GPS operative –
Fusion GPS involved opposition research into multiple
told the Russian Oligarch’s lawyer in
Republican candidates, not just front-runner Donald
March, 2017 that Fusion GPS was funded
Trump.
by “a group of Silicon Valley billionaires
and George Soros.“
“Sources close to the Free Beacon stress
Deripaska describes the ongoing “Russia narrative” as that the project, when the Free Beacon
nothing more than a scandal manufactured by the deep funded it, had nothing to do with Russia
state. and did not involve Christopher Steele, the
former British spy who gathered anti-Trump
dirt in Russia,” reported Byron York of the
“Wagging the dog costs money,” writes Washington Examiner.
Deripaska. “So, who is the “funding
mechanism” of this “shadowy
Veteran political operative Roger Stone went a step
government?”” Why, none other than
further, claiming Singer is the GOP donor who originally
billionaire financier George Soros,
funded the discredited ‘Trump Dossier’
according to Daniel Jones – as relayed to Congressional
Video credit: Infowars
investigators by Deripaska’s attorney Adam Waldman:

[O]n March 16, 2017, Daniel Jones —

himself a team member of Fusion GPS,

67

Infowars reported:
Representatives for Singer, a major GOP
donor, denied in 2014 that the billionaire
had hired Fusion GPS, the company that
.
68
produced the dossier, to investigate the
Argentine government. However, Singer’s
team refused to confirm or deny this year
whether the hedge fund tycoon had worked
on the Trump dossier.
Stone’s latest report and the allegations of former ties to
Fusion GPS call into question Singer’s involvement in
research intended to bring down Trump.
During the 2016 presidential election, Singer was a
staunch #NeverTrumper, but eventually warmed to
President Trump. After Trump won the White House,
Singer attended a fundraiser for the President-elect last
December at the New York City hotspot Cipriani and
personally donated $1 million to his Inauguration
Committee.
 STUNNING=> Susan Rice Ordered NSC Officials To
‘STAND DOWN’ Amid Russian Hacking Fears
By Joshua Caplan
March 9, 2018, 12:24 Pm
Left-leaning Mother Jones reported
Friday that President Barack Obama’s
National Security Advisor, Susan Rice,
ordered officials to ‘stand down’ as
Russia allegedly attempted to meddle in
the 2016 presidential election.
Daily Caller via Mother Jones reports:
NSC officials were reportedly alarmed by
Russia’s attempts to meddle in the 2016
presidential election, including the hacking
of Democratic National Committee officials’
emails, and those belonging to Hillary
Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.
Michael Daniel, an NSC official responsible
for the Russia portfolio, told to the book’s
authors of multiple plans to strike fear in
Russian President Vladimir Putin with the
aim of ending Russia’s election meddling.
These plans included surreptitiously
releasing personal information about
Putin’s family, which revealed corruption in
Putin’s political party, and even crafting a
large cybersecurity exercise as a public
threat to Russia.
.
69
Daniel additionally told the authors that when Rice caught
wind of his planning, she called him and berated him.
One day in late August, national security
adviser Susan Rice called Daniel into her
office and demanded he cease and desist
from working on the cyber options he was
developing. “Don’t get ahead of us,” she
warned him. The White House was not
prepared to endorse any of these ideas.
Daniel and his team in the White House
cyber response group were given strict
orders: “Stand down.” She told Daniel to
“knock it off,” he recalled.
Recently, Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles
Grassley uncovered an unusual email Rice sent herself on
January 20th, 2017– the same day as Trump’s
inauguration.
The email comprised of notes concerning a January 5th
meeting she had with outgoing President Barack Obama,
then-FBI Director James Comey, outgoing Vice President
Joe Biden and Justice Department official Sally Yates, to
discuss alleged ‘Russian interference’.
Rice’s lawyer, Kathryn Ruemmler, told Congress that the
purpose of the meeting was to discuss potential risks of
sharing classified intelligence with incoming National
Security Advisor Gen. Michael Flynn.
“President Obama and his national security
team were justifiably concerned about
potential risks to the Nation’s security from
sharing highly classified information about
Russia with certain members of the Trump
transition team, particularly Lt. Gen.
Michael Flynn,” Ruemmler wrote.
 Tariff Opponents ‘Crying
Chicken Little,’ Commerce Secretary Says
Wilbur Ross Tells 'The Laura Ingraham Show' That Trade And Political
Critics Are Greatly Exaggerating The Possible Economic Downsides
By Brendan Kirby
Updated 09 Mar 2018 At 1:06 PM

you notice none of these people who say it

will do damage quantifies it. I'm quantifying
it."

How about a trade war, as critics have warned about?

Ross said that has been exaggerated as well. He said

American exports that the European Union has considered
Critics of President Donald Trump’s tough new tariffs on
imposing as retaliation total some $3.5 billion. He said that
steel and aluminum are exaggerating the hit that
even if this reduced exports of those products to zero — an
consumers of those products will take, Commerce
extremely remote possibility — it would amount to two-
Secretary Wilbur Ross said Friday.
tenths of 1 percent of the economy.

While steel and aluminum manufacturers cheered the

"So, I think these people are all crying
tariffs that Trump formally implemented Thursday, other
Chicken Little," he said.
manufacturers have howled that higher prices for those
raw materials would spark price hikes for consumers.

Ross pushed back on “The Laura Ingraham Show”

Friday.

“Well, let’s do the arithmetic … In total,

these tariffs are about $9 billion,” he said.
“That’s less than one half of 1 percent of
our economy. So I don’t think there’s very
much impact that will be felt from this.”

During the ceremony Thursday, Trump noted that business

executive Elon Musk had tweeted that a car exported from
the United States to China faces a 25 percent tariff, while a
car shipped in the other direction enters the American
market with a 2.5 percent duty.

What does that mean in practice? Ross estimated that a 25 "And it isn't just China," Ross said. "The EU
percent duty on imported steel might add $4 a month to the charges a 10 percent tariff on our cars as
typical car payment and less than half a penny to a can of well. And that's four times the tariff that we
Campbell's soup. charge on their cars coming in here."

"Same thing for a can of beer," he said. If a trade war does come, Ross said, the United States is
"Same thing for can of soda. This is a better positioned than its trading partners.
rounding error in the overall economy. And
70
 "If you go into a trade war, we are the ones
who go in with the deficit," he said. "They
go in with the surplus. And in the case of
Europe, it's over $100 billion a year, and
therefore, they have much more to lose in a
trade war than we do."
Ross also disputed a favorite talking point of tariff
opponents, who compare Trump's actions to the Smoot-
Hawley tariff, which Congress passed in 1930. Economists
generally blame the tariff for deepening the Great
Depression.
Ross said that law was a "blunderbuss" that affected
thousands of imports simultaneously from every country in
the world.
71
"Second thing, it was done when we were
already in a global depression," he said.
"So it was poor timing. Right now, we're in
a period of global expansion. Third
difference is, when the U.S. put in Smoot-
Hawley, we had a trade surplus. So we had
more to risk than the other parties."
Whether it is the economy or North Korea, Ross said,
people should look past Trump's unorthodox tactics.
"What people ought to do is judge this
president based on results this achieves,
not some theory that there may be
problems with the method he's using," he
said.
 Tom Fitton Says What We Are All Thinking After A Year
Of No Special Counsel To Investigate
Obama’s FISA Abuses
By Cristina Laila
March 9, 2018, 1:48 Pm

President of Judicial Watch Tom Fitton

is furious with the appointment of
Special Counsel Mueller based on zero
evidence any crime was committed.

On Friday, Fitton said what we are all thinking. Mueller

was appointed at the speed of light with zero evidence a
crime was committed, yet here we are one year later and a
second special counsel to investigate obvious crimes by
Obama’s DOJ and FBI is still only under ‘consideration.’
The timeline leading up to Mueller’s appointment as
special counsel is stunning. It was a plan methodically
carried out by Comey and his memo leaks, Rosenstein and
Deep State operatives at lightning speed.

Sessions immediately recused himself in March after CNN

ran a fake news story about his phone call with Russian
Ambassador Kislyak.

Two months after Sessions’ recusal, Deputy AG

Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as Special Counsel
on May 17th.

MUELLER WAS APPOINTED AS

SPECIAL COUNSEL IN ONLY TWO
MONTHS WITHOUT NAMING A CRIME.

Rosenstein, who drafted Mueller’s broad jurisdiction to go

Fitton tweeted: Comey says “boo” and a
special counsel is appointed immediately
targeting, without foundation,
@realDonaldTrump. Yet it has been a year
of “considering” whether to appoint one
over obvious Obama/Clinton/DOJ/FBI
corruption.
on a fishing expedition also signed the FISA application
giving the FBI permission to spy on Carter Page. It’s in his
own best interest to block a second special counsel.
Here we are a year later with overwhelming evidence
Obama’s DOJ and FBI were weaponized and yet we are
still in the stage of ‘considering’ a second special counsel.

On Thursday, Shannon Bream confirmed with the

Attorney General’s office that Sessions has appointed a
separate “senior federal prosecutor.”
.

72
FBI Agents In Little Rock Meet Informant After GOP Rep.
Warns ‘Justice May Be Coming VERY SOON’ In
Clinton Foundation Probe
By Joshua Caplan
March 9, 2018, 2:34 Pm
FBI agents in Little Rock, Arkansas
recently met with Uranium One
informant William Campbell for the
bureau’s investigation into the Clinton
Foundation.
Sara Carter reports:
A former FBI informant who spent more
than six years undercover gathering
information on the Russian energy and
uranium market was recently interviewed
by FBI agents from the Little Rock,
Arkansas field office as part of an ongoing
bureau investigation into the Clinton
Foundation, according to Victoria Toensing,
the attorney representing the informant.
[…]
Toensing said the information Campbell
delivered to the FBI and his previous
knowledge of Russian operations to enter
the U.S. energy market was significant
enough to the bureau that they interviewed
him in December regarding the Clinton
Foundation investigation.
“FBI agents from Little Rock, Arkansas
interviewed Mr. Campbell about the Clinton
Foundation,” she revealed. “Would they
have done so if he had “serious credibility
concerns?” […]
During the February meeting with staffers, however,
Campbell provided a written statement and answered in-
73
depth questions about his time working for the Russians.
He informed the staffers that the information he collected
was in possession of the FBI, which is conducting its own
investigation into the Clinton Foundation. Toensing told
this reporter that none of the staff members at the meeting
had called her for more documentation or information. She
noted that she had also told the congressional staff to
request from the FBI any information Campbell provided
the bureau.
In an interview with Infowars’ Alex Jones,
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) hinted the Clintons
may be facing justice “very soon.”
Asked how he would rate President Trump’s progress in
draining the Swamp, Gaetz had this to say…
“Well, there have been credible media
reports that the Little Rock field office is
actually investigating elements of bribery
and corruption with the Clinton Foundation,
particularly as it’s related to Uranium sales
that may have not been in our nation’s
interest.”
“Justice may be coming to their doorstep
very soon,” Rep. Gaetz added.
According to reports, the FBI is investigating millions of
“mishandled taxpayer” dollars funneled to the dubious
non-profit from Australian taxpayers.
Zerohedge reports via LifeZette:
 The FBI has asked retired Australian
policeman-turned investigative journalist,
Michael Smith, to provide information he
has gathered detailing multiple
allegations of the Clinton Foundation
receiving tens of millions of mishandled
taxpayer funds, according to LifeZette.
“I have been asked to provide the FBI with
further and better particulars about
allegations regarding improper donations to
the CF funded by Australian
taxpayers,” Smith told LifeZette.
Of note, the Clinton Foundation received some $88
million from Australian taxpayers between 2006 and 2014,
reaching its peak in 2012-2013 – which was coincidentally
(we’re sure) Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s last
year in office.
The news comes amid a recent report by The Hill’s John
Solomon alleging the FBI is launching a new investigation
.
74
into the Clinton Foundation. Is this the probe Solomon was
referring to?
As The Gateway Pundit‘s reported, one witness, who
spoke on the condition of anonymity has already been
interviewed by the FBI. The witness described the
interview to The Hill as “extremely professional and
unquestionably thorough” and focused on questions about
whether donors to Clinton charitable efforts received any
favorable treatment from the Obama administration on a
policy decision.
One report after another from various media outlets have
shown strange coincidences involving the Clinton
Foundation.
The Clinton Foundation would receive huge donations
from donor X only to have donor X magically get
favorable decisions by Hillary Clinton’s State Department
around the same time.
 Trump Lawyers Seek Deal With
Mueller To Speed End Of Russia Probe
Legal Team Aims To Use Interview With President
As Leverage In Negotiations
By Rebecca Ballhaus And Peter Nicholas
March 9, 2018 3:05 P.M. ET
President Donald Trump’s legal team is considering telling special
counsel Robert Mueller, right, that Mr. Trump would agree to a sit-
down interview based on multiple considerations. Photo: saul
loeb/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump’s lawyers are
seeking to negotiate a deal with special counsel Robert
Mueller that uses an interview with the president as
leverage to spur a conclusion to the Russia investigation,
according to a person familiar with the discussions.
The president’s legal team is considering telling Mr.
Mueller that Mr. Trump would agree to a sit-down
interview based on multiple considerations, including that
the special counsel commit to a date for concluding at least
the Trump-related portion of the investigation. One idea is
to suggest a deadline of 60 days from the date of the
interview, the person said.
Another consideration for the legal team is reaching an
agreement with Mr. Mueller on the scope of his
questioning of the president, which they expect to focus
largely on his decision to fire former national security
adviser Mike Flynn and former FBI director James Comey,
according to people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Flynn, who was forced out of the White House after
misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his Russian
contacts, pleaded guilty in December to lying to
investigators about his contacts. Mr. Trump fired Mr.
Comey as he was investigating whether Trump associates
colluded with Russia in interfering in the 2016 presidential
election. Mr. Mueller was appointed to carry on that probe
75
after Mr. Comey’s dismissal. Mr. Mueller is also
investigating whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice when
he fired Mr. Comey.
The president denies any collusion with the Kremlin and
denies obstructing the Russia investigation, which he has
called a “witch hunt.” Moscow has said it didn’t meddle in
the campaign.
The president’s legal team is under pressure from Mr.
Trump to bring about an end to the probe. Mr. Trump has
been eager to see the investigation wrap up as quickly as
possible, describing it as a distraction that is hurting the
country. His lawyers have repeatedly laid out public
timelines by which they expected the investigation to end.
Those deadlines have come and gone.
Tweeting in January, Mr. Trump said of the investigation:
“On and on it goes. Russia & the world is
laughing at the stupidity they are
witnessing.”
A person familiar with the Trump legal team’s process said
that conversations with Mr. Mueller over a possible Trump
interview are in the earliest stages.
John Dowd, the lead outside attorney for Mr. Trump, said
in an email Friday:
“We never discuss our communications
with OSC (Office of Special Counsel).”
The special counsel’s office declined to comment.
Legal experts said they were skeptical that the special
counsel would be open to the Trump legal team’s requests.
“You can’t put a timeline on these things,”
said Peter Zeidenberg, a former federal
prosecutor and an expert in government
investigations. “Someone could walk in the
door on the day before their proposed
deadline and say, ‘I’ve got some
 information that’s going to blow your
minds.’ … Mueller’s going to say, ‘Oh, too
bad, the deadline’s tomorrow?’ ”
The special counsel has interviewed dozens of top White
House officials and campaign aides, including the
president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner,
and former chief of staff Reince Priebus.
Lawyers for Mr. Trump hold different views on whether
he should testify and under what conditions. One member
of the Trump legal team said last month that Mr. Trump’s
.
76
testimony could set a bad precedent for future presidents,
eroding their powers.
If Mr. Trump were to face detailed questions involving
dates and times, his legal team may be reluctant to have
him participate. As an example, general questions about
what the president was thinking when he ordered the firing
of Mr. Comey might be acceptable, as opposed to what
action he took on a specific date and time.
Lawyers for Mr. Trump have studied federal court rulings
that could be the basis for delaying or limiting the scope of
an interview, or perhaps avoiding one altogether.
 White House Blanks CNN When Asked How Trump Can
‘Verify’ North Korea’s Denuclearization Prior To Meeting
Christian Datoc - Breaking News And Engagement Editor
3:17 PM 03/09/2018

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders blanked CNN

White House correspondent Jeff Zeleny when he asked
how President Trump will be able to “verify” if North
Korea has halted its nuclear program, as promised, prior to
the highly anticipated meeting between the two heads of
state.

WATCH:

WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 09: White House Press Secretary

Sarah Huckabee Sanders calls on journalists during a news
conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House
March 9, 2018 in Washington, DC. Sanders faced questions from
reporters about U.S. President Donald Trump accepting an invitation
from North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un for face-to-face meetings this
spring. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“I think it is really clear that they misplayed
it or we wouldn’t be in the position that we
are in,” Sanders continued, referencing
“How will the president and the United Zeleny’s followup question about POTUS’
States be able to verify this before the confidence in the decision to meet with
meeting?” Kim, given his past tendencies to
emphasize a military solution to the North
Zeleny posed to Sanders, referencing a prior question from Korean problem. “The president wouldn’t
NBC’s Peter Alexander in regard to President Trump’s be having to clean up the mistakes of the
upcoming meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong previous three administrations. The
Un. president is getting promises out of North
Korea that haven’t been made in any
recent years. And again, we are going to
“How will they be able to verify the continue the maximum pressure campaign
denuclearization? to make sure that they follow through on
“That is something that will be determined these commitments.”
through the national security and “The president has an incredible team
intelligence community,” Sanders surrounding him both from national security
answered. “Certainly not something that I
advisers, secretary of defense, secretary of
would read out to you guys from here.” state, the intelligence community,” she
added on who might potentially join Trump
in the meeting. “But at the end of the day,
the ultimate person to lead that negotiation
or that conversation and be at the table will
be the president.”
.

77
REPORT: President Trump’s Legal Team Negotiating Deal
With Mueller To End Russia Probe
By Joshua Caplan
March 9, 2018, 3:19 Pm

President Trump’s lawyers are in the adviser Mike Flynn and former FBI director James Comey,
process of negotiating with special according to people familiar with the matter.
counsel Robert Mueller to bring the
Russia probe to an end, As calls for Mueller to wrap up his probe grow louder due
reports Rebecca Ballhaus and Peter to a lack of evidence, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) recently
Nicholas of the Wall Street Journal. admitted that zero proof of collusion has been found.

President Donald Trump’s lawyers are seeking to negotiate Schiff has been a key figure in the Trump/Russia witch
a deal with special counsel Robert Mueller that uses an hunt since day one, writes John S. Roberts at Right
interview with the president as leverage to spur a Observer.
conclusion to the Russia investigation, according to a
person familiar with the discussions.
While on “The View,” Schiff admitted what
everyone has known for quite a while –
The president’s legal team is considering telling Mr. there is no evidence of collusion.
Mueller that Mr. Trump would agree to a sit-down
interview based on multiple considerations, including that
Yet, it’s difficult to imagine the probe will come to an end
the special counsel commit to a date for concluding at least
anytime soon.
the Trump-related portion of the investigation. One idea is
to suggest a deadline of 60 days from the date of the
interview, the person said. CNN reported Wednesday that investigators are attempting
to determine whether former Blackwater chief Erik Prince
misled the House Intelligence Committee about a meeting
Another consideration for the legal team is reaching an
he had in Seychelles in January of 2017.
agreement with Mr. Mueller on the scope of his
questioning of the president, which they expect to focus
largely on his decision to fire former national security Prince is accused of using the meeting as an opportunity to
establish a secret back channel with Russia.

78
 James Woods HAMMERS “Anti-Christian Bigot” Joy
Behar – Calls For Boycott Of ABC
By Cristina Laila
March 9, 2018, 3:30 Pm

James Woods took Joy Behar to task on
Friday after she offered a closed-door
‘apology’ to Vice President Mike Pence
for mocking his Christian faith.
The patriotic actor also called for a boycott of ABC until
Behar is fired or apologizes to Christians publicly.
the same apology publicly on the show that
she did privately to him.”
James Woods unleashed on Friday and called for a boycott
of ABC until Behar is fired or apologizes to Christians.
Woods tweeted:

I have never once asked to trend any

sentiment before. While I recognize that
@Twitter will stymie my efforts in an effort
to defend a liberal news outlet, I am
nonetheless asking all of my followers to
get this hashtag trending: #BoycottABC

James Woods is fed up with the anti-Christian bigotry

from Joy Behar.

Attacking Christians is socially acceptable. We see it

everyday from Hollywood to social media to left-leaning
media figures.

On February 13th, the utterly repulsive Joy Behar of The

View attacked Mike Pence’s Christian faith saying that
hearing from Jesus is actually called a “mental illness.” Woods means business:

ABC subsequently received over 30,000 calls from furious

viewers demanding Behar apologize and be fired.
Behar quietly apologized to Mike Pence in a private phone
call. Pence accepted the apology but told her he wants
Behar to apologize to Christians publicly.
I have instructed my stockbroker to sell all
holdings in the Walt Disney Company (DIS)
until Joy Behar, the anti-Christian bigot who
works for Disney’s subsidiary @ABC, is
fired or apologizes to all us who hold our
Christian faith dearly. #BoycottABC

Fox News reported:

“She apologized to the vice president, he

accepted and said he wasn’t offended by
her comment for his own sake but on
behalf of the millions of Christians who
watch ABC and her show,” the source told
Fox News. “He encouraged her to make

79
Woods called for his follower to boycott ABC:

#JoyBehar thinks we are mentally ill. Her

manager offered a classic liberal “apology”
behind closed doors that none of us
received. Will my 1.3 million followers join
with me in turning off @ABC until Joy
Behar is fired or apologizes to US?
#BoycottABC

80
 House Intel Expands Dossier Probe
With Letter To Obama Adviser Linked To Fusion GPS
Chuck Ross - Reporter
3:44 PM 03/09/2018
Republicans on the House Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence are seeking information about the Steele
dossier from a former Obama administration official who
is married to an employee of Fusion GPS, the opposition
research firm that commissioned the dossier.
The committee, chaired by GOP Rep. Devin Nunes of
California, issued questionnaires Friday to around a dozen
former President Barack Obama’s administration officials.
The Daily Caller News Foundation is told that one of the
letters was sent to Shailagh Murray, a former journalist
who served as senior adviser to Obama and as former Vice
President Joe Biden’s deputy chief of staff. (RELATED:
Nunes Presses Current And Former US Officials Over
Handling Of The Dossier)
Murray’s husband is Neil King, a former Wall Street
Journal reporter who worked at the newspaper at the same
time as Fusion GPS’s three co-founders, Glenn Simpson,
Peter Fritsch, and Tom Catan. Murray also worked at The
Journal until 2005. She joined the Obama administration in
2011.
Also WATCH: There are a lot of
“coincidences” in the dossier
81
King left The Journal in December 2016 after accepting a
buyout offer. Politico reported at the time that he was
joining Fusion GPS, which is based in Washington, D.C.
House Intel Republicans are exploring whether there are
similarities to Justice Department official Bruce Ohr and
his wife, Nellie Ohr, according to Fox News, which first
reported that Murray was being sent a letter. Bruce met
with Fusion’s Simpson shortly after the election to discuss
the dossier. Nellie worked for Fusion at the time as a
researcher on the firm’s investigation on President Donald
Trump.
Fox also reports that a questionnaire was sent to Colin
Kahl, who served as national security adviser to Biden.
The letters are part of a Nunes-led investigation into the
previous administration’s handling of the dossier.
Republicans want to know who in the previous
administration knew about the salacious document and
whether they shared its allegations with reporters and
others in government.
The letters also inquire when the officials learned that
former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s campaign and
the Democratic National Committee funded the dossier,
which was written by former British spy Christopher
Steele.
Nunes and other Republican lawmakers, including Senate
Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, a
Republican from Iowa, have alleged that the FBI and
Justice Department abused the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act (FISA) Court process by using the
dossier to obtain a surveillance warrant against former
Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
The agencies failed to disclose the source of the dossier’s
funding and also relied on the document even though it
was unverified, Republicans say.
Nunes issued a memo laying out those allegations in
January. The memo marked the end of the first phase of
his investigation into the dossier. He has since turned his
focus on former Obama officials, including officials at the
State Department and CIA.
Nunes sent questionnaires in February to a dozen other Nunes revealed earlier this week that most of the recipients
Obama administration officials, including CIA Director responded to the letters by last Friday’s deadline.
John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey.
.

82
 Trump’s Lawyers Will Set Up An Interview
With Mueller — On These Conditions
Kevin Daley - Supreme Court Reporter
4:36 PM 03/09/2018

FILE PHOTO: Lawyer John Dowd exits Manhattan Federal Court

in New York, U.S. on May 11, 2011. REUTERS/Brendan
McDermid/File Photo

President Donald Trump’s lawyers are pursuing a deal
with special counsel Robert Mueller, under which Mueller
would commit to a definitive end-date to his investigation
in exchange for an interview with Trump.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump’s lawyers, led
by John Dowd, would make Trump available to Mueller if
he agrees to end the Trump-related portions of his
investigation by a certain date. A 60-day deadline has been
suggested in this connection.
Also WATCH: Gowdy makes the case
for a second special counsel
.
The legal team would also like the special counsel to limit
the scope of his questions to matters relating to the
dismissals of former National Security Advisor Michael
Flynn and former FBI Director James Comey. Flynn has
since pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators and is
believed to be cooperating with Mueller.
The story is sourced to an unnamed person familiar with
the Trump legal team’s thinking.
Both Dowd and Mueller declined comment for the story.

83
 Chairman Nunes Expands Probe Into Hillary’s Phony
Dossier With Letter To Obama Advisor
Linked To Fusion GPS
By Cristina Laila
March 9, 2018, 4:57 Pm
The House Intel Committee headed by
Chairman Nunes just expanded their
probe into Hillary’s phony dossier.
The House Intel Committee issued letters to a dozen
former Obama administration officials on Friday.
One of the former Obama officials who received the
questionnaire from Nunes happens to be the wife of a
Fusion GPS employee.
Chuck Ross of the Daily Caller reported:
The Daily Caller News Foundation is told
that one of the letters was sent to Shailagh
Murray, a former journalist who served as
senior adviser to Obama and as former
Vice President Joe Biden’s deputy chief of
staff.
Murray’s husband is Neil King, a former
Wall Street Journal reporter who worked at
the newspaper at the same time as Fusion
GPS’s three co-founders, Glenn Simpson,
Peter Fritsch, and Tom Catan. Murray also
worked at The Journal until 2005. She
joined the Obama administration in 2011.
King left The Journal in December 2016
after accepting a buyout offer. Politico
reported at the time that he was joining
84
Fusion GPS, which is based in
Washington, D.C.
House Intel Republicans are exploring whether there are
similarities to Justice Department official Bruce Ohr and
his wife, Nellie Ohr, according to Fox News, which first
reported that Murray was being sent a letter. Bruce met
with Fusion’s Simpson shortly after the election to discuss
the dossier. Nellie worked for Fusion at the time as a
researcher on the firm’s investigation on President Donald
Trump.
Fox also reports that a questionnaire was sent to Colin
Kahl, who served as national security adviser to Biden.
According to Chuck Ross’s report, the letter is also asking
the officials when they found out about the dossier and
when they learned Hillary Clinton’s campaign paid for the
salacious document.
Chairman Nunes released a 4-page FISA memo on
February 2nd revealing Hillary’s phony dossier was central
in seeking and obtaining a FISA warrant to spy on Trump
campaign advisor Carter Page.
The FISA memo also revealed Deputy AG Rod
Rosenstein, James Comey, Sally Yates and Andrew
McCabe all misled the FISA court by signing the FISA
applications.
On February 20th, Chairman Nunes launched ‘phase 2’ of
their probe into the origins of the phony dossier.
Nunes sent similar letters to former Intel chief James
Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan and
former FBI Director James Comey.
Calls for a second special counsel to investigate Obama’s
FISA abuses reached a fever pitch this week.
On Tuesday, House Judiciary Chairman
Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Rep. Trey
Gowdy (R-SC) demanded the
 appointment of a second special Special Counsel to investigate FISA
counsel to investigate FISA abuses abuses and how/why Hillary’s probe
ended and Trump’s Russia probe
Last week, GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin sent a
began.
letter to AWOL Attorney General Jeff
Sessions urging him to appoint a
.

85
 Dopey Susan Rice – With Her History Of Rwandan
Genocide And Benghazi Lies – Lectures Trump
On North Korea (Video)
By Jim Hoft
March 9, 2018, 5:28 Pm

Former Obama Official Susan Rice left a negotiated away Czech security (and much of the country)
trail of genocide and lies when she left without the Czechs even allowed to be present.
office in 2017.
And while Israel faces the possibility of genocide, Susan
This ad appeared in The New York Times in February 2015 Rice shows gross insensitivity to an Israeli leader for
pointing our her role in the Rwandan genocide. simply speaking out.
“Susan Rice has a blind spot: But why shouldn’t Netanyahu entrust Israeli security to
Genocide,”. Susan Rice?
The ad attacks Obama’s National Security Advisor Susan Perhaps its because of her record of trivializing genocide.
Rice and her history of genocide.
Susan Rice is also famous for going on
Rabbi Shmuley wrote this at his website. FIVE Sunday talk shows and lying about
the Benghazi terrorist attack.
Need someone to fraudulently blame the
murder of an American Ambassador in
Libya on a stupid film? Send Susan to
the Sunday talk shows.
Need someone to savage the leader of
the only democracy in the Middle East
as damaging the “fabric” of Israel’s
relationship with the United States? Put
Susan in the makeup chair of Charlie
Rose.
Yes, it seems there is nothing Susan isn’t prepared to do.
And why should that surprise us? But that didn’t stop Susan Rice from
This is the same Susan Rice who forbade Israel from lecturing the Trump administration
criticizing John Kerry in her infamous tweet: “Personal today after Kim Jong Un offered to meet
attacks in Israel directed at Sec Kerry totally unfounded with President Trump on Thursday
and unacceptable.” Yes, Israel’s freedom of expression is night.
circumscribed by none other than Susan Rice.
But there is another reason Susan Rice’s attack on the
Prime Minister of Israel on Charlie Rose merits special
opprobrium and that is the unique insensitivity she is
famous for when it comes to genocide.
Iran is threatening to annihilate Israel. It is building the
bombs to make that possible. It has lied to the world for
more than a decade about its nuclear program. Iran is an
oil superpower and energy exporter that needs nuclear
energy about as much as I need a pork sandwich.
America is about to do a bad deal with Iran that will leave
them something in the range of 5000 spinning centrifuges
enriching Uranium. Israel is not party to the talks. It has
been cast in the same position of Czechoslovakia in the
Munich agreement of 1938 where Britain and France
86
 Susan Rice left a trail of bodies in her
wake — including the US ambassador to
Libya — but that doesn’t stop this
shameless woman from lecturing the
current administration on foreign policy.
This failed Obama lackey has no shame.

87
Julian Assange Pounds Eric Holder Into Dirt For Claiming
Russians Attacked US During 2016 Election
By Cristina Laila
March 9, 2018, 8:15 Pm

Former Attorney General Eric ‘Fast and
Furious’ Holder has been attacking
President Trump from his Twitter
account over the online Russian bot
farm that supposedly “meddled” in the
2016 election.
The left wants to go to war with Russia
over Twitter trolls. They are desperate to
shield Hillary Clinton from the cold hard
fact that she lost the election because
she is a rotten politician.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange pounded Eric Holder
into dirt.
Assange replied to Eric Holder:
“Attacked? By what? The truth? It’s
entirely your own fault, Eric. Thanks to your
unconstitutional grand jury against
WikiLeaks you left me with nothing to do
but work 27/7, in harsh conditions, for
years–and I’m good, very good, at my job”

Julian Assange then hit Holder with round two.

A few weeks ago Eric Holder unleashed on President Assange tweeted: Next time, not that there will be one, try
Trump, demanding he put sanctions on Russia because of following the constitution you swore to uphold:
online trolls posting memes.

Holder tweeted: Russian threat to our upcoming elections:

do something! Do anything. Impose sanctions
overwhelmingly approved by even this dysfunctional
congress. Are you simply unfit, without the necessary
nerve or do they have something on you? We were
attacked!

88
Julian Assange has gone on the record many times to
confirm Russia did not give him Podesta’s emails.
To this day the FBI has not inspected the DNC’s servers
nor have they interviewed Julian Assange.
89
The Russians didn’t hack Hillary’s campaign emails; it’s a
fabricated story by Hillary and the Deep State to deny
Donald Trump his fully earned legitimacy as President of
the United States.
 GREAT Trump Military Parade Will Be On Veterans Day
In DC – Will Include Period Uniforms And Airshow
By Jim Hoft
March 10, 2018, 8:23 Am

President Donald Trump will get his military parade, but it

is unlikely to mirror the Paris Bastille Day event which
inspired him as it will not involve any heavy military
vehicles like tanks to avoid doing damage to the streets of
Washington, according to a Pentagon planning memo
shown to CNN.

The Pentagon memo sent to the chairman of the Joint

Chiefs of Staff was issued on Thursday and outlined the
initial guidance on how Trump’s sought after parade,
scheduled for November 11 — Veterans Day — will look.

The memo says the parade will integrate with the annual
DC Veterans Day parade and focus on the contributions of
The Pentagon announced plans for the Great Trump US veterans from the Revolutionary War to today “with an
Military Parade this year in Washington DC. emphasis on the price of freedom.”

The parade on Veterans Day will include period uniforms The parade will “include wheeled vehicles
and an airshow. only, no tanks,” the memo said, adding that
“consideration must be given to minimize
damage to local infrastructure.”

CNN has more on the plane:

.

90
 Are We Supposed To Be Surprised?… Former NYT
Executive Editor And Loon Admits She Carries A Barack
Obama Therapy Doll In Purse
By Jim Hoft
March 10, 2018, 8:53 Am

Jill Abramson:

“It’s easy to look at what’s happening in

Jill Abramson is not just an Obama
supporter – She’s an unhinged leftwing
fanatic
Washington, D.C. and despair. That’s why I
carry a little plastic Obama doll in my
purse. I pull him out every now and then to
remind myself that the United States had a
progressive, African American president
until very recently. Some people find this
strange, but you have to take comfort
where you can find it in Donald Trump’s
America,”
Via Byron York:

Former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson

keeps a Barack Obama therapy doll in her purse. She
admitted this herself in an op-ed The Guardian published
Wednesday.

Via the Daily Caller — She keeps a therapy doll of the

44th president to get her through the Trump
Administration, she wrote in The Guardian Mar. 7th. The
Harvard educated journalist previously wrote an Obama
Administration book, “Obama: The Historic Journey,”
published in 2009.

91
 Fake News CNN Follows
Porn Star Stormy Daniels To The Strip Club (VIDEO)
By Cristina Laila
March 10, 2018, 10:53 Am

“…But because of that, it’s sort of

This is CNN.
Very fake news CNN followed porn star
Stormy Daniels to Fort Lauderdale,
Florida to report on her performance at
Solid Gold gentlemen’s club.
overshadowing a lot of adult films that I’m
supposed to be promoting, and a lot of the
mainstream projects that I was actively
working on have indefinitely put on hold,”
Daniels said.

On Tuesday porn star Stormy Daniels

CNN’s hatred for Trump has left them rummaging through
Russian dumpsters looking for leads, traveling to Thailand sued President Donald Trump over their
to interview a hooker and now they’re at the strip club hush agreement.
following around a washed-up porn star.
CNN and the hate Trump media have been obsessing over
Stormy Daniels all week rather than reporting on real news
Americans care about.

VIDEO:

Stormy Daniels says she performs at strip clubs about once

a month but since her lawsuit against President Trump hit
the wire, she has been booked solid!

CNN correspondent Nick Valencia stood in front of the

strip club as he reported on Stormy Daniels’ first
performance since her lawsuit against Trump.
“She performed in front of about 200
people…after her performance she had a
meet and greet,” Valencia said.
A lawyer for the Trump Organization,
Michael D. Cohen admitted in a
statement to the New York Times he
paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000
in hush money out of his own pocket in
2016.

Stormy Daniels told CNN she is getting more dance

It has been alleged Donald Trump had an affair with
bookings since she sued Trump, but it’s overshadowing
Stephanie Clifford AKA Stormy Daniels in 2006.
her ‘adult work.’

92
 POTUS Trump Congratulates Ex-Navy Sailor Kristian
Saucier After Pardon
By Cristina Laila
March 10, 2018, 11:33 Am

On Friday, President Trump pardoned

former U.S. Navy sailor Kristian Saucier,
who served a one-year prison stint for
taking pictures of “classified areas
inside a nuclear submarine,” said White
House press secretary Sarah Huckabee
Sanders.

Trump previously said he believed the one year sentence

being served by Saucier was harsh.
.

93
 Steel Worker Thanks President Donald Trump “It Feels
Like He’s One Of Us” (VIDEO)
By Jim Hoft
March 10, 2018, 12:30 Pm

Late last week President Trump The list included Speaker Paul Ryan who has repeatedly
announced his intent to place tariffs on attacked the Republican president this week for standing
steel and aluminum imports. up for working Americans.

Then on Tuesday Jesse Gary, the Executive Vice

President at Century Aluminum, told Trish Regan on FOX
Business Network that Century Aluminum will hire 300
new employees in western Kentucky thanks to Donald
Trump’s announcement on tariffs this past week. But President Trump stuck to his plan.

US Steel followed this up by On Thursday afternoon President Trump announced tariffs

announcing Wednesday they will restart
two blast furnaces and recall 500
employees in Granite City, Illinois
following President Trump’s decision to
tax steel and aluminum imports.
on foreign steel and aluminum.
Several steelworkers then thanked the
president after his speech.
It was epic!

A total of 800 new US steel and

aluminum jobs were announced in the
last week.
Despite this good news DC globalists
attacked Trump for completing another
campaign promise.
The globalists want to give other
countries an advantage over US
workers.
107 Republican (Globalist) lawmakers
signed a letter to President Trump on
Wednesday expressing concern over
steel and aluminum tariffs.

94
 back up, just the opportunity to have that happen, is going
to be great. These tariffs that is being signed, it’s going to
bring back… This gives a lot of hope and opportunity.

Meeting the president was an honor.

Just talking to him it feels like he’s one
of us.”

Via The White House YouTube Channel:

On Friday the Trump White House released video of

James Powell, a superintendent for Century Aluminum.
Powell expressed his thanks to President Donald Trump
for protecting American workers against unfair European
and Asian trade practices that threaten his profession.

James Powell: This community was devastated when

those lines were shut down. So to have those lines come
.

95
 “No Precedent In US Political History”: “Extraordinary
Number” Of Ex-CIA Operatives Are Running For
Congress As Democrats
By Joshua Caplan
March 10, 2018, 1:38 Pm

At no time in U.S. political history have
more ex-CIA operatives sought the
Democratic nomination for Congress,
reports Patrick Martin of the World
Socialist Web Site.
other professionals (19) among the candidates for
Democratic congressional nominations.
Of the 102 primary elections to choose the Democratic
nominees in these competitive districts, 44 involve
candidates with a military-intelligence or State Department
background, with 11 districts having two such candidates,
and one district having three. In the majority of contests,
the military-intelligence candidates seem likely to win the
Democratic nomination, and, if the Democrats win in the
general election, would enter Congress as new members of
the House of Representatives.

Yet, where does this new development tie in with the Deep
State’s war on President Trump?

Kim Dotcom hits the nail squarely on the head.

WSWS reports: “The Deep State no longer wants to rely on

unreliable puppets. They want to run
An extraordinary number of former politics directly now,” the internet
intelligence and military operatives from the entrepreneur tweeted in response to the
CIA, Pentagon, National Security Council report Saturday.
and State Department are seeking
nomination as Democratic candidates for
Congress in the 2018 midterm elections.
The potential influx of military-intelligence
personnel into the legislature has no
precedent in US political history.
If the Democrats capture a majority in the
House of Representatives on November 6,
as widely predicted, candidates drawn from
the military-intelligence apparatus will
comprise as many as half of the new
Democratic members of Congress. They
will hold the balance of power in the lower
chamber of Congress. […]

One quarter of all the Democratic challengers in

competitive House districts have military-intelligence, WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange sees this new trend as
State Department or NSC backgrounds. This is by far the something much larger — rather an
largest subcategory of Democratic candidates. National unprecedented convergence of power.
security operatives (57) outnumber state and local
government officials (45), lawyers (35), corporate “The merger between the CIA, the
executives, businessmen and wealthy individuals (30) and Democrats, Iraq war neocons, NBC, CNN,
96
 and the Washington (Amazon) Post is a
baleful predictor for US democracy,”
Assange tweeted Saturday.
Intelligence operatives failed to keep Trump out of the
White House. Now, they will try to stop him by electing
.
97
lawmakers to serve inside the government to thwart his
agenda.
But Trump’s no fool.
As reported by The Intercept, the Trump administration is
still considering proposals developed by Blackwater
founder Erik Prince and a retired CIA officer in an effort to
provide CIA Director Mike Pompeo and the White House
with a global, private spy network that would go around
the U.S.’s official SWAMP-INFESTED intelligence
agencies.
Reportedly, the proposals would see an army of spies with
no official cover in numerous countries that are “denied
areas” for current American intelligence personnel – like
North Korea and Iran. Included in the proposals is the
consideration of creating a new global rendition unit with
the goal of capturing terrorist suspects around the world. A
propaganda campaign in the Middle East and Europe to
combat Islamic extremism was considered in the proposals
as well.
 Whitewater Crook Susan McDougal
Oozes On MSNBC: Clintons Never Did Anything Wrong
By Tim Graham
March 10, 2018 3:04 PM EST
Americans under 40 probably don't remember much about
the Whitewater scandal. Jim and Susan McDougal ran a
savings-and-loan into the ground (costing taxpayers
millions), but they drew their greedy friends Bill and
Hillary Clinton into a real-estate scheme, and Jim also
hired Hillary as a lawyer for his pseudo-banking. The
McDougals were convicted on multiple counts of fraud in
1996, and the networks pretty much ignored the trial and
pretended the guilty verdicts said nothing about the
Clintons. Susan McDougal would go on TV and compare
independent counsel Ken Starr to the Nazis.
Fast forward to today, as the amnesia continues. In the
wake of Sam Nunberg's bizarre cable-news crusade
insisting Trump was guilty of something on Monday
evening, MSNBC touted an interview Tuesday with Susan
McDougal, as an expert on not testifying to special
counsels. MSNBC host Craig Melvin called her “The
former Clinton business partner who was jailed for
refusing to comply with a subpoena during the Whitewater
investigation.” Not "the former Clinton business partner
convicted on four counts of fraud and conspiracy." Susan
kept up her "not gonna get me, copper" lines against Starr's
team:
SUSAN McDOUGAL: I wasn't trying to save anybody,
for one thing. My entire stance was about the fact that they
98
never asked me a single question. Never once. Even at the
very first meeting. They had a story that they believed was
true and wanted me to go with it. I mean, I hear this guy
saying all these questions that they ask him, and they never
asked me a question. And it was a set-up from the
beginning. We'd already had one special prosecutor for
almost a year named Robert Fiske, and he was fired and
Ken Starr came in. Fiske said there was no wrongdoing.
We had a U.S. Attorney who said there was no
wrongdoing. And they came and said, if you cooperate
with us, we'll give you global immunity. That was the first
meeting I ever had with them. And it didn't get any better
after that.
Susan came to MSNBC's attention after being interviewed
by The Washington Post, telling Nunberg "you're not
going to save anybody." As she sat in jail for refusing to
testify, the ongoing theory was she was protecting Bill
Clinton. Even now, she still trots out the preposterous
"Clintons never did anything wrong" defense, and MSNBC
just allowed it:
KATY TUR: What do you make of those who say that
they are facing a similar situation? That they think that this
is all a witch hunt, and they don't want to sit down for
those questions, because they don't think it's fair.
McDOUGAL: You know, the funny thing is, is that he's
gone on all of these television shows and everyone
believes that he knows so many things that have been done
wrong and he has kind of intimated that he knows these
things. And you know, the difference there is, I think from
the first moment I ever met them, I said,
I don't know anything the Clintons have
done that might be wrong. And I've said
that consistently.
I never did. And this man, I don't know him, but he seems
to know a lot. And I think it is a matter of character. I
mean, I wasn't trying to hide anything that anyone had
done. I didn't know anything anyone had done. And it
seems to me that is where he is. He's trying to, it's almost
like I’ll go to jail for this guy who’s broken all these laws.
I think it’s a totally different situation.
So MSNBC is laying out the "evidence." The Clintons
have never done anyting wrong, and Trump has "broken
all these laws" in colluding with the Russians. Who calls
this cable "news"?
"A Clean Reset": Trump Said To Be Cleaning House; Kelly,
Mcmaster, Jared, Ivanka All On Way Out: Report
By Tyler Durden
Sat, 03/10/2018 - 16:02
President Trump is said to be cleaning house, according
to Vanity Fair's Gabriel Sherman who writes on Friday
that "Trump Is Going for a Clean Reset": Fuming in the
West Wing, Trump Prepares to Defenestrate Cuck Allies
and Go Full MAGA. According to a "Republican in
frequent contact with the White House,"
Trump is "tired of being reined in," and is
ready to clean the slate in the West
Wing to his liking.
With the departures of Hope Hicks and Gary Cohn, the
Trump presidency is entering a new phase—one in which
Trump is feeling liberated to act on his impulses.
“Trump is in command. He’s been in the
job more than a year now. He knows how
the levers of power work. He doesn’t give
a fuck,” the Republican said. Trump’s
decision to circumvent the policy
process and impose tariffs on imported
steel and aluminum reflects his
emboldened desire to follow his
impulses and defy his advisers. “It was
like a fuck-you to Kelly,” a Trump friend
said. “Trump is red-hot about Kelly trying to
control him.”
The solution,
according to "five Republicans close to the
White House," is a total changing of the
guard: "Trump is going for a clean reset,
but he needs to do it in a way that’s
systemic so it doesn’t look like it’s
chaos."
99
The first to go, according to the sources, will be Chief of
Staff John Kelly followed by National Security
Adviser H.R. McMaster - who Trump has been at odds
with for nearly his entire presidency according to reports.
In late February, both CNN and Reuters reported that Kelly
and McMaster were reportedly close to quitting or being
fired over various issues, including Jared Kushner's
security clearance which was downgraded last week.
“There have been running battles between
Trump and his generals,” said one of the
officials, speaking on the condition of
anonymity. Kelly is a retired Marine general
and McMaster an Army lieutenant general.
“But the clearance business is personal,
and if Trump sets special rules for family
members, I‘m not sure if Kelly and
McMaster would salute,” the official said. -
Reuters
Then on March 1, NBC reported that HR McMaster is on
the verge of being pushed out - with Kelly and Defense
Secretary James Mattis reportedly having orchestrated
McMaster's ouster, even going so far as to select a leading
candidate for the job.
That might all be out the window says Gabriel Sherman
- as Trump is said to be meeting next weekend at Mar-a-
Lago with potential candidates for both McMaster and
Kelly's positions. On Tuesday, Trump met with John
Bolton, former US Ambassador to the United Nations.
Trump is expected to interview more candidates for both
positions, according to two sources. “He’s going for a
clean slate,” one source said. Cohn had been lobbying to
replace Kelly as chief, two sources said, and quit when he
didn’t get the job. “Trump laughed at Gary when he
brought it up,” one outside adviser to the White House
said. (The White House declined to comment.) -VF
Bye Jared and Ivanka
Next on the list are reportedly Jared Kushner and Ivanka
Trump. While Trump remains loyal to his family, Kushner
has been attracting an increasing amount of negative press,
and is reportedly a central focus of Special Counsel Robert
Mueller's probe into Russian meddling in the 2016
election. The president's son-in-law is in a weakened
position, which Trump may feel will be a detriment going
forward.
One scenario being discussed is that
Kushner would return to New York to
oversee Trump’s 2020 re-election
campaign with his ally Brad Parscale,
who was hand-selected by the Trump
family.
One Trump friend referred to it as a “soft
landing.” Ivanka will likely stay on longer,
perhaps through the summer, before
.
100
decamping home to New York to enroll the
children in a Manhattan private school.
Both are presumed to remain in close
contact with Trump, who often places
significant value on the opinions expressed
outside his administration, anyway. -VF
Sherman's sources claim the couple will try to hang on as
long as possible to avoid the impression that they were
driven out by Kelly, while both Ivanka and Jared have
been furious at the Chief of Staff.
“Why do you have to embarrass Jared like
that?” Ivanka complained to a friend
recently. Kushner is doing everything he
can to appear engaged despite his lack of
a security clearance. “He is looking at
everything he can do that doesn’t require a
clearance,” a former White House official
said. Another source added, “The White
House is trying to fluff him up again.”
With the seemingly ongoing game of musical chairs once
again in play while Trump removes the chairs, one
wonders just who will be staffing the West Wing for the
rest of the Trump presidency.
 After Grand Jury Testimony, Sam Nunberg Says He
Doubts Mueller Probe Leads To Trump
Chuck Ross - Reporter
4:12 PM 03/10/2018

Also WATCH: Sam Nunberg dares Feds to arrest him

in insane interview

Sam Nunberg, (L) former campaign aide to President Donald

Trump, subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury in special counsel
Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016
U.S. election, arrives at U.S. District Court, Washington, DC, U.S.,
March 9, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Theiler

 Sam Nunberg testified before Robert Mueller’s

grand jury
 The former Trump aide had threatened to defy
Mueller’s subpoena by skipping the grand jury
testimony
 He denied his emails contained damning
revelations
A former Trump aide who testified before special counsel
Robert Mueller’s grand jury on Friday says he does not
view the Russia probe as a “witch hunt,” though he also
does not believe the investigation leads to President
Donald Trump.
Sam Nunberg offered the assessment in an interview with
ABC News following his six-hour testimony before the
grand jury, which convened in Washington, D.C.
The interview was much tamer than a series of media
appearances that Nunberg made earlier this week in which
he threatened to defy Mueller’s subpoena by skipping the
grand jury testimony.
“No, I don’t think it’s a witch hunt,” he told
ABC News after his grand jury appearance.
“There’s a lot there there, and that’s a sad
truth,” he said, adding:
“I don’t believe it leads to the president.”
Nunberg, who was fired from the Trump campaign in
August 2015, gave mixed signals earlier this week on
whether he believes that Trump or anyone with the
campaign is in legal jeopardy. (RELATED: Sam
Nunberg Appears Before Mueller Grand Jury)
101
He told The Daily Caller News Foundation and other
media outlets earlier this week that he believed Mueller
has something “bad” on Trump related to his business
activities. That takeaway was based on questions that
Mueller’s investigators asked Nunberg in an interview in
February.
Mueller subpoenaed Nunberg earlier this month for
communication records with Trump and nine campaign
advisers.
Nunberg said in interviews on Monday that he decided to
flout Mueller’s subpoena after he started conducting the
search of his emails. He denied his emails contained
damning revelations, but said he did not believe it was fair
that he was being forced to provide his records to
investigators.
Nunberg sang a different tune in the ABC News interview.
“I was going to always comply with arriving
today,” he said. “I’m an attorney. That’s the
first thing. And this is my duty as an
American to do that.”
Nunberg, who began working for Trump in 2011, did tell
ABC News that he is “very worried” about Roger Stone, a
political operative who Nunberg describes as his mentor.
“He’s certainly at least the subject of this
investigation, in the very least he’s a
subject,” said Nunberg.
If Stone is a subject of the investigation, it is likely Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National
because of contacts he had during the 2016 campaign with Committee.
WikiLeaks and Guccifer 2.0, the websites that released
emails stolen from former Secretary of State Hillary Stone has denied colluding with Russians or of having
advance knowledge of the email hacks.
.

102
 Outcry As Trump Links Violence To Video Games, Shows
Reel With Gaming Massacre At Moscow Airport
Published Time: 10 Mar, 2018 14:23 Edited Time: 11 Mar, 2018 07:27
President Trump highlighted extreme violence in video
games with the help of a stomach-churning compilation
including a video game massacre in a Moscow airport.
Critics lashed out at the suggestion that gaming causes
violence.
Featuring gore-filled clips from popular titles such as Call
of Duty: Modern Warfare 2; Wolfenstein; Dead by
Daylight; Sniper Elite; and Fallout 4, the video montage
was reportedly shown during a White House roundtable
discussion attended by representatives from the video
game industry, lawmakers, and video game critics.
According to the Washington Post, after playing the video
for the roundtable attendees, President Trump asked the
group:
“This is violent, isn’t it?”
WARNING: GRAPHIC SCENES
The compilation includes controversial gameplay from
Modern Warfare 2, in which the player, taking on the role
of an undercover CIA agent, participates in a mass
103
shooting at a Moscow airport. The disturbing sequence
was the subject of intense controversy in Russia. Modern
Warfare’s developer, Activision, ultimately decided to
remove the level entirely from the Russian version of the
game. However, the game once again made headlines in
Russia a year after its release, following a suicide bomb
attack that killed 37 and left some 180 injured at
Moscow’s Domodedovo International Airport in 2011. In
the wake of the attack, media critic Danny Schechter said
that the controversial game showed how “entertainment
mirrors reality and reality mirrors entertainment.” The
video compilation and subsequent roundtable discussion
were billed as part of the Trump administration’s response
to the recent mass shooting at a high school in Parkland,
Florida, which left 17 students and staff dead. Trump
pointed the finger at violent video games shortly after the
tragedy, remarking: “I’m hearing more and more people
say the level of violence on video games is really shaping
young people’s thoughts.”
Published as unlisted on the White House’s official
YouTube channel on Thursday, the video quickly went
viral – although perhaps for the wrong reasons. The video
currently has fewer than 2,000 “likes,” compared with
58,000 “dislikes.”
“The only violence I see here is to the
like/dislike bar,” observed a cheeky
YouTube commenter, while another
claimed that “This is completely biased,
and anyone who has researched the topic
for even five minutes knows that video
games do not cause violence.”
Trump’s apparent belief that violent video games have a
corrupting influence on America’s youth was not well
received by representatives from the gaming industry who
attended the meeting. In a statement issued to the press
following the roundtable the Electronic Software
Association, a trade group that represents game publishers,
said that while they appreciated Trump’s “receptive and
comprehensive approach to this discussion,” they found
the president’s arguments unconvincing. The statement
pointed to “numerous scientific studies establishing that
there is no connection between video games and violence.”
The organization has a page on its website
which specifically addresses concerns
about violence in video games. “Violent
 crime, particularly among the young, has
decreased dramatically since the early
1990s,” the ESA’s website reads. “During
the same period of time, video games have
steadily increased in popularity and use,
exactly the opposite of what one would
expect if there were a causal link.”
The argument is not watertight, as other studies have
suggested that there is in fact a link between violence in
video games and antisocial behavior. In 2012, Researchers
from Ohio State University found that
.
104
“people who played a violent video game
for three consecutive days showed
increases in aggressive behavior and
hostile expectations each day they played.”
There are also some real world examples of the potential
harm caused by violent video games. Norwegian mass
murderer Anders Breivik and Sandy Hook gunman Adam
Lanza were both known to be avid players of Call of Duty.
Breivik, who recently claimed that the “outdated”
Playstation 2 in his prison cell is a violation of his human
rights, previously discussed how he “trained” for his
attack that killed 77 people in July 2011 by playing the
game.
 WAYNE ALLYN ROOT:
Trump Just Got Re-Elected
By Assistant Editor
March 10, 2018, 5:38 Pm
I’m the guy who predicted a Trump victory against all
odds in the 2016 election. I also predicted a “Trump
Miracle” for the economy. I called Trump “Reagan Part
Deux.” Here’s my new prediction: President Trump
guaranteed his re-election this week.
Liberals have got to be sick to their stomachs. No matter
what they do or say, no matter how hard they try to distract
us from the truth about the booming economy, “The
Trump Miracle” shines through.
I was going to write this column about the Trump
administration’s war with California, illegal immigration
and liberal politicians serving as “lookouts” for illegal
felons. It’s time to set an example. It’s time to enforce the
rule of law. This move is cheered by middle class
Americans sick of being treated like second class citizens.
Brilliant. But this topic will have to wait.
Then I decided to write this column about Trump’s new
trade tariffs on steel and aluminum, backed on stage at the
White House by cheering blue collar steel and aluminum
workers. Trump kept his campaign promise to fight for
American workers and American jobs. His move was
cheered equally by Democrat Senator Joe Manchin of
West Virginia and liberal Silicon Valley billionaire Elon
Musk. Trump just won the votes of millions of working
class Americans. This is not your father’s GOP. Brilliant.
But this topic will have to wait.
Although I will make a prediction here. Trump exempted
Mexico from his tariffs- for now. Why? I predict Trump
will demand Mexico either pay for the wall, or be hit with
the 25% steel tariff. One way or another Mexico will pay
for Trump’s wall! Brilliant.
105
Then I decided to write this column about Trump’s
remarkable breakthrough with Kim Jong Un of North
Korea. First Little Kim announced he wanted to discuss
nuclear disarmament. Then he shocked the world by
inviting President Trump to meet in-person. Trump
accepted. Trump’s blustery taunts and intimidation tactics
WORKED. “The Art of the Deal.” Trump pulled off what
no other modern U.S. President could. But this topic will
also have to wait.
Because the new job numbers just came out. I almost
jumped through the roof. The Trump economy is
exploding. In the end, this is what matters. Americans
always vote with their pocketbooks. The economy is
booming like nothing seen since Reagan.
I coined the phrase “The Trump Miracle” to describe the
remarkable results of Trump economic policies- including
dramatically lower taxes and regulations. The newly
released numbers make me look subtle.
The Trump economy added a resounding 313,000 jobs in
February, crushing expectations of 205,000. It was the
biggest “beat versus expectations” in almost a decade! And
to top it off, December job growth was revised upwards
from 160,000 to 175,000 and January from 200,000 to
239,000.
The number of employed Americans rose to 155,215,000-
the highest in history. The number of black Americans
employed hit an all-time record high of 19,087,000. And a
record 72,530,000 women were employed. The 4.9%
unemployment rate of Hispanic workers is right at all-time
lows too.
I remember when I wrote at Fox News way back in 2015
that Donald Trump would be the greatest president for
blacks, Hispanics, women and gays ever- simply because
he would create the most black jobs, Hispanic jobs,
women’s jobs and gay jobs. Bingo!
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/07/02/donald-
trump-first-hispanic-president.html
But I saved the really great news for last. The Trump
economy added a total of 1,0006,000 jobs in February- the
biggest gain this century! That number included an
amazing, eye-popping 729,000 full-time jobs. Not the
crappy part-time jobs of the Obama era, but real, quality,
high-paying, middle class American jobs. That is one of
the highest totals of full-time jobs in U.S. economic
history.
A new Axios/Survey Monkey poll came out before all this
amazing news. It showed that if the 2018 election were
held today, five Democrat incumbent U.S. Senators in
West Virginia, Missouri, North Dakota, Montana and
Indiana would be defeated decisively. And three more in
Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin are leading by only single
digits. The voters in this poll didn’t know about the new
jobs numbers or the North Korea breakthrough.
106
Trump has changed politics. The GOP is going to pick up
seats in the 2018 midterm elections. Then Trump is headed
for a landslide re-election.
Wayne Allyn Root is the host of “WAR Now: The
Wayne Allyn Root Show” on Newsmax TV, nightly at 8
PM ET, found on DirecTV channel 349, Dish TV channel
216, or at
http://www.newsmaxtv.com/Shows/The-Wayne-Allyn-
Root-Show He is also a nationally syndicated radio host of
“WAR Now: The Wayne Allyn Root Show” found at
http://usaradio.com/wayne-allyn-root/
 Wikileaks’ Assange Smacks Down Eric Holder Over
‘Russian Meddling’: ‘Try Following The
Constitution Next Time’
Posted On March 10, 2018

(National Sentinel) Unleashed: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange

pushed back against former Obama Attorney General Eric Holder’s
criticism of President Donald J. Trump’s handling of Russia
following 2016 election meddling.
“Russian threat to our upcoming elections:
do something! Do anything. Impose
sanctions overwhelmingly approved by
even this dysfunctional congress. Are you
He then said that Holder should
simply unfit, without the necessary nerve or
do they have something on you? We were
attacked!” he tweeted last month. “follow the Constitution you swore to
uphold” next time — “not that there will” be
one.

On Friday Assange hit back, accusing Holder and, by

association former President Obama, of violating the
Constitution and their oaths of office.

“Attacked? By what? The truth? It’s entirely

your own fault, Eric. Thanks to your
unconstitutional grand jury against
@WikiLeaks you left me with nothing to do
but work 24/7, in harsh conditions, for
years–and I’m good, very good, at my job,”
he tweeted.
107
Reporting following the 2016 election noted that the
Obama administration was aware of Russian meddling
attempts but took no action against Moscow until after the
election.
Assange has repeatedly gone on record to state that neither
Russia nor any state actor was behind email hacks of the
Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s
campaign manager, John Podesta, prior to the 2016 The Daily Mail reported exclusively in December 2016
presidential election. that a former British diplomat-turned-Wikileaks operative
met someone in a park in Washington, D.C., and was
given the downloaded emails.

“Neither of [the leaks] came from the

Russians,” Murray said. “The source had
legal access to the information. The
documents came from inside leaks, not
hacks,” Craig Murray told the paper.

At the time the FBI offered to let its cyber forensic experts
examine the DNC’s computer servers but the political
organization refused.

A subsequent independent forensic analysis discovered

Wikileaks published several of those emails, which he and that the emails were indeed downloaded locally, most
others claim were not hacked at all. likely to a thumb drive, not hacked and certainly not by
Russia.
Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom said former DNC IT
staffer Seth Rich downloaded the emails and gave them to
Wikileaks.

108
 BUSTED: Random ‘Steelworker’ Making The Rounds For
PA Democrat Lamb… IS A TOP UNION
OFFICIAL (VIDEO)
By Jim Hoft
March 10, 2018, 5:56 Pm

Democrat Conor Lamb, left, about his stance on the newly

What a shock!
— It’s not like Democrats do this in every election!
mentioned steel import tariff during a campaign stop
during a meeting of the Union Veterans Council,
Thursday, March 8, 2018 in Canonsburg, Pa. Lamb is
running against Republican Rick Saccone in a special
election being held on March 13 for the PA 18th
Congressional District vacated by Republican Tim
Murphy. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Pennsylvania “steelworker” Danny Cregut went on FOX

News on Saturday to say he publicly supports Democrat
Conor Lamb in the Congressional race next week.

Lamb is the latest Democrat to run as if

he’s conservative but liberal policies are Of course, Danny Cregut does not mention this to the FOX
opposed by everyone except California. News crew.

Then if Lamb gets to Washington DC (And apparently they didn’t ask!)

he’ll march lockstep with Nancy Pelosi.

It happens EVERY time.

But there’s more to Cregut than he
admitted…
Danny Cregut is a top union hack.

Via the Lufkin News:

Denny Cregut, right, the finance director for the local

United Steelworkers of America Local 14693, asks
.

109
 VIDEO: Trump Rips Sleepy Eyes
Chuck Todd “He’s A Sleepy Son Of A Bitch, I Tell You”
By Jim Hoft
March 10, 2018, 6:23 Pm

TRUMP Rips “Sleepy Eyes” Chuck
Todd: “He’s a Sleepy Son-of-a-Bitch”
This was EPIC Trump speech—
President Trump: “It was 1999. I was on
“Meet the Press” a show now headed by
sleepy-eyes Chuck Todd. He’s a
sleeping son of a bitch. I tell you.”

President Trump held a rally on

Saturday evening in Moon Township,
Pennsylvania at the Pittsburgh airport
hangar.

Trump is speaking on behalf of Republican candidate Rick

Saccone.

110
 Trump Rips “Very Low IQ”
Auntie Maxine Waters At Penn Rally (VIDEO)
By Cristina Laila
March 10, 2018, 6:39 Pm

“We have to defeat Nancy Pelosi and

Maxine Waters, a low IQ individual,” Trump
said.
“Do you ever see her? We will impeach
him!” President Trump said mocking
Maxine Waters.

Trump slammed Waters a second time for having a low

IQ.

VIDEO:
President Trump held a rally on
Saturday evening in Moon Township,
Pennsylvania at the Pittsburgh airport
hangar.

Trump is speaking on behalf of Republican candidate Rick

Saccone.

This was EPIC Trump speech—

Right after President Trump ripped “Sleepy Eyes Chuck

Todd” he laid into Nancy Pelosi and Auntie Maxine
Waters!
.

111
 Chuck Todd Responds To
Trump’s ‘Sleepy-Eyed Son Of A Bitch’ Jab
By Cristina Laila
March 10, 2018, 7:37 Pm

TRUMP Rips “Sleepy Eyes” Chuck

Todd: “He’s a Sleepy Son-of-a-Bitch”

Chuck Todd responded to President Trump’s jab Saturday

evening.

President Trump held a rally on
Saturday evening in Moon Township,
Pennsylvania at the Pittsburgh airport
hangar.
Trump is speaking on behalf of Republican candidate Rick
Saccone.
This was EPIC Trump speech—
He took the jab well and made a light-hearted joke.
Chuck Todd tweeted:
Don’t miss @MeetThePress tomorrow! I
know folks may be tired in the morning due
to springing forward, so set those clocks
and DVRs now before your eyes get too
sleepy.

President Trump: “It was 1999. I was on

“Meet the Press” a show now headed by
sleepy-eyes Chuck Todd. He’s a
sleeping son of a bitch. I tell you.”

VIDEO:

112
 Another Husband-Wife Team Linked
TO Fusion GPS Found IN Russia Collusion Probe
Former Wall Street Journal STAFFERS, ONE A VETERAN Obama AND Biden
AIDE, SUDDENLY UNCOVERED BY House PANEL INVESTIGATORS
BY Mark Tapscott
Updated 10 Mar 2018 AT 10:22 Pm
Investigators on the House Permanent Select Committee
on Intelligence appear to have uncovered a second
husband-wife team who provided a conduit for opposition
research by Fusion GPS into the highest levels of former
President Barack Obama’s White House.
Shailagh Murray (shown above), a former Obama policy
adviser who previously served as deputy chief of staff and
communications director for then-Vice President Joe
Biden, is married to Neil King Jr. — who works for the
shadowy Washington, D.C.-based opposition research firm
that hired former British spy Christopher Steele, according
to Fox News.
Steele compiled a dossier during the 2016 presidential
election of largely unverified allegations about President
Donald Trump’s connections with Russian business and
government interests.
Former FBI Director James Comey told Congress the
Steele dossier consisted of “salacious and unverified”
allegations.
The dossier’s questionable credibility did not, however,
prevent bureau officials from relying almost exclusively on
it to support their application for approval from a Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court to spy on a
volunteer foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign.
Murray and King both worked for The Wall Street Journal,
while Murray also was at The Washington Post during her
career. Fusion GPS was founded by Glenn Simpson,
another former Wall Street Journal reporter.
113
Steele’s compensation for providing the Trump dossier to
Fusion GPS was paid by 2016 Democratic presidential
nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic
National Committee, which she controlled as the party’s
standard-bearer against Republican Trump.
House intelligence panel chairman Rep. Devin Nunes (R-
Calif.) is asking Murray a series of questions regarding her
knowledge of the Steele dossier, its funding, and how it
came to be used by federal officials spying on the Trump
campaign.
She and a second former Biden aide, Colin Kahl, have
been sent questionnaires, according to Fox News. Should
either of them decline to respond to those queries, the
intelligence committee will seek to compel their answers.
Committee investigators see parallels between the Murray-
King duo and that of Fusion GPS employee Nellie Ohr,
whose husband Bruce was deputy associate attorney
general during the 2016 campaign. Bruce Ohr was
demoted after it came out that he failed to disclose on
federal conflict of interest reports the required details of
his wife’s employment.
The Last Refuge blog, written by a team of former
Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys, contends Fusion
GPS was one of a number of National Security Agency
contractors that lost access to the government’s
intelligence databases in the wake of the Edward Snowden
scandal.
The Ohrs provided “a workaround” to regain that access
through the DOJ, according to the blog.
 James Clapper Avoids Charges
For 'Clearly Erroneous' Surveillance Testimony
By Steven Nelson
March 10, 2018 11:01 PM
Two criminal statutes have five-year statutes of limitations,
establishing a Monday deadline to charge former intelligence chief
James Clapper for allegedly lying to Congress. (AP Photo/Pablo
Martinez Monsivais, File) Pablo Martinez Monsivais
Former intelligence chief James Clapper is poised to avoid
charges for allegedly lying to Congress after five years of
apparent inaction by the Justice Department.
Clapper, director of national intelligence from 2010 to
2017, admitted giving “clearly erroneous” testimony about
mass surveillance in March 2013, and offered differing
explanations for why.
Two criminal statutes that cover lying to Congress have
five-year statutes of limitations, establishing a Monday
deadline to charge Clapper, who in retirement has emerged
as a leading critic of President Trump.
The under-oath untruth was exposed by National Security
Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who sparked
national debate on surveillance policy with leaks to the
press.
Many members of Congress, mostly Republicans
supportive of new limits on electronic surveillance, called
for Clapper to be prosecuted as the deadline neared, saying
unpunished perjury jeopardizes the ability of Congress to
perform oversight.
"He admitted to lying to Congress and was
unremorseful and flippant about it,” Rep.
Thomas Massie, R-Ky., told the
Washington Examiner. “The integrity of our
federal government is at stake because his
114
behavior sets the standard for the entire
intelligence community.”
"Political consideration should not affect the
Department of Justice from pursuing this
matter,” Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-
Wis., said ahead of the deadline.
“Complete and truthful testimony is
imperative for Congress to conduct
effective oversight. It is clear from the
evidence and Director Clapper’s own
admission that he lied.”
Justice Department spokeswoman Nicole Navas Oxman
declined to comment on Clapper or how perjury cases
typically would be handled, saying in an email,
“No comment or information to be
provided.”
Clapper, speaking through a spokesman, declined to
comment.
Clapper’s problematic testimony occurred a few minutes
before noon on March 12, 2013, when he told Sen. Ron
Wyden, D-Ore., “No, sir,” and, “Not wittingly,” in
response to a question about whether the NSA was
collecting “any type of data at all” on millions of
Americans. Wyden later said he provided the question to
Clapper before the hearing and unsuccessfully asked
Clapper to correct the record.
Months later, Snowden revealed in June 2013 that the U.S.
intelligence community obtained secret court orders
forcing phone companies to turn over millions of U.S. call
records on an “ongoing, daily basis.”
Clapper offered at least two different explanations for his
inaccurate testimony.
In a June 2013 apology letter, Clapper
wrote that he gave the “clearly erroneous”
answer because he “simply didn’t think of”
the call record collection. But in an MSNBC
interview the same month, he said he
chose to give the “least untruthful” answer
because he was “asked a, ‘When are you
going to stop beating your wife?’ kind of
question, meaning not answerable
necessarily by a simple yes or no.”
Many lawmakers said they learned of the call record
dragnet from Snowden. The program was ended with 2015
legislation. In addition to the call record program, NSA
data collection under Section 702 of the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act, which undergirds two large
internet surveillance programs, affects data from an
unknown number of Americans.
Lying to Congress is rarely prosecuted, but there are some
recent examples.
In 2007, second-ranking Interior Department official J.
Steven Griles pleaded guilty to lying to senators about
links to lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Baseball player Miguel
Tejada pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in 2009 after
giving false testimony in 2005 about performance-
enhancing drugs. Player Roger Clemens was acquitted in
2012 of similarly lying to Congress.
Still, defense attorney Mark Zaid, who works with national
security cases, told the Examiner earlier this year that
“I honestly don't think it's so black or white
as to a conviction.”
Zaid said that
“Clapper was faced with a difficult choice:
Reveal classified information or respond in
a [manner] that is not accurate,” and that
although “there is no specific national
security defense” for perjury, he believes
“an argument can be made that he didn't lie
to Congress because that committee knew
the information already.”
Jesselyn Radack, a defense attorney who represents
Snowden and fellow NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake,
however, takes a dim view of Clapper being let off the
hook.
“It shows that government officials in
positions of power can lie with impunity to
115
Congress and the American people about
outrageous abuses, but when ordinary
citizens like Reality Winner reveal the truth
about the same abuses, they face
espionage charges and prison," Radack
said, referring to the NSA contractor
charged last year for sending the Intercept
a report on Russian attempts to hack
election systems.
Since retiring, Clapper has taken a leading role criticizing
Trump on television, and he’s regularly treated by national
media outlets as a source of truthful commentary on
matters of government surveillance.
In March 2017, Clapper said,
“I can deny,” Trump’s allegation that
President Barack Obama wiretapped his
calls in Trump Tower. Clapper, appearing
on NBC’s “Meet the Press”, said “no” in
response to a question about whether there
was wiretapping of “anything at Trump
Tower.”
He said he would know if there were any such FISA court
order, and his claim Trump was wrong was widely
circulated.
"There was no such wiretap activity
mounted against the president, the
president-elect at the time, or as a
candidate, or against his campaign,”
Clapper said. The journalist who conducted
the interview did not inform viewers about
Clapper’s false testimony about
surveillance, and months after the
interview, questions mounted about
wiretapping affecting the Trump campaign
and Trump Tower.
In September, CNN reported that former Trump campaign
manager Paul Manafort, who since 2006 has owned a
condo in Trump Tower, was wiretapped under secret
surveillance court orders between 2014 and “some point”
in 2016 and then again beginning in late 2016 during the
presidential transition. Manafort was Trump's campaign
manager between May and August 2016, and it’s unclear if
any of that time period was covered in the first wiretap,
which reportedly was prompted by his foreign lobbying.
The second period of Manafort wiretapping, beginning
during the presidential transition, reportedly was premised
specifically on Russia’s role in the election and covered a
period of time when Trump and Manafort were known to
speak on the phone. A FISA order against former Trump
campaign adviser Carter Page was issued in October 2016,
after he left the campaign.
 “I stand on what I said on the fifth of
March,” Clapper said in response to
reporting on the Manafort surveillance
orders. “FISAs are classified, so even if I
knew something about it I couldn’t
[comment], and I don’t.”
Clapper’s antagonism toward Trump has been wide-
ranging.
He told CNN in December that Russian President Vladimir
Putin “knows how to handle an asset, and that’s what he’s
doing with the president” after a phone call between the
leaders. In another interview, Clapper said about Trump’s
firing of FBI Director James Comey,
“If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck,
and flies like a duck, it sure looks like
obstruction to me.” In July, Clapper told
Australia’s National Press Club, "I think [if]
you compare the two, that Watergate
pales, really, in my view, compared to what
we're confronting now.”
In August, Clapper told CNN,
“I really question his ability to — his fitness
to be — in this office," and, “I worry about,
frankly, access to the nuclear codes.”
Trump fired back on Twitter: “James
.
116
Clapper, who famously got caught lying to
Congress, is now an authority on Donald
Trump. Will he show you his beautiful letter
to me?” Clapper said the letter was short
and formulaic.
Last month, after a group of lawmakers renewed their calls
for his prosecution, Clapper said on CNN that
"I think there are other shoes to drop here
— notably finances” in special counsel
Robert Mueller’s probe of potential Trump
campaign collusion with Russia. "What
were the financial relationships between
the Trump Organization before the election
and the Trump campaign?” he said.
The non-prosecution of Clapper comes after a year of
Trump attacking Justice Department Attorney General Jeff
Sessions. Frustrated by Sessions’ recusal of oversight
power for Mueller’s investigation, Trump called Sessions
“VERY weak” in his approach to Hillary Clinton and
leakers, but the denunciations and promised action resulted
in no additional leak charges or a renewed criminal probe
of Clinton’s handling of classified information.
Like Clapper, Sessions faces accusations of giving
Congress misleading testimony, regarding his contact with
Russia’s former ambassador.
 Putin ‘Has Something’
Compromising On Trump: US Journalist
Sun Mar 11, 2018 07:33AM

“Well, this is just another load of

nonsense,” Putin said last year in an
interview when asked whether he had any
damaging information on Trump.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin

shake hands at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec)
summit dinner in Vietnam last year. (Photo by Reuters)

Russian President Vladimir Putin does

not like Donald Trump and he “has
something” on the US president which
is the reason why Trump speaks so
highly of him, an American journalist
says.
TV host Megyn Kelly, who interviewed the Russian leader
recently, made the remarks on Saturday while speaking to
MSNBC’s Chris Matthew.
PressTV-‘I didn’t do that,’ Putin tells Trump
Putin said that regardless of Trump’s previous visits to
Russia as a businessman, he had had no relationship with
the New York billionaire and had never held a meeting
with him, adding that there were some 100 American
companies in Russia in June 2017.

“I would not say that Putin likes Trump,” “Do you think we’re gathering
she said. “I did not glean that at all from compromising information on all of them
him. I did glean that perhaps he has right now or something?” Putin asked,
something on Donald Trump." before adding: “Have you all lost your
senses?”
“I think there’s a very good chance Putin
knows some things about Donald Trump
that Mr. Trump does not want repeated American intelligence agencies claim that Russia
publicly,” she added. interfered in the US 2016 presidential election to try to
help Trump. The US Justice Department’s Special Counsel
Robert Mueller who is investigating the allegations has
Kelly said that she doesn’t believe the Russian leader’s
also already named several key former aides of Trump’s
compromising information is about the dossier which
campaign in connection with the inquiry.
allegedly links Trump to Russian nationals.
Mueller has also reportedly been questioning witnesses
“My money’s not on the dossier,” she said. about Trump’s business activities in Russia.
“I think it has to do with money and
Trump’s early years dealing with the
Russians back in the nineties, his facilities Trump has dismissed Mueller’s investigation as the
here in the United States.”
“the single greatest witch hunt of a
Putin has strongly denied he had any compromising politician in American history.”
material about Trump.
.
117
 Trump Does Impression Of POTUS
The Media Wanted, Crowd Explodes Loving It
By Cillian Zeal
March 11, 2018 At 7:56am
If there’s one complaint we constantly hear about Donald
Trump, it’s that he’s “unpresidential.” He doesn’t talk like
a president is supposed to, we hear. He doesn’t act like
someone in the office should — with decorum and dignity.
I’ve always found this to be one of the more preposterous
arguments against Trump. President Andrew Johnson, the
man who took over for Abraham Lincoln after his
assassination, was a barely-functional alcoholic who was
so soused at Lincoln’s second inauguration he couldn’t
even deliver his speech coherently. (A series of speeches
given by Johnson supporting candidates for the 1866
midterms were also plagued with very public bouts of
insobriety.) Franklin Pierce, who preceded James
Buchanan in the White House, somehow managed to be an
even bigger alcoholic. Warren G. Harding had an affair in
an Oval Office closet and William Jefferson Clinton didn’t
even bother using the closet.
But Donald Trump — a man who has never taken a drink
or been accused of using the Oval Office for the purposes
of carnal knowledge — is somehow much more
unpresidential than anything this country has ever seen
before. Right.
Regarding the charge of unpresidentiality, Trump has had
his fun with it. And he managed to have even more fun on
Saturday, when he appeared at a huge campaign rally for
Pennsylvania state Rep. Rick Saccone, who is in a tight
race for a vacated seat in the Pittsburgh suburbs.
According to The Hill, Trump decided to respond to a
Wall Street Journal article which asked if the president
was “a good speaker.”
“You know, how easy it is to be
presidential?” Trump said. “But you’d be
out of here right now, you’d be so bored
because I could stand up, right?”
However, if you wanted presidential, presidential you
would get: Trump did an impression of what he would
sound like if he were a traditional commander in chief
type.
“I’m very presidential. Ladies and
gentlemen, thank you for being here
118
tonight,” Trump said in a mock presidential
voice, all while moving robotically.
“Rick will be a great,
great congressman. He will help me very
much. He’s a fine man and Yong is
a wonderful wife. I just want to tell you
on behalf of the United States of America
that we appreciate your service. We
appreciate your service.”
Trump: "You would be so bored" if I acted
presidential pic.twitter.com/H6ZluTgRdk
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer)
March 11, 2018
“See, that’s easy,” Trump said as he
concluded his impression of “Presidential
Trump,” all to laughter and applause from
the crowd.
“That’s much easier than doing what I have
to do. But this is much more effective. If I
came like a stiff, you guys wouldn’t be here
tonight,” he added.
There is a certain truth to what Trump said. After all, the
crowd loved it. His supporters love the fact that he’s taking
it to a media that demands politicians play by their rules of
decorum. The media may say that they hate it, but yet they
report on it (and the issues that the “unpresidentiality” is in
regards to). When you’re talking about Donald Trump,
you’re doing exactly what Donald Trump wants you to do.
Oh, and there were plenty of other moments of
“unpresidential” behavior during the speech. Trump
intimated he might like to follow Asia’s lead in using the
death penalty against drug traffickers. He went after
Maxine Waters, Chuck Todd and Oprah Winfrey, inter
alia.
He was clearly having fun — and so was the audience.
Whether or not this strategy remains productive is
anyone’s guess. Trump’s visit to Pennsylvania was
prompted by the underperformance of the aforementioned
GOP House candidate Rick Saccone, who’s in a tossup
race in a district Trump won by 20 points. Part of this has
to do with the fact that the seat was vacated by a
Republican who left in scandal and part of it is the fact that
Saccone is about as inspiring as Ben Stein’s teacher in
“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” while his opponent has gotten
all kinds of uncritical press which has painted him as a
kind of Jon Ossoff redux.
That said, if Saccone is boring and ineffectual at turning
out the voters, it was clear from Saturday’s rally that the
.
119
president still has the ability to add a spark to any
campaign. Sure, it may not be “presidential.” Then again,
Trump wasn’t slurring his speech incoherently like
Andrew Johnson, nor was he going back to the Oval Office
for a tryst in the closet or finding new uses for cigars. If
that’s presidential, there are plenty of people who would
take Trump and his tweets any day.
 Deep State: ‘Unprecedented’ Number Of Ex-CIA
Operatives Running For Congress As DEMOCRATS To
Thwart Trump’s Agenda
Posted On March 11, 2018

districts, 44 involve candidates with a

military-intelligence or State Department
background, with 11 districts having two
such candidates, and one district having
three. In the majority of contests, the
military-intelligence candidates seem likely
to win the Democratic nomination, and, if
the Democrats win in the general election,
would enter Congress as new members of
the House of Representatives.

As for how this ties in with the Deep State’s opposition to

Trump, Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom explained.

(National Sentinel) Trump Hate: A large number of “The Deep State no longer wants to rely on
former CIA operatives and officials are running for unreliable puppets. They want to run
Congress in the 2018 midterms as Democrats, which may politics directly now,” he tweeted in
help to explain why there has been so much opposition to response to the report Saturday.
President Donald J. Trump’s policies in the intelligence
community.

According to Patrick Martin of the World Socialist Web

Site, the number of former CIA operatives running as
Democrats has “no precedent in U.S. political history.”

The site noted further:

An extraordinary number of former

intelligence and military operatives from the
CIA, Pentagon, National Security Council
and State Department are seeking
nomination as Democratic candidates for
Congress in the 2018 midterm elections.
The potential influx of military-intelligence
personnel into the legislature has no Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, meanwhile, sees an
precedent in US political history. attempt by the Marxist Democratic Party to consolidate
If the Democrats capture a majority in the power throughout American institutions.
House of Representatives on November 6,
as widely predicted, candidates drawn from “The merger between the CIA, the
the military-intelligence apparatus will Democrats, Iraq war neocons, NBC, CNN,
comprise as many as half of the new and the Washington (Amazon) Post is a
Democratic members of Congress. They baleful predictor for US democracy,” he
will hold the balance of power in the lower tweeted.
chamber of Congress.
Of the 102 primary elections to choose the
Democratic nominees in these competitive
120

The president, however, is reportedly considering a
proposal by Erik Prince, the former head of private
security firm Blackwater, and a retired CIA officer to
provide CIA Director Mike Pompeo and the administration
with a global, privately operated spy network that
circumvents the U.S. intelligence community, The
Intercept reported, adding that former Reagan national
security official and retired Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North is
also involved in the effort.
The site noted:
“Pompeo can’t trust the CIA bureaucracy,
so we need to create this thing that reports
just directly to him,” said a former senior
U.S. intelligence official with firsthand
knowledge of the proposals, in describing
White House discussions. “It is a direct-
action arm, totally off the books,” this
person said, meaning the intelligence
.
121
collected would not be shared with the rest
of the CIA or the larger intelligence
community. “The whole point is this is
supposed to report to the president and
Pompeo directly.”
As for Prince — whose sister is Trump Education
Secretary Betsy DeVos — he is likely already a Deep State
target.
As The Hill reported Friday,
“Special counsel Robert Mueller‘s team has
reportedly heard testimony that appears at
odds with answers Blackwater founder Erik
Prince gave to the House Intelligence
Committee about a meeting he attended
with a Russian executive before President
Trump‘s inauguration.”
The news site noted further:
George Nader, a UAE adviser who has
emerged as a key figure in Mueller’s probe,
told Mueller that the UAE officials at the
meeting in Seychelles didn’t introduce
Prince and Russian executive Kirill
Dmitriev, as Prince had stated.
Prince, who founded the private security
company formerly known as Blackwater,
today known as Academi, had testified
before the House Intelligence Committee
that the meeting was by chance and had
been set up by a UAE official.
 CNN’s Website Has Hilarious
Problem Because Of Trump’s Success
By Cillian Zeal
March 11, 2018 At 8:02am

I’m not entirely sure CNN chief Jeff Zucker is a religious Here’s what the Jobs Tracker looked like on Sunday
man. However, I’m going to assume he is, at least in some morning:
way. And every day, as he rises with the morning dawn
and draws back the comforter, I imagine he gets on his
knees and thanks God (or Jane Fonda) that Donald J.
Trump was elected president.

In just a few short years, CNN has transformed itself from

“The Official Network of Your Flight is

Delayed and Your iPhone Battery is Dead,
So You’re Stuck Watching this in the
Departure Lounge” to “All Trump-bashing,
All The Time.” And, ratings-wise, it’s
worked for them. People now watch “The
Most Trusted Name In News” in places
other than Terminal B at LaGuardia.

The problem is that the picture CNN’s painted of the

Trump administration — everything’s in chaos, Trump’s
in league with the Russians and is about to be impeached,
the country’s going to hell, etc. — isn’t actually what’s
happened. And unfortunately, the best laid plans of mice
and CNN employees cannot change that fact.

Take, for instance, the “Trump Jobs Tracker.” The Jobs

Tracker is a simple website set up by CNN to see if
Donald Trump could keep his promise of adding 25
million jobs to the economy in 10 years — or, to break it
down by month, 208,333 jobs per month.
Oh no! President Trump is off track on a major campaign
promise! Well, that’s it, I’m voting Democra– hey, wait.
When was the last time this page was updated?
Does Don Lemon like getting smashed on New Year’s
Eve?
According to The Daily Caller, economists estimated that
United States added 200,000 jobs in January. This was
followed by an extremely robust 313,000 jobs in February.
The unemployment rate stood at 4.1 percent for the fifth
straight month, which is the lowest number since the 3.9
percent in December of 2000, right before the dot-coms
went dot-boom.

In other words, should that trajectory continue, Trump is

Yes, the last time anyone bothered to update this page was actually on track.
Jan. 5, when most of you still had your Christmas
ornaments up. Has anything happened in the interim that
Of course, this is CNN, “The Most Trusted Name In
may have, you know, changed the relevancy of the
News.” They’d never neglect a website they put up to
information on this page?
122
shame Trump simply because the numbers changed and it
made Trump look good.
Excuse me for a moment. I have to go to urgent care; all
the laughing I just did after writing that last line gave me
an asthma attack.
OK back. Joe Simonson at The Daily Caller has a few
theories for the page’s neglect, including that layoffs in
CNN’s digital division may have affected the page’s
operation.
That seems slightly unlikely to me, especially since
nothing’s happened since Simsonson wrote about it on
Saturday (a little less than 24 hours ago as I write this). It’s
a lot more likely that the neglect began when the numbers
didn’t necessarily match up with the mission.
Please like and share on Facebook and Twitter with your
thoughts on this job tracker.

123
 Low IQ Maxine Waters Responds To Trump: Says Jared
Kushner Was Laundering Money With Paul Manafort
…(That Was Stupid)
By Jim Hoft
March 11, 2018, 9:29 Am
President Trump held a rally on
Saturday evening in Moon Township,
Pennsylvania at the Pittsburgh airport
hangar.
President Trump ripped Low IQ Maxine Waters and
Nancy Pelosi.
Here’s the video:
On Saturday night Low IQ Maxine
Waters responded to President Trump
by accusing his son-in-law Jared
Kushner of laundering money with Paul
Manafort.
That was stupid, Maxine.
124
There is no evidence that Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort
ever knew each other before the 2016 presidential
campaign.
All of the charges against Paul Manafort were based on his
business dealings from 2006 to 2015.
The Advocate reported:
The president gave Rep. Maxine Waters
the spotlight and she used it to blast him in
an interview and a blistering speech before
the Human Rights Campaign’s annual
dinner in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Before rallying an audience of more than 1,000 people at
HRC’s fundraiser held at the J.W. Marriott (Olympian Gus
Kenworthy called it a “mic drop moment”), Waters spoke
backstage with The Advocate exclusively about the
president’s latest attack on her intelligence.
Waters specifically called out Kushner over the required
disclosure forms he filed (and re-filed) to work in the
White House. “In addition to maybe having left things out,
I think he may have lied on his disclosure,” she said.
Waters accused him of also lying while under oath when
facing three hours of questions from the House
Intelligence Committee in July.
“I believe that he’s lying and that he has
lied,” she told The Advocate. Waters
suggested the special counsel’s charges
against former Trump campaign manager
Paul Manafort could impact Kushner. “I
believe that Kushner can be caught having
lied, and I think he can be caught involved I
think in some of the money laundering
involved with Manafort,” she said.
That’s exactly the kind of talk that appears to perturb
Trump. He complained to an audience during a campaign-
style rally in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, that
 “We have to defeat Nancy Pelosi and
Maxine Waters, a very low I.Q. individual.“
The audience booed Waters’ name.
.
125
“Ever see her? You ever see her? ‘We will
impeach him! We will impeach the
president.’ But he hasn’t done anything
wrong. ‘It doesn’t matter, we will impeach
him.’ She’s a low I.Q. individual. You can’t
help it. She really is.”
 HUGE! Steelworkers Union President Strongly Suggests
Members Will Flip To Vote Trump (VIDEO)
Guest Post By Mike Lachance At American Lookout
March 11, 2018, 9:42 Am

Gerard said Trump was able to “see the steelworker

agenda” and “he’s going to have a major impact on our
members” with what he has done.

“It’s going to make it very hard for our

members to ignore what he just did and
what makes me sad is we’ve been trying to
get Democrats to this for more than 30
years,” Gerard told Todd.

Gerard said Trump is finally “going to help us get a level

Trump’s recent moves on steel have made him some new
friends in the industry. Leo Gerard of United Steelworkers
recently told NBC’s Chuck Todd that steel workers are
going to remember what Trump did for them.
playing field” after 20 years of promises from Democratic
and Republican presidents. While unions are notoriously
large supporters of Democrats, Gerard said Trump’s
administration has recognized that if the next 20 years are
like the last 20 years then “we have a national security
problem.” Gerard made it clear his union will work with
the administration to prioritize U.S.-made steel.

Real Clear Politics has the story: Watch the video:

United Steelworkers’ Leo Gerard:

Members Won’t Forget What Trump Did,
He Stopped Wealth Transfer
In an interview with a combative Chuck
Todd, Leo Gerard, President of the United
Steelworks, praised the effect of President
Trump’s newly proclaimed tariffs would
have on the U.S. steel market. Gerard
praised Trump for making it clear he is
going to “tackle trade deficits” which he
called a “wealth transfer” because they are
“taking good jobs away.”
.

126
 ABC, NBC Hype ‘Blue Wave’
Taking PA-18 To Help Dems Win House
By Nicholas Fondacaro
March 11, 2018 10:50 AM EDT
The special election for Pennsylvania’s 18 th congressional
district between Rick Saccone (R) and Connor Lamb (D)
was two days away and the liberal media was set for it to
be a victory in their favor. A top story on each of ABC’s
and NBC’s Sunday morning news programs was dedicated
to playing up the possibility that the Democrats could beat
out Republicans in their own district, which would help
take back control of the House of Representatives in what
they were calling a “blue wave.”
“Republicans throwing a whopping $9
million at the election fearing, that if
they lose a safe seat in Congress, it's a
downward spiral to the 2018 midterms,”
Tara Palmeri condescendingly reported
during ABC’s Good Morning America.
Palmeri also tried to fact-check President Trump in her
report and totally whiffed. At a rally in the district over the
weekend, Trump said he won the district “like by 22
points,” clearly not knowing the figure off the top of his
head. With the same condescending tone, she asserted it
was actually 19 points and claimed Trump was wrong in
describing the Democratic candidate as a solid left vote
because “he's running as a moderate.”
But Palmeri’s fact check was soon proven inaccurate by
her ABC colleague Jon Karl who noted President Trump
won the district by “20 plus points.” Yet he too hyped the
possibility of a Democratic “blue wave” when he was teed
up by co-anchor Paula Faris, who asked:
“Some are saying that it could be an
indicator what might happen in
November’s midterms when the
Democrats are going to try to flip 24
127
seats to regain the House. Is this race
really that important?”
“Well, it would be a disaster for the
Republicans to lose this,” Karl
responded. “The fact that there's even a
race here is a troubling sign for the
[Republicans]. But [Democrats] seem to
have put together almost the ideal
candidate. They made this very close.”
Meanwhile, on NBC’s Sunday Today, anchor Willie Geist
and Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd seemed just as
excited. “Never want to extrapolate too much, but what
could it mean if a Democrat won there in Pennsylvania-
18,” Geist asked Todd appearing to feign his hopes.
“I think that sends shivers down the
spine of Republicans in even more
House districts because this is
essentially Trump country, if you will,”
Todd proclaimed. “But a favorable district
to supposedly to Trump and if you're a
Republican struggling and Trump can't
bail you out in a district he carried by 20
points, then Katie bar the door.”
Todd argued that if the Saccone couldn’t win with
Trump’s endorsement, we would see Republicans fleeing
from the President in droves as the 2018 midterms drew
closer.
“He couldn't save Roy Moore of
Alabama either,” Geist ridiculously added.
By making that comment, he was asserting that Trump
should have been able to get Republicans out to support
the man accused of molesting girls that were underage.
While they were busy hyping their so-called “blue wave,”
they failed to note all the polls that were showing a
possible Republican victory. According to RealClear
Politics’ poll average for the district, (even though it’s
categorized the race as a toss-up) out of the five polls, only
one showed a Democratic win and it had one of the
smallest sample sizes and one of the largest margins of
error. So, these liberal media outlets are getting way out in
front of their skis.
The relevant portions of the transcripts are below, click
expand to read:
ABC
Good Morning America
March 11, 2018
8:05:26 AM Eastern
(…)
TARA PALMERI: Returning to a state he said feels like home
after helping him win the election, this time to endorse
Republican congressional candidate Rick Saccone. Days ahead
of a close special election.
DONALD TRUMP: They're all watching because I won this
district like by 22 points.
PALMERI: He won that district by 19 points. But it's an unusually
tight race for Saccone.
RICK SACCONE: Are you going to help me on Tuesday? Let's
close this deal.
PALMERI: Republicans throwing a whopping $9 million at the
election fearing, that if they lose a safe seat in Congress, it's a
downward spiral to the 2018 midterms. Trump dubbed the
Democratic candidate, Connor Lamb, Lamb the sham claiming
he would vote along party lines even though he's running as a
moderate.
(…)
8:08:04 AM Eastern
PAULA FARIS: So, let's dig in more on this Pennsylvania special
election. Some are saying that it could be an indicator what might
happen in November’s midterms when the Democrats are going
to try to flip 24 seats to regain the House. Is this race really that
important?
128
JON KARL: Well, it would be a disaster for the Republicans to
lose this. Remember, as Trump himself pointed out in his rally
last night, he won this district by 20 plus points in November of
2016. The fact that there's even a race here is a troubling sign for
the Democrats [Republicans?]. But they seem to have put
together almost the ideal candidate. They made this very close. It
will be interesting to see if the Democrats blow it after coming so
close. Whether or not there will be any second guessing of that
Dan mentioned, Connor Lamb not talking to the media at all,
seems a strange approach for a new candidate for Congress.
DAN HARRIS: He's talking to the local media though and this
race will be interesting. A lot of people are going to look at this
race as maybe the sign of a beginning of a blue wave.
(…)
NBC
Sunday Today
March 11, 2018
8:07:54 AM Eastern
WILLIE GEIST: Let's talk, Chuck, a minute about why actually
President Trump was in Pennsylvania.
CHUCK TODD: Yeah.
GEIST: You would be okay to forget what he was doing there
because he was talking about his own work, but it was for that
Pennsylvania-18 special election in a district President Trump
won about 16 months ago by 20 points, now has some polling
the Democrat with a slight edge, but pretty much neck and neck
there.
TODD: Sure.
GEIST: Never want to extrapolate too much but what could it
mean if a Democrat won there in Pennsylvania-18?
TODD: I think that sends shivers down the spine of Republicans
in even more House districts because this is essentially Trump
country, if you will. It's not as -- as significant of a Trump district
as some other rural parts of Pennsylvania, but a favorable district
to supposedly to Trump and if you're a Republican struggling and
Trump can't bail you out in a district he carried by 20 points, then
Katie bar the door. I think that's why the President is going
because I think he thinks he's got a magic touch with
Pennsylvania. He did it before for himself so he thinks I can go in
and save this guy.
But I tell you, a loss here, Willie, I think it has more Republicans
running from being seen near him in many, many, many districts
in this country.
GEIST: He couldn't save Roy Moore of Alabama either. Okay,
Chuck Todd, looking wide awake and ready for action today.
 APRIL RYAN Goes On Unhinged Rant Against POTUS
Trump, ‘White’ Founding Fathers, Trump Supporters
After His PA Rally (VIDEO)
By Jim Hoft
March 11, 2018, 10:45 Am

know some of these rallies have been so tense that they’ve

been fearful for their safety at times. All the president has
to say is act on it and people will turn. This is someone
who has the power of life and death in his tongue and his
pen and also the fact that people will turn on the press in a
moment’s notice.

So this is not shtick. This is real for us. And we are

President Trump held a rally on
Saturday evening in Moon Township,
Pennsylvania at the Pittsburgh airport
hangar.
covered by the Founding Fathers, these white men who
covered all of us not knowing there’d be social media or
people like “us” covering the White House. So this is a
dangerous game. And this president vowed to uphold the
Constitution. And the free press is part of that. And he’s
going against his vow when he was inaugurated. So I take
this seriously. And to call Chuck Todd an SOB. That was
totally wrong. Chuck is stalwart, he’s fact-based and he
works hard at what he does.

It was a barn-burner — The president That was nuts.

took on everyone and everything from
Low IQ Maxine Waters, to Son-of-a-bitch It should be pointed out that conservatives are beaten by
Chuck Todd, to Fake News CNN. violent leftists in America at a rate of nearly 300 to 1 since
the 2016 election campaign. Liberal hacks like April Ryan
like to hide this from the American public.
It was too much to take for some of the elitist liberal media
hacks.
Via Reliable Sources:
White House reporter and CNN contributor went off on an
unhinged rant against President Trump on Sunday
morning.

April Ryan: This is real and it’s dangerous. During the

campaign this president talked about kicking people out,
beating them up. People did get beat up. The problem is
now when you make the press the enemy, which he has,
there are people out here who are really crazy enough to
really feel that and to act on it. And some of my dear
colleagues who are going to some of these rallies, you

129
 Boomerang: Intel Committee
Now Going After Obama Admin On Fusion GPS
By Chuck Ross
March 11, 2018 At 10:54am
Republicans on the House Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence are seeking information about the Steele
dossier from a former Obama administration official who
is married to an employee of Fusion GPS, the opposition
research firm that commissioned the dossier.
The committee, chaired by GOP Rep. Devin Nunes of
California, issued questionnaires Friday to around a dozen
former President Barack Obama’s administration officials.
The Daily Caller News Foundation is told that one of
the letters was sent to Shailagh Murray, a former journalist
who served as senior adviser to Obama and as former Vice
President Joe Biden’s deputy chief of staff.
Murray’s husband is Neil King, a former Wall Street
Journal reporter who worked at the newspaper at the same
time as Fusion GPS’s three co-founders, Glenn Simpson,
Peter Fritsch and Tom Catan.
Murray also worked at The Journal until 2005. She joined
the Obama administration in 2011.
King left The Journal in December 2016 after accepting a
buyout offer. Politico reported at the time that he was
joining Fusion GPS, which is based in Washington, D.C.
House Intel Republicans are exploring whether there are
similarities to Justice Department official Bruce Ohr and
his wife, Nellie Ohr, according to Fox News, which first
reported that Murray was being sent a letter.
Bruce met with Fusion’s Simpson shortly after the election
to discuss the dossier. Nellie worked for Fusion at the time
130
as a researcher on the firm’s investigation on President
Donald Trump.
Fox also reports that a questionnaire was sent to Colin
Kahl, who served as national security adviser to Biden.
The letters are part of a Nunes-led investigation into the
previous administration’s handling of the dossier.
Republicans want to know who in the previous
administration knew about the salacious document and
whether they shared its allegations with reporters and
others in government.
The letters also inquire when the officials learned that
former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s campaign and
the Democratic National Committee funded the dossier,
which was written by former British spy Christopher
Steele.
Nunes and other Republican lawmakers, including Senate
Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, a
Republican from Iowa, have alleged that the FBI and
Justice Department abused the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act (FISA) Court process by using the
dossier to obtain a surveillance warrant against former
Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
The agencies failed to disclose the source of the dossier’s
funding and also relied on the document even though it
was unverified, Republicans say.
Nunes issued a memo laying out those allegations in
January. The memo marked the end of the first phase of
his investigation into the dossier. He has since turned his
focus on former Obama officials, including officials at the
State Department and CIA.
Nunes sent questionnaires in February to a dozen other
Obama administration officials, including CIA Director
John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey.
Nunes revealed earlier this week that most of the recipients
responded to the letters by last Friday’s deadline.
Do you think Obama administration officials committed
crimes to try and stop Trump?
Please comment on Facebook and Twitter if you want to
see them held accountable.
 PRESIDENT TRUMP Hits “Hillary Flunky” Maggie
Haberman After Latest #Fakenews Report
— And He’s Right!
By Jim Hoft
March 11, 2018, 11:08 Am

President Trump went to Twitter on
Sunday to attack the #FakeNews New
York Times reporter Maggie Haberman.
doing a great job and have shown conclusively that there
was no Collusion with Russia..just excuse for losing. The
only Collusion was that done by the DNC, the Democrats
and Crooked Hillary. The writer of the story, Maggie
Haberman, a Hillary flunky, knows nothing about me and
is not given access.

Trump is right.

It’s always good to remind the readers

who Maggie Haberman is:
Joel Benenson, Hillary Clinton’s chief
campaign strategist, said in emails the
campaign had a “very good relationship”
This was after his wild rally last night in Pennsylvania with Maggie Haberman and they “have
where he hit “low IQ” Maxine Waters and “Son-of-a- never been disappointed”.
bitch” Chuck Todd.

President Trump: The Failing New York Times purposely

wrote a false story stating that I am unhappy with my legal
team on the Russia case and am going to add another
lawyer to help out. Wrong. I am VERY happy with my
lawyers, John Dowd, Ty Cobb and Jay Sekulow. They are
131
Haberman was hired by the NYT‘s DC bureau chief
Carolyn Ryan in January 2015, a few months before the
beginning of the primaries.
Maggie Haberman was hired as the presidential campaign
correspondent, effective February 15, 2015.
Hillary campaign official Joel Benenson e-mailed the
Clinton campaign in January of that same year.
Via Wikileaks:
“Who: For something like this, especially in
the absence of us teasing things out to
others, we feel that it’s important to go with
what is safe and what has worked in the
past, and to a publication that will reach
industry people for recruitment purposes.
We have has a very good relationship with
Maggie Haberman of Politico over the last
year. We have had her tee up stories for us
before and have never been disappointed.
While we should have a larger
conversation in the near future about a
broader strategy for reengaging the beat
press that covers HRC, for this we think we
.
132
can achieve our objective and do the most
shaping by going to Maggie. “
Jennifer Palmieri, Director of Communications with the
Hillary campaign sent out this e-mail, a few months later
in July of 2015:
Via Wikileaks:
“Maggie thinks it is responsible and that we
are not going to have a problem with it – it
will have all the caveats that HRC has not
actually proposed these policies, and has
said that we will pay for any new policies.
She is going to read me the story later
today off the record to further assure me. I
will let you all know how that goes. Jen”
And Maggie Haberman attended both off-the-records
meetings with John Podesta and Joel Benenson before the
primaries:
When the Deep State and/or Democrat
Party need something done – They turn
to far left hack Maggie Haberman.
 Trump: New York Times
Reporter Is ‘Hillary Flunky’
Saagar Enjeti - White House Correspondent
11:10 AM 03/11/2018

President Donald Trump rebutted a recent New York Times

story claiming he was considering hiring a new lawyer to
handle the ongoing Russia probe and called out one of the
reporters responsible by name.
Haberman, a White House reporter for The New York
Times, wrote Saturday along with her colleague that
Trump was considering hiring a veteran Washington
lawyer who had previously assisted former President Bill
Clinton in the Lewinsky scandal.

Trump’s callout of Haberman comes just hours after he

shouted at another familiar foe, NBC’s Chuck Todd. The
president told supporters at a recent campaign rally Todd
was “a sleeping son of a bitch, I’ll tell you” rekindling his
oft repeated insult of Todd as “sleepy eyes.”

133
 Jeff Flake: Trump Needs
To Be Challenged In GOP Primary
Justin Caruso - Media Reporter
11:24 AM 03/11/2018
Lame duck Republican Sen. Jeff Flake appeared on NBC’s
“Meet The Press” Sunday and said that President Trump
should be challenged in the 2020 primary election.
WATCH:
Todd said,
“[Trump] is running for re-election already.
He announced that last night. Do you think
he needs to be challenged from somebody
who espouses your views?”
.
134
“Yes, I do. I do, I mean, it would be a tough
go in a Republican primary. The
Republican Party has–is the Trump party
right now. But that’s not to say it will stay
that way,” Flake responded.
Flake has been a longtime critic of President Trump,
occasionally using over the top rhetoric to do so.
In January, Flake made headlines for attacking the way
Trump treats the media, even likening him to Soviet
dictator Josef Stalin.
Flake said,
“When a figure in power reflexively calls
any press that doesn’t suit him ‘fake news,’
it is that person who should be the figure of
suspicion, not the press.”
(RELATED: Jeff Flake Will Compare Trump To Josef
Stalin In Upcoming Speech)
 Longtime Hillary Clinton Advisor Admits Potus Trump
Knocked It Out The Park In Pennsylvania (Video)
By Joshua Caplan
March 11, 2018, 11:51 Am
Former Hillary Clinton advisor Philippe
Reines admitted on Fox News Saturday
night that President Trump’s rally in
Moon Township, PA was a success.
135
Mediaite reports:
Reines first noted that he didn’t enjoy the
speech — which was very reminiscent of
Trump’s 2016 campaign speeches — as
much as fellow panelist David Bossie (a
former Trump staffer.)
“I thought boy, does Donald Trump know
how to keep an audience in the palm of his
hands,” Reines noted. It actually is
remarkable to watch.”
“I understand why that man won in 2016,”
Reines added. “And I understand, though
I’m not terrified, but I understand why he
may win again in 2020.”
Reines took on the role of ‘Trump’ during Clinton’s debate
prep because he was
“known for his bullish, combative
personality—traits that often mirror Trump’s
personal debate style”.
 Former Obama Officials Form
Anti-Trump National Security Think Tank
By Fred Fleitz | Fox News
March 11, 2018
FILE -- Then President-elect Donald Trump, left, and former
President Barack Obama arrive for Trump's inauguration ceremony
at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S. January 20, 2017.
(REUTERS/J. Scott Applewhite/Pool)
A group of about 50 former Obama administration
officials recently formed a think tank called National
Security Action to attack the Trump administration's
national security policies.
The mission statement of the group is anything but subtle:
“National Security Action is dedicated to
advancing American global leadership and
opposing the reckless policies of the Trump
administration that endanger our national
security and undermine U.S. strength in the
world.”
National Security Action plans to pursue typical liberal
foreign policy themes such as climate change, challenging
President Trump's leadership, immigration and allegations
of corruption between the president and foreign powers.
This organization uses the acronym NSA, which is ironic.
Three of its founding members – Ben Rhodes, Susan Rice
and Samantha Power – likely were involved in abusing
intelligence from the federal NSA (National Security
Agency) to unmask the names of Trump campaign
staff from intelligence reports and to leak NSA
intercepts to the media to hurt Donald Trump politically.
This included a leak to the media of an NSA transcript in
February 2017 of former National Security Adviser
Michael Flynn's discussion with Russian Ambassador to
136
the U.S. Sergei Kislyak. No one has been prosecuted for
this leak.
Given the likely involvement of Rhodes, Rice and Power
to weaponize intelligence against the Trump presidential
campaign, will their anti-Trump NSA issue an apology for
these abuses?
It is interesting that the new anti-Trump group says
nothing in its mandate about protecting the privacy of
Americans from illegal surveillance, preventing the
politicization of U.S. intelligence agencies or promoting
aggressive intelligence oversight. Maybe this is because
the founders plan to abuse U.S. intelligence agencies to
spy on Republican lawmakers and candidates if they join a
future Democratic administration.
It takes a lot of chutzpah for this group of former Obama
officials, who were part of the worst U.S. foreign policy in
history, to condemn the current president's successful
international leadership and foreign policy.
After all, ISIS was born on President Obama's watch
because of his mismanagement of the U.S. withdrawal
from Iraq and his "leading from behind" Middle East
policy. The Syrian civil war spun out of control because of
the incompetence of President Obama and his national
security team.
This was a team that provided false information to the
American people about the 2012 terrorist attack on the
U.S. consulate in Benghazi and the nuclear deal with Iran.
I wonder if the anti-Trump NSA will include videos on its
website of former National Security Adviser Susan
Rice falsely claiming on five Sunday morning news shows
in September 2012 that the attack on the Benghazi
consulate was "spontaneous" and in response to an anti-
Muslim video.
And of course there's the North Korean nuclear and missile
programs that surged during the Obama years due to the
administration’s "Strategic Patience" policy, an approach
designed to kick this problem down the road to the next
president. Because of President Obama's incompetence,
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un may have an H-bomb
that he soon will be able to load onto an intercontinental
ballistic missile to attack the United States.
It must appall this group of former Obama national
security officials that President Trump is succeeding as he
undoes everything they worked on.
ISIS will soon control no territory in Iraq or Syria because
of the Trump administration's intensified attacks on it and
arming of Kurdish militias.
In sharp contrast to President Obama, President Trump
drew a chemical weapons red line in Syria and enforced it.
North Korea is pushing for talks with the U.S. in response
to strong United Nations sanctions the U.S. worked to
obtain in 2017. And compliance with the new sanctions
has been significantly improved, especially by China, as
the result of President Trump’s actions.
.
137
President Trump repaired the damage done to U.S.-Israel
relations by President Obama and has recognized
Jerusalem as the capital of Israel – something several
previous presidents promised but failed to do.
Iranian harassment of U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf
stopped in 2017, likely due to the more assertive Iran
policy of President Trump. This includes the president's
successful effort to build a stronger U.S. relationship with
Saudi Arabia.
President Trump is right when he says he inherited a mess
on national security from the Obama administration. This
is because President Obama and his national security team
undermined U.S. credibility and left President Trump a
much more dangerous world. I doubt the new anti-Trump
National Security Action think tank will succeed in
convincing Americans otherwise.
 Trump Calls Out ‘Fake News’
For Showing Low Approval Ratings
Robert Donachie - Capitol Hill And Health Care Reporter
12:11 PM 03/11/2018

President Donald Trump called out political pundits
Sunday morning for what he feels is misreporting of his
presidential approval ratings and told viewers to turn off
the television when they see such “fake news.”
“Rasmussen and others have my approval
ratings at around 50 percent, which is
higher than Obama, and yet the political
pundits love saying my approval ratings are
‘somewhat low.’ They know they are lying
when they say it. Turn off the show —
FAKE NEWS,” Trump tweeted Sunday.
The president is referencing a late February Rasmussen
poll that found roughly 50 percent of “likely voters”
approved of how Trump is handling the presidency. The
Daily Caller News Foundation compared that Rasmussen
poll to a CNN poll that reported Trump’s approval rating
was just 35 percent to see what accounted for a 15
percentage point disparity.
TheDCNF found CNN was likely oversampling Democrats
and Independents, polling all adults rather than “likely
voters” and sampling and methodology errors.
ALSO WATCH CNN’s Acosta: ‘In Some
Ways’ Trump And Kim Jong-un Are
‘Very Similar Leaders’

Rasmussen Reports presidential approval rating for Trump

is higher, sometimes markedly so, than the likes of CNN,
The Economist, Gallup, MSNBC and others. Rasmussen
reported Friday the president had a 44 percent approval
rating among “likely voters,” which is higher than
Quinnipaic’s 38 percent or Gallup’s 39 percent approval
ratings.
.

138
 Conventional Wisdom On N. Korea
Has ‘Gone Out The Window’ Under Trump
Michael Pillsbury, Michael Fuchs, Walid Phares Praised President's Strategy
For Bringing About Concessions From 'Little Rocket Man'
By Kathryn Blackhurst
Updated 11 Mar 2018 At 12:11 PM
Foreign affairs and defense expert Michael Pillsbury said
Thursday on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” that “the
entire set of conventional assumptions about North Korea
has gone out the window” under President Donald Trump.
Pillsbury, director of the Center on Chinese Strategy at the
Hudson Institute and an assistant undersecretary of defense
for policy planning under former President Ronald
Reagan, spoke hours after Trump shocked the world by
agreeing to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un
by May.
The North Korean leader had requested the meeting with
Trump “as soon as possible,” according to South Korean
officials who previously met with Kim and conveyed his
request to the president.
North Korea also made significant concessions by agreeing
to halt nuclear and ballistic missile tests while preparations
for the meeting proceed, and recognizing the need for
continued joint military exercises between the U.S. and
South Korea.
139
"It's time to celebrate a great victory when it
happens," Pillsbury said, noting that "the
mainstream left-wing media has been
beside themselves — that this really can't
be happening, or they don't really know
how to explain it."
"It wasn't purchased. There's no
concessions. The American exercises can
continue for the next two months. The
entire set of conventional assumptions
about North Korea has gone out the
window," Pillsbury said.
Host Laura Ingraham attributed the wholly unexpected
turn of events to Trump's willingness to defy convention
foreign-policy wisdom — and to the way in which he
"talked tough" from the outset of his presidential
administration.
"[Trump] didn't get there because he
played, you know, patty-cake with Kim
Jong-un," Ingraham said. "He said, 'You
come near this country with a nuclear
weapon, we will destroy you.' That's
basically what he said."
But mainstream media outlets, Democrats and GOP
Establishment members freaked out during nearly every
step of the way, as Ingraham and Pillsbury noted. Trump's
critics focused particularly on his multiple tweets warning
of "fire and fury" in response to North Korean aggression,
and on mocking Kim as the "Little Rocket Man."
 "The critics have focused on the president's
tweets. What they have missed is
everything else," Fox News national
security and foreign affairs analyst Walid
Phares said. "They did not see that the task
forces were surrounding North Korea. They
did not see that we were putting pressure
on China, that we were mobilizing Japan
and South Korea. It was well-crafted. But
they missed the big game."
Pillsbury agreed, noting that he believed China was
"equally surprised as we are that Rocket Man" made these
concessions.
"The Chinese didn't help very much, but
they helped a little. So they're going to try
to take credit for this as much as they can,"
Pillsbury said. "I think this whole plan
began during the transition. I think it's been
well thought out. President Trump, when he
was campaigning, did not make North
Korea his number-one issue. He did it after
the transition."
Michael Fuchs, a senior fellow at the liberal Center for
American Progress who specializes in U.S. foreign policy,
said the "big question" prompted by the day's big news is,
Fuchs warned the U.S. must
"be very clear-eyed about what can be
realistically achieved here with North
Korea."
Pillsbury agreed, noting he has
"a lot of confidence in President Trump's
team."
"But the main thing is the negotiations,
while they go on, which could be a year or
two, will result in a freeze in both nuclear
tests and sale tests," Pillsbury said. "So
now time is in our side."
Trump took to Twitter late Thursday to tout the news of
the day, writing,
"Kim Jong Un talked about
denuclearization with the South Korean
Representatives, not just a freeze. Also, no
missile testing by North Korea during this
period of time. Great progress being made
but sanctions will remain until an
agreement is reached. Meeting being
planned!"

"What is the plan?"

As a result, Fuchs said,

"We have rushed in a complete 180 from talk of potential

war and military conflict to a summit meeting. So I do
think the real question now is, what is the North Korean
game here, and what strategy does the United States have
to actually extract real concessions from the North
Koreans?"

140
 California High School Students And Staff Beat President
Donald Trump Piñata During Spanish Class
By Jim Hoft
March 11, 2018, 1:04 Pm

The district would not say if a staff member was

Students and staff beat a Trump piñata reprimanded for this outrageous violent act.
during Spanish class at Laguna Hills
High School. Probably not. It’s more likely the kid who filmed the
beating will be expelled.

Here’s the video:

The local district announced they have launched an inquiry

into footage that showed students and staff members at an
Orange County high school hitting a piñata designed to
look like President Trump.
.

141
Lawyer: It Sure Looks Like James Comey Went Out Of His
Way To PROTECT Hillary Clinton And Obstruct Justice
By JD Heyes
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Gregg Jarrett, an attorney and a legal analyst for Fox
News, says that based on reporting this week, it certainly
seems clear now that former FBI Director James Comey,
whom Trump fired earlier this year, did all he could to
ensure that justice was not served on the 2016 Democratic
nominee for president: Hillary Clinton.
In a column for the news network, Jarrett cited federal
statutes governing the handling of classified information
— (18 USC 793-f) of The Espionage Act — which makes
it a crime to mishandle sensitive information “through
gross negligence.”
That definition is important, he notes, because it is
actionable — prosecutable — under the law.
But based on reports earlier this week, Comey initially
claimed in a memo that was used as the basis of his public
statement to the media in July 2016 that Clinton had
committed “gross negligence” in her handling of sensitive
email via her private server.
That language was eventually changed, however, by
Comey and others within the FBI, by the time Comey
addressed the press. Then, he claimed only that the
Democratic presidential contender was merely “extremely
careless,” a phrase which does not appear in the statute
and, thus, is not legally actionable.
“With 110 emails on Clinton’s private server
that were classified at the time they were
sent or received, the Democratic nominee
for president could have been prosecuted
on 110 separate felony counts. Yet Comey
scuttled the case,” Jarrett wrote.
142
The change in phraseology appears to indicate that Comey,
a seasoned federal prosecutor and Justice Department
official, knew that Clinton had violated national security
statutes but decided to conjure up a way to exonerate her
anyway through alteration of terminology.
But he really didn’t do a good job, Jarrett argues, since
both phrases are very similar under the law:
Many standard jury instructions, such as
those in California and elsewhere, say the
two terms mean the same thing. That is,
gross negligence is an extreme departure
from ordinary care. In other words,
extremely careless behavior.
Either Comey is not well-versed in the law
or he sought to draw a fine distinction
where none exists. Nevertheless, he
employed it as an excuse to protect Clinton
from prosecution in a case that should
have rendered 110 criminal charges
against her.
The Fox News legal analyst says now that this information
has come out, the former FBI director should once again
be called to testify under oath before appropriate House
and Senate committees to explain his change in wording so
he could clear Clinton in the face of compelling, slam-
dunk evidence she broke the law on numerous occasions.
Was Comey’s decision to absolve Clinton done for
political purposes? Was he, like nearly all of Washington
and the press corps, convinced by their own denials that
there was no way Trump could beat her last November?
What’s more, Jarrett asks, what compelled Comey to take
it upon himself to absolve Clinton when the FBI’s role in
criminal investigations is to merely make
recommendations, based on available evidence, to the
Justice Department — which then decides whether or not
to prosecute?(Related: Why is Paul Manafort in handcuffs
but Hillary Clinton isn’t?)
That’s not all, Jarrett points out. Comey also
 “blatantly misinterpreted another criminal
statute, also under the Espionage Act,
which Clinton appeared to have violated.”
He wrote:
Under 18 USC 978, it is a crime to
“knowingly and willfully” mishandle
classified information. Yet, in his infamous
news conference on July 5, 2016, Comey
declared that Clinton never “intended to
violate laws governing the handling of
classified information.”
That doesn’t matter, Jarrett says, because that’s not the
legal standard.
143
“The standard is whether Clinton
committed intentional acts that violated the
law. Clearly, she intended to set up a
private server, and she intended to use it
exclusively for all her communications as
secretary of state, which would necessarily
include classified documents,” he wrote.
Clinton has admitted to deliberately setting up her own
personal server.
It’s becoming clearer and clearer that the swamp was
working overtime to protect who they believed would be
their next boss.
 HAH! Elizabeth Warren Asked If She’ll Take A Spit Test
On FOX News Sunday – Dodges Question (Video)
By Jim Hoft
March 11, 2018, 2:05 Pm

Warren went on FOX News Sunday this

Fake Indian Elizabeth Warren went on morning and was asked about her
FOX News Sunday today and was grilled phony Native American heritage.
on her phony Indian heritage. Guest host John Roberts asks her if
Elizabeth Warren lied about her heritage she’ll take a spit test.
to jump over qualified minority
candidates and land a position at
Harvard University.

Elizabeth Warren was listed as Harvard Law’s “first

woman of color” in 1997 law review piece on diversity
and affirmative action!

Elizabeth Warren pushed back hard on questions about a

Harvard Crimson piece in 1996 that described her as
Native American, saying she had no idea the school where
she taught law was billing her that way and saying it never
came up during her hiring a year earlier, which others have
backed up.
Warren dodged the question with a
But a 1997 Fordham Law Review piece described her as sappy answer.
Harvard Law School’s “first woman of color,” based,
according to the notes at the bottom of the story, on a
“telephone interview with Michael Chmura, News
Director, Harvard Law (Aug. 6, 1996).”

Warren was listed as a “woman of color” in the 1993

Harvard student journal.

And in 2012 Elizabeth Warren admitted she told Harvard

Law she was Native American.

President Trump regularly hits the fraud on her phony Warren lied to get her job at Harvard.
ancestry.
Everyone knows it.
144
 Meet The Press Panel Freaks:
Incompetent Trump Handing Noko A Victory
By Nicholas Fondacaro
March 11, 2018 2:21 PM EDT
When it was first announced last Thursday that President
Trump was to personally meet with North Korea Dictator
Kim Jong-un for negotiations, the media’s response varied
from optimistic to seething anger. But with some time, it
appears as though their consensus is now to denounce the
idea as was blatantly obvious on Sunday’s Meet the Press.
The entire panel up in arms and fretting that Trump was
either going to hand North Korea a victory or blow a
gasket at the meeting and start a war.
Moderator Chuck Todd, still bitter because Trump called
him a “sleeping son of a b*tch” at a rally the day before,
kicked off the discussion with a ridiculously loaded
question.
“How does any meeting between Trump
and Kim not turn into a victory for the
North Koreans,” he wondered acting
baffled.
NBC’s Andrea Mitchell was aghast at the idea as she was
visibly distraught and seemingly hyperventilating.
“It's hard to imagine how it doesn't,” she
declared. “First of all, they have had a
victory by setting the terms and by
having the meeting itself, as you were
pointing out. This is what all North
Korean leaders have wanted. Three
generations have wanted a meeting,
legitimacy from an American president.”
For all Mitchell’s rambling about a meeting with Trump
“legitimatizing” North Korea, where was that complaint
when her network was praising their performance and
propaganda at the Olympics? An argument can also be
145
made that Kim’s nuclear weapons program, which
reportedly can reach Washington, DC, was a form of
legitimacy. Add to that, the U.S. was expending the
resources to lead an international effort to isolate the
communist country.
It’s also highly hypocritical for Mitchell to whine about
someone giving legitimacy to dictators when she’s made a
career for herself doing just that. As the Media Research
Center had previously documented, she was quite fond of
Cuba’s former totalitarian Fidel Castro and was an
adamant defender of the Iran nuclear deal and stuck up
for them as she opposed Trump.
Yet that didn’t stop Mitchell from spouting off and
claiming the administration was ignorant of the issues.
“The treasury secretary with you
repeated the phrase, ‘denuclearization,’
our objective is denuclearization of the
Korean peninsula. That is a trap,” she
asserted.
She also suggested that what the Trump administration
was willing to do was leave our South Korean and
Japanese allies high and dry in the region.
Yahoo! News columnist Matt Bai chimed in and wanted to
let the panel know he had a serious problem with Trump
talking to a dictator: the President’s love for such leaders.
According to him:
Except, the problem I have, Gene, is that
he has at every turn shown a really
unsettling appreciation for or at least lack of
antipathy toward tyranny and autocracy. If
 you are going to sit down with tyrants and illegal weapons, not for us to give up our nuclear security
autocrats, you have to have, I think, as a umbrella for South Korea and Japan. This just shows you the
president, one would think it's a given to lack of, shall we say, competence or familiarity with these details.
have a deep-felt conviction about the They do not have a south -- a North/South Korean expert. They
supremacy of democracy and I don’t hear don't have an ambassador. Their top expert just quit in
that from him. frustration, I am told, because he could not -- Tillerson would not
take him to White House meetings. There's no one in the house
Mitchell jumped in again to fret about Trump being so who knows this issue.
unstable he would lose his temper at the meeting.
(…)
“But he wants results and he will be
impatient. And what is the downside if EUGENE ROBINSON: What I think is riskier, though, is to have
he gets angry at what he experiences? Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un hurling insults and threats at
Then it escalates because you have no each other.
other options,” she opined. “Then you
don't have diplomacy to go to because [Crosstalk]
you have exhausted your diplomacy.
Then things go boom. That's the scary
And to have a U.S. administration talking about the absurd,
part,” added Wall Street Journal columnist catastrophic idea of giving a bloody nose to North Korea, some
Peggy Noonan.
sort of limited strike, that could immediately mushroom into a
local Armageddon, basically. So I think, great, if they want to sit
The idea that they would turn down possible peace on the down and talk, that's better than this alternative, which is where
Korean Peninsula just because they detested Trump was we seem to be drifting.
absolutely mind-boggling.
(…)
The relevant portions of the transcript are below, click
expand to read: MATT BAI: Except the problem I have, Gene, is that he has at
every turn shown a really unsettling appreciation for or at least
NBC lack of antipathy toward tyranny and autocracy. If you are going
Meet the Press to sit down with tyrants and autocrats, you have to have, I think,
March 11, 2018 as a president, one would think it's a given to have a deep-felt
10:57:01 AM Eastern conviction about the supremacy of democracy and I don’t hear
that from him.
(…)
[Crosstalk}
CHUCK TODD: How does any meeting between Trump and Kim
not turn into a victory for the North Koreans? MITCHELL: One quick point is, he wants results. If he would go
into a meeting – and I don't think it's a great idea at the front end.
ANDREA MITCHELL: It's hard to imagine how it doesn't. First of If he would go in saying how our experts will work and do -- this
all, they have had a victory by setting the terms and by having is a get to know you. But he wants results and he will be
the meeting itself, as you were pointing out. This is what all North impatient. And what is the downside if he gets angry at what he
Korean leaders have wanted. Three generations have wanted a experiences? Then it escalates because you have no other
meeting, legitimacy from an American president. options.

It is not prepared. There was no letter, despite leaks there was. PEGGY NOONAN: Then you don't have diplomacy to go to
We do not yet know what he is really offering. The treasury because you have exhausted your diplomacy. Then things go
secretary with you repeated the phrase, “denuclearization,” our boom. That's the scary part.
objective is denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. That is a
trap! The Korean peninsula means we eliminate our nuclear (…)
umbrella from our allies. What we want is for him to give up his
.

146
 Trump Lawyers Hustle To Stop
Stormy’s ‘60 Minutes’ Interview
Kevin Daley - Supreme Court Reporter
4:33 PM 03/11/2018
CBS news magazine “60 Minutes” will air an interview
with Stephanie Clifford, who appears in pornographic
films under the name “Stormy Daniels,” on March 18,
prompting President Donald Trump’s lawyers to consider
legal action against the network.
Though Clifford is bound to silence by a preliminary
restraining order, any preemptive action against the
network is likely to fail.
An unnamed source with knowledge of the Trump legal
team’s plans told BuzzFeed News that they hope to stop the
interview’s publication, and will seek an injunction barring
the broadcast.
ALSO WATCH Meghan McCain light up
‘The View’ on the Stormy saga:
“We understand from well-placed sources
they are preparing to file for a legal
injunction to prevent it from airing,” the
source said.
Anderson Cooper, who is a correspondent for the program
in addition to his duties at CNN, conducted the interview.
As the BuzzFeed report notes, though Trump’s lawyers
affect an aggressive posture, often they do not ultimately
pursue legal action. For example, Marc Kasowitz,
longtime counsel for the Trump family, threatened to
.
147
sue The New York Times for publishing excerpts of the
president’s 1995 tax return during the 2o16 campaign. The
returns were published, and no lawsuit ever came.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders
revealed Mar. 7 that Trump’s lawyers won a preliminary
restraining order against Clifford during private arbitration
in late February. The order forbids Clifford from
disclosing any information relating to the Oct. 2016 hush
agreement between her and Trump attorney Michael
Cohen.
Michael Avenatti, Clifford’s lawyer, said he does not
consider the Feb. 27 decision valid. The order does not
preclude her from answering general questions about
herself in the press, or addressing other matters not
mentioned by the hush agreement.
The contract, known as a nondisclosure agreement, was
executed on Oct. 28, 2016. Under its terms, Clifford
agreed not to disclose her alleged affair with the president
from summer 2006 to early 2007, in exchange for a
$130,000 payment from a shell company in Delaware.
Any effort to suppress the interview in advance is unlikely
to succeed.
The preemptive restriction of speech is called “prior
restraint,” and federal courts have long considered it
unlawful on constitutional principles.
In one 1976 Supreme Court case, Nebraska Press
Association v. Stuart, a unanimous Court noted that the
presumption against prior restraint is stronger than any
other speech restriction.
“The thread running through all these
cases is that prior restraints on speech and
publication are the most serious and
the least tolerable infringement on First
Amendment rights,” the ruling reads.
 Johnson Will Back Bill Nullifying
Trump’s Steel, Aluminum Tariffs
Wisconsin GOP Senator Declares Support For Jeff Flake's Proposal,
Though There's Little Chance It Would Garner Enough Votes To Get To A Veto
By Kathryn Blackhurst
Updated 11 Mar 2018 At 4:36 PM

said. “There is a really growing level of

optimism because we were returning
certainty to the American and Wisconsin
economy.”
“And, you know, the talk of canceling
NAFTA [the North American Free Trade
Agreement] and now imposing these steel
tariffs have just interjected uncertainty into
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) sided with Sen. Jeff Flake (R- the economy where it just wasn’t
Ariz.) and declared Sunday on CNN’s “State of the necessary,” Johnson added.
Union” his support for a bill nullifying President Donald
Trump’s newly imposed tariffs on imported steel and
aluminum.

The chief executive imposed the new levies last week in an

effort to protect American industries and jobs, and to
promote fairer trade on the international markets.

Trump’s tariffs were blistered by U.S. trading partners,

free trade advocates and Republican lawmakers. Flake
aggressively pushed for such legislation to block Trump
from imposing the tariffs. Johnson, chairman of the Senate
Johnson said he was "really concerned" that Trump's
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
announcement would be counterproductive because it
Affairs, said that he would support Flake’s bill even
"injects uncertainty into an economy that was really doing
though he doubted it would survive a presidential veto.
quite well."

“I would, but I doubt it would have any

The Wisconsin senator's backing for the Flake measure is
chance of passing, and even if it passed,
unexpected, as Johnson, a solid conservative from the
that we’d have the votes to override the
business community, has often been a vocal supporter of
veto,” Johnson said when asked if he’d
most of the Trump agenda. Flake, however, is among
support the bill.
Trump's severest critics and is paying a political price for it
in unpopularity back in Arizona, which the president
Johnson warned that Trump’s tariffs could result in carried decisively in 2016.
“retaliatory actions” from U.S. trading partners while
injecting “uncertainty” into an economy that had been
Trump, however, maintains that he is fulfilling his
booming during Trump’s presidency and benefiting from
campaign promises to protect American workers and
the tax cuts included in the chief executive’s tax reform
national security interests while pushing for fairer trade
law, approved last December.
deals for U.S. industries. The president also suggested that
he could nix the tariffs for some nations if they could fairly
“Confidence had really been building. We renegotiate trade deals.
stopped increasing the regulatory burden
and actually started reducing the regulatory
The president earned a rare show of support for his tariffs
burden. We made American businesses
from one of the most liberal members of Congress, Sen.
more competitive. We gave real tax cuts to
Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) during an interview on NBC
Wisconsinites and Americans,” Johnson
News' "Meet the Press."
148
 "I am not afraid of tariffs. I think tariffs are
one part of that trade policy. It's not the
only part. There are other parts of trade
policy," Warren said. "I want to see a trade
policy that puts American workers first, puts
American small businesses first, puts
American consumers first."
.
149
"I think that our trade deals have been
negotiated for a very, very long time now to
benefit large, multinational corporations,
not to benefit American workers," Warren
added. "Not to benefit America's small
businesses, and often not even to benefit
American consumers."
 Report: Special Counsel Mueller
Weighing Putting Off Obstruction Of Justice Decision
By Kristina Wong
12 Mar 2018

Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah reiterated that on ABC

News’ “This Week,” although he added the qualifier
“right now.”

“There’s no intention whatsoever to fire

Robert Mueller, the special counsel, right
now. We’ve been fully cooperative. We
respect their process. We’re hoping it will
come to a conclusion in the near future,” he
told ABC News’ Jon Karl.

The unnamed current and former U.S. officials told

Bloomberg that even if Mueller clears Trump of
obstruction, he may opt to keep quiet, since the president’s
allies could build pressure for the entire thing to be shut
down.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is
reportedly close to wrapping up the
Bloomberg reports the obstruction portion of the probe
obstruction of justice part of his inquiry,
could be completed after several remaining interviews,
but contemplating putting it aside until
including with President Trump and his son Donald Trump
other parts are completed.
Jr.
Bloomberg’s Chris Strohm and Shannon Pettypiece
According to Bloomberg, Mueller has already interviewed
reported Monday that the investigation into whether
those who could weigh in on a possible obstruction of
President Trump obstructed justice is “close to
justice case, including former FBI Director James Comey,
completion,” but that he may “set it aside” while finishing
Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Deputy Attorney General
other parts of his probe, such as whether there was any
Rod Rosenstein, Director of National Intelligence Dan
collusion and who hacked the Democratic National
Coats and National Security Agency Director Michael
Committee.
Rogers.
“Current and former U.S. officials” told
Mueller is reportedly focused on three main episodes in
Bloomberg said Mueller may calculate that
regards to obstruction of justice: Trump’s firing of FBI
if he tries to bring charges regarding
Director James Comey in May 2017; the drafting of a
obstruction, that witnesses may become
statement about the purpose of a June 2016 meeting
less cooperative in other parts of the probe,
between Don Jr. and a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower;
or that the president may move to shut it
and Trump’s alleged consideration of firing Mueller last
down altogether.
June.
The White House has said repeatedly there are no plans to
shut down the Mueller probe. On Sunday, White House
.

150
 ‘There Will Be No Concessions
Made’ In North Korea Talks, Pompeo Says
CIA Director Insists President 'Isn't Doing This For Theater,' But Is 'Going
To Solve A Problem' By Meeting With Kim Jong-Un
By Kathryn Blackhurst
Updated 11 Mar 2018 At 4:48 PM
President Donald Trump will make “no concessions”
because he is “going to solve a problem” by meeting with
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) Director Mike Pompeo said on “Fox News
Sunday.”
“President Trump isn’t doing this for
theater. He’s going to solve a problem,”
said Pompeo (shown above). “But what’s
most important is what’s discussed and the
clarity and the strength and resolve of this
president and this administration to achieve
the outcome that Americans so desperately
deserve.”
Trump stunned the nation Thursday when he accepted
Kim’s request to meet with him “as soon as possible,” at
an unspecified time and location, after Kim made
significant concessions.
The North Korean leader agreed to halt nuclear and
ballistic missile tests while preparations for the meeting
proceed and accepted continued joint military exercises
between the U.S. and South Korea.
Pompeo noted that Trump “has built an enormous coalition
aimed at a singular outcome, which is the denuclearization
of the peninsula.” When asked whether Trump will make
any concessions while preparing for his meeting with Kim,
Pompeo replied, “Make no mistake about it — while these
negotiations are going on, there will be no concessions
made.”
“The activity of this administration to disrupt
the North Korean economy, to put pressure
on North Korea, to galvanize the world in a
way that you have countries from the
151
Middle East to Europe and Asia placing
sanctions on the North Korean regime —
those will continue,” Pompeo promised.
“And we’ll see how the talks and the
negotiations proceed.”
Pompeo said that the CIA has “an important role” in
preparing Trump for his diplomatic conversations with
North Korean officials. The CIA director said he will
remind the president of North Korea’s history and the
“deceit of this regime,” emphasizing the importance of
entering these discussions “understanding those risks” and
“the nature of Kim Jong-un himself.”
"Never before have we had the North
Koreans in a position where their economy
was at such risk [and] their leadership was
under such pressure that they would begin
conversations on the terms that Kim Jong-
un has conceded to," Pompeo said.
Vocal Trump critic Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
offered rare praise for the president and his approach to
North Korea Sunday during an interview on NBC News'
"Meet the Press."
"Let's just start with what the Trump
administration has done. They're moving
toward diplomacy. I think that's a really
good move. There is no military-only
solution to the problems presented by
North Korea," Warren said. "I want to see
our president succeed, because if he
succeeds America succeeds. The world is
safer."
Warren warned, however, that "these are very complex
negotiations" that require a fully staffed administration.
The senator failed to note, however, that Trump's
Department of State and other agencies crucial to North
Korean strategy aren't fully staffed yet because Senate
Democrats have been blocking and slow-walking nearly all
of the president's nominees.
"But these are very complex negotiations,
and what I'm concerned about in these
negotiations is we have a State
.
152
Department that's just been decimated. We
don't have an ambassador right now to
South Korea. We don't have an assistant
secretary for this whole region," Warren
said.
"And that really matters, because it means
you don't have the people who understand
the economics, who speak the language,
who know the history, in order to kind of
have that country to country before the
leaders meet," she said.
 Maxine Waters Complains About
Trump’s Name-Calling, Labels Him ‘Con Man Don’
Scott Morefield - Reporter
8:18 PM 03/11/2018

Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters took less than a day to
respond to President Trump’s characterization of the
California congresswoman as a “low I.Q. individual” while
campaigning on Saturday for State Rep. Rick Saccone in a
special Pennsylvania House election.
“You ever see her? — ‘We will impeach
him, we will impeach him’,” said Trump as
he mimicked Waters. “She’s a low I.Q.
individual — you can’t help it, she really is.”
In a Sunday morning call to MSNBC’s “AM Joy,” Waters
responded by crying sexism, calling the president “con
man Don,” and hedging her bets against what she has
always assumed would bring down Trump — the Russia
investigation.
Because if Mueller doesn’t “get him,” Stormy Daniels
apparently will.
“He is expert at name-calling,” said Waters.
“And it seems that he is identifying and
picking up more and more women that he’s
attacking. I expected this though. This is
not only typical of him, this is what this con
man does. He diverts attention from himself
by attacking others. But, you know, this
business about Stormy is not going to go
away. He can call us all the names he
wants to call us, but our special counsel,
Mueller, is connecting the dots and last
night in a speech I said that if some reason
Mueller does not get him, Stormy will.”
Waters said she is used to his “name-
calling” and that she “has plenty [of names]
for him.”
“I’m not going to be intimidated by him,”
said Waters. “He come for me, I’m coming
for him.”

Mr. Trump is alleged to have had an affair with Daniels in

2006, not long after his son, Barron, was born. The porn
star, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was reportedly
paid $130,000 by Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to not
discuss the matter publicly.

While Trump denies the allegations, it remains to be seen

how the alleged affair could possibly bring the president
down or even cost him any significant support among his
base.

153
 New Details Emerge About Peace Summit Between
President Trump & Dictator Kim Jong Un
By Joshua Caplan
March 11, 2018, 9:16 Pm

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has senior official with South Korea’s
invited President Trump for a meeting, a presidential office.
U.S. official told Fox News Thursday.

FOX News reports:

South Korea is expected to announce

Thursday night that North Korean dictator
Kim Jong Un is extending an invitation to
meet with President Trump, a senior U.S.
official revealed to Fox News.
South Korean National Security Adviser
Chung Eui-yong will also announce an
upcoming meeting between South Korean
president Moon Jae-in and the North
Korean leader, Fox News has learned.
There currently are no plans to change U.S.-South Korea
military exercises nor is their a commitment by Kim Jong
Un to stop his nuclear testing.
President Trump has agreed to meet with North Korea’s
Kim Jong Un by the month of May, says South Korean
National Security Adviser Chung Eui-Yon.
New details have emerged concerning the peace summit
between President Trump and Kim.
Mr Kim is likely to raise the possibility of a
peace treaty as well as denuclearizing his
country during a meeting with US President
Donald Trump, the newspaper said, citing
an official in the office of South Korean
leader Moon Jae-in. […]
In a separate summit between Mr Kim and Mr Moon
scheduled for next month, the North Korean leader is also
expected to raise resuming cultural exchanges and
reuniting separated families.
On Thursday, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi called on
the U.S. and North Korea to hold diplomatic talks as soon
as possible.

Business Times reports: “History tells us that whenever tensions

North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un wants to
sign a peace treaty and establish
diplomatic relations with the US, including
allowing an embassy in Pyongyang,
according to the Seoul-based Dong-A Ilbo
newspaper, which cited an unidentified
154
over the Korean peninsula subside, the
situation will be clouded by various
interferences,” Wang said in Beijing.
“We have now again come to a crucial
moment for testing whether the parties
involved are truly sincere in resolving the
Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.”
 Liberal Crackpots Think Putin
Stole The Election With Lame Memes
Scott Greer - Deputy Editor
10:07 PM 03/11/2018

CNN uncovered a terrifying, Russian-produced weapon of Do you think this meme of Jesus arm-wrestling Satan
influence last Thursday. convinced anyone to vote for Trump?

It’s a poorly-made internet video game called “Hilltendo.”

Released a few weeks before the 2016 election, the game

allows players to take on the role of an animated Hillary
Clinton as she deletes emails, takes money from Arab
nations and “throw[s] the Constitution as far as possible.”

Silly stuff, but this obscure internet game is a disturbing

example of how Russia influenced America’s presidential
election, according to CNN.

It’s certainly bizarre that Russian operatives spent time and

money creating ridiculous projects like “Hilltendo,” but
the game, the memes, the Facebook ads and bot tweets
don’t exactly paint the picture the media wants.

Namely, the idea that Russia somehow hijacked our

election thanks to the lame games, bad memes, silly
Facebook ads and bot tweets with poor grammar.

The Russian election narrative has evolved over time.

Previously, serious journalists and Democrats would claim
the Donald Trump campaign actively colluded with the
Kremlin to take down Hillary Clinton.

Since evidence of that theory hasn’t been forthcoming, the

narrative has changed, with the media and Democrats now
insisting that the Kremlin decisively meddled in our
election in favor of Trump. (RELATED: Still Lacking
Evidence Of Collusion, Democrats Move The
Goalposts)

A less damning accusation than collusion, but still enough

to convince progressives that Vladimir Putin controls our
government. In pursuit of the meddling narrative, we’ll get
in-depth investigations of “Hilltendo,” but no explanation
as to how this game that only a few people played helped
sway the election.
These efforts do deserve scrutiny, but not hysteria. In our
It’s true that Russia was engaged in efforts to influence our current climate, celebrities and commentators now argue
election, but what is not clear is whether these tactics had that Russia pushing memes and Facebook ads is the
any real effect on the outcome. Judging by what has been equivalent of declaring war on the U.S. Some take it even
uncovered thus far, it looks likely that the Kremlin’s further and insist that America needs to respond with
efforts were seriously ineffective. force.

155
The level of paranoia required to believe this is worse than
what liberals project onto conservatives. A popular column
idea in the Trump era is for liberal and NeverTrumper
writers to dredge up Richard Hofstadter’s famous essay
“The Paranoid Style in American Politics” and claim it
describes Trumpism to a T.
In January, Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page
argued Trump was promoting the paranoid style and
conspiracy mongering in opposing the Russia investigation
— while completely ignoring his own side’s conspiracy
mongering in support of the Russia investigation.
Liberals are fond of seeing themselves as the defenders of
truth and reason in the age of Trump. It’s conservatives
and Trump fans who are the paranoid cranks.
You can’t claim you’re on the side of reason when your
allies are busy trying to find the secret Putin code in all of
Trump’s actions. Like how Trump increasing our military
budget somehow plays into Putin’s dastardly scheme.
There is no conspiracy thinking worse than “Putin controls
the White House.” It’s a theory implied by the
.
156
establishment media, stoked by Democratic politicians and
believed by the vast majority of Democratic voters.
Unlike Trump’s attacks on the “deep state,” hardly any
critiques of this particular brand of paranoia are found in
the establishment media.
We should investigate Russian meddling efforts and look
at ways to combat it. But what has been shown so far does
not amount to the “invasion” envisioned by most liberals.
Russian influence measures pale in comparison to that of a
state like China.
China wields significant influence over Hollywood,
corporate America and even over our nation’s universities.
Yet Chinese intrusion receives hardly any attention relative
to Russian-created memes and online games.
Foreign involvement in domestic affairs is a fact of life
now, and our government should work to contain this
phenomenon — whatever its national origin. But wanting
to go to war with Russia and whipping your base into a
paranoid frenzy over it is not good for the country.
 Wapo’s Michael Gerson: Evangelicals
Who Support Trump Are ‘Slimy Political Operatives,
Not Moral Leaders’
By Pam Key
11 Mar 2018
Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Washington Post
columnist Michael Gerson said evangelicals who
supported President Donald Trump were “slimy political
operatives, not moral leaders.”
Partial transcript as follows:
BRENNAN: Michael, I want to ask you. You
just wrote an in-depth piece about sort of
the struggle within — as you see it, the
search for the soul of the evangelical
movement in many ways. You say they
have lost their interest in decency. What do
you think the evangelicals who support
President Trump make of the Stormy
Daniels scandal?
GERSON: Well, I think that it is the height
of hypocrisy. And we saw it with Roy Moore
as well.
If any other Democratic president had been
guilty of what is alleged in these cases,
evangelicals would be, you know, off the
reservation.
.
157
This is a case where their morality seems
to be determined by their politics. And they
have ceased to be moral leaders in that
sense. It’s — it was a tough choice for
many evangelicals between Hillary Clinton
and the president. And I understand that.
But they have been the most sycophantic
element of the Republican coalition, which
was — is unnecessary. They have not
provided that moral judgment that I think
leavens our politics or should leaven our
politics.
And so I have done this piece in “The
Atlantic” essentially arguing that they have
— they are betraying a great tradition.
Evangelicalism really has had a good
tradition. And now they are really
undermining that reputation of their faith.
BRENNAN: But, in that judgment, you are
saying the transactional part of this
relationship isn’t worth the trade-off?
GERSON: Well, they are acting like, you
know, slimy political operatives, not moral
leaders.
They are essentially saying, in order to get benefits for
themselves, in a certain way — they talk about religious
liberty and other issues — but to get benefits for
themselves, they are willing to wink at Stormy Daniels and
wink at misogyny and wink at nativism.
And that, I think, is deeply discrediting, not just in a
political sense, but actually in a moral and religious sense.
 “Trump Is The Devil”:
Los Angeles Investor Urges Protesters
To Shut Down Streets, Block POTUS Motorcade
By Joshua Caplan
March 12, 2018, 12:11 Am

Donald Trump will arrive in California

Tuesday, marking his first trip to the
state as President. President Trump’s
visit will include “a stop in San Diego to
inspect eight sample designs for the
wall,” followed by a fundraiser
in Beverly Hills. Ross Gerber, the CEO
of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and
Investment Management, is calling on
protesters to block President Trump’s
motorcade by shut dowing the streets of
Los Angeles.
Gerber then threatened to crash Trump’s West Los
Angeles fundraiser.

“Trump will be in San Diego working on his

wall and west LA getting money from
scumbags. We will find out who is doing
the fundraiser and we will be there. I bet
Tom Barrack and his fraud company
Colony are hosting. I’ll find out where he
lives. Come join me,” Gerber tweeted.

“Alright LA friends. It has come to my

attention that Trump is coming to our hood
this week. He will be in West LA Tuesday
or Wednesday night for a fundraiser. We
have to give him the welcome he deserves.
Let’s shut down the streets. We must
PROTEST!” Gerber tweeted Sunday. LA Times reports:

President Trump will headline a high-dollar

fundraiser for his reelection campaign
when he visits California next week for the
first time in his presidency, according to an
invitation obtained by The Times.
.

158
 Here’s Proof The “Deep State” Exists And Is Anti-Trump:
“Unprecedented” Number Of Former CIA Operatives
Running In 2018 As DEMOCRATS
By JD Heyes
03/12/2018
President Donald J. Trump was heavily criticized by the
Washington political and media establishment for his early
criticisms of the U.S. intelligence community’s estimation
that he colluded with Russia to “steal” the election from
Hillary Clinton.
One of the most inarticulate of critics, Sen. Chuck
Schumer, D-N.Y., told MSNBC host Rachel Maddow that
Trump was being “really dumb” for criticizing what is
essentially the Deep State.
“Let me tell you, you take on the
intelligence community, they have six ways
from Sunday at getting back at you,”
Schumer said in January 2017, in response
to then-President-elect Trump.
“So even for a practical, supposedly hard-
nosed businessman, he’s being really
dumb to do this,” Schumer added.
As The Hill reported at the time:
Intelligence officials have reportedly
determined that Russia tried to interfere in
the U.S. presidential election to help Trump
win the White House. President Obama
has ordered a full report on the issue, and
last week he put in place new sanctions
against Russian intelligence organizations
and individuals, in addition to expelling 35
Russian officials from the country and
closing two stateside facilities used by the
Russians for intelligence purposes.
159
We would later find out that the Obama intelligence
apparatus launched a pre-election operation to deny Trump
the presidency in conjunction with Obama himself, his
anointed successor Clinton, the Democratic Party, and of
course the American Pravda media. Fake dossiers,
misleading the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court,
and spying on Trump campaign officials were all part of
that operation.
It didn’t succeed, per se. It did succeed in hampering the
president’s entire first year in office with a bogus special
counsel probe that, the longer it proceeds, the further away
it gets from “presidential collusion” and “obstruction of
justice.”
Now, the Deep State appears to be implementing a new
tactic:
Subvert Trump from inside the halls of power. As The
National Sentinel reports, via the World Socialist Web Site:
A large number of former CIA operatives
and officials are running for Congress in
the 2018 midterms as Democrats, which
may help to explain why there has been so
much opposition to President Donald J.
Trump’s policies in the intelligence
community.
In fact, the WSWS notes further, the number of ex-Deep
Staters running under the Democratic Party ticket is
unprecedented, accounting for nearly half of the 102
primaries to choose Democrats in competitive House
races, 44
“involve candidates with a military-
intelligence or State Department
background, with 11 districts having two
such candidates, and one district having
three.”
Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom sees this move as a
growing nexus of power between the military-industrial-
intelligence complex, the media, and the Democratic Party.
 “The Deep State no longer wants to rely on
unreliable puppets. They want to run
politics directly now,” he tweeted in
response to the report Saturday.
Meanwhile, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange sees an
attempt by the Marxist Democratic Party to consolidate
power throughout American institutions.
“The merger between the CIA, the
Democrats, Iraq war neocons, NBC, CNN,
and the Washington (Amazon) Post is a
baleful predictor for US democracy,” he
tweeted.
160
While Trump has less control over local House and Senate
elections, he may be considering a plan to bypass the Deep
State intelligence apparatus. As The Intercept reported in
December, the president is considering a proposal by Erik
Prince, the former head of private security firm
Blackwater, and a retired CIA officer to provide CIA
Director Mike Pompeo and the administration with a
global, privately operated spy network that circumvents
the U.S. intelligence community. Former Reagan national
security official and retired Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North is
also involved in the effort, the website noted.
What should be plainly evident from all of this, however,
is the fact that — once again — the president has correctly
identified his most formidable opponent and is keeping a
couple steps ahead of them.
 Historic Manafort Case Reassigned
To Obama Appointed Liberal Activist Judge
By Jim Hoft
March 12, 2018, 7:13 Am
Obama appointed liberal activist Judge,
Amy Berman Jackson, is currently
overseeing the most important court
case in US history.
On January 3rdwe reported that Paul
Manafort’s filing of a suit against the
“Deep State” DOJ (Jeff Sessions),
Assistant AG Rod Rosenstein and
Corrupt Investigator Robert Mueller
would shut down Mueller’s corrupt
investigation!
Now we know that the Obama appointed
DC judge replaced another judge and is
overseeing the case.
In early January former Trump campaign manager Paul
Manafort sued the DOJ, Robert Mueller and Rod
Rosenstein and demanded the Mueller investigation be
shut down!
We have reported for months on the many criminal and
corrupt actions taken by numerous parties related to the
Mueller investigation. Mueller never should have taken on
the job in the first place due to numerous conflicts. He is
best friends with fired leaker and former FBI Director
James Comey. He met with Comey shortly before Comey
testified with Congress and for this alone he should have
recused himself. The team Mueller built to attack President
Trump and have him removed is all Deep State attorneys
and crooks. Mueller’s record in the past is scattered with
actions that let the Clintons off scot-free on numerous
occasions when they should have been put in jail.
161
We now know that the FBI had an
investigation into the Clintons and
moneys they received from Russia in
return for giving Russia 20% of all US
uranium.
Prior to the Obama administration approving the very
controversial Uranium One deal in 2010 giving Russia
20% of America’s Uranium, the FBI had evidence that
Russian nuclear industry officials were involved in
bribery, kickbacks, extortion and money laundering in
order to benefit Vladimir Putin.
The FBI approved the deal anyway. We
also know that Rosenstein and Mueller
were the ones who allowed the Uranium
One deal to go forward. This was the
real Russia collusion story involving the
US government.
We know that Mueller’s team illegally obtained emails
related to the Trump transition team and these emails were
protected under attorney-client privilege. Mueller and his
entire team should have resigned after this.
But the perhaps one of the most
damning aspects of the Mueller
investigation is that it was not legal. The
corrupt Mueller investigation is tasked
with finding a crime that does not exist
in the law. It is a legal impossibility.
Mueller is being asked to do something
that is manifestly unattainable.
FOX News Legal Analyst Gregg Jarrett stated in an article
last year the fact that the entire Mueller investigation is
lawless. Jarrett argued that –
… George Papadopoulos pled guilty to a single charge of
making a false statement to the FBI.
He was not charged with so-called
“collusion” because no such crime exists
in American statutory law, except in anti-
trust matters.
It has no application to elections and political campaigns.
It is not a crime to talk to a Russian. Not that the media
would ever understand that. They have never managed to
point to a single statute that makes “colluding” with a
foreign government in a political campaign a crime, likely
because it does not exist in the criminal codes.
Jarrett then turned his attention to Corrupt Hillary –
It is against the law for the Clinton
campaign and the Democratic National
Committee to funnel millions of dollars
to a British spy and to Russian sources
in order to obtain the infamous and
discredited Trump “dossier.”
The Federal Election Campaign Act (52 USC 30101)
prohibits foreign nationals and governments from giving or
receiving money in U.S. campaigns. It also prohibits the
filing of false or misleading campaign reports to hide the
true purpose of the money (52 USC 30121). This is what
Clinton and the DNC appear to have done.
Most often the penalty for violating this law is a fine, but
in egregious cases, like this one, criminal prosecutions
have been sought and convictions obtained. In this sense, it
could be said that Hillary Clinton is the one who was
conspiring with the Russians by breaking campaign
finance laws with impunity.
But that’s not all.
Damning new evidence appears to show
that Clinton used her office as Secretary
of State to confer benefits to Russia in
exchange for millions of dollars in
donations to her foundation and cash to
her husband.
Secret recordings, intercepted emails, financial records,
and eyewitness accounts allegedly show that Russian
nuclear officials enriched the Clintons at the very time
Hillary presided over a governing body which
unanimously approved the sale of one-fifth of America’s
uranium supply to Russia.
If this proves to be a corrupt “pay-to-play” scheme, it
would constitute a myriad of crimes, including bribery (18
USC 201-b), mail fraud (18 USC 1341), and wire fraud
(18 USC 1343). It might also qualify for racketeering
charges (18 USC 1961-1968), if her foundation is
determined to have been used as a criminal enterprise.
The US statutory law is clear and Jarrett points it out. He
concluded with the following –
Until now, no one had legal “standing” to argue in court
that the appointment of Mueller was illegal. The criminal
162
charges [against Manafort and Papadopoulos] change all
that. The two defendants will be able to argue before a
judge that Mueller’s appointment by Acting Attorney
General Rod Rosenstein violated the special counsel law.
As I pointed out in a column last May, the law (28 CFR
600) grants legal authority to appoint a special counsel to
investigate crimes. Only crimes. He has limited
jurisdiction. Yet, in his order appointing Mueller as special
counsel (Order No. 3915-2017), Rosenstein directed him
to investigate “any links and/or coordination between the
Russian government and individuals associated with the
campaign of President Donald Trump.” It fails to identify
any specific crimes, likely because none are applicable.
To put it plainly, Mueller is tasked with
finding a crime that does not exist in the
law. It is a legal impossibility. He is
being asked to do something that is
manifestly unattainable. Manafort sued
the DOJ, Mueller and Rosenstein
because what they are doing is not
supported by US Law.
Manafort’s case argues in paragraph 33 that the special
counsel put in place by crooked Rosenstein gave crooked
and criminal Mueller powers that are not permitted by law
–
33. But paragraph (b)(ii) of the Appointment Order purports
to grant Mr. Mueller further authority to investigate and
prosecute “any matters that arose or may arise
directly from the investigation.” That grant of authority
is not authorized by DOJ’s special counsel regulations.
It is not a “specific factual statement of the matter to be
investigated.” Nor is it an ancillary power to address
efforts to impede or obstruct investigation under 28
C.F.R. § 600.4(a).
Manafort’s case is solid. The
entire Mueller investigation
should be thrown out.
However, we now know that an Obama appointed US
District Judge from the US District Court for the District
of Columbia, has been assigned to the case!
Judge Amy Berman Jackson has horrible far left record on
the bench and will no doubt do all she can to keep the
corrupt Mueller investigation in place.
In 2013 Judge Jackson rejected arguments from the
Catholic Church that Obamacare’s requirements that
employers provide cost free coverage to contraceptive
services is contrary to their religious beliefs and violated
their religious and free speech freedoms.
In 2017 Judge Jackson dismissed the wrongful death suit
against Hillary Clinton filed by two of the families who
lost loved ones in Benghazi. The families argued that
Clinton had done little to help their sons and then lied to
cover it up.
.
163
For some reason the Manafort case was reassigned to
Judge Jackson on January 19th, a few weeks after being
filed.
With her atrocious record to date, Deep
State certainly wants Judge Jackson
overseeing this case.
 Trump-Hater Megyn Kelly:
I Think Putin Has Something On Trump
By Jim Hoft
March 12, 2018, 9:28 Am

Only 28% of Americans have at least a somewhat
favorable view of outspoken #NeverTrump favorite and
former FOX News host Megyn Kelly.
Just 6% have a “very favorable view” of the “Megyn Kelly
Today” host according to Rasmussen polling last fall.
that she thinks the Russian president “knows some things”
that Trump would not want out in public.
In the interview, she confronted Putin about why Trump
speaks so highly of him, and said she does not think the
Russian president likes Trump.

The NBC transplant from FOX News is having a rough “I would not say that Putin likes Trump,”
ride since switching channels. she said. “I did not glean that at all from
him. I did glean that perhaps he has
But she has kept her laser focus on destroying President something on Donald Trump.”
Trump. “I think there’s a very good chance Putin
knows some things about Donald Trump
that Mr. Trump does not want repeated
publicly,” she added.

Kelly said that she doesn’t think Putin’s information has to

do with the infamous dossier linking Trump to Russian
nationals.

“My money’s not on the dossier,” she said.

“I think it has to do with money and
Trump’s early years dealing with the
Russians back in the ’90s, his facilities here
in the United States.”

Kelly told viewers this past weekend

that she believes Putin has something
on President Trump.

The Hill reported:

Megyn Kelly said Saturday that she thinks

Russian President Vladimir Putin “has
something” on President Trump.

The host of “Megyn Kelly Today” recently sat down for an

interview with Putin, and told MSNBC’s Chris Matthews
.

164
 Putin Suggests ‘The Jews’ Were
Behind US Election Meddling
Chris White - Energy Reporter
10:46 AM 03/12/2018

Putin also suggested the U.S. put Russian dissidents up to

the meddling.

“[M]aybe they have dual citizenship of a

green card; maybe the U.S. paid them for
this. How can you know that? I do not know
either,” he said, adding that it doesn’t really
matter to him, “because they (the
meddlers) do not represent the
government.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin is floating the theory that
Jews with Russian citizenship were responsible for
Putin also dismissed the idea that his government was
meddling in the U.S. presidential election.
involved in the U.S. election.
“Maybe they are not even Russians but
“First, we have principles whereby we do
Ukrainians, Tatars or Jews, but with
Russian citizenship, which should also be not allow others to interfere in our domestic
affairs and do not get into the affairs of
checked,” Putin told NBC’s Megyn Kelly on
others….Secondly, we don’t have this
Friday. He is expected to be re-elected in
2018 for a second consecutive term. quantity of tools,” he said. Recent reports
have drawn connections between Putin
and members of his inner circle.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the widely referred to as Putin’s cook,

was among the 13 Russian nationals special counsel
Robert Mueller indicted in February for orchestrating a
Russian troll farm responsible for using social media
memes on American voters.

Prigozhin, a Russian businessman and oligarch, has ties to

Putin that go back to at least 2001, according to some
reports. A Feb. 22 report from The Washington Post
suggested he also approved a Russian mercenary attack in
February on U.S. forces stationed in eastern Syria.
.

165
 'Like A Mussolini Rally': Scarborough
In Hysterics Over Trump's Pennsylvania Speech
By Bill D'Agostino
March 12, 2018 11:21 AM EDT
A fundamental rule of modern American politics is that
every Trump rally produces an equal, opposite media
panic. The President put the pedal to the floor on Friday
during a speech in Pennsylvania, and so the reaction from
Joe Scarborough and others on Monday’s Morning Joe
was predictably hysterical.
Ever the innovator, Scarborough dispensed with the tired
Hitler analogies and instead compared the President to a
different widely-maligned fascist.
“The booing is getting stronger by the day,”
he fretted, “whenever he goes out there
and whips people up, it’s like a Mussolini
rally.”
“Yes, that’s what I said,” he added, perhaps
sensing that his comments might be
construed as hyperbolic. He then went on
to suggest that the President’s attacks on
the media had a tendency to – and in fact
were meant to – endanger the lives of
those in the press:
.
166
When you’re in rallies like that and you
whip your supporters into a frenzy, there
are real life consequences to that. Threats
follow, often death threats. And that is
actually – unfortunately, that’s exactly what
he wants.
Morning Joe regular Mike Barnicle worried that speeches
like the one on Friday threatened to inflict considerable
“damage” on “the presidency,” and that Americans
“should be worried about how lasting it is, and can it be
repaired?” He blamed the President for the “unrest in this
country,” postulating that it was a result of Trump’s
penchant for “playing to the cheap seats.”
Though Scarborough had already likened the President to a
quintessential fascist, he later suggested that he was also
“obsessed” with Chinese President Xi, whom Scarborough
alleged was “patterning himself after Chairman Mao.” He
claimed to see in Trump the common thread between these
two otherwise mutually incompatible archetypes:
“absolutely no democratic impulses whatsoever.” He later
invoked President Roosevelt’s fireside chats and suggested
that with “all of this demagoguery from Donald Trump, we
go from fireside chats to firestorming demagoguery.”
Of course, the pundit class will always attack the
President. As Scarborough himself admitted, they see it as
their job. But evidently the relentless criticism has left
little time for self reflection. Thus, none of Monday's
panelists bothered asking whether the incessant media
comparisons of the President to mass-murdering dictators
might be whipping their left-wing viewers "into a frenzy"
against Trump and his supporters.
 ‘Inside-The-Beltway Porn’ — Meghan Mccain Gives The
View A Brutal Reality Check On Trump’s Popularity
Justin Caruso - Media Reporter
12:17 PM 03/12/2018
The View’s Meghan McCain gave her fellow panelists a
harsh reality check about President Trump’s supporters
Monday.
“It didn’t impact them.”
WATCH:
“I love that the president said that he would
be boring if he didn’t talk this way. He said
that to people,” Joy Behar said.
“He said I would be boring. What’s boring is
the Constitution, foreign policy,
understanding the economy. He should be
a little more boring,” she added.
.
167
McCain said,
“He was in Moon Township, Pennsylvania,
which is a district he won by 20 points, so
it’s truly his base. Listen, his polls are up.
50 percent voter approval rating with
Rasmussen. Real Clear Politics has his
approval at 40.9%, highest it’s been in his
term so far.”
(RELATED: Meghan McCain Asks Adam Schiff To
Back Up His Collusion Claims. It Doesn’t Go Well.)
“I’m telling you, I have this new term that I
coined,” McCain continued. “I call it inside-
the-beltway porn. Where all of us inside the
beltway and media are freaking out, going
crazy. I don’t like what he’s done either, I
don’t like it. His voters, for whatever reason
again, I said it on the show before, I’m not
a psychologist, I don’t completely
understand it–it doesn’t impact them.”
(RELATED: ‘So Turned Off’ – Meghan McCain
Unloads On Hillary And The Audience Erupts Into
Applause)
“But isn’t it so beneath the dignity of the
office? I’ve always respected the office,”
Sunny Hostin said.
McCain then brought up Bill Clinton, and she didn’t hold
back.
“So is getting oral sex in the White House,”
McCain said.
 PAPER: House Intelligence Committee’s
Russia Investigation Has Reached A Turning Point
By Joshua Caplan
March 12, 2018, 1:10 Pm
House Intelligence investigators have
wrapped up their interviews pertaining
to the panel’s investigation into alleged
Russian meddling during the 2016
presidential election, the Wall Street
Journal reports.
The House Intelligence Committee has finished
interviewing witnesses in its yearlong probe into Russian
interference in the 2016 election, according to a person
familiar with the matter, signaling the end is near of a
.
168
contentious investigation that has revealed deep partisan
divisions on the panel. The Republican-run committee is
now preparing to write a report based on the testimony of
dozens of witnesses and thousands of pages of documents.
The panel has interviewed more than 50 individuals, the
last of whom was Corey Lewandowski, the former
manager of Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, who testified
last week. The panel didn’t interview the president, but it
did call many of his closest aides and confidants over the
course of the investigation, including his son-in-law Jared
Kushner, his son Donald Trump Jr. and his former senior
strategist Steve Bannon.
News of the panel having wrapped up its interviews come
amid reports that Nunes has expanded his probe to include
various former Obama officials. As The Gateway
Pundit previously reported, the House Intel Committee
issued letters to a dozen former Obama administration
officials on Friday. One of the former Obama officials who
received the questionnaire from Nunes happens to be the
wife of a Fusion GPS employee.
 CBS Hammers ‘Devout Christian’ DeVos:
The ‘Most Hated Member’ of Trump Cabinet
By Scott Whitlock
March 12, 2018 1:49 PM EDT
60 Minutes journalist Lesley Stahl on Sunday hammered
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, twice telling viewers
that the “devout Christian” is the “most hated member of
the Trump Cabinet.” The 13 minute segment was heavy on
critics who despise DeVos. Stahl knocked the Education
Secretary at every turn, bringing up her wealth and
describing the journey “from her sheltered life in Michigan
to her life now as a lightning rod in Washington.”
The journalist began the segment this way: “Secretary of
Education Betsy DeVos is a devout Christian grandmother
from Michigan who has spent most of her life trying to
improve the quality of education for poor kids.” She
added:
So how in the world did she become one of the most hated
members of the Trump Cabinet? She is dedicated to
promoting school choice but her critics say she really
wants to privatize the public school system that she once
called, quote, "a dead end."
Later, Stahl underlined just how “hated” DeVos is:
169
“Why have you become, people say, the
most hated Cabinet secretary?” T
The proof for all this "hatred" seemed to be entirely
anecdotal.
The CBS reporter included numerous clips of critics,
including this angry questioner at a Harvard event:
So you're a billionaire with lots and lots of
investments. And the so-called school choice
movement is a way to open the floodgates for
corporate interests to make money off the
backs of students. How much do you expect
your net worth to increase as a result of your
policy choices?
Stahl circled back to just how disliked DeVos is:
DeVos is the only Cabinet secretary protected
by a squad of U.S. Marshals because she's
gotten death threats. She's frequently met by
protesters who accuse her of pushing an elitist
agenda.
With no sense of irony, Stahl brought up the Me Too
movement:
The Me-Too Movement has come along at the
same time. This is all feeding into it. We're not
talking about colleges anymore. We're talking
about men in positions of power in industry and
government. Have you ever had an issue?
Maybe the network that employed Charlie Rose, a man
dismissed after allegations of sexual harassment surfaced,
isn’t in the position to press this point?
CBS isn’t so tough on every cabinet member. In 2016, the
network invited former Attorney General Eric Holder to
opine on the “danger” of the “not smart” Donald Trump.
That same year, Stahl pounded Donald Trump for a 60
Minutes interview. In 2004, she tossed softballs to then-
Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry (another
future cabinet official).
A partial transcript is below.
60 Minutes
3/11/18
7:22pm ET
[Partial transcript]
LESLEY STAHL: Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is a
devout Christian grandmother from Michigan who has spent
most of her life trying to improve the quality of education for poor
kids. So how in the world did she become one of the most hated
members of the Trump Cabinet? She is dedicated to promoting
school choice but her critics say she really wants to privatize the
public school system that she once called, quote, "a dead end."
Now, after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, her portfolio
is expanding. Monday, President Trump is expected to appoint
her as head of a new commission on school safety charged with
developing policies to prevent school violence.
Betsy DeVos visited the school in Florida on Wednesday, but like
almost everywhere else she goes, she faced criticism. Some of
the students sent out angry tweets: "You came to our school just
for publicity and avoided our questions." "Betsy DeVos came to
my school, talked to three people, and pet a dog." Many of the
students are frustrated at the administration for talking about
school safety, but not acting.
DEVOS: I give a lot of credit to the students there for really
raising their voices, and I think that they are not going to let this
moment go by.
STAHL: They want gun control.
DEVOS: They want a variety of things. They want solutions.
STAHL: Do you think that teachers should have guns in the
classroom?
DEVOS: That should be an option for states and communities to
consider. And I hesitate to think of, like, my first-grade teacher,
Mrs. Zorhoff, I couldn't ever imagine her having a gun and being
trained in that way. But for those who are-- who are capable, this
is one solution that can and should be considered. But no one
size fits all. Every state and every community is going to address
this issue in a different way.
170
STAHL: Do you see yourself as a leader in this-- in this subject?
And what kind of ideas will you be promoting?
DEVOS: I have actually asked to head up a task force that will
really look at what states are doing. See there are a lot of states
that are addressing these issues in very cohesive and coherent
ways.
STAHL: Do you feel a sense of urgency?
DEVOS: Yes.
STAHL: 'Cause this sounds like talking. Instead of acting.
DEVOS: No, there is a sense of urgency indeed.
STAHL: The reason Betsy DeVos wanted to be Secretary of
Education was so she could promote school choice —
DONALD TRUMP: What a great looking class.
STAHL: — offering parents options other than traditional public
schools – where 90 percent of kids go. She has proposed
massive cuts in public education funding and wants to shift
billions to alternative players like private, parochial and charter
schools.
DEVOS: We have invested billions and billions and billions of
dollars from the federal level And we have seen zero results.
STAHL: But that really isn't true. Test scores have gone up over
the last 25 years. So why do you keep saying nothing's been
accomplished?
DEVOS: Well actually, test scores vis-à-vis the rest of the world
have not gone up. And we have continued to be middle of the
pack at best. That's just not acceptable.
STAHL: No it's not acceptable. But it's better than it was. That's
the point. You don't acknowledge that things have gotten better.
You won't acknowledge that, over the—
STAHL: But I don't think they have for too many kids. We've
stagnated.
Lesley Stahl: Okay, so there's the big argument. So what can be
done about that?
...
STAHL: Question is: does her solution work? Do choice schools
perform better than public schools? Naturally, there are
conflicting studies. It's complicated.
...
STAHL: Have you seen the really bad schools? Maybe try to
figure out what they're doing?
DEVOS: I have not-- I have not— I have not intentionally visited
schools that are underperforming.
...
STAHL: Some of the criticism, she feels, is unfair, especially
when it involves her wealth. She faced a hostile question about it
during a speech at Harvard last year.

STAHL: Maybe you should. STUDENT AT HARVARD: So you're a billionaire with lots and
lots of investments. And the so-called school choice movement is
DEVOS: Maybe I should. Yes. a way to open the floodgates for corporate interests to make
money off the backs of students. How much do you expect your
net worth to increase as a result of your policy choices?
STAHL: DeVos is the only Cabinet secretary protected by a
squad of U.S. Marshals because she's gotten death threats.
She's frequently met by protesters who accuse her of pushing an ...
elitist agenda. She often manages to offend, as when she called
historically black colleges and universities "pioneers" of "school STAHL: The Me-Too Movement has come along at the same
choice" – as though they had a choice. time. This is all feeding into it. We're not talking about colleges
At this commencement speech at Bethune-Cookman University, anymore. We're talking about men in positions of power in
students booed and turned their backs to her. industry and government. Have you ever had an issue?

... DEVOS: I can recall a number of moments in the past-- several

STAHL: Why have you become, people say, the most hated
Cabinet secretary?
DEVOS: I'm not so sure exactly how that happened. But I think
there are a lot of really powerful forces allied against change.
decades ago that I think today would just be viewed as
unacceptable. Yeah.
STAHL: It's been an unlikely journey and balancing act for
grandmother Betsy DeVos, from her sheltered life in Michigan to
her life now as a lightning rod in Washington.

STAHL: Does it hurt?

.

171
 James Clapper Avoids Perjury
Charges After 5 Years Of Inaction From DOJ
By Cristina Laila
March 12, 2018, 3:01 Pm

Many members of Congress, mostly Republicans

Former Intel Chief James Clapper has supportive of new limits on electronic surveillance, called
avoided perjury charges even though he for Clapper to be prosecuted as the deadline neared, saying
admitted to lying to Congress about his unpunished perjury jeopardizes the ability of Congress to
surveillance testimony. perform oversight.

Thanks to fives years of inaction by the Justice
Department, the criminal statutes that cover lying to
Congress with 5-year limitations has run out.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) had some harsh words for
Clapper.
Massie tweeted: He admitted to lying to Congress and was
unremorseful and flippant about it. The integrity of our
federal government is at stake because his behavior sets
the standard for the entire intelligence community.

The Washington Examiner reported:

Former intelligence chief James Clapper is

poised to avoid charges for allegedly lying to
Congress after five years of apparent inaction
by the Justice Department.

Clapper, director of national intelligence from

2010 to 2017, admitted giving “clearly
erroneous” testimony about mass surveillance
in March 2013, and offered differing
explanations for why.

Two criminal statutes that cover lying to Congress have

five-year statutes of limitations, establishing a Monday
deadline to charge Clapper, who in retirement has emerged
as a leading critic of President Trump.
The under-oath untruth was exposed by National Security
Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who sparked
national debate on surveillance policy with leaks to the
press.
Clapper’s damning testimony occurred on March 12, 2013
wherein he told Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) “no sir” and
“not wittingly” when asked if the NSA was collecting “any
type of data at all” on millions of Americans.
James Clapper never corrected the record according to
Senator Wyden.

172

A few months later whistleblower Edward Snowden
busted James Clapper.
Via the Washington Examiner:
Months later, Snowden revealed in June 2013
that the U.S. intelligence community obtained
secret court orders forcing phone companies to
turn over millions of U.S. call records on an
“ongoing, daily basis.”
Clapper offered at least two different explanations for his
inaccurate testimony. In a June 2013 apology letter,
Clapper wrote that he gave the “clearly erroneous” answer
.
173
because he “simply didn’t think of” the call record
collection.
But in an MSNBC interview the same month,
he said he chose to give the “least untruthful”
answer because he was “asked, a, ‘When are
you going to stop beating your wife?’ kind of
question, meaning not answerable necessarily
by a simple yes or no.”
James Clapper blatantly lied to Congress, admitted it and
got away with it.
Clapper regularly attacks President Trump in media
interviews; media sycophants treat Clapper like royalty.
Liberals push Clapper onto the public as if he’s a beacon
of truth. It’s truly disgusting to watch.
Clapper escaping perjury charges is further proof there are
a separate set of laws for people in high levels of
government.
 Mitchell Laughs At 'Funny' Idea Of
Rep. Waters Attacking Trump 'In A Dark Alley'
By Bill D'Agostino
March 12, 2018 3:10 PM EDT

The liberal media cannot always say everything they

would like to about the President, lest they destroy what
little remains of their laughable claim of objectivity.
Instead, they trot out far-left politicians to speak for them,
as was the case on Monday, when MSNBC’s Andrea
Mitchell hosted California Attorney General Xavier
Becerra.

Mitchell started the interview by framing Attorney General

Jeff Sessions’s lawsuit against California’s illegal
immigration sanctuary policy as a ‘war’ on the entire state.
From there, she repeatedly teed up her guest to fire insults
at the President. She let Becerra’s numerous factually
inaccurate statements slide, instead cheering him on at
every turn.
“It seems to me it’s fourteen, fifteen months into
the administration,” Mitchell began. “Is this the
longest any President of the United States has
gone without visiting the most populous state?”
she asked. Becerra showed frustration that it
had taken so long for the President “to come
visit the most important part of the country,”
while she nodded along in agreement.
After setting Becerra up for a few shots at Education
Secretary Betsy DeVos, Mitchell played a brief clip of the
President lambasting Congresswoman Maxine Waters
during his Saturday night campaign rally for Pennsylvania
Republican congressional candidate Rick Saccone. Rather
than asking a substantive question about the rally, she
merely prompted,
“Your comment?”
“I think Donald Trump probably said that from
about 2,000 miles away from Maxine Waters
because he’s probably too afraid to say it to her
face,” he speculated. He extolled the
Congresswoman’s many wonderful accolades
and diplomatically described Trump’s insults
against Waters as “unfortunate.” He continued,
“I would urge Donald Trump to be careful if he
ever finds himself in a dark alley with Maxine
Waters.”
“That’s a funny image,” Mitchell laughed. Her
levity was a far cry from the hand-wringing that
had pervaded her show just minutes earlier, in
reaction to the President’s (admittedly
inappropriate) description of MSNBC’s Chuck
Todd as a “son of a b****.”
This apparent double standard is further exacerbated when
one considers that in 2016, she had been quick to blame
then-candidate Trump’s rhetoric for “egging on” violence.
With regard to the Justice Department’s suit against
California, Mitchell asked hopefully whether Becerra
believed his state could “beat the federal government in its
lawsuit.” The Attorney General responded with a rambling
monologue in which he suggested that the federal
government somehow was violating the Tenth
Amendment.
At no point did Mitchell challenge any of Becerra’s
assertions, including the particularly questionable claim
that California officials did not “get in the way” of the
federal government enforcing immigration laws. Perhaps
sensing that such pushback would consume valuable time
which could otherwise have been spent attacking the
Trump administration, she instead allowed her guest free
rein.
A full transcript of the interview can be found below:
MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports
03/08/2018
12:12 p.m. EST

ANDREA MITCHELL: Joining me now is the Attorney General of

California, Xavier Becerra, former Congressman, and leading
174
Democrat in California. Thank you very much. We wanted to talk
to you for so many reasons, the war launched by Attorney
General Sessions against state of California over sanctuary cities
for undocumented immigrants. But also, of course, today about
the gun issue. The President backing down on raising the age
limit.
XAVIER BECERRA: Andrea, it's a little scary to not know where
this administration might go on something as important as gun
safety. And it's unfortunate that the rest of the country has to
wait. Here in California we've had background checks for
decades. We've banned bump stocks for years. In fact, we have
for 100 years required a license to carry a concealed weapon.
And so it should not surprise people that when president trump
comes to California, he'll see what it takes to have real gun
safety measures in place.
MITCHELL: It seems to me it's fourteen, fifteen months into the
administration. Is this the longest any President of the United
States has gone without visiting the most populous state?
BECERRA: I believe since Truman, if not before. That's the
longest it's taken someone to come visit the most important part
of the country, where we create more jobs than any other state.
We’re the economic engine for the country. In fact we're the sixth
largest economy in the world if we were a stand-alone country on
our own. And so it's unfortunate that the president has chosen so
long – to wait so long before visiting the number one agricultural
state, number one manufacturing state, number one high-tech
state. We graduate more people from college than anywhere else
in the country. But what he'll find is that we figured out a way to
do this right and create more jobs, give people an opportunity
without breaking families apart or treating immigrant families as if
they're something different.
MITCHELL: Mr. Attorney General, I wanted to also ask you, of
course, about education. Betsy DeVos, the Education Secretary,
she was on The Today Show and last night she did an interview
with Lesley Stahl on 60 minutes about her role as volunteer on
educational issues, and favoring charter schools and private
schools in the state of Michigan. And this was one of the unusual
exchanges.
LESLEY STAHL: Have the public schools in Michigan gotten
better?
BETSY DEVOS: I don’t know. Overall – I can't say overall they've
all gotten better.
STAHL: The whole state is not doing well.
DEVOS: Well, there are certainly lots of pockets where it is
students are doing well and –
STAHL: No, but your argument if you take funds away, that the
schools will get better is not working in Michigan. Where you had
a huge impact and influence over the direction of the school
system here.
175
DEVOS: I hesitate to talk about all schools in general because
schools are made up of individual students attending them.
STAHL: The public schools here are doing worse than they did.
DEVOS: Michigan schools need to do better, there is no doubt
about it.
STAHL: Have you seen the really bad schools, maybe try to
figure out what they're doing?
DEVOS: I have not – I have not – I have not intentionally visited
schools that are underperforming.
STAHL: Maybe you should.
DEVOS: Maybe I should, yes.
MITCHELL: I mean, the fact is that she was controversial at her
confirmation hearing. She's not an educator, heading the
education department, so how does it affect California schools
and how have been your interactions with the Education
Department?
BECERRA: Andrea, any time you strip a school of its funding for
its kids, you're depriving those children of the best education they
can get. And unfortunately, we have a Secretary of Education
who has steered away from giving our kids everything they
should have at our public schools. At the same time, I would also
raise a red flag with her policies relating to our college students,
where she has seemed to be favoring for-profit, predatory
colleges over our students when it comes to their practices, how
they gouge students in student loans. And we’re trying to defend
those students here in California, and Secretary DeVos and
Department of Education are trying to strip away the power of
state prosecutors like the Attorney General in California, to be
able to go after those bad actors who actually end up costing
those college students and their families tens of thousands of
dollars.
MITCHELL: I also wanted to give you a moment to comment on
your former congressional colleague, Maxine Waters, and play a
little of what the president had to say about Maxine Waters
Saturday night in Pittsburgh.
DONALD TRUMP: And Maxine waters, a very low IQ individual.
Ever see her? Have you ever seen her? “We will impeach him.
We will impeach –”, “But he hasn't done anything wrong.”,
“Doesn't matter. We will impeach him.” She's a low IQ individual.
You can't help it. She really is.
MITCHELL: General Becerra, your comment?
BECERRA: I think Donald Trump probably said that from about
2,000 miles away from maxi waters because he's probably too
afraid to say it to her face. She's been one of the greatest
champions consumers have ever had, that families have ever
had. And I suspect that Donald Trump would be afraid to come
up to her and actually say something like that to her because
Maxine Waters won't stand for that. It's unfortunate he uses that
kind of language about someone who's been a public servant for
so many years, someone who's fought very hard. And just
because he disagrees with her doesn't mean he has to use
derogatory language. But again, Maxine can take care of herself,
and I would urge Donald Trump to be careful if he ever finds
himself in a dark ally with Maxine Waters.
MITCHELL: That's a funny image. Let's briefly ask you again, I
know you referenced it earlier, about the sanctuary cities and if
you think you can beat the federal government in its lawsuit?
BECERRA: Well, I believe any time the federal government tries
to violate the Tenth Amendment and the rights of the states to
176
decide how to do general welfare and public safety for their
citizens, that we have a great chance of winning in court. And in
this particular case where the Trump administration has decided
to sue California, they're essentially trying to coerce us into doing
the federal government's job. We believe the federal government
has every right to enforce its immigration laws, to do it under the
institution and we don't get in the way but we don't believe the
federal government can get in the way of the way California
wants to do its public safety. We want our police and our deputy
sheriffs to go after criminals on the streets and not do
immigration and deportation enforcement for the federal
government. So we’ll leave the business of deportation to Donald
Trump. We're in the business of public safety here in California.
MITCHELL: Xavier Becerra, Mr. Attorney General, thank you. It's
always good to see you. Thank you for being with us today.
 Stormy Saturday: CNN Spends 41 Minutes
Salaciously Recapping Stormy Daniels’ Strip Club Show
By Curtis Houck
March 12, 2018 3:11 PM EDT
Put simply, CNN has a porn problem. For the so-called
“Facts First” network, the President’s alleged affair with
porn star Stormy Daniels has become their new missing
Malaysian plane with exhaustive coverage and
speculation. CNN took it to another level on Saturday,
devoting roughly 41 minutes to her Friday performance at
a Florida strip club.
While correspondent Nick Valencia was on-camera for
CNN, politics and media reporter Hadas Gold published
on Sunday (and updated on Monday) a 1,500-word-plus
expose on Stormy’s exploits, her song choices, howling
audience members, and quotes about how the mediastorm
has changed her porn career.
Valencia first popped up on New Day: Saturday in the
7:00 a.m. Eastern hour:
Well, according to her team, we should
start there, this is not her idea to have this
tour. This is just part of a regular dance
performances that she's already scheduled.
The clubs have a different take on that. But
here last night, we came down to see her
first live performance since she filed a
lawsuit in Los Angeles superior court over
this non-disclosure agreement which she
says is now null and void.
He explained that there were “about 200
people” there and touted the exclusive
interview he (and Gold) scored with the first
clip of Daniels touting how she’s “getting
more dance bookings” and “that's been
really great, but because of that, it's sort
of overshadowing a lot of the adult films
that I'm supposed to be promoting, and
lot of the mainstream projects that I was
177
actively working on have been
indefinitely put on hold.”
The nearly four-minute spot was followed by a similar spot
in the next hour, but Valencia rolled out the full audio-only
interview with Daniels (who’s real name is Stephanie
Clifford) in a six-minute segment just after 10:00 a.m.
Eastern flaunting her porn career and life over the last few
weeks.
Once again, this is who CNN has become and no, this is
not normal. To see the full interview, check out the
transcript at the bottom of the post.
Valencia continued to document all the action at the Fort
Lauderdale-area strip with either a live shot or soundbites
from his interview appearing on CNN every hour from the
7:00 a.m. Eastern to 7:00 p.m. Eastern hours. The only
exceptions were when Michael Smerconish’s live show
aired at 10:00 a.m. and then taped at 6:00 p.m. Eastern.
In the 2:00 p.m. hour, Valencia reported that Daniels “has
become a big attraction, that’s a perfect way to put it”
with a high school history teacher flying in from Texas to
“witness what he called history.”
“It is about 200 people inside, and, you
know, there was a buzz about the crowd
inside, the atmosphere was very
electric. She had a very revealing
performance, I should say, and she left
the fans clapping. There was a lot of
money thrown around, and she was
happy by the end of the night,” Valencia
concluded.
As for Gold, the smutty piece observed a plane pulling a
Daniels advertisement over Pompano Beach ahead of an
afternoon sprinkle:
The winds picked up and slow, heavy
raindrops started to fall as beachgoers
gathered their belongings to seek cover,
some of whom chuckled while taking
photos of the banner.
It was about to get stormy.
A few hours later, the rain had passed. But Stormy Daniels
was in full force, meeting her fans in the presidential suite
of the Solid Gold strip club in between performances.
Gold reported that
VICTOR BLACKWELL: Yes, we now know President Trump's
Personal Attorney, Michael Cohen, used his official Trump
organization e-mail and signature while arranging that $130,000
payment to keep the porn star quiet about an alleged affair
between herself and Mr. Trump.

“there was no mistaking the extra buzz PAUL: And Stormy, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford,
and publicity surrounding Daniels at the spoke with CNN last night and sort of addressed the issue.
Solid Gold” with the strip club stating in
another advertisement: “We the people of
the United States present Stormy
Daniels, this P*ssy grabs back Mr.
President world tour.”
“Screens around the club advertised
Daniels' performance with revealing
photos and the slogan ‘#MAGA -- Make
Adult Great Again’ in the hours leading
up to the main event, as the club's
house dancers entertained patrons on
the one main stage, on smaller stages
STORMY DANIELS: I think it's pretty clear that with the new
around the club, on their laps or in
developments comes new interest.
private rooms,” Gold observed.

BLACKWELL: Nick Valencia is live in Fort Lauderdale where

Gold spent the next five degrading paragraphs describing
in graphic detail the music and wardrobe choices for the
porn star. Here's an excerpt:
In minutes, though, Daniels has removed
the multiple layers of her costume
interspersed with moves that show off her
flexibility. Each act ends with her gyrating
on a black fleece blanket, spraying herself
and patrons with liquid from a squeeze
bottle, and for a price, giving a lucky few a
face full of herself.
(....)
While Daniels collected dead presidents on
stage, the current one was on everyone's
mind, partly because his doppelgänger was
present.
There’s more where that came from, but the point being
that this marked another small nail in the coffin of CNN’s
credibility, debasing itself by sending two serious
journalists to graphically chronicle Daniels going nude and
giving her a platform to discuss her porn career.
To see the relevant transcript from three of Valencia’s live
shots on March 10, click “expand.”
CNN’s New Day: Saturday
March 10, 2018
7:01 a.m. Eastern
CHRISTI PAUL: And this morning, another twist in the Stormy
Daniels saga.
Stormy just made a stop on her — ah — tour. I'm going to leave
a name of the tour to you this morning, Nick. What is Stormy
saying?
NICK VALENCIA: Well, according to her team, we should start
there, this is not her idea to have this tour. This is just part of a
regular dance performances that she's already scheduled. The
clubs have a different take on that. But here last night, we came
down to see her first live performance since she filed a lawsuit in
Los Angeles superior court over this non-disclosure agreement
which she says is now null and void because the President of the
United States, the man she's accused of having an alleged affair
with, did not sign that document. Now, she performed in front of
about 200 people last night, and we did not think — in fact, we
were told explicitly she would not be talking to the media. But
after here performance, she had and meet and greet, and it was
then that she agreed to an interview. She didn't want to talk
about the litigation, in fact, she said she had no comment for the
President, but she did talk about how this alleged affair with the
President is affecting her.
DANIELS: Sort of in a double-edged sword where a lot of people
are very interested in booking me for dancing and stuff like that.
So, I'm getting more dance bookings. I usually only dance once a
month and now, I'm dancing three or four times a month. So,
that's been really great, but because of that, it's sort of
overshadowing a lot of the adult films that I'm supposed to be
promoting, and lot of the mainstream projects that I was actively
working on have been indefinitely put on hold.
VALENCIA: Now, Daniels gives this interview less than 24 hours
after we've learned that Michael Cohen, the personal attorney of
the President, used his professional e-mail address to
communicate with Stormy Daniels' attorney. They — well,

178
Michael Cohen is saying this is not a blockbuster development, DANIELS: I think it is pretty clear that with the new developments
he uses his professional e-mail address to communicate for comes new interest.
personal reasons all the time and released a statement here
saying — I'm going to read part of that saying: “The use of my BLACKWELL: Let's go to Nick Valencia in Fort Lauderdale. Nick,
company e-mail to communicate with the bank and Ms. Clifford’s the music a bit tells us where you were last night for this
former counsel proves absolutely nothing despite the less- than- interview. What else are you learning?
convinced comments offered by Mr. Avenatti [her former
attorney]. I used this e-mail address for virtually everything, as
VALENCIA Well, we were here last night, Victor, to see Stormy
many people do.” Now, the attorney for Ms. Daniels is saying that
Daniels' first performance since this week's lawsuit she filed
this is not the case, he calling his bluff — calling Mr. Cohen's
against the president, the man she has accused of her alleged
bluff, saying that this is further proof that he wasn't acting in a
having an affair with. She performed in front of about 200 people
personal capacity or in a freelance capacity, but rather an official
last night and we were told that explicitly that we would not get a
one for the President.
chance to talk to her, to not even think about asking her any
questions, but after her performance, she held a meet and greet,
MICHAEL AVENATTI [on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, and it was then that she agreed to an audio only interview so
03/09/18]: If, in fact, the payment was being made personally by long as we didn't talk about the litigation and I asked her about
Attorney Cohen, he wouldn't need his office open in order to President Trump, something she didn't want to talk about. In fact,
effectuate the payment. she said no comment, but she did talk about how this alleged
affair with the President is affecting her career.
VALENCIA: There's a lot of anxiety, we're told, in the White
House that this story is now beginning to overshadow the day-to-
day operations of the President. For her part, Ms. Stormy Daniels
is scheduled to perform here at the Solid Gold Gentlemen's Club
here in Pompano Beach later today. The story showing no signs
of going away any time soon, guys.

BLACKWELL: Alright. Nick Valencia for us there in Fort

Lauderdale. You know, some — just the details of this story, I —
we were supposed to say the name of this tour —

PAUL: I couldn't believe you didn't do it —

BLACKWELL: I just couldn't — I couldn't say it. I mean, some of
the tawdry elements of what is happening, test some of the
bounds that we have for ourselves.
PAUL: Yes, it does. We came into work today and said, this is
what we're talking about. This is what we're talking about.
DANIELS: Sort of in a double-edged sword where a lot of people
are interested in booking me for dancing and stuff like that. So,
I'm getting more dance bookings. I usually only dance once
month. Now I'm dancing three or four times a month, so that's
been really great, but because of that, it's sort of overshadowing
a lot of the adult films that I'm supposed to be promoting and a lot
of the mainstream projects that I was actively working on have
been indefinitely put on hold.

BLACKWELL: Will we stay or will we — alright.
(....)
8:01 a.m. Eastern
PAUL: We have a new interview with Stormy Daniels. She spoke
with CNN last night amid all of the chaos that's going on in the
saga involving some new e-mails as well.
BLACKWELL: And she is continuing her tour. Her lawyer is out
now exposing a new e-mail that shows President Trump's
personal attorney, Michael Cohen, used his official Trump
Organization e-mail account and signature while he was
arranging that $130,000 payment to keep Daniels quiet about an
alleged affair between her and Mr. Trump.
PAUL: She addressed the topic last night. Listen to this.
179
VALENCIA: Daniels went on to tell me that it is the insults and
flat out lies of her being financially broke that really affected her
the most. And this interview comes to us after about 24 hours
after we've learned that Michael Cohen used his professional
White House account to communicate with Daniels' attorneys
over this non-disclosure agreement, a bungled attempt at
keeping her silent after her alleged affair with the president.
Michael Cohen says that that is not blockbuster that he uses his
professional e-mail for personal interactions all the time.
However, Stormy Daniels' attorney has a different take on it.
AVENATTI: If, in fact, the payment was being made personally
by Attorney Cohen, he wouldn't need his office open in other to
effectuate the payment.
VALENCIA: Now, Stormy's attorney says that this is further proof
that he was not acting in a freelance role or an individual capacity
but on behalf of the president. Cohen denies that saying that he
did not violate any campaign finance reform laws or any
campaign finance laws, but this story, guys, shows no signs of
going away anytime soon. Stormy Daniels for her part is
expected to perform here again at the Solid Gold Room here in
Florida later tonight — guys.
BLACKWELL: Alright. Nick Valencia. Michael Cohen admitting
there that he used his trumporg.com e-mail address, not a White
House address. He wasn't in the White House. Nick Valencia
there for us in Fort Lauderdale, thank you so much.
(....)
CNN Newsroom with Christi Paul and Victor Blackwell
10:00 a.m. Eastern
PAUL: And this morning Stormy Daniels in her own words
speaking for the first time to CNN after filing a lawsuit against the
president.
BLACKWELL: We'll get to what she said in just a moment. But
first, there's also a significant new twist in this saga. We now
know President Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, used
his official Trump organization e-mail account and signature while
arranging that $130,000 payment to keep the porn star quiet
about her alleged affair with Mr. Trump.
PAUL: Stormy's lawyer goes on to argue Mr. Cohen went to his
office that was closed at the time to send that e-mail from his
Trump Organization domain. Listen to this.
AVENATTI: If, in fact, the payment was being made personally
by attorney Cohen, he wouldn't need his office opened in order to
effectuate the payment.
BLACKWELL: Nick Valencia is live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,
with more. Nick, what have you learned?
VALENCIA: Michael Cohen is responding to that statement,
saying this is not a blockbuster development, that he uses his
Trump Organization e-mail, his professional e-mail all the time for
personal matters. Here's what he said in a statement: “The use of
my company e-mail to communicate with a bank and Miss
Clifford's former counsel proves absolutely nothing despite the
less than convincing comments offered by Mr. Avenatti. I used
this e-mail address for virtually everything as many people do.”
Michael Cohen has been accused by Stormy Daniels for trying to
keep her silent. In fact, it was earlier this week that she filed a
180
lawsuit in Los Angeles superior court over a non-disclosure
agreement between this alleged affair that she had with
President Donald Trump. She says that Michael Cohen is trying
to keep her silent but she's doing anything but. It was last night
that she performed here at the Solid Gold Gentlemen's Club in
Pompano Beach, Florida, and we were told that she wasn't going
to be conducting any media interviews, in fact that we shouldn't
even ask her any questions. But all that changed after her
performance. It was then that she agreed to an audio only
interview with CNN so long as we didn't talk about the litigation. I
did, however, ask her about how this has all affected her and if
she had any message for President Donald Trump.
VALENCIA: So what has this done for your career?
DANIELS: It's sort of been a double-edged sword where a lot of
people are very interested in booking me for dancing and stuff
like that. So I'm getting more dance bookings. I usually only
dance once a month and now I'm dancing three or four times a
month. So that's been really great. But because of that, it's sort of
overshadowing a lot of the adult film that's I'm supposed to be
promoting. And a lot of the mainstream projects that I was
actively working on have been indefinitely put on hold.
VALENCIA: You've gotten a lot of attention, some of it some
negative attention. How do you — how you are handling
everything?
DANIELS: I've been in the adult business for 17 years. So to
make it that long in that business, you have to have a really
tough skin and so it's most of it rolls off my shoulders because it's
an opinion. Like you think I'm a whore or I'm ugly or I'm old or I'm
fat or my boobs are too big or too small, whatever. I’ve heard
there’s nothing along those lines that someone can say to me
that I haven't heard and so when someone says hey, you're a
whore, I'm like that is successful whore to you.
VALENCIA: But this is a little different, though. I mean — has
some of it been hurtful at all? What's your reaction then to it?
DANIELS: Stuff that bothers me is the flat out lies, like people
randomly making up stuff.
VALENCIA: Like what?
DANIELS: Like that I'm broke. I’ve actually — I’m actually one of
the most successful adult movie directors in the business. I have
a contract that has been in place for several years and actually I
just renegotiated and got a new contract that was already the
terms were already set before this stuff happened and I have a
huge — I got a raise. So I'm doing just fine.
VALENCIA: What do you think about like the circus that's
happening? I mean, you know, this was out in 2011 but now it's
like a renewed attention on you and somebody else that we'll not
name.
DANIELS: I think it's pretty clear with the new developments
comes new interest.
VALENCIA: Go ahead?
HADAS GOLD: What do you want people to know you about and
what is going on that you think is overshadowed?
DANIELS: Like I just said, that I'm doing what I've always done.
I'm writing, directing, performing, dancing, like none that changed
and people are under this huge misconception that I just started
stripping and I've actually been doing this for 18 years.
GOLD: Like they think you're taking advantage of the situation.
DANIELS: And that's not true. Now, yes, I'm more in demand,
and like I said in the Rolling Stone interview, if somebody came
up to you and said hey, you know that job you've been doing
forever? How about next week I pay you quadruple? Show me
one person who is going to say no.
VALENCIA: So it has helped you financially?
DANIELS: It's helped me in the short immediate time because
obviously more people are coming out and more people in the
clubs. That's the more tips, but I have, you know, yet to see how
it is going to play out long term.
VALENCIA: When you look back at this stage of your life, this
period of you life, what do you think you're going to think about?
What are you going to think about what you're going through right
now?
DANIELS: Holy shit. I mean, is there anything else to say?
VALENCIA: Is any — anything I haven't asked that you is
important to know, anything you'd like to talk about while we have
a chance?
GOLD: Any more news this week or you just gonna let —
VALENCIA: What else should we expect?
DANIELS: I'm not sure what's coming this week, honestly.
VALENCIA: Okay
DANIELS: I mean you guys work at CNN, you know.
GOLD: We try to know. That's — that’s our job.
VALENCIA: Any comments to the President?
181
DANIELS: [SILENCE]
VALENCIA: So you heard there Stormy Daniels refusing to
comment to President Donald Trump. I did talk to a handful of
patrons inside this gentlemen's club last night and they told me
they were here to witness history, to be a part of history.
Somebody drove — flew as far away from Texas. We were told
by Stormy Daniels team that in her tour, so to speak, that people
have come from all across the country just so see her and you
get the sense talking to her, Fredricka, that she understands
she’s part of history. She has two more performances here
tonight later this evening. Fredricka — Victor, Christi? Sorry.
PAUL: That's okay. I know, it's been a long night. I know. It's
alright, Nick. Thank you so much. We appreciate it. Nick Valencia
there.
VALENCIA: You got it.
(....)
CNN Newsroom with Fredricka Whitfield
2:07 p.m. Eastern
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD: And so a lot of people had come a
long way, it had been heavily advertised. Tell me a little bit about
the scene that this has become a big attraction.
VALENCIA: It has become a big attraction, that’s a perfect way to
put it. In fact, we talked to somebody who flew as far away as
Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas, a man who told me he was a history
teacher and he wanted to be here to witness what he called
history. He said he was here to watch her. Other people I talked
to said they traveled as far away as northern Florida just to see
her dance. It is about 200 people inside, and, you know, there
was a buzz about the crowd inside, the atmosphere was very
electric. She had a very revealing performance, I should say, and
she left the fans clapping. There was a lot of money thrown
around, and she was happy by the end of the night. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: But in the end, a history lesson. Nick Valencia with
the history professor.
VALENCIA: Somewhat.
Late Night TV Producer:Trump’s America Reminds Me Of
What It Was Like Living In Concentration Camp
By Kristine Marsh
March 12, 2018 3:16 PM EDT
Longtime late night television producer Peter Lassally sat
down with CBS News correspondent Mo Rocca on CBS’s
Sunday Morning March 11, to discuss his illustrious life
and career in Hollywood. Somehow along the way,
Lassally found a way to insert President Trump into the
somber conversation about what his life was like as a boy
living in a concentration camp under Nazi rule.
The short but interesting segment started with Rocca
asking Lassally about his decades long career in television,
as an executive producer, most famously for The Tonight
Show with Johnny Carson and the Late Show With David
Letterman. He talked about the different hosts’
personalities, which host was his favorite (Carson), and
how he tried to stay out of the spotlight while working for
and finding new comedic talent. After talking about how
each comedic host he worked with had a “dark” side, with
deep-rooted insecurities, reporter Mo Rocca used that to
transition to Lassally’s early life before television.
Rocca noted that Lassally, a Jew, was born in 1933
Germany. After his father died, he was sent to the first of
two concentration camps, along with his sister and mother.
Lassally talked about some of the horrific things he
witnessed in those camps, including Nazi officers brutally
murdering babies.
“That’s what my life was like,” he soberly
stated.
With voice-over narration, Rocca noted the Nazis also
used psychological fear and intimidation to torture their
captors.
Lassally explained how you would be woken up in the
middle of the night to stand outside for hours in the rain
182
and complete darkness, not knowing what was going to
happen next.
“In darkness?” Rocca asked.
“In darkness,” Lassally noted. “And they
did it just to scare you and make you
nervous. They always had you off
balance,” he added.
“So that you were always scared?”
Rocca questioned.
“Always scared. Always scared. Which
is what our president is doing,” Lassally
strangely segued to bring up President
Trump.
In another voice-over, the CBS News correspondent
explained that Lassally was so afraid about “the current
state of American democracy” that he “only watched the
news these days.”
“I sleep from 11:30 at night until about
3:00 in the morning and I turn on the
news station. I just watch it all day and
all evening. I never watch entertainment
programming,” Lassally admitted.
Comparing President Trump to Hitler or Nazis is nothing
new from those in the media, but it is certainly more
distinct coming from an actual Holocaust survivor.
Certainly the man has been through a lot, but perhaps his
exclusive information diet of journalists suffering from
Trump Derangement syndrome has contributed to
Lassally’s anxiety.
Read the full transcript of the exchange, below:
CBS Sunday Morning
3/11/18
9:45am-9:47am
PETER LASSALLY: I mean, you hid from the Nazis the best way
you could, and we tried and failed.
MO ROCCA: When he was ten, his father died. Soon after, he
and his sister and mother were sent to the first of two
concentration camps. Was there ever, in your 25 months in the
camps, even just a moment where you sort of forgot where you
were?
LASSALLY: No. No. Never forgot where you were. I remember
watching from my window a little baby being swung against the
lamp post and, you know, that's what my life was like. Watching
them kill an innocent baby in the most brutal way possible.
ROCCA: Lassally recalls another cruel tactic of his captors,
this one psychological.
183
LASSALLY: In the middle of the night, word comes into the
barracks, everybody outside, form a formation. You didn't know
whether, A, it was a transport going out to another concentration
camp. Or you'd stand there for hours in the rain, in darkness.
ROCCA: In darkness.
LASSALLY: In darkness. And they did it just to scare you
and make you nervous. They always had you off balance.
ROCCA: So that you were always scared?
LASSALLY: Always scared. Always scared. Which is what
our president is doing.
ROCCA: His fear about the current state of American democracy
is why he says he's only watching the news these days.
LASSALLY: I sleep from 11:30 at night until about 3:00 in the
morning and I turn on the news station. I just watch it all day
and all evening. I never watch entertainment programming.
 Christopher Steele,
The Man Behind The Trump Dossier
How The Ex-Spy Tried To Warn The World About
Trump’s Ties To Russia.
By Jane Mayer
March 12, 2018 Issue
Illustration by Cristiana Couceiro; photograph by Victoria Jones /
PA Image / Getty
Steele told friends that Trump supporters
were using him as a “battering ram” to
“take down the whole intelligence
community.”
In January, after a long day at his London office,
Christopher Steele, the former spy turned private
investigator, was stepping off a commuter train in
Farnham, where he lives, when one of his two phones
rang. He’d been looking forward to dinner at home with
his wife, and perhaps a glass of wine. It had been their
dream to live in Farnham, a town in Surrey with a
beautiful Georgian high street, where they could afford a
house big enough to accommodate their four children, on
nearly an acre of land. Steele, who is fifty-three, looked
much like the other businessmen heading home, except for
the fact that he kept his phones in a Faraday bag—a pouch,
of military-tested double-grade fabric, designed to block
signal detection.
A friend in Washington, D.C., was calling with bad news:
two Republican senators, Lindsey Graham and Charles
Grassley, had just referred Steele’s name to the
Department of Justice, for a possible criminal
investigation. They were accusing Steele—the author of a
secret dossier that helped trigger the current federal
investigation into President Donald Trump’s possible ties
to Russia—of having lied to the very F.B.I. officers he’d
alerted about his findings. The details of the criminal
referral were classified, so Steele could not know the
nature of the allegations, let alone rebut them, but they had
something to do with his having misled the Bureau about
contacts that he’d had with the press. For nearly thirty
years, Steele had worked as a close ally of the United
184
States, and he couldn’t imagine why anyone would believe
that he had been deceptive. But lying to an F.B.I. officer is
a felony, an offense that can be punished by up to five
years in prison.
The accusations would only increase doubts about Steele’s
reputation that had clung to him since BuzzFeed published
the dossier, in January, 2017. The dossier painted a
damning picture of collusion between Trump and Russia,
suggesting that his campaign had “accepted a regular flow
of intelligence from the Kremlin, including on his
Democratic and other political rivals.” It also alleged that
Russian officials had been “cultivating” Trump as an asset
for five years, and had obtained leverage over him, in part
by recording videos of him while he engaged in
compromising sexual acts, including consorting with
Moscow prostitutes who, at his request, urinated on a bed.
In the spring of 2016, Orbis Business Intelligence—a small
investigative-research firm that Steele and a partner had
founded, in 2009, after leaving M.I.6, Britain’s Secret
Intelligence Service—had agreed to do opposition research
on Trump’s murky relationship with Russia. Under the
arrangement, Orbis was a subcontractor working for
Fusion GPS, a private research firm in Washington.
Fusion, in turn, had been contracted by a law firm, Perkins
Coie, which represented both Hillary Clinton’s Presidential
campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
Several months after Steele signed the deal, he learned
that, through this chain, his research was being jointly
subsidized by the Clinton campaign and the D.N.C. In all,
Steele was paid a hundred and sixty-eight thousand dollars
for his work.
Steele had spent more than twenty years in M.I.6, most of
it focussing on Russia. For three years, in the nineties, he
spied in Moscow under diplomatic cover. Between 2006
and 2009, he ran the service’s Russia desk, at its
headquarters, in London. He was fluent in Russian, and
widely considered to be an expert on the country. He’d
also advised on nation-building in Iraq. As a British
citizen, however, he was not especially knowledgeable
about American politics. Peter Fritsch, a co-founder at
Fusion who has worked closely with Steele, said of him,
 “He’s a career public-service officer, and in
England civil servants haven’t been drawn
into politics in quite the same way they
have here. He’s a little naïve about the
public square.”
And so Steele, on that January night, was stunned to learn
that U.S. politicians were calling him a criminal. He told
Christopher Burrows, with whom he co-founded Orbis,
that the sensation was “a feeling like vertigo.” Burrows, in
his first public interview on the dossier controversy,
recalled Steele telling him, “You have this thudding
headache—you can’t think straight, you have no appetite,
you feel ill.” Steele compared it to the disorientation that
he had felt in 2009, when his first wife, Laura, had died,
after a long illness, leaving him to care for their three
young children.
That night, Burrows said, Steele and his second wife,
Katherine, who have been married since 2012, sat in their
living room, wondering what would become of them.
Would they be financially ruined by legal costs? (In
addition to the criminal referral in the U.S., a Russian
businessman, Aleksej Gubarev, had filed a libel lawsuit
against Steele, saying that the dossier had falsely accused
his company of helping the Russian government hack into
the Democratic Party’s internal e-mail system.) Would
Steele end up in a U.S. federal penitentiary? Would a Putin
emissary knife him in a dark alley somewhere?
In conversations with friends, Steele said he hoped that in
five years he’d look back and laugh at the whole
experience. But he tended toward pessimism. No matter
how the drama turned out, “I will take this to my grave,”
he often predicted. A longtime friend of Steele’s pointed
out to me that Steele was in a singularly unenviable
predicament. The dossier had infuriated both Vladimir
Putin and Donald Trump by divulging allegedly corrupt
dealings between them.
“You’ve got oligarchs running both
superpowers,” the friend said. “And,
incredibly, they both hate this same guy.”
Legal experts soon assured Steele that the criminal referral
was merely a political stunt. Nevertheless, it marked a
tense new phase in the investigation into Trump’s alleged
ties to Russia. The initial bipartisan support in Congress
for a serious inquiry into foreign meddling in America’s
democracy had given way to a partisan brawl. Trump’s
defenders argued that Steele was not a whistle-blower but
a villain—a dishonest Clinton apparatchik who had
collaborated with American intelligence and law-
enforcement officials to fabricate false charges against
Trump and his associates, in a dastardly attempt to nullify
the 2016 election. According to this story line, it was not
the President who needed to be investigated but the
investigators themselves, starting with Steele.
185
“They’re trying to take down the whole
intelligence community!” Steele exclaimed
one day to friends. “And they’re using me
as the battering ram to do it.”
It was not the first time that a congressional investigation
had been used as a tool for destroying someone’s
reputation. Whenever a scandal hit Washington, opponents
used subpoenas, classified evidence, and theatrical public
hearings to spread innuendo, confusion, and lies. Senators
Grassley and Graham declined to be interviewed for this
article, but in January Grassley, the chairman of the Senate
Judiciary Committee, gave a speech on the Senate floor
defending the criminal referral. He noted that Steele had
drawn on Russian contacts to amass the dossier.
“Who was actually colluding with
Russians?” Grassley asked. “It’s becoming
more clear.”
Democratic members of the committee, who had not been
consulted by Republicans about the criminal referral
against Steele, were enraged. The California senator
Dianne Feinstein, the ranking minority member on the
committee, declared that the Republicans’ goals were
“undermining the F.B.I. and Special Counsel Mueller’s
investigation” and “deflecting attention” from it.
Feinstein said that the criminal referral
provided no evidence that Steele had lied,
and, she added, “not a single revelation in
the Steele dossier has been refuted.”
Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democratic senator from Rhode
Island, is a former prosecutor who also serves on the
Judiciary Committee.
“To impeach Steele’s dossier is to impeach
Mueller’s investigation,” he told me. “It’s to
recast the focus back on Hillary.” The
Republicans’ aim, he believed, was to
“create a false narrative saying this is all a
political witch hunt.”
Indeed, on January 18th, the staff of Devin Nunes, the
Republican chairman of the House Intelligence
Committee, produced a report purporting to show that the
real conspiracy revolved around Hillary Clinton.
“The truth,” Nunes said, is that Clinton
“colluded with the Russians to get dirt on
Trump, to feed it to the F.B.I. to open up an
investigation into the other campaign.”
Glenn Kessler, who writes the nonpartisan Fact Checker
blog at the Washington Post, awarded Nunes’s statement
four Pinocchios—his rating for an outright lie.
 “There is no evidence that Clinton was
involved in Steele’s reports or worked with
Russian entities to feed information to
Steele,” Kessler wrote.
Nonetheless, conservative talk-show hosts amplified
Nunes’s message. On Fox News, Tucker Carlson
denounced Steele as “an intense partisan with passionately
left-wing views about American politics,” and said,
inaccurately, that his “sloppy and reckless” research
“appears to form the basis” of the entire Mueller
investigation. Sean Hannity charged that Steele’s dossier
was “claptrap” filled with “Russian lies” that were
intended to poison “our own intelligence and law-
enforcement network” against Trump. The editorial page
of the Wall Street Journal accused Steele of turning the
F.B.I. into “a tool of anti-Trump political actors.” Rush
Limbaugh warned his radio listeners,
“The battle is between people like us and
the Deep State who are trying to keep
hidden what they did.”
President Trump had mocked “the dirty dossier,”
suggesting that a “failed spy” had relied on “made-up facts
by sleazebag political operatives.” But on February 8th the
President denounced Steele by name for the first time.
“Steele of fraudulent Dossier fame,” he
tweeted, was “all tied into Crooked Hillary.”
Two days later, Burrows, of Orbis, was at his home, in
Winchester, southwest of London, struggling to express to
me how odd and disturbing it was to have his business
partner targeted by the President of the United States. A
tight-lipped fifty-nine-year-old who is conservative in
politics and in manner, Burrows, like Steele, had spent
decades as a British intelligence officer.
“This whole thing has been quite surreal,”
he said. “We are being made into a political
football, in U.S. terms, which we really
regret. Chris is being accused of being the
heart of some Deep State conspiracy, and
he’s not even in your state.”
Steele’s lawyers have advised him not to speak publicly
about the controversy, and, because he is a former
intelligence officer, much of his life must remain secret.
His accusers know this, and, as Senator Whitehouse
explained,
“they are using selective declassification as
a tactic—they use declassified information
to tell their side, and then the rebuttal is
classified.”
186
Both the criminal referral and Nunes’s report used secret
evidence to malign Steele while providing no means for
his defenders to respond without breaching national-
security secrets. But interviews with Steele’s friends,
colleagues, and business associates tell a very different
story about how a British citizen became enmeshed in one
of America’s most consequential political battles.
Steele was born in 1964 in Aden, then the capital of
Yemen. His father worked for the U.K.’s national weather
service, and had postings overseas and in Great Britain.
Steele’s family was middle class, but its roots were blue-
collar: one of Steele’s grandfathers was a Welsh coal
miner. An outstanding student, Steele was accepted at
Cambridge University in 1982. He soon set his sights on
becoming the president of the Cambridge Union, the
prestigious debating society. It is such a common path for
ambitious future leaders that, according to one former
member, its motto should be “The Egos Have Landed.”
Getting elected president requires shrewd political skills,
and Steele secured the position, in part, by muscling the
university newspaper, for which he had been writing, into
endorsing his candidacy. His jockeying created enemies.
One anonymous rival recently told the Daily Mail that
Steele used to be a “little creep.”
Steele was a middle-of-the-road Labour Party supporter,
and at the Cambridge Union his allies, known as the Anti-
Establishment Faction, were state-schooled, middle-class
students. Steele’s camp competed against a blue-blooded
Establishment Faction and a right-wing Libertarian
Faction. His longtime friend, who was part of a like-
minded society at Oxford, said,
“Almost all of us had come from less posh
families, and suffered a bit from the
impostor syndrome that made us doubt we
belonged there, so we worked many times
harder to prove ourselves.” He recalled
Steele as an “astoundingly diligent” student
with “huge integrity,” adding, “He just puts
the bit in his teeth and charges the hill.
He’s almost like a cyborg.”
Graham Davies, now a well-known public-speaking coach
in the U.K., became friends with Steele in the Cambridge
Union.
He described him as “ultra low-key but ultra
high-intensity,” adding, “He’s a very quiet
guy who listens more than he talks, which
made him stand out.” Davies went on,
“Most of us like a bit of the spotlight, but
Chris has always been the opposite. That’s
been part of his integrity. He’s quietly in
control.” Davies, who is a conservative, told
me that Steele has many conservative
friends. (Steele supported the Labour
government of Tony Blair until the Iraq
 War, but he voted for a local Conservative
official in his home county.) “He’s not an
ideologue,” Davies said.
“He’s got his political views, but he’s a
pragmatic thinker. Fairness, integrity, and
truth, for him, trump any ideology.”
Steele is said to be the first president of the Cambridge
Union to invite a member of the Palestine Liberation
Organization to speak. And he presided over numerous
high-profile political debates, including one in which the
proposition that President Ronald Reagan’s foreign
policies had hurt the U.K. carried the house.
Tellingly, none of Steele’s old friends seem to remember
the first time they met him. Of average height and build,
with pleasant features, a clean-cut style of dress, and a
cool, neutral gaze, he didn’t draw attention to himself. He
was a natural candidate to become professionally
unnoticeable. Davies, who dines several times a year with
Steele and other schoolmates, said,
“He’s more low-key than Smiley”—the John
le Carré character. But, he noted,
whenever Steele took on a task “he was
like a terrier with a bone—when something
needs investigating, he applies the most
intense intellect I’ve ever seen.”
Steele graduated in 1986, with a degree in social and
political science, and initially thought that he might go into
journalism or the law. One day, though, he answered a
newspaper ad seeking people interested in working abroad.
The advertiser turned out to be M.I.6, which, after a
battery of tests, recruited Steele into its Russian-language
program. By the time he was in his mid-twenties he was
living in Moscow.
Steele worked out of the British Embassy for M.I.6, under
diplomatic cover. His years in Moscow, 1990 to 1993,
were among the most dramatic in Russian history, a period
that included the collapse of the Communist Party;
nationalist uprisings in Ukraine, the Caucasus, and the
Baltic states; and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Boris
Yeltsin gained ultimate power in Russia, and a moment of
democratic promise faded as the K.G.B.—now called the
F.S.B.—reasserted its influence, oligarchs snapped up state
assets, and nationalist political forces began to emerge.
Vladimir Putin, a K.G.B. operative returning from East
Germany, reinvented himself in the shadowy world of St.
Petersburg politics. By the time Steele left the country,
optimism was souring, and a politics of resentment—
against the oligarchs, against an increasing gap between
rich and poor, and against the West—was taking hold.
After leaving Moscow, Steele was assigned an undercover
posting with the British Embassy in Paris, but he and a
hundred and sixteen other British spies had their cover
187
blown by an anonymously published list. Steele came in
from the cold and returned to London, and in 2006 he
began running its Russia desk, growing increasingly
pessimistic about the direction of the Russian Federation.
Steele’s already dim view of the Kremlin darkened in
November, 2006, when Alexander Litvinenko, a former
Russian K.G.B. officer and a Putin critic who had been
recruited by M.I.6, suffered an agonizing death in a
London hospital, after drinking a cup of tea poisoned with
radioactive polonium-210. Moscow had evidently
sanctioned a brazen murder in his own country. Steele was
put in charge of M.I.6’s investigation. Authorities initially
planned to indict one suspect in the murder, but Steele’s
investigative work persuaded them to indict a second
suspect as well. Nine years later, the U.K.’s official inquiry
report was finally released, and it confirmed Steele’s view:
the murder was an operation by the F.S.B., and it was
“probably approved” by Vladimir Putin.
Steele has never commented on the case, or on any other
aspect of his intelligence work, but Richard Dearlove, who
led M.I.6 from 1999 to 2004, has described his reputation
as “superb.” A former senior officer recalls him as “a
Russia-area expert whose knowledge I and others
respected—he was very careful, and very savvy.” Another
former M.I.6 officer described him as having a “Marmite”
personality—a reference to the salty British spread, which
people either love or hate.
He suggested that Steele didn’t appear to
be “going places in the service,” noting
that, after the Cold War, Russia had
become a backwater at M.I.6. But he
acknowledged that Steele “knew Russia
well,” and that running the Russia desk was
“a proper job that you don’t give to an idiot.”
The British Secret Intelligence Service is highly regarded
by the United States, particularly for its ability to harvest
information from face-to-face sources, rather than from
signals intelligence, such as electronic surveillance, as the
U.S. often does. British and American intelligence services
work closely together, and, while Steele was at M.I.6,
British intelligence was often included in the U.S.
President’s daily-briefing reports. In 2008, Michael
Hayden, the C.I.A. director, visited the U.K., and Steele
briefed him on Russian developments. The following year,
President Obama visited the U.K., and was briefed on a
report that Steele had written about Russia. Steve Hall, a
former chief of the C.I.A.’s Central Eurasia Division,
which includes Russia, the former Soviet states, and the
Balkans, told me,
“M.I.6 is second only perhaps to the U.S. in
its ability to collect intelligence from
Russia.” He added, “We’ve always
coördinated closely with them because
they did such a great job. We’re playing in
 the Yankee Stadium of espionage here.
This isn’t Guatemala.”
In 2008, Steele informed M.I.6 that he planned to leave the
service and open a commercial intelligence firm with
Burrows. He left in good standing, but his exit was
hastened, because M.I.6 regarded his plans as a potential
conflict of interest. Launching the business was a risky
move: London was filled with companies run by former
intelligence officers selling their contacts and inside
knowledge. To differentiate itself, Orbis, which opened its
office in Mayfair, attempted to exploit Steele’s Russian
expertise. The strategy appears to have paid off. According
to people with knowledge of the company, Orbis grossed
approximately twenty million dollars in its first nine years.
Steele now drives a Land Rover Discovery Sport, and
belongs to a golf club. He also runs a bit, but the feats that
kept him in shape while he was a spy—he ran six
marathons and twenty-five half-marathons, and competed
in a dozen Olympic-length triathlon events—have been
replaced by the carrying of a briefcase. His free time is
devoted largely to his family, which includes three cats,
one of whom not long ago replicated the most infamous
allegation in the Steele dossier by peeing on a family
member’s bed.
Orbis’s clients are mostly businesses or law firms
representing corporations. Burrows said that although the
company has fewer than ten full-time employees, “we’re a
bit like the bridge on the Starship Enterprise—we’re a
small group but we manage an enormous ship.” To serve
its clients, Orbis employs dozens of confidential
“collectors” around the world, whom it pays as contract
associates. Some of the collectors are private investigators
at smaller firms; others are investigative reporters or
highly placed experts in strategically useful jobs.
Depending on the task and the length of engagement, the
fee for collectors can be as much as two thousand dollars a
day. The collectors harvest intelligence from a much larger
network of unpaid sources, some of whom don’t even
realize they are being treated as informants. These sources
occasionally receive favors—such as help in getting their
children into Western schools—but money doesn’t change
hands, because it could risk violating laws against, say,
bribing government officials or insider trading. Paying
sources might also encourage them to embellish.
Steele has not been to Russia, or visited any former Soviet
states, since 2009. Unlike some of his former M.I.6
colleagues, he has not been declared persona non grata by
Putin’s regime, but, in 2012, an Orbis informant quoted an
F.S.B. agent describing him as “an enemy of Mother
Russia.” Steele concluded that it would be difficult for him
to work in the country unnoticed. The firm guards the
identities of its sources, but it’s clear that many Russian
contacts can be interviewed elsewhere, and London is the
center of the post-Soviet Russian diaspora.
188
Orbis often performs anti-corruption investigations for
clients attempting internal reviews, and helps hedge funds
and other financial companies perform due diligence or
obtain strategic information. One Orbis client who agreed
to talk to me, a Western businessman with interests in
Russia and Ukraine, described Steele to me as “very
efficient, very professional, and very credible.”
He said that his company had successfully
cross-checked Steele’s research with other
people, adding, “I don’t know anyone who’s
been critical of his work. His reports are
very good. It’s an absolute no-brainer that
he’s just a political target. They’re trying to
shoot the messenger.”
Orbis promises confidentiality, and releases no information
on its clientele. Some of its purported clients, such as a
major Western oil company, are conventional
corporations. Others are controversial, including a London
law firm representing the interests of Oleg Deripaska, the
billionaire victor of Russia’s aluminum wars, a notoriously
violent battle. He has been described as Putin’s favorite
oligarch. Steele’s possible financial ties to Deripaska
recently prompted Senator Grassley to demand more
information from the London law firm. If a financial trail
between Deripaska and Orbis can be established, it is
likely to raise even more questions about Steele, because
Deripaska has already figured in the Russia investigation,
in an unsavory light. Paul Manafort, Trump’s former
campaign manager, has been accused of defrauding
Deripaska’s company while working for it in Ukraine.
(Manafort has been indicted by Special Counsel Robert
Mueller on charges of money laundering and other
financial crimes. He has pleaded not guilty.) Even if
Steele’s rumored work for Deripaska is aboveboard, it
illustrates the transition that he has made from the world of
government service to the ethically gray world of
commerce. Oligarchs battling other oligarchs provide some
of the most lucrative work for investigators with expertise
in Russia. Orbis maintains that, as long as its activities are
limited to providing litigation support for Western law
firms acting in Western courts, it is helping to settle
disputes in a more civilized way than they would be in
Russia. But Steele stepped into a murkier realm when he
left M.I.6.
Republican claims to the contrary, Steele’s interest in
Trump did not spring from his work for the Clinton
campaign. He ran across Trump’s name almost as soon as
he went into private business, many years before the 2016
election. Two of his earliest cases at Orbis involved
investigating international crime rings whose leaders,
coincidentally, were based in New York’s Trump Tower.
Steele’s first client after leaving M.I.6 was England’s
Football Association, which hoped to host the World Cup
in 2018, but suspected dirty dealings by the governing
body, fifa. England lost out in its bid to Russia, and Steele
determined that the Kremlin had rigged the process with
bribes. According to Ken Bensinger’s “Red Card,” an
upcoming book about the scandal, “one of Steele’s best
sources” informed him that the Deputy Prime Minister,
Igor Sechin—now the C.E.O. of the Russian state-
controlled oil giant Rosneft—is suspected of having
travelled to Qatar “to swap World Cup votes.”
Steele appears to have spoken anonymously to the Sunday
Times of London about the case. An “ex-M.I.6 source”
who investigated the bidding process told the paper,
“The key thing with Russia was six months
before the bid, it got to the point where the
country feared the humiliation of being
beaten and had to do something. . . . Putin
dragged in all sorts of capabilities.” He
added, “Don’t expect me or anyone else to
produce a document with Putin’s signature
saying ‘Please, X, bribe Y with this amount
in this way.’ He’s not going to do that.”
Steele might have been expected to move on once his
investigation of the bidding was concluded. But he had
discovered that the corruption at fifa was global, and he
felt that it should be addressed. The only organization that
could handle an investigation of such scope, he felt, was
the F.B.I. In 2011, Steele contacted an American agent
he’d met who headed the Bureau’s division for serious
crimes in Eurasia. Steele introduced him to his sources,
who proved essential to the ensuing investigation. In 2015,
the Justice Department indicted fourteen people in
connection with a hundred and fifty million dollars in
bribes and kickbacks. One of them was Chuck Blazer, a
top fifa official who had embezzled a fortune from the
organization and became an informant for the F.B.I. Blazer
had an eighteen-thousand-dollar-per-month apartment in
Trump Tower, a few floors down from Trump’s residence.
Nobody had alleged that Trump knew of any fifa crimes,
but Steele soon came across Trump Tower again. Several
years ago, the F.B.I. hired Steele to help crack an
international gambling and money-laundering ring
purportedly run by a suspected Russian organized-crime
figure named Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov. The syndicate
was based in an apartment in Trump Tower. Eventually,
federal officials indicted more than thirty co-conspirators
for financial crimes. Tokhtakhounov, though, eluded
arrest, becoming a fugitive. Interpol issued a “red notice”
calling for his arrest. But, in the fall of 2013, he showed up
at the Miss Universe contest in Moscow—and sat near the
pageant’s owner, Donald Trump.
“It was as if all criminal roads led to Trump
Tower,” Steele told friends.
Burrows told me that he and Steele made a pact when they
left M.I.6:
189
“We both agreed it was a duty to alert U.K.
and allied authorities if we came across
anything with national-security dimensions.
It comes from a very long government
service. We still have that ethos of wanting
to do the right thing by our authorities.”
By working with law-enforcement authorities on
investigations, Steele has kept a foot in his former life.
Some critics have questioned the propriety of this. Lindsey
Graham recently argued, in the Washington Post,
“You can be an F.B.I. informant. You can
be a political operative. But you can’t be
both, particularly at the same time.”
Burrows said that on several occasions Orbis had warned
authorities about major security threats. Three years ago, a
trusted Middle Eastern source told Orbis that a group of
isis militants were using the flow of refugees from Syria to
infiltrate Europe. Orbis shared the information with
associates who relayed the intelligence to German security
officials. Several months later, when a concert hall in
Paris, the Bataclan, was attacked by terrorists, Burrows
and Steele felt remorse at not having notified French
authorities as well. When Steele took his suspicions about
Trump to the F.B.I. in the summer of 2016, it was in
keeping with Orbis protocol, rather than a politically
driven aberration.
Even before Steele became involved in the U.S.
Presidential campaign, he was convinced that the Kremlin
was interfering in Western elections. In April of 2016, not
long before he took on the Fusion assignment, he finished
a secret investigation, which he called Project
Charlemagne, for a private client. It involved a survey of
Russian interference in the politics of four members of the
European Union—France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and
Germany—along with Turkey, a candidate for
membership. The report chronicles persistent, aggressive
political interference by the Kremlin: social-media warfare
aimed at inflaming fear and prejudice, and “opaque
financial support” given to favored politicians in the form
of bank loans, gifts, and other kinds of support. The report
discusses the Kremlin’s entanglement with the former
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the French
right-wing leader Marine Le Pen. (Le Pen and Berlusconi
deny having had such ties.) It also suggests that Russian
aid was likely given to lesser-known right-wing
nationalists in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. The
Kremlin’s long-term aim, the report concludes, was to
boost extremist groups and politicians at the expense of
Europe’s liberal democracies. The more immediate goal
was to “destroy” the E.U., in order to end the punishing
economic sanctions that the E.U. and the U.S. had imposed
on Russia after its 2014 political and military interference
in Ukraine.
Although the report’s language was dry, and many of the
details familiar to anyone who had been watching Russia
closely, Project Charlemagne was the equivalent of a
flashing red light. It warned that Russian intelligence
services were becoming more strategic and increasingly
disruptive. Russian interference in foreign elections, it
cautioned, was only “likely to grow in size and reach over
time.”
In the spring of 2016, Steele got a call from Glenn
Simpson, a former investigative reporter for the Wall
Street Journal who, in 2011, had left journalism to co-
found Fusion GPS. Simpson was hoping that Steele could
help Fusion follow some difficult leads on Trump’s ties to
Russia. Simpson said that he was working for a law firm,
but didn’t name the ultimate client.
The funding for the project originally came from an
organization financed by the New York investor Paul
Singer, a Republican who disliked Trump. But, after it
became clear that Trump would win the Republican
nomination, Singer dropped out. At that point, Fusion
persuaded Marc Elias, the general counsel for the Clinton
campaign, to subsidize the unfinished research. This
bipartisan funding history belies the argument that the
research was corrupted by its sponsorship.
Steele and Simpson had previously worked together, and
they shared a mutual fascination with Russian oligarchs
and international organized crime. They had symbiotic
approaches. Fusion focussed on open-source research—
mind-numbing dives into the fine print of public records.
Steele’s specialty was gathering intelligence from
informed sources, many of them Russian.
Illustration by Cristiana Couceiro; photographs by Alexei Nikolsky /
AFP / Getty (man); Melina Mara / The Washington Post / Getty
(woman); Frank Lukasseck / Getty (binoculars)
The dossier alleges that Putin backed Donald Trump over
Hillary Clinton in order to “sow discord and disunity” in
America.
One question particularly gnawed at Simpson. Why had
Trump repeatedly gone to Russia in search of business, yet
returned empty-handed? Steele was tantalized, and took
the job, thinking that he’d find evidence of a few dodgy
deals, and not much else. He evidently didn’t consider the
danger of poking into a Presidential candidate’s darkest
secrets.
190
“He’s just got blinkers,” Steele’s longtime
friend told me. “He doesn’t put his head in
the oven so much as not see the oven.”
Within a few weeks, two or three of Steele’s long-standing
collectors came back with reports drawn from Orbis’s
larger network of sources. Steele looked at the material
and, according to people familiar with the matter, asked
himself,
“Oh, my God—what is this?” He called in
Burrows, who was normally unflappable.
Burrows realized that they had a problem.
As Simpson later put it, “We threw out a
line in the water, and Moby-Dick came
back.”
Steele’s sources claimed that the F.S.B. could easily
blackmail Trump, in part because it had videos of him
engaging in “perverted sexual acts” in Russia. The sources
said that when Trump had stayed in the Presidential suite
of Moscow’s Ritz-Carlton hotel, in 2013, he had paid “a
number of prostitutes to perform a ‘golden showers’
(urination) show in front of him,” thereby defiling a bed
that Barack and Michelle Obama had slept in during a state
visit. The allegation was attributed to four sources, but
their reports were secondhand—nobody had witnessed the
event or tracked down a prostitute, and one spoke
generally about “embarrassing material.” Two sources
were unconnected to the others, but the remaining two
could have spoken to each other. In the reports Steele had
collected, the names of the sources were omitted, but they
were described as “a former top-level Russian intelligence
officer still active inside the Kremlin,” a “member of the
staff at the hotel,” a “female staffer at the hotel when
Trump had stayed there,” and “a close associate of Trump
who had organized and managed his recent trips to
Moscow.”
More significant, in hindsight, than the sexual details were
claims that the Kremlin and Trump were politically
colluding in the 2016 campaign. The Russians were
described as having cultivated Trump and traded favors
with him “for at least 5 years.” Putin was described as
backing Trump in order to “sow discord and disunity both
within the U.S.” and within the transatlantic alliance. The
report claimed that, although Trump had not signed any
real-estate-development deals, he and his top associates
had repeatedly accepted intelligence from the Kremlin on
Hillary Clinton and other political rivals. The allegations
were astounding—and improbable. They could constitute
treason even if they were only partly true.
According to people familiar with the matter, as Steele
began to assemble the first of seventeen memos, which
became the dossier, Burrows expressed reservations about
including the golden-showers allegation. He had a cautious
temperament, and worried about the impact that the
sensational item might have. But Steele argued that it
would be dishonest and distorting to cherry-pick details,
and that the possibility of a potential American President
being subject to blackmail was too important to hide.
“That’s classic Steele,” his longtime friend
told me. “He’s so straight.”
In a fateful decision, Steele chose to include everything.
People familiar with the matter say that Steele knew he
could either shred the incendiary information or carry on.
If he kept investigating, and then alerted officials who he
thought should know about his findings, he feared that his
life—and, indeed, the life of anyone who touched the
dossier—would never be the same.
At the time, Steele figured that almost nobody would ever
see the raw intelligence. The credibility of Steele’s dossier
has been much debated, but few realize that it was a
compilation of contemporaneous interviews rather than a
finished product. Orbis was just a subcontractor, and
Steele and Burrows reasoned that Fusion could, if it
wished, process the findings into an edited report for the
ultimate client. So Orbis left it up to Fusion to make the
judgment calls about what to leave in, and to decide
whether to add caveats and source notes of the kind that
accompany most government intelligence reports.
John Sipher spent twenty-eight years as a clandestine
officer in the C.I.A., and ran the agency’s Russia program
before retiring, in 2014. He said of Steele’s memos, “This
is source material, not expert opinion.” Sipher has
described the dossier as “generally credible,” although not
correct in every detail. He said,
“People have misunderstood that it’s a
collection of dots, not a connecting of the
dots. But it provided the first narrative
saying what Russia might be up to.”
Alexander Vershbow, a U.S. Ambassador
to Russia under George W. Bush, told me,
“In intelligence, you evaluate your sources
as best you can, but it’s not like journalism,
where you try to get more than one source
to confirm something. In the intelligence
business, you don’t pretend you’re a
hundred per cent accurate. If you’re
seventy or eighty per cent accurate, that
makes you one of the best.”
On June 24, 2016, Steele’s fifty-second birthday, Simpson
called, asking him to submit the dossier. The previous day,
the U.K. had voted to withdraw from the E.U., and Steele
was feeling wretched about it. Few had thought that Brexit
was possible. An upset victory by Trump no longer
seemed out of the question. Steele was so nervous about
maintaining secrecy and protecting his sources that he sent
a courier by plane to Washington to hand-deliver a copy of
191
the dossier. The courier’s copy left the sources redacted,
providing instead descriptions of them that enabled Fusion
to assess their basic credibility. Steele feared that, for some
of his Russian sources, exposure would be a death
sentence.
Steele also felt a duty to get the information to the F.B.I.
Although Trump has tweeted that the dossier was “all
cooked up by Hillary Clinton,” Steele approached the
Bureau on his own. According to Simpson’s sworn
testimony to the House Intelligence Committee, Steele told
him in June, 2016, that he wanted to alert the U.S.
government, and explained, “I’m a former intelligence
officer, and we’re your closest ally.” Simpson testified that
he asked to think about it for a few days; when Steele
brought it up again, Simpson relented. As Simpson told the
Senate Judiciary Committee, “Let’s be clear. This was not
considered by me to be part of the work we were doing.
This was like you’re driving to work and you see
something happen and you call 911.” Steele, he said, felt
“professionally obligated to do it.” Simpson went along, he
testified, because Steele was the “national-security expert,”
whereas he was merely “an ex-journalist.”
The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Garrow has
questioned Steele’s motives in the Wall Street Journal,
calling him a “paid operative” spreading “partisan gossip.”
He told me that Steele’s whistle-blowing seemed “self-
dramatizing,” adding, “We see Steele viewing himself as a
historically important person. He believes he has unique
knowledge that he must warn the world about.” As a
historian who has written critically about the F.B.I.’s
persecution of Martin Luther King, Jr., Garrow is troubled
by Steele’s zealousness.
“In this secret-agent world, there’s a desire
to maximize their importance,” Garrow
said. “It’s as if all these guys wanted to play
themselves in the movies.”
But Mark Medish, a former director of Russian affairs at
the National Security Council, told me that “if Steele had
not shared his findings, he might have been accused of
dereliction or a coverup.” He added,
“It takes courage to deliver bad news,
particularly when the stakes are so high.”
And Senator Whitehouse described
Steele’s actions as akin to warning the
F.B.I. about a “physical detonation of some
sort,” noting, “If it had gone off, and he or
the F.B.I. had ignored it, heads would roll.”
Regardless of what others might think, it’s clear that Steele
believed that his dossier was filled with important
intelligence. Otherwise, he would never have subjected it,
his firm, and his reputation to the harsh scrutiny of the
F.B.I.
 “I’m impressed that he was willing to share
it with the F.B.I.,” Sipher said. “That gives
him real credibility to me, the notion that
he’d give it to the best intelligence
professionals in the world.”
On July 5, 2016, Steele went to his London office and met
with the F.B.I. agent with whom he’d worked on the fifa
case. The agent responded to the first memo in the dossier,
Steele has said, with “shock and horror.” Simpson knew
that Steele had informed the F.B.I., but he has said that,
amid the tumult of the 2016 campaign, it more or less
slipped his mind. (In testimony before the Senate Judiciary
Committee, he recalled asking himself, “I wonder what the
F.B.I. did? Whoops—haven’t heard from them.”) As the
summer went on, there was little indication that the F.B.I.
was paying much attention, either.
For all the Republicans’ talk of a top-down Democratic
plot, Steele and Simpson appear never to have told their
ultimate client—the Clinton campaign’s law firm—that
Steele had gone to the F.B.I. Clinton’s campaign spent
much of the summer of 2016 fending off stories about the
Bureau’s investigation into her e-mails, without knowing
that the F.B.I. had launched a counter-intelligence
investigation into the Trump team’s ties to Russia—one
fuelled, in part, by the Clinton campaign’s own opposition
research. As a top Clinton-campaign official told me,
“If I’d known the F.B.I. was investigating
Trump, I would have been shouting it from
the rooftops!”
At virtually the same time that Steele told the F.B.I. about
Russia’s interference in the 2016 Presidential campaign,
the Kremlin was engaged—without his knowledge—in at
least two other schemes to pass compromising information
about Hillary Clinton to Trump’s inner circle.
The first scheme involved the Trump foreign-policy
adviser George Papadopoulos. In April, 2016, over drinks
with an Australian diplomat at a London bar, he divulged
that Russia had access to thousands of Clinton e-mails.
The diplomat informed his supervisors of this bizarre-
sounding claim, but Papadopoulos was young and
inexperienced, and the Australians didn’t give it much
weight.
The second scheme unfolded at Trump Tower in New
York. On June 9, 2016, top members of Trump’s
campaign—including Donald Trump, Jr., Paul Manafort,
and Jared Kushner—had a private meeting on the twenty-
fifth floor with Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer.
The attendees had been promised that she would present
them with dirt Moscow had collected on Hillary Clinton.
The meeting was set up after Donald, Jr., was approached
by an emissary close to the Agalarov family—Azerbaijani
oligarchs with whom Trump had partnered on the 2013
192
Miss Universe pageant, in Moscow. In an e-mail, the
emissary promised Donald, Jr., that the documents “would
incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and
would be very useful to your father,” and described this
gift as “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr.
Trump.” Instead of going to the F.B.I., as Steele had,
Trump’s older son responded giddily to the e-mail:
“If it’s what you say I love it especially later
in the summer.”
Donald, Jr., and the other participants insist that nothing of
consequence happened at the Trump Tower meeting:
Veselnitskaya expressed frustration with U.S. sanctions on
Russia, but offered no information on Clinton. A number
of former intelligence officers, however, believe that the
meeting, which happened soon after Papadopoulos’s
encounter with the Australian diplomat, enhances the
dossier’s credibility. John McLaughlin, the deputy director
of the C.I.A. from 2000 until 2004, told me, “I haven’t
formed a final thought, but clearly parts of it are starting to
resonate with what we know to be true about the Russians’
willingness to deliver information harmful to Hillary
Clinton.”
Furthermore, Steele’s dossier had highlighted the Agalarov
family’s connection with Trump. Ten months before the
Times reported on the Trump Tower meeting, exposing the
role of the Agalarov family’s emissary in setting it up, one
of Steele’s memos had suggested that an “Azeri business
associate of Trump, Araz agalarov, will know the details”
of “bribes” and “sexual activities” that Trump had
allegedly engaged in while visiting St. Petersburg. (A
lawyer for the Agalarovs denies these claims.)
On June 14, 2016, five days after the Trump Tower
meeting, the Washington Post broke the news that the
Russians were believed to have hacked into the
Democratic National Committee’s e-mail system. The first
reports were remarkably blasé. D.N.C. officials admitted
that they had learned about the hack months earlier. (It
later surfaced that in November of 2014 Dutch intelligence
officials had provided U.S. authorities with evidence that
the Russians had broken into the Democratic Party’s
computer system. U.S. officials reportedly thanked the
Dutch for the tip, sending cake and flowers, but took little
action.) When the infiltration of the D.N.C. finally became
public, various officials were quoted as saying that the
Russians were always trying to penetrate U.S. government
systems, and were likely just trying to understand
American politics better.
The attitudes of Democratic officials changed drastically
when, three days before the start of the Democratic
National Convention in Philadelphia, WikiLeaks dumped
twenty thousand stolen D.N.C. e-mails onto the Internet.
The e-mails had been weaponized: what had seemed a
passive form of spying was now “an active measure,” in
the parlance of espionage. The leaked e-mails, some of
which suggested that the D.N.C. had secretly favored
Clinton’s candidacy over that of Bernie Sanders, appeared
just when the Party was trying to unify its supporters. The
Party’s chair, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, was forced to
resign, and recriminations and demonstrations disrupted
the Convention.
Trump’s response was exultant. He said, “If it is Russia—
which it’s probably not, nobody knows who it is—but if it
is . . . Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find
the thirty thousand e-mails that are missing. I think you
will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.” His
campaign later described these comments as a joke.
At this point, a Clinton foreign-policy adviser, Laura
Rosenberger, who had held various positions at the
National Security Council and at the State Department
during the Bush and Obama Administrations, grew
seriously alarmed. She’d already noticed that Trump had
pro-Russian positions on many issues, which seemed to
her to be inexplicably outside the Republican mainstream.
She’d also been struck by Trump’s hiring of Paul
Manafort, who had worked as a political consultant for
pro-Kremlin forces in Ukraine. Trump’s team then
appeared to play a role in modifying the G.O.P. platform
so that it better reflected Russia’s position on Ukraine
policy.
“It was all beginning to snowball,” she told
me. “And then, with the e-mail leaks, it was,
like, ‘Oh, fuck’—excuse my French—‘we
are under attack!’ That was the moment
when, as a national-security adviser, you
break into sweats.”
Rosenberger, meanwhile, had no idea that the Clinton
campaign had indirectly employed a Russia expert: Steele.
Orbis’s work was sealed off, behind a legal barrier. Marc
Elias, the attorney at Perkins Coie who was serving as the
Clinton campaign’s general counsel, acted as a firewall
between the campaign and the private investigators
digging up information on Trump. It’s a common practice
for law firms to hire investigators on behalf of clients, so
that any details can be protected by attorney-client
privilege. Fusion briefed only Elias on the reports.
Simpson sent Elias nothing on paper—he was briefed
orally. Elias, according to people familiar with the matter,
was flabbergasted by the dossier but wasn’t sure what to
do with the allegations. “Sex stuff is kind of worthless in a
campaign,” Simpson told me. In the absence of live
accusers or documentary evidence, such material is easy to
dismiss, and can make the purveyor look sleazy.
At the same time, the financial machinations described in
Steele’s reports were complex, and difficult to confirm:
“yanukovych had confided in putin that he did authorise
and order substantial kick-back payments to manafort as
193
alleged but sought to reassure him that there was no
documentary trail left behind.” (Manafort has denied this.)
Elias broadly summarized some of the information to top
campaign officials, including the campaign manager,
Robby Mook, but Elias found much of the Kremlinology
abstruse. He was more interested in finding actionable
intelligence on the people who had exfiltrated the
Democrats’ internal e-mails, and how to stop them.
Mook told me,
“The problem with the Russia story is that
people just weren’t buying it. Today, it’s,
like, ‘Of course!’ But back then people
thought that we were just desperately
peddling conspiracy theories.”
After the D.N.C.’s e-mails were hacked, Mook went on
TV talk shows and pointed the finger at Russia, but, he
says, his comments were often dismissed as “spin.” On
Jake Tapper’s “State of the Union,” he declared,
“What’s disturbing to us is that experts are
telling us that Russian state actors broke
into the D.N.C., stole these e-mails, and
other experts are now saying that the
Russians are releasing these e-mails for
the purpose of actually helping Donald
Trump.”
Tapper then interviewed Donald Trump, Jr., who ridiculed
Mook’s accusation as “disgusting” and “phony”—even
though it’s now known that, just a few weeks earlier, he
had met at Trump Tower with a Russian offering dirt on
Clinton.
That summer, Steele noticed a few small news items
further connecting Trump’s circle to Russia. On July 7,
2016, two days after Steele met in London with the F.B.I.,
Carter Page, a Trump foreign-policy adviser, travelled to
Moscow, on a campaign-approved visit, and delivered a
lecture at the prestigious New Economic School. Page’s
remarks were head-turning.
He criticized “Washington and other
Western capitals” for “their often
hypocritical focus on ideas such as
democratization, inequality, corruption, and
regime change.”
Page was an odd choice for Trump. In New York in 2013,
two Russian intelligence operatives had attempted to
recruit Page, an oil-industry consultant, although wiretaps
revealed that one of the operatives had described him as an
“idiot.” The F.B.I. later indicted the two Russian spies, and
warned Page that the Kremlin was trying to recruit him,
but he continued to pursue oil-and-gas deals in Russia. Ian
Bremmer, the president of the Eurasia Group, a risk-
consulting firm where Page had previously worked, said
that Page had become a pro-Kremlin “wackadoodle.”
Steele didn’t know it, but U.S. authorities were
independently monitoring Page. According to the recently
released report by the Democratic minority on the House
Intelligence Committee, the F.B.I. had interviewed Page
about his contacts with Russian officials in March, 2016—
the same month that Trump named him an adviser.
When Page gave his Moscow lecture, he declined to
answer questions from the audience about whether he
would be meeting Russian officials. Soon afterward, Steele
filed another memo to Fusion, alleging that Page had
indeed met with Russians close to Putin, as part of an
ongoing effort by the Russians to cultivate sympathetic
Trump aides. Steele’s sources claimed that one person
Page had met with was Igor Sechin, the C.E.O. of the oil
giant Rosneft. Sechin had purportedly proposed to Page
increasing U.S.-Russian energy coöperation in exchange
for lifting the Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia. Page,
the dossier said, had “reacted positively” but had been
“non-committal.” (Rosneft declined to comment. Page told
me, “Steele got everything wrong as it relates to me.”)
A subsequent Steele memo claimed that Sechin was so
eager to get U.S. sanctions lifted that, as an incentive, he
offered Page the opportunity to help sell a stake of Rosneft
to investors. Steele’s memo also alleged that while Page
was in Russia he met with a top Kremlin official, Igor
Diveykin, who floated the idea of leaking Russian
kompromat on Clinton, in order to boost Trump’s
candidacy. According to Steele’s memos, the damaging
material on Clinton was political, not personal, and had
been gathered partly from Russian intercepts.
Page has denied any wrongdoing. In a congressional
interview in November, 2017, he initially said that he had
not met with any Russian officials during his July trip. But,
according to the Democrats’ recent Intelligence Committee
report, when Page was confronted with evidence he was
“forced to admit” that he had met with a top Kremlin
official, after all, as well as with a Rosneft executive—
Sechin’s close associate Andrey Baranov. The dossier may
or may not have erred in its naming of specific officials,
but it was clearly prescient in its revelation that during the
Presidential campaign a covert relationship had been
established between Page and powerful Russians who
wanted U.S. sanctions lifted. Trump and his advisers have
repeatedly denied having colluded with Russians. But, in
Steele’s telling, the Russians were clearly offering Trump
secret political help.
Steele’s memos describe two other Trump advisers as
sympathetic to Russia: Paul Manafort, then the campaign
manager, and Michael Flynn, an adviser whom Trump
later appointed his national-security adviser. Flynn
resigned from that post almost immediately, after it was
194
revealed that he had engaged in conversations with the
Russian Ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, about U.S.
sanctions that Obama had imposed before leaving office.
Flynn has become a central figure in Mueller’s
investigation, having pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I.
about his conversations with Kislyak.
On July 26, 2016, after WikiLeaks disseminated the
D.N.C. e-mails, Steele filed yet another memo, this time
claiming that the Kremlin was “behind” the hacking,
which was part of a Russian cyber war against Hillary
Clinton’s campaign. Many of the details seemed far-
fetched: Steele’s sources claimed that the digital attack
involved agents “within the Democratic Party structure
itself,” as well as Russian émigrés in the U.S. and
“associated offensive cyber operators.”
Neither of these claims has been substantiated, and it’s
hard to imagine that they will be. But one of the dossier’s
other seemingly outlandish assertions—that the hack
involved “state-sponsored cyber operatives working in
Russia”—has been buttressed. According to Special
Counsel Mueller’s recent indictment of thirteen Russian
nationals, Kremlin-backed operatives, hiding behind fake
and stolen identities, posed as Americans on Facebook and
Twitter, spreading lies and fanning ethnic and religious
hatred with the aim of damaging Clinton and helping
Trump. The Kremlin apparently spent about a million
dollars a month to fund Internet trolls working round-the-
clock shifts in a run-down office building in St. Petersburg.
Their tactics were similar to those outlined in Steele’s
Charlemagne investigation, including spreading falsehoods
designed to turn voters toward extremism. The Russian
operation also involved political activism inside the U.S.,
including the organizing of bogus pro-Trump rallies.
In England, Steele kept cranking out memos, but he was
growing anxious about the lack of response from the F.B.I.
As the summer wore on, he confided in an American
friend, Jonathan Winer, a Democratic lawyer and foreign-
policy specialist who was working at the State Department.
Steele told him that Orbis sources had come across
unsettling information about Trump’s ties to Russia. Winer
recalls Steele saying that he “was more certain of it than
about any information he’d gotten before in his life.”
Winer told me,
“Chris was deeply disturbed that the
Kremlin was infecting our country. By
hacking our computers and using
WikiLeaks to disseminate the information—
it was an infection. He thought it would
have really bad consequences for the U.S.
and the U.K., for starters. He thought it
would destabilize these countries. He
wanted the U.S. government to know. He’s
a very institution-oriented person.”
During the previous two years, Steele had been sending
Winer informal reports, gratis, about raw intelligence that
he’d picked up on Ukraine and related areas while working
for commercial clients. Winer, who encouraged Steele to
keep sending the reports, estimated that he had received
more than a hundred and twenty of them by 2016. He and
others at the State Department found the research full of
insights. Winer recalls Victoria Nuland, the top official
overseeing U.S. policy on Russia, expressing surprise at
how timely Steele’s reports were. A former top State
Department official who read them said,
“We found the reports about eighty per cent
consistent with other sources we had.
Occasionally, his sources appeared to
exaggerate their knowledge or influence.
But Steele also highlighted some players
and back channels between Russia and
Ukraine who became important later. So
the reports had value.”
In September, 2016, Steele briefed Winer on the dossier at
a Washington hotel. Winer prepared a two-page summary
and shared it with a few senior State Department officials.
Among them were Nuland and Jon Finer, the director of
policy planning and the chief of staff to Secretary of State
John Kerry. For several days, Finer weighed whether or
not to burden Kerry with the information. He’d found the
summary highly disturbing, but he didn’t know how to
assess its claims. Eventually, he decided that, since others
knew, his boss should know, too.
When Kerry was briefed, though, he didn’t think there was
any action that he could take. He asked if F.B.I. agents
knew about the dossier, and, after being assured that they
did, that was apparently the end of it. Finer agreed with
Kerry’s assessment, and put the summary in his safe, and
never took it out again. Nuland’s reaction was much the
same. She told Winer to tell Steele to take his dossier to
the F.B.I. The so-called Deep State, it seems, hardly
jumped into action against Trump.
“No one wanted to touch it,” Winer said. Obama
Administration officials were mindful of the Hatch Act,
which forbids government employees to use their positions
to influence political elections. The State Department
officials didn’t know who was funding Steele’s research,
but they could see how politically explosive it was. So they
backed away.
Steele believed that the Russians were engaged in the
biggest electoral crime in U.S. history, and wondered why
the F.B.I. and the State Department didn’t seem to be
taking the threat seriously. Likening it to the attack on
Pearl Harbor, he felt that President Obama needed to make
a speech to alert the country. He also thought that Obama
should privately warn Putin that unless he stopped
195
meddling the U.S. would retaliate with a cyberattack so
devastating it would shut Russia down.
Steele wasn’t aware that by August, 2016, a similar debate
was taking place inside the Obama White House and the
U.S. intelligence agencies. According to an article by the
Washington Post, that month the C.I.A. sent what the
paper described as “an intelligence bombshell” to
President Obama, warning him that Putin was directly
involved in a Russian cyber campaign aimed at disrupting
the Presidential election—and helping Trump win. Robert
Hannigan, then the head of the U.K.’s intelligence service
the G.C.H.Q., had recently flown to Washington and
briefed the C.I.A.’s director, John Brennan, on a stream of
illicit communications between Trump’s team and
Moscow that had been intercepted. (The content of these
intercepts has not become public.) But, as the Post noted,
the C.I.A.’s assessment that the Russians were interfering
specifically to boost Trump was not yet accepted by other
intelligence agencies, and it wasn’t until days before the
Inauguration that major U.S. intelligence agencies had
unanimously endorsed this view.
In the meantime, the White House was unsure how to
respond. Earlier this year, at the Council on Foreign
Relations, former Vice-President Joe Biden revealed that,
after Presidential daily briefings, he and Obama “would sit
there” and ask each other, “What the hell are we going to
do?” The U.S. eventually sent a series of stern messages to
the Russians, the most pointed of which took place when
Obama pulled Putin aside on September 5th, at a G20
summit in China, and reportedly warned him, “Better stop,
or else.”
But Obama and his top advisers did not want to take any
action against Russia that might provoke a cyber war. And
because it was so close to the election, they were wary
about doing anything that could be construed as a ploy to
help Clinton. All along, Trump had dismissed talk of
Russian interference as a hoax, claiming that no one really
knew who had hacked the D.N.C.: it could have been
China, he said, or a guy from New Jersey, or “somebody
sitting on their bed that weighs four hundred pounds.”
Trump had also warned his supporters that the election
would be rigged against him, and Obama and his top aides
were loath to further undermine the public’s faith.
In early September, 2016, Obama tried to get
congressional leaders to issue a bipartisan statement
condemning Russia’s meddling in the election. He
reasoned that if both parties signed on the statement
couldn’t be attacked as political. The intelligence
community had recently informed the Gang of Eight—the
leaders of both parties and the ranking representatives on
the Senate and House Intelligence Committees—that
Russia was acting on behalf of Trump. But one Gang of
Eight member, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell,
expressed skepticism about the Russians’ role, and refused
to sign a bipartisan statement condemning Russia. After
that, Obama, instead of issuing a statement himself, said
nothing.
Steele anxiously asked his American counterparts what
else could be done to alert the country. One option was to
go to the press. Simpson wasn’t all that worried, though.
As he recalled in his subsequent congressional testimony,
“We were operating under the assumption
at that time that Hillary Clinton was going to
win the election, and so there was no
urgency to it.”
Contemporaneous F.B.I. text messages disclosed recently
by the Wall Street Journal reflect a similar complacency.
In August, 2016, two F.B.I. employees, Lisa Page and
Peter Strzok, texted about investigating possible collusion
between Trump and the Russians.
“omg I cannot believe we are seriously
looking at these allegations and the
pervasive connections,” Strzok wrote.
Page suggested that they could take their time, because
there was little reason to worry that Clinton would lose.
But Strzok disagreed, warning that they
should push ahead, anyway, as “an
insurance policy” in case Trump was
elected—like “the unlikely event you die
before you’re 40.”
When excerpts of these texts first became public, Trump
defenders such as Trey Gowdy seized on them as proof
that the F.B.I. had schemed to devise “an insurance policy”
to keep Trump from getting elected. But a reading of the
full text chain makes it clear that the agents were
discussing whether or not they needed to focus urgently on
investigating collusion.
In late summer, Fusion set up a series of meetings, at the
Tabard Inn, in Washington, between Steele and a handful
of national-security reporters. These encounters were
surely sanctioned in some way by Fusion’s client, the
Clinton campaign. The sessions were off the record, but
because Steele has since disclosed having participated in
them I can confirm that I attended one of them. Despite
Steele’s generally cool manner, he seemed distraught
about the Russians’ role in the election. He did not
distribute his dossier, provided no documentary evidence,
and was so careful about guarding his sources that there
was virtually no way to follow up. At the time, neither The
New Yorker nor any other news organization ran a story
about the allegations.
Inevitably, though, word of the dossier began to spread
through Washington. A former State Department official
recalls a social gathering where he danced around the
196
subject with the British Ambassador, Sir Kim Darroch.
After exchanging cryptic hints, to make sure that they were
both in the know, he asked the Ambassador, “Is this guy
Steele legit?” The Ambassador replied, “Absolutely.”
Brennan, then the C.I.A. director, also heard the rumors.
(Nunes reportedly plans to examine Steele’s interactions
with the C.I.A. and the State Department next.) But
Brennan said recently, on “Meet the Press,” that he heard
just “snippets” about the dossier “in press circles,”
emphasizing that he didn’t see the dossier until well after
the election, and said that “it did not play any role
whatsoever” in the intelligence community’s appraisal of
Russian election meddling. Brennan said of the dossier,
“It was up to the F.B.I. to see whether or
not they could verify any of it.”
It wasn’t until October 7, 2016, that anyone in the Obama
Administration spoke publicly about Russia’s interference.
James Clapper, Obama’s director of National Intelligence,
and Jeh Johnson, the head of the Department of Homeland
Security, issued a joint statement saying that the U.S.
intelligence community was “confident” that Russia had
directed the hacking of the Democratic National
Committee’s e-mails. James Comey, then the F.B.I.
director, had reportedly changed his mind about issuing a
public statement, deciding that it was too close to the
election to make such a politically charged assertion.
In a normal political climate, the U.S. government’s
announcement that a foreign power had attacked one of the
two dominant parties in the midst of a Presidential election
would have received enormous attention. But it was almost
instantly buried by two other shocking news events. Thirty
minutes after the statement was released, the Washington
Post brought to light the “Access Hollywood” tape, in
which Trump describes how his celebrity status had
allowed him to “grab” women “by the pussy.” A few hours
after that, WikiLeaks, evidently in an effort to bail out
Trump by changing the subject, started posting the private
e-mails of John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chairman.
The intelligence community’s assessment was barely
noticed.
Steele finally met again with the F.B.I. in early October of
2016. This time, he went to Rome to speak with a team of
agents, who avidly asked him for everything he had. The
news generated by the publication of the D.N.C. e-mails
had triggered the change. It had led the Australians to
reconsider the importance of George Papadopoulos’s
claims, and to alert American authorities. On July 31,
2016, the F.B.I. had launched a formal investigation.
The agents asked Steele about Papadopoulos, and he said
that he hadn’t heard anything about him. After the
meeting, Steele told Simpson that the Bureau had been
amassing “other intelligence” about Russia’s scheme. As
Simpson later told the Senate Judiciary Committee, F.B.I.
agents now “believed Chris’s information might be
credible.” Although the Bureau had paid Steele for past
work, he was not paid for his help on the Trump
investigation. Orbis remained under contract to Fusion,
and Steele helped the F.B.I. voluntarily. (He did request
compensation for travelling to Rome, but he never
received any.)
Soon after the meeting in Rome, the F.B.I. successfully
petitioned the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for a
warrant to spy on Carter Page. Trump’s defenders have
accused the Bureau of relying on politically motivated
smears to spy on Trump’s campaign, but by then Page was
no longer an adviser to Trump, and the F.B.I. had collected
information in addition to what had been supplied by
Steele.
The Bureau encouraged Steele to send any relevant
information he came across, and that October he passed on
a questionable item—a bit of amateur sleuthing that had
been done by someone he’d never met, a former journalist
and self-styled investigator named Cody Shearer. Jonathan
Winer, Steele’s friend at the State Department, had shared
with him an unfinished memo written by Shearer. Not only
did it claim that the F.S.B. had incriminating videotapes of
Trump having sex in Moscow; it also made wild
allegations that leaders of former Soviet states had given
huge payments to Trump family members. Steele wasn’t
aware that Shearer had longtime ties to the Clintons, as did
Sidney Blumenthal, a Clinton ally, who had given
Shearer’s report to Winer. Steele had never met
Blumenthal, either, but he dutifully jotted down the chain
of custody on the cover of the report before sending it on
to the F.B.I., with the caveat that he couldn’t vouch for its
credibility. He noted, though, that some of the findings
were “remarkably similar” to Orbis’s.
Trump’s defenders have seized on the Shearer memo,
which Steele didn’t write, using it to argue that Steele’s
research was politically tainted by the Clintons. Sean
Hannity’s official Web site carried the inaccurate headline
“christopher steele authored ANOTHER
DOSSIER, used clinton contacts.”
As the election approached, the relationship between
Steele and the F.B.I. grew increasingly tense. He couldn’t
understand why the government wasn’t publicizing
Trump’s ties to Russia. He was anguished that the
American voting public remained in the dark. Steele
confided in a longtime friend at the Justice Department, an
Associate Deputy Attorney General, Bruce Ohr (whose
wife, Nellie Ohr, was briefly a contractor for Fusion). In a
memo to the F.B.I., Bruce Ohr recalled Steele saying that,
given what he had discovered, he “was desperate that
Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate about
him not being President.” According to people familiar
with the matter, Ohr and other officials urged Steele not to
197
be so upset about the F.B.I.’s secrecy, assuring him that, in
the U.S., potentially prejudicial investigations of political
figures were always kept quiet, especially when an election
was imminent.
Steele was therefore shocked when, on October 28, 2016,
Comey sent a letter to congressional leaders: the F.B.I. had
come across new e-mails bearing on its previously closed
investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server
as Secretary of State. He said that these e-mails required
immediate review. The announcement plunged Clinton’s
campaign into chaos. Two days before the election, Comey
made a second announcement, clearing her of wrongdoing,
but by that point her campaign’s momentum had stalled.
To Steele, the F.B.I., by making an incriminating statement
so close to Election Day, seemed to be breaking a rule that
he’d been told was inviolable. And, given what he—and
very few others—knew about the F.B.I.’s Trump
investigation, it also seemed that the Bureau had one
standard for Clinton and another for her opponent.
“Chris was concerned that something was
happening at the F.B.I.,” Simpson later told
the House Intelligence Committee. “We
were very concerned that the information
that we had about the Russians trying to
interfere in the election was going to be
covered up.” Simpson and Steele thought
that “it would only be fair if the world knew
that both candidates were under
investigation.”
At Fusion’s urging, Steele decided to speak, on
background, to the press. Identified only as a “former
Western intelligence officer,” he told David Corn, of
Mother Jones, that he had provided information to the
F.B.I. as part of a “pretty substantial inquiry” into Trump’s
ties to Russia. He noted,
“This is something of huge significance,
way above party politics.”
The F.B.I., which had hoped to protect its ongoing probe
from public view, was furious. Nunes, in his memo,
claimed that Steele was “suspended and then terminated”
as a source. In reality, the break was mutual, precipitated
by Steele’s act of conscience.
Inside the Clinton campaign, John Podesta, the chairman,
was stunned by the news that the F.B.I. had launched a
full-blown investigation into Trump, especially one that
was informed by research underwritten by the Clinton
campaign. Podesta had authorized Robby Mook, the
campaign manager, to handle budget matters, and Mook
had approved Perkins Coie’s budget request for opposition
research without knowing who was producing it. Podesta
and Mook have maintained that they had no idea a former
foreign intelligence officer was on the Democrats’ payroll
until the Mother Jones article appeared, and that they
didn’t read the dossier until BuzzFeed posted it online. Far
from a secret campaign weapon, Steele turned out to be a
secret kept from the campaign.
On November 8, 2016, Steele stayed up all night, watching
the U.S. election returns. Trump’s surprise victory hit
Orbis hard. A staff memo went out forgiving anyone who
wanted to stay home and hide under his duvet. The news
had one immediate consequence for Steele. He believed
that Trump now posed a national-security threat to his
country, too. He soon shared his research with a senior
British official. The official carefully went through the
details with Steele, but it isn’t clear whether the British
government acted on his information.
The election was over, but Steele kept trying to alert
American authorities. Later that November, he authorized
a trusted mentor—Sir Andrew Wood, a former British
Ambassador to Moscow—to inform Senator John McCain
of the existence of his dossier. Wood, an unpaid informal
adviser to Orbis, and Steele agreed that McCain, the
hawkish chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee,
should know what was going on. Wood told me, “It was
simply a matter of duty.” Steele had gone to him before the
election for counsel. They’d discussed the possibility that
Steele’s sources in Russia were wrong, or spreading
disinformation, but concluded that none of them had a
motive to lie; moreover, they had taken considerable risks
to themselves to get the truth out.
“I sensed he was distinctly alarmed,” Wood
told me. “I don’t doubt his good faith at all.
It’s absurd for anyone to suggest he was
engaged in political tricks.”
The week before Thanksgiving, Wood briefed McCain at
the Halifax International Security Forum. McCain was
deeply concerned. He asked a former aide, David Kramer,
to go to England to meet Steele. Kramer, a Russia expert
who had served at the State Department, went over the
dossier with Steele for hours. After Kramer promised to
share the document only with McCain, Steele arranged for
Kramer to receive a copy in Washington. But a former
national-security official who spoke with Kramer at the
time told me that one of Kramer’s ideas was to have
McCain confront Trump with the evidence, in the hope
that Trump would resign.
“He would tell Trump, ‘The Russians have
got you,’ ” the former official told me.
(A lawyer for Kramer maintains that Kramer never
considered getting Trump to resign and never promised to
show the dossier only to McCain.) Ultimately, though,
McCain and Kramer agreed that McCain should take the
dossier to the head of the F.B.I. On December 9th, McCain
198
handed Comey a copy of the dossier. The meeting lasted
less than ten minutes, because, to McCain’s surprise, the
F.B.I. had possessed a copy since the summer. According
to the former national-security official, when Kramer
learned about the meeting his reaction was
“Shit, if they’ve had it all this time, why
didn’t they do something?” Kramer then
heard that the dossier was an open secret
among journalists, too. He asked, “Is there
anyone in Washington who doesn’t know
about this?”
On January 5, 2017, it became clear that at least two
Washingtonians remained in the dark about the dossier: the
President and the Vice-President. That day, in a top-secret
Oval Office meeting, the chiefs of the nation’s top
intelligence agencies briefed Obama and Biden and some
national-security officials for the first time about the
dossier’s allegation that Trump’s campaign team may have
colluded with the Russians. As one person present later
told me,
“No one understands that at the White
House we weren’t briefed about the F.B.I.’s
investigations. We had no information on
collusion. All we saw was what the
Russians were doing. The F.B.I. puts
anything about Americans in a lockbox.”
The main purpose of the Oval Office meeting was to run
through a startling report that the U.S. intelligence chiefs
were about to release to the public. It contained the
agencies’ unanimous conclusion that, during the
Presidential campaign, Putin had directed a cyber
campaign aimed at getting Trump elected. But, before
releasing the report, the intelligence chiefs—James
Clapper, the director of National Intelligence; Admiral
Mike Rogers, the N.S.A. director; Brennan; and Comey—
shared a highly classified version with Obama, Biden, and
the other officials.
The highly classified report included a two-page appendix
about the dossier. Comey briefed the group on it.
According to three former government officials familiar
with the meeting, he didn’t name Steele but said that the
appendix summarized information obtained by a former
intelligence officer who had previously worked with the
F.B.I. and had come forward with troubling information.
Comey laid out the dossier’s allegations that there had
been numerous contacts between the Trump campaign and
Russian officials, and that there may have been deals
struck between them. Comey also mentioned some of the
sexual details in the dossier, including the alleged golden-
showers kompromat.
“It was chilling,” the meeting participant
recalls.
Obama stayed silent. All through the campaign, he and
others in his Administration had insisted on playing by the
rules, and not interfering unduly in the election, to the
point that, after Trump’s victory, some critics accused
them of political negligence. The Democrats, far from
being engaged in a political conspiracy with Steele, had
been politically paralyzed by their high-mindedness.
Biden asked,
“How seriously should we take this?”
Comey responded that the F.B.I. had not
corroborated the details in the dossier, but
he said that portions of it were “consistent”
with what the U.S. intelligence community
had obtained from other channels. He also
said that the F.B.I. had “confidence” in the
dossier’s author—a careful but definite
endorsement—because it had worked not
only with him but with many of his sources
and sub-sources, whose identities the
Bureau knew. “He’s proven credible in the
past, and so has his network,” Comey said.
“If this is true, this is huge!” Biden
exclaimed.
Someone asked how intelligence officials planned to
handle the dossier with Trump. Comey explained that he’d
decided to brief the President-elect about it the next day.
He would do it on his own, he said, to avoid unnecessary
embarrassment. But he thought that Trump needed to
know about the dossier, even if the allegations were false,
for two reasons: it could prove “impactful” if the dossier
became public, and the dossier could be used as leverage
over the President-elect. Trump later suggested that
Comey had actually used the dossier to get leverage over
him, but, according to the officials familiar with the
meeting, Comey’s motive was to protect the President-
elect. In fact, if Comey had wanted to use the dossier as
leverage, he could have done so months earlier, before
Trump was elected, since it had been in the F.B.I.’s
possession.
Comey’s meeting with the President-elect, in a conference
room at Trump Tower, did not go well. Neither he nor
Trump has disclosed details of their exchange, but Comey
later released a public statement in which he said that as
soon as he left the building he “felt compelled” to
memorialize in writing what had occurred. He’d never felt
the need to take such a legal step during the Obama years.
Later, when he was questioned by a Senate panel, Comey
explained that he had done so because of the “nature of the
person,” adding,
“I was honestly concerned he might lie
about the nature of our meeting.” The
briefing established a rocky dynamic that
culminated in Trump’s dismissing Comey,
199
and with Trump adopting a hostile posture
toward the intelligence and law-
enforcement agencies investigating him.
Republican critics have accused the intelligence agencies
of having blended Steele’s work with their own
investigations. But the F.B.I., by relegating the dossier to
an appendix, deliberately separated it from the larger
intelligence-community report. Steele has told friends that
this approach left him exposed. The F.B.I. never asked his
permission to do this.
“They threw me under the bus,” Steele has
complained to friends.
Unsurprisingly, the salacious news leaked in no time. Four
days after Comey briefed Trump, CNN reported that the
President-elect had been briefed on a scandalous dossier
supplied by a former British intelligence operative. Almost
instantly, BuzzFeed posted a copy of Steele’s dossier
online, arguing that the high-level briefing made it a matter
of public interest. BuzzFeed has declined to reveal its
source for the dossier, but both Orbis and Fusion have
denied supplying it. By a process of elimination,
speculation has centered on McCain’s aide, Kramer, who
has not responded to inquiries about it, and whose
congressional testimony is sealed.
Trump immediately denounced CNN’s report as “fake
news,” and BuzzFeed as “a failing pile of garbage.” He
called the document “crap” compiled by “sick people,” and
at a news conference at Trump Tower he insisted that the
golden-showers episode couldn’t be true, because he was
“very much of a germophobe.”
The day after BuzzFeed posted the dossier, the Wall Street
Journal identified Steele as its author. In England,
reporters peered in his windows and tracked down his
relatives, including the siblings of his deceased wife. Two
reporters from RT, a Russian state news agency, seemed
especially aggressive in staking out his house. In response,
Steele and his family went into hiding. They reportedly left
their three cats with neighbors, and Steele grew a beard.
The dossier’s publication caused a series of repercussions.
Aleksej Gubarev, the Russian Internet entrepreneur, sued
Steele and Orbis, and also BuzzFeed, for libel. He said the
dossier falsely claimed that his companies, Webzilla and
XBT Holding, had aided the Russian hacking of the
D.N.C. (Steele’s lawyers have said that the dossier’s
publication was unforeseen, so he shouldn’t be held
responsible. BuzzFeed has argued that the content was not
libelous.) Pretrial maneuvering in the libel case has
resulted in a court ordering Gubarev to disclose whether he
or his companies are under criminal investigation. His
answer may shed some light on the dossier’s depiction of
him as a questionable character.
In Russia, there were rumors of a more primitive kind of
justice taking place. During Glenn Simpson’s testimony to
the Senate Judiciary Committee, his lawyer asserted that
“somebody’s already been killed as a result of the
publication of this dossier.” Who that could be has been
the subject of much media speculation. One possibility that
has been mentioned is Oleg Erovinkin, a former F.S.B.
officer and top aide to Igor Sechin, the Rosneft president.
On December 26, 2016, Erovinkin was found dead in his
car. No official cause of death has been cited. No evidence
has emerged that Erovinkin was a Steele source, and in
fact Special Counsel Mueller is believed to be
investigating a different death that is possibly related to the
dossier. (A representative for Mueller declined to answer
questions for this article.) Meanwhile, around the same
time that Erovinkin died, Russian authorities charged a
cybersecurity expert and two F.S.B. officers with treason.
In the spring of 2017, after eight weeks in hiding, Steele
gave a brief statement to the media, announcing his
intention of getting back to work. On the advice of his
lawyers, he hasn’t spoken publicly since. But Steele talked
at length with Mueller’s investigators in September. It isn’t
known what they discussed, but, given the seriousness
with which Steele views the subject, those who know him
suspect that he shared many of his sources, and much else,
with the Mueller team.
One subject that Steele is believed to have discussed with
Mueller’s investigators is a memo that he wrote in late
November, 2016, after his contract with Fusion had ended.
This memo, which did not surface publicly with the others,
is shorter than the rest, and is based on one source,
described as “a senior Russian official.” The official said
that he was merely relaying talk circulating in the Russian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but what he’d heard was
astonishing: people were saying that the Kremlin had
intervened to block Trump’s initial choice for Secretary of
State, Mitt Romney. (During Romney’s run for the White
House in 2012, he was notably hawkish on Russia, calling
it the single greatest threat to the U.S.) The memo said that
the Kremlin, through unspecified channels, had asked
Trump to appoint someone who would be prepared to lift
Ukraine-related sanctions, and who would coöperate on
security issues of interest to Russia, such as the conflict in
Syria. If what the source heard was true, then a foreign
power was exercising pivotal influence over U.S. foreign
policy—and an incoming President.
As fantastical as the memo sounds, subsequent events
could be said to support it. In a humiliating public
spectacle, Trump dangled the post before Romney until
early December, then rejected him. There are plenty of
domestic political reasons that Trump may have turned
against Romney. Trump loyalists, for instance, noted
Romney’s public opposition to Trump during the
campaign. Roger Stone, the longtime Trump aide, has
suggested that Trump was vengefully tormenting Romney,
and had never seriously considered him. (Romney declined
200
to comment. The White House said that he was never a
first choice for the role and declined to comment about any
communications that the Trump team may have had with
Russia on the subject.) In any case, on December 13, 2016,
Trump gave Rex Tillerson, the C.E.O. of ExxonMobil, the
job. The choice was a surprise to most, and a happy one in
Moscow, because Tillerson’s business ties with the
Kremlin were long-standing and warm. (In 2011, he
brokered a historic partnership between ExxonMobil and
Rosneft.) After the election, Congress imposed additional
sanctions on Russia, in retaliation for its interference, but
Trump and Tillerson have resisted enacting them.
Eighteen months after the dossier’s publication, Steele has
impassioned detractors on both the left and the right. On
the left, Stephen Cohen, a Russia scholar and Nation
contributor, has denied the existence of any collusion
between Trump and Russia, and has accused Steele of
being part of a powerful “fourth branch of government,”
comprising intelligence agencies whose anti-Russia and
anti-Trump biases have run amok. On the right, the
Washington Examiner’s Byron York has championed
Grassley and Graham’s criminal referral, arguing that
Steele has a “credibility issue,” because he purportedly lied
to the F.B.I. about talking to the press. But did Steele lie?
The Justice Department has not filed charges against him.
The most serious accusation these critics make is that the
F.B.I. tricked the fisa Court into granting a warrant to spy
on Trump associates on the basis of false and politically
motivated opposition research. If true, this would be a
major abuse of power. But the Bureau didn’t trick the
court—it openly disclosed that Steele’s funding was
political. Moreover, Steele’s dossier was only part of what
the fisa warrant rested on. According to the Democrats’
Intelligence Committee report, the Justice Department
obtained information “that corroborated Steele’s reporting”
through “multiple independent sources.”
It’s too early to make a final judgment about how much of
Steele’s dossier will be proved wrong, but a number of
Steele’s major claims have been backed up by subsequent
disclosures. His allegation that the Kremlin favored Trump
in 2016 and was offering his campaign dirt on Hillary has
been borne out. So has his claim that the Kremlin and
WikiLeaks were working together to release the D.N.C.’s
e-mails. Key elements of Steele’s memos on Carter Page
have held up, too, including the claim that Page had secret
meetings in Moscow with Rosneft and Kremlin officials.
Steele may have named the wrong oil-company official,
but, according to recent congressional disclosures, he was
correct that a top Rosneft executive talked to Page about a
payoff.
According to the Democrats’ report, when
Page was asked if a Rosneft executive had
offered him a “potential sale of a significant
percentage of Rosneft,” Page said, “He
may have briefly mentioned it.”
And, just as the Kremlin allegedly feared, damaging
financial details have surfaced about Manafort’s dealings
with Ukraine officials. Further, his suggestion that Trump
had “agreed to sideline Russian intervention in Ukraine as
a campaign issue” seems to have been confirmed by the
pro-Russia changes that Trump associates made to the
Republican platform. Special Counsel Mueller’s various
indictments of Manafort have also strengthened aspects of
the dossier.
Indeed, it’s getting harder every day to claim that Steele
was simply spreading lies, now that three former Trump
campaign officials—Flynn, Papadopoulos, and Rick Gates,
who served as deputy campaign chairman—have all
pleaded guilty to criminal charges, and appear to be
coöperating with the investigation. And, of course, Mueller
has indicted thirteen Russian nationals for waging the kind
of digital warfare that Steele had warned about.
On January 9th, Trump’s personal attorney, Michael
Cohen, filed a hundred-million-dollar defamation lawsuit
against Fusion. He also sued BuzzFeed. Cohen tweeted,
“Enough is enough of the #fake
#RussianDossier.”
Steele mentioned Cohen several times in the dossier, and
claimed that Cohen met with Russian operatives in Prague,
in the late summer of 2016, to pay them off and cover up
the Russian hacking operation. Cohen denies that he’s ever
set foot in Prague, and has produced his passport to prove
it. A congressional official has told Politico, however, that
an inquiry into the allegation is “still active.” And, since
the dossier was published, several examples have surfaced
of Cohen making secretive payments to cover up other
potentially damaging stories. Cohen recently
acknowledged to the Times that he personally paid
Stephanie Clifford, a porn star who goes by the name
Stormy Daniels, a hundred and thirty thousand dollars; it is
widely believed that Trump and Clifford had a secret
sexual relationship.
.
201
In London, Steele is back at work, attending to other cases.
Orbis has landed several new clients as a result of the
publicity surrounding the dossier. The week after it
became public, the company received two thousand job
applications.
John Sipher, the former C.I.A. officer, predicts that
Mueller’s probe will render the final verdict on Steele’s
dossier.
“People who say it’s all garbage, or all true,
are being politically biased,” Sipher said.
“There’s enough there to be worthy of
further study. Professionals need to look at
travel records, phone records, bank
records, foreign police-service cameras,
and check it all out. It will take professional
investigators to run it to ground.” He
believes that Mueller, whose F.B.I. he
worked with, “is a hundred per cent doing
that.”
Until then, Sipher said, Steele, as a former English spook,
is the perfect political foil:
“The Trump supporters can attack the
messenger, because no one knows him or
understands him, so you can paint him any
way you want.” Strobe Talbott, a Russia
expert who served as Deputy Secretary of
State in the Clinton Administration, and
who has known Steele professionally for
ten years, has watched the spectacle in
Washington with regret. Talbott regards
Steele as a “smart, careful, professional,
and congenial” colleague who “knows the
post-Soviet space, and is exactly what he
says he is.” Yet, Talbott said, “they’re trying
to turn him into political polonium—touch
him and you die.” ♦
This article appears in the print edition of the March 12,
2018, issue, with the headline “The Man Behind the
Dossier.”
 Sean Hannity Warns “Tick Tock” Tonight
By Cristina Laila
March 12, 2018, 4:26 Pm

Fox News’ Sean Hannity dropped a

“TICK TOCK” warning Monday
afternoon to his over 3.5 million Twitter
followers.

Hannity tweeted: Tick Tock…… 9 PM

Hannity Fox News!!!

Stay tuned. The Gateway Pundit will be updating this story

later this evening.

Some of the reaction from conservatives on Twitter.

202
.

203
 Jobs Growth ‘Explodes:’
ABC, NBC Give It Just 39 Seconds Combined
By Julia A. Seymour
March 12, 2018 4:27 PM EDT

jobs gains in 11 years, and strong hiring in retail and

financial services — the “largest increase there since
2005.”

He also cited the impact of the corporate tax cuts and

“regulation rollbacks.” Hobson backed him up saying the
“benefit” of the tax cuts were “being felt by American
businesses, and then as a follow on effect by American
workers.”

World News Tonight pointed out another piece of good

February job gains came in at a whopping 313,000 new
jobs, so much that NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt
acknowledged it “blows away economists’ expectations.”
The Wall Street Journal said expectations were at only
205,000. Unemployment also remained at the 17-year-low
of 4.1 percent. But only one network gave the good news
any serious attention.
news. There were more than 800,000 people who joined
the labor force in February, the most since 1983. But none
of the three news programs reported the revisions
calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS
upwardly revised December and January jobs figures by
54,000 jobs combined. So the March 9, report actually
reflected a gain of 367,000 jobs overall.

In spite of a jobs report that U.S. News & World Report

said was the “single best month since mid-2016,” both
Nightly News and World News Tonight failed to do a full
story on the jobs situation. Those shows chose to include
fairly short anchor reads of the numbers, spending 15
seconds (Nightly News) and 24 seconds (World News
Tonight) respectively.

The coverage of both was dwarfed by CBS’s reporting on

Evening News March 9. That Evening News report was
more than four times as long as coverage on World News
World News Tonight remains dead last of the three
Tonight, and more than seven times as long as Nightly
network evening shows covering employment. It had the
News.
least amount of Friday jobs coverage between Feb. 3,
2017, (the January 2017 jobs report) and the March 9,
Anchor Jeff Glor introduced that 111 second report by 2018 BLS release of February 2018 jobs.
noting that Wall Street gave the jobs report a “thumbs up”
— the Dow had rallied more than 440 points that day. The
World News Tonight spent just 4 minutes and 53 seconds
positive economic story by national correspondent Jim
combined on jobs those nights. Nightly News spent almost
Axelrod included financial contributor Mellody Hobson.
twice that with 9 minutes and 44 seconds, while Evening
News devoted the most time to the subject those nights
Hobson told CBS viewers with 11 minutes 10 seconds of reporting.

“the fundamentals are very strong right now
in our economy, and all indications are
really solid.”
Axelrod told viewers “the latest fuel for optimism,” was
that day’s jobs report which showed the most construction
204
Methodology: MRC Business has been tracking the
amount of time spent on jobs or employment news on the
Friday of each month that the Commerce Department’s
Bureau of Labor Statistics announces the latest data. This
time tally only reflects the ABC, CBS and NBC evening
news broadcasts on those specific nights.
 Mueller Said To Be 'Close To
Completion' Of Trump Obstruction Probe
Byjoseph Curl @Josephcurl
March 12, 2018

The Bloomberg report follows one from the Journal

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly "close to
completion" of his probe into whether President Trump
obstructed justice, as The Wall Street Journal reports that
Trump's legal team is working with Mueller to wrap up the
Russia collusion investigation.
headlined "Trump Lawyers Seek Deal With Mueller to
Speed End of Russia Probe."
"... Trump’s lawyers are seeking to
negotiate a deal with special counsel
Robert Mueller that uses an interview with
the president as leverage to spur a
conclusion to the Russia investigation,
according to a person familiar with the
discussions." In return for the interview,
Trump would ask the special counsel to set
a date "for concluding at least the Trump-
related portion of the investigation."
Shortly after the WSJ story appeared, The New York
Times over the weekend published a report by Maggie
Haberman saying Trump is

Bloomberg News reports that Mueller would likely set "in discussions with a veteran Washington
aside the obstruction probe to complete other facets of the lawyer who represented Bill Clinton during
investigation. the impeachment process about joining the
White House to help deal with the special
"That’s because Mueller may calculate that counsel inquiry."
if he tries to bring charges in the
obstruction case — the part that may hit Trump was furious with the story, posting on Twitter:
closest to Trump personally — witnesses
may become less cooperative in other
parts of the probe, or the president may
move to shut it down altogether."
The obstruction portion of the probe could likely be
completed after several key outstanding interviews,
including with the president and his son, Donald Trump Jr.
The president’s lawyers have been negotiating with
Mueller’s team over such an encounter since late last year.
But even if Trump testifies in the coming weeks, Mueller
may make a strategic calculation to keep his findings on
obstruction secret, according to the current and former
U.S. officials, who discussed the strategy on condition of
anonymity.
Any clear outcome of the obstruction inquiry could be
used against Mueller: Filing charges against Trump or his
family could prompt the president to take action to fire
him. Publicly clearing Trump of obstruction charges — as Both Republicans and Democrats want the Mueller probe
the president’s lawyers have requested — could be used by to conclude this year so it doesn't affect the 2018 mid-term
his allies to build pressure for the broader investigation to elections. But there's no word from Mueller or his team
be shut down. whether that timeline is in play.

205
 CNN Touts Diplomat Who Resigned
Because Of Trump's 'Anti-American' Values
By Ryan Foley
March 12, 2018 5:10 PM EDT
Alisyn Camerota, co-host of CNN’s New Day, interviewed
former United States Ambassador to Panama John
Feeley Monday morning. Feeley explained his reasons for
resigning in a Washington Post op-ed titled “Why I Could
No Longer Serve This President”, arguing that “the
President’s policies regarding migration are not only
foolish and delusional but also Anti-American.”
CNN had previously touted an op-ed written by Josh
Campbell, an FBI agent who had left the bureau over
“relentless attacks.” The op-ed so impressed CNN that
they decided to hire Campbell as a contributor just three
days after its publication. Donald Trump Jr. actually joked
about their decision to hire Campbell on Twitter:
“You would think their stable is full in the
hate on Trump department. Ahh, who am I
kidding? It’s CNN of course there’s more
room.”
It did not take long for another “conscientious objector” to
the Trump Administration to win the hearts and minds of
the lapdogs at CNN. Camerota teed up the interview with
Feeley by asking him if there was a “particular breaking
point” for him. He argued that President Trump’s response
to the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, where he
“failed to condemn outright and fully those organizers and
the people carrying the tiki torches”, served as the
breaking point.
His op-ed particularly criticized the President’s
immigration policies as “delusional” and “anti-
American.” He then made some remarks that echoed
President Obama’s infamous “guns and religion”
comment, saying that
206
“it continues to be anti-American to
demonize migrants as the scapegoats for
people who are legitimately aggrieved
because a globalized economy may have
passed them by in their factory town.”
Camerota then tried to get Feeley to say that “the travel
ban or the end of the diversity lottery or the chain family
migration or the building of the wall” pushed the former
U.S. Ambassador to Panama over the edge. He reiterated
that the President’s response to the tragedy in
Charlottesville ultimately led to his resignation, which did
not become official until last week.
The anchor closed the interview by saying “we appreciate
your candor so thank you for sharing your motivation with
us this morning.” It would have come as quite a surprise if
CNN had given the same coverage to a disaffected
bureaucrat who resigned from the Obama administration.
One would think that Feeley, like Campbell, would make
an ideal CNN contributor. Unfortunately for the Clinton
News Network, Feeley has already decided to work with
Univision on “immigration-themed content.”
CNN New Day
03/12/18
08:50 AM
ALISYN CAMEROTA: On his final day as U.S. Ambassador to
Panama, John Feeley wrote a scathing op-ed in The Washington
Post titled “Why I Could No Longer Serve This President.” He
writes, “I resigned because the traditional core values of the
United States as manifested in the President’s National Security
Strategy and his foreign policies have been warped and
betrayed.” Ambassador John Feeley joins us now. Good
morning, Mr. Ambassador.
JOHN FEELEY: Good morning, Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: Was there a particular breaking point for you?
FEELEY: There was. I was very concerned throughout much of
last year that the rhetoric and the policies coming out of the
White House were in sharp dissidence to what I had practiced in
Latin America for a long time. But quite frankly, it wasn’t anything
that had to do with Latin America, it had to do with our own
values in the United States. The Charlottesville riots in last
August, when those occurred, that was something that shook me
deeply. We had overcome in the United States significant
structural racism and when the President failed to condemn
outright and fully those organizers and the people carrying the tiki
torches, I knew that I would not be able to continue serving as his
personal representative.
CAMEROTA: And why didn’t you quit in August?
FEELEY: Well, you know, the fact is you can get up and walk
away and if you do that, you leave behind a rutterless ship. I, like
many career foreign service officers, have spent close to 30
years coming up through the ranks and running an embassy is a
lot like being a CEO or being the President of a small company
and if you just get up and walk away, you leave a lot of people in
the breech. I felt that I had a very strong responsibility to do an
orderly transition to ensure that the policies with Panama, my
bilateral portfolio, would continue and so that takes some time. It
took about three or four months and in the end of December,
right around the holidays, I felt that I had done everything I
needed to to be able to effect a smooth transition and that’s why I
did it.
CAMEROTA: And what about the President’s policies on
immigration and how those struck you? I ask because another
portion of your op-ed, you discuss that. So let me read it for
everyone. You say “As the grandson of migrant, migrant stock
from New York City, an Eagle Scout, a Marine Corps veteran and
someone who has spent his diplomatic career in Latin America, I
am convinced that the President’s policies regarding migration
are not only foolish and delusional but also Anti-American.” Such
as?
FEELEY: They are anti-American in the sense that immigration
has always been the well spring of our nation. I am convinced,
like many Americans, that the United States is not just a
geographic space on the global map. The United States is more
about attitude. It’s more about what you bring to your citizenship
or your participation in the United States or, in the case of many
migrants, your desire for citizenship. No one is arguing, I certainly
wouldn’t argue, that every migrant is that paragon of up by your
boot straps and pull yourself ahead through hard work. There are
.
207
plenty of Americans, native born, who fall into a criminal path and
there are migrants as well. But as I said in the article, we know
from statistics from the Justice Department, that they represent a
significant minority and so therefore, I found that it was and it
continues to be anti-American to demonize migrants as the
scapegoats for people who are legitimately aggrieved because a
globalized economy may have passed them by in their factory
town.
CAMEROTA: And so were there moments, I mean, thinking like
the travel ban or the end of the diversity lottery or the chain family
migration or the building of the wall, or the talk about the wall I
should say, that you considered quitting over?
FEELEY: I wish I weren’t here talking about this, Alisyn. I love my
career. I felt like I was born to do what I did. So it was very, very
difficult and those of who have spent a lot of time in Latin
America and who believe that the linkages and the connections
to Latin America are enormously important for our economy, for
our very demography. Those of us who feel that strongly about it
wanted to hang on. I wanted to hang on but I got to a point, as I
said, when the President failed to condemn the Neo-Nazis and
white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville where I just
couldn’t continue to say “I think the President’s words speak for
themselves.” That’s not being his personal representative. That’s
not being his ambassador and I felt that I was honor bound to
resign.
CAMEROTA: Do you think you’re a lone voice or do you have
colleagues who feel the way you do and do you think there will
be other exits?
FEELEY: Well, there already have been another of exits. You
know, I never intended for my exit to be public. I’m here speaking
with you because the Administration leaked my resignation letter
to the President, which was a private letter, which was given to
the White House back in December. It was upon the leaking of
that letter that I realized I had to step up.
CAMEROTA: Well, we appreciate your candor so thank you for
sharing your motivation with us this morning. Best of luck,
Ambassador John Feeley.
 BREAKING: House Intel Committee
Rules NO TRUMP-RUSSIA COLLUSION In 2016 Election
By Joshua Caplan
March 12, 2018, 5:11 Pm

House Intelligence Committee

Republicans announced Monday that
they found “no evidence of collusion,”
between the Trump campaign and the
Kremlin in the panel’s ‘Russia probe.’

New York Times reports:

Even as the special counsel expands his

inquiry and pursues criminal charges
against at least four Trump associates,
House Intelligence Committee Republicans
said Monday they have found no evidence
of collusion between Donald J. Trump’s
presidential campaign and Russia to sway
the 2016 election. Representative K.
Michael Conaway of Texas, who is leading
the investigation, said committee
Republicans agreed with the conclusions of
American intelligence agencies that Russia
had interfered with the election, but they
broke with the agencies on one crucial
point: that the Russians had favored Mr.
Trump’s candidacy. “The bottom line: The
Russians did commit active measures
against our election in ’16, and we think
they will do that in the future,” Mr. Conaway
said. But, he added, “We disagree with the
narrative that they were trying to help
Trump.”

DEVELOPING…
.
208
 Mueller Probe To Take Another
Unpredictable Turn After Unusual ‘Conspiracy To
Defraud Government’ Charge Invoked
By Joshua Caplan
March 12, 2018, 5:52 Pm
Robert Mueller’s Russia probe is set to
take yet another unpredictable turn after
the special counsel invoked the
unusual “conspiracy to defraud the
government,” charge that “could use
the same legal strategy to go after
President Trump and his associates,
even if the conspiracy is not linked to a
criminal act,” The Washington Times
reports.
Emma Kohse, Harvard International Law Journal editor-
in-chief, Benjamin Wittes, a senior fellow at the Brookings
Institution and the Lawfare blog’s top editor, argue that,
based in the language of the indictments and the legal
precedents behind them, the “conspiracy to defraud the
government” charge provides the Mueller team with
significant flexibility in trying to build a case against Mr.
Trump and members of his 2016 campaign. […]
“Russia’s sustained, many-front effort to
interfere in the 2016 election — a glimpse
of which was shown in the indictment — is
undoubtedly more complex and far-
reaching than the plots that have previously
been prosecuted as conspiracies to
defraud the United States,” Ms. Kohse and
Mr. Wittes write. “But that makes Mueller’s
theory richer, not more novel.” […]
Because Mr. Mueller is alleging conspiracy
to defraud the FEC, DOJ and State
209
Department, some legal scholars say
recent commentary about “collusion”
between the Trump campaign and Kremlin
is misdirected. Instead, he appears to be
building a case with the FEC, DOJ and
State Department at its core — not the
Kremlin. […]
“To allege that a new conspirator had
joined such a conspiracy, Mueller would
have to allege only that such a person —
presumably a new defendant — had
agreed to participate in a scheme of deceit
by which the FEC, the Justice Department
or the State Department was deprived of its
regulatory authority,” Ms. Kohse and Mr.
Wittes write.
President Trump’s lawyers are in the process of
negotiating with special counsel Robert Mueller to bring
the Russia probe to an end, reports Rebecca
Ballhaus and Peter Nicholas of the Wall Street Journal.
President Donald Trump’s lawyers are seeking to negotiate
a deal with special counsel Robert Mueller that uses an
interview with the president as leverage to spur a
conclusion to the Russia investigation, according to a
person familiar with the discussions.
The president’s legal team is considering telling Mr.
Mueller that Mr. Trump would agree to a sit-down
interview based on multiple considerations, including that
the special counsel commit to a date for concluding at least
the Trump-related portion of the investigation. One idea is
to suggest a deadline of 60 days from the date of the
interview, the person said.
As calls for Mueller to wrap up his probe grow louder due
to a lack of evidence, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) recently
admitted that zero proof of collusion has been found.
Schiff has been a key figure in the Trump/Russia witch
hunt since day one, writes John S. Roberts at Right
Observer.
While on “The View,” Schiff admitted what everyone has
known for quite a while – there is no evidence of
collusion.
Yet, it’s difficult to imagine the probe will come to an end
anytime soon.
CNN reported Wednesday that investigators are attempting
to determine whether former Blackwater chief Erik Prince
misled the House Intelligence Committee about a meeting
he had in Seychelles in January of 2017.
Prince is accused of using the meeting as an opportunity to
establish a secret back channel with Russia.

210
 SARA CARTER: James Clapper Allegedly Leaked
Information About Trump’s Classified Briefing
On Phony Dossier To CNN
By Cristina Laila
March 12, 2018, 5:56 Pm
Former Director of National Intelligence,
James Clapper allegedly leaked
information to CNN, an investigation
has revealed.
Sara Carter reports:
Former Director of National Intelligence
James Clapper allegedly leaked
information to CNN in early last year
regarding the classified briefing given to
then President-Elect Donald Trump and
President Barrack Obama on the salacious
dossier and its contents claiming the
Russians had compromising information on
the president-elect, according to
government sources, who noted the
evidence of the leak was collected during
the House Intelligence Committee’s Russia
investigation.
Clapper, who was one of four senior Obama administration
officials to attend the briefing with the presidents, also
stated his “profound dismay at the leaks” in an official
statement issued in January, 2017 and warned that the
leaks were “extremely corrosive and damaging” to national
security, according to the press release.
Monday, the GOP House Intel Committee concluded there
was no Trump-Russia collusion during the 2016
presidential election.
211
According to Sara Carter, the full report by the House Intel
Committee has not been released yet.
The full report will undergo a full review to ensure that it
does not reveal or damage national security before its
public release that could happen within the next several
weeks, congressional sources added. The committee
interviewed its final witness former Trump campaign
manager Corey Lewandowski last week and had accessed
all documents related to its probe, a congressional source
told this reporter.
James Clapper was not mentioned in Monday’s House
Intel report.
According to government sources James Clapper, who is
now a CNN contributor, was in touch with CNN around
the same time Jake Tapper broke the story about the
briefing conducted by senior Obama officials with then-
President elect Donald Trump regarding the dossier.
According to government sources Clapper, who is not
mentioned in the report released Monday, had spoken to
CNN at roughly the same time Jake Tapper broke the first
story on CNN regarding the briefing conducted by senior
Obama officials with then President-elect Trump and
President Obama regarding the dossier. Tapper’s story
which was published in January 2017, created a snowball
effect of allegations in the media that Trump’s campaign
had allegedly colluded with the Russians in the 2016
election and that Russia had compromising material on
Trump, sources with knowledge of the investigation
concluded.
The story about Obama officials briefing Trump about the
dossier which was published by CNN propelled the story
to the public. Shortly after CNN ran the story about the
briefing, Buzzfeed published the entire 35-page Hillary-
funded Russia dossier.
Clapper subsequently released a statement wringing his
hands over the media leaks claiming the leaks are
“extremely corrosive and damaging to our national
security.”
Clapper also said of the dossier:
“We also discussed the private security
company document, which was widely
circulated in recent months among the
media, members of Congress and
Congressional staff even before the IC
became aware of it. I emphasized that this
document is not a U.S. Intelligence
Community product and that I do not
believe the leaks came from within the IC.”
Fast forward to 2018 and we have reports James Clapper
indeed relied on Hillary’s phony dossier to compile his
joint IC report.
Chairman Nunes is looking into whether
the Obama administration’s joint Intel
analysis report claiming “Vladimir Putin
ordered” Hillary Clinton’s campaign
emails hacked and leaked “to help
Trump’s chances of victory” relied on
Hillary’s phony dossier, Paul Sperry of
the New York Post reports.
Suspiciously, Barack Obama’s Intelligence Community
Assessment matches the main allegations leveled by the
Clinton-paid dossier on Trump, which wormed its way into
intelligence channels, in addition to the FBI, Justice
Department and State Department, during the 2016
campaign.
.
212
In fact, the shady dossier makes exactly the same claim —
that Putin personally “ordered” the cyberattacks on the
Clinton campaign and leaked embarrassing emails to
“bolster Trump,” as part of “an aggressive Trump support
operation.” Like Obama’s ICA, Clinton’s dossier provides
no concrete evidence to back up the claim.
The New York Times and other fake news outlets
previously falsely reported that all 17 Intel agencies
unanimously concluded that Russia was to blame for the
hacking.
It turns out former Intel Chief James Clapper only gathered
intel from THREE agencies he handpicked, not 17. This
allowed him to control the information.
In violation of normal rules, all experts on Russia from
various agencies were excluded, reports Sperry.
It was also reported Monday that Clapper managed to
avoid perjury charges after 5 years of inaction from the
DOJ.
Now it looks like Clapper was the leaker all along. If there
is any justice left in this country, Clapper, Brennan,
Comey and other corrupt criminals from the Obama
administration will be locked up for their lawlessness.
 MSNBC Rejects ‘Mythology’ Of
Trump’s ‘Humanity’: He’s A ‘Sociopath’
By Kyle Drennen
March 12, 2018 6:25 PM EDT
On her 4:00 p.m. ET MSNBC show Monday, Deadline:
White House anchor Nicolle Wallace was eager to
dismantle the “mythology at the White House” that
President Trump possessed any “humanity” whatsoever.
That nasty rhetoric then prompted panelist Donny Deutsch
to play armchair psychiatrist and trot out his favorite attack
line that Trump was a “sociopath.”
“A serious question about Donald
Trump’s humanity, because there’s a
mythology at the White House. And I
first heard this mythology spoon fed to
those of us who cover him after the
Syria strike, that he was so moved by
the images, the horrific images of the
children suffering from the chemical
attack in Syria, that that helped motivate
him to act,” Wallace proclaimed.
Why all the dehumanization of the President? Because he
didn’t deliver on gun control:
“And you heard the same stories after
the horrific tragedy in Parkland, that this
changed him. That’s B.S. I mean, they
lie when they tell stories about the
President’s humanity. He didn’t do
anything.”
Deutsch chimed in:
I think they lie on two levels. At best, it
would be a nanosecond that he felt
something. But to our, some of our earlier
discussions – I’m not going to go there
about him being a sociopath – I don’t think
213
he’s capable of the basic empathies that
we feel as human beings, and that’s
what a sociopath is. I think everything is
immediately translated to “me.”
I don’t think – I’m not inside him, but
everything I know, and know him 20
[years], when we see children dying, we
as humans, we as parents, feel a certain
way. I honestly don’t think it translates
to him, and that’s what makes him a
sociopath.
Turning to New York Times reporter Peter Baker, Wallace
argued:
“...there are moments where the White
House likes to tell a story to those of us
who cover him of the President being
moved or of a human getting his
attention. But there isn't a single instance
of that being followed by a change in
policy.”
Baker gently pushed back on the notion that the President
lacked human emotions:
“Well, I think you make a good point. You
know, I’m not sure he’s not moved. I think
he very well may be moved. But the truth is
– ” Despite all of her comments to the
contrary, Wallace claimed: “Me neither, I’m
just saying he doesn’t ever do anything.”
If a politician doesn’t push a liberal agenda, the media
simply decide that they are not human. That’s the level
discourse viewers have come to expect on MSNBC.
Here is a transcript of the March 12 exchange:
4:41 PM ET
(...)
NICOLLE WALLACE: Let me ask you a question about humanity,
because there’s this mythology –
DONNY DEUTSCH: I’m glad you come to me on humanity,
okay? You guys talk about politics, issues of humanity –
[Laughter]
WALLACE: A serious question about Donald Trump’s humanity,
because there’s a mythology at the White House. And I first
heard this mythology spoon fed to those of us who cover him
after the Syria strike, that he was so moved by the images, the
horrific images of the children suffering from the chemical attack
in Syria, that that helped motivate him to act. And you heard the
same stories after the horrific tragedy in Parkland, that this
changed him. That’s B.S. I mean, they lie when they tell stories
about the President’s humanity. He didn’t do anything.
DEUTSCH: I think they lie on two levels. At best, it would be a
nanosecond that he felt something. But to our, some of our
earlier discussions – I’m not going to go there about him being a
sociopath – I don’t think he’s capable of the basic empathies that
we feel as human beings, and that’s what a sociopath is. I think
everything is immediately translated to “me.”
I don’t think – I’m not inside him, but everything I know, and know
him 20 [years], when we see children dying, we as humans, we
as parents, feel a certain way. I honestly don’t think it translates
to him, and that’s what makes him a sociopath.
WALLACE: I don’t know if it does or doesn’t, but it doesn’t
translate into action.
214
And, Peter Baker, let me give you the last word, here, because
again, you have chronicled all of these episodes, the strike in
Syria, the response to Parkland, his response to the hurricanes,
and there are moments where the White House likes to tell a
story to those of us who cover him of the President being moved
or of a human getting his attention. But there isn't a single
instance of that being followed by a change in policy. Am I
missing something?
PETER BAKER: Well, I think you make a good point. You know,
I’m not sure he’s not moved. I think he very well may be moved.
But the truth is –
WALLACE: Me neither, I’m just saying he doesn’t ever do
anything.
BAKER: Yeah, look, in Washington, you know, the simplest way
to kill something is to play for time, right? If you’re against
something changing, you play for time because emotions wear
down, energy wears down, momentum wears down.
This happened with President Obama. I remember after the
Newtown shooting, we asked at the White House, “Well why
aren’t you going to go ahead and move forward with this gun
package you say you’re going to put forward now rather than wait
another month or two to study it?” And they said, “Oh, the
emotion will still be there, the momentum will still be there.” And it
wasn’t.
The truth is, on issues like this, you either hit when the moment is
there or you don’t. And the people who are against change in
Congress, on any issue, play for time and they often can win.
WALLACE: Oh, such a depressing thought, but that is the sad
truth about Washington.
(...)
 CASE CLOSED=> House Intel Member Conaway: “No
Evidence Of Collusion, Coordination Or
Conspiracy” With Russia
By Jim Hoft
March 12, 2018, 6:54 Pm

CASE CLOSED — The House Trump campaign and the Russians,” the
Intelligence Committee finds “no committee said in a statement Monday.
evidence” of Russian collusion in the
2016 election–

On Monday night Rep Mike Conaway (R-TX) spoke with

The House majority staff released their report on Monday
afternoon.
FOX News reported:
The House Permanent Select Committee
on Intelligence said Monday it found “no
evidence of collusion, coordination or
conspiracy between the Trump campaign
and the Russians,” as its Russia
investigation starts to come to a close.
John Roberts on Special Report about the findings.
“Yes, the Russians tried to interfere with
our election process. Yes, they had
cyberattacks…We could find no evidence
of collusion between either campaign and
the Russians… We believe we’ve got the
information necessary to answer [Russian
meddling questions] for the American
people.
Via Special Report:

Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, who has led

the committee’s bipartisan investigation
into Russian meddling and potential
collusion with Trump campaign associates
during the 2016 presidential election,
announced Monday that the panel had
completed a more than 150-page draft
report, with its initial findings and
recommendations.
“We have found no evidence of collusion,
coordination, or conspiracy between the

215
 In 150-Page Report, House Intel Republicans
Find No Evidence Of Collusion
Chuck Ross - Reporter
6:54 PM 03/12/2018

“We have found no evidence of collusion,

coordination, or conspiracy between the
Trump campaign and the Russians,” reads
an overview of the report, which the
committee released Monday.

The overview also says that the report will show

“concurrence” with a Jan. 6, 2017, intelligence community
assessment, but with one caveat: The report will diverge
Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during
from the intelligence community’s assessment “with
a campaign rally at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas,
Nevada June 18, 2016. REUTERS/David Becker/Files respect to Putin’s supposed preference for candidate
Trump.”
 Republicans on the House Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence have completed a 150-
page report
 Lawmakers assert there is no evidence of collusion
between the Trump campaign and Russian
government
 The report will also detail how the infamous Steele
dossier “made its way from Russian sources to the
Clinton campaign”

Republicans on the House Permanent Select Committee on

Intelligence have completed a 150-page report that asserts
there is no evidence of collusion between the Trump
campaign and Russian government.
The report will also make a more surprising claim: that
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meddling in the 2016
campaign was not aimed at helping President Donald
Trump defeat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
That assertion is at odds with a Jan. 6, 2017, assessment
issued by the intelligence community about Russian
meddling in the election.
Also WATCH: Bombshell Report Claims
Obama Didn’t Want To Take Action
Against Russia In 2016
The committee announced the release of the report on
Monday, 426 days after the panel started its investigation
into Russian interference in the election. Seventy-three
interviews have been conducted in that time span, and
more than 300,000 documents have been reviewed,
according to committee Republicans. (RELATED: House
Intel Panel Is Done Interviewing Witnesses)
216
The report will also detail how the infamous Steele dossier
“made its way from Russian sources to the Clinton
campaign” as well as “problematic contacts” between
senior intelligence community officials and the media.
The report also analyzes Russian active measures, the U.S.
government response to the attacks, links between
Russians and both the Trump and Clinton campaigns, and
“purported leaks” of classified information.
It includes findings regarding Russia’s pattern of cyber
attacks on the U.S. and European countries as well as the
Kremlin’s “use of social media to sow discord.”
The report will also take a shot at former President Barack
Obama’s administration by assessing the government’s
“lackluster pre-election response to
Russian active measures.”
“After more than a year, the Committee has
finished its Russia investigation and will
now work on completing our report,” reads
 a statement from California Rep. Devin
Nunes, a Republican and chairman of the
House panel.
He thanked South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy, Florida
Rep. Tom Rooney and Texas Rep. Mike Conaway, all
Republicans, for
“the excellent job they’ve done leading this
investigation.”
The report will include more than 25 recommendations to
improve election security, campaign finance transparency,
and “counterintelligence practices related to political
campaigns and unauthorized disclosures.”
217
The report will be provided to House Intel Democrats on
Tuesday. After a review, a vote will be held to submit the
report for a declassification review by the U.S. intelligence
community.
After the review the declassified version of the report will
be made public.
House Intel Democrats are also expected to produce a
report of their own. The report will call for more
subpoenas to be issued to complete the investigation, CNN
reported earlier on Monday.
 BOOM! House Intel Committee: We Found NO
EVIDENCE Putin Preferred Trump Over Hillary Clinton
By Jim Hoft
March 12, 2018, 7:22 Pm

The House Intelligence report stated,

“We have found no evidence of collusion,

coordination, or conspiracy between the
Trump campaign and the Russians,” the
committee said in a statement Monday.

On Monday night Rep Mike Conaway (R-TX) spoke with

Tucker Carlson on FOX News about the findings.

Rep Conaway told Tucker the intelligence committee

CASE CLOSED — The House found NO EVIDENCE that Russian President Vladimir
Intelligence Committee finds “no Putin had a preference of Donald Trump over Hillary
evidence” of Russian collusion in the Clinton.
2016 election–
Rep. Mike Conaway:
It was all a lie!
The piece about Putin’s purported
Putin did not prefer Donald Trump and preference for Trump, we think it was not
did not help his campaign. supported by the evidence that was
available throughout the entire process.
Via Tucker Carlson Tonight:

The House majority staff released their report on Monday

afternoon.

218
 Adam Schiff Blows A Gasket After GOP House Intel
Committee Rules NO TRUMP-RUSSIA COLLUSION
By Cristina Laila
March 12, 2018, 8:12 Pm
House Intelligence Committee
Republicans announced Monday that
they found “no evidence of collusion,”
between the Trump campaign and the
Kremlin in the panel’s ‘Russia probe.’
Shortly after the announcement, ranking
member of the House Intel Committee
leaker Adam Schiff (D-CA) blew a
gasket.
Schiff tweeted a response after it was announced GOP
members closed down the Trump-Russia probe after
finding no evidence of Trump colluding with the Kremlin.
219
Rep. Schiff claims the Russians may have leverage over
Trump but the committee members would rather not not
know. WHATEVER.
In his statement, Schiff claims the GOP House Intel
members placed their interest in protecting the President
over protecting the country and history will judge its
actions harshly.
Schiff also repeated the same old talking points about
having ‘evidence’ of Trump’s cozy relationship with the
Russians during the election which he has been circulating
in the media for the last year.
In the penultimate paragraph of his statement, Schiff
spread more lies claiming the Russians interfered with our
democracy to advance the Trump campaign, hurt Hillary
Clinton and sow discord.
There is ZERO evidence the Russians preferred Trump
over Hillary, but when do facts matter to liars like Adam
Schiff?
Screenshot of Schiff’s statement below:
220
221
Schiff is completely unhinged in his claims the Russians Putin had a preference of Donald Trump over Hillary
may have leverage over President Trump. Clinton.

There is ZERO evidence Trump colluded with the Schiff says, “the minority’s work continues.”
Russians during the 2016 elections, however; delusional
Democrats like Schiff and the special counsel continue to
march forward in their witch hunt.

Even worse, we already know Hillary’s phony Russia

dossier is what sparked the Trump-Russia collusion fairy
tale with the help of Obama’s criminal DOJ and FBI.

The House Intelligence report stated,

“We have found no evidence of collusion,

coordination, or conspiracy between the
Trump campaign and the Russians,” the
committee said in a statement Monday.

On Monday night Rep Mike Conaway (R-TX) spoke

with Tucker Carlson on FOX News about the findings.

Rep Conaway told Tucker the intelligence committee

found NO EVIDENCE that Russian President Vladimir

222
 POTUS Trump Fires Off Tweet After GOP House Intel
Committee Rules NO TRUMP-RUSSIA COLLUSION
By Cristina Laila
March 12, 2018, 8:38 Pm

On Monday night Rep Mike Conaway (R-TX) spoke

with Tucker Carlson on FOX News about the findings.

Rep Conaway told Tucker the intelligence committee

found NO EVIDENCE that Russian President Vladimir
Putin had a preference of Donald Trump over Hillary
Clinton.

President Trump fired off a tweet in ALL CAPS following

the announcement from the GOP House Intel panel they
House Intelligence Committee found no evidence of Trump-Russia collusion during the
Republicans announced Monday that election.
they found “no evidence of collusion,”
between the Trump campaign and the President Trump is fed up with the witch hunt.
Kremlin in the panel’s ‘Russia probe.’
Trump tweeted:
Ranking member of the House Intel Committee leaker
Adam Schiff blew a gasket. THE HOUSE INTELLIGENCE
COMMITTEE HAS, AFTER A 14 MONTH
Schiff is completely unhinged in his claims the Russians LONG IN-DEPTH INVESTIGATION,
may have leverage over President Trump. FOUND NO EVIDENCE OF COLLUSION
OR COORDINATION BETWEEN THE
There is ZERO evidence Trump colluded with the TRUMP CAMPAIGN AND RUSSIA TO
Russians during the 2016 elections, however; delusional INFLUENCE THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL
Democrats like Schiff and the special counsel continue to ELECTION.
march forward in their witch hunt.

Even worse, we already know Hillary’s phony Russia

dossier is what sparked the Trump-Russia collusion fairy
tale with the help of Obama’s criminal DOJ and FBI.

The House Intelligence report stated,

“We have found no evidence of collusion,

coordination, or conspiracy between the
Trump campaign and the Russians,” the
committee said in a statement Monday.
.

223
 ‘Shame On You’: ABC, NBC
Whine Trump ‘Caved Entirely’ To NRA
By Nicholas Fondacaro
March 12, 2018 8:56 PM EDT
The liberal media were in sour moods Monday after the
White House released its plan to address school safety and
gun control. Journalists on the evening newscasts were
upset that the plan didn’t have the sweeping and
constitutionally-questionable actions they were desperately
hoping for, which also had them singing President
Trump’s praises just two weeks ago.
“And at the White House tonight,
President Trump revealing his plan for
gun safety, and critics are now asking
about a promise he made that is not in
the proposal,” announced ABC’s
sensationalist anchor, David Muir on World
News Tonight.
The report was headed up by Chief White House
Correspondent Jon Karl who was in a somber mood
through the entire report.
“Less than two weeks ago, President
Trump boldly declared he's not afraid to
take on the NRA,” he said before asserting
that Trump had “caved entirely to the gun
lobby on school safety.”
Karl complained that Trump’s proposals didn’t have any
solid action for employing age restrictions for purchasing
certain types of firearms, most notably the AR-15.
“Parkland survivor Sam Zeif had
pleaded directly to the President for the
age increase,” he recalled of Trump’s
listening sessions at the White House. But
he failed in his duty to report that Zeif’s
argument was partially based on a fake
224
news story that went viral with the help
of a CNN anchor.
The ABC reporter painted the situation as the President
being seemingly tainted by the National Rifle Association
after a White House meeting.
“He talked about universal background
checks, taking guns away from those
identified as a threat, even without due
process. What happened to all those
proposals,”
he badgered White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee
Sanders in a clip. Again, he failed to report that
confiscating guns with no due process was
unconstitutional.
Karl wrapped up his report by poignantly highlighting a
partisan rebuke from Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.),
who is staunchly anti-gun:
In fact, Dianne Feinstein, who sat right next to the
President and seemed pleased with what he said back then
looks at this new proposal and calls it “a shameful
abdication of the President’s responsibility to lead.”
Adding, “shame on you, Mr. President.”
Meanwhile, on NBC Nightly News, they too were pushing
the narrative that the NRA had shadily gotten to Trump in
some way.
“Despite denials from the White House,
it's the president who appears to be
bending to the NRA, whose leaders he
hosted one day after that televised call
 to action,” reported White House
Correspondent Peter Alexander.
Alexander also appeared to scoff at the idea that Trump
was
“now advocating fixing the background
check system, not expanding it,” and
was put off by no age restrictions.
The fact that they went from singing President Trump’s
praises for siding with Democrats to arguably denouncing
him, it’s clear that the self-righteous liberal media had no
interest in a solution that didn’t involve their agenda 100
percent.
The relevant portions of the transcripts are below, click
expand to read:
ABC
World News Tonight
March 12, 2018
6:39:54 PM Eastern [2 minutes 33 seconds]
DAVID MUIR: And at the White House tonight, President Trump
revealing his plan for gun safety, and critics are now asking about
a promise he made that is not in the proposal. Also at this hour,
breaking news from the White House on the Russia investigation.
We have it all, involving what a committee in the House is now
saying. Here's ABC's Chief White House Correspondent
Jonathan Karl.
[Cuts to video]
JON KARL: Less than two weeks ago, President Trump boldly
declared he's not afraid to take on the NRA.
DONALD TRUMP: Some of you people are petrified of the NRA.
You can't be petrified.
KARL: But now, the President seems to have caved entirely to
the gun lobby on school safety. The most glaring example,
raising the minimum age to buy an assault weapon.
(…)
KARL: Parkland survivor Sam Zeif had pleaded directly to the
President for the age increase.
(…)
KARL: A week later, NRA officials came to the White House, and
the President tweeted, "Good -- great -- meeting in the oval
office." Now, the just-released White House plan on school safety
calls only to study the issue of age reinstructions. In the
immediate aftermath of the Parkland shooting, the President said
he supported several other initiatives opposed by the NRA.
225
He talked about universal background checks, taking guns away
from those identified as a threat, even without due process. What
happened to all those proposals?
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS: Right now, the President's
primary focus is on pushing through things that we know have
broad bipartisan support or things that we can do from an
administrative perspective that we can do immediately.
(…)
MUIR: So, let's get to Jonathan Karl live at the White House
tonight. And some of the lawmakers in that meeting that day with
the President are now responding to this.
KARL: In fact, Dianne Feinstein, who sat right next to the
President and seemed pleased with what he said back then looks
at this new proposal and calls it “a shameful abdication of the
President’s responsibility to lead.” Adding, “shame on you, Mr.
President.”
(…)
NBC Nightly News
March 12, 2018
7:07:49 PM Eastern [1 minute 41 seconds]
LESTER HOLT: We’ll turn now to the battle raging over guns in
our nation's capital. The White House rolling out its new school
safety plan to combat gun violence, but it does not include certain
proposals President Trump initially made, like imposing new
federal age restrictions. NBC's Peter Alexander has the story for
us.
[Cuts to video]
PETER ALEXANDER: In the wake of last month's massacre in
Parkland, President Trump stunned gun rights groups publicly
supporting tough, new restrictions.
(…)
ALEXANDER: But now, despite denials from the White House,
it's the president who appears to be bending to the NRA, whose
leaders he hosted one day after that televised call to action. On
raising the age limit to purchase firearms, President Trump today
tweeting, “not much political support, to put it mildly.” The idea
instead simply under review by a soon to be formed commission
headed by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. With no clear
timeline.
(…)
ALEXANDER: The President for now advocating fixing the
background check system, not expanding it. Despite just weeks
ago, expressing an openness to comprehensive checks.
Improving mental health programs. And arming properly trained
teachers. An idea that a majority of Americans and teachers (…)
groups oppose. Tonight, Democrat Dianne Feinstein slamming
President Trump who she says completely “caved to the gun
lobby.” A point the White House disputes.

226
 CONFIRMED: Clapper Informed Obama Of Steele
Dossier’s Most Salacious Details During
Presidential Daily Briefing
By Joshua Caplan
March 12, 2018, 10:02 Pm
A new report confirms former Director
of National Intelligence James Clapper
briefed President Barack Obama on
the “golden showers” allegations laid
out in the Steele dossier.
Mother Jones reports:
Near the time the spy chiefs briefed Trump
on the intelligence community’s report on
the Russian attack, Susan Rice, the
national security adviser, encouraged
Clapper during the daily intelligence
briefing to tell Obama about the “golden
showers” allegations. After Clapper did so,
Obama turned to Rice and said, “Why am I
hearing this?” The president was
incredulous. He added, “What’s
happening?” One participant in the meeting
later said, “You don’t really expect to hear
the term ‘golden showers’ in the
President’s Daily Brief or that the guy who
is going to become president may be a
Manchurian candidate.”
On Monday, Fox News contributor Sara Carter revealed
that Clapper allegedly leaked key information to CNN
stemming from classified briefings to both President
Obama and President-Elect Trump about the Steele
dossier.
.
227
Carter reports:
Former Director of National Intelligence
James Clapper allegedly leaked
information to CNN in early last year
regarding the classified briefing given to
then President-Elect Donald Trump and
President Barrack Obama on the salacious
dossier and its contents claiming the
Russians had compromising information on
the president-elect, according to
government sources, who noted the
evidence of the leak was collected during
the House Intelligence Committee’s Russia
investigation.
Clapper, who was one of four senior Obama administration
officials to attend the briefing with the presidents, also
stated his “profound dismay at the leaks” in an official
statement issued in January, 2017 and warned that the
leaks were “extremely corrosive and damaging” to national
security, according to the press release.
Steele, who was tasked with compiling the ‘Trump
dossier’ for opposition research firm Fusion GPS,
has admitted in court that the discredited document
contains “limited intelligence.”
Steele also admitted part of “his final
December memo,” was unvetted.
“Such intelligence was not actively sought;
it was merely received,” Steele added.
According to a recent WSJ report, the Obama Justice
Department relied on information obtained by Steele, to
spy on Trump campaign aide, Carter Page, during the final
days of the 2016 presidential election.
Steele infamously compiled the discredited dossier
detailing alleged sex acts performed by then-businessman
Donald Trump inside a swanky Moscow hotel suite in
2013.
 Russian-Born Businessman Linked
To Trump Claims To Have Been Us Spy
Chuck Ross - Reporter
10:21 Pm 03/12/2018

offered concessions to Russia. (RELATED: Trump

Associates Push Murky ‘Peace Plan’ With Russia To
Lift Sanctions)

Sater’s contacts with Cohen are of interest to investigators

looking into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. He
was interviewed in December by both the House
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the
special counsel’s office.
 A businessman with links to President Donald
What remains unclear from the deeply reported BuzzFeed
Trump says he has worked for more than 20 years
profile is whether Sater, a willing government cooperator,
as a spy
has any information to offer investigators that might be
 Felix Sater detailed his cooperation
damaging to Trump or his associates.
 Sater has worked on deals for Trump’s real estate
company
Also WATCH: Bias in Mueller’s investigation
A businessman with links to President Donald Trump says
he has worked for more than 20 years as a spy for the FBI,
CIA and other U.S. government agencies.

Felix Sater detailed his cooperation in a statement released

on Monday after BuzzFeed News published an in-depth
profile of his work for the U.S. government.

BuzzFeed obtained government documents and conducted

interviews with government officials who backed up
Sater’s claims to have helped with clandestine operations
around the globe. Sater has gathered intelligence on al-
Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, La Cosa Nostra and various
money laundering operations, according to the report. Sater is known to six members of special counsel Robert
Mueller’s team, BuzzFeed reported. Andrew Weissmann, a
Sater has helped with some of the government’s most Justice Department attorney working for Mueller, signed
important intelligence-gathering efforts, however, he is Sater’s cooperation agreement back in 1998.
better known for his connections to Trump.
Ronn Torossian, a longtime friend of Sater’s and his
The Russian-born Sater has worked on deals for Trump’s spokesman, spoke to The Daily Caller News Foundation
real estate company. He had an office in Trump Tower at Monday after the publication of BuzzFeed’s article.
one point and has been photographed with the former real
estate mogul. Sater pitched longtime Trump lawyer Asked whether Sater has any information about collusion
Michael Cohen in 2015 to pursue construction of Trump involving the Trump campaign, Torossian said that
Tower in Moscow. The project would have the support of
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Sater said. “all this talk about collusion or lying or all
the rest, Felix gave a sworn statement
Sater also met in January 2017 with Cohen and a under oath, and if he was lying then clearly
Ukrainian politician as part of an attempt to pitch the he would have been indicted.”
Trump administration on a Ukrainian peace plan that
228
 “His statement in terms of what Felix knows
and says is very clear,” said Torossian.
“If Felix lied about anything then clearly the
government should arrest him. They
haven’t,” he added.
When asked again whether Sater has any information
about collusion, Torossian said:
“I’m not going to talk about that.”
Asked about rumors that Sater was a source — witting or
unwitting — for the infamous Steele dossier, Torossian
said that “of course it’s untrue.”
Sater’s life as an American spy began at the age of 31
when he was approached by a Defense Intelligence
Agency officer named Milton Blaine, he said in his
statement.
229
“I was given the opportunity to serve and
protect our country, which I enthusiastically
embraced,” said Sater.
“For the next 20-plus years, up to and
including the present, I have continued to
wholeheartedly work with various U.S.
government agencies,” he added.
Sater began his career as a Wall Street investment banker
at Bear Stearns. That went off the rails after Sater landed
in prison for slicing a man with a broken martini glass
during a barroom brawl in New York City. After his
release from jail, Sater set up a stock scam that defrauded
investors of $40 million. Facing further jail time, Sater
began cooperating with government agencies.
(RELATED: Trump Lawyer Reportedly Asked Putin’s
Spokesman For Help With Real Estate Deal)
Perhaps his most significant coup was obtaining phone
numbers for five satellite phones used by bin Laden.
 Pence Encourages Behar Apologize
To All Christians; Accepts Personal Apology
By NB Staff
March 12, 2018 10:37 PM EDT
In a sit-down interview with Fox News Channel’s Sean
Hannity on Monday, Vice President Mike Pence was asked
about the bitter bigoted comments from ABC’s Joy Behar
attacking all Christians made on The View. The Vice
President accepted an over-the-phone private apology but
encouraged her to make a public apology on her show to
all Christians.
“Well Sean, my Christian faith is the most
important thing in my life,” Pence
explained. “So, when I heard that ABC had
a program where my Christian faith was
described as a mental illness, I thought it
was important for me to speak out. Not on
my own behalf. You and I know the
criticism comes with the public life. But I felt
it was important that I defend the faith of
tens of millions of Americans against that
kind of slander.”
Pence told Hannity that he gave Behar “a lot of credit” for
reaching out to him to apologize.
“She was very sincere. And she
apologized. And one of the things my faith
teaches me is grace. Forgive as you have
been forgiven,” he told Hannity.
Although she did apologize to him privately, he wants her
to make a public one as well:
But I did encourage her and I am still
encouraging her to use the forum of that
program or some other public forum to
apologize to tens of millions of Americans
230
who were equally offended by what she
and people said.
Pence echoed Media Research Center Founder Brent
Bozell in the desire to hear a public apology to all the
Christ followers she offended.
“Their apology should, therefore, be as
public as their insult,” he argued in a press
release.
The Vice President also explained that when he spoke out,
it wasn’t because he took it personally it was to speak for
those Behar wouldn’t hear:
No, I didn't take it personally. I thought it was important in
this moment that I speak out on behalf of the faith of tens
of millions of Americans. My hope is that Joy and others
on the airwaves will come to appreciate the meaning and,
if I can say, the joy that comes with the faith and respect
that.
The pressure for Behar to apologize has been intense
following a Media Research Center campaign to hold
The View’s advertisers accountable for her anti-Christian
hate. Through the campaign, supporters have made over
45,000 calls to ABC along with separate calls to View
advertisers insisting they hold the ABC show accountable.
As mentioned, we're still waiting for the public apology.
Transcript below:
Fox News Channel
Hannity
March 12, 2018
9:49:25 PM Eastern
SEAN HANNITY: You have an incident, comments made by Joy
Behar of The View. Bob Iger said that she called you privately to
apologize. Can you bring us behind the scenes and tell us what
happened. But she didn't say it publicly. Although the original
comments that she made about Christianity were made publicly.
MIKE PENCE: Well Sean, my Christian faith is the most
important thing in my life. My wife and I spend most mornings, a
little bit of time on the bible and a little bit of time in prayer. We
are typical Americans. I think, tens of millions of Americans
cherish their faith. So, when I heard that ABC had a program
where my Christian faith was described as a mental illness, I
thought it was important for me to speak out. Not on my own
behalf. You and I know the criticism comes with the public life.
But I felt it was important that I defend the faith of tens of millions
of Americans against that kind of slander. And I did so. I give joy
a lot of credit. She picked up the phone. She called me. She was
very sincere. And she apologized. And one of the things my faith
teaches me is grace. Forgive as you have been forgiven.
231
HANNITY: So does mine but I'm not as good as it as you.
PENCE: Well look, but I said to Joy, “of course, I forgive you.”
That is part of my faith experience. But I did encourage her and I
am still encouraging her to use the forum of that program or
some other public forum to apologize to tens of millions of
Americans who were equally offended by what she and people
said.
HANNITY: It makes me question the sincerity of it. Because
you’re right, it wasn't just a shot against you, it was against -- I'm
a Christian -- anybody of faith.
PENCE: But for me, it was never about me.
HANNITY: Understood. You don't take it personally.
PENCE: No, I didn't take it personally. I thought it was important
in this moment that I speak out on behalf of the faith of tens of
millions of Americans. My hope is that Joy and others on the
airwaves will come to appreciate the meaning and, if I can say,
the joy that comes with the faith and respect that.
 House Intel Republicans Stop
Russia Investigation, Decide No Collusion
By Bridget Johnson
March 12, 2018
Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas), leader of the House Intelligence
Committee's Russia probe, breaks for a vote during questioning of
Donald Trump Jr., on Dec. 6, 2017, in Washington. (AP
Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
WASHINGTON -- House Intelligence Committee
Republicans unilaterally decided to end the panel's
fractious investigation into Russia's campaign influence
operations in the 2016 presidential election, setting the
stage for the committee to issue two competing final
investigation reports.
Even those partisan reports promise disagreements, with
Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas), who took over the
investigation after Chairman Devin Nunes' (R-Calif.)
recusal, telling Fox that the GOP report would contradict
the intelligence community agencies' assessment that
Russian President Vladimir Putin favored President Trump
in the campaign, while committee member Tom Rooney
(R-Pa.) told CNN that
"we've seen a lot of evidence and
propaganda over the last year that shows
that the Russians were trying to damage
Hillary Clinton."
"We've also seen evidence that is in a
classified nature that shows the Russians
fully expected her to win and were holding
onto some very damaging evidence of her
as well until after the election," Rooney
said, adding that the GOP members can
find "there was no collusion with Trump's
campaign and the Russians, but the
Russians were also trying to infiltrate our
election cycle with all the things that have
been reported."
The 150-page Intel Committee Republicans' draft report,
which will be sent to Democrats on the panel Tuesday
.
232
before a declassification review, reportedly lifts from the
Nunes memo in its targets and recommendations,
citing “anti-Trump research” in the Steele dossier tied to
the Clinton campaign.
Nunes issued a statement thanking Conaway, Rooney and
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) for their work on the
investigation.
"Once the committee’s final report is
issued, we hope our findings and
recommendations will be useful for
improving security and integrity for the
2018 midterm elections," he added.
Conaway said he wouldn't be surprised if Democrats on
the panel
"disagree with bringing the interview phase
to a close,” telling Fox News, "I’m sure they
will have specific folks they wanted to
interview.”
He also indicated that witnesses who didn't cooperate with
the committee, such as former White House chief strategist
Steve Bannon, would likely be off the hook instead of
facing contempt proceedings.
Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said in a
statement on behalf of committee Democrats that the two
parties should have been able to issue a joint report
because
"the evidence is clear and overwhelming
that the Intelligence Community
Assessment was correct."
"While the majority members of our
committee have indicated for some time
that they have been under great pressure
to end the investigation, it is nonetheless
another tragic milestone for this Congress,
and represents yet another capitulation to
the executive branch. By ending its
oversight role in the only authorized
investigation in the House, the majority has
placed the interests of protecting the
president over protecting the country, and
history will judge its actions harshly," Schiff
said.
 Washpost's Gerson: Evangelicals For Trump 'Sycophantic'
And 'Slimy Political Operatives'
By Randy Hall
March 12, 2018 11:23 PM EDT

Clinton and the president. And I understand

that.

This is a case where their morality seems to be determined

by their politics. And they have ceased to be moral leaders
in that sense. It’s — it was a tough choice for many
evangelicals between Hillary Clinton and the president.
And I understand that.

But they have been the most sycophantic element of the

Republican coalition, which was — is unnecessary. They
have not provided that moral judgment that I think leavens
our politics or should leaven our politics.
The Washington Post is not known as a staunch defender
of Christianity, but a columnist for the liberal newspaper
found a way to both criticize evangelicals in this country
and slam President Donald Trump all in one stroke.

While a guest during CBS’s Face the Nation program on

Sunday morning, Michael Gerson -- a nationally
syndicated columnist whose writing appears twice weekly
in the Post and who served as a top aide and speech-writer
for former Republican President George W. Bush --
hammered evangelicals who support Trump as

“slimy political operatives, not moral

leaders.”
The segment was introduced by new host Margaret
Brennan as a discussion on whether trade would become a
major issue in this year’s midterm election, but it didn’t
take long for the panelists to swerve into a critique of the
GOP occupant of the White House.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You say they
have lost their interest in decency. What do
you think the evangelicals who support
President Trump make of the Stormy
Daniels scandal?
MICHAEL GERSON: Well, I think that it is
the height of hypocrisy. And we saw it with
Roy Moore as well. If any other
Democratic president had been guilty of
what is alleged in these cases,
evangelicals would be, you know, off the
reservation. It was a tough choice for
many evangelicals between Hillary
233
Gerson also quoted his article as he hammered
evangelicals by
“essentially arguing that they have -- they
are betraying a great tradition.
Evangelicalism really has had a good
tradition. And now they’re really
undermining the reputation of their faith.”
Brennan then asked the Post columnist:
“But, in that judgment, you are saying the
transactional part of this relationship isn’t
worth the trade-off?”
“Well,” he replied, “they’re acting like, you
know, slimy political operatives, not
moral leaders. They’re essentially saying
... in order to get benefits for themselves, in
a certain way -- they talk about religious
liberty and other issues -- but to get
benefits for themselves, they’re willing to
 wink at Stormy Daniels and wink at
misogyny and wink at nativism. And that, I
think, is deeply discrediting -- not just in a
political sense, but actually in a moral and
religious sense,” he added.
Earlier in the segment, Gerson complained that
Republicans have found resolve in opposing Trump on
tariffs:
I mean, Republicans really have come together, 107 of
them [in the House of Representatives], to resist the
president’s policy on this, but when you look at all the
.
234
previous provocations, where they might be critical of the
president, it’s tariffs, it’s not misogyny, it’s not nativism
and racism. It reveals something about the Republican
Party that this is their Red Line.
Meanwhile, the columnist concluded his Atlantic article by
writing:
“This is the result when Christians
become one interest group among
many. … Christianity is love of neighbor, or
it has lost its way.”
UTTER HYPOCRISY: Eric Holder Rips House Committee
For Wrapping Up Russia Probe: 'This Is A Coverup.'
Byhank Berrien
March 12, 2018
On Monday, after the House Intelligence Committee
announced they were wrapping up the Russia probe,
finding no evidence of collusion between the Trump
campaign and Russia, former Attorney General Eric
Holder, the only U.S. Attorney General ever held in
contempt of Congress, decided to attack the GOP members
of the committee, calling their actions a coverup. Coming
from the man whose involvement in coverups is legendary,
that was one heckuva display of hypocrisy.
Let us take a moment to review Mr. Holder’s record.
Four years after Congress requested documents relating to
the “gun walking” scandal, Holder’s DOJ finally produced
them:
20,000 pages worth.
The Fast and Furious scandal started when in 2010, a U.S.
Customs and Border Patrol Agent was killed patrolling the
Mexican border. The only two firearms found at the scene
were semi-automatic rifles Holder’s DOJ allowed to
“walk” as part of Fast and Furious, an operation that
permitted roughly 2,000 firearms to be received by
Mexican cartel associates.
235
As Paul Mirengoff outlined at Powerline:
When the House Committee on Oversight
and Government Reform tried to
investigate the scandal, Team Obama
stonewalled. First, it denied that law
enforcement officers allowed straw
purchasers to buy firearms illegally in the
United States with the intent to traffic them
without apprehension. Almost a year later,
it finally admitted that this is precisely what
had happened.
Second, when the Committee subpoenaed relevant
documents, Eric Holder’s DOJ refused to produce them,
citing “executive privilege.” The House voted to hold
Holder in contempt and filed suit to obtain the documents.
Three and half years later, Judge Jackson ordered
production of the 20,000 pages mentioned above.
Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform, stated in a memo:
More than previously understood, the
documents show the lengths to which
senior Department officials went to keep
information from Congress. Further, the
documents reveal how senior Justice
Department officials—including Attorney
General Eric Holder—intensely followed
and managed an effort to carefully limit and
obstruct the information produced to
Congress.
As John Fund and Hans Spakovsky wrote in “Obama’s
Enforcer: Eric Holder’s Justice Department":
“The evidence is overwhelming that Holder
has lied under oath to Congress on
numerous occasions.”
Holder’s actions regarding the targeting of James Rosen of
Fox News and the IRS scandal in which the agency
targeted conservative groups, are two of the numerous
incidents in which Holder’s behavior was severely
questioned.
 Nets Give Less Than A Minute To
House Committee’s ‘No Collusion’ Findings
By Nicholas Fondacaro
March 12, 2018 11:36 PM EDT

the story less than a minute of combined airtime (58

seconds).

“There’s late word coming in from the

House Intelligence Committee, that they
are moving up to wrap up their Russia
investigation? Republicans on the
committee saying they have found no
evidence of collusion,” wondered anchor
David Muir to Chief White House
Correspondent Jon Karl.

On Monday, the House Intelligence Committee closed its

inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential
election, much to the chagrin of the liberal media. The
committee confirmed that the Russians were indeed trying
to cause chaos in the election, claimed they weren’t out to
help candidate Donald Trump specifically and that there
was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
But during their evening broadcasts, ABC and CBS
downplayed the findings while NBC ignored them.

CBS Evening News only gave 31 seconds to the House

committee’s findings.
“Republicans on the House Intelligence
Committee said there was no collusion
or coordination between the Trump
campaign and Russia during the 2016
election,” reported anchor Jeff Glor. “They
also say that while Russia tried to
interfere with the elections, they do not
agree with U.S. intelligence that the
Russians were trying to help Donald
Trump.”
Glor followed that up by noting that committee’s
Democrats would be releasing their own findings:
Karl appeared to be almost irritated by the committee’s
findings:
“These are the Republicans that control
that committee.” “The finding is hardly
surprising,” he scoffed. “And given how
partisan that committee is, it's not going
to have any impact on the overall debate
over Russia.”
He wrapped up the segment by holding out hope that the
Senate and special counsel investigations would find
something incriminating against the President.

Democrats on the House panel are expected to put out their
own report with different findings. The Senate Intelligence
Committee is also investigating Russian meddling, as is
the special counsel, Robert Mueller.
Meanwhile, on ABC’s World News Tonight, they only
gave the development 27 seconds, which meant the three
major network news outlets (ABC, CBS, and NBC) gave
While NBC Nightly News completely ignored the
committee’s findings, they managed to find time to whine
about President Trump’s school safety plan being light
on gun control, a Powerball winner, and billionaire Warren
Buffett’s $1 million March Madness bracket challenge. All
told, it's a demonstration of their priorities when a big
news story broke.
Transcripts below:

236
CBS Evening News
March 12, 2018
6:39:50 PM Eastern [31 Seconds]
JEFF GLOR: Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee
said there was no collusion or coordination between the Trump
campaign and Russia during the 2016 election. They also say
that while Russia tried to interfere with the elections, they do not
agree with U.S. intelligence that the Russians were trying to help
Donald Trump. Those are the findings of the Republicans' draft
report today.
Democrats on the House panel are expected to put out their own
report with different findings. The Senate Intelligence Committee
is also investigating Russian meddling, as is the special counsel,
Robert Mueller.
237
ABC
World News Tonight
March 12, 2018
6:42:31 PM Eastern [27 seconds]
DAVID MUIR: And Jon, I mentioned a moment ago, there’s late
word coming in from the House Intelligence Committee, that they
are moving up to wrap up their Russia investigation?
Republicans on the committee saying they have found no
evidence of collusion?
JON KARL: These are the Republicans that control that
committee. The finding is hardly surprising and given how
partisan that committee is, it's not going to have any impact on
the overall debate over Russia. And it certainly won't stop the
investigations that continue, David, in the Senate and, of course,
Robert Mueller.
 Eric Holder Comes Unglued After GOP House Intel
Committee Rules No Trump-Russia Collusion
“This Is A Cover Up”
By Cristina Laila
March 12, 2018, 11:56 Pm

House Intelligence Committee

Republicans announced Monday that
they found “no evidence of collusion,”
between the Trump campaign and the
Kremlin in the panel’s ‘Russia probe.’

The Deep State and Democrats aren’t taking the news

well.

Leaker Adam Schiff immediately blew a gasket and

released a ridiculous statement claiming the Republicans
don’t care about the fact that the Russians may have
leverage over Trump.

Former Attorney General Eric ‘Fast and Furious’ Holder

was livid after the GOP House Intel panel shut down the
Trump-Russia probe.
Holder called it a cover up. Rich coming from the only
Attorney General in U.S. history to be held in criminal
contempt of Congress.
Holder tweeted:
Republican House Intell Comm shut down
Russia probe before doing a complete job
This is a coverup and a lasting stain on the
reputation of what used to be a bipartisan
Committee when it was run by Republican
Rogers and Democrat Ruppersberger.
Politics beat a desire for the truth.
.
238
Eric Holder is the one who left a lasting stain on the
Justice Department after his gun-running operation spun
out of control.
Holder’s Fast and Furious operation is responsible for
over 200 murders including the murder of Border Patrol
agent Brian Terry.
Perhaps Eric Holder is nervous because the DOJ is in the
process of handing over more Fast and Furious documents
to the House Oversight Committee
The demons always scream the loudest when they are
being exorcised.
 MSNBC's Johnson: Trump Is 'Half
A Rally Away From Using The N-Word'
By Brad Wilmouth
March 13, 2018 1:42 AM EDT
On Monday's Hardball show, during a discussion of
President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Pennsylvania,
race-obsessed MSNBC contributor Jason Johnson declared
that President Trump is "half a rally away from just using
the N-word," and likened him to slave master Calvin
Candie from the movie Django Unchained.
After MSNBC host Chris Matthews wondered why Trump
had derided California Democratic Rep. and frequent
Trump critic Maxine Waters as "low-IQ," Johnson
responded:
He's half a rally away from just using the N-
word. It's that basic. He's half a rally away
.
239
from just calling somebody the N-word, and
then everyone's going to pretend that
they're shocked, and everybody on The
Apprentice is going to say, "He used it all
the time -- that's what he does." He has a
hostility and an anger towards women of
color.
The Root politics editor soon added:
His relationship with black women is similar
to his relationship with women in general,
okay, If black women aren't working for
him, and they aren't there to serve him in
some personal way, he's basically Calvin
Candie. He is angry and hostile towards
women.
After Matthews asked who Calvin Candie is, Johnson
clarified:
"He's the guy from Django [played by
Leonardo diCaprio]. He was the slave
holder in Django."
 Tillerson's Last Statement Called For 'Serious
Consequences' For Russian Nerve Agent Attack
By Bridget Johnson
March 13, 2018
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson addresses U.S. Mission Nigeria staff
at a Meet and Greet at U.S. Embassy Abuja in Nigeria on March 12,
2018. (State Department photo)
WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's last
official statement before being fired by President Trump
took a much harder line than the White House
spokeswoman over Russia's involvement in the use of a
nerve agent to poison a former spy and his daughter on
British soil.
Tillerson was reportedly told that he would be replaced
Friday while in the middle of a multi-nation Africa trip,
but he wasn't told by Trump or given a reason.
Trump moved CIA Director Mike Pompeo over to the
State Department and Deputy Director Gina Haspel, a
career officer, will be taking over at the CIA.
Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy who fed intelligence
to the Brits from 1995 to 2004 and was sent to the UK in a
spy exchange in 2010, and his daughter Yulia collapsed
March 4 at a shopping center in Salisbury. Both are in
critical condition. A restaurant and a pub in the center have
tested positive for traces of the nerve agent as military
personnel clean up the crime scene and surrounding area.
Prime Minister Theresa May said the two were poisoned
with part of a group of nerve agents known as "Novichok,"
and the UK has determined that Russia either attempted an
assassination on UK soil or let WMD nerve agents on the
loose. May called for a "full range of measures... in
response" if Russia ignores UK requests by today, and
called upon NATO allies to back that response.
At the White House on Monday, press secretary Sarah
Huckabee Sanders said that "the use of a highly lethal
240
nerve agent against UK citizens on UK soil is an outrage"
and called it "reckless, indiscriminate and irresponsible,"
but did not blame Russia when pressed on whether the
administration assesses the same blame as May.
At about 8 p.m. Washington time, though, Tillerson issued
his own statement titled "Attributing Responsibility for
the Nerve Agent Attack in the UK."
Tillerson said he spoke with UK Foreign Secretary Boris
Johnson and expressed his
"full confidence in the UK’s investigation
and its assessment that Russia was likely
responsible for the nerve agent attack that
took place in Salisbury last week."
"There is never a justification for this type
of attack – the attempted murder of a
private citizen on the soil of a sovereign
nation – and we are outraged that Russia
appears to have again engaged in such
behavior. From Ukraine to Syria – and now
the UK – Russia continues to be an
irresponsible force of instability in the
world, acting with open disregard for the
sovereignty of other states and the life of
their citizens," Tillerson said.
"We agree that those responsible – both
those who committed the crime and those
who ordered it – must face appropriately
serious consequences. We stand in
solidarity with our allies in the United
Kingdom and will continue to coordinate
closely our responses."
This morning, Tillerson was out, and some lawmakers on
Capitol Hill were drawing a connection.
"Quickest way to get fired by
@realDonaldTrump isn’t misuse of
taxpayer funds, domestic violence or lying.
It’s standing up to Putin," tweeted Rep. Joe
Kennedy (D-Mass.).
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)
declared,
 “If he’s confirmed, we hope that Mr.
Pompeo will turn over a new leaf and will
start toughening up our policies towards
Russia and Putin.”
Asked about the nerve agent attack today, Trump told
reporters,
"Well it sounds to me, I’m speaking to
Theresa May today. It sounds to me like it
would be Russia based on all of the
evidence they have. I don’t know if they’ve
come to a conclusion, but she’s calling me
today."
"As soon as we get the facts straight and
we are going to be speaking with the British
today, we’re speaking with Theresa May
today, and as soon as we get the facts
straight, if we agree with them, we will
condemn Russia or whoever it may be," he
added. "But I have not spoken to her, I’ll
speak to her sometime today."
.
241
Meanwhile, in the UK, the deadline is midnight for Russia
to explain to the British government how a Russian nerve
agent was used on their turf.
Neil Basu, who leads the UK's counterterrorism effort, told
reporters outside Scotland Yard today that Yulia Skripal
flew into Heathrow airport from Russia on the afternoon of
March 3. On Sunday afternoon, she and Sergei Skripal
visited a pub and then a restaurant in the Salisbury
shopping center. They were discovered on a park bench
outside the restaurant after 4 p.m. after a concerned passer-
by called police.
Basu said 38 people have been seen by medical personnel
in relation to this incident. Of those, 34 have been assessed
and discharged from hospital. Skripal and his daughter
remain in critical yet stable condition. A police officer,
Nick Bailey, is in serious but stable condition. One person
was discharged yet continues to be monitored on an
outpatient basis.
"We are exploring all investigative
avenues," Basu said. "This includes
extensive CCTV footage from across the
city and over 380 exhibits so far."
 ‘Fifty-Fifty’: Christopher Steele Is
Unsure About Trump ‘Golden Showers’ Tape
Chuck Ross - Reporter
6:18 AM 03/13/2018
Former British spy Christopher Steele
(YouTube screen capture/CBS News)
 New book adds doubt on Steele dossier’s most
salacious claim
 Dossier author has lost confidence in Trump sex
claims
 Fusion GPS founder has also expressed
skepticism
Christopher Steele is not convinced that the most salacious
claim in his infamous dossier is accurate.
Steele’s business partner at their private intelligence firm
is even less certain, and the founder of Fusion GPS, the
firm that commissioned the dossier, also has his doubts.
That’s according to a deeply reported section of “Russian
Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America
and the Election of Donald Trump,” a new book by
veteran investigative reporters Michael Isikoff and David
Corn.
“Steele’s confidence in the sensational sex
claim would fade over time,” reads the
book, which hit shelves Tuesday.
“As for the likelihood of the claim that
prostitutes had urinated in Trump’s
presence, Steele would say to colleagues,
‘It’s fifty-fifty,'” it continues. (RELATED:
Steele Dossier ‘Coincidences’ Keep
Piling Up)
In his first memo for the dossier, dated June 20, 2016,
Steele, a former MI6 officer, reported that a source inside
Russia had received information that Trump took part in
the tryst in 2013 while visiting Russia for the Miss
Universe pageant. Steele’s source told him that the Russian
government has used the video to blackmail Trump.
242
The allegation is the most prominent allegation made in
the so-called “dirty dossier,” which was financed by the
Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee.
Steele’s business partner, Christopher Burrows,
immediately questioned Steele’s report, according to the
book.
“What the fuck!” Burrows said to Steele
during what the authors describe as a
heated exchange.
“Burrows feared Steele was
sensationalizing his material,” the book
reads, which reports that Burrows “later
privately described the report as akin to
preliminary intelligence reporting —
information not analyzed, vetted, or ready
for distribution.”
“This was not gospel. It was raw product,”
Burrows would say.
Glenn Simpson, the founder of Fusion GPS, the firm that
hired Steele, also questioned Steele’s shocking report. The
book reveals that Steele told Simpson the identity of the
primary source for the “golden showers” allegation: a
Belarus-American businessman named Sergei Millian who
has claimed to have partnered with Trump’s real estate
firm in the past. (RELATED: Congress Struggles To
Find Key Dossier Source)
According to Isikoff and Corn:
The memo had described Millian as a Trump intimate, but
there was no public evidence he was close to the mogul at
that time or was in Moscow during the Miss Universe
event. Had Millian made something up or repeated rumors
he had heard from others to impress Steele’s collector?
Simpson had his doubts. He considered Millian a big
talker.
Tons of ‘coincidences’ in the dossier

Isikoff and Corn’s book details aspects of the dossier as
well as the investigation into Russian meddling in the
election. The veteran journalists are two of a small handful
of reporters who met with Steele prior to the 2016 election.
They are the only two who met with Steele to have written
articles based on information they were provided during
their briefings.
Isikoff’s article, which was published in Sept. 2016, was
used in Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrants
granted against former Trump campaign adviser Carter
Page. Steele’s dossier alleges that Page took part in the
campaign’s collusion effort with the Russian government.
Page denies the allegations and is suing Isikoff’s news
outlet, Yahoo! News.
243
Corn published an article revealing that a former Western
spy was investigating Trump’s activities in Russia. The
article quoted Steele but did not identify him. The piece,
which was published on Oct. 31, 2016, led to Steele’s
ouster as an FBI informant. The former MI6 officer began
giving information from his Trump investigation to the
FBI in July 2016.
Trump has denied Steele’s vignette about the Moscow
hotel room, calling the allegation “disgusting.”
A Trump associate who was with Trump on the night of
the alleged incident has also denied that it occurred.
Keith Schiller, who was Trump’s bodyguard at the White
House and during the Russia trip, has told the House
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that a Russian
associate of Trump’s offered to send five prostitutes to
Trump’s hotel room during his Moscow visit.
But Schiller said that he rejected the offer. He said he
stood outside of Trump’s room for a while after the real
estate mogul turned in for bed but that nobody went into
the room.
 Trump Decides ‘Nothing Major’
Without Sparring Advisers, Priebus Says
President's Former Chief Of Staff Said POTUS 'Has No Problem Putting
Natural Predators Together' In The White House To Hash Out Policies
By Kathryn Blackhurst
Updated 13 Mar 2018 At 6:31 AM
President Donald Trump makes decisions by putting “the
game plan on the table so people can see it and they can
freak out about it” before he “systematically” negotiates
each piece, former White House chief of staff Reince
Priebus said Monday on Fox News’ “The Ingraham
Angle.”
Some Republican lawmakers, journalists and free trade
advocates were upset when Trump announced new U.S.
tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to protect American
industries and reduce trade deficits. There were also
worries sparked by reports that Trump accepted on a whim
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s invitation to meet.
But Priebus strongly argued that Trump made neither of
those two decisions flippantly, noting that the president has
a particular method of approaching issues.
“You do what President Trump does, which
is — if you see carefully what he’s doing —
is he puts the chips on the table,” he said.
“He puts the game plan on the table, so
people can see it and they can freak out
about it. But then what he does is,
systematically, he negotiates each piece.”
When it comes to the tariffs, Priebus said that Trump, in
putting the issue directly on the table, is “going to be able
to negotiate with these countries like he’s always wanted
to do — one by one bilaterally.”
Priebus emphasized that Trump
“chooses on his own to put people around
him that don’t agree with each other on
major, major things. So even when I was
there … [tariffs weren’t] something that the
244
president suddenly came up with, and then,
‘Oh my God, he just went out with the
tariffs out of nowhere.’ This was debated
from before the inauguration.”
The former chief of staff said that the Trump staff debated
“week after week after week” on the tariffs.
“And [Trump] got pretty ticked off a few
times at the staff and said, ‘Hey, where are
my tariffs?'” he said. “This was not
something that just came about. He has
been debating it forever.”
Priebus, a former chairman of the Republican National
Committee (RNC), served in the Trump White House from
January through July of 2017. He was among a succession
of high-profile administration officials who left for a
variety of reasons. More recently, White House director of
communications Hope Hicks and Director of the National
Economic Council Gary Cohn resigned.
Trump's tariffs were the impetus behind Cohn's
resignation. Fox News host Laura Ingraham said Cohn
disagrees with many of Trump's conservative-populist
policies. Priebus argued that it isn't "a bad thing" that
Trump insists on having officials with different ideological
and political world views advising him on policy issues.
"Some White Houses have the same
species of people — everyone's the same,"
he said. "[Trump] has no problem putting
natural predators together, and let them
bring their A-game and fight it out, and then
he makes his decision."
 "In the end, if it's close, he's going to go
with his gut," Priebus added. "Regardless
of what people in the media like to write
about the drama and the chaos — the
president would be very bored if everyone
came in and said, 'You're right. Let's just do
it this way.'"
Priebus emphasized that Trump decides "nothing major"
without first receiving input from his advisers.
"People come in [the Oval Office], they
stand around his desk, he allows the
argument to take place, they fight it out,"
the former chief of staff said. "But what the
media focuses in on is the process of the
argument, as opposed to the decision. And
that is really what I would always try to
remind people do to. Focus in on the
decision."
When Trump seemed to abruptly accept Kim's request for
a meeting, Priebus said the "narrative on that got out of the
gate all wrong" because Trump didn't "just on a whim"
decide to accept the offer. Trump had high-ranking
administration officials in his office with him when the
South Korean officials approached him with Kim's request.
"I think people just run with the narrative
and don't realize that the president isn't just
making these decisions in a vacuum,"
.
245
Priebus said. "So these are things that I
think the American people need to know."
Priebus said Tuesday's special congressional election in
Pennsylvania's 18th district — which Trump won handily
in 2016 — is dangerously close between Democrat Conor
Lamb and Republican Rick Saccone, but he expects a GOP
win.
"I think it's going to be really hard for the
Democrats to pull this off. I think they may
be overhyping this a little bit," he said. "I
think the Republicans are playing this
pretty well by setting expectations that, you
know, that they may lose."
"But really what this is going to be about ...
is turnout," Priebus added, likening the
district to a full GOP bowl of popcorn and a
two-thirds full Democrat bowl.
"But here's the thing: Republicans have a
full bowl to turn out. If they do a really poor
job and say only turn out two-thirds, and
the Democrats do a great job and get every
single person out, then they can win," he
said.
"The one thing about it being a referendum
on Trump — you have to throw that one
out. Because if Donald Trump was on the
ballot today in that district, he'd win the
district."
 TRUMP FIRES REX TILLERSON – Appoints Mike
Pompeo As Secretary Of State
By Jim Hoft
March 13, 2018, 8:00 Am

REX TILLERSON OUT!

President Trump fired Secretary of State
Rex Tillerson on Tuesday.

The president posted this on Twitter moments ago.

There have been rumblings Tillerson

was on the way out for several months
now.

Gina Haspel will replace Pompeo as CIA

Director.

Jack Posobiec reported this back in

October.
President Trump told Tillerson on Friday
to step aside.

246
 Small Business Optimism At Second Highest Level In US
History – Best Since Reagan In 1983
By Jim Hoft
March 13, 2018, 8:16 Am

106.9 in January to come in at 107.6. The consensus

estimate from economists called for the index to increase
by 0.2 percentage points to 107.1.The February index is
the second-highest ever, trailing only the 108 reading
posted in 1983. For 2017, the average monthly index was
104.8, the highest ever. The previous annual record was
104.6 set in 2004.

Charles Paynetweeted the same –

Small business optimism reached its

highest level in nearly 40 years in
February. The only time the
measurement was higher was during
the Reagan Administration in 1983. The Trump economy is on fire with all
time records being set by the day.
Today it was reported according to MSM Money –

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)

Tuesday morning reported that its small business optimism
index for February rose by 0.7 percentage points from
.

247
 IT WAS THE IRAN DEAL! Trump To Reporters After
Firing Tillerson: “I Thought It Was Terrible. I Guess He
Thought It Was OK” (VIDEO)
By Jim Hoft
March 13, 2018, 8:41 Am

President Trump:

Rex and I have been talking about this for a

long time. We got along quite well but we
disagreed on things. When you look at the
Iran deal. I think it’s terrible. I guess he
thought it was OK. I wanted to either break
it or do something and he felt a little bit
differently. actually got along well with Rex.
Really it was a different mindset. It was a
different thinking.

President Donald Trump fired Secretary of State Rex

Tillerson on Tuesday.

In January Rex Tillerson told reporters

the US was trying to stay in the Iranian
deal.
Trump must have disagreed with this
assessment.

Trump then told reporters they differed on various issues.

Then the president said they differed on the Iran Deal
which Tillerson supported and Trump did not.

248
 Trump Fires Tillerson, Moves
Pompeo, Picks New CIA Director
Saagar Enjeti - White House Correspondent
9:03 AM 03/13/2018

Army, and graduated with Honors from

Harvard Law School. He went on to
serve in the U.S. House of
Representatives with a proven record of
working across the aisle.”

President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

confer during a working lunch with African leaders during the U.N.
General Assembly in New York, September 20, 2017.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

 President Donald Trump announced Tuesday he

has fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
 Trump intends to replace Tillerson with CIA
Director Mike Pompeo. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
 Pompeo will be replaced with CIA Deputy Director
Gina Haspel. He continued,

“Finally, I want to thank Rex Tillerson

President Donald Trump will replace Secretary of State for his service. A great deal has been
Rex Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, he tweeted accomplished over the last fourteen
Tuesday morning. months, and I wish him and his family
well.”
(RELATED: Trump Explains Why He Fired Tillerson)

Tillerson’s ouster was reported minutes before Trump’s

tweet by the Washington Post, though tensions between
the two have simmered nearly since Tillerson took the job
in 2017. The secretary of state was reportedly asked Friday REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
to return to Washington and informed he would be let go
by Trump. Trump will replace Pompeo with deputy CIA director Gina
Haspel noting in his statement,
“I am proud to nominate the Director of
the Central Intelligence Agency, Mike
Pompeo, to be our new Secretary of “Gina Haspel, the Deputy Director of the
State,” the president told The CIA, will be nominated to replace Director
Washington Post in a statement. “Mike Pompeo and she will be the CIA’s first-ever
graduated first in his class at West female director, a historic milestone.”
Point, served with distinction in the U.S.
249
 What’s Not To Love? Far Left Groups Outraged At
Pompeo’s Promotion – Proving He’s
The Right Man For The Job
By Jim Hoft
March 13, 2018, 9:40 Am
But not everyone was pleased to hear
the news.
The far left Right Wing Watch is not
happy that Mike Pompeo will be the next
Secretary of State.
RWW says he’s too hard on Islamists
and too much of a Christian.
The American left believes Christians
are a threat to societ while denying.
Pompeo, who would become the country’s top diplomat,
has repeatedly framed the fight against terrorism as a war
between Christianity and Islam, as The Intercept reported
in detail when he was nominated to head the CIA:
“This threat to America,” Pompeo told a
church group in Wichita in 2014, is from a
minority of Muslims “who deeply believe
that Islam is the way and the light and the
only answer.”
“They abhor Christians,” Pompeo said,
“and will continue to press against us until
we make sure that we pray and stand and
fight and make sure that we know that
.
250
Jesus Christ is our savior is truly the only
solution for our world.”
In 2013, after the Boston Marathon bombing,
Pompeo declared on the House floor that Islamic
community leaders who do not repeatedly and publicly
speak out against terrorist acts are “potentially complicit”
in those acts.
Pompeo has also had a close relationship with ACT for
America, a virulently anti-Muslim group whose
president, Brigitte Gabriel, has said that a
“practicing Muslim…cannot be a loyal
citizen of the United States.”
Late last year, Gabriel sent an email to supporters boasting
of her group’s ties to the incoming Trump administration.
She wrote that Pompeo
“has been a steadfast ally of ours since the
day he was elected to Congress,”
that he had sponsored a legislative briefing for the group’s
members the previous year, and as
“a sitting member of the Select Committee
on Benghazi, he worked very closely with
ACT and was bestowed our organization’s
highest honor of National Security Eagle
Award for 2016.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center noted that Pompeo has
also addressed ACT’s national conference multiple times.
Pompeo has also appeared several times on the radio
program hosted by anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist Frank
Gaffney and spoken at at least one event hosted by
Gaffney.
 Rep. Swalwell: House Intel
Committee Report ‘Invites Another Attack’
Julia Nista - Associate Editor
9:52 AM 03/13/2018

“So Republicans on the House Intel

committee abruptly shut down their Russia
investigation and then decided to buck
the intelligence community’s assessment
that Vladimir Putin was trying to help
Donald Trump win the White House,” host
Chris Cuomo began. “There’s just tons of
proof of that suggestion. Why they decided
Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell with Chris Cuomo (Photo: to reject it we don’t understand. And, they
CNN/Screenshot) did this without telling any Democrats on
their committee, which is just a reflection
Following the House Intel Committee’s finding that there of how partisan it had all become. Joining
is no Russian collusion from the 2016 Trump presidential us now is one of those Democrats in the
campaign, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell alleged the dark, Rep. Eric Swalwell of California. Am
wrong, or did you find out about this on
Twitter?”
“report invites another attack, not just
Russia but other adversaries with similar “Saw it on Twitter,” Swalwell replied. “Saw
capabilities” Tuesday morning on CNN. it on Twitter, and saw breaking news alerts
coming in. More importantly than
WATCH: the process is that this report
invites another attack, not just from
Russia but other adversaries with similar
capabilities.”
“They look at us at being weak,” he
continued. “They may not stay on
the sidelines as they have in the past.
They may try to get their
preferred candidates and policies
through in upcoming elections.”

251
 Here’s President Trump’s Pick To Be The First-Ever
Female CIA Director
By Joshua Caplan
March 13, 2018, 9:58 Am
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump
announced he was replacing Rex
Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo
as Secretary of State. In addition, the
President revealed Gina Haspel has
been selected to replace Pompeo at the
CIA.
“Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new
Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to
Rex Tillerson for his service! Gina Haspel will become the
new Director of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen.
Congratulations to all!” Trump tweeted.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, there have
been rumblings Tillerson was on the way out for several
months now.
Benny Johnson of The Daily Caller provides a great
rundown of Haspel’s career.
.
252
 Haspel would be the first female CIA director in history.
The position, which dates back to 1946 when President
Truman established the CIA, has to this date been held
by 24 different men.
 Haspel has more than 30 years of history with the CIA.
She joined the agency in 1985 and has served the
majority of her career in clandestine operations.
 In 2002, Haspel ran a “black site” prison in Thailand,
which was part of a network of prisons established by
the agency, according to the Washington Post.
According to the Senate Intelligence Committee’s
torture report, Haspel oversaw “the waterboarding and
other harsh techniques” used to interrogate Abu
Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, suspected al
Qaeda terrorists.
 Haspel has been linked to the illegal destruction of
videotapes of these interrogations, but no prosecution
ever came of it.
 Haspel, currently acting deputy director of the CIA, has
previously served as deputy director of the National
Clandestine Service, deputy director of the National
Clandestine Service for Foreign Intelligence and Covert
Action, chief of staff for the director of the National
Clandestine Service.
Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Richard Burr
praised Trump’s pick to lead the CIA. Fox News‘ Chad
Pergram tweeted Burr’s statement: “I know Gina
personally and she has the right skill set, experience, and
judgment to lead one of our nation’s most critical
agencies…I look forward to supporting her nomination,
ensuring its consideration without delay.”
 Reporters Immediately Blame Tillerson Firing On Russia
Comments. There’s Just One Problem
Justin Caruso - Media Reporter
10:00 AM 03/13/2018

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson gives a press conference on the

sidelines of a a ministerial meeting in Kuwait City on February 13,
2018, gathering representatives of member states of the US-led
military coalition that has been battling the Islamic State jihadist
group in Iraq and neighboring Syria. STR/AFP/Getty Images

Rex Tillerson is out as secretary of state, leading many

establishment journalists to falsely claim that his recent
comments on Russia allegedly poisoning a spy in the
United Kingdom are responsible.
The Washington Post reported on Tillerson’s departure
Tuesday morning.
Tillerson commented on Monday that Sergei Skripal, an
ex-Russian spy poisoned in the U.K. last week, appears to
be “clearly” an act of the Kremlin.
Prime Minister Theresa May also accused Russia of being
behind the act, saying,
“Either this was a direct act by the Russian
state against our country, or the Russian
government lost control of this potentially
catastrophically damaging nerve agent and
allowed it to get in the hands of others.”
This led many to claim that Tillerson was fired by Trump
for blaming Russia for the poisoning.

253
However, it turns out that Tillerson was actually asked to
leave last Friday, according to the Washington Post,
meaning he was fired before his comment on Russia.
.

254
 Joe Scarborough Goes Red Faced
Accusing House Intel Of Lying On Russia In Its Report —
Too Bad The 150 Page Report Hasn’t Been Released
Nick Givas - Media And Politics Reporter
10:04 AM 03/13/2018
Joe Scarborough Must Have Read The 150 Page House
Intel Report Or He's Spewing Some Insane Nonsense On
Trump 3-13-18
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough has once again accused House
Republicans of misleading the American people and
claimed they are lying to protect President Donald Trump.
The House Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence announced Monday they had found no
evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and
Russia, but Scarborough still wasn’t convinced.
WATCH:
255
“These members saw the testimony of four
intelligence officers appointed by Donald
Trump testify before Congress that Russia
tried to interfere in the election on behalf of
Donald Trump,” Scarborough said Tuesday
on “Morning Joe.” “They know that. That’s
a matter of public record. You can go into
any court in the land and you could
probably get judicial notice of it. It’s so
obvious and yet they claim — in this report
made for talk radio, that that wasn’t the
case.”
The House Intel Committee report is at odds with
intelligence community claims that Russia interfered in the
2016 election to help Trump defeat former Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton. The report insteads credits Russia
with attempting to “sow discord,” a finding Scarborough
took issue with.
“Why did they lie when everybody knows
they’re lying, that the Russians were trying
to help Donald Trump,” Scarborough
concluded. “And secondly, why the rush to
judgment, why now?”
The full 150 page report has yet to be released, raising the
questions of what information Scarborough is basing his
claims of lying.
 ABC Slams ‘Highly Partisan’
Russia Findings; Questions ‘Credibility’
Of GOP Intel Committee
By Kristine Marsh
March 13, 2018 10:21 AM EDT
Tuesday morning on Good Morning America, ABC failed
to lead with the pivotal news that broke last night on the
ongoing Russia investigation; that the House Intelligence
Committee had concluded their investigation and
found no proof of collusion between
Russia and the Trump 2016 presidential
campaign.
As to be expected, this important announcement was
brushed under the rug by all three networks March 12 on
their evening broadcasts, giving under a minute of
coverage to the story.
ABC gave a more thorough report to the
crucial development on their March 13
morning show, but only to dismiss the news
as essentially “fake news,” even calling
into question the credibility of the
committee solely because it was led by
Republicans.
Fill-in anchor Cecilia Vega introduced the story by
dismissing it as inconsequential, because the really
important investigation was still ongoing.
“House Republicans ending their probe
saying this they found no evidence of
collusion between the Trump campaign
and Russia. But Democrats on that
committee say this is all a move to
protect the president... This may be the
end of one investigation but that big
one, Robert Mueller's probe, that’s still
256
going on,” she reminded viewers, handing
off to Chief White House Correspondent
Jonathan Karl.
“It sure is,” Karl noted, emphasizing that
Democrats were still investigating in the
Senate as well. Karl sarcastically noted that
“not surprisingly” President Trump was
“declaring victory on Twitter” before adding
that this report couldn’t be trusted because
it was “highly partisan.”
“[B]ut as you know, Cecilia, this has
been a highly partisan investigation
from the start,” he gushed, adding that
not a “single Democrat” agreed with the
findings. Karl touted Democrat Adam
Schiff’s rebuke to “GOP members who lack
the courage to stand up to the president,”
direly adding that “national interest
necessitates” the party find something
against Trump.
Vega and Karl ended the report sowing more doubt,
alleging that the House’s findings contradict the
intelligence community’s probe.
“Yeah, remember, the intelligence
community found that, in fact, Russia
was trying to help get Trump elected.
They put out a statement saying they
stand by those findings,” Karl stated.
As ABC likes to do, they also singled out a Republican
who agreed with the Democrats. Anchor George
Stephanopoulos gushed that there was one committee
member who disagreed with the findings.
“Tom Rooney of Florida who also said this
calls into question the credibility of the
investigation,” he emphasized. “Not in
perfect lockstep with the Republican
majority there,” he eagerly noted.
The report, heavy-laden with scornful skepticism was
similar to how ABC treated the news last night. On World
News Tonight, Jon Karl scoffed,
“These are the Republicans that control
that committee...The finding is hardly
surprising.”
Read the full transcript below:
ABC’s Good Morning America
3/13/18
7:10:40-7:12:35am
CECILIA VEGA: We want to turn now to those new
developments in the Russia investigation. House Republicans
ending their probe saying this they found no evidence of collusion
between the Trump campaign and Russia. But Democrats on
that committee say this is all a move to protect the
president. ABC's Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan
Karl is in Washington. This may be the end of one
investigation but that big one, Robert Mueller's probe, that’s
still going on.
.
257
JON KARL: It sure is and, of course, the Senate Intelligence
Committee is still investigating but the House Republicans,
Cecilia, say that their investigation is over, concluding, quote,
‘The Russians did commit active measures in our election in '16
and we think they will do so in the future but adding we disagree
with the narrative they were trying to help Trump and we found
no evidence of collusion. Perhaps some bad judgment and
inappropriate meetings.’
Now, not surprisingly the president is declaring vindication in all
caps on Twitter touting the findings: ‘the House Intelligence
Committee has after a 14-month-long in-depth investigation
found no evidence of collusion’ but as you know, Cecilia, this
has been a highly partisan investigation from the start. The
Democrats, not a single one of them on the Committee agrees
with this. The top Democrat tweeting directly at the president,
this was not the finding of the House Intelligence
Committee, Mr. President, but only a statement by its GOP
members who lack the courage to stand up to a president of
their own party when the national interest necessitates it.
VEGA: Yeah, Jon, in all caps from the president but the
intelligence community, they are not backing down from
their conclusions on this one.
KARL: Yeah, remember, the intelligence community found
that, in fact, Russia was trying to help get Trump elected.
They put out a statement saying they stand by those
findings.
VEGA: Ok, Jon Karl, thanks.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You also have a key Republican on the
committee, Tom Rooney of Florida who also said this calls
into question the credibility of the investigation, not in
perfect lockstep with the Republican majority there.
 Meet Gina Haspel, Trump’s Pick
To Be The First Female CIA Director
Benny Johnson - Reporter At Large
10:21 AM 03/13/2018
Donald Trump has fired Rex Tillerson as Secretary of
State and said he would nominate CIA director Mike
Pompeo as his replacement. The new director of the
Central Intelligence Agency will be Gina Haspel, provided
that her nomination is confirmed by the Senate.
Here are some important footnotes about Haspel’s career:
 Haspel would be the first female CIA director in history.
The position, which dates back to 1946 when President
Truman established the CIA, has to this date been held
by 24 different men.
 Haspel has more than 30 years of history with the CIA.
She joined the agency in 1985 and has served the
majority of her career in clandestine operations.
 In 2002, Haspel ran a “black site” prison in Thailand,
which was part of a network of prisons established by
the agency, according to the Washington Post.
According to the Senate Intelligence Committee’s
torture report, Haspel oversaw “the waterboarding and
other harsh techniques” used to interrogate Abu
Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, suspected al
Qaeda terrorists.
 Haspel has been linked to the illegal destruction of
videotapes of these interrogations, but no prosecution
ever came of it.
.
258
 Haspel, currently acting deputy director of the CIA, has
previously served as deputy director of the National
Clandestine Service, deputy director of the National
Clandestine Service for Foreign Intelligence and Covert
Action, chief of staff for the director of the National
Clandestine Service.
 Haspel received numerous awards for her service.
According to the CIA, Haspel has received the “George
H. W. Bush Award for excellence in counterterrorism;
the Donovan Award; the Intelligence Medal of Merit;
and the Presidential Rank Award, the most prestigious
award in the federal civil service.”
Trump told reporters Tuesday morning that Haspel is
“an outstanding person who also I have
gotten to know very well.”
“So I’ve gotten to know a lot of people very
well over the last year and I’m really at a
point where we’re getting very close to
having the cabinet and other things that I
want,” Trump said.
Mike Rogers, former Chairman of the House Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence, said of Haspel in a
statement:
“I have had the privilege to work with Ms.
Haspel during challenging and intense
times for our nation’s security. She is an
exceptional leader, patriot and
consummate professional. She showed the
savvy and grit needed in difficult situations
that has garnered respect of colleagues
and adversaries alike. Her commitment to
the mission and rule of law are
unparalleled.”
 Obama's Lying Aide Ben Rhodes Attacks Trump For
Silence On Russia. But No One Was
More Silent Than Obama.
Byhank Berrien
March 13, 2018
On Tuesday, Ben Rhodes, former Deputy National
Security Advisor for Strategic Communications under
President Barack Obama, who infamously lied about the
Iran Nuclear Deal in order to manipulate the media into
supporting it, opened his yapping jaw again, this time to
attack President Trump for not speaking out about the
purported attempted assassination by Russia of a former
Russian spy and his daughter in London.
So just where does Rhodes get off, since his boss was
utterly silent about alleged assassinations executed by
Russia during his administration?
In July 2013, Akhmednabi Akhmednabiyev, deputy editor
of the Novoe Del,o was killed, after a previous
assassination attempt in January 2013. In August 2014:
journalist and human rights activist Timur Kuashev was
abducted from his home and later found dead in Nalchik,
Kabardino-Balkaria.
In 2016, The New York Times reported,
259
“A Dutch-led investigation has concluded
that the powerful surface-to-air missile
system used to shoot down a Malaysia
Airlines plane over Ukraine two years ago,
killing all 298 on board, was trucked in from
Russia at the request of Russian-backed
separatists and returned to Russia the
same night. The report largely confirmed
the Russian government’s already widely
documented role not only in the
deployment of the missile system — called
a Buk, or SA-11 — but also in the
subsequent cover-up, which continues to
this day.”
An American 19-year-old college student, Quinn Lucas
Schansman, was on board.
From Obama? Nada.
Not to mention Obama’s pusillanimous attitude toward
Russia in general; as Jonah Goldberg wrote in National
Review:
Barack Obama sold out our Eastern
European allies on missile defense. He
slow-walked aid to Ukraine and did little
more than shrug when Crimea was
annexed. He said “never mind” on his own
“red line” in Syria and turned a blind eye to
Putin’s intervention there, in large part
because of his obsessions with getting the
Iran deal. The Russian meddling in our
elections started on Obama’s watch — and
not just our elections but those of many of
our allies. When Mitt Romney famously
said Russia was our No. 1 geopolitical foe,
Obama mocked him for it as did countless
liberal journalists who are now converts to
anti-Russia hawkery.
But Rhodes cannot help himself; he cannot stop his jaw
from flapping wildly.
 Trump On Poisoning Of Spy —
‘It Sounds To Me Like It Would Be Russia’
Justin Caruso - Media Reporter
10:23 AM 03/13/2018
President Trump commented on the poisoning of an ex-
Russian spy in the U.K. Tuesday, saying that Russia could
be responsible.
“It sounds to me like they believe it was
Russia and I would certainly take that
finding as that,” Trump said at the White
House before departing for California
WATCH:
260
“Well, it sounds to me — I’m speaking to
Theresa May today — it sounds to me like
it would be Russia based on all of the
evidence they have. I don’t know if they’ve
come to a conclusion but she’s calling me
today.”
“Theresa May is going to be speaking to
me today, he continued. “It sounds to me
like they believe it was Russia, and I would
certainly take that finding as that.”
“As soon as we get the facts straight, and
we’re going to be speaking with the British
today, we’re speaking with Theresa May
today,” POTUS added. “As soon as we get
the facts straight, if we agree with them, we
will condemn Russia or whoever it may be,
but I have not spoken to her. I’ll speak to
her some time today.”
 Donald Trump Jr. Points Out The Obvious
— Democrats’ Obstruction Has Screwed Them For 2018
Nick Givas - Media And Politics Reporter
10:47 AM 03/13/2018

Democrats do it, oh it’s okay. It’s not a big

Donald Trump Jr. Points Out The Obvious -- Democrats'
Obstruction Has Screwed Them For 2018 -- 3-13-18
Donald Trump Jr. said Democrats are headed for collapse
in 2018 and have nothing substantial to run on in the
upcoming midterms, Tuesday on “Fox & Friends.”
deal it doesn’t matter. If a Republican does
it, I mean, can you imagine the outcry. The
outrage. They’d be on there going crazy.
Honestly as Republicans what we have to
do is we have to start fighting the game like
them.”
“I’m all for fair fights,” he concluded. “But
we sort of take this high ground while
they’re running all over us. While they are
lying and pushing it and leaking. We have
to start playing the game like they do. Until
they get back into normalcy, until they start
playing fairly.”

“[Democrats] have nothing else. In ’18 what WATCH:

are they going to run on? The economy?
What are they going to run on, jobs?
They’ve got nothing,” Trump Jr. said. “They
have obstructionism.”

Trump Jr. also expressed concerns over the double

standard applied to Democrats when they leak classified
information and said the GOP must start to fight fire with
fire.

“The real problem is the double

standard and how those things are
prosecuted,” Trump Jr. said. “If the
.

261
 ARREST THEM ALL=> Illegal Aliens To Hold Protest
March Against President Trump In San Diego Today
By Jim Hoft
March 13, 2018, 10:49 Am
Illegal aliens are holding a protest
march against the US president today in
San Diego.
These people sure have some nerve!
They obviously aren’t “hiding in the
shadows” as the liberal open borders
crowd suggest.
The Seed Project reported:
Undocumented immigrants and DACA recipients will be
hosting “UndocuYouth Resist Trump” rally on Tuesday,
March 13, 2018, in San Diego, organized by The Seed
.
262
Project. These empowered youth are resisting the building
of an unnecessary border wall which will push the
immigrant community further into the shadows.
“As a Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals (DACA) recipient,” Dulce Garcia, a
immigration attorney, wrote in a
commentary in today’s San Diego Union
Tribune. “I think his visit is an insult and is
hurtful. The president created a crisis by
rescinding the DACA program and is using
that crisis as an opportunity to negotiate
funding for his wall and to push his anti-
immigration agenda.”
WHEN: Tuesday, March 13, 2018 at 5:30 PM
WHERE: San Diego Waterfront Park – 1600 Pacific
Hwy, San Diego, CA 92101
WHO: Undocumented immigrants, DACA recipients from
the Seed Project, and their allies.
WHAT: Undocumented youth host rally and march
calling on the immigrant community to come out of the
shadows to put mass pressure on political leaders, to show
them the true courage it takes to stand up to the hateful and
racist anti-immigrant agenda coming from President
Trump.
 MSNBC’s Tur: Hillary ‘Has A Much
Deeper Relationship With Faith’ Than Trump
By Scott Whitlock
March 13, 2018 11:05 AM EDT
An angry Katy Tur on Monday hailed Hillary Clinton as
far more religious than Donald Trump. During a discussion
on evangelical voters with CBN’s David Brody, the
MSNBC host reacted to the idea that some Christians
prized Trump’s pro-life stance over other issues:
“But when you’re talking about people
of faith, Hillary Clinton has a much
deeper relationship with faith than
Donald Trump does.”
As the segment went on, the MTP Daily guest host became
increasingly unhinged, saying of Trump: “He is tearing
apart and just trashing the foundation of our democracy,
our First Amendment. Yeah, you are all for the Second
Amendment but he's trashing the First Amendment.”
Tearing apart and trashing democracy? It’s getting harder
and harder to tell MSNBC from Democratic National
Committee talking points. Tur continued:
Donald Trump who has three divorces, who
said vulgar things, who has had numerous
affairs and bragged about — has bragged
about grabbing women by the genitals,
bragged about it on tape and yet Hillary
Clinton is the more morally hard to swallow
candidate than Donald Trump.
As for Clinton and her morality, there’s the obvious issues
of her attacks and dismissal of all the women who accused
Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct. But beyond that, The
New York Times in December reported that actress Lena
Dunham warned Hillary Clinton about Hollywood mogul
Harvey Weinstein and the accusations of rape against him.
263
Clinton ignored this and maintained a relationship with the
Democratic funder.
Is that an example of a “deep relationship with faith”?
A partial transcript is below:
MTP Daily
3/12/18
5:14pm ET
[On Christians voting for Trump.]
DAVID BRODY: there is a moral, macro version argument to be
made when it comes to the morality. And what I mean is, whether
it be judges or the life issue, evangelicals are not going to get
behind a candidate like Hillary Clinton who supported partial birth
abortion. Donald Trump was the pro-life candidate. He's fulfilled
that in 2017. I know that shocks a lot of people but that is what
evangelicals are going to do. And so if you’re—
KATY TUR: But when you’re talking about people of faith, Hillary
Clinton has a much deeper relationship with faith than Donald
Trump does. I mean, I don’t understand the —
BRODY: Well I think that is in the eye of the beholder.
TUR: “I can’t vote for Hillary because of her support on abortion,
but I can vote for Donald Trump who has three divorces, who
said vulgar things, who has had numerous affairs and bragged
about — has bragged about grabbing women by the genitals,
bragged about it on tape and yet Hillary Clinton is the more
morally hard to swallow candidate than Donald Trump.
BRODY: Well, I don't think you want to make the moral argument
for Hillary Clinton. And I don't think we want to make any sort of
moral argument either way here. The point is, the way — I'm
trying to explain how evangelicals see it. They see it as Donald
Trump is a sinner and Hillary Clinton is a sinner and you’re a
sinner and I'm a sinner. So, the point is, if man, woman, if we are
flawed as humans what is left. At that point you have to go with
the macro and that is the way they defend — defend it on moral
terms.
...
5:17
TUR: Let’s s roll it back here for a second. This is not just an
issue of what Donald Trump says and the names he calls people
or the positions he ends up taking. He praised dictators on
Saturday. He praised Kim Jong-un. He praised President XI for
his president for life position at the same time, he’s going after
the free press. He is — he is tearing apart and just trashing the
foundation of our democracy, our First Amendment. Yeah, you
are all for the Second Amendment but trashing the First
Amendment while at the same time — hold on, Davis. I'm asking
.
264
Beth. At the same time going up and praising this man, Kim
Jong-un, who recently sent back an American who was brain
dead and died days later who — whose parents are publicly
grieving. Make sense of that for me.
BETH FOUHY (NBC News senior politics editor): Well, I think it’s
consistant with the fact that Trump wants to be completely in
charge as president.
 “You’d Go To Jail For Contempt”: Sara Carter Reveals
FBI Refuses Order To Produce McCabe Communications
By Joshua Caplan
March 13, 2018, 11:16 Am
Fox News contributor Sara A. Carter
reports that the FBI refuses to produce
outgoing FBI Deputy Director Andrew
McCabe’s communications in response
to “a government watchdog group that
has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a former
senior FBI special agent.”
Carter reports:
The communications in question are
related to McCabe’s wife’s unsuccessful
run for Virginia State senate and might also
contain invaluable information on
McCabe’s role in the Bureau’s investigation
into Hillary Clinton’s private email server
used to send classified information, several
former FBI sources and a government
official told this reporter.
In January, Judicial Watch, a formidable conservative
watchdog group based in Washington D.C., filed a lawsuit
against the FBI for the communications on behalf of
retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jeff Danik. Danik
spent more than 28 years with the bureau as a supervisor in
the counter-terrorism division and special overseas
advisor. Danik filed his original Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) request in October 2016 for McCabe’s
communications.
“They have not produced not one text of
McCabe, not one,” said Danik, referencing
the bureau. “The government is out of
control and it’s astonishing. Do you know
what would happen if the government
265
subpoenaed you for information and you
didn’t produce records that you had in your
possession? You’d go to jail for contempt.”
Carter recently told Fox News host Sean Hannity that
Justice Department Inspector General, Michael Horowitz,
is investigating whether or not McCabe asked
bureau agents to “change their 302s.”
A day after the New York Times reported FBI Director
Christopher Wray confronted McCabe over unspecified
findings in DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s
report, the Washington Post reveals the embattled bureau
official is being probed over his role in examining emails
found on former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s laptop.
That’s not all.
Former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino has hinted to his
nearly 320,000-strong Twitter followers that the next
bombshell to drop could involve McCabe’s mishandling of
classified information.
“Here’s the next shoe to drop -> was Andy
McCabe using secure comms to
send/receive classified information?
Someone should check on that,”
tweeted Bongino.
McCabe stepped down January 29th, as first
reported by NBC News.
McCabe, who served a brief stint as acting director of the
bureau, was already expected to leave. He will stay on
“terminal leave” until he is eligible to retire with benefits
in March,” reports CNBC.
 Devin Nunes Absolves Trump And Nukes Hillary For
Colluding With Russia [VIDEO]
Nick Givas - Media And Politics Reporter
11:19 AM 03/13/2018

“[Trump] has been under attack for a very

Devin Nunes Absolves Trump And Nukes Hillary For Colluding
With Russia - 3-13-18
Republican Chairman of the House Intelligence
Committee Devin Nunes said there is no evidence of
collusion between President Donald Trump and the
Russian government, but claims to have found connections
between Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and
Russian actors.
“We interviewed many dozens of
witnesses. Many people right around the
president, almost nearly everybody who
was involved in the campaign, all of them
have testified under oath that they had no
contacts with the Russians,” Nunes said
Tuesday on “Fox & Friends.” “But on the
other hand, we did find clear links between
the Russians and the Hillary Clinton
campaign, which nobody seems to care
about.”
long time saying that he colluded with
Russians. He’s been adamant that he
didn’t collude with Russians. We looked at
it. We looked at it thoroughly. We
interviewed nearly everybody involved in
the campaign and we didn’t find any
collusion with the Russians,” Nunes
concluded. “So if you go back to the last
administration, their inability to actually do
anything against the Russians — it wasn’t
just in 2016. It goes all the way back to
2009 and 10 when Hillary Clinton hit reset
button with Russia. So, really Trump’s
position in the campaign was really no
different than what the Obama
administration’s position was going into the
campaign.”
WATCH:

Nunes said Russia’s involvement in American political

affairs pre-dates Trump and was revitalized back in 2009-
2010 when Clinton “hit the rest button.” Nunes also
blamed the Obama administration for failing to address the
Russian threat when they had the chance.

266
 FLASH=> Under Secretary Of State FIRED After
Contradicting Account Of Tillerson’s Dismissal
By Joshua Caplan
March 13, 2018, 11:23 Am

The White House has fired Steve

Goldstein, the Under Secretary of
State for Public Diplomacy and Public
Affairs, after contradicting the account
of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s
dismissal.

“Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will

become our new Secretary of State. He will
do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex
Tillerson for his service! Gina Haspel will
become the new Director of the CIA, and
the first woman so chosen. Congratulations
to all!” Trump tweeted.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced he was

replacing Rex Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo
as Secretary of State. In addition, the President
revealed Gina Haspel has been selected to replace Pompeo
at the CIA. As The Gateway Pundit reported, there have
been rumblings Tillerson was on the way out for several
months now.

267
 Rex Tillerson Out At Foggy Bottom,
Mike Pompeo In As Secretary Of State Nominee
Trump Tells Chief U.S. Diplomat That It's Time To Go After Months Of
Rumors And Behind-The-Scenes Policy And Personality Clashes,
Names CIA Director As Replacement
By Kathryn Blackhurst
Updated 13 Mar 2018 At 11:42 AM
President Donald Trump abruptly announced via Twitter
early Tuesday that he is replacing Secretary of State Rex
Tillerson and will nominate CIA Director and former
Kansas Republican Rep. Mike Pompeo to take his place.
“Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will
become our new Secretary of State,”
Trump tweeted. “He will do a fantastic job!
Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service!
Gina Haspel will become the new Director
of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen.
Congratulations to all!”
The president also made a little history Tuesday by
announcing that Pompeo will be succeeded at CIA by Gina
Haspel, a career civil service employee who is presently
deputy director of the spy agency. Haspel is the first
woman ever to be named to the post.
Her appointment came only hours after 2016 Democratic
presidential nominee Hillary Clinton told an audience in
India that Trump wants to take the country "backwards"
and fears gains in recent years by women in the workforce.
268
While speaking with reporters before boarding Air Force
One to fly to California for an inspection of prototypes of
the border wall he wants to build, Trump said he chose
Pompeo to replace Tillerson because
"I respect his intellect" and "we have a very
good relationship" and had "chemistry"
right "from day one."
"I've worked with Mike Pompeo now for
quite some time. Tremendous energy,
tremendous intellect. We're always on the
same wavelength," Trump said. "The
relationship has been very good and that's
what I need as secretary of state."
Tillerson had been traveling in Africa until the president
cut short his trip and called him back to the U.S. Tillerson
apparently didn't speak with Trump about his decision,
according to a Tuesday statement from Steve Goldstein,
the undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public
affairs.
"The secretary had every intention of
staying, because of critical progress made
in national security," Goldstein said. "The
secretary did not speak to the president
and is unaware of the reason."
Goldstein added that Tillerson "is grateful
for the opportunity to serve and believes
public service is a noble calling. He wishes
Secretary-designate Pompeo well."
Trump admitted that he "really didn't discuss it very much"
with Tillerson, noting that he "made that decision by
myself." The president said he felt Tillerson had "a
different mindset" and a "different thinking" that was at
odds with Trump's vision for his administration.
disparaged him as a "moron" during a July 2017 meeting at
the Pentagon. Reports circulated in December that Trump
was considering replacing Tillerson with Pompeo.
Trump pushed back on the rumors in December, tweeting,

Trump told reporters that he wishes Tillerson "a lot of
good things" and believes the outgoing secretary of state
"will be much happier now" that he's out of the Trump
administration.
"But I really appreciate his service," Trump
said.
"The media has been speculating that I
fired Rex Tillerson or that he would be
leaving soon - FAKE NEWS! He's not
leaving and while we disagree on certain
subjects, (I call the final shots) we work
well together and America is highly
respected again!"

Trump also noted that Haspel, the current CIA deputy

director, would be the first woman director of the agency,
should the Senate confirm her nomination.

"[Haspel] is an outstanding person who

also I have gotten to know very well. So
I've gotten to know a lot of people very well
over the last year, and I'm really at a point
where we're getting very close to having
the Cabinet and other things that I want,"
Trump said. "But I think Mike Pompeo will
be a truly great secretary of state. I have
total confidence in him."
The state department turnover is occurring
at a crucial time, as Trump is preparing to
Trump and Tillerson have had a tumultuous relationship meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-
that fueled rumors of an impending ouster or resignation un to discuss the cessation of nuclear and
for months. The president reportedly was furious when missile tests, along with the ultimate
NBC News reported in October that Tillerson had denuclearization of the peninsula.
.

269
 Joy Behar Finally Publicly Apologizes
For Anti-Christian Comments On 'The View'
By NB Staff
March 13, 2018 11:48 AM EDT

From there, Whoopi quickly moved on and directed the

conversation to the political “hot topics.”

After intense public pressure to apologize for her anti-

Christian comments made about Vice President Mike
Pence on ABC’s The View, host Joy Behar has finally
publicly and privately apologized for saying them.
To open today’s March 13 View, Behar responded to the
Vice President’s call March 12 for her to make a public
apology, after accusing Pence exactly one month ago of
having a “mental illness” because he “heard voices” by
talking to God.
On Sean Hannity’s show last night, Pence told the FNC
host that he had forgiven Behar, acknowledging that she
had called him to privately apologize previously, but he
still was “encouraging” her to make a public apology to
the millions of Christians she offended with her comments:
She was very sincere. And she apologized. And one of the
things my faith teaches me is grace. Forgive as you have
been forgiven...But I did encourage her and I am still
encouraging her to use the forum of that program or some
other public forum to apologize to tens of millions of
Americans who were equally offended by what she and
people said.
After Behar’s controversial comments, the Media Research
Center launched a campaign against The View, pressuring
its advertisers to pull support for the show until a formal
apology was made for the crass, bigoted comments made
on February 13.
Almost 40,000 calls were made to ABC from the MRC’s
grassroots army, which resulted in intense media scrutiny
of the network and has prompted both a private and public
apology from the show host.
Behar’s private apology occurred after the National
Center’s Justin Danhof showed up at a Disney shareholder
meeting on Thursday and demanded of Disney CEO Bob
Iger:
“Specifically, do you think, like Ms. Hostin
and Ms. Behar, that having a Christian faith
is akin to a dangerous mental illness?”

After playing the FNC clip on The View today, Whoopi
prompted Behar to respond, which she did willingly.
“Yeah. So I think Vice President Pence
is right... I was raised to respect
everyone's religious faith. I fell short of
that. I sincerely apologize for what I
said,” the View host said somberly, to
audience applause.
Iger responded: “Joy Behar apologized to Vice President
Pence directly. She made a call to him and apologized,
which I thought was absolutely appropriate.” For more on
the National Center’s efforts, go here.
Read the full exchange below:
The View
3/13/18

270
11:01:49-11:03:11am
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: So last night, the Vice President was on
Sean Hannity talking about the recent conversation he had with
Joy Behar. Take a look.
MIKE PENCE: You and I know that criticism comes with public
life. But I felt it was important that I defend the faith of tens of
millions of Americans against that kind of slander. And, I did so.
And, you know, I give Joy Behar a lot of credit. She picked up the
phone. She called me. She was very sincere. And she
apologized. One of the things my faith teaches me is grace.
Forgive as you have been forgiven.
SEAN HANNITY: So does mine. But I'm not as good at it as you.
.
271
PENCE: I said to Joy, of course, I forgive you. That’s a part of my
faith experience. I did encourage her. And I'm still encouraging
her to use the forum of that program or some other public forum
to apologize to tens of millions of Americans who were equally
offended.
WHOOPI: So --
BEHAR: Yeah. So I think Vice President Pence is right. Um --
I was raised to respect everyone's religious faith. I fell short
of that. I sincerely apologize for what I said.
WHOOPI: Okay. [ Applause ] So -- let's get to "Hot topics."
 Book Provides New Details
About Major Steele Dossier Source
Chuck Ross - Reporter
12:11 PM 03/13/2018

According to Isikoff and Corn, former British spy

Christopher Steele revealed to Simpson that Millian was
“Source D” for the dossier, which was funded by former
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the
Democratic National Committee.

“Simpson would later learn from Steele the

The founder of the opposition research firm behind the Steele
dossier tipped a major news network off to Sergei Millian. (YouTube
screen capture/ABC News)
 The opposition research firm behind the Steele
dossier tipped a major news network off to Sergei
Millian
 Former British spy Christopher Steele revealed that
Millian was “Source D” for the dossier
 “It’s all garbage news,” Millian said
During the 2016 presidential campaign, the founder of the
opposition research firm behind the Steele dossier tipped a
major news network off to Sergei Millian, a Belarus-born
businessman who has been identified as a source for the
salacious claims made in the dossier.
identity of Source D, the main source for
the ‘golden showers’ allegation: It was
Sergei Millian,” the book reads.
“Source D” is described in a June 20, 2016,
memo written by Steele as “a close
associate of TRUMP who had organized
and managed his recent trips to Moscow.”
The dossier claims that the source — now known as
Millian — confirmed that the Kremlin had been feeding
the Trump team intelligence on Clinton. (RELATED:
Alleged Trump Dossier Source Has Overstated His
Business Connections)

Glenn Simpson, the founder of Fusion GPS, provided the

tip to ABC News despite having doubts about the veracity
of Millian’s claims about President Donald Trump.

That’s according to “Russian Roullette: The Inside Story

of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald
Trump,” a book written by Michael Isikoff and David
Corn that hit shelves on Tuesday.
The two veteran journalists report that Simpson told ABC
News about Millian, the chairman of the Russian-
American Chamber of Commerce, during the heart of the
2016 campaign.
Also WATCH: Dossier “coincidences” continue piling
up
ABC News reporter Brian Ross dutifully followed up on
the lead, grilling Millian during the 2016 campaign about
supposed contacts with Trump as well as to the Kremlin.
(RELATED: Christopher Steele Is Unsure About
‘Golden Showers’ Tape)
The information had been “very helpful” to the
campaign, Millian said.
He also provided shocking allegations about Trump’s
activities in Moscow during a November 2013 trip to the
Miss Universe pageant. Source D, aka Millian, was present
in Moscow where Trump engaged in “perverted” conduct,
according to the dossier. This conduct allegedly included
employing prostitutes to perform a “golden showers” show
in front of him in his hotel room.
Trump wanted to defile the room because it was where
former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle had
stayed years before, according to the dossier.

272
Isikoff and Corn report that Millian was not aware his
comments were being used to spy on Trump. “Like all of
those who had spoken to Steele’s collector, Millian was an
unwitting source; he had no idea his conversation with the
collector would be passed along to Trump’s political foes,”
they wrote. (RELATED: The Source Of The Salacious
Claims In The Dossier Has Been Identified)
Reached by The Daily Caller News Foundation, Millian
disputed Steele’s claims and the new book.
“It’s all garbage news,” he told TheDCNF.
“Never happened,” he added, saying that
he “was not in Moscow on that night.”
Millian’s involvement in the dossier was of apparent
concern to Simpson, according to “Russian Roulette.”
“The memo had described Millian as a
Trump intimate, but there was no public
evidence he was close to the mogul at that
time or was in Moscow during the Miss
Universe event,” the book reads. “Had
Millian made something up or repeated
rumors he had heard from others to
impress Steele’s collector? Simpson had
his doubts. He considered Millian a big
talker.”
Those doubts did not stop Simpson from telling ABC
News about Millian, whose real name is Siarhei Kukuts.
“For Simpson, Millian was now an
investigative target. He tipped off ABC
News, which conducted an on-air interview
with Millian,” the book reads. It is unclear
whether Simpson told ABC that Millian was
a source for the dossier.
Ross, the investigative reporter at ABC, conducted the
interview with Millian in July 2016. The interview largely
flew under the radar, though it was cited in a few articles
published before the election about Trump’s supposed ties
to mysterious Russians. Though Millian is not Russian, he
runs a trade group that caters to Russian businesses.
He was one of “very few people who have
insider knowledge of Kremlin politics…who
has been able to successfully integrate in
American society,” Millian claimed.
Millian met Trump in Florida in 2008 and was an official
broker for Trump Hollywood, he said. Trump has done
“hundreds of millions of dollars” of business with
Russians, he also claimed.
273
“Trump team, they realized that we have a
lot of connections with Russian investors.
And they noticed we bring a lot of investors
from Russia,” Millian said.
Asked why Trump likes Russia, Millian responded with an
answer that slightly mirrors the allegations int he dossier.
“He likes Russia because he likes beautiful
Russian ladies,” Millian said in the awkward
interview with Ross. “He likes talking to
them, of course. And he likes to be able to
make lot of money with Russians, yes,
correct.”
Ross then quizzed Millian about any links he had to the
Kremlin or to Russian spy services.
“Are you involved in any way with Russian
intelligence agencies?” Ross asked.
“Absolutely, no,” said Millian.
Unknown at the time was Millian’s friendship with Trump
campaign adviser George Papadopoulos.
Papadopoulos has since pleaded guilty for lying to the FBI
about contacts with Russian nationals. He was also told by
a Russian-linked professor about emails that had been
stolen from Democrats. (RELATED: George
Papadopoulos’ Fascinating Link To The Dossier)
In his ABC interview, Millian denied sharing information
with Russian government officials but acknowledged
having friends in the Kremlin and discussing American
politics with them.
“Usually if I meet top people in the Russian
government, they invite me to the Kremlin
for the reception, so of course I have a
chance to talk to some presidential
advisers and some of the top people,” said
Millian.
The ABC News interview with Millian resurfaced shortly
after Trump’s inauguration when the network — along
with The Wall Street Journal — broke the story that
Millian was “Source D” for the dossier. (RELATED:
Congressional Investigators Struggling To Find Alleged
Dossier Source)
Simpson was tight-lipped about Millian during his
testimony in November before the House Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence.
Asked by California Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat,
whether Millian was a source, Simpson said: “I’m not in a
position to get into the identity of the sources for the Congressional committees investing Russian interference
dossier for security reasons, primarily.” have tried but failed to contact Millian for interviews.

Simpson also described research that Fusion GPS had done Simpson, Steele and Steele’s business partner, Christopher
on Millian, though without noting he had provided some of Burrows, have all expressed reservations about the “golden
the information to the media. showers” incident, according to Isikoff and Corn.

Millian has kept a low profile since the release of the Steele has lowered his degree of certainty that the incident
dossier, issuing vague denials about being a source for the happened. “It’s fifty-fifty,” he has told associates.
dirty document.

274
 NBC Touts ‘Outraged Democrats’ Blasting House GOP’s
‘Purely Political’ Russia Finding
By Kyle Drennen
March 13, 2018 12:50 PM EDT
After initially ignoring the finding Monday evening, on
Tuesday morning, NBC’s Today show touted Democrats
trashing Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee
for the “controversial conclusion” that there was no
collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign during
the 2016 presidential race.
“Controversial conclusion. House
Republicans end their Russia
investigation, saying they found no
evidence of collusion with the Trump
campaign....Democrats outraged,”
proclaimed co-host Hoda Kotb at the top of
the broadcast. Minutes later, fellow co-host
Savannah Guthrie piled on: “...a
controversial new development in the
Russia investigation. Overnight, House
Republicans said they have found no
evidence of collusion between the Trump
campaign and Russia to sway the 2016
election, but that does not mean that the
President is in the clear just yet.”
White House Correspondent Kristen Welker bemoaned:
“The House Intelligence Committee’s
investigation into Russian meddling has
been racked by political infighting since
the very beginning. And now, the
Republicans’ move to abruptly end their
investigation is only escalating tensions
this morning.”
With the headline on screen blaring that
275
“Dems Blast Report Claiming No
Evidence of Collusion,”
Welker teed up the congressional committee’s ranking
Democratic member to slam the finding:
“Democrats blasting the move as purely
political.”
A soundbite followed of California Congressman Adam
Schiff ranting to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow:
“Essentially it’s the Intelligence Committee
majority saying we’d just rather not know if
it’s going to be bad news. And that is, I
think, a betrayal of the promise that was
made that we would follow facts wherever
they lead.”
Revisiting the story with another report early in the 8:00
a.m. ET hour, Welker worried:
“In a highly controversial move, the
House Intelligence Committee did
shutdown it’s investigation, saying it
found no evidence of Russian collusion
with the Trump campaign.” She again
highlighted that “Democrats blasted the
move as purely political” and promoted
Schiff “calling it ‘a grave disservice to
the country,’ accusing Republicans of
being more interested in protecting the
President than protecting the country.”
ABC’s Good Morning America provided nearly identical
biased coverage, labeling the House GOP conclusion to be
“highly partisan” and reciting Democratic talking points
that “this is all a move to protect the President.”
If any news upsets the liberal media narrative of Donald
Trump colluding with Russia to steal the 2016 election,
journalists will do everything they can to discredit the idea.
They simply can’t allow for the possibility that Democrats
are the ones being “purely political.”
Here is a full transcript of Welker’s initial March 13
report:
7:09 AM ET
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Also this busy Tuesday morning, a
controversial new development in the Russia investigation.
Overnight, House Republicans said they have found no evidence
of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to sway
the 2016 election, but that does not mean that the President is in
the clear just yet. We’ve got two reports this morning. We’ll start
with NBC’s White House Correspondent Kristen Welker. Kristen,
good morning.
KRISTEN: Hi, Savannah, good morning to you. The House
Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russian meddling has
been racked by political infighting since the very beginning. And
now, the Republicans’ move to abruptly end their investigation is
only escalating tensions this morning.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: House GOP Ends Russia
Investigation; Dems Blast Report Claiming No Evidence of
Collusion]
The Republican-lead House Intelligence Committee closing down
it’s Russia investigation, saying it found no evidence of Russian
collusion with the Trump campaign, breaking with the intelligence
community, determining Russia wasn’t trying to help candidate
Trump. Texas Congressman Mike Conaway announcing Monday
that the committee has finished interviewing witnesses and will
share the report with Democrats for the first time today.
REP. MIKE CONAWAY [R-TX]: Yes, the Russians tried to
interfere with our election process. Yes, they had cyberattacks,
.
276
active measures going on. We could find no evidence of collusion
between either campaign and the Russians.
WELKER: The President tweeting his reaction to the report hours
later, writing, notably in all caps, “THE HOUSE INTELLIGENCE
COMMITTEE HAS, AFTER A 14 MONTH LONG IN-DEPTH
INVESTIGATION, FOUND NO EVIDENCE OF COLLUSION OR
COORDINATION BETWEEN THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN AND
RUSSIA TO INFLUENCE THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION.”
WELKER: Democrats blasting the move as purely political.
REP. ADAM SCHIFF [D-CA]: Essentially it’s the Intelligence
Committee majority saying we’d just rather not know if it’s going
to be bad news. And that is, I think, a betrayal of the promise that
was made that we would follow facts wherever they lead.
WELKER: And while House Republicans say there’s no evidence
of any Russia-Trump collusion, Deputy Attorney General Rod
Rosenstein is doubling down on his support of Special Counsel
Robert Mueller, telling USA Today, “The special counsel is not an
unguided missile.” Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller last May
to oversee the investigation, now speaking out after reports that
President Trump wanted to fire Mueller last summer, adding, “I
don’t believe there is any justification at this point for terminating
the special counsel.”
The Director of National Intelligence saying overnight the
intelligence community stands by it’s assessment that Russia
meddled in the 2016 election for the purpose of helping
candidate Trump.
Now, as for President Trump, he will make his first trip to
California today as president. He is going to see firsthand
examples of his border wall and then he’s going to address
troops here in San Diego. Savannah, Hoda?
GUTHRIE: Kristen Welker, traveling with the President, thank
you.
 REVEALED: Obama Campaign
Hired Fusion GPS To Investigate Romney
Chuck Ross - Reporter
1:04 PM 03/13/2018
 A new book claims former President Barack Obama
hired Fusion GPS to dig up dirt on Romney
 Obama used law firm Perkins Coie to hide payment
to Fusion GPS
 The Clinton campaign would later do the same
thing to investigate Trump
The Barack Obama presidential campaign hired Fusion
GPS in 2012 to dig up dirt on Republican presidential
candidate Mitt Romney, according to a book released on
Tuesday.
The Obama campaign hid its payments to Fusion GPS
through its law firm, Perkins Coie. The arrangement is
similar to the one that the Clinton campaign and
Democratic National Committee used to pay Fusion for its
investigation of then-aDonald Trump in 2016.
Dossier ‘coincidences’ pile up
That contract led to the creation of the infamous Steele
dossier, which was written by former British spy
Christopher Steele.
“In 2012, Fusion GPS was hired to do
opposition research on Mitt Romney for
Barack Obama’s reelection campaign,”
.
277
reads “Russian Roulette: The Inside
Story of Putin’s War on America and
Donald Trump’s Election.”
The book is written by Michael Isikoff and David Corn,
two veteran reporters who met during the 2016 campaign
with Steele and Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson.
(RELATED: New Book Raises Questions About Steele
Dossier Source)
“As had become standard practice in the
shadowy world of ‘oppo’ research, the
Obama campaign’s payments to Fusion
GPS were never publicly disclosed; the
money paid to the investigative firm was
reported on campaign disclosure reports as
legal bills to the campaign’s law firm,
Perkins Coie,” the book reads.
The Obama for America committee paid Perkins Coie
around $3 million during the 2012 election cycle,
according to filings with the Federal Election Commission,
A vast majority of the payments were earmarked for
“Legal Services.”
It is not clear how the law firm paid Fusion GPS for its
research on Romney, a former Massachusetts governor.
Perkins Coie received more than $12 million from the
Clinton campaign and DNC during the 2016 election
cycle. Fusion GPS was paid just over $1 million for its
research on Trump. The oppo firm paid Steele just under
$178,000 for his work on the dossier.
 Sooooo Sincere… Christian-Basher Joy Behar Apologizes
For Horrid Anti-Christian Remarks (VIDEO)
By Jim Hoft
March 13, 2018, 1:45 Pm

“The View’s” Joy Behar faced mounting

criticism after she lashed out at devout
Christian Mike Pence last month.

Joy Behar, the ladies of The View and Democrat leaders

believe faith in Christ is a “mental illness.”

** Joy Behar has a long history of

attacking Christians, Catholic Saints She’s trashed Christians her entire
and Christianity. career and now we’re supposed to
believe this?
On Tuesday Joy Behar apologized to Christians for her
awful attacks.

278
 Schumer: Trump ‘Made The Right
Decision’ Blocking Tech Hostile Takeover [VIDEO]
Thomas Phippen - Reporter
1:45 PM 03/13/2018
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York
applauded President Donald Trump Tuesday after the
commander in chief blocked a foreign company’s takeover
of U.S. chip maker Qualcomm.
“Let me say unequivocally, President
Trump and his administration made the
right decision on blocking Broadcom from
taking over Qualcomm,” Schumer said in a
Senate floor speech Tuesday.
The two politicians disagree about nearly every issue from
immigration and tax reform to gun rights and
infrastructure. But Schumer recognized the merger would
represent a threat to U.S. technological dominance and
praised Trump’s reasons for blocking
it. (RELATED: Trump Spikes Massive Foreign
Takeover Of Tech Firm)
“We all know that China has been
rapacious about trade and very smart.
They look for places where they can steal
our best technology,” Schumer added.
Trump ordered Broadcom and Qualcomm on Monday to
suspend all activities related to the takeover after a
government investigation determined the merger would
impair national security.
The union would have been one of the largest tech mergers
in history valued at $117 billion and a rare case of a
foreign company’s hostile takeover of a U.S. firm, raising
concerns about precedent for overseas companies
attempting to seize control of domestic companies.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.
(CFIUS) — a secretive body comprised of several cabinet
279
members and the secretary of the treasury as its chairman
— investigated Broadcom’s plan to takeover Qualcomm’s
board through stock purchases and proxy votes in early
2018.
The Treasury Department had both classified and
unclassified reasons the merger should be investigated, the
department said. Qualcomm is the largest maker of critical
semiconductors that power electronic devices from servers
to mobile phones and is a global leader in developing 5G
networks. It also has classified contracts with the
Department of Defense and other agencies, according to
the Treasury Department.
“Qualcomm has become well-known to,
and trusted by, the U.S. government,” the
Treasury Department said in a March 6
letter. “Having a well-known and trusted
company hold the dominant role that
Qualcomm does in the U.S.
telecommunications infrastructure provides
significant confidence in the integrity of
such infrastructure as it relates to national
security.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York
applauded President Donald Trump Tuesday after the
commander in chief blocked a foreign company’s takeover
of U.S. chip maker Qualcomm.
“Let me say unequivocally, President
Trump and his administration made the
right decision on blocking Broadcom from
taking over Qualcomm,” Schumer said in a
Senate floor speech Tuesday.
The two politicians disagree about nearly every issue from
immigration and tax reform to gun rights and
infrastructure. But Schumer recognized the merger would
represent a threat to U.S. technological dominance and
praised Trump’s reasons for blocking
it. (RELATED: Trump Spikes Massive Foreign
Takeover Of Tech Firm)
“We all know that China has been
rapacious about trade and very smart.
They look for places where they can steal
our best technology,” Schumer added.
Trump ordered Broadcom and Qualcomm on Monday to
suspend all activities related to the takeover after a
government investigation determined the merger would
impair national security.
The union would have been one of the largest tech mergers
in history valued at $117 billion and a rare case of a
foreign company’s hostile takeover of a U.S. firm, raising
concerns about precedent for overseas companies
attempting to seize control of domestic companies.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.
(CFIUS) — a secretive body comprised of several cabinet
.
280
members and the secretary of the treasury as its chairman
— investigated Broadcom’s plan to takeover Qualcomm’s
board through stock purchases and proxy votes in early
2018.
The Treasury Department had both classified and
unclassified reasons the merger should be investigated, the
department said. Qualcomm is the largest maker of critical
semiconductors that power electronic devices from servers
to mobile phones and is a global leader in developing 5G
networks. It also has classified contracts with the
Department of Defense and other agencies, according to
the Treasury Department.
“Qualcomm has become well-known to,
and trusted by, the U.S. government,” the
Treasury Department said in a March 6
letter. “Having a well-known and trusted
company hold the dominant role that
Qualcomm does in the U.S.
telecommunications infrastructure provides
significant confidence in the integrity of
such infrastructure as it relates to national
security.”
 Report: FBI Refusing To Produce McCabe
Communications Despite COURT Order
Posted On March 13, 2018
(National Sentinel) Contempt: The FBI has so far refused
to turn over communications involving the bureau’s
outgoing deputy director, Andrew McCabe, despite being
ordered to do so by a federal court, investigative journalist
Sara A. Carter reports.
She noted on her website:
For more than two months, the FBI has
failed to abide by a judge’s order to turn
over all of … McCabe’s text messages,
emails and SMS phone messages to a
government watchdog group that has filed
a lawsuit on behalf of a former senior FBI
special agent
The communications in question are
related to McCabe’s wife’s unsuccessful
run for Virginia State senate and might also
contain invaluable information on
McCabe’s role in the Bureau’s investigation
into Hillary Clinton’s private email server
used to send classified information, several
former FBI sources and a government
official told this reporter.
In January, Judicial Watch, a formidable
conservative watchdog group based in
Washington D.C., filed a lawsuit against the
FBI for the communications on behalf of
retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jeff
Danik. Danik spent more than 28 years
with the bureau as a supervisor in the
counter-terrorism division and special
overseas advisor.
Danik filed his original Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) request for McCabe’s communication a month
before the November 2016 elections. Afterward, the FBI
responded on Nov. 8 and 9, 2016, denying his request,
Carter noted.
The former supervisory agent appealed the refusal to the
Justice Department, she noted. In June 2017, the DoJ
instructed the FBI to search for and hand over any relevant
documents. However, the bureau continued to stonewall
the request and in January Danik filed a joint lawsuit with
Judicial Watch for the information.
281
“They have not produced not one text of
McCabe, not one,” said Danik, referencing
the bureau, Carter reported.
“The government is out of control and it’s
astonishing. Do you know what would
happen if the government subpoenaed you
for information and you didn’t produce
records that you had in your possession?
You’d go to jail for contempt,” he added,
according to Carter.
She noted further that DoJ Inspector General Michael
Horowitz, who is investigating the bureau’s and the Justice
Department’s Hillary Clinton email probe, is expected to
release his report by the end of this month or early April.
His report could reignite the Clinton case and lead to
further revelations regarding the scandalous nature in
which the probe was allegedly conducted.
Carter reported that several government sources and a
former senior law enforcement source said they expect
Horowitz to criticize McCabe for giving the go-ahead for a
leak to The Wall Street Journal in October 2016 but also
because he may have intervened to shut down part of the
Clinton email probe.
“McCabe had the authority to shut down
investigations but if it’s discovered that he
stopped an investigation for political
reasons based on his own bias that will be
a significant problem for him,” a former
senior government official, with knowledge
of the investigation, told the reporter.
“The FBI has been playing games with text
messages for some time,” said Judicial
Watch president Tom Fitton, according to
Carter. “The arrogance in refusing to
provide any text messages of Mr. McCabe
shows a contempt for transparency and the
rule of law.”
Danik said the bureau’s refusal to turn over the court-
ordered information is likely because of what they will
reveal.
 “If I was allowed to conduct the
investigation into who knew what, when
regarding the Hillary Clinton email server, I
could put that timeline together very
quickly,” Danik told Carter in an earlier
interview.
“There’s a huge electronic footprint
now…in the FBI between text and email
and instant messaging. The way that the
documents are prepared in the official
system. This is a large footprint that is left
.
on an investigation and it can be quickly
retrieved,” he continued.
“You can tell very quickly the efficiency, the
speed at which investigation was taken or
not undertaken. I don’t know if they don’t
want those records out because it pulls
back the curtain and lets you see the
framework of these investigations or maybe
they are afraid of what it actually says and
who it reflects on.”

282
 NBC Star Lester Holt Sees Ratings Plummet Amid Fallout
From North Korea Trip, Anti-Trump Attitude
By Brian Flood | Fox News
March 13, 2018

NBC’s demo loss is the latest setback for powerful NBC

News boss Andy Lack, whose reign has been plagued with
controversy in recent months.

The NBC insider told Fox News that NBC News

executives are scrambling to address the collapse of
“Nightly News” and are even debating whether to beg
NBCUniversal boss Steve Burke to restore disgraced host
Brian Williams to the throne. Williams was fired from
“Nightly News” in 2015 for embellishing stories about his
war heroics. He has since been anchoring a late-night
broadcast on sister network MSNBC.

NBC’s “Nightly News” also failed to show growth among

NBC’s “Nightly News with Lester Holt” has fallen
total viewers last week and fell 4 percent in the demo
behind ABC’s “World News Tonight” in the ratings
compared to the same week last year, while “World News
department. (NBC)
Tonight” grew its audience by 9 percent in viewers and 11
percent in the demo, according to TVNewser.
In a major embarrassment for NBC anchor Lester Holt,
ABC's “World News Tonight” soundly defeated Holt’s
The loss deepens the embarrassment stemming from the
“Nightly News” in the ratings last week, scoring victories
recent “Nightly News” historic loss to ABC among total
in both the desirable demographic of adults age 25-54 and
viewers during an Olympics week -- the first such loss in
in total viewers.
more than 25 years. NBC’s loss was unprecedented as the
network paid nearly a billion dollars for U.S. broadcast
NBC “Nightly News” has been the perennial ratings rights to the 2018 Winter Games and typically sees a huge
champ over the last two decades, but that lead is now ratings bump for all its programs during the Olympics.
gravely endangered following Holt’s disastrous trip to
North Korea -- where he appeared to have been duped by
regime propagandists -- and also following his
controversial moderation of a presidential debate in the fall
of 2016 where some critics said he behaved in an
antagonistic fashion toward Donald Trump.

“It’s a full scale fiasco. They're in panic

mode,” an NBC insider, who asked to
remain anonymous for fear of retaliation,
told Fox News about executives at the
network.

ABC’s “World News Tonight” beat NBC’s “Nightly

News” among the key demographic last week, snapping
the Peacock Network’s 89-week winning streak among
adults age 25-54. ABC’s “World News Tonight”
averaged 9 million total viewers and 1.99 million in the
demo, compared to 8.3 million total and 1.91 in the demo
for NBC, according to TVNewser.
Lester Holt was in South Korea to promote NBC’s
coverage of the Olympics while rival anchors covered the
Parkland massacre from South Florida. (2018
NBCUniversal Media, LLC)
One possible cause of the loss was that NBC News
stumbled badly last month when it provided anemic

283
coverage of the tragic Parkland massacre. Holt and all of
NBC News’ stars -- except for Megyn Kelly -- were out of
place in South Korea to promote Olympics programming
when the shooting took place. But NBC did not send Kelly
to front its coverage of the Florida tragedy, despite the fact
that she had distinguished herself by covering the Sandy
Hook killings when she worked at Fox News. Insiders
were puzzled why Kelly -- who makes about $23 million a
year -- was not sent to South Korea or to Florida. She
remained at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, anchoring her 9 a.m.
hour of “Today."
Holt has endured a somewhat rough 18 months since he
moderated the first presidential debate between Trump and
Hillary Clinton to much opprobrium. The Hill wrote that
NBC News’ biggest star left the event “bruised and
partisan” for appearing biased in favor of Clinton.
When asked if Holt’s job was in danger, an NBC
spokesperson provided the following comment:
“Not a single story you’ve written about the
internal workings of NBC News has been
accurate, and neither is this one."
And while Holt was panned for his performance at the
debate, many industry insiders blame executives for the
majority of NBC News’ troubles, as opposed to solely
pinning the blame on the famously hard-working “Nightly
News” anchor.
Lack and his top deputy, embattled NBC News President
Noah Oppenheim, have yet to be transparent over why
they spiked celebrity scion Ronan Farrow’s explosive
reporting on Harvey Weinstein, which Farrow took to the
New Yorker magazine.
In various media appearances to promote his Weinstein
reporting, Farrow took a series of jabs at NBC News for
refusing to air his Weinstein reporting, implying that Lack
and Oppenheim had maintained a “veil of silence.”
Ronan Farrow has criticized NBC News for refusing to run
his reporting that would have uncovered Harvey Weinstein
284
as a sexual predator months before the disgraced
Hollywood mogul was exposed.
Oppenheim -- who moonlights as a Hollywood
screenwriter -- personally oversaw Holt’s controversial
reporting trip to North Korea in February during which the
duo was accused of being duped by regime propagandists.
Holt anchored from a bustling ski resort that Western
media had previously widely covered as being empty and
deserted. Presumably, the dictatorial regime filled the
resort for Holt’s standups, something the NBC star failed
to note on his broadcast. Oppenheim was the senior
executive on the ground in North Korea for the broadcast.
Fox News reported that Lack, furious about the botched
trip and a ballooning Megyn Kelly scandal back home,
recalled Oppenheim early to New York.
And the NBC News bosses have yet to explain why they
sat on the now infamous “Access Hollywood” tape of
Trump making lewd comments about women. The tape
was eventually leaked to The Washington Post's David
Fahrenthold, who is Oppenheim's friend from prestigious
Harvard University, where the men were editors together
at the storied Crimson student newspaper. Oppenheim is
also close friends from Harvard with Hillary Clinton’s son
in law, Marc Mezvinsky, and the men are believed to have
participated in each other’s nuptial ceremonies.
NBC News chairman Andy Lack oversees a department
that is “in panic mode,” an NBC insider told Fox News.
It remains unclear why NBC didn’t publish the “Access
Hollywood" tape before it was leaked to Fahrenthold. The
anti-Trump reporter was recently named a paid NBC News
contributor.
Furthermore, Lack has not been transparent about the
events that led up to the sudden firing of his close friend,
Matt Lauer, for sexual misconduct in November at the
height of the #MeToo movement. NBCUniversal claims to
be investigating internally to determine who knew what
about Lauer’s pervy acts, but the company has not
announced anything regarding its findings.
NBCUniversal did not respond to a request for an update
regarding the internal investigation.
 RIGGED: Awan Judge Appointed By Obama Yet Again Delays High-
Profile Imran Trial; D.C Swamp On The Run
By Admin
Posted On March 13, 2018
Now it is eight months of delays and bad excuses.
Imran Awan’s March court date has been delayed again,
this time until May.
And no one seems to be saying why.
This is getting ridiculous.
Why does Obama-Crony judge keep postponing the Imran
Awan trial? To allow him to flee to Pakistan, where co-
defendant and wife Hina Alvi has already fled, with the
blessing of the FBI?
It is beyond rare for a federal criminal ‘bank fraud’ case to
be granted this many delays and continuances.
We stopped counting how many continuances this is. Five?
Six?
The Swamp is running scared and U.S. District Court
Judge Tanya Chutkan is helping to provide the cover.
Chutkan, who is presiding over the Imran Awan and Hina
Alvi fraud case, was appointed to the federal bench by
Obama after she kicked thousands in campaign donations
to his presidential campaign when he was a U.S. Senator in
Illinois, records confirm.
285
Obama also appointed Chutkan’s husband, Peter
Krauthamer, a judge to the bench in the District of
Columbia Superior Court in 2011.
Krauthamer’s mother, and Chutkan’s mother-in-law, also
contributed campaign cash to Obama, records confirm.
And Chutkan’s former law firm, where she worked until
her appointment to the federal bench in 2014, currently
represents Huma Abedin, the wife of disgraced former
Congressman Anthony Weiner. The firm also is stacked
with Democratic lawyers who worked for Hillary Clinton,
John Podesta, and Barack Obama’s White House, just to
name a few D.C. insiders.
If Obama or his administration is implicated in the
expanding Awan Congressional probe they likely have
little to worry about.
These revelations damper rank-and-file FBI agents who
are pressing to expand the case to encompass Awan’s two
brothers and press an indictment for selling intelligence
gleaned and possibly stolen from Congressional IT
network the Awams were charged with safeguarding.
“It’s rigged from almost every angle,” a
frustrated FBI insider said.
 CNN's Shaub: The Trump
Administration Has 'Declared War On Expertise'
By Ryan Foley
March 13, 2018 2:05 PM EDT
During an appearance on CNN's New Day Tuesday
morning, Former Director for the Office of Government
Ethics and Trump critic Walter Shaub suggested that
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos lacks the proper
expertise required to run the Department of Education,
arguing that her expertise
"seems to be in being a rich person who
didn't attend public schools that she's
overseeing." Shaub also said that the
appointment of DeVos, as well as other
outsiders to cabinet positions, proves that
the Trump Administration has "declared
war on expertise and denigrated experts."
Guest co-host Erica Hill initially asked Shaub if the White
House could have helped Secretary DeVos prepare better
for an appearance on 60 Minutes on Sunday, which
received negative reviews. Shaub responded by describing
her appearance on the CBS program as
“a startingly bad interview”, adding “if you
had seen her confirmation hearing, that
didn’t go a whole lot better.”
While Shaub stressed his disapproval of DeVos, he
implied that many additional members of the Trump
administration also lacked the necessary qualifications to
serve in their posts:
“This administration seems to have, in
many ways, declared war on expertise and
denigrated experts, including career civil
servants, calling them ‘The Deep State’
because...they don’t trust them and yet,
what it really reflects, I think, is a suspicion
286
of people who are expert and Betsy
DeVos’s primary expertise seems to be in
being a rich person who didn’t attend public
schools that she’s overseeing and didn’t
send her kids to public schools.” Shaub
added that the only reason the President
hired her is because she donated to his
campaign.
In addition to the Education Department head's
performance on 60 Minutes, Shaub was equally critical of
DeVos for her “pre-conceived idea” of school choice:
“So it really is disturbing because it’s...just
sort of an entire trend of not focusing on
the subject matter and coming in with one
pre-conceived idea that in her case, that
idea happens to be, well, everybody should
have more school choice. Well, it’s such a
facile understanding.”
Shaub went on to say that he had no problem with her
support for school choice but argued that she should “come
armed with statistics and talking points that can justify that
viewpoint.” As Hill introduced Shaub, she did reference
some statistics highlighted by DeVos on her Twitter page
showing that Detroit students who attend charter schools
performed twice as well as their counterparts in public
schools on standardized testing.
After Shaub finished bashing DeVos, Hill then turned to
some of the other members of President Trump’s cabinet,
who have come under scrutiny for inappropriate use of
taxpayer money. Shaub predicted
“where it goes from here is downhill and it
gets worse. And that’s because of the tone
setting from the top. You know, there was a
report that the White House scolded these
individuals, as you said. Well, I’m not sure
the White House is in any position to scold
anyone, least of all their own cabinet who
are following the President’s example.”
Shaub expressed concern that supporters of the Trump
administration assume that “anyone who’s got concerns
about ethics is just carrying partisan water.” While not
every ethics watchdog carries partisan water, Shaub
certainly does. He has donated to President Obama and
uses his Twitter page as a platform to bash President
Trump. No wonder CNN decided to make him a
contributor.
CNN New Day
03/13/18
06:53 AM
ERICA HILL: Let’s discuss now with CNN Contributor Walter
Shaub, the former Director for the Office of Government Ethics. It
was a tough one to watch in all honesty and then she was put out
again for more interviews yesterday and the White House we’re
told was unhappy with her performance. Betsy DeVos tweeting
yesterday in her view “Missing from the 60 Minutes interview”
she’s referencing there “students at Charter Schools in Detroit
are doing two times better than their peers. The reforms are
helping but there’s so much more to do. We must help all
students be better prepared for strong futures.” Could this
Administration, could the White House have helped Secretary
DeVos be better prepared for this interview?
WALTER SHAUB: Well, certainly her press people could have.
This was kind of a startlingly bad interview but if you had seen
her confirmation hearing, that didn’t go a whole lot better. I think,
you know I’ve worked with nominees for years and years. And I
think it really, my experiences have been consistent with the old
saying that personnel is policy. And this administration seems to
have, in many ways, declared war on expertise and denigrated
experts, including career civil servants, calling them “The Deep
State” because they, they don’t trust them and yet, what it really
reflects, I think, is a suspicion of people who are expert and
Betsy DeVos’s primary expertise seems to be in being a rich
person who didn’t attend public schools that she’s overseeing
and didn’t send her kids to public schools. So I think when your
criteria for hiring somebody is that they were a major campaign
donor instead of they are a noted figure in a field, it shouldn’t be
surprising when you have a result like this. And her comments
about one of the things she said is she couldn’t comment on
trends or statistics because each student is an individual. Well,
that is an anti-intellectual idea coming from the Head of the
Department of Education because it’s almost like she’s saying
“You can’t study education.” You can’t study whether it’s possible
to make school systems in the aggregate better.
HILL: Does it surprise you though? I mean, you reference her
confirmation hearings but we’re at the point now where she’s
been on the job long enough. Does it, how much does it surprise
you that we’re at a point where she is, these are the talking
points that she’s putting out there and this is her familiarity with
the subject matter for the department that she oversees?
SHAUB: Well, you know, there’s a good government group called
American Oversight that filed a bunch of Freedom of Information
Act requests and one of the things they found is she doesn’t
show up to work a whole lot. This is an individual who frequently
287
leaves work on a Thursday and comes back on a Tuesday and
so there’s...
HILL: Is she working, and I mean this very seriously, could she
be working from home on those Fridays or those Mondays
wherever she may be?
SHAUB: It’s entirely possible but for the most part, cabinet
secretaries should be meeting with people. And they should be
going out to view the things they’re overseeing. And you heard
her on TV saying she hasn’t focused on looking at the schools
that need the most help. So it really is disturbing because it’s, it’s
just sort of an entire trend of not focusing on the subject matter
and coming in with one pre-conceived idea that in her case, that
idea happens to be, well, everybody should have more school
choice. Well, it’s such a facile understanding. I mean, if you
believe that policy, fine. But come armed with statistics and
talking points that can justify that viewpoint.
HILL: She, of course, is not the only cabinet member who is
under scrutiny. I mean, we have four just recently that we can put
on the screen and talk about here in terms of ethics concerns
and being scolded.
SHAUB: Yeah.
HILL: Where does all of that go from here, though? Yes, we know
this has happened. Yes, they’ve been summoned, they’ve been
scolded but does anything come out of that?
SHAUB: Well, I’m going to go ahead and call this one right
now. Where it goes from here is downhill and it gets worse. And
that’s because of the tone setting from the top. You know, there
was a report that the White House scolded these individuals, as
you said. Well, I’m not sure the White House is in any position to
scold anyone, least of all their own cabinet who are following the
President’s example. You’ve got, last week, the office of Special
Counsel, which is not related to Robert Mueller. That’s a
separate agency, issued findings on complaints that I and my
group filed saying that Kellyanne Conway had violated the Hatch
Act twice. And that’s her third ethics violation because there was
another one last year when she told America go buy Ivanka’s
stuff. And the White House thumbed its nose at OSC and said
we’re not going to do anything about it. We don’t agree with you.
That’s really shocking because OSC is headed by a recent
Trump appointee, Henry Kerner, who they said good things about
when they appointed and he really did something brave taking a
stand and making a finding that she did something but they did
nothing about it. Then at the cabinet level, you’ve got David
Shulkin, the head of VA, deceiving an ethics official when he got
some tickets to Wimbledon and told the ethics official the woman
who gave it to me was a friend of my wife’s. Well, when
investigators went and talked to her, she didn’t even know the
wife’s name. So when the White House refuses to take action
against individuals like this, the message they’re sending is “none
of this matters.”
HILL: Does it matter? I mean, is your sense that it matters to the
American people?
SHAUB: That’s the really depressing thing as an ethics official
because this should be sending off red alarms to people but I
think we’re in such a hyper-polarized society that you’ve got
supporters of the Administration who assume that anyone who’s
got concerns about ethics is just carrying partisan water. And the
truth is anything but that. These are objectively concerning
matters. And all you have to do is imagine the other candidate
had won the election. This Congress would be holding hearings
right now over some of this stuff.
288
HILL: And does the fact that often times, we’re talking about, or
more often than not, we’re also talking about taxpayer money
being used to finance any of that, does that break through the
noise? Or we’re at the same point with that as well?
SHAUB: It should and I hope it eventually will. I mean, I
mentioned David Shulkin getting those Wimbledon tickets. He
spent $122,000 on that trip to Europe with he and his wife and
you’ve got Ben Carson trying to spend $31,000 on a dinette set
so it’s starting to add up. Although it all pales in comparison to
the cost of the President’s trips to his properties. So who knows?
 We're Not Ready To Show Stormy Daniels' 60 Minutes
Interview With Anderson Cooper Says CBS - But We've No
Idea How Trump's Lawyers Could Stop It
 Porn Star Whose Lawyers Say She Had Sex With The President In 2006 Sat Down With
Anderson Cooper For 60 Minutes Interview
 CBS News President David Rhodes Confirmed 'Encounter' But Said There Was Still Work
To Be Done Before It Aired
 He Dismissed Threats To Stop It Being Aired Amid Claims Trump's Lawyers Will Try To
Get Injunction Because Daniels Was Party To Non-Disclosure Agreement
By Associated Press
Published: 09:10 EDT, 13 March 2018 | Updated: 14:14 EDT, 13 March 2018

The head of CBS News said Tuesday that a '60 Minutes'

interview with adult film star Stormy Daniels is on its way
but that more journalistic work needs to be done on the
story.

News President David Rhodes' statement at a conference

in Israel Tuesday was the first time CBS publicly
confirmed it had interviewed Daniels, who has alleged an
extramarital affair with Donald Trump before he became
president. Trump has denied this.

Michael Avenatti, lawyer for the actress, whose real name

is Stephanie Clifford, last week tweeted a picture of
himself, Clifford and CBS interviewer Anderson Cooper.
Left: Donald Trump and porn Stormy Daniels, AKA Stephanie
No air date has been set for the interview. Clifford, pose together in 2006. Right: Daniels in 2007

Rhodes, in remarks reported by Variety, said he could not

imagine what the basis would be for any legal action by
Trump's team to prevent the interview from airing.

BuzzFeed had reported that Trump's lawyers were

considering seeking an injunction to stop it.

'I haven't seen such an injunction, and I

can't imagine what the basis for that would
be,' Rhodes said.
'The encounter between Anderson Cooper
and (Clifford) was accompanied also by
conversations with attorneys, documents
were provided, and so we have to run all
TICK TOCK: Stormy Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, tweeted out
that down before it runs.'
an image of his client flanked by himself and Anderson Cooper
Trump's attorney, Michael Cohen, has not immediately
returned messages for comment.

289
 but would gain the right to publish 'any text messages,
photos and/or videos' she has relating to Trump

The actress has sought to invalidate a nondisclosure

agreement under which she was paid $130,000 not to give
details of her encounters with Trump.

Clifford said Monday that she has offered to repay the

money as long as she can speak openly about the situation.

Clifford filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles last week that

sought to invalidate the agreement so she could 'set the
record straight.'

The lawsuit claimed the 'hush agreement' that was signed

days before the 2016 presidential election is legally invalid
because it was only signed by Clifford and Cohen and not
by Trump.

Stormy Daniels makes a special appearance at Solid Gold

on March 9, 2018 in Pompano Beach. She is offering to
give back $130,000 she got from Donald Trump's lawyer
.

290
Nunes Concerned Special Counsel Is Ignoring Illegal Leaks
House Permanent Select Committee On Intelligence Chief Accuses Democrats Of
‘Stalinist’ Tactics In Misrepresenting Facts About Russia Collusion
By Brendan Kirby
13 Mar 2018 At 2:25 PM
A key House of Representatives leader expressed dismay
Tuesday that special counsel Robert Mueller has shown no
apparent interest in investigating illegal leaks of classified
information and accused his Democratic colleagues of
“Stalinist” tactics in creating a false collusion narrative.
Speaking a day after the House Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence concluded that it had found no
evidence that President Donald Trump conspired with
Russian interests to sabotage 2016 Democratic candidate
Hillary Clinton’s campaign, Chairman Devin Nunes (R-
Calif.) said on “The Laura Ingraham Show” that the only
crimes his panel uncovered involved the publication of
classified information about the counterintelligence probe
that included eavesdropping on Trump associates.
“I remain concerned with the special
counsel, even though I was one who at the
beginning of it strongly supported Mueller’s
appointment,” he said. “And I strongly
supported it because we had already been
investigating for several months at the time,
and we found no evidence — not even one
sliver of evidence — that the Trump
campaign had colluded with Russia.”
Nunes (pictured above) said he believed then that Mueller
would have focused on the leaks.
291
“Because those were the felonies that we
knew of,” he said. “Yet, I have zero
evidence that Mueller’s even looked at the
leaks or does not care about the leaks …
Why would you not go where there’s an
obvious felony that’s been committed? Why
would you not start there?”
Meanwhile, Nunes said, Democrats and most of the media
are working overtime to try to discredit the committee’s
work and imply facts that have not been established.
“They believe that if they tell a lie long
enough, that eventually it become the
truth,” he said in response to a statement
Monday night by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-
Calif.) denigrating him as a “messenger
boy” for Trump. “It’s just classic Stalinist
and Alinsky tactics that they use.”
The latter was a reference to Saul Alinsky, a left-wing
community organizer famous for his 1972 guide book
“Rules for Radicals.” Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic
presidential nominee, and President Barack Obama were
closely linked to Alinsky and his tactics.
Nunes said public life has made him accustomed to a left-
wing press. What is new during the Trump era, he added,
is a basic lack of any semblance of objectivity. He said the
notion, repeated by Waters, that he went to the White
House in the middle of the night to try to prove that
Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower is a “made-up
story.”
Contrary to Waters’ assertion, Nunes said, he was the first
person to say that there was no evidence to back up the
wiretapping allegation that Trump made in a tweet.
 “I get hit every single day — not with one or that actually had the links to the Russians
two stories,” he said. “There’s a dozen and got information — dirt — on Trump
stories on any given day that are totally from Russians that they used during the
fabricated, totally false, regurgitating what campaign,” Nunes continued.
they wrote months ago. And that’s just
attacking me … There’s a clear attempt to Nunes added,
try to discredit our investigation, when in
fact, we’re the only investigation so far
“The Left and the media is out to destroy
that’s actually come up with real, tangible
anyone who will disrupt their collusion
evidence.”
narrative that they’ve bought into so many
years.”
That evidence includes the now-confirmed fact that the
Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee
Nunes said he does not believe Democrats thought the
paid for the anti-Trump dossier produced by former British
collusion allegations would result in the appointment of a
spy Christopher Steele that was the basis of a surveillance
special counsel. He suggested the goal was to rile up
warrant targeting Trump campaign volunteer Carter Page.
liberal voters ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

“At the end of the day, the one thing we
discovered was, yeah, there was a lot of
leaked classified information, but all of it
was innuendo and spun into that somehow
the Trump campaign had colluded with
Russians,” he said.
“And at the end of the day, what did we
really find out? It was the Hillary campaign
.
On that score, Nunes added, Democrats have succeeded.
“Their base is absolutely motivated to get
out and go vote, and it’s largely because of
Russia, even though there’s no evidence
that there was any collusion between the
Trump campaign and the Russians,” he
said.

292
 REVEALED: Obama Campaign Hired Fusion GPS
To Investigate Romney – Hid Payments
Through Law Firm Perkins Coie
By Cristina Laila
March 13, 2018, 2:37 Pm
A new book titled ‘Russian Roulette‘
reveals Barack Obama used Fusion GPS
to investigate Mitt Romney during the
2012 presidential election.
And just like Crooked Hillary did during the 2016 election,
Obama’s camp hid the payments to Fusion GPS through
the law firm Perkins Coie.
Chuck Ross of the Daily Caller reported:
The Barack Obama presidential campaign
hired Fusion GPS in 2012 to dig up dirt on
Republican presidential candidate Mitt
Romney, according to a book released on
Tuesday.
The Obama campaign hid its payments to
Fusion GPS through its law firm, Perkins
Coie. The arrangement is similar to the one
that the Clinton campaign and Democratic
National Committee used to pay Fusion for
its investigation of then-aDonald Trump in
2016.
[…]
“As had become standard practice in the
shadowy world of ‘oppo’ research, the
293
Obama campaign’s payments to Fusion
GPS were never publicly disclosed; the
money paid to the investigative firm was
reported on campaign disclosure reports as
legal bills to the campaign’s law firm,
Perkins Coie,” the book reads.
The Obama for America committee paid Perkins Coie
around $3 million during the 2012 election cycle,
according to filings with the Federal Election Commission,
A vast majority of the payments were earmarked for
“Legal Services.”
The book “Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of
Putin’s War on America and Donald Trump’s
Election” is written by Yahoo! News’ Michael Isikoff and
David Corn of Mother Jones. Both reporters met with
Christopher Steele during the election.
Michael Isikoff wrote the Yahoo! News article about Carter
Page in September of 2016 which was used as means to
corroborate Christopher Steele’s claims Trump’s camp had
secret connections to the Kremlin.
David Corn wrote an article about the dossier in Mother
Jones in October of 2016 right before the election. He
hinted at the dossier and claimed a former spy compiled a
series of memos of Trump’s connections to Russia yet
never reported on the salacious claims nor did he name
Christopher Steele.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the DNC were hit with an
FEC complaint in October of 2017 for violating campaign
finance law because they failed to disclose payments for
the Russian Dossier.
The Washington Post first revealed
Hillary’s camp and the DNC paid for the
phony Russia dossier.
Editor’s correction: An earlier version of this article
incorrectly identified Yahoo! News reporter as David
Isikoff. It has been corrected to Michael Isikoff.
 Trump's 'Messenger Boy': Maxine Waters
Slams Nunes For Closing Russia Probe
Fox News Insider
March 13, 2018 3:01pm

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) slammed House pointing out that the Obama administration
Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif) ignored his warnings about Russian
over the committee's report that it found election meddling.

"no evidence of collusion, coordination or He argued that the various Russia probes should come to a
conspiracy between the Trump campaign close so the FBI and intelligence agencies can focus on
and the Russians." "real problems."
"Who would believe Nunes was working in
a credible way to find out what took place?" "We spent 14 months on this investigation,
Waters said on MSNBC's "All In" Monday looking for collusion. We didn't find any."
night. "As a matter of fact, he was simply a
messenger boy for the president, running Waters has become known for her vehement criticism of
up in the middle of the night, trying to prove Trump, who then called her out at a rally on Saturday as a
that Obama, for example, had wiretapped
the president." "low IQ individual."
"So they can conclude whatever they want
to," she continued. "They weren't doing
anything to begin with. It was not a credible
investigation, and so we're not paying any
attention to that at all."

On "Fox & Friends," Nunes responded to Waters'

remarks, noting that Democrats were attacking him in this
manner before the Russia investigation even began.

"Right after I was named to the Trump

transition team, I began getting attacks, I
began getting called that I was some agent
of Russia, of a foreign power," Nunes said,
.

294
 Tillerson Doesn’t Thank
Trump In Speech After His Ouster
The Outgoing Secretary Of State Didn't Mention The President By Name
But Said 'Much Remains To Be Done To Achieve Our Mission On
Behalf Of The American People'
By Kathryn Blackhurst
13 Mar 2018 At 3:48 PM
Outgoing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson didn’t thank
President Donald Trump for the privilege of serving the
nation during a hastily scheduled speech Tuesday hours
after the chief executive unceremoniously ousted him.
Trump abruptly announced his firing Tillerson Tuesday
morning and intention to nominate CIA Director Mike
Pompeo to serve the country’s newest chief diplomat.
Tillerson, who had been traveling in Africa last week, cut
short his trip to return to the U.S.
Tillerson thanked colleagues for
“the privilege of serving beside you for the
last 14 months”
and thanked the American people for their
“devotion to a free and open society” during
a speech at the State Department
headquarters, noting that “much remains to
be done.”
“All of us we know want to leave this place
as a better place for the next generation,”
Tillerson said. “I’ll now return to private life
as a private citizen and a proud American,
proud of the opportunity that I’ve had to
serve my country.”
Tillerson didn’t thank Trump or mention Trump’s name at
all — the closest he came was when he noted that he
“received a call today from the president of
the United States a little after noontime
from Air Force One, and I’ve also spoken to
295
White House Chief of Staff [John] Kelly to
ensure we have clarity as to the days
ahead. What is most important is to ensure
an orderly and smooth transition during a
time that the country continues to face
significant policy and national security
challenges.”
Tillerson said he turn over all Secretary of State
responsibilities to Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan
“effective at the end of the day.” His commission will end
at midnight on March 31.
Steve Goldstein, the outgoing undersecretary of state for
public diplomacy and public affairs, insisted Tuesday that
Tillerson
“did not speak to the president” prior to
Tuesday’s announcement “and is unaware
of the reason” for his being removed.
The White House disputed Goldstein’s account, saying
that Trump asked Tillerson to step aside Friday without
mentioning the exact timing of the removal. The White
House fired Goldstein later Tuesday.
Trump told reporters prior to boarding Air Force One that
he and Tillerson “were not really thinking the same,”
unlike how the president and Pompeo operated. Trump
said that Tillerson didn’t share his vision for how the
country should move forward.
“I’ve worked with Mike Pompeo now for
quite some time. Tremendous energy,
tremendous intellect. We’re always on the
same wavelength,” Trump said. “The
relationship has been very good and that’s
what I need as secretary of state.”
Tillerson urged his policy planning team, undersecretaries
and assistant secretaries to remain at their posts
"to continue our mission at the State
Department in working with the interagency
 process." He emphasized that his team has
been "extraordinarily dedicated to our
mission, which includes promoting values
that I view as being very important."
Tillerson also stressed that "U.S.
leadership starts with diplomacy."
"The rewarding part of having leadership
and partnerships in place is that you can
actually get some things done. And I want
to give recognition to the State Department
and our partners for a few of their
accomplishments under this
administration," Tillerson said.
The outgoing chief diplomat emphasize that his
department "exceeded the expectations of almost
everyone" with its "maximum pressure campaign" against
North Korea and its quest for removing nuclear weapons
from the region. Trump stunned the world last week when
.
296
he agreed to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un
to discuss the denuclearization of the peninsula after Kim
made significant concessions.
"In other areas where progress has been
made, much work remains. In Syria we did
achieve important ceasefires and
stabilizations which we know have saved
thousands of lives," Tillerson said. "There’s
more to be done in Syria, particularly with
respect to achieving the peace, as well as
stabilizing Iraq and seeing a healthy
government installed, and more broadly in
the entire global campaign to defeat ISIS."
"Much works remains to establish a clear
view of the nature of our future relationship
with China," Tillerson said. "And much work
remains to respond to the troubling
behavior and actions on the part of the
Russian government."
Tillerson warned that Russia
"must assess carefully as to how its actions
are in the best interests of the Russian
people and of the world more
broadly. Continuing on their current
trajectory is likely to lead to greater
isolation on their part — a situation which is
not in anyone’s interest."
 VIDEO=> Border Agent To Donald Trump At Border
Wall: Scrap Metal Wall Reduced Illegal Crossings By 95%
By Jim Hoft
March 13, 2018, 2:59 Pm

BUILD THE WALL!

President Trump arrived in San Diego

this afternoon to inspect the eight
border wall prototypes.

During his assessment of the border

wall prototypes President Trump spoke
with a border patrol agent.

The border patrol agent told President

Trump the current border wall system in
San Diego reduced illgal crossings by
95%.

This combination of pictures shows the eight prototypes of US

President Donald Trump’s US-Mexico border wall being built near
San Diego, in the US, seen from across the border from Tijuana,
Mexico, on October 22, 2017. Following up on President Donald
Trump’s campaign promise to build a wall along the entire 3,200
kilometre (2,000 mile) Mexican frontier, the Department of
Homeland Security began building prototypes for the barrier along
the border in San Diego and Imperial counties, as it announced in
August. / AFP PHOTO / GUILLERMO ARIAS (Photo credit should
read GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP/Getty Images)
.

297
 POTUS Trump Trashes CA Governor
Jerry Brown In San Diego (VIDEO)
By Cristina Laila
March 13, 2018, 3:34 Pm

Speaking in Sacramento Wednesday, Attorney

President Trump arrived in San Diego,
CA Tuesday afternoon to inspect the
eight border wall prototypes.
President Trump trashed ultra-liberal Governor Jerry
Brown on Tuesday.
General Jeff Sessions blasted California lawmakers for
protecting illegal aliens in their ‘sanctuary cities.’
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra stood next to
Governor Jerry Brown as he unloaded on the Trump
administration for finally taking action to stop the insanity
of sanctuary city policies in California.

Jerry Brown also said,

“This is basically going to war against the

state of California.”

Democrats like Governor Brown care more about the

illegal invaders than the taxpaying citizens of the state.

San Francisco’s sanctuary city policy is what led to the

murder of Kate Steinle.

“I think Governor Brown has done a very

poor job running California,” Trump said
citing high taxes and a growing problem of
illegal aliens thanks to the Democrats’
dangerous ‘sanctuary city’ policies.

VIDEO:

Last week Governor Jerry Brown came unhinged after

Attorney General Jeff Sessions filed a lawsuit against the
state of California over their dangerous sanctuary city
policies being enforced by Democrat politicians.

298
Hypocrisy: Trump Lawyers Keep Defending Wikileaks, Yet
His Secretary Of State Pick Wants Assange’s
Head On A Platter
By Cassandra Fairbanks
March 13, 2018, 4:00 Pm
President Donald Trump’s attorneys have been quietly
making the case in defense of WikiLeaks throughout legal
filings responding to a lawsuit filed by Democrat Party
donors who allege that the campaign and former advisor
Roger Stone conspired with Russians to publish the leaked
Democratic National Committee emails.
This is despite the fact that efforts by the US to arrest
Assange have expanded under the Trump administration as
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has declared the publishers
arrest a “priority.”
CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who is now Trump’s pick to
replace Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, has
also claimed that Assange has
“no First Amendment rights” and that the
agency, under his direction, is “working to
take down WikiLeaks.”
Yet, buried within hundreds of pages of case filings, in a
motion filed in October, lawyer Michael A. Carvin argued
that under section 230 of the Communications Decency
Act (47 U.S.C. § 230),
“a website that provides a forum where
‘third parties can post information’ is not
liable for the third party’s posted
information.”
“That is so even when even when the
website performs ‘editorial functions’
‘such as deciding whether to publish,’”
299
the filing contends. “Since WikiLeaks
provided a forum for a third party (the
unnamed ‘Russian actors’) to publish
content developed by that third party
(the hacked emails), it cannot be held
liable for the publication.”
Carvin went on to argue that this defeats any claim of
conspiracy, as a conspiracy is an agreement to commit “an
unlawful act.”
“Since WikiLeaks’ posting of emails was not an unlawful
act, an alleged agreement that it should publish those
emails could not have been a conspiracy,” the filing
asserts.
Additionally, the filing argues that the plaintiffs cannot
rely on allegations of a conspiracy with Roger Stone,
because they do not claim that he himself handed over the
emails to WikiLeaks.
“In addition, the First Amendment
generally denies the government power
to punish truthful speech,” Carvin
wrote. He adds that privacy cannot
justify these violations of core First
Amendment norms. The filing then
refers to the 1989 case of Florida Star v.
B.J.F., in which it was determined that
“punishing truthful publication in the
name of privacy” is an “extraordinary
measure.”
The First Amendment is even more strictly guarded during
a political campaign, when it has
“its fullest and most urgent application.”
According to Citizens United, the First
Amendment leaves voters “free to obtain
information from diverse sources in order to
determine how to cast their votes.”
“It would eviscerate that guarantee to
punish true disclosures made in a political
campaign,” the filing contends.
The filing included dozens of examples of WikiLeaks
emails that were of importance during the election.
In a later filing, which we have previously reported on,
Carvin argued that WikiLeaks is protected under the
Bartnicki First Amendment Test.
The motion, filed on December 29, argued that a defendant
may not be held liable for a disclosure of stolen
information if the disclosure deals with “a matter of public
concern” and provided that the speaker was not “involved”
in the theft.
Given that WikiLeaks does not steal or hack the documents
that they publish, this precedent set by the case of
Bartnicki v. Vapper should also apply to Assange. The
organization publishes material that is given to them if it
meets their editorial criteria, which is that it must be of
political, diplomatic or ethical importance and it must not
have been published elsewhere.
Carvin’s filing goes on to assert that there can be “no
serious doubt” that the disclosures from WikiLeaks
satisfied the “newsworthy” and “public concern.”
To counter the argument from the plaintiffs that only
portions of the released emails were “newsworthy” and
thus not all of it should be considered protected under the
First Amendment, the lawyers for the Trump campaign
asserted that “tort law analyzes newsworthiness on an
aggregate basis,” meaning that the entirety of the
disclosure as a whole is considered protected free speech.
In February, the plaintiffs filed a sur-
reply in opposition to the motion to
dismiss by the Trump campaign. They
argued that in the Bartnicki case there
was no dispute that “the subject matter
of the conversation” at issue “was a
matter of public concern,” were as there
is an argument to be made in the case at
hand.
“Here, in contrast, the question of
newsworthiness is in dispute. Defendants
contend that the law permits a publisher of
stolen emails to dump all of the emails
online as long as some of the emails
include some material that is newsworthy
or of public concern. Defendants cannot
(and do not try to) demonstrate that the
private facts at issue here are themselves
‘matters of public concern,’” the sur-reply
300
argues. “Instead, they argue that a
disclosure should be judged ‘in the
aggregate’ rather than ‘line by line’ to
determine whether it ‘deals with a matter of
public concern.’”
The filing claims that the plaintiffs are not trying to argue
that the entire leak needs to be newsworthy, but that much
of it has
“noinformation of any relevance to the
public.”
They argued that since the emails are from multiple
sources it is not the same as Bartnicki which only had one
phone call at issue.
Trump’s legal team previously argued that “every single
email . . . inherently addressed political matters” due to the
fact that they were all related to the DNC. The plaintiffs
argued that if their logic holds, it would
“would declare open season on the
communications systems of every political,
public-interest, lobbying, media, and
governmental organization.”
The judge has not yet announced their ruling regarding the
motion to dismiss.
Numerous requests for comment about the filings has been
ignored by Carvin, his law firm and the White House.
Assange has been unable to leave their London embassy
over concerns that the nation will arrest him to extradite
him to the United States. An intelligence leak from Stratfor
in 2012 revealed that the US has a sealed indictment
against the publisher — which if convicted, could mean
life in prison.
After 16 months of investigation, the UN Working Group
on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) determined in
February of last year that Assange is being arbitrarily and
unlawfully detained by Sweden and the UK and must be
immediately released and compensated. The UK appealed
this determination, but the UN stood by their original
conclusion.
It is intensely hypocritical that the Trump campaign’s legal
team will defend WikiLeaks for their own benefit while
allowing the political persecution of Assange to continue.
 Sports Media Desperate For Negative Story Lines On
Astros' White House Visit
By Jay Maxson
March 13, 2018 5:11 PM EDT
Big problem for lib sports media this week: How to spin
the World Series champion Houston Astros' visit to
President Trump at the White House Monday? How to
make 45 look bad? At least the NBA champion Golden
State Warriors, after a war of social media words with
President Donald Trump, didn't even go to the White
House last year. Now there's a story that got traction!
Jason Foster of The Sporting News explained why
championship team visits to the White House command
such high interest among media liberals:
"Whether to visit the White House after a
championship has become a political
statement in the Age of Trump, as players
and teams wrestle with the perception and
reality of hobnobbing and joking with a
president and an administration that are
seen by many as intolerant, racist and any
number of other negative labels."
Media looking for red meat surrounding the Astros' White
House visit could center a story around pitcher Ken Giles,
all-star shortstop Carlos Correa or outfielder Carlos
Beltran, none of whom were there yesterday. Surely they
detest Trump the racist and wanted to make a statement.
Giles cited family reasons, so that's one out.
Beltran is a better bet. He previously criticized the
president's handling of government relief for hurricane-
damaged Puerto Rico. But what's this Beltran quote
spoiling a great potential story?
301
"I wish [Astros players] the best over there.
I hope they have a great time, enjoy their
day, with what it comes to visit the White
House.”
That was Beltran playing killjoy. Two outs.
Leaving Correa. The Washington Post took him and ran
with him in the headline: "The Astros Visited President
Trump At The White House, But Carlos Correa Didn’t
Join Them." Only this story line is full of holes, too. The
New York Post quoted Correa's explanation:
“It was not politics or anything. It was just
that the day off was perfect to be able to
provide some help for the people in Puerto
Rico in need.”
“I didn’t think it was right for me to go and
talk to the president about Puerto Rico
when we were going there for the team, for
the amazing year we had and for what we
brought to the city of Houston. It’s an honor
to be invited to the White House. I want to
thank the president for all the help he
provided to my second hometown, which is
Houston, and some of the help he’s
provided to Puerto Rico, but we’re still in
need in Puerto Rico.”
Even ESPN got this one right. But for anti-Trump media,
it's three outs.
That leaves only the team members who were in
attendance at the White House. American League MVP
Jose Altuve (on President Trump's right in photo above)
just didn't look happy about being there. He may have been
seething with contempt for Trump.
The Sporting News' headline read:
"Jose Altuve stares blankly, steals show as
Astros visit Trump." A headline by the
Complex blog is much more of a show-
stealer: "Jose Altuve Gave Trump the
Death Stare During Astros White House
Ceremony."
Jose Martinez wrote the story for Complex:
"When Astros manager A.J. Hinch
expressed how he was honored to be at
the White House, Altuve couldn’t even
muster the will to applaud.
"If Southwest Airlines wants to revitalize
their 'Wanna get away' campaign, they
should probably incorporate some footage
of Jose Altuve from the Houston Astros'
visit to the White House on Monday. The
Word Series champions were in the
nation's capital to be honored by Donald
Trump, and Altuve looked like he would
rather have been anywhere else in the
world than in the same room as the
president.
"After Trump singled Altuve out for his MVP
campaign last season, Altuve shared an
awkward handshake and a forced smile
with The Donald."
302
Matt Bonesteel of The Washington Post wrote
"we can't read Altuve's mind, so
unless/until he comments on the situation
we're left to wonder what he was thinking
as the president congratulated him and his
teammates on their World Series win. But
based on appearances, it doesn't seem like
it was anything pleasant."
The Post couldn't read Altuve's quote either. Here's what
KPRC TV of Houston reported Altuve said about his
demeanor during the ceremony honoring the team:
"The president was talking. What do you
want me to do? I was just standing there
listening. It was an honor to be there. If I
didn't want to go, I just wouldn't go."
For those media aiming for a big win at the president's
expense, it looks like he pitched a shutout.
 REVEALED: Senior Obama State Department Official
Started Christopher Steele-FBI Alliance
By Cristina Laila
March 13, 2018, 5:39 Pm
Victoria Nuland, a senior State
Department official under Barack
Obama, started the Christopher Steele-
FBI alliance according to a new book
titled ‘Russian Roulette.’
Victoria Nuland was Obama’s former Assistant Secretary
of State for European and Eurasian affairs for the State
Department.
The Washington Times reported:
A senior Barack Obama State Department
official gave the green light to an FBI agent
in 2016 to meet with dossier
writer Christopher Steele, a meeting that
touched off a relationship that would fuel
the ongoing investigation into possible
Donald Trump-Russia election collusion.
And, the sensational Steele allegation that
led to an FBI wiretap on Trump
volunteer Carter Page came from “pillow
talk” with the lover of a Kremlin official, a
new book says.
The disclosure that Victoria Nuland started
the process is contained in “Russian
Roulette,” a book released Tuesday by
Yahoo News report Michael Isikoff and
Mother Jones magazine’s David Corn.
303
[…]
Mr. Steele, who was excited over his findings about Mr.
Trump supposed dalliance with Russian prostitutes and
purported collusion with the Kremlin, pressed his handler,
Glenn Simpson, of Fusion GPS, to let him go to the FBI.
Mr. Simpson agreed. Mr. Steele telephoned Michael
Gaeta, an FBI agent with whom he worked on soccer
corruption who was then stationed at the U.S. Embassy in
Rome.
“I can’t discuss it over the phone. You have
to come here. Believe me, Mike, you have
to come to London,” Mr. Steeletold him.
Says “Russian Roulette,”
“There were a few hoops Gaeta had to
jump through. He was assigned to the U.S.
embassy in Rome. The FBI checked
with Victoria Nuland’s office at the State
Department: Do you support this
meeting? Nuland, having found Steele’s
reports on Ukraine to have been generally
credible, gave the green light.”
“Within a few days, on July 5, Gaeta
arrived and headed to Steele’s office near
Victoria station. Steele handed him a copy
of the report. Gaeta, a seasoned FBI agent,
started to read. He turned white. For a
while, Gaeta said nothing. Then he
remarked, ‘I have to report this to
headquarters.’”
The book “Russian Roulette: The Inside Story Of
Putin’s War On America And Donald Trump’s
Election” is written by Yahoo! News’ Michael Isikoff and
David Corn of Mother Jones. Both reporters met with
Christopher Steele during the election.
Michael Isikoff wrote the Yahoo! News article about Carter
Page in September of 2016 which was used as means to
corroborate Christopher Steele’s claims Trump’s camp had
secret connections to the Kremlin.
David Corn wrote an article about the dossier in Mother
Jones in October of 2016 right before the election. He
hinted at the dossier and claimed a former spy compiled a
series of memos of Trump’s connections to Russia yet
never reported on the salacious claims nor did he name
Christopher Steele.
Both the House Intel Committee and the Senate Judiciary
Committee are investigating how Obama officials
promoted the Hillary-funded dossier.
Chairman Nunes just began phase 2 of the House Intel
Committee’s investigation into the dossier which includes
probing Obama’s State Department officials.
304
Former Secretary of State John Kerry is officially under
investigation according to a new report by investigative
journalist Sara Carter.
Republican investigators also have
evidence dossier author Christopher
Steele met with the FBI on July 5th 2016
which is the EXACT SAME DAY former
FBI Director James Comey exonerated
Hillary Clinton according to a report by
John Solomon.
The 35-page dossier was published in full by Buzzfeed
News shortly before Trump’s inauguration.
 DEEP STATE DON’T PLAY=> Mueller Witch Hunt May
Land Manafort In Jail For Life
By Jim Hoft
March 13, 2018, 5:51 Pm
The leftist judge presiding over the prosecution of former
Trump Campaign Manager Paul Manafort says the
deposed businessman may spend the rest of his life in
prison.
The Russian Collusion special counsel was always a lie.
There was no collusion between the Trump campaign and
Russia.
Democrats and Deep State operatives
could not accept the will of the people in
the 2016 election.
So now they are going to throw the
former Trump campaign manager in
prison for life after charging him with
fraud for business dealings back in 2006
through 2015.
America is officially a banana republic.
And Jeff Sessions is hiding under his
desk again.
305
The Daily Caller reported:
Judge Thomas Ellis III, who is presiding
over the second prosecution of Paul
Manafort, wrote in a new order that the
deposed Trump campaign chief may well
spend the rest of his life in prison.
Ellis imposed restrictive bond conditions
against Manafort in the new order,
concluding the severity of his alleged
crimes and his considerable assets
incentivize him to flee the country.
“Defendant faces the very real possibility of
spending the rest of his life in prison,” Ellis
wrote. “In this regard, he poses a
substantial risk of flight and the above-
mentioned conditions are the least
restrictive conditions that will reasonably
assure defendant’s appearance at trial.”
Manafort faces federal prosecution in two jurisdictions.
Special counsel Robert Mueller filed numerous charges
against him including eighteen counts of tax fraud, bank
fraud, and bank fraud conspiracy at a federal trial court in
Alexandria, Va., and twelve counts of money laundering,
conspiracy against the United States, and violations of the
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) at the federal
trial court in Washington, D.C.
Each tax fraud charge carries a maximum sentence of five
years and a $250,000 fine. The bank fraud charges carry a
30 year maximum sentence and a one million dollar fine.
Though he is not likely to receive the maximum penalties,
at 68, Manafort faces the serious prospect of life in prison,
even with a reduced sentence.
Nunes Concerned Special Counsel Is Ignoring Illegal Leaks
Chief Of House Intelligence Committee Accuses Democrats Of 'Stalinist' Tactics In
Misrepresenting The Facts About Russia Collusion
By Brendan Kirby
Updated 13 Mar 2018 At 5:57 PM
A key House of Representatives leader expressed dismay
on Tuesday that special counsel Robert Mueller has shown
no apparent interest in investigating illegal leaks of
classified information, and accused his Democratic
colleagues of “Stalinist” tactics in creating a false
collusion narrative.
Speaking a day after the House Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence concluded it had found no
evidence that President Donald Trump conspired with
Russian interests to sabotage 2016 Democratic candidate
Hillary Clinton’s campaign, Chairman Devin Nunes (R-
Calif.) said on “The Laura Ingraham Show” that the
only crimes his panel uncovered involved the publication
of classified information about the counterintelligence
probe that included eavesdropping on Trump associates.
“I remain concerned with the special
counsel, even though I was one who at the
beginning of it strongly supported Mueller’s
appointment,” he said. “And I strongly
supported it because we had already been
investigating for several months at the time,
and we found no evidence — not even one
sliver of evidence — that the Trump
campaign had colluded with Russia.”
Nunes (pictured above) said he believed then that Mueller
would have focused on the leaks.
"Because those were the felonies that we
knew of," he said. "Yet I have zero
evidence that Mueller's even looked at the
leaks or does not care about the leaks …
Why would you not go where there's an
obvious felony that's been committed? Why
would you not start there?"
306
Meanwhile, Nunes said, Democrats and most of the media
are working overtime to try to discredit the committee's
work and imply facts that have not been established.
"They believe that if they tell a lie long
enough, that eventually it becomes the
truth," he said in response to a statement
Monday night by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-
Calif.) that denigrated him as a "messenger
boy" for Trump. "It's just classic Stalinist
and Alinsky tactics that they use."
The latter was a reference to Saul Alinsky, a left-wing
community organizer famous for his 1972 guidebook,
"Rules for Radicals." Hillary Clinton, the 2016
Democratic presidential nominee, and President Barack
Obama were closely linked to Alinsky and his tactics.
Nunes said public life has made him accustomed to a left-
wing press. What is new during the Trump era, he added,
is a basic lack of any semblance of objectivity. He said the
notion, repeated by Waters, that he went to the White
House in the middle of the night to try to prove that
Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower is a "made-up
story."
Contrary to Waters' assertion, Nunes said, he was the first
person to say there was no evidence to back up the
wiretapping allegation that Trump made in a tweet.
"I get hit every single day — not with one or
two stories," he said. "There's a dozen
stories on any given day that are totally
fabricated, totally false, regurgitating what
they wrote months ago. And that's just
attacking me … There's a clear attempt to
try to discredit our investigation, when in
fact, we're the only investigation so far
 that's actually come up with real, tangible narrative that they've bought into so many
evidence." years."

That evidence includes the now-confirmed fact that the
Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee
paid for the anti-Trump dossier, produced by former
British spy Christopher Steele, that was the basis of a
surveillance warrant targeting Trump campaign volunteer
Carter Page.
Nunes said he does not believe Democrats thought the
collusion allegations would result in the appointment of a
special counsel. He suggested the goal was to rile up
liberal voters ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
On that score, he added, Democrats have succeeded.

"At the end of the day, the one thing we "Their base is absolutely motivated to get
discovered was, yeah, there was a lot of out and go vote, and it's largely because of
leaked classified information, but all of it Russia, even though there's no evidence
was innuendo and spun into that somehow that there was any collusion between the
the Trump campaign had colluded with Trump campaign and the Russians," Nunes
Russians," he said. said.
"And at the end of the day, what did we
really find out? It was the Hillary campaign
that actually had the links to the Russians
and got information — dirt — on Trump
from Russians that they used during the
campaign," Nunes continued.

He added,

"The Left and the media is out to destroy

anyone who will disrupt their collusion

307
 Protesters March With Mexican Flags In San Diego
Against Trump — BUILD THE WALL!
By Jim Hoft
March 13, 2018, 6:22 Pm

Illegal aliens also marched in San Diego

Protesters marched in San Diego today today against President Trump.
against President Trump’s visit to the
The US needs a wall.
border town.
The protesters were carrying Mexican
flags as they marched against the
populist president.

This is America.

308
 Ex-CIA Director John Brennan Posts Ominous Warning
To Republicans On House Intel Committee After They
Rule No Trump-Russia Collusion
By Cristina Laila
March 13, 2018, 6:39 Pm

House Intelligence Committee

Republicans announced Monday that
they found “no evidence of collusion,”
between the Trump campaign and the
Kremlin in the panel’s ‘Russia probe.’

The Democrats and Deep State didn’t take the news well.

Early Tuesday morning, former CIA Director and

prominent Twitter troll, John Brennan posted an ominous
warning to the Republicans on the House Intel Panel and
Perhaps Brennan is nervous because he
is under investigation by the House Intel
“legislators who try to protect President Committee.
Trump.”
Chairman Devin Nunes is investigating
John Brennan and other Obama officials
for their role in promoting Hillary’s
phony dossier.

According to investigative reporter, Paul Sperry, Chairman

Nunes is also investigating whether Brennan perjured
himself in a public testimony about the dossier.

Also according to Sperry, Brennan is aware Nunes is

investigating him.

Brennan fired off an early morning tweet warning
Republicans on the House Intel Panel will face November
reckoning for concluding there was not collusion between
Trump and the Russians during the 2016 election.
Brennan tweeted,
“Leadership of House Intel Committee has
traded last vestige of integrity for politics.
With other investigative shoes yet to drop,
legislators who try to protect
@realDonaldTrump will face November
reckoning. Hopefully, bipartisan effort in
Senate Intel Committee will endure…”
309
Other members of Obama’s echo chamber also came out
swinging after the House Intel Committee’s
announcement.
Leaker Adam Schiff immediately blew a gasket and
released a ridiculous statement claiming the Republicans
don’t care about the fact that the Russians may have
leverage over Trump.
Former Attorney General Eric ‘Fast and Furious’ Holder
was livid after the GOP House Intel panel shut down the
Trump-Russia probe.
Holder called it a cover up. Rich coming from the only
Attorney General in U.S. history to be held in criminal
contempt of Congress.
 Former Clinton Campaign Manager Rips Hillary For
Trashing Trump Voters During India Trip (VIDEO)
By Joshua Caplan
March 13, 2018, 7:07 Pm

During a fireside chat in Mumbai, India,
Hillary Clinton shockingly suggested
Trump voters don’t like African-
Americans ‘getting rights,’ or women
having jobs.
Credit: NTK Network
The moderator asked Clinton why she
thinks almost 52 percent of white women
voted for Trump, despite them knowing
about the controversial “Access
Hollywood” tape.
“[Democrats] do not do well with white men
and we don’t do well with married, white
women,” Clinton explained. “And part of
that is an identification with the Republican
Party, and a sort of ongoing pressure to
vote the way that your husband, your boss,
your son, whoever, believes you should.”
“I won the places that are optimistic,
diverse, dynamic, moving forward and
[Trump’s] whole campaign, ‘Make America
Great Again,’ was looking backward,”
Clinton continued.

Clinton then explained how she interpreted Trump’s

pitch to voters and why she believes they ended up voting
for him.

“You know, you didn’t like black people

getting rights, you don’t like women, you
know, getting jobs. You don’t want to see
that Indian-American succeeding more
than you are. Whatever your problem is,
I’m going to solve it.”

On Tuesday, Patti Solis Doyle, Clinton’s 2008 presidential

campaign manager ripped Hillary for trashing Trump
voters.

GOP War Room reports:

On HLN, longtime top aide to Hillary

NTK Network reports:
Hillary Clinton said that white women voted
for President Trump during the 2016
presidential election because their
husbands told them to, during a discussion
at the India Today Conclave on Saturday.
310
Clinton, Patti Solis Doyle, slams Hillary for
trashing Middle America & implying states
that voted for Trump were backwards.
Clinton’s former campaign manager
admitted she couldn’t “sugarcoat” how
“wrong” Clinton’s comments were and
blamed it on Clinton “still struggling” with
her loss.
“It seems to me she’s still struggling with
coming to terms on how she lost and why
 she lost, which, you know, is human and
normal, particularly this level of loss. I do
wish she would stop doing it so publicly,”
the former aide told host S. E. Cupp.

311
 Gregg Jarrett: Jeff Sessions Is The “Most Feckless,
Incompetent Attorney General In Modern
US History” (VIDEO)
By Jim Hoft
March 13, 2018, 7:09 Pm

FOX News contributor and former

attorney Gregg Jarrett joined Lou Dobbs
to discuss the recent developments by
Deep State operatives in their continual
witch hunt to destroy Donald Trump and
his family and former campaign
officials.
Jarrett went off on failed Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Gregg Jarrett:
Well, unfortunately and I’m sad to say this.
Jeff Sessions as Attorney General is the
most feckless and incompetent Attorney
General we’ve had in modern American
history. He’s incapable of doing the job.
As usual, Jarrett nailed it.

Via Lou Dobbs Tonight:

Lou Dobbs:

You know this Attorney General does not

have the stomach for a fight. It’s just not
going to happen…
.

312
 Lawyer Suing Gateway Pundit, Alex Jones, Allen West
Worked For Same Firm That Placed 4 Lawyers – Including
Mueller – On Special Counsel
By Jim Hoft
March 13, 2018, 8:20 Pm

Now isn’t this interesting–

Unhinged leftie hack and State Department employee

Brennan Gilmore traveled to Charlottesville, Virginia on
August 12, 2017 to counter protest a group of white
supremacists defending a Confederate statue in the city.

Gilmore filmed Alex Fields Jr. drive his car into a group of
counter protesters marching in the street.
Gilmore was then interviewed on several far left
mainstream media outlets about the events in
CNN Media
Charlottesville.

But Mr. Gilmore did not mention his work with the State
Department, his far left activism or his extreme Trump
hatred.
Here is Mr. Gilmore on the record at “Blue Virginia.”
The Gateway Pundit — along with Alex Jones, Allen
West, Lee Stranahan, Infowars reporter LeeAnn McAdoo,
Derrick Wilburn and others — are being sued by Mr.
Gilmore.
Here is the court document.

As we reported earlier Gilmore’s court case is filled with

inaccuracies, far left drivel and nonsense.

Now this…

Brennan Gilmore’s attorney is Andrew

Mandrala who is (was?) an attorney at
the WilmerHale law firm.

At least four attorneys from WilmerHale

are members of the Mueller Special
Counsel — including Robert Mueller.

Robert Mueller was a partner at WilmerHale.

And three attorneys working on the anti-

Trump witch hunt are also from Wilmer
Hale.
The Gateway Pundit posted on Brennan Gilmore here.
Aaron Zebley

— a former partner at WilmerHale who has

previously served with Mueller at the FBI
and has served as an assistant U.S.
313
 attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia.
— Worked with Robert Mueller at the
WilmerHale firm.
James Quarles
— a former partner at WilmerHale and a
former assistant special prosecutor for the
Watergate Special Prosecution Force.
Jeannie Rhee
— A former partner at WilmerHale who has
served in the Office of Legal Counsel at
.
314
DOJ and as an assistant U.S. attorney for
the District of Columbia. — Rhee is a
Clinton Foundation Lawyer and former
Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the
Office of Legal Counsel under Barack
Obama.
Maybe this is just a coincidence?
But it is a bit strange that the attorney
filing charges against The Gateway
Pundit, Alex Jones, Allen West, Lee
Stranahan, etc. works for the same firm
that has at least four attorneys working
on the Mueller Special Counsel.
“What The F*Ck!”: Christopher Steele & Business Partner
Had “Heated Exchange” Over Dossier
By Joshua Caplan
March 13, 2018, 8:36 Pm
According to Michael Isikoff and David Corn’s new book
“Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on
America and the Election of Donald Trump,” former
British spy Christopher Steele and his business partner
Christopher Burrows had a “heated exchange” over the
dossier’s salacious allegations.
Daily Caller reports:
In his first memo for the dossier, dated
June 20, 2016, Steele, a former MI6 officer,
reported that a source inside Russia had
received information that Trump took part
in the tryst in 2013 while visiting Russia for
the Miss Universe pageant. Steele’s source
told him that the Russian government has
used the video to blackmail Trump. […]
Steele’s business partner, Christopher Burrows,
immediately questioned Steele’s report, according to the
book.
“What the fuck!” Burrows said to Steele
during what the authors describe as a
heated exchange.
“Burrows feared Steele was
sensationalizing his material,” the book
reads, which reports that Burrows “later
privately described the report as akin to
preliminary intelligence reporting —
information not analyzed, vetted, or ready
for distribution.”
“This was not gospel. It was raw product,”
Burrows would say.
315
Steele, who was tasked with compiling the ‘Trump
dossier’ for opposition research firm Fusion GPS,
has admitted in court that the discredited document
contains “limited intelligence.”
Steele also admitted part of “his final
December memo,” was unvetted.
“Such intelligence was not actively sought;
it was merely received,” Steele added.
According to a recent WSJ report, the Obama Justice
Department relied on information obtained by Steele, to
spy on Trump campaign aide, Carter Page, during the final
days of the 2016 presidential election.
Steele infamously compiled the discredited dossier
detailing alleged sex acts performed by then-businessman
Donald Trump inside a swanky Moscow hotel suite in
2013.
However, the veracity of the allegations didn’t
stop Director of National Intelligence James Clapper from
informing President Barack Obama of the “golden
showers” claims during a Presidential Daily Briefing.
Mother Jones reports:
Near the time the spy chiefs briefed Trump
on the intelligence community’s report on
the Russian attack, Susan Rice, the
national security adviser, encouraged
Clapper during the daily intelligence
briefing to tell Obama about the “golden
showers” allegations. After Clapper did so,
Obama turned to Rice and said, “Why am I
hearing this?” The president was
incredulous. He added, “What’s
happening?” One participant in the meeting
later said, “You don’t really expect to hear
the term ‘golden showers’ in the
President’s Daily Brief or that the guy who
is going to become president may be a
Manchurian candidate.”
 CHAIRMAN NUNES: No Evidence Of Trump-Russia
Collusion But ‘Clear Links’ Between Hillary’s Campaign
And Russians (VIDEO)
By Cristina Laila
March 13, 2018, 9:21 Pm
Chairman Nunes appeared on ‘Fox &
Friends’ Tuesday morning to discuss
the House Intel Committee’s report after
announcing the panel found “no
evidence of collusion, coordination or
conspiracy between the Trump
campaign and the Russians.”
Nunes also said there are clear links between Hillary’s
campaign and the Russians.
Transcript via Fox News:
“We need to get our FBI and our
intelligence agencies working on real
problems and get them away from what
they’re doing now, which is, it looks likes
spinning in circles,” Nunes said. “We spent
14 months on this investigation, looking for
collusion. We didn’t find any.”
Nunes accused Schiff and other Democrats
of trying to rewrite history and engage in
316
personal attacks because they have failed
to find clear evidence of the Trump
campaign colluding with Russians.
“They’ve said that numerous times,
probably hundreds of times, nearly all of
them. Yet they never produce their
collusion to our committee. So we have
interviewed all these folks. We can’t find
any collusion. And that’s where we stand
now,” Nunes said.
He added that they found “clear links” between the Hillary
Clinton campaign and Russians, but no one seems to care
about that.
“The more that you look at this, the more it
is pretty obvious that you have one side
that plays by one set of rules, and
Republicans are held to a different set of
standards,” Nunes said.
Chairman Nunes has fearlessly fought Democrat
opposition since he rose to prominence in 2017.
Ranking member of the House Intel Committee Adam
Schiff previously hit Nunes with a bogus ethics probe
which lasted 8 months in an effort to slow the Chairman
down.
The House Intel Committee and the Senate Judiciary
Committee are still investigating Hillary’s phony dossier,
the unmasking scandal and the FISA abuses committed by
Obama’s DOJ and FBI.
 Chai Feldblum Thinks Religious Freedom
Should Yield To Gay Rights. Why Did Trump Tap Her
For A Top Civil Rights Post?
Kevin Daley - Supreme Court Reporter
9:27 PM 03/13/2018
LGBTAC Presentation: In partnership with the Equal
Accessibility Advisory Committee (EAAC), the Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Advisory Committee
(LGBTAC) welcomes Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) Commissioner Chai Feldblum, in the
Bldg. 8 Auditorium. (Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight
Center/Bill Hrybyk)
 President Trump renominated Chai Feldblum to
another five-year term as a commissioner on the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC).
 As a law professor, Feldblum argued gay rights
should trump religious liberty, and endorsed
government recognition of polygamy.
 As an EEOC commissioner, she spearheaded
initiatives directly opposed by the Trump
administration.
In a surprise move, President Donald Trump renominated
Chai Feldblum to a five-year term on the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), over the
vigorous objections of Republican lawmakers and his
supporters on the religious right.
Feldblum, originally appointed to the agency by former
President Barack Obama, is an intensely progressive
agency official who has broken with the administration in
key policy areas since Trump assumed office in January of
2017. Before joining the Commission, she regularly
advocated for the supremacy of LGBT rights over
religious liberty as a professor at the Georgetown
University Law Center. Her arguments include endorsing
polygamy, defending burdening religious practice to
advance LGBT equality, and questioning the value of
marriage as a social good.
317
“Commissioner Feldblum has a range of
policy views that strike the general public
as out of the mainstream,” a former senior
career official at the EEOC told The Daily
Caller News Foundation.
Also WATCH: California AG warns
Trump to watch his back if he’s ever in a
dark alley with Maxine Waters
The EEOC is a small but powerful agency charged with
enforcement of the nation’s workplace discrimination
laws. The agency is led by five Senate-confirmed
commissioners. Traditionally, three commissioners are
members of the ruling party, and two are members of the
opposition party.
Appointees for independent commissions like the EEOC
are selected in consultation with Senate leaders. There will
be three vacancies on the five-member Commission by
summer. As such, Trump nominated two Republicans,
Janet Dhillon and Daniel Gade, and one Democrat,
Feldblum.
Feldblum joined the agency through a recess appointment
in March 2010. The Constitution’s recess appointment
power allows the president to fill vacant government posts
when the Senate is not in session, though their
commissions expire at the end of the congressional term.
She was subsequently confirmed as a commissioner in
Dec. 2010 and reconfirmed to a five-year term in Dec.
2013. Just two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine
and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voted for her confirmation.
She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and clerked on
the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice Harry Blackmun.
GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, to date the most vocal
opponent of her reappointment, says Feldblum’s views are
radical, even as compared to a typical Democratic
appointee to the agency. He urged the president to select a
different Democrat for the post.
“If Feldblum were a typical Democrat, it
might make sense to let her nomination
proceed through the Senate along with her
two Republican colleagues,” Lee said in a
statement. “But Feldblum is no typical
Democrat. Her radical views on marriage
and the appropriate use of government
power place her far outside even the liberal
mainstream.”
A vote has not yet been scheduled for her confirmation.
A dim view of religious freedom
As a law professor at Georgetown, Feldblum endorsed
polygamy, defended burdening religious practice to
advance LGBT equality, and questioned the value of
marriage as a social good.
In one 2005 article, Feldblum articulated a positive moral
case for gay sex, and criticized ideological fellow travelers
for ducking normative questions about homosexuality. In
the course of that project, she surveyed debates among
feminists and queer theorists about the utility of marriage
as an institution, noting some scholars believe it
institutionalizes oppressive social forces. Others, she says,
believe gay couples can help solidify important norms and
mores if given access to the marital union.
Feldblum is decidedly agnostic on this question,
concluding that marriage is not obviously beneficial to
society, since it excludes other structures of human
relations.
“I, for one, am not sure whether marriage is
a normatively good institution,” she said. “I
also believe all of us are harmed, as
members of a society seeking a common
good, when society fails to acknowledge
the wide array of non-marital intimate social
structures that we as humans have
ingeniously constructed to negotiate and
make sense of the world.”
In this connection, she was also a signatory to a 2006
statement called Beyond Marriage, which calls on
government to recognize other forms of family
organization, including “committed, loving households in
318
which there is more than one conjugal partner,” that is,
polygamy or polyamory.
She asked for her name to be removed from the statement
when she was nominated for the EEOC, claiming she had
not carefully read its contents before signing her name.
Elsewhere in her academic writings, she wrote approvingly
of Justice David Souter’s concurring opinion in
Washington v. Glucksberg, in which Souter urged the
Supreme Court to take a broader view of the liberty
interests protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. His
opinion asserts that liberty interests necessarily fall along a
spectrum, and that government may legitimately burden
interests which fall on one end of that line.
Feldblum endorses and develops this framework by
assigning liberty interests to three non-exclusive
categories, which she then places along Souter’s spectrum.
Under this paradigm, she believes infringements on
religious belief which help secure LGBT rights are legally
justifiable, as “bodily and identity liberties” should enjoy
precedence over “belief liberty” in a zero-sum universe.
Feldblum’s article is clearly sensitive to religious
dissenters. As she refines her argument, she takes their
objections seriously and chides judges for failing to
appreciate the depth of their conviction. Still, she suggests
there are only ever winners and losers where constitutional
rights are concerned.
“Thus, for all my sympathy for the
evangelical Christian couple who may wish
to run a bed and breakfast from which they
can exclude unmarried, straight couples
and all gay couples, this is a point where I
believe the ‘zero-sum’ nature of the game
inevitably comes into play,” she wrote.
“And, in making the decision in this zero-
sum game, I am convinced society should
come down on the side of protecting the
liberty of LGBT people.”
At EEOC, Feldblum openly breaks with
Trump administration
Since joining the agency, Feldblum has been at the
vanguard of an effort to expand existing civil rights laws to
protect LGBT workers that has placed her directly at odds
with the Trump administration. Though EEOC is an
independent agency insulated from political pressure, it’s
quite rare for federal agencies to pursue policies directly at
odds with the executive branch.
As a law professor, she was a principal architect of the
Employment Nondiscrimination Act (EDNA) which would
make it unlawful to discriminate against employees on the
basis of sexual orientation. Congress repeatedly declined
to enact such protections, so academics and cause litigators
began pursuing other alternatives.
One such alternative, which EEOC embraced under
Feldblum’s leadership in 2015, argues that current
workplace discrimination statutes already secure
protections for gay workers. The argument is intuitive and
has an elegant internal logic: Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 provides that no person may be discriminated
against in employment by reason of their race, color,
religion, sex, or national origin. Since discrimination
against homosexuals is generally the product of sex-based
stereotypes or gender norms, anti-gay discrimination is just
the sort of sex discrimination the text of the Civil Rights
Act already outlaws.
This position is buttressed by a 1989 Supreme Court
case which explained that the test for determining the
validity of gender-based classifications must be applied
“free of fixed notions concerning the roles
and abilities of males and females.”
Two federal appeals courts based in New York City and
Chicago have endorsed this theory of the Civil Rights Act,
though a third court in Atlanta has rejected it.
The former career official said the agency’s actions on
Title VII are at odds with the president’s deregulatory
agenda, to the extent that they’ve forced the private sector
to comply with an entirely new set of workplace
discrimination rules, while diverting resources away from
other enforcement areas like sexual harassment.
“By pushing these issues, which are
anathema to the current administration,
EEOC takes away resources from the
vigorous enforcement of existing laws,” the
former career official said.
While Feldblum’s argument has a great and growing
number of supporters, her renomination to EEOC is all the
stranger in light of it, as Trump’s own Justice Department
has taken the exact opposite position on Title VII, and
rebuked the agency for embracing such a sweeping view of
the law.
.
319
In an unusual move, DOJ filed an amicus (or “friend-of-
the-court”) brief in a 2017 employment discrimination case
before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The case,
Zarda v. Altitude Express, began in 2010, when a
skydiving company fired Donald Zarda for making a
remark about his sexuality to a patron. Zarda is gay, and
sued the company for a Title VII violation.
At an earlier stage of the litigation, the EEOC filed an
amicus brief supporting Zarda. The Justice Department
filed its own brief in July 2017, expressly rejecting the
agency’s argument.
The Justice Department and a federal agency seldom take
opposite positions in federal court.
Beyond rebutting the EEOC’s brief, DOJ also emphasized
the Commission has no authority to speak for the federal
government, a barely-concealed jab at an agency gone
rogue — at least in the Trump administration’s view.
“The EEOC is not speaking for the United
States and its position about the scope of
Title VII is entitled to no deference beyond
its power to persuade,” the DOJ filing
reads.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions himself repudiated
Feldblum’s position in an Oct. 2017 memo circulated to all
federal prosecutors.
“Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination
encompasses discrimination between men
and women but does not encompass
discrimination based on gender identity per
se, including transgender status,” he wrote.
“This is a conclusion of law, not policy,” it
adds.
“That is shocking and extremely rare,” the
career official told TheDCNF of DOJ’s
actions. “It speaks volumes about what’s
happening at the EEOC.”
 CNN’s Bash, Borger: ‘Tragic’ ‘Shame’ House Intel
Committee Isn’t Like Iran-Contra, Watergate
By Curtis Houck
March 13, 2018 10:02 PM EDT
As if they were reading talking points from Democratic
Congressman Adam Schiff (Calif.), CNN’s Dana Bash and
Gloria Borger groaned during Tuesday’s The Situation
Room that it was a “tragic” “shame” that House
Intelligence Committee Democrats and Republicans
haven’t worked together on the probe for Trump-Russia
collusion in the same way Congress did with Iran-Contra
and Watergate.
CNN may pass itself off as the “Facts First” network, but
it’s important to note that while Republicans cooperated in
both investigations, Democrats had massive majorities
during both the Iran-Contra and Watergate probes.
Back to 2018, Borger lamented moments after Schiff and
his colleagues appeared on-camera that there has to be a
Special Counsel to investigate Russian meddling when,
presumably, Republicans should have worked with Schiff.
Once again, Schiff is being treated like he’s a non-partisan
actor and not the member of Congress representing
Hollywood.
“[S]o what has happened here — and I
think what — what is tragic here is that
the American public has not been able
to really watch testimony of people
talking about what occurred during the
election. I mean, during Iran-Contra, the
public and during Watergate the public
got to watch people come in, testify
before committees and tell the story
publicly to the American voters so they
could see, understand, digest for
themselves,” Borger complained
320
She added that, with testimony occurring behind closed
doors,
“the story remains largely untold except
for what the media has been able to
glean through our own reporting and
now we’re going have to wait for Bob
Mueller and I think it’s — it’s kind of
tragic because I do think that the
American public deserved a better
explanation than they're getting.”
Blitzer finally spoke to tee up Bash by lamenting that
“[i]t’s pretty interesting...to see how
divided this House Intelligence
Committee has become.”
Bash cited a Republican member who was initially
hopefull before the two parties went their separate ways
before agreeing with Borger that “it was a different
situation” with Congress during Iran-Contra and
Watergate.
“I think one of the differences is that
here you’re talking about inherently a lot
of secretive things. It's classified
information when talking about what the
Russians did. However, I do believe that
on both sides of the aisle,
particularly...the Republicans there have
taken advantage of the fact that they
tend to meet in secret and had witness
after witness come who are not talking
about classified information...which is a
shame,” she concluded.
Blitzer had a simple word of agreement before going to a
commercial break:
“It certainly is.”
To see the relevant transcript from CNN’s The Situation
Room with Wolf Blitzer on March 13.”
CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer
March 13, 2018
6:48 p.m. Eastern
WOLF BLITZER: You know, Gloria, let's get back to this debate
that’s underway between the House Intelligence Committee
Republicans versus the Democrats. You heard Adam Schiff flatly
say he has no doubt there was collusion, there's in evidence the
public domain and there’s secret evidence as well. This is going
to be a huge fight.
GLORIA BORGER: It is and it's going to continue in the
Congress and it's not going get resolved. You know, there is no
way that the Republicans and the Democrats in the House —
we’ll see what happens in the Senate — are going to resolve this.
I mean, that's why you have a special counsel right now and if
the Republicans were lax in deciding subpoenas on bank
records, testimony from people, that's fine because — it's not fine
but the special counsel won't be lax and so what has happened
here — and I think what — what is tragic here is that the
American public has not been able to really watch testimony of
people talking about what occurred during the election. I mean,
during Iran-Contra, the public and during Watergate the public
got to watch people come in, testify before committees and tell
the story publicly to the American voters so they could see,
understand, digest for themselves. In this case, most interviews,
most interviews have been done behind closed doors because
that's the way the Republican majority wanted it and, therefore,
the story remains largely untold except for what the media has
been able to glean through our own reporting. And now we’re
321
going have to wait for Bob Mueller and I think it’s — it’s kind of
tragic because I do think that the American public deserved a
better explanation than they're getting.
BLITZER: It's pretty interesting, Dana, those of us who have
covered Congress and you’ve covered Congress for a long time
to see how divided this House Intelligence Committee has
become.
DANA BASH: It is and it's something that we have become
accustomed to as this investigation has gone on, that this
committee splintered early on and never recovered. I remember
talking toa Republican on the committee early on who was eager
to get to the bottom of what happened and how this Congress
can give recommendations for how to prevent it in the future and
it was early on very disheartened by the way that the committee
has gone. But, you know, that is the situation that we are in.
Gloria is right that, during Watergate, and even Iran-Contra, it
was a different situation, because a lot of it was out in the public.
I think one of the differences is that here you’re talking about
inherently a lot of secretive things. It's classified information when
talking about what the Russians did. However, I do believe that
on both sides of the aisle, particularly the House, the Intelligence
Committee, the Republicans there have taken advantage of the
fact that they tend to meet in secret and had witness after
witness come who are not talking about classified information,
but are still not allowed to be — to interviewed in public, which is
a shame.
BLITZER: It certainly is.
 Cupp Wrecks ‘Myopic Self-Centered’
Hillary For Smearing Trump Supporters
By Nicholas Fondacaro
March 13, 2018 10:04 PM EDT
Across the globe in India this past weekend, failed
presidential candidate Hillary Clinton targeted rural Trump
voters with yet another stream of hatred. She smeared
them as depressed, backward, and white in an ignorant
tirade before a foreign crowd. But on the Tuesday
installment of HLN’s Unfiltered, host S.E. Cupp unloaded
on Clinton and called her out for being a “myopic self-
centered self-righteous unaccountable and unrelatable
political creature.”
“I won the places that are optimistic,
diverse, dynamic, moving forward and
his whole campaign, make America
great again, was looking backward,”
Clinton chided over the weekend. “You
know, you didn't like black people
getting rights. You don't like women
getting jobs. You don't want to see that
Indian American succeeding more than
you are.”
Cupp began her takedown by pointing out that Clinton was
“one of those people” that just never get it, “and what she
just said is among the many reasons why she wasn't
elected.”
After playing a clip of Clinton’s attack, Cupp expertly
broke down what the former Secretary of State actually
said.
“She won the coasts, which is, you know,
better than all those backward, in-between
states,” she said pointing to Clinton’s elitist
base and disturbing lack of empathy for
working families. “She won places that are
optimistic, which is, you know, better than
322
places that have been struggling for
decades.”
“Listen, the idea that anyone who voted for
Trump doesn't think black people should
have rights, women should work, or Indian
Americans shouldn’t succeed is flat-out
disgusting,” Cupp scolded Clinton. She
also called out the hypocrites who lambast
President Trump for being divisive but
ignore Clinton’s rhetoric. “And worse it’s
calculated. Unlike Trump. she's actually
thought about this stuff before it spills out of
her mouth,” she exclaimed.
“I didn't vote for either of these clowns,”
Cupp declared. But she thanked God that
Clinton wasn’t elected president “because
there is no more myopic self-centered self-
righteous unaccountable and unrelatable
political creature than Hillary Clinton.”
A little later, Cupp brought on her panel to discuss the
ridiculousness of Clinton’s irrational lashings out:
Well, Hillary is as out of touch as ever. The
former presidential nominee has never
been able to hide her disdain for middle
America. She once again suggested that
Trump supporters are racist misogynist
backward xenophobes over the weekend.
And it's been 490 days since she lost the
2016 election.
The HLN host noted that Clinton had the opportunity to
ride off into the sunset as a Democratic Party elder but
seems to have chosen to become a liability instead.
 “Her comments are so stupid, they're
smart. And I agree with you, I don't think
she cares about the party,” argued
the Washington Examiner's T. Becket
Adams. “In fact, she has come out before
and blamed the DNC for her loss. She has
blamed everyone for her loss. I think she’s
at this where it’s almost bulwark.”
The conservative panel had loads of fun taking jabs and
mocking Clinton, but Cupp said it best when she quoted
American poet Maya Angelou:
“‘When someone reveals who they are, you
believe them the first time.’ Plenty of us did.
Many more should now.”
The relevant portions of the transcript are below, click
expand to read:
HLN
S.E. Cupp Unfiltered
March 13, 2018
5:36:13 PM Eastern
S.E. CUPP: Some people never learn. Hillary Clinton is one of
those people. Her never-ending tour to explain what happened in
2016 is unfortunately not quite over yet. And what she just said is
among the many reasons why she wasn't elected. Here's the
former presidential nominee defending her loss to Donald Trump
in India over the weekend.
HILLARY CLINTON: Now, I win the coasts. I win Illinois and
Minnesota, places like that. I won the places that are optimistic,
diverse, dynamic, moving forward and his whole campaign, make
America great again, was looking backwards. You know, you
didn't like black people getting rights. You don't like women
getting jobs. You don't want to see that Indian American
succeeding more than you are. Whatever your problem is, I'm
going to solve it.
CUPP: So unpacking that, she won the coasts, which is, you
know, better than all those backwards, in between states. She
won places that are diverse, which is, you know, better than
places that weren't. She won places that are optimistic, which is,
you know, better than places that have been struggling for
decades. Got it. I'm sure Republicans are hoping Democrats
frame the 2020 election just like that.
.
323
Listen, the idea that anyone who voted for Trump doesn't think
black people should have rights, women should work or Indian
Americans should succeed is flat-out disgusting. And for
everyone who rightly criticizes Trump for divisive rhetoric and us-
versus-them politics, this is as divisive as it gets. And worse it’s
calculated. Unlike Trump. she's actually thought about this stuff
before it spills out of her mouth.
So look, I'm no fan of everything Donald Trump says, does, or
believes in. Everyone knows that. I didn't vote for either of these
clowns. But thank God that lady is not our president because
there is no more myopic self-centered self-righteous
unaccountable and unrelatable political creature than Hillary
Clinton. As Maya Angelou said, “when someone reveals who
they are, you believe them the first time.” Plenty of us did. Many
more should now.
(…)
5:48:43 PM Eastern
CUPP: Well, Hillary is as out of touch as ever. The former
presidential nominee has never been able to hide her disdain for
middle America. She once again suggested that Trump
supporters are racist misogynist backwards xenophobes over the
weekend. And it's been 490 days since she lost the 2016
election. But instead of bowing out gracefully or becoming a
celebrated party elder, she seems pretty content being a political
liability.
Why does she keep doing this? It's not like she's unaware of the
tsunami of criticism she gets when she goes out and complains
about why she lost or blames other people or criticizes voters.
Why does she keep going back to this well, Chris?
(…)
CUPP: If I am a Democrat up for re-election in the middle of the
country, I would rather Trump campaign for me than Hillary
Clinton.
T. BECKET ADAMS: Her comments are so stupid, they're smart.
And I agree with you, I don't think she cares about the party. In
fact, she has come out before and blamed the DNC for her loss.
She has blamed everyone for her loss. I think she’s at this where
it’s almost bulwark. She's not going to run again. She doesn't
care. She will speak her mind and appealing specifically to a
rather wealthy demographic that agrees with her.
(…)
 Back Channel To Christopher Steele
Goes On The Record About Senate Testimony
Chuck Ross - Reporter
10:16 PM 03/13/2018
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC),
accompanied by Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), vice chairman of the
committee, speaks at a news conference to discuss their probe of
Russian interference in the 2016 election on Capitol Hill in
Washington, D.C., U.S., March 29, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P.
Bernstein
 Lawyer Adam Waldman said during an appearance
before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on
Nov. 3 that he relayed information about possible links
between billionaire activist George Soros and Fusion
GPS.
 Waldman said he received the information in a March
16.
 Waldman said Daniel J. Jones asserted he was
working with Fusion GPS and that the research firm
was being funded by a “group of Silicon Valley
billionaires and George Soros.”
An American lawyer who served as a back channel
between dossier author Christopher Steele and Democratic
Sen. Mark Warner is opening up about explosive
testimony he gave to a Senate committee late last year.
Adam Waldman said that during an appearance before the
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) on Nov.
3, he relayed information about possible links between
billionaire activist George Soros and Fusion GPS, the
opposition research firm that commissioned the dossier.
Waldman said he received the information in a March 16
meeting he had with Daniel J. Jones, a consultant and
former staffer to California Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Waldman told The Daily Caller News Foundation that
Jones asserted that he was working with Fusion GPS and
that the research firm was being funded by a
“group of Silicon Valley billionaires and
George Soros.” Jones also described
324
Fusion as a “shadow media organization
helping the government.”
“He was there as Fusion GPS. He brought
up Fusion GPS,” Waldman told TheDCNF
of his interaction with Jones.
“It was very, very clear.”
Waldman, 49, also said that Jones mentioned Glenn
Simpson, one of Fusion’s co-founders and Steele’s main
partner on the dossier project.
Waldman’s testimony about the meeting was first revealed
in a Daily Caller op-ed published last week by Oleg
Deripaska, a Russian billionaire who is a client of
Waldman’s.
In the op-ed, Deripaska, a former business partner of
former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s,
largely criticized the so-called “Deep State,” which he
alleges has pushed a false narrative about the Russia
investigation. But the piece also broke news about his
lawyer’s Senate testimony and the claims about Fusion
GPS and Soros funding. (RELATED: The Ever-
Changing ‘Russia Narrative’ In American Politics Is
Cynically False Public Manipulation)
Jones, Fusion GPS, and a representative for Soros did not
return repeated requests for comment. A spokesperson for
the Senate panel declined to discuss Waldman’s testimony.
Reached by phone, Fusion GPS attorney Josh Levy
declined to comment on Waldman’s testimony about Jones
and Soros connections to the firm, saying “I’m not
commenting for your story.”
Waldman’s link to key players in the Russia investigation
is one of the more intriguing wrinkles in the dossier saga.
On one side is Oleg Deripaska, an oligarch with close ties
to Vladimir Putin. On the other are Steele, Jones and
Warner, all of who are involved in one way or another in
investigating the Kremlin’s meddling in the 2016 election.
How the two sides found a common link in Waldman
remains a mystery, one that lawyer said he is presently
unable to discuss in full.

Waldman, who runs Endeavor Law Firm and also
represents actor Johnny Depp, entered the national
spotlight last month after text messages that he exchanged
last year with Warner were leaked to Fox News. The
messages, which Waldman provided to SSCI in
September, showed that he negotiated with Warner on
behalf of the London-based Steele to set up an interview
with the committee.
Former Senate Select Committee on Intelligence investigator Daniel J.
Jones (YouTube screen capture/The Guardian)
Warner sought the meeting in his capacity as the top
Democrat on Senate Intel.
Steele, as is now widely known, was hired by Fusion GPS
in June 2016 to investigate Donald Trump’s ties to Russia.
The Clinton campaign and Democratic National
Committee paid Fusion for the project.
Waldman’s texts to Warner mention Steele, Deripaska, and
Jones, who was an SSCI staffer for Feinstein when she
chaired the panel.
Encrypted text messages provided to SSCI and obtained by
TheDCNF corroborate some of Waldman’s claims,
particularly regarding his meeting with Jones and a
325
suggestion from him that he helped with anti-Trump news
stories.
A March 15 message shows Jones contacted Waldman and
introduced himself as being with an upstart non-profit
group called the Democracy Integrity Project.
Signal messages from Daniel Jones to Adam Waldman
“Dan Jones here from the Democracy
Integrity Project. Chris wanted us to
connect,” reads the intro message,
referring to Steele and to a newly formed
non-profit group of which little is known.
Corporate registration documents show that a group by
that name was formed in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 31,
2017, several weeks before Jones’ outreach to Waldman
and several weeks after BuzzFeed News published the
dossier.
Waldman’s contact with Warner began in February 2017
and initially centered on Deripaska and Wikileaks founder
Julian Assange. Waldman suggested in his initial texts that
he was in communication with Assange, who is living
under asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
The lawyer first mentioned Steele to Warner on March 17,
a day after he met with Jones, who now runs a consulting
firm called the Penn Quarter Group.
“Chris Steele asked me to call you,”
Waldman wrote to Warner.
The text messages show that Warner, a Democrat, sought
to meet with Steele separately from other members of the
Senate committee. But Waldman said that Steele first
wanted a letter signed by Warner and North Carolina Sen.
Richard Burr, the Republican chairman of the committee,
formally seeking an interview with Steele.
Warner rebuffed the idea and pressed for a private meeting
with Steele, going as far as offering to travel to England.

Christopher Steele speaks to reporters in London. (Youtube screen

shot/CBS News)
“We want to do this right private in London
don’t want to send letter yet cuz if we can’t
get agreement wud rather not have paper
trail,” Warner wrote on March 30.

Waldman’s texts to Warner also refer to Jones.

“[Steele] said he will also speak w Dan

Jones whom he says is talking to you,”
Waldman wrote in an April 25 message. “I
encouraged him to engage with you for the
sake of the truth and of vindication of the
dossier,” the text continued.
Later that day, he wrote that “[Steele] said
Dan Jones is coming to see you.”
“I suggest you explain to Dan why a call is
the necessary first step rather than a letter
from your perspective.”
(RELATED: Intriguing Links Emerge In GOP-Led
Dossier Investigation)
Waldman had only a few text exchanges with Jones, but
the messages provide some insight into Jones’
investigative work on Trump.
“Our team helped with this,” Jones wrote in
a March 17 message that included a link to
a Reuters article about Russian nationals’
investments in Trump-owned buildings.
Signal messages from Daniel Jones to Adam Waldman
“I spoke w Warner and he did mention you
as discussed. He obliquely brought your
org up so it was natural,” Waldman wrote
on March 19.
Waldman and Warner’s leaked texts show that the two
called each other multiple times around that date.
The two sets of text messages, and Waldman’s testimony,
raises numerous questions about the dossier.
It remains unclear why Jones reached out to Waldman.
Jones and Waldman’s relationships to Steele are also a
mystery. Waldman declined to comment on that particular
matter, and a request for comment from Steele’s lawyers in
London was forwarded to a legal adviser who said they
could not speak to the media on Steele’s behalf.

The article focuses heavily on Russians’ investments in

Trump real estate properties in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla.

Jones did not describe who was included on his team,

but Glenn Simpson, the Fusion GPS co-founder, testified
to two congressional committees last year that his firm
conducted research into Trump’s real estate deals in Sunny
Isles Beach.

Adam Waldman and Oleg Deripaska during the Oktoberfest 2015 on

September 19, 2015 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Gisela
Schober/Getty Images)
326
Little else is known about Jones’ work with Fusion GPS or
on the dossier. The only reporting on those connections
comes from The Federalist which recently reported that
Jones was working with Fusion as part of a post-election
effort to validate the dossier. (RELATED: Steele’s Back
Channel To Mark Warner Is Lawyer For Russian
Oligarch)
Republican lawmakers remain puzzled by the Warner-
Waldman and the possible links between Deripaska and
Steele.
Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the
Senate Judiciary Committee, recently sent letters to
Waldman and Deripaska’s London-based attorney, Paul
Hauser, inquiring whether they or Deripaska have ever
hired Steele or his private intelligence firm, Orbis Business
Intelligence.
Grassley also sent letters in January to members of the
Clinton campaign and DNC asking about any
communications with more than 20 individuals, including
Fusion GPS employees, Waldman and Jones.
Grassley appears interested in exploring what implications
any links between Steele and Deripaska would have for the
dossier, which BuzzFeed News published on Jan. 10, 2017.
Waldman denies one lead that lawmakers appear to be
chasing: that Deripaska was a source for the dossier.
All the evidence of bias on Mueller’s
team
327
Waldman has represented Deripaska since 2009, largely on
visa issues. The oligarch has fought the State Department
over its decision in 2006 to revoke his visa after the agency
became concerned about the industrialist’s alleged ties to
Russian organized crime.
The aluminum magnate pays Waldman $40,000 a month
for the work, according to documents filed by under the
Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Deripaska has also worked in the past with Paul Manafort,
the former Trump campaign chairman who was recently
indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller on money
laundering and bank fraud charges.
While Manafort was on the campaign, he and Deripaska
were in a dispute over a failed business venture involving
cable TV stations in Ukraine. Deripaska accused the
Republican consultant of squandering $19 million from the
deal. (RELATED: Manafort Offered To Provide
Briefings To Kremlin-Connected Oligarch During
Campaign)
“If he needs private briefings we can
accommodate,” Manafort wrote to an
associate on July 7, 2016, while he was still
with the Trump campaign.
And just before joining the campaign in
April 2016, Manafort sent a cryptic
message to his associate: “How do we use
to get whole?”
The emails have fueled speculation that Manafort sought
to use his position on the campaign to help settle his debts
to Deripaska.
 ‘Source D’ From Dossier Sought
Immunity From House Intel Committee
Chuck Ross - Reporter
10:58 AM 03/14/2018
An alleged source for the Steele dossier refused to testify without
immunity before the House committee conducting the Russia probe,
according to a government document released Tuesday. (YouTube
screen capture/Sergei Millian)
 An alleged source for the Steele dossier refused to
testify without immunity
 Sergei Millian is identified as “Source D” in the
dossier
 Millian was one of more than 30 witnesses that
Democrats want to interview
An alleged source for the Steele dossier refused to testify
without immunity before the House committee conducting
the Russia probe, according to a government document
released Tuesday.
The immunity request, which was made by Sergei Millian,
the chairman of the Russian-American Chamber of
Commerce, was denied by the committee. Democrats on
the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
called Tuesday for a subpoena to be issued to force Millian
to testify.
Democrats said that Millian, who is identified as “Source
D” in the Steele dossier, “declined to cooperate with the
investigation unless he was granted immunity,” in a report
released on Tuesday.
Also WATCH: Steele Dossier’s “Coincidences” Keep
Piling Up
328
Democrats said they informed committee Republicans on
Nov. 29 that they were
“open to engaging Mr. Millian to assess his
concerns.” Democrats said they are “not
aware of any information to warrant the
Committee granting Mr. Millian legal
immunity.”
Millian was one of more than 30 witnesses that Democrats
want to interview before ending the House panel’s
investigation into Russian meddling in the election.
Democrats issued the request in response to Republicans’
decision on Monday to close the Russia probe.
Republicans said they have completed a 150-page report
that claims the investigation has found no evidence of
collusion between President Donald Trump’s campaign
and Russian government.
Millian, whose real name is Siarhei Kukuts, was identified
early in 2017 as a source for the most salacious claims in
the dossier, which was written by former British spy
Christopher Steele and financed by former Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic
National Committee. (RELATED: Book Provides New
Details About Major Dossier Source)
Millian, who has worked as a translator, real estate broker,
and international consultant, was not aware that he was
providing information to Steele, according to “Russian
Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s Attack on
America and the Election of Donald Trump,” a book
about the Russia investigation that was released on
Tuesday.
Millian spoke with a “collector” who was working for
Steele to gather information for the Trump project,
according to the book.
In the dossier, Millian — or Source D — is
described as “a close associate of TRUMP
who had organized and managed his
recent trips to Moscow.”
He claimed the Kremlin had been feeding the Trump team
intelligence on Clinton.
Millian also provided the most eye-grabbing allegation
made in the Steele report. He told Steele’s collector that
during a trip to Moscow in November 2013, Trump
engaged in “perverted” conduct with prostitutes in a hotel
room where former President Barack Obama had stayed
several years before. The raunchy act involved the
prostitutes performing “golden showers” in front of
Trump. (RELATED: Christopher Steele Is Unsure
About The ‘Golden Showers’ Tape)
The Kremlin also has video footage of the incident and is
using it to blackmail Trump, according to the dossier.
Trump has vehemently denied the allegations, and his
longtime bodyguard, Keith Schiller, has told the House
Intelligence panel that he was with Trump on the night in
question and that no prostitutes entered Trump’s room.
Schiller did say that an associate of one of Trump’s
business partners did offer to send five prostitutes to visit
the real estate tycoon. Schiller said he rejected the offer.
Steele is unsure that the salacious scene actually occurred,
according to “Russian Roulette.” He has told associates
that he believes there is a “fifty-fifty” chance that it
occurred. Glenn Simpson, the founder of Fusion GPS, the
opposition research firm that hired Steele, also has doubts
about the veracity of the claim. (RELATED:
Congressional Investigators Struggling To Find Dossier
Source)
.
329
“Had Millian made something up or
repeated rumors he had heard from others
to impress Steele’s collector? Simpson had
his doubts. He considered Millian a big
talker,” reads “Russian Roulette.”
The book notes that while Millian is described in the
dossier as a close associate of Trump’s,
“There was no public evidence he was
close to the mogul at that time or was in
Moscow during the Miss Universe event.”
Reached Tuesday, Millian denied the claims in the book.
“It’s all garbage news,” he told The Daily Caller News
Foundation.
He also said that he was not in Moscow at
the time of the alleged hotel incident.
“Never happened,” he said.
House Intel Democrats also called on Republicans to
subpoena Millian while requesting documents from his
trade group, the Russian-American Chamber of
Commerce.
 Jim Jordan Slaps James Clapper
For Leaking Confidential Information
Nick Givas- Media And Politics Reporter
11:02 AM 03/14/2018
Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio ripped into former
director of national intelligence James Clapper for leaking
classified information related to the Russia investigation,
Wednesday on “America’s Newsroom.”
“We learned two key things from the
Republicans on the intelligence committee
— their report. The first is they told us
something we already know, namely, there
was no coordination between the Trump
campaign and Russia to influence the
election,” Jordan said on Fox News. “The
second thing they told us is something that
we suspected, now they’ve confirmed,
which is that Clapper actually was the guy
leaking information.”
“Specifically leaking information I believe,
from that January 6th meeting where they
briefed President Trump, then President-
elect Trump on the
dossier,” Jordan continued. “Someone at
CNN got information. We think it was Mr.
Clapper who gave it to them. And then a
few days later Buzzfeed prints the entire
dossier.”
WATCH:
330
“So those in my mind were the two key
takeaways,” he added. “No coordination
between the Trump campaign and Russia
and Mr. Clapper was leaking information.
Here is one of the top intelligence people in
the government at the time, leaking
information to the press.”
Jordan was asked what he would say to Democrats who
are still suspicious of President Trump and he pivoted to
the abuses within the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI).
“The real concern here is what the FBI did.
What the top people
did,” Jordan concluded. “They took an
opposition research document and dressed
it all up, made it look like legit intelligence
and took it to the FISA court to get a
warrant to spy on a fellow American citizen.
And the guy who leaked information about
that dossier is James Clapper.”
 CNN's Mudd: 'I Wouldn't Stoop
To Wipe My Ass' With House Intel Report
By Ryan Foley
March 14, 2018 11:46 AM EDT
CNN Counterterrorism Analyst Phil Mudd became a bit
unhinged when discussing the preliminary report released
by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee
drawing their investigation into Russian interference in the
2016 Presidential Election to a close, arguing that the
Trump campaign did not collude with Russia. Appearing
on CNN's The Situation Room Monday night, Mudd went
off the rails, saying "If this report were written on toilet
paper, I wouldn't stoop to wipe my ass with it."
Mudd’s profanity should not come as that much of a
surprise; neither should CNN’s embrace of profanity in
general. Following the report that President Trump
described poor countries as “sh*thole countries” during a
meeting with a bipartisan group of Senators focusing on
immigration, Mudd declared himself a proud “sh*tholer.”
He also used various racial slurs, including the N-word,
while trying to make the point that America has not
become any less racist over the past half century.
CNN’s frequent use of the word “sh*thole” in the days
following the President’s alleged remark led Fox News
Host Sean Hannity to brand the network “The
S***hole Network.” The network used the word 195
times the day after the news first broke.
CNN seems to have no problem with its on-air staff using
profanity, but they have a huge problem when President
Trump uses profanity. At a rally in Pennsylvania on
Saturday, President Trump described Meet the Press
moderator Chuck Todd as a “sleeping son of a b***h” as
the enthusiastic audience erupted in laughter. Appearing
on CNN’s Reliable Sources on Sunday, media critic David
Zurawik complained about the President’s comments
about Todd, calling them “offensive” and “just plain
wrong” in addition to stating that “we lose our ability to
331
function as rationally informed citizens every time we
chuckle or smile at something he says!”
During an appearance on Reliable Sources two months
earlier, Zurawik seemed to have no problem with CNN’s
use of profanity on the air, praising the network for “doing
God’s work” by repeatedly mentioning President Trump’s
use of the word “sh*thole.” If CNN really wants President
Trump to cut back on the profanity, it could lead by
example.
The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer
03/12/18
06:31 AM
WOLF BLITZER: Breaking news this hour. Republicans on the
House Intelligence Committee announcing they’ve found no
evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia and that
they’re now shutting down their year-long investigation. All of this
without consulting the panel’s Democrats. Let’s bring in our
analysts and our experts. Phil Mudd, they say they accept most
of what the U.S. Intelligence Community concluded in January of
last year but they don’t accept the conclusion that Putin actually
was trying to help Trump win the election.
PHIL MUDD: Can you tell me why? Why they say that? They just
told us that they conducted an investigation including interviews
where the interviewees chose not to answer questions. How the
heck can they say got the bottom of this when they didn’t
interview people because people came to the table and said
we’re not answering? Second question. Two parts of any
investigation, interviews and technical information. Is there any
evidence they have the capability to look at phone, e-mail, text,
financial records, the same stuff Robert Mueller’s looking at. I
saw no evidence of that. Third question. Their primary
responsibility is, was not determining culpability for wrongdoing
in the last election, that’s Robert Mueller. Their responsibility was
not to represent party, Democrat or Republican, but to represent
people. How do we protect the next election? The last 30
minutes, Wolf, you give me one sentence where somebody
spoke about how they are going to protect us instead of saying
this is why the other party did something wrong. If this report
were written on toilet paper, I wouldn’t stoop to wipe my ass
with it. These people owe us more and they gave us less. That’s
what I see, Wolf, that’s it.
BLITZER: Gloria, how do you see it?
GLORIA BORGER: It’s hard to follow that. Look, I think that this
is a committee that decided it wanted to stop, the leadership of
the Committee decided it was done, it did not interview Manafort,
it did not interview Gates, it did not interview Flynn, it did not
interview Papadopoulos, it did not subpoena bank records, it did
not get documents, as, as Phil is talking about. We haven’t heard
anything here about obstruction because maybe that wasn’t part
of their purview. So I think that what they did was they came out
and said yeah, the Russians were bad guys but they weren’t
putting their thumb on the scale for Donald Trump. That is an
answer to a political question and they have answered it in a
political way and they live in an alternate universe from the
Democrats who will answer it in a different way, which is why, we
were talking about before, this isn’t going to be resolved in
Congress. Congress is incapable, incapable at this point of
resolving anything the way a serious investigator with the FBI like
Bob Mueller can do, and that’s why he’s there.
DANA BASH: Certainly, the House is. I mean, look, let’s just
remember this investigation in the House Intelligence Committee
has been partisan, has been broken from the start, ever since, as
Senator Merkley said to you in the last segment, the Chairman
went running with his hair on fire to the White House to tell them
something that they already knew, which turned out to be very,
very political, which is part of the reason he had to take a step
back. This is a shame because, as you said, this is supposed to
be the committee that does oversight to find out what went
wrong, to fix it in the future. And this is, just the fact, the
underlying fact, that Republicans have decided to present the
findings on their own without consultation is evidence of how
broken it is. And let’s just be honest. The Summary of what Manu
was told, of what we now have in front of us, is partisan. And it’s,
wouldn’t go so far as to say what you said, Phil, but in a family
friendly way, it’s just, it’s not in keeping with the facts that we
have seen from the Intelligence Community and it is not in
keeping with what everything else we have seen, even from their,
their sister investigation over in the Senate, which is bipartisan so
far.
BLITZER: And it’s pretty extraordinary, they didn’t even inform
and consult with the Democratic minority in the House
Intelligence Committee, let them know that this was coming up.
EVAN PEREZ: Right and they had a dry run for this with the
whole dossier memo controversy of a few weeks ago. The
Republicans on the House Committee clearly found that there
was no major penalty for pushing ahead without reaching
consensus with their Democratic counterparts on a committee
that normally the Intelligence Committee is seen to be less
partisan than other committees. Wolf, I think that among other
things, and I agree with everything everybody else has said, is
that this is a rush job, right? President Trump’s been in office for
13, 14 months, Special Counsel Mueller has only been on the job
.
less than a year, he was only appointed last May, and they’re
sort of trying to gallop to a conclusion on something where
there’s still a lot of questions.
BASH: I would go even further than rushing, I would say
whitewash. I mean, really, I mean the fact that they not only
made these conclusions but more importantly, made the
conclusions without being able to interview some key players or
forcing the issue through subpoena, which they have the power
to do on the Republican side, they’re not doing it.
BLITZER: So, so, the Russians are watching. Putin is watching.
How is he going to react to this Republican majority report?
MUDD: He’s going to react in the way that he already has. If you
have an interaction with the President where the President turns
to the American people, who have been told by their intelligence
community that the Russians intervened, the President says I
talked to him and I sort of believe what he said, what would you
do if you were the Russians, the same people who just attempted
to murder a former Russian spy in the UK. They’re going to say
“what’s the down side to proceeding?” One quick final point, the
tragedy is not that the Republicans and Democrats differ on what
happened in the last election about Donald Trump, the tragedy is
that you have two sides that had an opportunity to say we have
differing opinions about whether the Russians were favoring
Donald Trump but we have a unified set of assessments on what
we do going forward to protect ourselves. That’s the tragedy
here.
BORGER: And also, I just want to point out here that over the
months, as we’ve been talking about this, there have been lots of
conversations about whether in fact there was collusion, collusion
is not a crime as Even Perez was pointing out before. But this
report says there was no coordination or conspiracy between the
Trump campaign and the Russians, which actually takes it a step
further if, if you ask me and I think it’s actually up to Bob Mueller
to try and figure out the rest of that. And this committee, without
doing these other interviews, this one part of the committee,
without doing these interviews, without getting documents,
without talking to some of the key players who may or may not
have been available to them without subpoena, and maybe
Mueller didn’t want them to interview them, to make these
sweeping sort of statements is, is stunning to me and I think
beyond what they should do.
BASH: And Gloria makes a good point. Look, this is a political
document. It’s just the way it is. But everybody should keep their
eye on the Bob Mueller ball because that is a real investigation, a
real probe with real interviews and with power that these
Republicans in the House had to some extent and chose not to
use.

332
 Trump White House As National
Economic Council Director
By Joshua Caplan
March 14, 2018, 12:04 Pm

President Donald Trump could welcome disagreement from Kudlow, who

announce his decision to name CNBC
senior contributor Larry Kudlow as
his National Economic Council director
as early as Thursday, CNBC reports.
he said had a “good chance” of landing the
job.
“We don’t agree on everything, but in this
case I think that’s good,” Trump said. “I
want to have different opinions. We agree
on most. He now has come around to
believing in tariffs as a negotiating point.”

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Kudlow says

he has accepted the position.

Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) tweeted his support of the

move.

“Larry Kudlow would be a great choice to

CNBC reports: be director of the White House National
Economic Council. Larry is a pro-growth
champion and will serve the President well.
Kudlow would replace Gary Cohn, who left I hope the reports are true!”
the White House earlier this month amid
disagreements about tariffs on steel and
aluminum imports. The longtime CNBC
personality advocates for free trade and
generally opposes tariffs.
When Cohn left, Kudlow expressed his
disappointment with the move. On
Tuesday, the president said he would

333
 Rand Paul Will Vote Against Trump’s New Sec. Of State,
CIA Director Nominees
Christian Datoc - Breaking News And Engagement Editor
12:07 PM 03/14/2018

Senator Rand Paul announced Wednesday that he will vote

against the confirmations of Mike Pompeo and Gina
Haspel, President Trump’s nominees to be the next
secretary of state and CIA director.

The Kentucky Republican called both the “wrong fit” for

their positions during a Wednesday press conference on
Capitol Hill.

WATCH:

“One of the things that I liked about

President Trump was that he consistently
and loudly is opposed to regime change in
Iraq, the Iraq war,” he explained. “But he’s
appointing people around him who not only
still support the Iraq war, never learned the
lesson that regime change led to instability
and chaos in the Middle East. These are
people that he’s appointing, Pompeo, who
advocated for regime change in Iran next
door.”

(RELATED: Trump Sends Congress Scrambling After

Firing Tillerson)

“These aren’t the kind of people who

actually support the notion that the Iraq war
was misguided,” Paul continued. “On Miss
Haspel, if you read her quotes, when she
was present during waterboarding, she was
gleeful at the waterboarding and was sort
of gloating at the fact that the guy is acting
as he’s struggling to breathe and drowning
in fluid.”

Paul expanded on his decision during a Wednesday

interview on MSNBC.

WATCH:

334
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 08: U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)
participates in a TV interview outside his office at Russell Senate
Office Building on Capitol Hill February 8, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Sen. Paul made a move to block a budget deal Thursday as the
government will run out of funding at midnight for seeking to vote on
an amendment to restore budget caps. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty
Images)
“This is not what America stands for.
Torture is not what America is about. I have
family members in the armed service. I
don’t want to send a message to the world
that torture is fine because our young men
and women can be captured at some point
in time too. If the whole world thinks
.
America tortures prisoners, they’ll do the
same to ours. This is the woman who is a
poster child for what went wrong with
waterboarding after 9/11. She should
never, ever be at the head of the CIA.”
Paul was the lone Republican to vote against Pompeo
during his Senate confirmation to become CIA director.
His office did not immediately respond to The Daily
Caller’s request for comment on who would be a better
candidate than Pompeo.

335
 DEVELOPING=> FBI’s Andrew McCabe Faces Possible
FIRING After Internal Review Recommends Termination
By Joshua Caplan
March 14, 2018, 12:20 Pm
FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe
faces the possibility of being fired after
an internal review recommended he be
terminated.
New York Times reports:
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is reviewing
a recommendation to fire the former F.B.I.
deputy director, Andrew G. McCabe, just
days before he is scheduled to retire on
Sunday, people briefed on the matter said.
[…] Mr. McCabe is ensnared in an internal
336
review that includes an examination of his
decision in 2016 to allow F.B.I. officials to
speak with reporters about an investigation
into the Clinton Foundation. The Justice
Department’s inspector general concluded
that Mr. McCabe was not forthcoming
during the review, according to the people
briefed on the matter. That yet-to-be-
released report triggered an F.B.I.
disciplinary process that recommended his
termination — leaving Mr. Sessions to
either accept or reverse that decision.
Now, Mr. Sessions is the final arbiter of Mr. McCabe’s
dismissal, shortly before his retirement takes effect
Sunday. Though no decision has been made, people inside
the Justice Department expect him to be fired before
Friday, a decision that would jeopardize his pension as a
21-year F.B.I. veteran.Under F.B.I. rules, internal reports
are referred to the bureau’s Office of Professional
Responsibility, which makes disciplinary recom-
mendations. Mr. McCabe can appeal that recommendation
to the attorney general. A Justice Department
spokeswoman declined to say whether Mr. McCabe would
be fired.
President Trump has previously voiced displeasure at the
thought of McCabe retiring with full benefits amid
questions of the FBI official’s conduct during the Clinton
email investigation.
“FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is
racing the clock to retire with full benefits.
90 days to go?!!!” Trump tweeted in
December.
Moments earlier, the President tweeted
 “How can FBI Deputy Director Andrew
McCabe, the man in charge, along with
leakin’ James Comey, of the Phony Hillary
Clinton investigation (including her 33,000
illegally deleted emails) be given $700,000
for wife’s campaign by Clinton Puppets
during investigation?”

Fox News contributor Sara A. Carter recently told Fox

News host Sean Hannity that Justice Department Inspector
General, Michael Horowitz, is investigating whether or not
McCabe asked bureau agents to “change their 302s.”

A day after the New York Times reported FBI Director

The next day, Trump quoted a Fox News report on
McCabe.
“FBI’s Andrew McCabe, “in addition to his
wife getting all of this money from M
(Clinton Puppet), he was using, allegedly,
his FBI Official Email Account to promote
her campaign. You obviously cannot do
this. These were the people who were
investigating Hillary Clinton.””
.
Christopher Wray confronted McCabe over unspecified
findings in DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s
report, the Washington Post reveals the embattled bureau
official is being probed over his role in examining emails
found on former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s laptop.
McCabe stepped down January 29th, as first
reported by NBC News.
McCabe, who served a brief stint as acting director of the
bureau, was already expected to leave. He will stay on
“terminal leave” until he is eligible to retire with benefits
in March,” reported CNBC.

337
 Report: FBI Recommends Firing Andrew McCabe
Chuck Ross - Reporter
1:52 PM 03/14/2018

Horowitz also determined that McCabe was not

forthcoming to investigators when asked about his
involvement in the matter.

Horowitz is expected to release a report on his findings

Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe arrives to testify before the
U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Capitol Hill in
Washington, U.S. May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Thayer
 The FBI is calling for former Deputy Director
Andrew McCabe to be fired
 McCabe came under scrutiny for his handling of
the investigation into the Clinton Foundation
 Attorney General Jeff Sessions is likely to fire
McCabe
The FBI determined in an internal review that former
Deputy Director Andrew McCabe should be terminated,
according to a report from The New York Times.
That leaves Attorney General Jeff Sessions in charge of
determining whether to fire McCabe, who is set to retire
with full benefits on Sunday.
The FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility issued the
recommendation after receiving information from
Department of Justice Inspector General Michael
Horowitz. The watchdog has been conducting an
investigation of the bureau’s handling of the Clinton email
investigation. (RELATED: Andrew McCabe
Authorized Media Leaks, Misled Investigators)
Horowitz has reportedly determined that McCabe
encouraged FBI officials to speak to the media about an
investigation into the Clinton Foundation.
next month. His investigation has already led to the
demotion of Peter Strzok, a former FBI counterintelligence
official who worked on special counsel Robert Mueller’s
investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016
presidential election.
Horowitz’s investigators discovered text messages
between Strzok and Lisa Page, a McCabe deputy, in which
they were heavily critical of President Donald
Trump. Strzok was removed from the Mueller team in
July, though the reason for his ouster was not reported
until December.
It is expected that Sessions will fire McCabe, who has
become a target of President Trump’s ire, according to The
Times.
One focal point for Trump has been McCabe’s wife’s
political connections to allies of former Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton.
McCabe’s wife, Jill McCabe, received hundreds of
thousands of dollars in campaign contributions in 2015
from a political committee controlled by then-Virginia
Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a close ally of the
Clintons.
McCabe was not deputy director at the time and was not
involved in the Clinton investigation before it was first
closed in July 2016. McCabe did recuse himself from a
separate investigation into McAuliffe’s campaign finances.

A McCabe associate spoke to the Wall Street Journal in

Oct. 2016 for an article about a bureaucratic standoff
between the FBI and Justice Department over its various
investigations into Clinton. The McCabe-linked source
shot down an allegation that McCabe tried to stymie an
investigation into the Clinton family charity.

While it does not appear that the source provided classified

information, disclosure of ongoing investigations is
typically not allowed.

338
McCabe stepped down as deputy director in January
following a meeting with FBI Director Christopher Wray.
A spokeswoman for the Justice Department acknowledged
to The Times that McCabe’s employment is under review.
“The department follows a prescribed
process by which an employee may be
.
339
terminated,” Sarah Isgur Flores told the
newspaper.
“That process includes recommendations
from career employees, and no termination
decision is final until the conclusion of that
process. We have no personnel
announcements at this time,” she added.
 CNN's Cillizza Continues To
Desperately Cling To Russian Collusion Hope
By P.J. Gladnick
March 14, 2018 1:53 PM EDT
Chris Cillizza is back with his entertaining silliness and
this time it takes the form of desperately hoping that
evidence of Russian collusion could be found despite a
year of intensive investigation by a House Committee, a
Senate Committee, Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team,
and a horde of liberal journalists. Yet despite no such
evidence having been found after all this time, Cillizza
continues to cling to his collusion hope that maybe,
somehow, his dream will come true in his March 14
column:
"THE HOUSE INTELLIGENCE
COMMITTEE HAS, AFTER A 14 MONTH
LONG IN-DEPTH INVESTIGATION,
FOUND NO EVIDENCE OF COLLUSION
OR COORDINATION BETWEEN THE
TRUMP CAMPAIGN AND RUSSIA TO
INFLUENCE THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION," Trump tweeted soon after
the House Intelligence Committee
announced that it had concluded its
work.
Here's the issue:
The findings of the House Intelligence
Committee is one data point among many.
It is not determinative of anything. It is the
view of a handful of House Republicans.
That's it.
So the Democrats have found evidence of collusion? If
true, do tell.
While the House committee's probe has been hampered by
partisanship almost since the start of this Russia
investigation, the Senate side has worked together on a
much more bipartisan basis.
Chairman Richard Burr, the North Carolina
Republican, has repeatedly said that while
he has seen no evidence of collusion,
this remains an ongoing investigation and
he will withhold judgment until be sees the
whole picture.
Key phrase:
340
" no evidence of collusion." Meanwhile
Cillizza waits for the "whole picture" to
arrive, probably around the same time the
Great Pumpkin shows up.
And now Cillizza brings up Robert Mueller. However,
note what he very obviously leaves out:
Bob Mueller, appointed as special counsel
by deputy Attorney General Rod
Rosenstein last year, is the real show here.
He has already secured three guilty
pleas from Trump campaign officials --
all of whom are cooperating with the
broader investigation. He has charged
former Trump campaign chairman Paul
Manafort on a variety of alleged
financial improprieties. He's charged 13
Russians with helping to run a broad-
scale attempt to influence the 2016
presidential election.
And for those of you not fully awake, what Cillizza very
conveniently failed to mention is Mueller also failed
to make any charges of collusion.
The funniest thing is the conclusion of Cillizza's desperate
hope column where he writes the following without any
sense of self-awareness:
For all of those trying to draw conclusions
from what's happened this week in the
Russia investigation, they'd be wise to
remember the words of John Adams
(although he wasn't the first to utter them):
"Facts are stubborn things; and
whatever may be our wishes, our
inclinations, or the dictates of our
passions, they cannot alter the state of
facts and evidence."
And despite the FACT that none of these many
investigators after all this time have found any evidence of
Trump-Russia collusion, poor Cillizza's wishes,
inclinations, and passions are not in the least altered by the
state of facts and evidence.
Even Saturday Night Live has given up the Trump-Russia
collusion ghost as you can see in their skit from last
weekend.

341
 Tom Fitton Reacts To Report AG Sessions Mulling Firing
Mccabe: Donald Trump Should Demand Action
By Cristina Laila
March 14, 2018, 2:21 Pm

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is

mulling firing FBI Deputy Director
Andrew McCabe after an internal review
recommended he be terminated.
McCabe is currently on ‘terminal leave’
and is set to retire on Sunday with his
full pension.

If McCabe is fired before Sunday, he will not receive his

government pension.

President of Judicial Watch Tom Fitton reacted to the

news and called for President Trump to demand action.

AG Sessions is reviewing an internal report by Inspector

General Michael Horowitz as he decides McCabe’s fate.

According to Horowitz’s report, McCabe authorized illegal

Judicial Watch has been on the front lines fighting leaks to the media and misled the Inspector General’s
McCabe’s corruption with FOIA lawsuits. investigators.

Thanks to Judicial Watch, we know Andrew McCabe
recused himself from Hillary Clinton’s email investigation
only ONE WEEK before the 2016 presidential election
despite obvious conflicts of interest.
Fitton tweeted:
.@JudicialWatch caught FBI #2 Andrew
McCabe red-handed in conflict of interest
scandal involving Clinton crony $ for his
wife’s campaign. Now Sessions must
decide whether to fire him for allegedly
lying about leaks. @RealDonaldTrump
should demand action.
As previously reported, according to the New York Times,
McCabe authorized a leak to the Wall Street Journal which
led to an October 2016 article that revealed an internal
dispute between the FBI and DOJ about how to handle
Hillary Clinton’s email investigation that had just been
reopened after classified emails were found on Weiner’s
laptop.
President Trump previously blasted McCabe for trying to
run out the clock in order to receive his taxpayer funded
pension.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/us/politics/andrew-
mccabe-fbi-firing-recommendation-justice-
department.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur …
342
President Trump is aware of what McCabe is doing. Americans should not fund McCabe’s pension after what
Hopefully he demands action just like Fitton called for. he did to weaponize the FBI, mislead the FISA court
among other criminal actions.

343
 RUMBLINGS: President Trump Mulling
Plan To FIRE AG Sessions, NSA McMaster
By Joshua Caplan
March 14, 2018, 2:59 Pm

A new report alleges President Donald

Trump has his eye on showing the door
to both Attorney General Jeff Sessions
and National Security Advisor H.R.
McMaster.
Perhaps most consequential for Robert
Mueller’s investigation, sources said Trump has discussed
a plan to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions. According to
two Republicans in regular contact with the White House,
there have been talks that Trump could replace Sessions
with E.P.A. Administrator Scott Pruitt, who would not be
recused from overseeing the Russia probe. Also, because
Pruitt is already a Cabinet secretary, he would not have to
go through another Senate confirmation hearing.

“The next phase of the Trump purge will

likely include McMasters and Sessions,
allowing Trump to scuttle the Iran deal and
check Mueller,” says Vanity Fair’s Gabriel
Sherman.
“it’s happening…,” Sherman added.

Vanity Fair reports:

And three sources told me that the next

official likely to go is National Security
Adviser H.R. McMaster, who, like Tillerson,
had advocated for remaining in the deal.
Last Tuesday, Trump met with ultra-
hawkish former U.N. ambassador John
According to CBS News,
Bolton in the Oval Office to discuss a
potential job offer. Bolton has for years
argued that the United States should pre- “the sense that H.R. McMaster’s days are
emptively attack Tehran. […] numbered as national security adviser has
reached something close to a fever pitch.”
According to a person who spoke with Bolton after the
meeting, Bolton recalled that Trump said he wanted him to
join the administration:

“We need you in here, John.” Bolton

responded that there were only two jobs
he’d consider: secretary of state and
national security adviser. Trump said, “O.K,
I’ll call you really soon.” Sources added that
Trump spent much of the time with Bolton
fuming that McMaster was speaking
privately with Barack Obama’s former
national security adviser Susan
Rice. “Trump kept saying, ‘Can you believe
it? To Susan Rice? Can you believe it?’”

344
 “Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the
Inspector General to investigate potentially
massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has
no prosecutorial power and already late
with reports on Comey etc. Isn’t the I.G. an
Obama guy? Why not use Justice
Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!”
tweeted Trump.

Allies of the embattled Attorney General previously

expressed worry Trump may fire Sessions.
Recently, President Trump slammed Attorney General Jeff
Sessions for directing Justice Department Inspector
General Michael Horowitz to probe Obama-era FISA
abuses.

345
 CNN Snobs Dismiss Economist Kudlow As Mere ‘TV
Personality’ For Trump’s ‘Feedback Loop’
By Scott Whitlock
March 14, 2018 3:32 PM EDT
The journalists at CNN on Wednesday haughtily dismissed
the hiring of Larry Kudlow as Donald Trump’s new
economic adviser, discarding the former Ronald Reagan
official as simply a “TV personality” who encourages the
President’s “TV feedback loop.”
CNN political director David Chalian condescended:
“The other thing, of course, to note here is
this is a cable TV personality. It is a perfect
kind of appointment for The Apprentice-
style presidency that Donald Trump is
running.” Blitzer tried to pull Chalian back a
bit, reminding that the man who worked for
Reagan’s OMB office is “clearly qualified to
be the President's national economic
council director.”
But CNN would not be stopped from minimizing Kudlow.
A graphic chided:
“Trump Taps TV Personality as New
Economic Adviser.”
Professional scold and Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter
sneered at the author, economist and CNBC senior
contributor:
We know that when President Trump wants
advice or affirmation, he frequently turns on
the TV. But this is one of the best examples
yet of that Trump TV feedback loop. It's not
only that the President live tweets cable
news shows, gets ideas from cable news
hosts, and sometimes calls them up after
they're on the air. Now we actually see
346
him poaching a host from cable
television.
Perhaps the journalists at CNN are unhappy that the “TV
personalities” on their network are being ignored by the
White House.
A partial transcript is below. Click “expand” to read more.
Wolf
3/14/18
1:00 p.m. Eastern
CNN Graphic: WaPo: Trump Taps TV Personality as New
Economic Adviser
WOLF BLITZER: The Washington Post now reporting that Larry
Kudlow will replace Gary Cohn as the next chairman of the White
House National Economic Council. Let’s bring in our political
director David Chalian. The President yesterday was praising
Larry Kudlow, saying he’s a great guy. They agree on so many
issues. They do disagree on one very sensitive issue and that
would be tariffs.
DAVID CHALIAN: Tariffs. This is the issue the President put front
and center in advance of that special election in Pennsylvania.
Wolf, I was just bringing up — This is dated March 3. This is a
column written by Larry Kudlow, Arthur Laffer, Stephen Moore,
free market guys, right? Conservative economists. He basically is
in here saying that there is no logic to the tariffs.
He said, “Mr. President, these tariffs are a tax hike.” And Wolf,
you'll remember, Gary Cohn, the man Larry Kudlow is now set to
replace as head of the National Economic Council, left his job
basically over, as the last straw, the tariff issue. He was in
disagreement with the President. He left his job over it. So the
president is now replacing him with someone who agreed with
Gary Cohn in that battle, not the president.
The other thing, of course, to note here is this is a cable TV
personality. It is a perfect kind of appointment for the Apprentice-
style presidency that Donald Trump is running. And we know how
consumed he is with watching people on cable television and
consuming a lot of TV news. So it should surprise nobody that he
would actually tap a cable television personality.
BLITZER: Larry Kudlow has been at CNBC for a long time.
CHALIAN: Not that he doesn't have the credentials. I'm not
suggesting that.
BLITZER: He's an economist. Clearly qualified to be the
president's national economic council director. At the same time,
though, when it comes to tariffs and trade, globalist versus
protectionist, he's with Gary Cohn.
(....)
1:07 p.m. Eastern
.
347
BLITZER: So he's gone to CNBC this time. A long-time friend of
the president, Larry Kudlow. A long-time anchor and analyst on
CNBC to come in and run economics over at the National
Economic Council.
STELTER: Yeah, we know that when President Trump wants
advice or affirmation, he frequently turns on the TV. But this is
one of the best examples yet of that Trump TV feedback loop. It's
not only that the President live tweets cable news shows, gets
ideas from cable news hosts, and sometimes calls them up after
they're on the air. Now we actually see him poaching a host from
cable television, in this case Larry Kudlow, as you've been talking
about. Kudlow has been a host on CNBC for many years. He's
one of the best known faces on CNBC. A conservative
commentator, someone who's been promoting free market
capitalism all of his life and on television for many years. He was
also an informal adviser to Trump during the campaign. So
they've been in touch. This is nothing new necessarily. What is
new is to see this CNBC host — he's now a contributor to the
network — actually making the leap and joining the government.
Maybe not the last person we'll see make this move from TV to
the White House.
 BOMBSHELL REPORT: Andrew McCabe’s ENTIRE
Pension Is “Definitely In Jeopardy”
By Cristina Laila
March 14, 2018, 4:20 Pm
President Trump previously blasted McCabe for trying to
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is run out the clock in order to receive his taxpayer funded
mulling firing FBI Deputy Director pension.
Andrew McCabe after an internal review
recommended he be terminated.
McCabe is currently on ‘terminal leave’
and is set to retire on Sunday with his
full pension.

If McCabe is fired before Sunday, he will not receive his

government pension.

Fox News’ Washington Producer, Jake Gibson is reporting Fox News’ Washington Producer Jake Gibson dropped a
sources very close to the investigation are saying bombshell Wednesday afternoon.
McCabe’s pension is “definitely in jeopardy.”
Gibson tweeted:

A source with knowledge of the

investigation tells Fox News Andrew
McCabe’s entire pension is, “definitely in
jeopardy.” @FoxNews @foxnewspolitics

AG Sessions is reviewing an internal report by Inspector

General Michael Horowitz as he decides McCabe’s fate.

According to Horowitz’s report, McCabe authorized illegal

leaks to the media and misled the Inspector General’s
investigators.
President Trump is aware of what McCabe is doing.
As previously reported, according to the New York Times, Hopefully he demands action just like Fitton called for.
McCabe authorized a leak to the Wall Street Journal which
led to an October 2016 article that revealed an internal
dispute between the FBI and DOJ about how to handle Americans should not fund McCabe’s pension after what
Hillary Clinton’s email investigation that had just been he did to weaponize the FBI, mislead the FISA court
reopened after classified emails were found on Weiner’s among other criminal actions.
laptop.
.

348
 MUST SEE=> Ozark University Worker Breaks Down In
Tears Thanking President Trump For Tax Cuts (VIDEO)
By Jim Hoft
March 14, 2018, 4:34 Pm

Bonnie Brazzeal, a cafeteria employee at College of the

Ozarkz, broke down in tears as she thanked President
Trump for her tax cut bonus.Ozarks.

Bonnie Brazzeal:

Mr. President my name is Bonnie Brazzeal.

And I work at the cafeteria at the College of
the Ozarks alongside the hardworking
The College of the Ozarks is a southern Missouri students. And I am very grateful for the
institution: bonus when the college gave it to us. And I
put mine in savings for my retirement. And I
“College of the Ozarks is unique among want to thank you, Mr. President and God
higher education institutions in bless you.
America: no tuition is charged, all What heartfelt words!
students work on campus, debt is
Someone needs to forward this to
openly discouraged, and no federal,
“Crumbs” Pelosi.
state or private loans are made.”
On Wednesday College of the Ozarks
President Jerry C. Davis , and several
Missouri business leaders, met with
President Donald Trump during his visit
to Boeing in St. Louis.

During the meeting the business leaders took turns telling

the president how they have benefited from the historic
Trump tax cuts.

349
FOX NEWS: John Kelly, H.R. McMaster & David Shulkin
Could Be Purged In White House ‘BLOODBATH’
(VIDEO)
By Joshua Caplan
March 14, 2018, 6:47 Pm

A new report alleges President Donald

Trump has his eye on showing the door Sources added that Trump spent much of the time with
to both Attorney General Jeff Sessions Bolton fuming that McMaster was speaking privately
and National Security Advisor H.R. with Barack Obama’s former national security
McMaster. adviser Susan Rice.

“Trump kept saying, ‘Can you believe it? To

Susan Rice? Can you believe it?’”

Perhaps most consequential for Robert Mueller’s

investigation, sources said Trump has discussed a plan to
fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions. According to two
Republicans in regular contact with the White House, there
have been talks that Trump could replace Sessions with
E.P.A. Administrator Scott Pruitt, who would not be
recused from overseeing the Russia probe. Also, because
Pruitt is already a Cabinet secretary, he would not have to
go through another Senate confirmation hearing.
Vanity Fair reports:
“The next phase of the Trump purge will
likely include McMasters and Sessions,
And three sources told me that the next
allowing Trump to scuttle the Iran deal and
official likely to go is National Security
check Mueller,” says Vanity Fair’s Gabriel
Adviser H.R. McMaster, who, like Tillerson,
Sherman.
had advocated for remaining in the deal.
“it’s happening…,” Sherman added.
Last Tuesday, Trump met with ultra-
hawkish former U.N. ambassador John
Bolton in the Oval Office to discuss a
potential job offer. Bolton has for years
argued that the United States should pre-
emptively attack Tehran. […]

According to a person who spoke with Bolton after the

meeting, Bolton recalled that Trump said he wanted him to
join the administration:
According to CBS News,

“We need you in here, John.”

Bolton responded that there were only two jobs he’d
consider: secretary of state and national security adviser.
Trump said,
“the sense that H.R. McMaster’s days are
numbered as national security adviser has
reached something close to a fever pitch.”

“O.K, I’ll call you really soon.”

350

Now this…
Fox News‘ John Roberts reports McMaster, along with
Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin and Chief of
Staff John Kelly could be soon leaving the White House.
Fox News reports:
The potential changes — described by
sources as a “bloodbath” — include the
.
351
departure of National Security Adviser H.R.
McMaster and his replacement by John
Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the
United Nations.
Other departures from the administration would include
Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin
and Chief of Staff John Kelly.
The sources have cautioned that Trump will make the
ultimate decision about all staff changes. However, the
departure of McMaster has been described by multiple
sources as “imminent.”
Kelly would be replaced as chief of staff by Office of
Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, the
sources said, with Energy Secretary Rick Perry replacing
Shulkin at the VA. Ray Washburne, the chairman of the
Overseas Private Investment Corporation, would replace
Perry as energy secretary.
“I’ve gotten to know a lot of people very
well over the last year,” President Trump
told reporters at the White House this week
“I’m really at a point where we’re getting
very close to having the Cabinet and other
things that I want,” Trump added.
 HAH! Porn Star Stormy Daniels’ Mother
Is Actually A Yuge Trump Supporter
By Joshua Caplan
March 14, 2018, 7:54 Pm

A lawyer for the Trump Organization,

Michael D. Cohen admitted in a
statement to the New York Times he
paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000
in hush money out of his own pocket in
2016.

It has been alleged Donald Trump had an affair with

Stephanie Clifford AKA Stormy Daniels in 2006.

President Trump has denied the affair.

And Stormy Daniels denied the affair way back in January

– less than two months ago.

But that was January. The civil suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and
obtained by NBC News, alleges that her agreement not to
Daniels has since sued Trump over their disclose her “intimate” relationship with Trump is not
hush agreement. valid because while both Daniels and Trump’s attorney
Michael Cohen signed it, Trump never did.
NBC reported:
Stephanie Clifford, known professionally as Stormy
Daniels, signed both the agreement and a side letter
agreement using her professional name on October 28,
352
2016, just days before the 2016 presidential election.
Cohen signed the document the same day. Both
agreements are appended to the lawsuit as Exhibit 1 and
Exhibit 2.
The “hush agreement,” as it’s called in the suit, refers to
Trump throughout as David Dennison, and Clifford as
Peggy Peterson. The side letter agreement reveals the true
identities of the parties as Clifford and Trump.
Each document includes a blank where “DD” is supposed
to sign, but neither blank is signed.
In yet another twist to the Trump-Daniels saga, the
pornstar’s mother has come out as a Trump supporter.
Dallas Morning News reports:
Daniels’ mother wonders why Daniels
turned to porn. She may never know. She
disapproves of her daughter’s choices, but
also doesn’t fault her for doing what she
could to make money. Had the mother
known dancing was so lucrative, she said,
she would have done it back when they
were struggling.
But she hopes the scandal involving her
daughter doesn’t hurt Trump.
“If Mr. Trump runs four more times, I would
vote for him every time,” Sheila Gregory
said. “I like him. I like the way he handles
things. It’s time this country is put back
where it belongs — taking care of the
people here instead of the people who
don’t belong here.”
Daniels is currently in the process of crowdfunding her
lawsuit against Trump.
Below is the campaign‘s description:
I am attempting to speak honestly and
openly to the American people about my
relationship with now President Donald
Trump, as well as the intimidation and
.
353
tactics that he, together with his attorney
Michael Cohen, have used to silence me.
In order to tell my story, I have had to file a public lawsuit
in Los Angeles, California in an effort to void a non-
disclosure agreement (NDA) that Mr. Trump never signed
and yet is trying to use to intimidate me.
Credit: Zerohedge
Rather than agree that the NDA is invalid,
thus allowing me to talk, Mr. Trump and Mr.
Cohen have instead attempted to hide the
facts from the public using a bogus
arbitration proceeding and have threatened
me with millions of dollars in damages
($1M each time I speak out) if I tell the truth
about what happened.
I recently made an offer to return the
$130,000 I was previously paid if it was
agreed that I could simply tell the truth
publicly. Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen did not
even bother to respond.
I need funds to pay for: attorneys’ fees;
out-of-pocket costs associated with the
lawsuit, arbitration, and my right to speak
openly; security expenses; and damages
that may be awarded against me if I speak
out and ultimately lose to Mr. Trump and
Mr. Cohen.
I am more fortunate than many, many
people in this country. And for that I am
grateful. But unfortunately, I do not have
the vast resources to fight Mr. Trump and
Mr. Cohen alone. Thank you for supporting
me.
Defiant Adam Schiff Vows To Continue Russia Probe After
GOP House Intel Committee Rules No
Trump-Russia Collusion
By Cristina Laila
March 14, 2018, 8:05 Pm
House Intelligence Committee
Republicans announced Monday that
they found “no evidence of collusion,”
between the Trump campaign and the
Kremlin in the panel’s ‘Russia probe.’
Shortly after the announcement, ranking
member of the House Intel Committee
leaker Adam Schiff (D-CA) blew a
gasket.
Rep. Schiff claims the Russians may have leverage over
Trump but the committee members would rather not not
know. WHATEVER.
In his statement, Schiff claims the GOP House Intel
members placed their interest in protecting the President
over protecting the country and history will judge its
actions harshly.
Schiff also repeated the same old talking points about
having ‘evidence’ of Trump’s cozy relationship with the
Russians during the election which he has been circulating
in the media for the last year.
There is ZERO evidence Trump colluded
with the Russians during the 2016
elections, however; delusional
Democrats like Schiff and the special
counsel continue to march forward in
their witch hunt.
354
Even worse, we already know Hillary’s phony Russia
dossier is what sparked the Trump-Russia collusion fairy
tale with the help of Obama’s criminal DOJ and FBI.
The House Intelligence report stated,
“We have found no evidence of collusion,
coordination, or conspiracy between the
Trump campaign and the Russians,” the
committee said in a statement Monday.
On Monday night Rep Mike Conaway (R-TX) spoke
with Tucker Carlson on FOX News about the findings.
Rep Conaway told Tucker the intelligence committee
found NO EVIDENCE that Russian President Vladimir
Putin had a preference of Donald Trump over Hillary
Clinton.
Despite the Republican House Intel Committee’s
conclusion that Trump did not collude with the Russians
during the election, defiant House Dems led by ranking
member Adam Schiff continue their ‘Trump-Russia’
probe.
Chairman Nunes hammered Schiff and the Dems in an
interview with Fox & Friends Tuesday and said,
“We need to get our FBI and our
intelligence agencies working on real
problems,” instead of spinning in circles on
a bogus probe.
Later Tuesday afternoon Schiff tweeted out a report from
the Dems on the House Intel Panel claiming their
“work will continue” because “there’s a lot
left to do.”
Schiff tweeted a link to a 21-page status
report of the House Minority’s findings
and said: Democrats on the House
Intelligence Committee just released a
status report to share with the American
 people the work left undone in the Russia
investigation when the Majority decided to
shut it down.
Our work will continue — there’s a lot left to do:
Rep Schiff did a presser as well and stated the GOP House
members on the Intel panel “prematurely shut down the
investigation.”
355
Schiff also insisted there is “significant evidence” the
Trump campaign colluded with the Russians.
Amazingly, in a time where everything leaks to the liberal
media, no evidence of Trump-Russia collusion has ever
leaked to NY Times, WaPo or CNN.
The Democrats and Deep State won’t stop the ‘Trump-
Russia’ collusion witch hunt until they remove President
Trump from office and destroy many more lives.
 Republicans Took A Hatchet
To Obama’s Banking Regulations
Robert Donachie - Capitol Hill And Health Care Reporter
8:32 PM 03/14/2018
Former U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during an unveiling
ceremony for portraits of himself and former First Lady Michelle
Obama at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in
Washington, U.S., February 12, 2018. REUTERS/Jim Bourg
The Senate passed a bipartisan bill Wednesday that rolls
back key components of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street
Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
Senators voted 67-31 in favor of the most comprehensive
changes to Dodd Frank since the sweeping banking
regulations became law. Seventeen Democratic senators
joined Republicans in the Senate to approve the roll back.
The bill is the brainchild of Senate Banking Committee
Chairman Mike Crapo and aims to rework a number of the
protective barriers Dodd-Frank put between consumers,
banks and the greater economy in the wake of the 2007-
2009 Great Recession.
“This bill has received widespread support
for good reason: the cycle of lending and
job creation has been stifled by onerous
regulation,” Crapo said on the Senate floor
prior to Wednesday evening’s vote.
Dodd-Frank was originally intended to increase
transparency by implementing a consistent set of
regulations aimed at closing loopholes and making firms
accountable for their own mistakes. The bill
attempted to shift the burden of major financial
mistakes from taxpayers to market participants, ensuring
those who partake in risky investment practices would bear
the financial burden of their mistakes. Dodd-Frank
promised to “end too big to fail” and “promote financial
stability.”
Large banking institutions have grown dramatically since
the passage of Dodd-Frank despite the act’s intentions, and
356
small community banks have incurred serious losses as
they try to keep up. Crippling regulations saddled smaller
banks, forcing American consumers to market with fewer
investment vehicles and greater costs.
Senators who voted for Crapo’s bill say it will help ease
mortgage regulations on small and regional banks.
Crapo’s legislation eases liquidity reserve requirements for
large banks, which were instituted after the Great
Recession to ensure large lending institutions had enough
capital on hand to help ease the burden of a financial crisis
or episode. Banks with 500 or fewer annual mortgage
loans will no longer have to report that data to federal
regulators.
The legislation also preserves Dodd-Frank provisions
many Democrats claim are crucial to stopping banking
malpractice. For example, requiring banks with more than
$100 billion to report “stress tests” to the Federal Reserve
Bank. This measure is intended to show large banks, or
systematically important financial institutions, could
withstand a shock, like another financial crisis.
Under Crapo’s bill, banks with less than $250 billion in
worldwide assets would be exempt from the Federal
Reserve’s annual stress tests. Foreign banks would still be
required to the stricter oversight requirements if they’ve
more than the aforementioned sum in the U.S. and foreign
assets.
Senators filed over 100 amendments to the bill before
Wednesday afternoon’s vote, but Senate leadership did not
bring any of them up for a vote on the floor, fearing it
could squelch an already secured bipartisan agreement.
Legislation now makes its way to the House, where
uncertainty abounds as to whether or not it can pass
muster.
The House, under the leadership of House Financial
Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling, passed a number of
provisions repealing aspects of Dodd-Frank. Hensarling
wants the Senate to add the measures the House already
passed before the bill will go to conference and on its way
to President Donald Trump for approval.
Trump’s administration applauded the Senate’s move
Wednesday, championing it as a win for small and
community banks subjected to burdensome regulations for
nearly a decade.
“The bill provides much-needed relief from
the Dodd-Frank Act for thousands of
community banks and credit unions and will
spur lending and economic growth without
creating risks to the financial system. By
tailoring regulation, the bill seeks to prevent
.
357
excessive regulation from undermining the
viability of local and regional banks and
their ability to serve their communities,”
White House press secretary Sarah
Sanders said in a statement.
“The President looks forward to discussing
any further revisions the House is
interested in making, with the goal of
bipartisan, pro-growth Dodd-Frank relief
reaching his desk as soon as possible,”
Sanders added.
 REPORT: President Trump
Considering Pete Hegseth For Cabinet Position
By Joshua Caplan
March 14, 2018, 8:45 Pm
President Trump is considering
replacing Veterans Affairs Secretary
David Shulkin with U.S. Army Veteran
and Fox News contributor Pete Hegseth,
Townhall reports.
It has been widely reported President Trump called
Hegseth on Monday during a meeting with Shulkin in the
Oval Office to go over options for reform. According
to Axios, Trump specifically asked Hegseth to analyze
new VA legislation while Shulkin listened in on speaker
phone. […]
Hegseth was an original contender to lead the agency
during the Trump transition into the White House and
worked for years as the President of Concerned Veterans
for America on VA reform. At the time, he was backed by
a number of VA whistleblowers for the position. Hegseth
has been deployed overseas three times and served in
Guantanamo Bay. He is an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran
with two Bronze Stars. He is currently the weekend host
for Fox and Friends and a senior analyst for Fox News.
The report comes amid talk about a ‘bloodbath’ coming to
the White House. Fox News‘ John Roberts reports
McMaster, along with Veterans Affairs Secretary David
Shulkin and Chief of Staff John Kelly could be soon
leaving the administration.
358
Fox News reports:
The potential changes — described by
sources as a “bloodbath” — include the
departure of National Security Adviser H.R.
McMaster and his replacement by John
Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the
United Nations.
Other departures from the administration
would include Department of Veterans
Affairs Secretary David Shulkin and Chief
of Staff John Kelly. […]
Kelly would be replaced as chief of staff by Office of
Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, the
sources said, with Energy Secretary Rick Perry replacing
Shulkin at the VA. Ray Washburne, the chairman of the
Overseas Private Investment Corporation, would replace
Perry as energy secretary.
“I’ve gotten to know a lot of people very
well over the last year,” President Trump
told reporters at the White House this week
“I’m really at a point where we’re getting
very close to having the Cabinet and other
things that I want,” Trump added.
STUNNING: Jeff Sessions Cited The WRONG LAW When
He Recused Himself From Russian Witch Hunt – Took
Advice From Obama Lawyers
By Jim Hoft
March 14, 2018, 9:16 Pm

Gregg Jarrett:

Yeah, by Obama’s holdovers. Who in the

world would believe them?
Good grief! He cited the wrong law!

The DOJ regulation Sessions cited — 28 CFR 45.2— says

“no DOJ employee may participate in a

In March 2017 Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced
he will recuse himself from investigations related to the
2016 presidential campaign including the alleged Russian
interference in the 2016 election.
As Andrew McCarthy at National Review reported,
Sessions made the announcement the day after he was
sworn in as Attorney General after advice from Obama
lawyers in the Department of Justice.
criminal investigation or prosecution if he
has a personal or political relationship with
any person or organization substantially
involved in the conduct that is the subject
of the investigation or prosecution, or who
would be directly affected by the outcome.”
“The regulation he cited applies to a
different type of investigation.”

On Wednesday night FOX News contributor and legal Once again the question must be asked:
expert Gregg Jarrett told Sean Hannity that Sessions used
the WRONG LAW when announcing his recusal. He took
advice from OBAMA OFFICIALS and they misled him. Who did deep state catch Jeff Sessions in
bed with?
Gregg Jarrett:

He betrayed the president. He knew when

he was sworn in that he was going to
recuse himself and the very next day he
put the recusal in motion. He never told the
president about that. And by the way he
cited the regulation in his recusal… He
cited the wrong law. It didn’t apply.

Sara Carter:

I think he was being advised badly at the

time.
.

359
 Mark Levin NUKES “Leaker” Adam Schiff,
“Hit Man” Mueller And Corrupt House Intel Dems
In Epic 7 Minute Rant (VIDEO)
By Cristina Laila
March 14, 2018, 10:11 Pm

On Monday night Rep Mike Conaway (R-TX) spoke

House Intelligence Committee
Republicans announced Monday that
they found “no evidence of collusion,”
between the Trump campaign and the
Kremlin in the panel’s ‘Russia probe.’
Shortly after the announcement, ranking
member of the House Intel Committee
leaker Adam Schiff (D-CA) blew a gasket
and vowed to continue the probe.
Mark Levin appeared on Fox News to speak with Sean
Hannity Wednesday evening and utterly destroyed Schiff,
Mueller and the Deep State operatives accusing Trump of
Russian collusion.
There is ZERO evidence Trump colluded
with the Russians during the 2016
elections, however; delusional
Democrats like Schiff and the special
counsel continue to march forward in
their witch hunt.
Even worse, we already know Hillary’s phony Russia
dossier is what sparked the Trump-Russia collusion fairy
tale with the help of Obama’s criminal DOJ and FBI.
The House Intelligence report stated,
“We have found no evidence of collusion,
coordination, or conspiracy between the
Trump campaign and the Russians,” the
committee said in a statement Monday.
.
360
with Tucker Carlson on FOX News about the findings.
Rep Conaway told Tucker the intelligence committee
found NO EVIDENCE that Russian President Vladimir
Putin had a preference of Donald Trump over Hillary
Clinton.
Despite the Republican House Intel Committee’s
conclusion that Trump did not collude with the Russians
during the election, defiant House Dems led by ranking
member Adam Schiff continue their ‘Trump-Russia’
probe.
Mark Levin spoke with Fox News’ Sean
Hannity Wednesday evening and
absolutely nuked the House Dems,
Adam Schiff, Robert Mueller and Hillary
Clinton, Barack Obama and Obama’s
corrupt administration.
Levin called Adam Schiff a shill for Putin and straight up
called him a leaker.
At the end of Levin’s rant he told Adam Schiff to take a lie
detector test.
Onto Mueller and his team of liberal hacks–Levin called
Mueller a “hit man” and accused his team of leaking to the
press.
You will feel better after watching this epic rant that lasted
for several minutes.
Video via Fox News:
 Civility, Everyone: MSNBC’s Wallace
Blasts Trump As ‘Bleep-Hole’ For Wanting To Fire McCabe
By Curtis Houck
March 14, 2018 10:48 PM EDT
Offering the latest installment of her deep-seated disdain
for President Trump, MSNBC’s Deadline: White House
host Nicolle Wallace blasted the President during
Wednesday’s show as “a bleep-hole” for considering
whether to terminate Andrew McCabe before his official
retirement from the FBI.
Wallace’s self-censored vulgarity came after Associated
Press correspondent Jonathan Lemire opined that the
President (via Attorney General Jeff Sessions) “should
not” be able to fire him since Sessions has recused himself
from the Russia investigation.
Lemire explained more:
But firing now would perhaps deprive him
of that pension, I believe as the article
makes a good point and I think that one
could argue this is perhaps the President's
way of getting a little vengeance, a little
revenge for his alleged ties to the Clintons,
alleged ties, his wife's ties to Terry
McAuliffe, the former governor — the
Governor of Virginia has also, of course,
ties to both Clintons. And that the President
himself has said to Sessions — he holds
Sessions so responsible for this Russia
probe, for recusing himself in the first place
and that this is perhaps a way he's
dangling whether he said it or not, to get
back into his good graces by following
through here and firing McCabe.
A flustered Wallace then exclaimed to fellow MSNBC
Republican Charlie Sykes:
361
“I don't know how to ask this without
swearing, so I'm going to ask you as
best I can and I will bleep. Don’t worry,
control room. Is the President this much
of a bleep-hole?”
To Sykes’s credit, he didn’t completely agree with
Wallace.
While he went along with her “bleep-hole”
line, he mentioned that “this
recommendation comes from career
Justice Department employees through
the Inspector General's office” and “we
don't know what the details are about
his lack of candor which is a firing
offense in the FBI.”
Sykes conceded to Wallace that McCabe’s firing and
taking his pension would
“look, petty, vindictive, and [be]
designed to discredit the FBI, including
in the Russia investigation...[b]ut I
guess I would like to know more about
what the Inspector General found.”
Wallace moved to former DNC official Doug Thornell
and, sure enough, she found someone who completely
agreed with her as Thornell claimed that Hillary Clinton
was the
“one person who was hurt by
information leaking out about the FBI
investigation.”
“So, this whole idea that there’s this
deep state conspiracy among the
Justice Department and FBI to take
down Donald Trump — it's all — bull-s,”
he later added, which left Wallace giggling.
Earlier this week, Wallace gleefully took
apart what she dubbed the “mythology at
the White House” that the President has
any sort of “humanity” in his body. This
venom came just as frequent MSNBC
guest Donny Deutsch trashed Trump as a
“sociopath.”
(h/t: Mediaite)
To see the relevant transcript from MSNBC’s Deadline:
White House on March 14, click “expand.”
MSNBC’s Deadline: White House
March 13, 2018
4:27 p.m. Eastern
NICOLLE WALLACE: I mean, so, Donald Trump put the fix in for
Andy McCabe and what turned up in the I.G. report is he helped
shape the story, which is a term of art inside government when
we talk to people like you, Matt Appuzzo. He’s helped shape the
coverage of a story that ended up being devastating for his
opponent before the election.
MATT APUZZO: Yeah, I mean, McCabe has become the bête
noire of the Trump administration and many Republicans who
have — who have this idea that he was at the center of this sort
of secret society, it's been called the deep state —
WALLACE: A secret society —
APUZZO: — inside the FBI.
WALLACE: — to sink Hillary Clinton's campaign?
APUZZO: A secret society — no — well —
WALLACE: I understand that they're enraged about the Justice
Department, but they’re also uninformed about the Justice
Department. Andy McCabe is the guy that authorized the FBI
public affairs office to talk to people like you about how his
agents who revere him, as far as I understand, had deep
suspicions about the Clinton Foundation. That seems like the
kind of guy Donald Trump should want to promote.
APUZZO: Well, I mean, the problem is that McCabe's wife ran
unsuccessfully to —
WALLACE: As a Democrat.
APUZZO: — for the Virginia state senate as a Democrat, even
though McCabe has identified himself as a lifelong Republican
voter. So this is like — as a conspiracy theory, you have to
362
thread a lot of needles here. But in the end, you know, in the next
two days, we're going to learn the fate of a 21-year FBI veteran
and normally this might be a pretty pro-forma thing given the
recommendation from the Office of Professional Responsibility
inside the FBI. But as usual, the President has complicated
things by weighing in and as the tweet you mentioned, and sort
of goading McCabe, but we know that, privately, he — he teased
McCabe and said — I mean, NBC broke the story first saying, oh,
your wife's a loser because she lost that election. So, a lot of this
is now wrapped up in every decision that happens on McCabe's
fate. He's a potential witness in the Russia investigation. He was
there at the beginning of the Russia investigation. So, it's all
wrapped up in one, you know, one big tangle that's going to have
to get sorted out in the next two days.
WALLACE: Jonathan Lemire, should an A.G. who is recused
from the Russia investigation have the prerogative to fire one of
the central witnesses in the Russia investigation?
JONATHAN LEMIRE: I mean, Jeff Sessions certainly is with
McCabe more than a central figure, right, in that —
WALLACE: He’s recused.
LEMIRE: — he’s recused himself.
WALLACE: But you have a decision about — I mean, Andy
McCabe corroborates a lot of James Comey's testimony. Should
Jeff Sessions have — be in a position to fire him?
LEMIRE: He should not. The president has put immense
pressure on Jeff Sessions on this issue. He wants McCabe fired.
He wants him — he does see his —
WALLACE: But he's leaving Friday. This is —
LEMIRE: — that's right. But firing now would perhaps deprive
him of that pension, I believe as the article makes a good point
and I think that one could argue this is perhaps the President's
way of getting a little vengeance, a little revenge for his alleged
ties to the Clintons, alleged ties, his wife's ties to Terry McAuliffe,
the former governor — the Governor of Virginia has also, of
course, ties to both Clintons. And that the President himself has
said to Sessions — he holds Sessions so responsible for this
Russia probe, for recusing himself in the first place and that this
is perhaps a way he's dangling whether he said it or not, to get
back into his good graces by following through here and firing
McCabe.

WALLACE: I don't know how to ask this without swearing, so I'm
going to ask you as best I can and I will bleep. Don’t worry,
control room. Is the President this much of a bleep-hole?
CHARLIE SYKES: Well, I think that’s been established. I don't
actually think that's breaking news. You know, it is important to
remember this recommendation comes from career Justice
Department employees through the Inspector General's office.
WALLACE: I'm not questioning the recommendation.
SYKES: Right, right.
WALLACE: I'm questioning the timing.
SYKES: Right and we don't know what the details are about his
lack of candor which is a firing offense in the FBI.
WALLACE: Of course it is.
SYKES: But having said that, his —
WALLACE: — and he's leaving. I don't think that's being
debated.
SYKES: Right. This is — this will obviously, look, petty, vindictive,
and designed to discredit the FBI, including in the Russia
investigation and you know that there’s no way that Donald
Trump is not going to tweet in all caps all about this. There's no
question that Jeff Sessions is going to feel that kind of pressure.
But I guess I would like to know more about what the Inspector
General found, but this is going to be messy, but it gives the
President just enough pretext to go ahead and do this.
WALLACE: And you think firing someone for leaking bad
information that reflected badly on Hillary Clinton is a home run in
the post-fact world that is Trump's base?
DOUG THORNELL: Well, that's the whole insane thing about this
thing, right? I worked on the 2016 campaign and if you
.
363
remember, there is only one person who was hurt by information
leaking out about the FBI investigation, and that was Hillary
Clinton. There was an ongoing FBI investigation into Trump
collusion with Russia back in July of 2016.
WALLACE: Right.
THORNELL: You never heard anything about that. In fact, it was
denied. So, there was only one candidate who was hurt due to
actions of FBI officials, and that was Hillary Clinton. So, this
whole idea that there’s this deep state conspiracy among the
Justice Department and FBI to take down Donald Trump — it's
all — bull-s.
[WALLACE LAUGHS]
SYKES: I agree with that.
WALLACE: Very quick, last word.
SYKES: But again, you know, what is exactly is he charged with?
I mean, we can have — I think we can have a clear opinion about
this —
WALLACE: No and I don’t think — I don’t —
SYKES: — because no one can lie to the FBI, including the FBI.
WALLACE: — well and I'm not disputing anything about Matt
Apuzzo’s report. The question is Donald Trump put this in motion
90 days ago with a tweet. The IG report found what it found. I'm
not hearing anybody dispute that. My question is he was leaving
on Sunday. This is about firing him.
SYKES: It’s mean-spirted.
WALLACE: — and depriving him of his pension. Well, it’s worse
than that.
SYKES: Yeah.
 NBC Ignores Report McCabe
Misled Investigators, ABC Frets For His Pension
By Nicholas Fondacaro
March 14, 2018 11:18 PM EDT

Will he fire a top FBI official just days

before his retirement,” he fretted. “The
FBI's outgoing deputy director, Andrew
McCabe, four days from retiring. His
pension now at stake.”

On Wednesday, word leaked out that the FBI’s Inspector

General’s office was recommending former deputy
director, Andrew McCabe be fired for misleading their
investigators who were looking into the handling of the
Clinton e-mail investigation. The report hasn’t been made
public yet but it comes as the Trump administration was The rest of ABC’s time was mostly spent recalling
experiencing numerous firings. While ABC, CBS, and NBC McCabe’s role in the Russia investigation and how he
had previously hyped such firings, NBC ignored this one contradicted Trump in a Congressional hearing.
as ABC spent more time worried about McCabe’s pension.
Meanwhile, CBS Evening News gave the most well-
ABC’s World News Tonight spend almost two minutes on balanced report. The segment lasted one minute, 15
the McCabe story, one minute and 58 seconds to be seconds. And of that time, they spent 30 seconds on the
precise. Of that time, they spent one minute and eight possibility of McCabe losing his pension/Trump tweets
seconds worrying about McCabe’s pension, and Trump’s about it and 29 seconds on him misleading the Inspector
tweets about it, since he could be fired just days before he General.
was eligible to receive it. In stark contrast, they only spent
a mere 15 seconds on the details of him misleading federal
CBS Justice correspondent Jeff Pegues also gave a detailed
investigators.
rundown of what McCabe was accused of:
“The Justice Department inspector
Jeff, as you know, Andrew McCabe has
general finding McCabe allowed FBI
been caught up in a high-level investigation
officials to speak with a reporter about
by the Department of Justice Inspector
the Clinton foundation probe and then
General. That probe is about how the FBI
misled investigators who asked him
conducted its investigation of Hillary
about it. Those close to McCabe say he
Clinton's private e-mail server. The final
denies intentionally misleading anyone,”
report is due soon, but according to
was all Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre
sources familiar with its conclusions, it says
Thomas had to say.
McCabe misled investigators about
whether he had talked to a reporter about
ABC anchor David Muir set the tone for the report to be an FBI investigation into the Clinton
centered on McCabe’s pension in his introduction to the Foundation.
segment.
NBC Nightly News’ dead silence on the issue came a day
“Also at this hour, we are following what after they spent seven minutes and 35 seconds on stories
will be a major decision by President
Trump's attorney general, Jeff Sessions.
364
related to administration firings. A big difference was that
McCabe wasn’t a Trump appointee.
The relevant portions of the transcripts are below, click
expand to read:
ABC
World News Tonight
March 14, 2018
6:35:15 PM Eastern
DAVID MUIR: Also at this hour, we are following what will be a
major decision by President Trump's attorney general, Jeff
Sessions. Will he fire a top FBI official just days before his
retirement? The FBI's outgoing deputy director, Andrew McCabe,
four days from retiring. His pension now at stake. McCabe has
been a frequent target of President Trump. And here's ABC's
Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas tonight.
[Cuts to video]
PIERRE THOMAS: It was Andrew McCabe who was thrust into
the national spotlight after President Trump fired former FBI
director James Comey, McCabe suddenly becoming the acting
director of FBI. Soon after, asked on Capitol Hill about a claim
made by the White House that morale because of James Comey
was low.
(…)
THOMAS: For many months, President Trump publically went
after McCabe. Now tonight, there's word McCabe, just four days
from retirement, could be fired before he retires.
The Justice Department inspector general finding McCabe
allowed FBI officials to speak with a reporter about the Clinton
foundation probe and then misled investigators who asked him
about it. Those close to McCabe say he denies intentionally
misleading anyone.
Tonight, McCabe’s fate lies in the hands of attorney general Jeff
Sessions, whose decision could impact whether McCabe
receives his full pension after a 22-year career with the FBI. That
pension at the center of one of Trump's angry tweets. "FBI
deputy director Andrew McCabe is racing the clock to retire with
full benefits. 90 days to go?"
365
[Cuts back to live]
MUIR: All right, so, let's get to Pierre Thomas, live outside the
FBI tonight. What are you hearing from your sources, Pierre?
What is the A.G. going to do here?
THOMAS: David, no final decision has been made but, so far, in
critical moments, Session has often followed the
recommendation of career staff, and those officials are
recommending McCabe be fired. David?
MUIR: Pierre Thomas tonight. Pierre, thank you.
CBS Evening News
March 14, 2018
6:39:01 PM Eastern
JEFF GLOR: CBS News has confirmed that Andrew McCabe,
once the deputy director of F.B.I., could be fired just days short of
his official retirement from the bureau. Jeff Pegues is following
this story. Jeff?
JEFF PEGUES: Jeff, as you know, Andrew McCabe has been
caught up in a high-level investigation by the Department of
Justice Inspector General. That probe is about how the FBI
conducted its investigation of Hillary Clinton's private e-mail
server. The final report is due soon, but according to sources
familiar with its conclusions, it says McCabe misled investigators
about whether he had talked to a reporter about an FBI
investigation into the Clinton Foundation.
The FBI has recommended McCabe be fired and now it's up to
the attorney general, Jeff session, to decide. If McCabe is fired,
he could lose his pension. McCabe has been a frequent target of
President Trump over the last year. In December the president
tweeted, "FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is racing the
clock to retire with full benefits. 90 days to go."
McCabe, by the way, also led the initial stages of the Russia
investigation. Within the F.B.I., lying during an investigation is
considered a cardinal sin. We did reach out to McCabe, but we
have not yet heard back. Jeff?
GLOR: All right, Jeff. Thank you.
 Just Yes Or No, Sen. Mark Warner,
Did You See Any Collusion Proof?
Top Senate Democrat, In Meandering Answer, Finally Gets Around To Apparent
Concession — Via Silence — That He's Seen No Evidence
By Brendan Kirby
Updated 15 Mar 2018 At 6:48 AM

After months of interviewing witnesses and reviewing

documents, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
has yet to produce any credible evidence that President
Donald Trump or his associates conspired with Russian
operatives to influence the 2016 election.
Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the committee’s chairman,
refuses to go as far as his Republican colleagues in the
House of Representatives in concluding that no such
evidence exists. But he has acknowledged that he has not
yet seen any evidence.
It is a point that Democrats presently cannot refute but
have difficulty admitting.
Witness the interview Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the
panel’s ranking Democrat, gave to CNN Wednesday.
Reporter Manu Raju asked Warner a simple question:
“One of the things that Richard Burr told
me this week is that he has seen no
evidence yet of collusion between the
Russians and the Trump campaign. Do you
agree with that?”
.
Warner gave a 35-second rambling response that never
even got within sight of a straight answer:
"Listen, I have as many questions, if not
more questions, today than I had six
months ago, and what I've said throughout
this whole investigation is, I'm going to
reserve my final judgment until the end of
the investigation," he said.
"We continue to interview witnesses
regularly. We have more scheduled next
month. We have a lot of individuals that at
least I'm gonna want to have come back
that were principals, because our
interviews have all been done by staff."
In other words — well, if not disagreeing indicates
agreement, it seems reasonable to conclude that, yes,
Warner agrees with Burr that the committee has not seen
evidence of collusion.

366
 DEEP STATE DON’T PLAY=>
Reddit Shuts Down CBTS_Stream Deep State
Community For “Inciting Violence”
By Jim Hoft
March 15, 2018, 8:46 Am

Deep State Don’t Play–

Deep State is playing offense now and has
moved into its next phase of action.
The most prominent Reddit board
fighting Deep State, CBTS_Stream,
which had been building rapidly in
readers, was just shut down.
This subreddit was banned due to a violation of our
content policy, specifically, the prohibition of content that
encourages or incites violence and the posting of personal
and confidential information.

The page says: Banned 13 minutes ago.

This community has been banned. This is totally bogus. There is no

content on the page that “incited
violence.”

Evidently, Deep State is calling the shots on Reddit today.

Featured image via NewStatesMan

367
 Historian Niall Ferguson: Midterms Going To Be Much
Worse Than GOP Can Imagine Because Of Tech Giants
Targeting Of Conservatives
By Jim Hoft
March 15, 2018, 9:21 Am

Conservative Publishers Hit Hard By

Facebook Algorithm Changes –
Gateway Pundit Hit the Hardest

Historian Niall Ferguson warned

Republican lawmakers that the
midterms are going to be much worse
than they can imagine because of the
targeting and banning of conservative
sites be Facebook, Google and Twitter.

Niall Ferguson:

The midterms are going to be worse, a lot

worse. Because never again will the
network platforms in Silicon Valley allow
them to use them as Donald Trump’s
campaign used them in 2016. The sound of
heads exploding on November the 9th of
2016 was deafening in California. They
couldn’t believe that Facebook advertising
had been so vital to Trump’s success.
Which it was. I don’t think he would have
become president without Facebook. As
people think more and more about this they
will I think begin to grasp the power of the
platforms. I think the Russia issue is a
distraction from the real question.

Via Josh Caplan:

As TGP reported earlier this month:

Tech Giants Google and Facebook are
currently purging conservative content
from Facebook and YouTube — They
are hiding conservative stories on
368
 Google — They are shadow-banning
conservative news on all social media.
In February Facebook launched a new algorithm to ensure
that conservative news would not spread on the social
media platform.
This was after Facebook announced it
was losing 50,000,000 user hours a day
in the previous quarter.
The algorithm change caused President Donald Trump’s
engagement on Facebook posts to plummet a whopping
45%.
In contrast, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and
Bernie Sanders (I-VT) do not appear to have suffered a
comparable decline in Facebook engagement.
Top conservative Facebook pages with daily traffic in the
millions have seen 75% to 95% drop in traffic.
Young Cons, Western Journalism, SarahPalin.com,
Independent Journal Review, Right Wing News, and
several others have seen dramatic loss in traffic.
In 2016 we were one of the few conservative sites that
supported candidate Trump – along with Breitbart, The
Drudge Report, Infowars, Zero Hedge and Conservative
Treehouse. We are proud of our efforts to report the truth
that led to Trump’s historic win.
In 2017 Harvard and Columbia
Journalism Review found that The
Gateway Pundit was the 4th most
influential conservative news source in
the 2016 election.
Because of this we were targeted and
have seen our numbers related to
Facebook and Twitter decline
dramatically.
The Gateway Pundit does not rely on Facebook for our
traffic numbers.
Still, we saw a significant drop in
Facebook traffic in the last month.
And this past weekend Facebook shut
down our traffic stream from the social
media platform.
This is corrupt, if not criminal, behavior.
Meanwhile, liberal sites are doing fine.
369
Now this…
A new report by the far left Outline
organization confirmed the conservative
publishers were hit the hardest by the
recent Facebook news feed changes.
The study also found the The Gateway
Pundit was hit the hardest by
these changes.
Via The Outline:
Facebook’s January 12 announcement that
it would begin to de-prioritize news
publishers and their posts in users’ News
Feeds has had a surprisingly profound and
partisan impact. According to The Outline’s
analysis of Facebook engagement data
obtained from research tool BuzzSumo,
conservative and right-wing publishers
(such as Breitbart, Fox News, and Gateway
Pundit) were hit the hardest in the weeks
following the announcement, with
Facebook engagement totals for February
dropping as much as 55 percent for some,
while the engagement numbers of most
predominantly liberal publishers remained
unaffected.
Both liberal and conservative publishers of clickbait and
highly polarizing content also experienced a significant
drop in engagement following Facebook’s News Feed de-
prioritization announcement.
The Outline drew these conclusions after analyzing the
Facebook engagement data of 20 publishers from March 5,
2017 to February 28, 2018.
The Outline then posted results from several top US news
publishers.
You can see The New York Times has
not suffered by the recent changes.
But conservative news publishers were hit hard.

Here is Breitbart.com’s Facebook page.

In March Facebook shut down our content. You cannot

even share a Gateway Pundit story without getting a
warning now.

And here is The Gateway Pundit’s Facebook numbers And this is after we spent tens of thousands of dollars
through February. advertising on Facebook in the past.

** Please text or call your representative

and have them address this issue
before all conservative publishers are
shut down.
.

370
 WOW! Republicans Say PA Voting Machines
‘Miscalibrated’, Saccone Votes Changed To Lamb
By Joshua Caplan
March 15, 2018, 9:36 Am
On Tuesday, Pennsylvania’s 18th
district held a special election in which
Democrat Conor Lamb is widely
believed to have edged out his
Republican rival Rick Saccone. While
absentee votes are still being counted,
Republicans are raising concerns
that some voting machines were
“miscalibrated,” which led to votes
being switched from Saccone to Lamb.
Washington Free Beacon reports:
Lamb currently leads Republican Rick
Saccone by just 627 votes and there are
still absentee and provisional ballots that
have not been tabulated, but Republicans
are already preparing for the likely recount
and even a possible lawsuit regarding
issues at polling sites, according to a
371
Republican source familiar with the
deliberations.
“We’re actively investigating three
instances and likely to file court action on
them,” the source said.
Among the listed concerns are “miscalibrated” voting
machines in Allegheny County, the only county of four in
the district that went for Lamb, according to the source,
who said there have been many reports of voters who
intended to vote for Saccone ending up casting a ballot for
Lamb.
Furthermore, Republicans say their attorneys were ejected
from polling sites as the absentee ballots were still being
counted and that due to confusion caused by the
Pennsylvania secretary of state website people were
directed to the wrong polling locations.
“We’re actively investigating three
instances and likely to file court action on
them,” a source revealed the Washington
Free Beacon.
The NRCC has released a statement on the race:
“This race is too close to call and we’re
ready to ensure that every legal vote is
counted. Once they are, we’re confident
Rick Saccone will be the newest
Republican member of Congress.”
Nonetheless, DNC chairman Tom Perez has already “..even after they poured more than $10M
claimed victory, despite a substantial number of into longstanding stronghold, Trump and
outstanding absentee ballots that could swing the race: GOP still couldn’t put anti-worker candidate
Rick Saccone in office.”

372
 Adam Schiff Gets Cold Feet On Russia,
Loses Confidence In Mueller
Nick Givas -Media And Politics Reporter
9:46 AM 03/15/2018

come out, because at least some of the

Adam Schiff Gets Cold Feet On Russia, Loses Confidence In Bob
Mueller - CNN New Day 3-15-18 (Screenshot/CNN)
Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California said his party
cannot continue to rely on special counsel Bob Mueller in
the Russia investigation and believes it’s up to Congress to
crack the case.
members, the Democratic members have
been very serious about this.”
“We can’t simply rely on Bob Mueller,” he
concluded. “Because his job is different
than ours. His job is to determine who
broke the law and who should be
prosecuted and who should go to jail. It’s
not his job to tell the country what
happened. And outside of an indictment, he
may not be able to speak. That’s what the
Congress is supposed to do. So there’s no
substitute for Congress doing its job.”
WATCH:

Schiff accused President Donald Trump’s campaign of

holding nefarious “secret meetings” and said the House
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence would find
out who broke the law.

“We’ve learned a great deal,” Schiff said

Thursday on CNN’s “New Day.” “We’ve
learned a great deal about secret meetings
the Trump campaign had with the
Russians. We’ve learned a great deal
about the Russian’s use of social media.
And we have been able to obtain a lot of
very important information for the country
which you’ll see when these transcripts
.

373
 Trump’s Own Economic Report Says U.S.
Has No Trade Deficit With Canada
David Krayden - Ottawa Bureau Chief
9:52 AM 03/15/2018
President Donald Trump’s admission Wednesday that he
had no idea whether the U.S. had a trade deficit with
Canada underscores Canada’s ongoing contention that it
has a trade deficit with the United States.
But, as it turns out, Trump’s own annual economic report,
signed by the president, indicates that the U.S. has a trade
surplus with Canada.
According to a Washington Post report, Trump told a
partisan crowd in Missouri that he had no idea whether the
U.S. was ahead or behind on cross-border trade with
Canada when he met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
last year.
Trump consistently tells Americans that the U.S. is
suffering a massive trade deficit with Canada, suggesting
.
374
“we lose a lot with Canada… Canada’s
very smooth. They have you believe it’s
wonderful. And it is, for them.”
However the White House’s own “Economic Report of the
President” for 2018 contradicts that claim, saying Canada
is almost unique in that it has a trade deficit with the US,
stating
“The United States ran a trade surplus of
$2.6 billion with Canada on a balance-of-
payments basis.”
Former U.S. ambassador to Canada, Bruce Heyman, was
quick to jump on the Post story. He suggested Trump was
“throwing Canada under the bus” and “lying to [his]
friends” in a series of Thursday morning tweets:
“Lying to your friends only hurts the
relationship,” he wrote. “Canada has been
there for us thru thick and thin. How can
you casually damage this relationship?
Shame on you!”
 Trump Seems To Tie South Korea’s
Security To Better Deals On Trade
Ryan Pickrell - China/Asia Pacific Reporter
10:37 AM 03/15/2018
U.S. President Donald Trump sits between Treasury Secretary Steve
Mnuchin (L) and Boeing Chairman and CEO Dennis Muilenburg (R)
during a round table at Boeing in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. March 14,
2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
President Donald Trump criticized America’s allies in Asia
Wednesday, accusing them of enjoying our security
guarantees while taking advantage of America on trade.
“We have a very big trade deficit with them,
and we protect them,” Trump asserted at a
fundraising speech. “We lose money on
trade, and we lose money on the military.
We have right now 32,000 soldiers
between North and South Korea. Let’s see
what happens.”
“Our allies care about themselves. They
don’t care about us,” the president added.
Trump’s comments come as the U.S. and South Korea are
re-negotiating a free trade deal that the president believes
is not in the best interest of the U.S. and ahead of a
possible summit meeting between Trump and North
Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
.
375
The U.S. has approximately 28,500 military personnel
stationed in South Korea, although the number
occasionally spikes to around 32,000 during troop
rotations and joint military exercises, U.S. Forces Korea
told the Stars and Stripes.
The president’s comments are reminiscent of campaign
trail criticisms Trump repeatedly hurled at allies like South
Korea and Japan.
“We defend Japan … We defend South
Korea … We defend countries,” he said
during the first presidential debate. “They
do not pay us what they should be paying
us, because we are providing a
tremendous service and we’re losing a
fortune.”
“It is very possible that if they don’t pay us,”
he added. “They may have to defend
themselves or they have to help us out.”
South Korea’s financial contribution to the U.S. forces on
the Korean Peninsula is around $890 million a year, which
works out to roughly half the total cost. Seoul is also
covering the cost for a new Army base.
Nonetheless, the president remains frustrated by persistent
trade imbalances.
Trump’s recent decision to tariff washing machines and
solar panels hit South Korea hard, and Seoul has been
critical of the new steel and aluminum tariffs, as South
Korea is America’s third largest steel supplier.
 Obama DOJ Forced FBI To Delete
500,000 Fugitives From Background Check Database
Kerry Picket - Reporter
10:47 AM 03/15/2018

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about law

enforcement’s faulty response to Parkland, Florida shooter
Nikolas Cruz, California Democratic Sen. Dianne
Feinstein asked Bowdich about the removal.

“That was a decision that was made under

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department under Barack
Obama directed the FBI to drop more than 500,000 names
of fugitives with outstanding arrest warrants from the
National Instant Criminal Background Check System,
acting FBI deputy director David Bowdich testified
Wednesday.
Fugitives from justice are barred from buying a firearm
under federal law. But what is a fugitive from justice? That
definition has been under debate by the FBI and the ATF.
According to The Washington Post, the FBI considered
any person with an outstanding arrest warrant to be a
fugitive. On the other hand, the Bureau of Alcohol
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives defined a fugitive as
someone who has an outstanding arrest warrant and has
crossed state lines.
the previous administration,” Bowdich
testified. “It was the Department of
Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel that
reviewed the law and believed that it
needed to be interpreted so that if
someone was a fugitive in a state, there
had to be indications that they had crossed
state lines.”
“Otherwise they were not known to be a
fugitive under the law and the way it was
interpreted,” he added.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently announced the
Justice Department will “aggressively” pursue any person
who lies on their background check.

That disagreement was settled at the end of Obama’s

second term, when the Justice Department’s Office of
Legal Counsel sided with the ATF’s interpretation. Under
President Donald Trump, the DOJ defined a fugitive as
a person who went to another state to dodge criminal
prosecution or evade giving testimony in criminal court,
and implemented the Office of Legal Counsel’s decision.
The decision meant that around half a million fugitives
were removed from the National Instant Criminal
Background Check System.
.

376
 Trump Sanctions Russian Nationals
For Meddling In 2016 Presidential Election
Saagar Enjeti - White House Correspondent
10:57 AM 03/15/2018

President Donald Trump’s administration will sanction 19
Russian nationals for meddling in the 2016 presidential
election, multiple senior national security officials told
reporters Thursday morning.
The sanctions will also target Russian nationals and
entities for cyber attacks on the U.S. energy grid along
with other U.S. based companies and persons.
The sanctions include new authorities granted to the U.S.
government under the Countering America’s Adversaries
Act, passed by Congress over the summer.
Officials stressed that the announced sanctions are not the
only actions the U.S. government will take in response to
Russian activity. The sanctions come as the U.S. joined the
heads of European security agencies in calling out Russia
for a nerve agent attack in the U.K.

377
 Chris Cuomo: Trump Is
Comfortable With ‘Truth Abuse’
Amber Athey - Media Reporter
11:06 AM 03/15/2018

Cuomo cited Trump’s recent meeting with Canadian Prime

Minister Justin Trudeau, wherein Trump reportedly made
up facts to get a better trade deal with Canada. Trump
insisted that the U.S. had a trade deficit with Canada, and
when Trudeau challenged him on the claim, Trump sent an
aide to go check the facts. (RELATED: Trump Admits
He Made Up Facts Trying To Get A Better NAFTA
Screen Shot Chris Cuomo (CNN: March 15, 2018)
Deal With Canada)

The CNN host often bends over backwards to avoid using

CNN’s Chris Cuomo accused President Donald Trump of the word “liar” in relation to the president, so in this case,
being “comfortable with truth abuse” on Thursday. he said that Trump is “very comfortable with truth abuse.”
(RELATED: Chris Cuomo Explodes On Matt Schlapp:
WATCH: ‘If I Want To Call You A Liar’)

“At the end of the day with all this left

right…those who are loyal with Trump will
say they do not care what he does,” he
continued. “They will say, well this is deal-
making and he’s savvy and they all do it.”

378
 CNN's Avlon: It Is A 'Disgrace' To Fire McCabe 'Days
Before Retirement' And Take Away His Pension
By Ryan Foley
March 15, 2018 11:08 AM EDT
During an appearance on CNN's New Day Thursday
morning, panelist John Avlon did not seem to like the idea
that Attorney General Jeff Sessions may fire Deputy FBI
Director Andrew McCabe for his mishandling of the
Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation, saying
"that is a disgrace to fire somebody days
before retirement, and take away their
pension really for what is a petty and
political reason."
Avlon and fellow panelist Karoun Demirjian,
Congressional Reporter for The Washington Post, had
gossiped about the potential replacement of seven of
Trump’s cabinet members, citing an anonymous “source”
claiming that the President wants to purge his cabinet of
“deadweight.” Attorney General Jeff Sessions was one of
the seven cabinet members who may find himself on the
chopping block. Demirjian suggested that if Sessions
decided to fire McCabe, he may find himself back in
Trump’s good graces, as President Trump had previously
complained about Sessions’ failure to fire McCabe.
According to The New York Times, a report from the
Justice Department Inspector General recommended
McCabe’s termination as a result of his decision to allow
members of the FBI to speak with reporters about an
investigation into the Clinton Foundation. Avlon suggested
that the Inspector General’s recommendation serves as
“coverage” for the Justice Department should they seek to
fire McCabe but still referred to a potential firing as a
“disgrace” and “petty and political.” Even co-host Alisyn
Camerota did not agree with Avlon’s declaration, asking
“what if he did mislead about the Hillary Clinton
investigation?” Avlon dismissed Camerota’s concerns,
alleging that
379
“this is purely Presidential personal peak,
we all know that to be true.”
Should Sessions actually decide to fire McCabe, he has to
act fast; as McCabe’s retirement will go into effect on
Sunday. McCabe announced his decision to step down
earlier this year, after facing questions over conflicts of
interest. His wife had run for the Virginia Senate in 2015,
receiving money from a PAC aligned with Virginia
Governor and Clinton Loyalist Terry McAuliffe. McCabe
effectively oversaw the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s
use of a private e-mail server even though his wife took
money from a PAC associated with one of her good
buddies. McCabe briefly served as Acting Director of the
FBI last year in the time between the firing of FBI Director
James Comey and the appointment of New FBI Director
Christopher Wray.
Avlon and many of his colleagues in the media dismissed
the entire Clinton e-mail investigation as a witch hunt,
which they relentlessly chastise Republicans for saying
about the Russia investigation. It might seem "petty and
political" to Avlon to take away McCabe's pension but if
he did behave inappropriately, he should lose his pension.
CNN New Day
03/15/18
06:22 AM
ALISYN CAMEROTA: Okay, let’s talk about the cabinet because
this is more than just a parlor game of who’s in, who’s out. Things
seem to be happening. There’s all sorts of reporting that the
President was not satisfied with his original picks and these are
the people who may be on the chopping block. And there’s a lot
of them. I mean, from David Shulkin, Jeff Sessions, H.R.
McMaster, John Kelly, Ryan Zinke, Ben Carson and Betsy
DeVos have made their own mistakes quite publicly in the past
week. So Karoun, what information do you have?
KAROUN DEMIRJIAN: Well, I mean, everybody’s kind of waiting
to see where the President turns next. Clearly, the Tillerson
dismissal was a very, very big deal this week and then
McMaster’s name started to be floated about. I mean, from that
list of faces and cabinet positions that you put up, it’s really the
President has a choice, does he want to get rid of the people who
have, you know, bought really expensive dining room tables and
spent taxpayer money on plane flights and screwed up on 60
Minutes, or does he want to go for the people who have really
kind of been his antagonist on his policy, whether it’s Sessions,
he’s really upset at Sessions for a long time for recusing himself
on Russia issues, feels like that worsened his lot. Or McMaster,
who, you know, he poked at even when he was overseas
representing the United States to allied nations in, in Germany.
So, which way the President goes, I think in large part is going to
depend on what he feels the public blowback to that is. And
Sessions has a test this week frankly with the Deputy FBI
Director Andrew McCabe, who’s now been recommended for
firing, so that may...Trump wanted him gone so we’ll see if that’s
his test for Sessions and what he determines he’s going to do in
the next few days.
JOHN AVLON: Yeah, I mean, the two buckets that these cabinet
officials can be put into are there is one, people who are
embarrassments or who had distractions, mini-scandals. The
other people who’ve committed the sin of telling the President no
.
380
and they tend to be from the National Security apparatus or law
enforcement. Losing them is much more dangerous for the
country and the institution of the Presidency. And if he all of a
sudden does cut off McMaster, who’s been widely respected, has
the guts to tell the President what he needs to know and what he
doesn’t necessarily want to hear, and replaces him with another
TV cable host who is more inclined to say yes, that’s bad for the
country. And the McCabe thing, if they fire McCabe, I know they
have the recommendation as coverage now, that is a disgrace to
fire somebody days before retirement, and take away their
pension really for what is a petty and political reason.
CAMEROTA: But was it? I mean, but what if he didn’t, what if he
did mislead about the Hillary Clinton investigation?
AVLON: This is purely Presidential personal peak, we all know
that to be true. He just now is the fig leaf of an excuse for the
Justice Department.
 REPORT: FBI Official Andrew Mccabe Begging Not To
Fired In Last Minute Plea
By Joshua Caplan
March 15, 2018, 11:30 Am

FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe person. Mr. McCabe left his post in January
faces the possibility of being fired after after he was told to step aside, but had
an internal review recommended he be been expected to take leftover vacation
terminated. time until he was eligible to retire this
month after a decadeslong career with the
agency. A spokeswoman for Mr. Sessions
said in a statement that the Justice
Department “follows a prescribed process
by which an employee may be terminated,”
and said she had “no personnel
announcements at this time.”
In a last-ditch effort, McCabe will meet with Deputy
Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s staff Thursday to
appeal the FBI’s recommendation for Sessions to fire him,
the Wall Street Journal‘s Del Quentin Wilber reports.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is

considering a recommendation to fire
former Deputy FBI Director Andrew
McCabe and could order his ouster this
week, shortly before Mr. McCabe’s
expected retirement, according to a person Fox News contributor Sara A. Carter recently told Fox
familiar with the matter. Mr. McCabe News host Sean Hannity that Justice Department Inspector
allegedly wasn’t forthcoming with General, Michael Horowitz, is investigating whether or not
investigators probing the disclosure of McCabe asked bureau agents to “change their 302s.”
information to a Wall Street Journal
reporter for an October 2016 story about an
inquiry into the Clinton Foundation, said the
381
A day after the New York Times reported FBI Director McCabe stepped down January 29th, as
Christopher Wray confronted McCabe over unspecified first reported by NBC News.
findings in DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s
report, the Washington Post reveals the embattled bureau McCabe, who served a brief stint as acting director of the
official is being probed over his role in examining emails bureau, was already expected to leave. He will stay on
found on former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s laptop. “terminal leave” until he is eligible to retire with benefits
in March,” reported CNBC.

382
 Day Two: ABC, NBC Silent
On McCabe And Clintons; CBS Allows 92 Seconds
By Scott Whitlock
March 15, 2018 12:16 PM EDT

On Thursday, NBC’s Today stayed silent on the potential

firing of Andrew McCabe and the allegations that he
misled investigators delving into Hillary Clinton’s e-mail
scandal. ABC’s Good Morning America also ignored the
story. This is despite a combined six hours of air time.

Only CBS This Morning covered the story, allowing a

scant 92 seconds. Co-host John Dickerson noted,

“Andrew McCabe is accused of lack of

candor when talking with FBI officials about
the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation and
his... contact with a reporter who wrote
about it.” On This Morning, Thursday, Reid informed the show’s
hosts that a firing is likely, spinning Jeff Sessions as weak:

"But we know the Attorney General is

under scrutiny from the President and this
is an internal recommendation. So, sources
familiar with Sessions’s thinking believe he
will likely accept this recommendation and
fire McCabe."

A stunned Norah O’Donnell marveled,

“Wow.”
Reporter Paula Reid quickly jumped to the impact of firing
In general, the journalists on CBS have showed
McCabe, just days before he is set to retire:
considerable interest and excitement over Trump’s
ongoing cabinet shuffle. O’Donnell appeared clearly
“But if Attorney General Jeff Sessions fires alarmed. On Wednesday, she hyped:
him, he could lose his pension, which
amounts to potentially millions of dollars in
“It looks like a March massacre by
retirement.”
President Trump.” Co-host Gayle King
matched that, saying: “I look at it as March
As the MRC’s Nick Fondacaro noted, this fretting about Madness."
McCabe as the victim also occurred on ABC, which
covered the story on Wednesday. World News Tonight
On Thursday, O’Donnell worried:
anchor David Muir worried:

“It’s like a blood bath over there.” Yet, look

We are following what will be a major
at how little time was given to the
decision by President Trump's attorney
substance of what this particular (potential)
general, Jeff Sessions. Will he fire a top
firing is about: The Clinton Foundation and
FBI official just days before his retirement?
Hillary Clinton’s e-mails.
The FBI's outgoing deputy director, Andrew
McCabe, four days from retiring. His
pension now at stake. The Washington Post explained the situation:

383
 Justice Department Inspector General
Michael E. Horowitz has for some time
been working on a report that blasts
McCabe for allowing two high-ranking
bureau officials to sit down with the Wall
Street Journal as the news outlet prepared
a report in 2016 on an investigation into
Hillary Clinton’s family foundation, then
misleading the inspector general’s team
about his actions.
A transcript is below. Click “expand” to read more.
CBS This Morning
3/15/18
7:07am
JOHN DICKERSON: The Justice Department, speaking of firing,
may fire the former deputy director, before he retires in just a few
days. Andrew McCabe is accused of lack of candor when talking
with FBI officials about the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation and
his conduct — contact with a reporter who wrote about it. Paula
Reid is at headquarters in Washington. Paula, good morning.
.
384
PAULA REID: Good morning. Now, McCabe stepped down back
in January but he was expected to officially retire this weekend.
But if Attorney General Jeff Sessions fires him, he could lose his
pension, which amounts to potentially millions of dollars in
retirement. Sources tell CBS News that ethics officials at the FBI
have recommend that McCabe be fired because he was not fully
forthcoming about whether he shared information with the media
about the investigation into the Clinton Foundation. Now, those
familiar with the McCabe side of the story say in his position he
was authorized to talk to reporters. And, of course, President
Trump has been extremely critical of the former deputy director.
Back in December, he tweeted “FBI Deputy Director Andrew
McCabe is racing the clock to retire with full benefits. 90 days to
go?” Now, unlike the Attorney General or the head of the FBI,
McCabe does not serve at the pleasure of the President. He
cannot be fired without some evidence of wrongdoing. But we
know the Attorney General is under scrutiny from the President.
And this is an internal recommendation. So, sources familiar with
Sessions’s thinking believe he will likely accept this
recommendation and fire McCabe. Norah?
NORAH O’DONNELL: Wow! Paula, thank you.
 Okay Adam Schiff, Show Us The Russia Collusion
Does Schiff Have Superhuman Abilities To See Links That We Cannot?
What Exactly Is It That Binds His Strongest Points Together?
By Ben Weingarten
March 15, 2018
This week the Republican majority of the House
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI)
announced the conclusion of its investigation into Russia
and the 2016 U.S. election, concluding in a summary of
the draft report,
“We have found no evidence of
collusion, coordination, or conspiracy
between the Trump campaign and the
Russians.”
As they say, HPSCI hath no fury like a Schiff scorned.
Naturally, the Democratic congressman and prominent
Russiagate peddler Rep. Adam Schiff was incredulous.
Fascinatingly, in his press release castigating the
Republican-led committee for closing its probe into among
other things collusion between Russian officials and the
Trump campaign that Schiff has adamantly alleged for
over a year, the very word “collusion” was absent. Let us
put a finer point on it:
Those who subscribe to the Russiagate conspiracy theory
have settled on “collusion” with Russia as the central
charge against the Trump administration. Schiff has
screamed it from the rooftops.
Is it not curious this this allegation is
missing from Schiff’s latest missive,
replaced by “Russian interference” and the
“the role of U.S. persons connected to the
Trump campaign in that intervention?”
385
Let us also recognize that under a presidency that has
generated hyperbolic partisan action ranging from a slew
of attacks on President Trump’s mental fitness pointing
towards 25th Amendment removal, to the drawing of
impeachment papers, “collusion” would appear to be a
relatively restrained charge. This might indicate an implicit
lack of confidence in there being any “there” there among
the president’s detractors and believers in nefarious Russia
dealings.
‘Collusion’ Is Not In Itself A Crime
The trouble with the notion of “collusion” — or perhaps its
attractiveness depending on your perspective — is that it is
an amorphous catchall. It does not constitute a crime. The
closest related crime would be a conspiracy to commit an
offense against or defraud the United States. Therefore, in
context of a special counsel investigation for example,
which requires that a crime be cited, it should be
meaningless.
As former federal prosecutor Andrew C. McCarthy wrote
back in August 2017:
The lack of an apparent crime — which
would cause a normal prosecutor to close
his investigative file — has become a blank
check for [special counsel Robert] Mueller.
Trump’s Justice Department having failed
to place limits on his warrant, the special
counsel is free to conduct a fishing
expedition. Mueller has used his
bottomless budget to hire a legion of
lawyers with a history of Democratic-party
activism and hardball prosecutorial
aggression. The vaporous concept of
collusion implies no boundaries on
Mueller’s jurisdiction.
There is reason to believe the Mueller team thinks
otherwise, something perhaps to be adjudicated as the
seemingly limitless investigation proceeds. Regardless, as
Schiff has noted, it is not HPSCI’s job to prosecute a
crime, but rather to provide oversight and inform the
American people. In the hands of politicians, undefined
“collusion” becomes a potent political weapon in which
every meeting, statement and action can be cast as sinister.
However you define it, Schiff has indicated repeatedly that
he is sure collusion occurred. Consider the history:
In March 2017, Schiff said, “There is
circumstantial evidence of collusion,”
between Russia and the Trump campaign.
Later that month he asserted a link with
even more confidence, telling Chuck Todd
there was “more than circumstantial
evidence,” though he could “not go into the
particulars,” something Schiff has had a
tendency to suggest over the last year.
In December 2017, The Wall Street Journal’s James
Freeman summarized an exchange between CNN’s Jake
Tapper and Schiff in which the host questioned the
congressman on his evidence of collusion, noting
conversations with him often follow this pattern:
“Mr. Schiff has spent months commenting
on the state of the evidence about Russia
and the Trump campaign, and he’s claimed
over and over that it points to collusion.
What he has refused to do is disclose the
evidence for his claims.”
In February 2018, Schiff told reporters,
“There is already, in my view, ample
evidence in the public domain on the issue
of collusion if you’re willing to see it.”
Earlier this month, under questioning on The View, Schiff
sang somewhat of a different tune. He noted that what is in
the public domain is “pretty damning,” alluding briefly to
the infamous George Papadopoulos and Trump Tower
meetings.
All The Evidence Schiff Says Is ‘Pretty Damning’
Perhaps Schiff’s most comprehensive attempt at
explaining Trump-Russia collusion came in a December
2017 editorial he published in The Wall Street Journal,
where he cites five data points as evidence of collusion.
1. The April 2016 Papadopoulos meetings
The neophyte foreign policy adviser was allegedly
informed that Russia had “dirt” on Hillary Clinton in the
form of hacked emails. Papadopoulos would later plead
guilty to making materially false statements and material
omissions to the FBI regarding his conversations with
Russian government-linked individuals. Note: he pled
guilty to process crimes – a consistent theme in the
386
Mueller investigation – not to any illegal activities
associated with the meetings he took.
2. The June 2016 Trump Tower meeting
As Rep. Schiff argues, the Trump campaign participants
came away from the meeting disappointed that they never
obtained opposition research. Russian lawyer Natalia
Veselnitskaya instead used the meeting to allegedly lobby
against the Magnitsky Act and attack the man who inspired
it, Bill Browder.
3. The summer release of hacked DNC emails
disseminated through WikiLeaks, DC Leaks and
Guccifer 2.0
While Schiff asserts these hacked emails came from the
Russians, we still do not have independent confirmation
from the U.S. government, as only a third-party
investigator inspected the relevant hardware. Moreover,
Schiff does not draw any direct link to the Trump
campaign here, except to note that the then-candidate
supported their release.
4. The Russian social media campaign
The campaign was to, in Schiff’s words, “help the Trump
campaign, vilify Mrs. Clinton and sow general discord.”
Note that the evidence of the Mueller indictment of 13
Russians in connection with these activities does not show
singular support for Trump and attacks on Clinton, but
rather that the Russians at varying times supported up to
four candidates including both Trump and Clinton, all with
the intent of “sow[ing] general discord.”
5. Then-National Security Advisor designate Gen. Mike
Flynn allegedly “conspired” with Russia
Flynn allegedly “conspired secretly with the Russian
ambassador to undermine the effect of the sanctions.” We
now know however that according to none other than FBI
Director James Comey, contrary to Schiff’s assertion and
Flynn’s guilty plea, the FBI agents who interviewed Flynn
regarding his call with the Russian Ambassador Sergey
Kislyak indicated that they thought Flynn was being
honest and not intentionally misleading them. Moreover,
the interview itself was convened on highly dubious terms,
and Flynn — in a conversation with a foreign counterpart
that would appear reasonable — merely asked Kislyak that
Russia, in the words of the statement of offense, “refrain
from escalating the situation in response to U.S. sanctions
against Russia.”
Schiff summarized the evidence like this:
“Each of these contacts between the
Russians, the Trump campaign, and the
 transition is now uncontested, yet time and
again, the president’s team, and in some
cases the president himself, had lied about
them. To claim that these facts show no
evidence of collusion requires a willingness
to avoid seeing what is in plain sight, or to
credit the self-serving explanations of the
same Trump officials who misled the
country about these same meetings.”
But is this really a compelling case?
Taking meetings with Russian officials with the belief they
might yield information helpful to your campaign may
reflect poor judgment, but do those meetings equal
collusion or worse something illegal? Committing process
crimes in conversations with law enforcement officials
may look suspicious, but does it reflect an intent to conceal
a plot to collude with Vladimir Putin? If indeed the
Russians hacked and released the DNC emails, Schiff
provides no evidence that the Trump campaign “colluded”
with them in this act.
While Russia’s use of social media to support a variety of
candidates and issues during the 2016 election provides a
convenient scapegoat in Silicon Valley for Hillary
Clinton’s loss, a rationale for regulating online political
speech and an avenue to engage in legal extortion by
threatening the tech titans with further regulation in
exchange for protection in the form of campaign
donations, the remarkably cheap operation did not
collusion make. As the relevant Mueller indictment notes,
“Some Defendants, posing as U.S. persons
and without revealing their Russian
association, communicated with unwitting
individuals associated with the Trump
Campaign and with other political activists
to seek to coordinate political activities.
[emphasis mine]”
Lastly, is the national security advisor-designate’s
discussion with a foreign counterpart regarding sanctions
imposed on that counterpart’s nation just before the
president-elect assumes office some kind of treasonous
act?
Do these questions reveal willful blindness, or Schiff’s
superhuman ability to see links that we cannot? What
exactly is it that binds Schiff’s presumably strongest points
together? To what end were these acts colluding towards?
Do you find this “ample evidence” convincing? Or as
Republican Rep. Mike Conaway who led the HPSCI probe
intimates, is this all just a case of “bad judgment,
.
387
inappropriate meetings, inappropriate judgment in taking
meetings?”
The Context On Trump And Russia Schiff Ignores
If we stipulated that Schiff was pointing at disconcerting
smoke regarding Russia, how, one wonders would Schiff
weigh it against the ample evidence of the Trump team
making moves detrimental to Russia? The Trump
administration has among other things: Armed the
Ukrainians; dramatically increased military sales to
Europe; sold the Patriot missile defense shield to Poland;
crushed Russian mercenary forces in Syria; is developing
weapons pursuant to the new nuclear posture review that
violate the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty to
counter Russia’s treaty-breaking efforts; is developing a
missile defense strategy specifically oriented towards
Russia; and is countering the Russia-backed Iran Deal.
Does Schiff believe these are false flag acts meant to throw
the nation off of the scent of Russia collusion?
The California congressman never points to a smoking gun
or series of smoking guns tying the available data points
together to craft a clear, compelling, cogent case for
collusion. Given Schiff is politically adept and articulate,
that he has not made the 30-second case tells us something
about the strength of his position. Meanwhile, to my
knowledge, he has never been asked to grapple with the
contrary evidence of the administration’s actual policies.
And remember, the foregoing takes Schiff’s assertions at
face value. We could examine the alleged deluge of leaks
from his side of the HIPSCI aisle. We could point out
Schiff’s persistent stonewalling relating to the Steele
dossier. We could dissect the disingenuous campaign
around the Nunes counter-memo, in which Schiff first
falsely claimed Republican procedural unfairness around
consideration of the memo when it was subjected to the
same process as the Nunes memo; he then cried
suppression when the counter memo’s reviewers took the
time to redact the sensitive and/or classified information
that Schiff and his fellow HIPSCI Democrats had cynically
intentionally included, threatening national security for
political purposes after claiming Republicans would do the
same with their memo. Lastly, we could limn the litany of
instances of hypocrisy, deception and sins of omission and
commission, as The Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway has
chronicled. To recognize these points would only further
call into question Rep. Schiff’s credibility on Russia and
Trump.
Leave all that aside.
Let us ask the seminal question once again: Where is the
collusion Schiff?
 NBC Promises ‘Brutal Senate
Confirmation Battle’ Over Trump’s CIA Pick
By Kyle Drennen
March 15, 2018 12:20 PM EDT
On Thursday, NBC’s Today show predicted a “tough
fight” and “brutal Senate confirmation battle” over
President Trump’s nominee to head the CIA, current
Deputy Director Gina Haspel. Citing Haspel’s involvement
in the enhanced interrogation of terrorist detainees during
the Bush administration, “which many call torture,”
correspondent Kristen Welker touted critics of the pick.
“Facing new scrutiny this morning, the
President’s pick to lead the CIA,” Welker
proclaimed. While the reporter
acknowledged that Haspel was “a highly-
respected agency veteran,”
Welker quickly turned to harsh criticism of the intelligence
official:
“But as the agency’s former head of
covert operations, Haspel is likely
facing a brutal senate confirmation
battle, with questions about the extent
of her role in carrying out Bush
administration orders to waterboard
detainees in secret prisons overseas,
which many call torture.”
She highlighted
“Republican Senator Rand Paul taking
on both of the President’s nominees”
and emphasized the Kentucky lawmaker
“Reserving his harshest words for
Haspel.”
A soundbite followed of Paul blasting:
388
“To really appoint the head cheerleader for
waterboarding to be the head of the CIA. I
mean, how could you trust somebody who
did that to be in charge of the CIA?”
Welker added:
“Democrat Elizabeth Warren tweeting
Haspel is ‘unfit to lead the CIA.’”
Only after promoting opposition to Haspel, Welker did
mention supporters:
“But General Michael Hayden, who headed
the CIA under George W. Bush, insists the
agency is not going to repeat the past,
defending his former colleague.”
A clip ran of Hayden declaring:
“Gina did her duty. Gina was asked to go
do hard things on the behalf of the country,
asked to do that by her director, by her
country, and with the sanction and
validation of the Department of Justice at
the time.”
Rather than feature a lone soundbite of one of Haspel’s
backers as an afterthought to “defend” her CIA career,
Welker could have compiled a lost list of top members of
the intelligence community universally praising the agency
leader, including Barack Obama’s CIA Director, John
Brennan.
Here is a transcript of Welker’s March 15 report:
(...)
7:04 AM ET
KRISTEN WELKER: Also at the White House, the dust is still
settling from the President’s latest administration shake-up. With
new nominees for Secretary of State and CIA Director, a new
chief economic adviser, CNBC commentator Larry Kudlow, and
the possibility of even more staffing changes looming.

Facing new scrutiny this morning, the President’s pick to lead the
CIA, Gina Haspel, a highly-respected agency veteran who would
be the first woman CIA Director. But as the agency’s former head
of covert operations, Haspel is likely facing a brutal senate
confirmation battle, with questions about the extent of her role in
carrying out Bush administration orders to waterboard detainees
in secret prisons overseas, which many call torture.
Senator John McCain [and] Republican Senator Rand Paul
taking on both of the President’s nominees.
.
389
SEN. RAND PAUL [R-KY]: I will oppose both Pompeo’s
nomination and Haspel’s nomination.
WELKER: Reserving his harshest words for Haspel.
PAUL: To really appoint the head cheerleader for waterboarding
to be the head of the CIA. I mean, how could you trust somebody
who did that to be in charge of the CIA?
WELKER: Democrat Elizabeth Warren tweeting Haspel is “unfit
to lead the CIA.” But General Michael Hayden, who headed the
CIA under George W. Bush, insists the agency is not going to
repeat the past, defending his former colleague.
MICHAEL HAYDEN: Gina did her duty. Gina was asked to go do
hard things on the behalf of the country, asked to do that by her
director, by her country, and with the sanction and validation of
the Department of Justice at the time.
(...)
 New Book Fills In Gaps Of
Trump’s Moscow Trip — And It’s Not Good
For The Dossier
Chuck Ross - Reporter
12:30 PM 03/15/2018
Donald Trump with Emin Agalarove (left) and Aras Agalarov
(right), in Moscow, Nov. 9, 2013. (Viktor Boyko/Getty Images)
 Dossier claims that Trump used prostitutes in
raunchy hotel incident
 But authors of new book say there was “very little”
time for Trump to pull it off
 The source of the claim is also reason to doubt the
allegation
A new book about the Steele dossier and the Russia
investigation adds crucial details to the timeline of
President Donald Trump’s 2013 visit to Moscow — a trip
that is a central to allegations made in the infamous Steele
dossier.
The book, “Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of
Putin’s War on American and the Election of Donald
Trump,” shows that Trump had little time to engage in the
“perverted” sex acts described in the dossier, which was
written by former British spy Christopher Steele and
funded by Democrats.
The “very short” window of opportunity raises questions
about whether the incident actually occurred.
Authors Michael Isikoff and David Corn report that Trump
spent only one night in Moscow during a November 2013
trip to the Miss Universe pageant. They also wrote that
Trump had just over six hours — from 1:30 a.m. to 7:45
a.m. — in which to engage in the raunchy tryst that is
described in the dossier.
According to Steele, Trump had a group of prostitutes in
his room at the Moscow Ritz-Carlton to perform a “golden
showers” scene in front of him. The dossier alleges that
encounter — which would have occurred on the night of
390
Nov. 8 to 9 — was videotaped and the Kremlin has been
using the footage to blackmail the Republican.
(RELATED: ‘Fifty-Fifty’: Christopher Steele Is
Unsure About ‘Golden Showers’ Incident)
“Is the tape real?” MSNBC host Chris
Hayes asked Isikoff and Corn in an
interview about their book on Wednesday.
Corn, a reporter at Mother Jones, replied that the book
shows that
“the time available for this was short.”
“It was very short,” he said.
Corn also noted the book reports that Steele
“has been telling associates that he thinks
when it comes to that particular allegation,
it’s ‘fifty-fifty.'”
Isikoff added his analysis, saying that he agreed with
Steele’s odds.
“Fifty-fifty is about the best,” said the
reporter.
“And I’ve got to say, it is unfortunate and
rather deplorable an allegation that the guy
who brought it forth can only say is 50-50
ever got into the public sphere in the first
place,” said Isikoff, a reporter at Yahoo!
News.
The two veteran reporters were part of a small handful of
journalists who met with Steele prior to the 2016 election.
They are also the only two reporters to have written
articles based on information directly from Steele.
According to “Russian Roulette,” Trump’s first day in
Moscow was capped off with a visit to a birthday party for
Aras Agalarov, a billionaire oligarch who partnered with
Trump to host the Miss Universe pageant.
Trump was originally scheduled to stay in Moscow for two
nights, according to Isikoff and Corn. His visit was cut
short on the front end because he attended a celebration for
evangelist Billy Graham’s 95th birthday. That event was
held Nov. 7 in North Carolina.
“Trump by now was exhausted,” wrote
Isikoff and Corn. They report that Trump
spent most of the event sitting with his
bodyguard, Keith Schiller, and Paula
Shugart, the president of the Miss Universe
Organization.
At one point, Trump was approached by Rob Goldstone, a
publicist for Emin Agalarov, a Russian-Azeri pop star and
son of Aras Agalarov.
The Agalarovs would later have a hand in setting up the
June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between a group of
Russians and Donald Trump Jr. Goldstone attended that
meeting along with a Russian attorney with links to the
Russian government.
Trump accepted a request from Goldstone to appear for a
cameo in a music video being filmed by Emin the next
day, according to “Russian Roulette.”
“Could Trump the next day shoot a scene
that would be based on ‘The Apprentice’?
Trump agreed, but it had to be early —
between 7:45 and 8:10 in the morning.
Sure, Goldstone said. Twenty-five minutes
of Trump would have to do,” the book
reads. “About 1:30 a.m., Trump left the
party and headed to the Ritz-Carlton a few
blocks from the Kremlin. This would be his
only night in Moscow.”
The book notes that Trump was offered prostitutes during
his Moscow visit. Schiller, the longtime Trump bodyguard,
has testified to Congress that an associate of the Agalarovs
offered to send five women to Trump’s room.
Schiller says he rejected the offer. He told Congress that he
informed Trump about it and they laughed it off. Schiller
testified that he stood outside of Trump’s room for a while
during his stay before turning in for bed. Nobody entered
the room, he testified.
The narrow window of opportunity — which does not
account for sleep time — is not the only reason to question
the veracity of the dossier’s most salacious allegation.
The main source for the claim about the lewd hotel room
incident is also reason to question whether it occurred.
391
Steele told Glenn Simpson, the founder of the opposition
research firm that commissioned that dossier, that the
source of the “golden showers” claim was Sergei Millian,
a naturalized U.S. citizen who runs the Russian-American
Chamber of Commerce, according to “Russian
Roulette.” (RELATED: Book Provides New
Information About Dossier Source)
Millian — who is identified as “Source D” in
the dossier — was an unwitting source for
Steele, according to Isikoff and Corn.
They report that Millian told a collector working for the
former MI6 officer about the “golden showers” scene and
also said the Kremlin had been “very helpful” in providing
information about former Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton to the Trump campaign.
Millian is described in the dossier as “a close associate of
TRUMP who had organized and managed his recent trips
to Moscow” who was “present” at the time of the
controversial incident. There is no evidence that Millian
has any close ties to the former real estate tycoon. There is
also no evidence that Millian was in Moscow when Trump
was there.
“The memo had described Millian as a
Trump intimate, but there was no public
evidence he was close to the mogul at that
time or was in Moscow during the Miss
Universe event,” reads “Russian Roulette.”
Reached for comment earlier this week, Millian told The
Daily Caller News Foundation that he was not in Moscow
at the time.
Millian’s involvement as a dossier source was also a
source of concern for Simpson, a former Wall Street
Journal reporter who runs Fusion GPS.
“Had Millian made something up or
repeated rumors he had heard from others
to impress Steele’s collector? Simpson had
his doubts. He considered Millian a big
talker,” wrote Isikoff and Corn.
Millian has had some contact with Trump
associates. During the 2016 campaign, he became friends
with George Papadopoulos, the Trump campaign adviser
who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts he
had with Russian nationals. He also exchanged emails with
Trump lawyer Michael Cohen just before the election in
which he tried to set up an appearance with Trump.
Cohen claims he told Millian to stop contacting him. He
also called Millian a “phony” who has overstated his ties
to the then-presidential candidate.
 MUELLER CROSSES RED LINE: Special Counsel
Subpoenas Trump Organization In Witch Hunt First
By Joshua Caplan
March 15, 2018, 1:07 Pm
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has
crossed President Trump’s “red line”
after issuing a subpoena for documents
related to the Trump Organization’s
business dealings with Russia.
New York Times reports:
The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III,
has subpoenaed the Trump Organization to
turn over documents, including some
related to Russia, according to two people
briefed on the matter. The order is the first
known time that the special counsel
demanded documents directly related to
President Trump’s businesses, bringing the
investigation closer to the president.
The breadth of the subpoena was not clear,
nor was it clear why Mr. Mueller issued it
instead of simply asking for the documents
from the company, an umbrella
organization that oversees Mr. Trump’s
business ventures. […]
The Trump Organization has said that it never had real
estate holdings in Russia, but witnesses recently
interviewed by Mr. Mueller have been asked about a
possible real estate deal in Moscow. In 2015, a longtime
business associate of Mr. Trump’s emailed Mr. Trump’s
lawyer Michael Cohen at his Trump Organization account
claiming he had ties to President Vladimir V. Putin of
Russia and said that building a Trump Tower in Moscow
would help Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign.
392
Recently,
Mueller’s Russia probe took yet another
unpredictable turn after the special counsel
invoked the unusual “conspiracy to defraud
the government,” charge that “could use
the same legal strategy to go after
President Trump and his associates, even
if the conspiracy is not linked to a criminal
act,” The Washington Times reports.
Emma Kohse, Harvard International Law
Journal editor-in-chief, Benjamin Wittes, a
senior fellow at the Brookings Institution
and the Lawfare blog’s top editor, argue
that, based in the language of the
indictments and the legal precedents
behind them, the “conspiracy to defraud the
government” charge provides the Mueller
team with significant flexibility in trying to
build a case against Mr. Trump and
members of his 2016 campaign. […]
“Russia’s sustained, many-front effort to
interfere in the 2016 election — a glimpse
of which was shown in the indictment — is
undoubtedly more complex and far-
reaching than the plots that have previously
been prosecuted as conspiracies to
defraud the United States,” Ms. Kohse and
Mr. Wittes write. “But that makes Mueller’s
theory richer, not more novel.”
President Trump’s lawyers are in the process of
negotiating with special counsel Robert Mueller to bring
the Russia probe to an end, reports Rebecca
Ballhaus and Peter Nicholas of the Wall Street Journal.
In addition, CNN reported that investigators are attempting
to determine whether former Blackwater chief Erik Prince
misled the House Intelligence Committee about a meeting
he had in Seychelles in January of 2017.
Prince is accused of using the meeting as an opportunity to
establish a secret back channel with Russia.
Fox News’ Catherine Herridge spoke with one of President
Trump’s personal lawyers about the new subpoena request
by Special Counsel Mueller.
According to Herridge, Trump’s lawyer was unaware of
the subpoena and said it may be a ‘wrap up’ subpoena or
‘clean up’ subpoena which may signal the end of the
investigation.

VIDEO:

393
 View’s Hostin Frets, Firing McCabe,
'The Stuff That Dictators Are Made Of!’
By Kristine Marsh
March 15, 2018 1:45 PM EDT

HOSTIN:

I just think we've seen this war on our

intelligence community, this war on the
FBI. This man is a career agent. He's not
a political appointee so Trump can't fire
him, but what is concerning to me is
what is the -- we don't really know what
the investigation showed. Some people
are saying he lacked candor when he
was interviewed about the e-mail and
about speaking to reporters so I don't
know what he did or did not do, but I am
March 15 on ABC’s The View, the table briefly discussed troubled with this constant attack on
the potential firing of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew our intelligence community.
McCabe, who is under fire from the Justice Department for
allowing FBI officials to talk to reporters about sensitive
information regarding the Clinton Foundation “Yeah,” Behar agreed. But Hostin wasn’t done, adding this
investigation, and then going on to mislead Justice absurdity:
Department investigators in their review of this behavior.
“Because that is the stuff that dictators
As The Washington Post reported March 14, as the Justice are made of!”
Department winds down their investigation, the FBI
disciplinary office is recommending Attorney General Jeff
Sessions fire McCabe, who is just days away from his
retirement. The media have thrown a hissy fit about how
unfair this supposedly is, conveniently downplaying the
reason why McCabe is recommending to be fired, and the
most liberal hosts at ABC’s The View couldn’t handle the
news either.

“So in other words Jeff Sessions can fire

him before he gets his pension? And then
after all the years he started he won't
get his pension?” host Joy Behar asked,
after Whoopi Goldberg introduced the
story.
Behar immediately attributed the move to Sessions’
“cruelty.”
Surprisingly, host Sara Haines was the first to push back
on what Hostin said, arguing that if McCabe really did
allow confidential information to be leaked to reporters
then he should be fired. That prompted McCain to agree
that the flack the intelligence community was receiving
was well deserved.

“Well Jeff Session rescinded DACA,
allowing for DREAMERS to be deported
so he's capable of being cruel that way.
So I do not put it past him,” she huffed.
Fellow host Sunny Hostin gushed that this was just more
evidence of the “troubling” “war” on the intelligence
community:
394
“I agree that there is this war on our
intelligence communities but some of it is
valid. They leak like sieves right now. We're
talking about information that can be
absolutely lethal when it comes to anything
foreign policy related. There is a huge
problem,” she argued.
The View
3/15/18
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Attorney General Jeff Sessions will
decide whether or not to fire FBI Director Andrew McCabe in just
two days, that’s two days before he's set to retire. Now, he's
under fire for allowing FBI officials to speak to the press about
the Clinton Foundation investigation. So is this kind of late? Is it
odd? What do you think?
JOY BEHAR: So in other words Jeff Sessions can fire him before
he gets his pension?
WHOOPI: Yes.
JOY BEHAR: And then after all the years
he started he won't get his pension.
Well Jeff session rescinded DACA,
allowing for dreamers to be deported so
he's capable of being cruel that way. So
I do not put it past him.
HOSTIN: I just think we've seen this war
on our intelligence community, this war
on the FBI. This man is a career agent.
He's not a political appointee so Trump
can't fire him, but what is concerning to
me is what is the -- we don't really know
what the investigation showed. Some
people are saying he lacked candor
when he was interviewed about the e-
mail and about speaking to reporters so
I don't know what he did or did not do,
but I am troubled with this constant
attack on our intelligence community.
BEHAR: Yeah.
[Audience claps]
HOSTIN: Because that is the stuff that
dictators are made of.
.
395
BEHAR: Right.
SARA HAINES: I read into that example a little bit because I was
actually torn, the idea of taking away someone's pension after 21
years who served this country, but the flip side is they haven't
had anyone ever fired but some people have gotten
administrative leaves or suspensions for --
HOSTIN: A deputy director has never been fired.
HAINES: Right. But the difference is those behaviors are outside
of your job. If candor means not being forthright about
something--
MEGHAN MCCAIN: He's accused of allowing FBI officials to
speak to "The Wall Street Journal" reporters about an
investigation into the Clinton foundation.
HAINES: He revealed something that on his job he vows not to,
that could be big.
MCCAIN: I agree that there is this war on our intelligence
communities but some of it is valid. They leak like sieves right
now. We're talking about information that can be absolutely lethal
when it comes to anything foreign policy related. There is a huge
problem.
We have James Comey coming on this show and to put it lightly,
Joy and I have some things to say and I would like to know
where it started, where this admission of leaking and this culture
started because when I was growing up, it was, you know -- I
mean, absolutely detrimental to your career and you should
immediately be fired.
JOY BEHAR: It's fascinating, isn't it fascinating that there are
leaks in the white house? Who are these people -- in other
words, we have things that are written about us and you wonder
where the leak is. We can't find a leak. Who knows where a leak
comes from. They're right there in the house with them. They
can't figure it out.
 Attorney General Jeff Sessions Is
Trapped On The Horns Of A Friday Dilemma
Should He Or Should He Not Fire Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew Mccabe —
And In The Process Deny Him A Generous Federal Pension?
By Mark Tapscott
Updated 15 Mar 2018 At 2:09 PM

Related: Here’s Why Jeff Sessions May Be

Washington’s Slyest Fox

Not firing Sessions, though, will prompt Republicans to

Attorney General Jeff Sessions faces a dangerous decision
with a deadline. Should he fire former FBI Deputy
Director Andrew McCabe within hours of his retirement
Friday, and thereby likely deprive him of a lucrative
lifetime federal pension — or should he let McCabe’s
week run out?
If only the decision were so straightforward. There’s much
more to the back story on this one.
The dilemma was thrust upon Sessions earlier this week by
the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR),
which recommended that McCabe be terminated before his
pension begins. Federal law allows civil service pensions
to be denied for serious offenses, but once the checks start
flowing it’s illegal to stop them.
accuse Trump and Sessions of going easy on one of the
central players in what they believe was an official
coverup in the Clinton email investigation to protect her
prospects as the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee.
Failure to dispatch McCabe will also fuel Sessions’ critics
who see him as weak and captive to the bureaucracy.
But wait, there’s more, so much more:
For one thing, firing any career civil servant
— much less one with 21 years of service
in the nation’s premier law enforcement
agency — is never easy and is always
time-consuming and expensive. Since
McCabe will sue the government (the
Perkins Coie telephone may be ringing
already) to get his pension restored, the
issue will remain in the media, sapping
resources, especially the focus and
attention of Sessions.

The OPR got involved after Department of Justice
Inspector General (IG) Michael Horowitz’s investigators
found that McCabe had lied to them about his actions in
leaking information to the media about the FBI’s probe of
former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private
email server and address.
The government may be prepared for such a long struggle
with McCabe, though, because OPR’s recommendation
didn’t just suddenly appear. Somebody made the decision
to go forward and that person’s confidence must have been
based on something the public hasn’t yet learned regarding
McCabe’s conduct on the job.

If Sessions does as OPR recommended, McCabe will lose

millions of dollars in benefits. The precise amount cannot
be known because such individual personnel details are
exempt from disclosure under the federal Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA).

But firing McCabe could hand Democrats and the liberal

mainstream media another “Trump Fires Comey” moment,
only with Sessions in the role of the heavy wreaking
revenge on the former FBI chief’s closest subordinate. And
don’t forget, nobody knows what firing McCabe might
look like to special counsel Robert Mueller.

396
The Last Refuge's Sundance points out yet another aspect
of the decision facing Sessions:
"On one hand, you could make an
argument the OPR's disciplinary
recommendation is (Good Guys) trying to
hit and punish McCabe at the last moment
possible. However, on the other hand you
can look at this leaked disciplinary
recommendation as Machiavellian
characters (Bad Guys) within the FBI
setting up AG Sessions, painting him into a
corner, to create yet another controversial
storyline."
Sundance makes it clear which explanation makes sense to
him:
"No. Sorry. Not even beginning to buy the
angle of a decent department watchdog
doing their level-best to bring justice upon
the head of a corrupt FBI political
operative, Andrew McCabe. I'm not buying
it.
"The motive for this FBI watchdog leaked
internal story today, and the OPR
recommendation therein, is most likely to
create yet another antagonistic
controversy. The FBI Machiavelli schemers
are still doing their duplicitous crap."
397
A big factor underlying Sundance's skepticism here is
captured in this question:
"Where was the OPR while the entire
administrative apparatus of the FBI was
leaking to the media, constructing false
witness, assembling fraudulent
investigative materials, conducting sham
investigations with predetermined
outcomes; blocking congressional
oversight, and generally behaving like a
rogue political intelligence
apparatus? Seriously, where was the FBI’s
Office of Professional Responsibility then?"
Here's one final thought on what's behind the Sessions
decision. Regardless of who is hurt by Sessions' decision,
it won't be the FBI bureaucracy. A Sessions decision to fire
McCabe adds to the unending controversy around Trump
while lending an appearance of ethical toughness to the
bureaucrats who encouraged making an example of their
former deputy director.
Similarly, if Sessions spares McCabe's pension, it creates
more problems for the bureaucracy's closest Trump-
appointed nemesis, thus extending the bureaucrats'
autonomy into the indefinite future and further insulating
them from external accountability.
Either way Sessions goes, the entrenched time-servers
deep in the bureau's bowels protect themselves. It's what
bureaucrats do.
 SOURCE: Dem Accusations
Against Trump Nominee ‘Totally Made Up’
Saagar Enjeti - White House Correspondent
2:13 PM 03/15/2018
Screenshot/Fox Business
Democratic rationale for holding up a vote on the Trump
administration’s nominee for U.S. Ambassador to
Germany, Richard Grenell, is news to the nominee
himself, a source close to Grenell tells The Daily Caller.
The accusations surfaced publicly via CNN’s Jake Tapper
who relayed alleged concerns from Democratic lawmakers
on Thursday:
398
The Democratic accusations come while the White House
is making a concerted push to have the Senate confirm
Grenell, a Harvard educated diplomat who served as a
United Nations spokesman for the U.S. during the Bush
administration.
Democratic lawmakers have stalled Grenell’s confirmation
through a lengthier-than-usual procedural process.
“Senator Schumer’s hyper-political delay on
Mr. Grenell puts our national security, and America’s
foreign policy interests, in jeopardy, “White House press
secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Friday.
“The Senate should move to confirm him immediately.”
A source close to Grenell told TheDC the accusations from
Democratic lawmakers are “totally made up,” adding “The
fact is this is a brand new anonymous charge from a
clearly partisan person to a reporter. How are people
supposed to confront attacks like this?”
Grenell noted that Tapper’s tweets are the first concerns
he’s publicly heard throughout the entire process.
TheDC’s source also pointed to his oft repeated advocacy
on twitter to prosecute leakers of classified information.

A Daily Caller review of Grenell’s tweets about Wikileaks

revealed frustration with establishment media outlets for
not reporting the content of emails deemed damaging for
then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton,
rather than direct praise for the government transparency
publisher.
“Not having a serving American ambassador under the
American flag beside the Brandenburg Gate is not a good
symbol for the deep friendship that we have with the
United States,” a German lawmaker told Fox News in
February.

399
 Nancy Pelosi Complains Trump’s Proposed
Border Wall Is ‘Obnoxious’ And Too ‘High’ (VIDEO)
By Cristina Laila
March 15, 2018, 2:23 Pm

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-
CA) complained about President
Trump’s border wall prototypes on
Thursday during a presser.
Pelosi described the prototypes as
obnoxious and mocked them for being
too high.
A friendly reminder that Nancy Pelosi is the genius who
suggested mowing the lawn on the border to help curb
illegal crossings.
difference of opinion that, but a wall that big
separating people? I mean really?” Pelosi
said.
Pelosi then went on to gush about the illegal invaders
residing in the United States calling them ‘our inspiration
and our pride’ and ‘thanked God’ for them.
The Democrats are desperate to flood the U.S. with illegal
aliens because it’s a huge voting block for them.
Many swing states can turn blue if DACA recipients are
given citizenship.

President Trump must keep his campaign promise and get

rid of the illegal aliens and build the wall!

VIDEO:

“First of all I think the border…did you see

it? How high it is? I mean really? In a
civilized society we do something like
that? As obnoxious as it is…you know, President Trump visited San Diego, California this week to
that’s a community there with a border inspect eight different border wall prototypes and spoke
running through it. Okay, we have a with border patrol agents.
.

400
Andrew McCabe Deserves To Be Fired, Ex-Prosecutor Says
The Former Deputy Director And Fired Director James Comey
‘Destroyed A Great American Institution,’ Joseph Digenova Says
By Brendan Kirby
15 Mar 2018 At 2:37 PM
A recommendation to fire former FBI Deputy Director
Andrew McCabe days before his retirement is justified
despite appearing “vindictive” former federal prosecutor
Joseph diGenova said Thursday on “The Laura
Ingraham Show.”
DiGenova, who served as U.S. attorney for the District of
Columbia under President Ronald Reagan, noted that the
review by the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility
(OPR) did not produce any new facts about McCabe’s
handling of an investigation into former Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server and email address
to conduct official business.
McCabe has been faulted for a lack of candor in an internal
investigation into his decision to allow FBI officials to talk
to reporters about the matter.
“The timing is bizarre because all of the
information that’s known about him has
been known for some time,” diGenova said.
DiGenova joked that the timing might have something to
do with Thursday’s date — the Ides of March — when
Julius Caesar’s one-time friend and ally Brutus — and
dozens of other senators — stabbed him 23 times on the
floor of the Roman Senate.
401
“Now that was a rough committee
meeting,” he quipped.
But diGenova said McCabe deserves to be fired, even if it
means he would lose his pension.
“I think that McCabe is getting his
comeuppance,” he said. “I find it hard to
believe that [Attorney General] Jeff
Sessions is going to fire him before his
pension vests. It looks rather vindictive, but
may I say that vindictiveness at this point in
the story is completely appropriate.”
DiGenova said that other than fired FBI Director James
Comey, no one deserves punishment more than McCabe,
who served as acting director for a time after his
predecessor’s departure.
“He has completely politicized, along with
Comey, the FBI,” he sad. “They have
destroyed a great American institution.”
DiGenova also did not spare current officials in the
Department of Justice, from current FBI Director
Christopher Wray to Deputy Attorney General Rod
Rosenstein. He faulted Wray for weak leadership and not
taking responsibility for his agency’s failure to follow up
on warnings that accused Florida school shooter Nikolas
Cruz was about to act out violently.
“The place is a mess,” he said. “And the
current FBI director, Chris Wray, is on a
milk carton somewhere. You can’t even
find him … Christopher Wray is an
embarrassment to this administration, and
if [President] Trump gets around to firing
people, Wray ought to be No. 1.”
DiGenova blasted Rosenstein, meanwhile, as a “political
coward” who appointed special counsel Robert Mueller to
lead the Russia investigation rather than take the political
heat. He added that Rosenstein apparently has failed to
rein in Mueller and his team, allowing them to drift far
beyond their original mandate concerning Russian
interference in the 2016 presidential election.
“He has betrayed the president of the
United States, and I hope Trump puts him
on the 4th Circuit [Court of Appeals] just to
get rid of him … Give him a damn
judgeship,” he said.
Notwithstanding the decision even to appoint a special
counsel in the absence of a known crime, diGenova said,
Mueller was a poor choice to take on the role. He said
although the former FBI director is a “great guy,” he has
conflicts of interest because of his relationship with key
figures, including both Comey and Rosenstein.
Related: Attorney General Jeff Sessions Is Trapped on
the Horns of a Friday Dilemma
.
402
DiGenova suggested more attention should be given to
officials in the administration of former President Barack
Obama. He noted those officials relied on questionable
opposition research financed by 2016 Democratic
presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to obtain
surveillance warrants targeting Trump associates.
Those officials repeatedly vouched for the reliability of
Christopher Steele, a former British spy who produced the
“dossier” of salacious but unverified allegations against
Trump. DiGenova said the British government should put
Steele in charge of investigating the mysterious poisoning
of a Russian double agent in England last week.
“Why don’t they get him to investigate the
Russian poisoning,” diGenova said
sarcastically. “I bet he could solve this in a
New York minute.”
 Meet Mueller’s “Shadowy” Witness —
A Convicted Child Molester & Globe-Trotting “Fixer”
By Joshua Caplan
March 15, 2018, 2:45 Pm
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is
currently investigating whether George
Nader, an advisor to the United Arab
Emirates, is influencing U.S. policy, the
New York Times reported on March 3rd.
A new report by the AP shines light on
the “shadowy,” past of Nader, who is
known as a globe-trotting “fixer,” who
once had an alleged appetite for
minors.
Below is a photo of Mr. Nader.
AP reports:
How did George Nader — Lebanese-
American businessman, globe-trotting
“fixer,” convicted child molester — get
caught up in special counsel Robert
Mueller’s investigation?
403
Nader is little known to the public, a man
who has led a shadowy existence as a go-
between across numerous Middle East
capitals and who gave testimony to
Mueller’s Washington grand jury earlier this
month. […]
Nader joined a meeting at New York’s
Trump Tower in December 2016 that
brought together presidential son-in-law
Jared Kushner, chief strategist Steve
Bannon — fired by Trump last August —
and Mohammed bin Zayed, crown prince of
Abu Dhabi and de facto leader of the
United Arab Emirates. A second meeting
occurred a month later in the Indian Ocean
archipelago of Seychelles and involved
Nader, bin Zayed, former Blackwater boss
Erik Prince and Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian
banker close to President Vladimir Putin.
[…]
A George Nader was convicted by Prague’s Municipal
Court of 10 cases of sexually abusing minors and
sentenced to a one-year prison term in May 2003, court
spokeswoman Marketa Puci told The Associated Press on
Wednesday. She said the crimes occurred between 1999
and 2002. She said Nader served time in a Prague prison,
though it isn’t clear how much. He was then ordered
expelled.
As previously reported by The Gateway Pundit, Mueller
has crossed President Trump’s “red line” after issuing a
subpoena for documents related to the Trump
Organization’s business dealings with Russia.
New York Times reports:
The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III,
has subpoenaed the Trump Organization to
turn over documents, including some
related to Russia, according to two people
briefed on the matter. The order is the first
known time that the special counsel
demanded documents directly related to
President Trump’s businesses, bringing the
investigation closer to the president. […]
The Trump Organization has said that it never had real
estate holdings in Russia, but witnesses recently
interviewed by Mr. Mueller have been asked about a
possible real estate deal in Moscow. In 2015, a longtime
business associate of Mr. Trump’s emailed Mr. Trump’s
lawyer Michael Cohen at his Trump Organization account
claiming he had ties to President Vladimir V. Putin of
Russia and said that building a Trump Tower in Moscow
would help Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign.
Recently, Mueller’s Russia probe took yet another
unpredictable turn after the special counsel invoked the
unusual
“conspiracy to defraud the government,”
charge that “could use the same legal
strategy to go after President Trump and
his associates, even if the conspiracy is not
linked to a criminal act,” The Washington
Times reports.
.
404
Emma Kohse, Harvard International Law Journal editor-
in-chief, Benjamin Wittes, a senior fellow at the Brookings
Institution and the Lawfare blog’s top editor, argue that,
based in the language of the indictments and the legal
precedents behind them, the “conspiracy to defraud the
government” charge provides the Mueller team with
significant flexibility in trying to build a case against Mr.
Trump and members of his 2016 campaign. […]
“Russia’s sustained, many-front effort to
interfere in the 2016 election — a glimpse
of which was shown in the indictment — is
undoubtedly more complex and far-
reaching than the plots that have previously
been prosecuted as conspiracies to
defraud the United States,” Ms. Kohse and
Mr. Wittes write. “But that makes Mueller’s
theory richer, not more novel.”
President Trump’s lawyers are in the process of
negotiating with special counsel Robert Mueller to bring
the Russia probe to an end, reports Rebecca
Ballhaus and Peter Nicholas of the Wall Street Journal.
 A Little Known Tweak To FISA Rules In
2015 Has Big Implications For The Carter Page Warrant
Congress Requires The FISA Court To Maintain A Pool Of Lawyers
Friendly To Civil Liberties Who Are Willing To Challenge The
Justice Department's Applications For A Spy Warrant. But
The Court Almost Never Uses Them.
By Margot Cleveland
March 15, 2018
In June 2015, Congress adopted modest reforms to the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (“FISA”) — the
federal statute that allows the Department of Justice to
obtain an ex parte order from a secret court to wiretap
suspected terrorists and foreign agents, including
American citizens. Recognizing the risk of government
abuse inherent in such one-sided proceedings, Congress
directed the FISA court to create a roster of attorneys
willing to appear as amicus curiae, or friend of the court, to
challenge the DOJ’s application for a surveillance warrant.
That reform, if properly implemented, could have averted
the current scandal surrounding the FISA court order
authorizing a wiretap of former Donald Trump campaign
volunteer Carter Page — but only if the Obama
Administration had also properly disclosed that the
Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton
Campaign had funded the Steele Dossier.
Let’s break it down:
As part of the broader USA Freedom Act,
Congress directed the presiding judges of
the FISA court to designate as amici curiae
at least 5 individuals with expertise in
privacy and civil liberties, intelligence
collection, or communications technology,
who were also qualified to review classified
material. For any matter coming before the
FISA court that presented “a novel or
significant interpretation of the law,”
the USA Freedom Act requires the secret
court to appoint an amicus curiae to the
case. In other circumstances, the FISA
court has discretion to decide whether to
appoint an amicus curiae.
405
The FISA Court Almost Never Appoints An Amicus
Curiae
The amicus curiae, while not serving as an attorney for the
FISA target, would assist the court by making “legal
arguments that advance the protection of individual
privacy and civil liberties,” as well as presenting other
legal arguments relevant to the issues before the court.
Although 5 attorneys were named to the roster of available
amici curiae, the FISA court has rarely sought their
assistance. In 2015, the FISA court appointed amici curiae
in only four instances of the approximate 1,000
applications it considered, but in 2016, the FISA court
used amicus curiae just one time, while handling more
than 1,500 applications. (Statistics for 2017 are not yet
available.)
The FISA court’s failure to utilize amici curiae prompted
attorney John Cline — one of the first attorneys appointed
to serve in that role — to resign his position. In a letter to
the court, Cline wrote,
“I am concerned that my continued service
as amicus might create the impression that
I am participating in the court’s work, when
in fact I am not.”
When asked about the Page matter, Cline told the
Washington Examiner,
“If I had access to the underlying
application, I might have argued that the
Steele dossier was unreliable because of
its origins, and perhaps for other reasons
as well.”
But the unreliable origins of the Steele dossier were but a
fraction of the problem. More significantly, as the
Grassley-Graham criminal referral makes clear, the
unnamed sources’ claims of potential criminal conduct by
Carter Page were not corroborated prior to the government
seeking the wiretap. Without corroboration to establish the
credibility of the unnamed sources, the Steele Dossier
could not establish probable cause.
Had the FISA court appointed amicus curiae to assist in its
review of the Page case that lawyer could have zealously
advocated for the privacy and civil liberties of Page. But
instead, the FISA court heard the one-sided (and
incomplete) version presented by Obama Administration
appointees.
If The Court Did Appoint One In The
Carter Page Case, That’s Worse
What if, though, the one amicus curiae the FISA court
appointed in 2016 was asked to assist the court in its
review of the Page wire-tap application? After all, the
statute requires the FISA court to appoint amicus curiae
when it faces a “novel interpretation of the law.” One
would think that seeking to wiretap a former campaign
volunteer of Donald Trump, right before the presidential
election, because of his supposed role in a purported
conspiracy between the Russians and Trump, would
present a novel interpretation of the law.
Still, I find it extremely unlikely that the one case that the
FISA court sought guidance from amicus curiae, out of
more than 1,500, involved the Carter Page application. But
if the FISA court did appoint amicus curiae to assist in the
Page case, that is even worse because, according to the
Report of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts on
Activities of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Courts
for 2016,
“The name of the individual appointed to
serve as amicus curiae is Marc Zwillinger.”
And Zwillinger was a donor to the Hillary Clinton
campaign via Hillary for America.
Further, according to Zwillinger’s webpage,
“he appeared before the FISA Court of
Review” in 2016.
The FISA Court of Review hears appeals brought by the
government when its application for a warrant is initially
denied, which would indicate that if Zwillinger had
participated in the Page case, the original FISA judge
would have denied the government’s application for a
wiretap warrant.
406
As I said above, I highly doubt that the one case Zwillinger
worked on involved the Carter Page application. It is much
more likely that no amicus curiae was involved, which is
the problem. But the Obama Administration had no way of
knowing whether and whom the FISA court would appoint
as amicus curiae. And the FISA court had no way of
knowing the connection to the Hillary Clinton Campaign
from the application because the Obama Administration
obfuscated the source of the Steele dossier, writing in a
cryptic footnote:
“Steele was approached by an identified
U.S. Person, who indicated to Source #1
that a U.S.-based law firm had hired the
identified U.S. Person to conduct research
regarding Candidate #1’s ties to Russia.
(The identified U.S. Person and Source #1
have a long-standing business
relationship.) The identified U.S. person
hired Source #1 to conduct this research.
The identified U.S. Person never advised
Source #1 as to the motivation behind the
research into Candidate #1’s ties to Russia.
The FBI speculates that the identified U.S.
Person was likely looking for information
that could be used to discredit Candidate
#1’s campaign.”
The Democrats claim this mishmash sufficiently alerted
the FISA court to the political bias in play. It didn’t, but
beyond that point, without knowing the involvement of the
Hillary Clinton campaign and the DNC, the FISA court
and amicus curiae — if properly called upon by the court,
as Congress intended — would have no way to assess
whether an actual conflict of interest existed. Much of the
Page FISA fiasco could have been avoided had the FISA
court utilized the amicus curiae and had the Obama
Administration been forthcoming in the application.
The FISA court has the authority to appoint amicus curiae
in every case. Even if that is unnecessary, the judges of the
secret court should consider greatly expanding the role of
these advocates of privacy and civil liberties or, as former
amicus curiae Cline told the Washington Examiner, if the
FISA court declines to act, Congress should.
Whether reform of the amicus curiae role comes from the
FISA court or Congress, it should entail assurances that
apolitical lawyers serve as the friends of the court when
the case involves such high-profile partisan cases as that
involved in Page warrant. Until now, Congress and the
FISA court likely did not anticipate the need to assure the
FISA process remained transparently apolitical. After all,
since September 11, 2001, the federal government’s use of
the FISA court system appeared focused on combatting
terrorism. There was no need to consider the potential
political bias of the individuals designated by the FISA
court to serve in the amicus curiae role when the cases
involve international terrorism.
But when the government seeks to wiretap individuals
connect to a political opponent, the potential bias of the
amicus curiae should be considered. Currently, four of the
five designated amici curiae have clear connections to
Democrats. Along with Zwillinger, Jonathan G.
Cedarbaum, and David Kris all donated to Hillary Clinton,
and Cedarbaum and Amy Jeffress served in the Obama
Administration: Jeffress served as former
“Attorney General Eric Holder’s counselor
on national security and international
matters,” while Cedarbaum spent “two
years in the leadership of the Justice
Department’s Office of Legal Counsel,
.
407
where he ultimately served as Acting
Assistant Attorney General in charge of the
Office, which provides authoritative legal
advice to the White House, the Attorney
General, and all executive branch
departments and agencies. During his time
at OLC, Mr. Cedarbaum handled the
cybersecurity and surveillance docket …”
Given the concerns that the FISA process has been
politicized, the FISA court should appoint additional amici
curiae who do not bear the same potential for bias—and
then take advantage of their expertise and advocacy.
 Trump Administration Slaps Sanctions On 19 Russian
Individuals And Five Entities For Election Meddling
By Lucian Wintrich
March 15, 2018, 3:10 Pm
This morning, the Trump administration announced a new
series of sanctions and cybersecurity measures targeting
the 19 people and five entities for meddling in the 2016
presidential elections. These sanctions mark one of the
most significant moves against Russia buy not only this
administration but the Obama administration. According to
national security officials, individuals referred to as
“trolls” in addition to those who work for organizations
such as the “Internet Research Agency” will not be able to
travel to the United States, are barred from US
transactions, and will have all US-based assets frozen.
Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin spoke
condemningly of the Russians and organizations not
involved not only in (low-level) election meddling but also
cyber attacks and a plot to target the US energy grid:
“The administration is confronting and
countering malign Russian cyber activity,
including their attempted interference in
U.S. elections, destructive cyber-attacks,
and intrusions targeting critical
infrastructure.” Mnuchin went on to express
his belief that this fresh round of sanctions
will show Russia that the US means
business, “These targeted sanctions are a
part of a broader effort to address the
ongoing nefarious attacks emanating from
Russia.”
Despite these measures primarily targeting individuals and
organizations, rather than the whole of Russia, Russian
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov
aggressively chimed in saying
408
“We have already started working on our
reciprocal measures.”
More via Washington Times:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied that his
country meddled in the U.S. election or was involved in
the poisoning in the U.K.
Mr. Trump, who has long resisted personally speaking out
against Mr. Putin, has been criticized for slow-walking
sanctions.
“OK, it took 14 months, multiple
indictments, and a poisoning in Britain …
but … finally. Now we must protect our
elections going forward. Trump
Administration Sanctions Russians for
Election Meddling and Cyberattacks,”
tweeted Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota
Democrat.
“The sanctions today are a grievous
disappointment and fall far short of what is
needed to respond to that attack on our
democracy let alone deter Russia’s
escalating aggression, which now includes
a chemical weapons attack on the soil of
our closest ally,” said Rep. Adam Schiff,
the top Democrat on the House Intelligence
Committee and a driving force in
allegations of Trump campaign collusion
with Russia.
He noted that only two new senior Russian officials were
included and that the Obama administration had already
imposed sanctions in December 2016 on the others. He
said it showed no “new work” on the part of the Trump
administration.[…]
“We are continuing to press back in
meaningful ways,” said a senior national
security official.
Those include Yevgeny Prigozhin, who’s a business
operative tied to Russian President Vladimir Putin and
known as “Putin’s chef.”
The sanctions also target the Internet Research Agency or
IRA that Mr. Mueller said was behind much of the cyber
meddling in the presidential election.
The penalties for the first time use new powers Congress
passed last year to punish Moscow for election meddling.
It targets both officials from the Russian spy agency FSB
and Russia’s military intelligence agency GRU.
Treasury identified GRU and Russia’s military as
interfering in the 2016 election and launching the NotPetya
ransomeware attack that wreaked havoc last year across
Europe and the U.S.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said that
adding sanctions against the indicted Russians proved that
Mr. Mueller probe wasn’t a “witch hunt,” as the president
has claimed.
.
409
“It’s more clear than ever that the president
must not interfere with the special
counsel’s investigation in any way,” the
New York Democrat said.
The chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee
praised the Trump administration’s moves against
Russia and said more needs to be done.
“Russian cyber actors have been
weaponizing information and targeting
critical U.S. infrastructure undeterred for
years,” Chairman Ed Royce, California
Republican, said in a statement. “As our
midterm elections approach, we must send
a clear message that attacks on our
political process will not be tolerated.
 NEW=> Leading GOP Senators Demand ANOTHER
Special Counsel To Investigate FBI & DOJ
Over Steele Dossier Handling
By Joshua Caplan
March 15, 2018, 4:23 Pm

Leading Republican Senators are will take someone with special counsel
demanding a special counsel powers to get to the bottom of what
investigate the FBI and Justice happened.
Department’s handling of the Steele
dossier.

“Thus, we believe that a special counsel is

needed to work with the Inspector General
to independently gather the facts and make
prosecutorial decisions, if any are merited,”
said Mr. Grassley and Mr. Graham, who
were joined in their request by Sens. John
Cornyn and Thom Tillis.

In a letter released on February 5th, Grassley

and Graham outed the FBI for attempting to suppress
Washington Times reports:
revelations inside the dossier.
Sens. Charles E. Grassley and Lindsey
“Such intelligence was not actively sought;
Graham, the top Republicans who’ve been
it was merely received,” Steele told a D.C.
pursuing the issue, said an inspector
court.
general’s investigation is already
underway, but it’s constrained by law and it
410
According to a recent WSJ report, the Obama Justice
Department relied on information obtained by Steele, to
spy on Trump campaign aide, Carter Page, during the final
days of the 2016 presidential election.
Steele infamously compiled the discredited dossier
detailing alleged sex acts performed by then-businessman
Donald Trump inside a swanky Moscow hotel suite in
2013.
.
411
A new report confirms former Director of National
Intelligence James Clapper briefed President Barack
Obama on the “golden showers” allegations laid out in the
Steele dossier.
This week, Fox News contributor Sara Carter revealed that
Clapper allegedly leaked key information to CNN
stemming from classified briefings to both President
Obama and President-Elect Trump about the Steele
dossier.
 Grassley, Graham, Cornyn, Tillis Seek Special Counsel To
Work With Inspector General On Handling
Of Russia Investigation
Mar 15, 2018
WASHINGTON – Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa),
Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), John Cornyn (R-Texas) and
Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) today are seeking the appointment of
a special counsel to work with the Inspector General in
reviewing how the Justice Department and FBI handled
specific matters related to the Trump-Russia investigation
up to the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
“We have the utmost confidence in the
Inspector General’s integrity, fairness,
and impartiality, and trust that he will
complete these reviews in a thorough,
unbiased, and timely fashion,” the
senators wrote in a letter to Justice
Department leaders. “However, by
statute, the Inspector General does not
have the tools that a prosecutor would
to gather all the facts, such as the ability
to obtain testimony from essential
witnesses who are not current DOJ
employees. Thus, we believe that a
special counsel is needed to work with
the Inspector General to independently
gather the facts and make prosecutorial
decisions, if any are merited.”
On February 28, 2018, Grassley, chairman of the Senate
Judiciary Committee, and Graham, chairman of the
Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, wrote to
the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General
(OIG) requesting a broad review of more than 30 classified
and unclassified questions related to the Trump-Russia
probe. But because the Inspector General lacks access to
grand jury process and other prosecutorial tools, a special
counsel with such authority may be necessary to compel
the production of testimony and information that would
otherwise be unobtainable.
In their letter to the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney
General, Grassley, Graham, Cornyn and Tillis outline the
case for appointment of a special counsel to support an
independent OIG investigation, and note that the
appointment should occur under the specific Justice
Department regulations that govern special counsels and
limit the scope of their authority. The senators further
request that if the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney
412
General determines a special counsel is not appropriate or
necessary, then the Department designate a U.S.
Attorney’s office or other prosecutor with no real or
apparent conflict to work with the Inspector General.
Full text of the senators’ letter to Sessions and Rosenstein
follows:
March 15, 2018
VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION
The Honorable Jeff Sessions
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530
The Honorable Rod J. Rosenstein
Deputy Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530
Dear Attorney General Sessions and Deputy Attorney General
Rosenstein:
As you know, the Department of Justice Inspector General
currently is reviewing the Department’s and the Federal Bureau
of Investigation’s handling of the Clinton email investigation.[1]
Recently, the Attorney General requested that he also review
questions about the Department’s and the FBI’s actions in
seeking a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant
against former Trump Campaign advisor Carter Page.[2] On
February 28, based on reviews of related documents and facts
gathered thus far in the Committee’s oversight work, Chairman
Grassley and Chairman Graham also requested that the
Inspector General broadly review more than 30 classified and
unclassified questions related to the FBI and the Department’s
handling of the so-called Trump/Russia investigation and related
matters prior to the appointment of Special Counsel Robert
Mueller.[3] For reference, we have attached the unclassified
portion of that referral.
The January 4, 2018 referral of Christopher Steele requested that
the Justice Department reconcile the statements he made in
British libel litigation against him with contrary statements he
reportedly made to the FBI, as described in the FISA application.
The referral took no position as to which were true, but asked the
Justice Department whether Mr. Steele misrepresented the facts
to the FBI and whether the FBI inaccurately reported the facts to
the court. Based on the release of the memorandum drafted by
the minority staff of the House Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence, the FBI has now provided a further un-redacted
version of that referral memorandum, also attached here.[4] The
new version provides the public for the first time the actual quote
from the FISA application that we flagged for the Justice
Department as inconsistent with claims made in the British libel
litigation filings.
The attached request to the Inspector General asked that he
investigate issues surrounding the application and renewals of
the FISA warrant. It also requested that he review potential
improprieties in the FBI’s relationship with Christopher Steele, the
potential conflicts of interest posed by the involvement of high-
ranking DOJ official Bruce Ohr in serving as the cut-out between
the FBI and Mr. Steele after the FBI terminated its formal
relationship with him, apparent unauthorized disclosures of
classified information to the press, the FBI and DOJ’s handling of
the investigation of Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, and other matters.
Sincerely,
We have the utmost confidence in the Inspector General’s
integrity, fairness, and impartiality, and trust that he will complete
these reviews in a thorough, unbiased, and timely fashion.
However, by statute, the Inspector General does not have the
tools that a prosecutor would to gather all the facts, such as the
ability to obtain testimony from essential witnesses who are not
current DOJ employees. Thus, we believe that a special counsel
is needed to work with the Inspector General to independently
gather the facts and make prosecutorial decisions, if any are
merited. The Justice Department cannot credibly investigate
itself without these enhanced measures of independence to
ensure that the public can have confidence in the outcome.
To ensure that the appointment of a special counsel rests on a
clear, well-defined predicate and scope, and to give the American
people the fullest possible confidence in his or her independence
and authority, we believe that the appointment should specifically
cite, rely on, and follow the Department’s regulations governing
such an appointment, including specifically 28 C.F.R. §§ 600.1-
600.4.[5]
If you are unwilling to take this step, please send us a detailed
reply explaining why not. We look forward to your response.

Charles E. Grassley Lindsey O. Graham

Chairman Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism

John Cornyn Thom Tillis

U.S. Senator U.S. Senator

cc: The Honorable Dianne Feinstein

Ranking Member
Committee on the Judiciary

The Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse

Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism
-30-

[1] Press Release, Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Dep’t of Justice, DOJ OIG Announces Initiation of Review (Jan. 12, 2017).
[2] Kelly Cohen, Jeff Sessions responds to Nunes memo release: 'No department is perfect', Washington Examiner (Feb. 2, 2018); Josh Gerstein, Sessions: Justice Department
watchdog investigating GOP Russia memo claims, Politico (Feb. 27, 2018).
[3] Letter from Charles E. Grassley, Chairman, U.S. Sen. Comm. on the Judiciary and Lindsey O. Graham, Chairman, Subcomm. on Crime and Terrorism, U.S. Sen. Comm. on
the Judiciary to Michael Horowitz, Inspector General, U.S. Dep’t of Justice (Feb. 28, 2018) (Unclassified Letter attached as Exhibit 1).
[4] Memorandum from Charles E. Grassley, Chairman, U.S. Sen. Comm. on the Judiciary and Lindsey O. Graham, Chairman, Subcomm. on Crime and Terrorism, U.S. Sen.
Comm. on the Judiciary to Rod J. Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Dep’t of Justice and Christopher A. Wray, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation (Jan. 4, 2018)
(Exhibit 2).
[5] See 28 C.F.R. § 600 et seq.; If you determine that a special counsel appointment would not be necessary or appropriate under the Department’s regulations, we urge you to
designate a disinterested U.S. Attorney or other Justice Department prosecutor with no actual or apparent conflicts to work cooperatively with the Inspector General in his
review and ensure that he has access to grand jury process and other prosecutorial tools necessary to guarantee a thorough, complete, and independent review in which the
public can have total confidence.

413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
 EXCLUSIVE REPORT: Massive Layoffs To Hit
Tomorrow, VA Secretary Shulkin & Chief Of
Staff Gen. John Kelly FIRED
By Lucian Wintrich
March 15, 2018, 7:17 Pm
A source close to multiple senior White House officials
has exclusively told the Gateway Pundit that massive
layoffs within the Trump administration are slated to hit
tomorrow.
Speaking anonymously but on the record, The Gateway
Pundit was informed the layoffs will not just affect senior
officials but entire teams:
“Many staffers were being told not to
come to work tomorrow, they are still
finalizing the full list of people who are
out.”
The press will try to spin this as a president in scandal and
under fire, but this is really the president continuing to
streamline his administration with the best individuals for
the job, hopefully with this shake-up the administration
.
434
furthers its ability to push forward their agenda as
efficiently and robustly as possible.
Among senior officials on the chopping
block is chief of staff John Kelly and
VA Secretary Shulkin.
Our source explained that these moves will help put power
back in the hands of the president:
“Trump wants to take back control of his
administration, that means more allies
come in for the first time. Even the people
who don’t end up getting fired, he’s looking
for plan Bs on everybody at this point. I’m
curious to see how Muller responds…”
When asked further about VA Secretary Shulkin, it seems
that his failures and lavish use of taxpayer money for a
European vacation is what finally set the president off:
“He was an Obama appointee, he had
bipartisan support but then he got caught.
Trump has this combination thing – if
you’re embattled in scandal and failing
him then you’re gone. Shulkin was not
doing his job well and he was f***ing up
generally.”
 Turns Out Trump's Nominee To Head
CIA Did Not Oversee Waterboarding In Thailand
By Stephen Kruiser
March 15, 2018

According to the correction published on the site, the

accusations against Haspel

"prompted former colleagues of Haspel to

defend her publicly."

Their defenses revealed that the timeline was off on the

reporting and accusations. Haspel was the chief of base in
Thailand, but

"she did not arrive until later in 2002, after

the waterboarding of Zubaydah had
When it was reported earlier in the week that President ended."
Trump was going to nominate career CIA officer Gina
Haspel to become the agency's director after it was
announced that current director Mike Pompeo was heading
to the State Department, many on the left and right seized
on Haspel's alleged role in "enhanced interrogation"
techniques.

The focus was on the time period when Haspel was the
chief of base at a CIA black site where terror suspect Abu
Zubaydah was waterboarded.

Reuters reported that Haspel is "dogged by

secret prisons."

Referring to Haspel's time in Thailand, John McCain had

this to say:

"The American people now deserve the

same assurances from Gina Haspel,
whose career with the agency has
intersected with the program of so-called
‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ on a
number of occasions."

This all stemmed from some reporting that the multiple

Pulitzer Prize-winning site ProPublica did last year. The
site, however, got some of the details wrong and, to its
credit, has issued a lengthy and prominently placed
correction. Here are a couple of tweets from ProPublica's
Twitter account.

435
 The correction reveals the various nuts and bolts of how
the story was misinterpreted and gotten wrong.

Kudos to ProPublica for handling this in such a public

fashion. Older MSM outlets tend to deal with mistakes by
issuing a quick correction which they then bury in their
publications and sites. That's usually followed up by
sending any social media evidence down the memory hole,
never to be spoken of again.

436
 JOHN SOLOMON: Comey Put Off Action After FBI
Whistleblower Exposed Broken Warrantless Spy Program
By Joshua Caplan
March 15, 2018, 7:39 Pm
The Hill‘s John Solomon reports then-
FBI Director James Comey failed to take
immediate action after a whistleblower
came forward in 2014 to expose the
bureau’s broken warrantless
surveillance program.
John Solomon of The Hill reports:
Retired Special Agent Bassem Youssef,
the chief of the FBI’s Communications
Analysis Unit, said in an exclusive interview
with The Hill that no action was taken by
Comey in response to the concerns he
raised. […]
“I explained to Director Comey that the
special program was largely ineffective,
very costly and highly burdensome to our
agents in the field,” said Youssef, who
supervised the program on a daily basis
from 2005 through 2014.
Youssef, a decorated counterterrorism agent and prior FBI
whistleblower, told The Hill that he sought in the summer
of 2014 to get the FBI to reform the program out of
concern it gave the FBI easy access to Americans’
telephone data, leaving it open to potential abuse while
generating spurious connections between innocent people
and bad actors.
“I believe that the program, as it was, was ripe for potential
abuses,” he said. “I think that every law-abiding citizen
should feel comfortable and secure in their home in terms
of their privacy and that was not the case.” […]
437
The program was originally started
immediately after the 9/11 attacks without
specific congressional approval. Under
Section 215 of the Patriot Act, the FBI was
eventually given the power to collect
“tangible things,” including books and
business records, that were merely
relevant to an investigation – a standard far
lower than the probable cause warrant
generally required in a criminal case. […]
Youssef said Comey initially appeared very
interested in pursuing the reforms but then
the effort lost all momentum. Youssef said
bureau leaders told him they preferred to
keep the program untouched, if nothing
else to be a “safety blanket” if other
terrorism tools failed. […]
In spring 2017, the FBI announced it was ending some of
its controversial surveillance practices, including so-called
upstream searches of NSA data involving
Americans. Those changes came after the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Court issued a rare public
opinion, rebuking the FBI for failing to promptly disclose
past abuses of some of its surveillance powers that could
have impacted Americans’ privacy protections under the
Fourth Amendment.
Last December, a whistleblower came forward to reveal
the FBI was using NSA surveillance tools to spy on
Americans, Sara A. Carter reported.
“The program can be misused by anyone
with access to it,” a former intelligence
agent told reporter Carter.
“There needs to be an extensive
investigation of all the Americans
connected to President Trump and the
campaign who were unmasked in
connection with the 2016 election.”
Carter reported:
The whistleblowers, who recently disclosed
the program’s process to Congressional
oversight committees, say concern over the
warrantless surveillance mounted when it
 was disclosed earlier this year that Obama
officials had accessed and unmasked
communications of members of President
Trump’s 2016 campaign, allegedly without
clear justification.
The process, known as ‘reverse targeting,’
occurs when intelligence and law
enforcement officials use a foreign person
as a legal pretence for their intended
target, an American citizen, the officials
stated. […]
In Comey’s last testimony as FBI director before he was
fired by President Trump, he told lawmakers any
warrantless information accessed by the FBI,
“lawfully collected, carefully overseen and
checked.”
.
438
But a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
surveillance ruling declassified in April references
hundreds of violations of the FBI’s privacy-protecting
minimization rules that occurred on Comey’s watch.
“The warrantless surveillance program had
the appearance of being shut down
following the 2005 New York Times article
that exposed it,” the intelligent
officer told Carter.
“However, a few weeks later, the FISC
(Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court)
approved what is known as bulk FISA
collection. This FISA authority allowed for
the targeting of domestic numbers believed
to be tainted,” the ex-intelligence
officer added.
 BREAKING REPORT: POTUS Trump Has Decided To
Fire National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster *Updated*
By Cristina Laila
March 15, 2018, 8:25 Pm
President Trump has decided to remove
H.R. McMaster as his National Security
Advisor, the Washington Post reports.
President Trump is on a roll; he fired Secretary of State
Rex Tillerson on Tuesday. When asked why he fired
Tillerson, Trump said their differing views on the Iran deal
sealed his fate.
This post was updated at 10:20
PM EST with a statement from
White House Press Sec Sarah
Sanders.
According to WaPo:
President Trump has decided to remove
H.R. McMaster as his national security
adviser and is actively discussing potential
replacements, according to five people with
knowledge of the plans, preparing to
deliver yet another jolt to the senior ranks
of his administration.
Trump is now comfortable with ousting McMaster, with
whom he never personally gelled, but is willing to take
time executing the move because he wants to ensure both
that the three-star Army general is not humiliated and that
there is a strong successor lined up, these people said.
Rumors of H.R. McMaster’s departure from the White
House recently reached a fever pitch after NBC reported
the NatSec Advisor was on the chopping block.
439
McMaster replaced General Flynn as NatSec Advisor after
Flynn was fired in early 2017.
H.R. McMaster has been heavily criticized by Trump
supporters for his soft stance on Islamic terrorism.
Speaking anonymously but on the record, The Gateway
Pundit has informed the layoffs will not just affect senior
officials but entire teams:
“Many staffers were being told not to
come to work tomorrow, they are still
finalizing the full list of people who are
out.”
The press will try to spin this as a president in scandal and
under fire, but this is really the president continuing to
streamline his administration with the best individuals for
the job, hopefully with this shake-up the administration
furthers its ability to push forward their agenda as
efficiently and robustly as possible.
Among senior officials on the chopping
block is chief of staff John Kelly and
VA Secretary Shulkin.
Update: White House Press
Secretary Sarah Sanders responded
to the Washington Post report that
Trump has removed McMaster.
Sarah Sanders tweeted, “Just spoke to POTUS and Gen.
H.R. McMaster – contrary to reports they have a good
working relationship and there are no changes at the NSC.
Interesting choice of words by Sarah Sanders. Perhaps
McMaster will officially be out on Friday? Or was this a
strategic leak to catch leakers? We will soon find out.
440
 Dr. Gorka Stunned By Biden-China Deal: ‘Potentially One
Of The Biggest Pay-For-Play Scandals
Outside Of Uranium One’
By Joshua Caplan
March 15, 2018, 8:40 Pm

Author Peter Schweizer’s new

book, Secret Empires: How the Appearing on Fox News Thursday evening, former deputy
American Political Class Hides assistant to President Donald Trump, Dr. Sebastian Gorka,
Corruption and Enriches Family and said he believes the agreement is a massive scandal.
Friends, reveals how Hunter Biden
secured a billion-dollar deal with
Chinese investors ten days after his
father, then-Vice President Joe
Biden, visited China in 2013.

Breitbart News reported:

According to an exclusive New York

Post excerpt from the book, the Biden
billion-dollar China deal occurred as DR. GORKA:
follows. In 2013, Hunter Biden was
managing partner in the private equity firm
“The stepson of John Kerry, the son of
Rosemont Seneca Partners. The Chinese
Joseph Biden, when they were cabinet
funds were managed by Rosemont Seneca
members of the Obama administration,
Bohai, which did not involve Chris Heinz.
create a new investment fund… then inked
a billion-dollar deal with the Chinese
In December of that year, Vice President Biden and his son government — the Bank of China. Then,
Hunter flew aboard Air Force Two to China. Ten days together they proceeded… to buy a U.S.
after the trip, a subsidiary of the Bank of China named manufacturing company called Henniges,
Bohai Capital signed an exclusive deal with Hunter Biden making very sensitive equipment — crucial
and Chris Heinz’s Rosemont to form a $1 billion joint- to our American military here at home.
investment fund called Bohai Harvest RST. The deal was This, look, I am very rarely at a loss for
later increased to $1.5 billion. words Stuart, but this is potentially one of
the biggest pay-for-play scandals we have
“The Chinese government was literally ever seen outside of Uranium One.”
funding a business that they co-owned
along with the sons of two of America’s
most powerful decision makers,” writes
Schweizer in Secret Empires.
441
 ‘As Early As Friday’ — Major
White House Staff Shakeup Reportedly May Come Soon
Justin Caruso - Media Reporter
8:57 PM 03/15/2018
A new report published Thursday evening indicates that
another major staff shakeup could occur at the White
House soon, possibly as early as Friday.
The New York Times’ Michael Shear and Maggie
Haberman report that John Kelly and H.R. McMaster are
both “on thin ice.”
Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Housing and Urban
Development Secretary Ben Carson were also mentioned
in the article. The Times reports,
“Mr. Trump could act as early as Friday to
remove one or more of them, though the
president is known to enjoy keeping people
off kilter.”
Haberman appeared on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360”
Thursday to discuss her reporting, telling Cooper,
“What I’ve been told by several people in
the White House is the president clearly
has made up his mind about a number of
cabinet officials that they will not be with
him for much longer–the question is, how
much longer?”
WATCH:
442
“There are a couple of different buckets
here,” she added. “There is the ‘people
who have caused him embarrassing
headlines’ bucket, which is Ben Carson,
the HUD secretary, and the VA secretary
David Shulkin, with reports that they have
been, you know, using taxpayer money
lavishly.”
“Then you have people like John Jelly, the
chief of staff, who the president’s been at
odds with for many weeks, but who has
said no to the president a bunch of times,
who had tried to keep him from firing the
secretary of state Rex Tillerson, until finally
he couldn’t hold the president off anymore.”
“And then there is H.R. McMaster, the
national security advisor, who the president
has been frustrated with for a very long
time. I’m not sure that we will see that
change tomorrow. I’m not sure that we will
necessarily see any change tomorrow–and
it could be as soon as tomorrow, but things
are going to move in the coming days. One
person very close to the president told me
that there was a desire to sort of rip the
band-aid off, by some, by some people in
the White House, who think the president
would be smart to get it all done with at
once and have told him that.”
 Turley: Strange That McCabe Is
'Worried More About Pensions Than Prison'
By Fox News Insider
March 15, 2018 10:49pm
Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University Law
School professor, said it's strange that top FBI official
Andrew McCabe appears to be "worried more about
pensions than prison."
Fox News has learned that the FBI’s Office of Professional
Responsibility made the recommendation to terminate
McCabe. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is reviewing that
recommendation and if he approves it by Friday at 5 p.m.
EDT, McCabe would not receive his pension benefits.
McCabe could be fired for allegedly helping to leak
information on the 2016 Clinton Foundation probe and not
being forthcoming about the FBI's Hillary Clinton email
probe.
On Fox News’ “The Story with Martha MacCallum" on
Thursday, Turley told MacCallum that McCabe possibly
should be more concerned about his own legal jeopardy,
443
pointing out that if he misled investigators, he could be
charged like former National Security Adviser Michael
Flynn.
Flynn faces a prison stint after pleading guilty to making a
false statement about a meeting with Russian diplomats
during the Trump transition period, even though former
FBI Director James Comey concluded that Flynn did not
intend to lie and should not be charged criminally for the
omission.
"That's apparently not the conclusion of the
inspector general with regard to McCabe,"
Turley said.
He added that Flynn was accused of misleading
investigators about something that wasn't illegal, but what
McCabe did was a violation.
Despite that, he said it's unlikely that McCabe will be
charged.
“This is part of the sort of 'Animal Farm'
existence we have in Washington, where
everyone's equal but some people are
more equal than others." Turley said.
"McCabe is one of those people that may
be more equal than others."
 Former FBI Spokesman Says
McCabe’s ‘Lack Of Candor’ Is ‘Unforgivable’
John Iannarelli Contends That Attorney General Jeff Sessions Must
Fire Bureau's Departing Number Two Because 'Not Telling
The Truth' Does Not Work
By Kathryn Blackhurst
Updated 16 Mar 2018 At 6:30 AM

Attorney Solomon Wisenberg, the deputy independent

counsel for Kenneth Starr’s Whitewater-Lewinsky
investigation surrounding former President Bill Clinton,
found the timing of the FBI’s recommendation “bizarre”
and “a little unsettling.”

“And even a lot of my friends who are in the

bureau … are a little upset with the timing
Although “there [are] many things that can be forgiven”
of it — to come in two or three days for the
within the nation’s pre-eminent law enforcement agency, a
head of OPR with the bureau, to come in
“lack of candor” and “not telling the truth” are
two or three days before his retirement and
“unforgivable,” former FBI national spokesperson John
put AG Sessions in that situation is a little
Iannarelli said Thursday night on Fox News’ “The
bit weird,” said Wisenberg (shown above
Ingraham Angle.”
right), who also appeared on “The
Ingraham Angle.”
“The reality is that in the FBI there [are]
many things that can be forgiven, yet
punished. But lack of candor — not telling
the truth — is unforgivable,” said Iannarelli
(shown above left). “And there are no
exceptions.”

Iannarelli was reacting to reports that the FBI’s Office of

Professional Responsibility (OPR) recommended to
Attorney General Jeff Sessions this week that he fire
former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe before the
latter’s pension begins Sunday.
The Department of Justice Inspector General (IG)
concluded that McCabe, who oversaw the investigation
into 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary
Clinton’s private email server, reportedly misled
investigators during their investigation into his conduct.
McCabe announced his resignation early in January
reportedly to avoid a demotion. Should Sessions fire
McCabe and withhold his pension, Iannarelli said it would
send
“a good message when there [have] been
leadership problems at times in the FBI that
no one can escape their responsibilities to
their job.”
Wisenberg said an FBI official couldn't lose his pension
through "general misconduct," noting that "the only way"
an FBI official could really lose it would be "through
basically not telling the truth — being dishonest."
"And that's what the supposed allegation
is," Wisenberg said. "But there's just
something a little bit troubling about the
timing."
Iannarelli insisted the strongest way in which the DOJ
could send a clear warning would be for Sessions to fire
McCabe before his impending retirement on Sunday.
"The reality is if they did something after he
retires, there's no repercussions," Iannarelli

444
 said. "Your pension is not a guaranteed
gift. When you're an FBI agent, it's about
living up to appropriate protocols and
policies, honesty and integrity."
"Would you rather that he be allowed to
retire, even though something may have
been done wrong and it was determined by
OPR, yet he can benefit?" Iannarelli
continued. "Agents are held accountable
for their behaviors, and I think this speaks
to many things that happened when Mr.
McCabe was working for [former FBI]
Director [James] Comey."
.
445
Wisenberg noted that much hinges upon what is actually in
the report Sessions is considering.
"If it's incredibly detailed and incredibly
damning and Sessions has a chance to
look at it and make that decision in two or
three days, that's one thing," Wisenberg
said. "But that's a very big deal to come in
and present this to the attorney general
with only two or three days for him to look
at it."
 Swamp Strikes Back: FBI’s Andrew McCabe Likely
Eligible For Smaller Pension Even If Fired
FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe
faces the possibility of being fired after
an internal review recommended he be
terminated.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is
considering a recommendation to fire
former Deputy FBI Director Andrew
McCabe and could order his ouster this
week, shortly before Mr. McCabe’s
expected retirement, according to a person
familiar with the matter. Mr. McCabe
allegedly wasn’t forthcoming
By Joshua Caplan
March 16, 2018, 9:33 Am
investigators probing the disclosure of
information to a Wall Street Journal
reporter for an October 2016 story about an
inquiry into the Clinton Foundation, said the
person. Mr. McCabe left his post in January
after he was told to step aside, but had
been expected to take leftover vacation
time until he was eligible to retire this
month after a decadeslong career with the
agency. A spokeswoman for Mr. Sessions
said in a statement that the Justice
Department “follows a prescribed process
by which an employee may be terminated,”
and said she had “no personnel
announcements at this time.”
In a last-ditch effort, McCabe met with Deputy Attorney
General Rod Rosenstein’s staff Thursday to appeal the
FBI’s recommendation for Sessions to fire him, the Wall
Street Journal‘s Del Quentin Wilber reported.
However, even if McCabe is fired, the FBI official is likely
to be eligible for a smaller pension starting in 7 years time.
POLITICO reports:
The financial stakes for McCabe could be
significant. If he makes it to his 50th
birthday on Sunday while still in federal
service, he’s eligible to begin drawing a full
pension immediately under provisions that
apply to federal law enforcement officers,
said Kimberly Berry, a lawyer in Arlington,
Virginia, who specializes in federal
retirement issues.
Berry disputed reports, however, that McCabe would lose
his pension altogether if he is fired before Sunday.
“He doesn’t lose his retirement,” she said.
“It’s not all thrown out in the garbage.“
Even if McCabe is dismissed, he will probably be eligible
to begin collecting his pension at about age 57, although he
would likely lose access to federal health coverage and
would probably get a smaller pension than if he were to
with stay on the federal payroll through Sunday, experts said.
446
Fox News contributor Sara A. Carter recently told Fox
News host Sean Hannity that Justice Department Inspector
General, Michael Horowitz, is investigating whether or not
McCabe asked bureau agents to “change their 302s.”
A day after the New York Times reported FBI Director
Christopher Wray confronted McCabe over unspecified
findings in DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s
report, the Washington Post reveals the embattled bureau
.
447
official is being probed over his role in examining emails
found on former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s laptop.
McCabe stepped down January 29th, as
first reported by NBC News.
McCabe, who served a brief stint as acting director of the
bureau, was already expected to leave. He will stay on
“terminal leave” until he is eligible to retire with benefits
in March,” reported CNBC.
REPORT: Gen. John Kelly ‘100% Safe’ From Firing After
POTUS Trump & Chief Of Staff Reach ‘Truce’
By Joshua Caplan
March 16, 2018, 9:50 Am

Gen. John Kelly appears to be staying
put — for now — after President Trump
and his Chief of Staff reached a ‘truce,’
Thursday evening.
Affairs Secretary David Shulkin and Chief of Staff John
Kelly could be soon leaving the White House.
The potential changes — described by sources as a
“bloodbath” — include the departure of National Security
Adviser H.R. McMaster and his replacement by John
Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Other departures from the administration would include

Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin
and Chief of Staff John Kelly.

The sources have cautioned that Trump will make the

ultimate decision about all staff changes. However, the
departure of McMaster has been described by multiple
sources as “imminent.”

Wall Street Journal reports: “I’ve gotten to know a lot of people very
well over the last year,” President Trump
President Donald Trump and White House told reporters at the White House this week
chief of staff John Kelly have settled on a “I’m really at a point where we’re getting
truce, at least temporarily, as the latest very close to having the Cabinet and other
round of staff tumult continues to ripple things that I want,” Trump added.
through the West Wing, according to
people familiar with the discussions. […] The Washington Post‘s Josh Dawsey tweeted Friday that
But on Thursday, Messrs. Trump and Kelly “something is going to happen,” according to senior White
had a productive meeting that left both men House sources.
reassured. Mr. Trump told advisers
afterward that Mr. Kelly was “100% safe.”
Mr. Kelly told his associates that, at least
for the moment, he and the president had
patched things up. “I’m in,” Mr. Kelly told
staff.

Asked about Mr. Kelly’s comments earlier in the week,

and the meeting between the president and his staff chief
on Thursday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders
issued a five-word statement:
If it’s not Kelly, are McMaster and Shulkin still on the
chopping block?
“Kelly is not going anywhere.”

This week, Fox News‘ John Roberts reported National

Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, along with Veterans
.

448
 “Totally Made Up”: Democrat Claims Against Pick For
U.S. Amb. To Germany Richard Grenell Are Fake News
By Joshua Caplan
March 15, 2018, 9:56 Pm

The accusations surfaced publicly via CNN’s Jake Tapper

who relayed alleged concerns from Democratic lawmakers
on Thursday:

After a year in office, half of President Trump’s nominees

are still waiting for confirmation in the US Senate.

Mitch McConnell can vote anytime on the nominees. But

Mitch won’t do it because he is required to use 30 hours of
floor debate to force a vote.

As The Gateway Pundit’s Jim Hoft recently reported,

Sarah Huckabee Sanders highlighted Richard Grenell who
is the Trump nominee for Ambassador to
Germany. Grenell has been waiting for months for his
confirmation by the Senate.

We need all conservatives to start pressuring Mitch

McConnell to do his job. The White House just said
“confirm Ric”. What is Mitch waiting for?

He can call the vote anytime. He doesn’t do it because he

is required to use 30 hrs of floor debate In order to force a
vote. But he should do it.

Dems can’t stop a vote from being scheduled. Why are

Republicans allowing the party of Schumer and Pelosi to
push lies about Grenell being pro-WikiLeaks?
Daily Caller reports:
Democratic rationale for holding up a vote
on the Trump administration’s nominee for
U.S. Ambassador to Germany, Richard
Grenell, is news to the nominee himself, a
source close to Grenell tells The Daily
Caller.
A source close to Grenell told TheDC the accusations from
Democratic lawmakers are “totally made up,” adding
“The fact is this is a brand new anonymous
charge from a clearly partisan person to a
reporter. How are people supposed to
confront attacks like this?”
Grenell noted that Tapper’s tweets are the first concerns
he’s publicly heard throughout the entire process.

449
In response to Tapper’s allegations, Grenell replied:

“Fact: no one has ever said this to me

ever. You are the first.”

As The Daily Caller points out, Grenell is actually not a

big fan of leakers.

Another day, another fake news story pushed by Dems and

CNN.

450
 Wapo Report: Trump Has Decided To Fire McMaster —
White House Disputes
Scott Morefield - Reporter
10:21 PM 03/15/2018

executive Stephen Biegun. According to The Washington

Post, the president believes his national security advisor is

“too rigid and that his briefings go on too

long and seem irrelevant.”

The latest report cites other replacement candidates,

including former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
John Bolton and National Security Council chief of staff
Keith Kellogg, who currently travels with the president
and is someone Trump enjoys spending time with.

While McMaster would likely bounce back to his three-

H.R. McMaster is reportedly on his way out as national
security advisor, according to The Washington Post.
The Post report, based on five sources close to the
situation, says that Trump never “personally gelled” with
the three-star Army general, but wants to make the change
in a way that ensures McMaster
“is not humiliated and that there is a strong
successor lined up.”
The move follows the president’s dismissal of Rex
Tillerson as secretary of state and the resignation of
economic adviser Gary Cohn, who were both replaced by
close allies of the president in Mike Pompeo and Larry
Kudlow.
star general status with the Army, some White House
staffers would love to see the national security advisor
promoted to a fourth star or another “comfortable landing
spot” in order to “show that someone can serve in the
Trump administration without suffering severe damage to
their reputation,” the Post reports.
UPDATE: White House Press Secretary
Sarah Sanders disputed on Twitter
Thursday night The Washington Post’s
report. In it, she cited the president and
McMaster’s “good working relationship.”

“There will always be change,” Trump told

reporters on Thursday. “And I think you
want to see change. I want to also see
different ideas.”

Earlier this month, NBC reported that chief of staff John

Kelly and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis made plans at
Trump’s direction to replace McMaster with auto industry
.

451
 Kimmel Says He Will File A
Federal Complaint Against The Trump Family
The Late-Night Comedian Is So Focused On This President, He Can't
Help Ripping The Chief Executive For Household
Goods Sold On A Website
By Popzette Staff
Updated 16 Mar 2018 At 9:10 AM

"I'll just file an official complaint and let

them sort it out," Kimmel said.

Fines for the violation could run up to $500,000.

"This could be very expensive," Kimmel

claimed. "Not to mention embarrassing. Are
Photo Credit, Homepage And Article Images: Donald Trump [1], [2], they even capable of shame? I mean,
Colored And Cut Out, CC BY-SA 2.0, By Gage Skidmore Trump's whole platform is about American
companies — his company isn't even
It seems Jimmy Kimmel is a little obsessed with the supporting America!"
president these days. He seems incapable of avoiding
anything related to Donald Trump for more than 24 hours. The Trump Store Twitter account already replied to
Kimmel's comments. It thanked him for the advertising.
The late-night comedian even joked that he would be filing
a federal complaint against the president and his family. "It appears you make an even better
salesman than comedian — thanks for the
Kimmel said Wednesday night that the Trump family takes pitch!" wrote the account.
“the America thing very seriously.” The “America thing”
to which Kimmel refers is the president’s smart, proactive
stance of putting the country first when it comes to trade,
of trying to bring jobs back to this country, of being
tougher about border security, and of generally watching
this country’s interests like a hawk.

The comedian then rolled out some merchandise from the

Trump website store — golf hat, coffee mug, blanket,
duffle bag, and feeding bib for a baby — and said the
items were made in China, Thailand and Peru.

He also brought out a Trump head bandana, which he

claimed did not have any tags to reveal where it was made.

Kimmel believed he had himself a "gotcha" moment, since

goods imported into the U.S. are required to have a
country of origin marking.
.

452
 The Roundup Of White House Departures
[SLIDESHOW]
Morgan Caplan
9:15 AM 03/16/2018

Since the beginning of President Trump’s time in office, to

even before during his campaign, Trump has had his fair
share of position openings.

With a year in the White House under his belt, Trump has
released many members of the White House, including
some of his most senior aides.

One of the first to go at the beginning of the president’s

administration was Michael Flynn, former national
security adviser, and some of the most recent are Gary
Cohn, former chief economic adviser, John McEntee,
former aide, and Rex Tillerson, former secretary of state. After issues with his background clearance, John McEntee, former
Trump’s communications director Hope Hicks, who personal aide was fired from the White House March 12, 2018.
announced her resignation Feb. 28, 2018, will officially (Photo by REUTERS/Leah Millis)
leave the White House in the next several weeks.

For a variety of reasons, Trump has seen a fast turnover

rate in these positions. Some as they walk out the door are
deemed disloyal to President Trump.

(RELATED: Corey Lewandowski: If You Don’t Like

Working In the White House, You Should ‘Leave’)

The crazy thing is that this list could change at any

moment, but these are some of the most high-profile White
House departures.

Dina Powell, former deputy national security advisor, left the White
House on good terms with President Trump. (Photo by Mike
Windle/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)

Trump's most recent dismissal, former secretary of state Rex

Tillerson, will put CIA Director Mike Pompeo into office. (Photo by
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Katie Walsh left the
White House to work with a pro-Trump group. (Photo by Zach
Gibson/Getty Images)

453
White House Office of Public Liaison Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, former White House communications director,
Omarosa Manigault left the White House and returned to reality lasted only 10 days in the White House. (Photo by Mike
television. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Coppola/Getty Images)

Former White House Deputy Assistant to the president Sebastian

Gorka left the White House in 2017. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Sean Spicer, former White House press secretary, resigned from the
Images) White House July 21, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus headed out the
door with just six months on the job. (Photo by SAUL
LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
Former Heath and Human Services Secretary Tom Price was not on
Trump's nice list after Price used private jets for government travel.
(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

454
 After reported scandals, Rob Porter, former White House staff
secretary, left Feb. 7, 2018. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

Michael Flynn, former national security advisor had a short visit to

the White House with only 25 days in office. (Photo by Chip
Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Hope Hicks, former communications director, announced her

resignation Feb. 28, 2018. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

In a span of a week, three more administration officials have left,

including Gary Cohn, former White House economic advisor. (Photo
by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Like many other officials, Steve Bannon, former chief strategist, left
the White House only eight months after the inauguration. (Photo by
Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images)

455
 Report: Comey Delayed Action After Whistleblower Came
Forward In 2014 Warning Of Broken Warrantless
Surveillance Program
Posted On March 16, 2018
(National Sentinel) Negligent: Former FBI Director James
Comey was warned by an inter-agency whistleblower that
the bureau’s Section 215 warrantless phone surveillance
program unveiled by Edward Snowden in 2013 was
“woefully ineffective” at catching terrorists and had to be
modified, The Hill reported Thursday.
But, says retired Special Agent Bassem Youssef, chief of
the FBI’s Communications Analysis Unit, no action was
taken by Comey in response to concerns he brought
up, The Hill reported exclusively.
The Hill noted further:
He said his efforts were prompted by an
audit his team conducted showing the
program had searched through thousands
of Americans’ records but had helped only
disrupt one possible terrorist plot over more
than a decade.
“I explained to Director Comey that the
special program was largely ineffective,
very costly and highly burdensome to our
agents in the field,” said Youssef, who
supervised the program on a daily
basis from 2005 through 2014, the news
outlet reported.
A decorated counterterrorism agent and previous FBI
whistleblower, Youssef said that in the summer of 2014 he
.
456
attempted to get the FBI to reform its program because he
was concerned it gave the bureau easy access to
Americans’ phone data.
That, he told The Hill, left the program open to potential
abuse even as it generated spurious connections between
bad actors and innocent people.
“I believe that the program, as it was, was
ripe for potential abuses,” he told the new
site. “I think that every law-abiding citizen
should feel comfortable and secure in their
home in terms of their privacy and that was
not the case.”
Youssef added that he has recently been interviewed by at
least one congressional committee that is looking into
potential problems with the bureau’s surveillance habits.
The Hill noted further that Republican members of the
House Intelligence Committee and Senate Judiciary
Committee are examining whether the bureau used
unverified and misleading information to obtain a Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Court warrant to spy on a
member of the Trump campaign.
But it’s not clear if those committees are looking into
potential problems with the warrantless program formerly
utilized by the FBI, The Hill reported.
 Trump To Push Death Penalty
For Major Drug Dealers In Opioid Plan
Saagar Enjeti - White House Correspondent
9:20 AM 03/16/2018
U.S. President Donald Trump enters the East Room to speak at an
opioid summit being held at the White House in Washington, U.S.,
March 1, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1CA604F3C0
President Donald Trump will push for the death penalty for
major drug dealers in his plan to combat the opioid crisis,
Politico reports.
Trump publicly revealed his deeply held belief that drug
dealers should be executed before the White House opioid
summit saying
.
457
“they kill hundreds and hundreds of people,
and most of them don’t even go to jail. If
you shoot one person, they give you life.
They give you the death penalty.”
“These people can kill 2,000, 3,000 people
and nothing happens to them. And we
need strength with respect to the pushers
and to the drug dealers,” he continued.
“And if we don’t do that, you will never
solve the problem.”
“The answer is you have to have strength
and toughness. The drug dealers and the
pushers are — they are doing damage.
They are really doing damage. Some
countries have a very, very tough penalty.
The ultimate penalty.”
Trump’s plan will also crack down on government funds
being used to subsidize opioid prescriptions and increasing
the ease of access to addiction facilities for medicare users.
 ‘Morning Joe’ Praying For Stormy
Daniels To Blow Trump Out Of The White House
Nick Givas - Media And Politics Reporter
10:40 AM 03/16/2018

presidential campaign because she had a

credible accusation.”

WATCH:

'Morning Joe' Still Thinks Stormy Daniels Can Topple Trump's

Presidency - MSNBC 3-16-18

“Morning Joe’s” politics panel discussed the Stormy

Daniels controversy Friday and claimed her accusations
could bring down President Donald Trump’s presidency.

“Morning Joe” regular John Heilemann tried to connect

her story to the release of the Access Hollywood tape
during the 2016 presidential election and began
extrapolating wild theories about Trump without any
proof.
“The Access Hollywood tape comes out
and in the week to ten days after that you
have more than a dozen women who
accuse Donald Trump of sexual
harassment or sexual assault. This case is
floating around in that period, the Stormy
Daniels accusation,” he said. “And then
suddenly there’s an agreement struck. A
scenario in which she was essentially
forced into an agreement where she’s
silenced in the last two weeks of a
.
“The notion possibly that she was not just
paid off but was essentially forced to take
the payment and was told to take the
money and shut up or she would be
physically harmed, that in the last two
weeks of a presidential campaign … that’s
a gargantuan story,” Heilemann added. “I’m
obviously speculating here but this is the
time frame in which it took place.”
“That will bring down this presidency,”
panelist Donny Deutsch said. “This is
physical harm to a woman. This is not sex,
this is not groping.”

458
 BREAKING: ‘Explosive’ Text Messages Expose Peter
Strzok’s Personal Relationship With Judge
Involved In Gen. Flynn Case
By Joshua Caplan
March 16, 2018, 11:02 Am

Fox News contributor Sara A. Carter meaningful enough to warrant recusal.”

reports newly redacted text messages Page then goes back to discussing a
reveal disgraced FBI agent Peter Strzok different issue saying, “Anyway, maybe you
struck had a personal relationship with meant to, but didn’t.’
Rudolph Contreras, the District of
Columbia Judge who abruptly recused
himself from former National Security
Advisor Michael Flynn’s criminal case.

Carter reports on the ‘explosive’ texts:

In a text message chain from Page to

Strzok on July, 25, 2016 she writes, “Rudy
is on the FISC! Did you know that? Just
appointed two months ago.” At that point,
the pair continues to discuss other issues
but comes back to Contrares, “I did. We
talked about it before and after. I need to
get together with him.” Then later Strzok
appears to return to his discussion about
Contreras.
Strzok/Page July texts Strzok: “Really? Rudy. I’m in charge of
espionage for the FBI. Any espionage FISA
Page: “Thought of it because you had to comes before him, what should he do?
Google FISC judges and him there. I’m Given his friend oversees them?”
telling you.”
Page: “Standards for recusal are quite
Strzok: “….She brought up a good point high. I just don’t think this poses an actual
about being circumspect in talking to him in conflict. And he doesn’t know what you
terms of not placing him into a situation do?”
where he’d have to recuse himself.”
Strzok: “Generally he does know what I do.
Page: “I can’t imagine you either one of Not the level or scope or area but he’s
you could talk about anything in detail super thoughtful and rigorous about ethics
459
 and conflicts. (redacted) suggested a social
setting with others would probably be better
than a one on one meeting. I’m sorry, I’m
just going to have to invite you to that
cocktail party. Of course you’ll be there.
Have to come up with some other work
people cover for action.”
Page: “Why more? Six is a perfectly fine
dinner party.”
Sources close to Flynn tell The Daily Caller‘s Chuck Ross
that Strzok’s relationship with Contreras “is something
they might look into.”
The Federalist‘s Sean Davis notes,
“[n]ews of Strzok’s dismissal by Mueller
was leaked the day after Flynn’s guilty plea
was accepted by the FISA judge who just
happens to be buddies with the guy who
interviewed Flynn for the FBI.”
At this time, no details have been made public as to why
Contreras recused himself from the case.
Emmet G. Sullivan now oversees the case.
460
With each passing day, more evidence suggests the
indictment of former National Security Adviser Ret. Lt.
Gen. Michael Flynn was a dubious one.
In what would be an insurmountable blow to special
counsel Robert Mueller’s unchecked Russia probe, former
federal prosecutor Sidney Powell says if there is a man
who can bring justice for Flynn, it’s Judge Emmet G.
Sullivan.
As the Daily Caller reported, Sullivan
“issued a “Brady” order requiring Mueller to
provide Flynn all information that is
favorable to the defense whether with
respect to guilt or punishment.”
According to Margot Cleveland of The Federalist, the
order suggests “bombshell are likely ahead.”
The Federalist reports:
With a protective order in place, Flynn’s
attorneys should start receiving the
required disclosures from the special
counsel’s office. There is reason to believe
these will include some bombshells.
First, we know from the recently released
GOP House Intelligence Committee memo
and the Grassley-Graham criminal referral
of Christopher Steele, the FBI and DOJ
withheld significant (and material, in
my view) information in seeking a Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant
to conduct surveillance on Trump
campaign volunteer Carter Page. There
is cause to believe the FISA court was
connected to the criminal charge filed
against Flynn because Contreras, who
recused less than a week after accepting
Flynn’s guilty plea, “is one of just three
FISA court judges who sits in the District of
Columbia, where it is likely the Trump-
Russia FISA warrants were sought.”
Was other evidence withheld, either from
the FISA court or from Flynn’s attorneys in
negotiating a plea? Again, there is reason
to believe so, given the players involved
and the facts already uncovered. […]
Mueller must now provide Flynn all exculpatory evidence:
Significantly, if the information is favorable
to Flynn but the special counsel’s office
believes it is immaterial, government
attorneys must nonetheless provide the
evidence to Sullivan to allow him to make
the call. In other words, Mueller’s team
cannot unilaterally decide what evidence
matters, as the Department of Justice did in
applying to the FISA court for a
surveillance warrant on Page while
withholding the key fact that Hillary Clinton
and the Democratic National Committee
paid for information crucial to the
application.
.
461
Byron York of the Washington Examiner reported former
FBI Director James Comey told congressional
investigators he did not believe Flynn lied during an
unannounced interview with agent Peter Strzok on January
24th, 2017.
According to veteran political operative and Infowars
correspondent, Roger Stone, lawyers for Flynn are
preparing legal action to have all charges against him
dropped.
 Trevor Noah Rips Larry Kudlow
Before The Man Spends A Single Day On The Job
The Late-Night Comedian Is So Anti-Trump He's Rooting Against People
The Moment They're Hired By The Current White House
By Popzette Staff
Updated 16 Mar 2018 At 11:17 AM

The economy did eventually crash, leading the government

to step in and deliver federal bailouts.

"He didn't see the warning signs that a

These days, all you need to do to earn criticism from the
mainstream media is to be appointed to President Donald
Trump’s White House.
Before he even spends a single day on the job, new
economic adviser Larry Kudlow is already on the hot seat.
Late-night host Trevor Noah dedicated a segment of his
show Thursday night to Kudlow — and to past comments
he made.
tsunami was about to hit, but it takes a
special kind of person to be in the tsunami
and deny that it's happening at all," said
Noah.
The comedian then played clips of Kudlow from late 2007,
in which he's shown declaring the "recession debate" was
over.
Noah's lowest blow came at the end of his segment. He
said,
"We wish Larry Kudlow the best of luck.
Assuming he hasn't been fired already."

Noah specifically targeted comments by Kudlow in which It's almost as if Noah is rooting for Kudlow and Trump to
he denied there would be an economic crash from the fail, right? Nah — must be our imagination.
housing bubble at the end of former President George W.
Bush’s time in office.
.

462
 Judge Recused From Michael Flynn Case
Is Friends With Peter Strzok
Chuck Ross - Reporter
12:00 PM 03/16/2018
 The federal judge who recused himself from the
Michael Flynn case is personal friends with Peter
Strzok
 The friendship is discussed in text messages the
FBI agent exchanged with his mistress, Lisa Page
 Contreras’ recusal has been a source of mystery
ever since he was taken off the Flynn case
The federal judge who recused himself from the Michael
Flynn case is personal friends with Peter Strzok, the FBI
agent who conducted the White House interview in which
the former national security adviser has pleaded guilty to
lying.
The friendship between Strzok and Rudolph Contreras, a
judge on the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., is
discussed in text messages the FBI agent exchanged with
his mistress, Lisa Page.
The Justice Department redacted the references to
Contreras in 384 pages of text messages provided to
Congress. Congressional investigators read the underlying
documents and have filled in some of the gaps. The
unredacted versions of the texts were obtained by The
Daily Caller News Foundation.
Now, two Republican lawmakers are questioning the
DOJ’s handling of the text messages and also asking if
Contreras’ recusal is tied to his friendship with Strzok.
In the texts, exchanged on July 25, 2016, Strzok refers to
Contreras, an Obama appointee, as his friend. He also
appears to acknowledge that the relationship could cause
conflicts of interest warranting recusal.
Two months before the exchange, Contreras was appointed
to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC). As
the FBI’s deputy chief of counterintelligence at the time,
many of Strzok’s investigations went through FISC.
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican, posed two
“fundamental” questions raised by the text messages:
“Why did [DOJ] make it hard for us to figure
this out? Why did Contreras ultimately
recuse himself?”
463
Strzok’s text messages were discovered during a Justice
Department inspector general’s investigation into the
FBI’s handling of former Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton’s email probe.
Strzok was one of the top investigators on that matter. He
also oversaw the FBI investigation into Russian meddling
in the presidential campaign. As part of that investigation,
he conducted the Jan. 24, 2017, interview of Flynn.
(RELATED: Top Clinton Aides Faced No Charges
After Making False Statements To Peter Strzok)
The Justice Department has provided 1.2 million
documents to the inspector general for its investigation. In
contrast, only 3,162 documents have been given to the
Judiciary Committee, which has oversight on the Justice
Department.
“We believe that we need to get more
documents from the Department of Justice
and FBI that are not redacted, and we need
to get them quickly,” said North Carolina
Rep. Mark Meadows, a Republican
member of the House Judiciary Committee.
***
Contreras’ recusal has been a source of mystery ever since
he was taken off the Flynn case on Dec. 7. He was
appointed on Nov. 30, and the next day, on Dec. 1, Flynn
pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents — one of whom was
Strzok — during his Jan. 24 interview in the White House.
Flynn, who served as national security adviser at the time,
acknowledged lying to the FBI about contacts he had with
Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
The day after Flynn pleaded guilty, newspapers reported
that Strzok was removed from the special counsel’s Russia
investigation because he sent politically charged, anti-
Trump text messages to Page.
The messages show that Strzok referred to President
Donald Trump as an “idiot,” while mocking the
Republican’s supporters. Shortly after the Russia
investigation was opened, Strzok also discussed an
“insurance policy” in August 2016 against Trump’s
possible presidential election. (RELATED: FBI Officials
Discussed ‘Insurance Policy’ Against Trump Election)
Contreras recused himself from the Flynn case five days
after those reports surfaced.
Because Contreras was on the Flynn case for a matter of
days, he did little more than receive Flynn’s guilty plea
and sign papers granting Flynn’s release from custody.
Judge Emmet Sullivan, a Clinton appointee, is now
handling the case.
Peter Strzok text messages with Lisa Page. Page is
identified as OUTBOX; Strzok is identified as INBOX
Contreras joined the FISC court in May 2016. The court
reviews and approves warrants to conduct surveillance on
Americans suspected of being agents of foreign
governments. One such warrant was granted in October
2016 against Carter Page, a former Trump campaign
adviser. (RELATED: Judge Recuses Himself From
Flynn Case, But Nobody Knows Why)
Peter Strzok text messages with Lisa Page. Page is
identified as OUTBOX; Strzok is identified as INBOX
The texts then turned to a discussion about whether the
relationship should warrant recusal by Contreras on any
espionage cases in which Strzok was involved.
Strzok wrote that a colleague
464
A spokeswoman for the U.S. District Court in Washington
did not respond to a request for comment about Contreras’
recusal.
***
“Rudy is on the [Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Court]! Did you know that?”
Page, an FBI attorney, wrote to Strzok on
July 25, 2016.
“Just appointed two months ago,” Strzok
replied.
It is not believed that Contreras was involved in approving
the Page warrant or any of the three renewals that were
approved in 2017.
“He mentioned thinking about it even
though he was junior, they needed people
and they especially needed minorities, and
then he said he’d gotten on a month or two
ago at a graduation party we were both at,”
Strzok told Page of Contreras.
“brought up a good point about being
circumspect in talking to [Contreras] in
terms of not placing him into a situation
where he’d have to recuse himself.”
Page dismissed Strzok’s concern.
“I can’t imagine either one of you could talk
about anything in detail meaningful enough
to warrant recusal,” she wrote.

Peter Strzok text messages with Lisa Page. Page is
identified as OUTBOX; Strzok is identified as INBOX
One text from Strzok suggests he realized that his
friendship with Contreras would warrant recusal by the
judge.
“Really? Rudy, I’m in charge of espionage
for the FBI. Any espionage FISA comes
before him, what should he do? Given his
friend oversees them?” he wrote.
“Standards for recusal are quite high. I just
don’t think this poses an actual conflict.
And he doesn’t know what you do?” Page
responded.
Strzok replied by saying that Contreras “generally” knew
what Strzok did for a living.
465
“Not the level or scope or area. But he’s
super thoughtful and rigorous about ethics
and conflicts. [redacted] suggested a social
setting with others would probably be better
than a one on one meeting,” he said.
(RELATED: Op-ED: General Flynn Should
WITHDRAW His Guilty Plea)
It’s not known whether Flynn’s legal team will make an
issue out of the links between Strzok and Contreras. One
source close to Flynn said that it is something worth
exploring. Flynn is currently cooperating with special
counsel Robert Mueller as part of his plea agreement.
Robert Kelner, Flynn’s attorney, declined comment.
.
 Former FBI Assistant Director Confident Inspector
General Report Filled With ‘PURE TNT’ (VIDEO)
By Joshua Caplan
March 16, 2018, 12:53 Pm
On Friday, former FBI Assistant
Director Chris Swecker told Fox News‘
Harris Faulkner that he believes the
Justice Department Inspector General’s
report will include “some pure TNT.”
Translation: James Comey, Andrew
McCabe, Peter Strzork and Lisa Page
are all on notice for their handling of the
Clinton email probe.
Photo credit: The Conservative Tree House
Swecker:
“The behavior if it’s manifested in the action
with your thumb on the scale of a particular
investigation, one way or the other, that’s
466
borderline criminal behavior —
manipulating an investigation. I think this IG
report is going to be particularly impactful,
more so than any of these useless
congressional investigations. I think you’re
going to see some pure TNT come out in
this IG report.”
Yet, what exactly is the Inspector General probing?
Reporter Sara A. Carter told Fox News host Sean Hannity
that Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department Inspector
General, is investigating whether McCabe asked
bureau agents to “change their 302s.”
PJ Media reports:
“I have been told tonight by a number of
sources … that McCabe may have asked
FBI agents to actually change their
302s,” Carter told host Sean Hannity.
The 302 form contains information from the
notes an FBI agent takes during an
interview of a subject. It is used by FBI
agents to “report or summarize the
interviews that they conduct.”
“So basically every time an FBI agent
interviews a witness, they have to go
back and file a report,”Carter explained.
Hannity pointed out that, if true, it would constitute a case
of obstruction of justice, and Carter agreed. She said the
matter was being investigated by FBI Inspector General
Michael Horowitz.
“If this is true — and not just alleged —
if this is true, McCabe will be
fired,” Carter said. “They are considering
firing him in the next few days. If this turns
out to be true,” she added.
A day after the New York Times reported FBI Director
Christopher Wray confronted outgoing Deputy Director
Andrew McCabe over unspecified findings in DOJ
Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report,
the Washington Post reveals the embattled bureau official
is being probed over his role in examining emails found on
former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s laptop.
Washington Post reports:
The inspector general, Michael E.
Horowitz, has been asking witnesses why
FBI leadership seemed unwilling to move
forward on the examination of emails found
on the laptop of former congressman
Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.)until late October
— about three weeks after first being
.
467
alerted to the issue, according to these
people, who spoke on the condition of
anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.
A key question of the internal investigation
is whether McCabe or anyone else at the
FBI wanted to avoid taking action on the
laptop findings until after the Nov. 8
election, these people said. It is unclear
whether the inspector general has reached
any conclusions on that point.
It’s currently unknown when the Inspector General’s
report will be released.
 Eric Holder To GOP: ‘You Want
To Have A Knife Fight, We’re Gonna Do It’
By Kristinn Taylor
March 16, 2018, 2:07 Pm
Former Obama Attorney General Eric Holder used violent
anti-GOP rhetoric in a campaign stop in Wisconsin
Thursday, challenging Republicans to a knife fight.
Holder couched his violence in passive-aggressive
legalese, saying,
“We have to be ready to, you know, not do
anything inappropriate, not do anything
improper, certainly not do anything
unlawful.
But to the extent that they want to have
a fight, let’s do it. You want to rumble,
let’s rumble. You want to have a knife
fight, we’re gonna do it.”
Former Attorney General Eric Holder, screen image.
Holder’s statement was reported by the Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel.
Heading to the fall elections, Holder said Democrats need
to be more disciplined and focused to match Republicans.
“We have to be ready to, you know, not do
anything inappropriate, not do anything
.
468
improper, certainly not do anything
unlawful,” he said. “But to the extent that
they want to have a fight, let’s do it. You
want to rumble, let’s rumble. You want to
have a knife fight, we’re gonna do it.”
Holder was in Milwaukee as part of a two-day campaign
swing though Wisconsin for Supreme Court candidate
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Rebecca Dallet for the
April 3 election against the Republican supported
candidate, Sauk County Circuit Judge Michael Screnock.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court election is non-partisan but
is heavily politicized.
In 2008, Holder’s boss Barack Obama said in his first
presidential campaign at a stop in Philadelphia,
“If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a
gun. Because from what I understand, folks
in Philly like a good brawl. I’ve seen Eagles
fans.”
A Democrat gunman, James Hodgkinson, waged a mass
shooting attack on Republican congressmen last year,
wounding House Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-
LA), Capitol Police officer Chrystal Griner, congressional
aide Zack and lobbyist Barth Matt Mika.
Holder’s political group, the National Democratic
Redistricting Committee, is spending a reported $140,000
in digital advertising for Dallet and is also suing Gov.
Scott Walker for not holding special elections to fill two
vacant state Legislature seats.
Holder served as attorney general from 2009 to 2015 and
has the distinction of being the first cabinet member in
history to be held in contempt of Congress.
 Rush Limbaugh: Mueller Wants
To Nullify Trump’s $900M Tax Deduction
— From 1995 — To ‘Ruin Him’
By Robert Kraychik
16 Mar 2018
Special Counsel Robert Mueller intends to
financially “ruin” President Donald Trump
by investigating the Trump Organization’s
business operations, said Rush Limbaugh
on his eponymous Thursday radio show.
He also rejected ubiquitous news media
and political narratives framing Special
Counsel Robert Mueller as a man of
integrity.
Limbaugh described Washington-based political and
bureaucratic interests as broadly desiring an ousting of
Trump from the presidency:
They want Trump gone. They want everybody anything to
do with Trump gone. They all do. Everybody at the State
Department, everybody in this immediate FBI circle with
Rosenstein, Murphy, and McKinnon, the Republican
establishment community, Republican consultants, they
want Trump gone. Mueller is the guy to do it. Mueller is
carrying the water for the entire establishment in getting
Trump gone. And they don’t care how they do it. And I
think their objective is to ruin him.
Limbaugh accused Mueller of seeking to “nullify”
Trump’s 1995 IRS claim of approximately $900 million in
operational losses in order to pursue a reclamation of the
money with added penalties and accrued interest:
469
And these requests, the subpoena for
documents from the Trump Organization, I
ask you again, what has that to do with the
campaign and with collusion and with the
Russians? They’ve already been looking
into Trump business in Russia with the
Miss, what is it, USA, whatever his pageant
is.
Do you all remember during the early days of the
campaign there was news that Trump, in a tax return
something like 20 years ago, took a $900 million
deduction that was granted and survived an audit by the
IRS? Now, I forget the details. It had to do with losses that
he had incurred in that year in building things. It was
around 900 or $920 million deduction. I’ll never forget
when it was reported because most people will never come
close to ever having that in a lifetime, and to have a guy
personally write that much off?
…
Anyway, I think Mueller wants that $920 million back. I
think Mueller wants to prove that that was a faulty
deduction. I think that they want to go back, they want to
get Trump’s tax returns because they want to nullify that
$900 million deduction, and then they want to collect 20
years of interest and penalties and wipe Trump out.
Limbaugh also challenged the pervasive framing of
Mueller as an honorable man across the joint news media
and political landscape:
We’ve been told as long as I have been
aware of the name Robert Mueller, we are
told that Mr. Mueller is a man of
impeccable character, a man of refined
tastes, a man of immense sophistication
and qualification. The man was a judge, he
ran the FBI, he is a fair person. He’s an all-
round good guy. And in terms of people in
Washington when it comes to the integrity,
there are none with any more integrity than
Robert Mueller.
Well, I’m sorry, but that doesn’t fit with what we see this
man doing. And what I ask myself is, does Mueller ever
get up and ask himself, “What the hell am I doing? I don’t
have a crime here. I don’t have any evidence of a crime.”
Does Mueller ever get up or does anybody on his team, do
they get up in the morning and they ever ask themselves,
are we really doing the right thing here in seeking to
destroy an American citizen whose only audacious
behavior is winning the presidency?
A man of honor and integrity, suggested Limbaugh, would
not accept a limitless role to pursue the political
destruction of President Donald Trump:
“There aren’t any limits on this guy! There
is no crime that he has been charged with
investigating. He’s been given a free rein to
go find a crime anywhere he wants!”
“We’re told this guy’s the best of the best,”
said Limbaugh. “We’re told this guy,
nobody could hold a candle to him in terms
of honesty and integrity and character.
Well, then how does somebody with all of
those fine traits even participate in a sham
like this?”
470
Mueller’s mandate to “investigate Russian interference
with the 2016 presidential election and related matters” —
issued by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein —
lists no financial or temporal limitations. In addition to a
nebulous scope, no specific crimes are listed within the
mandate.
MoveOn.org established a “rapid response” project in the
event of Trump’s firing of Mueller, soliciting contact
information from persons interested in political agitation
operations.
Senators Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Ben Sasse (R-NB) —
Never Trump politicians who both present themselves as
conservatives — have both cast Mueller as an honorable
man.
We are fortunate that Bob Mueller has
accepted the role of Special Counsel in the
Russia probe. He is a respected public
servant.
— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) May 18, 2017
my statement on Bob Mueller, an
honorable man and a true public servant
pic.twitter.com/qloYJYv77X
— Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) May 17, 2017
.
 General Flynn’s Family Reacts To New Bombshell Report
Revealing Peter Strzok Had Personal Relationship With
Judge Involved In Flynn Case
By Cristina Laila
March 16, 2018, 2:53 Pm

Trump-hating FBI agent Peter Strzok
had a personal relationship with
Rudolph Contreras,the judge who
previously recused himself from
General Flynn’s case according to a
new report by Sara Carter.
BEFORE he plead guilty to lying to the FBI on December
1st.
Flynn Jr. tweeted: “I don’t know. Seems like this info
could’ve been brought up BEFORE Dec 1, 2017

General Flynn’s brother, Joseph J. Flynn responded to Sara

Carter by hammering the Deep State and their agenda to
destroy anyone who is not in their inner circle.

Sara Carter reports on the texts:

Joseph Flynn tweeted: I guess that is why they call it
“Deep State”… everyone is friend’s with everyone and if
In a text message chain from Page to Strzok on July, 25, you are on the wrong side of their agenda, they will do
2016 she writes, everything they can to destroy you..

“Rudy is on the FISC! Did you know that?

Just appointed two months ago.”

At that point, the pair continues to discuss other issues but

comes back to Contrares,

“I did. We talked about it before and after. I

need to get together with him.”

Then later Strzok appears to return to his discussion about

Contreras.
Joseph Flynn has been a huge support system for his
Sources close to Flynn tell The Daily Caller‘s Chuck Ross brother, General Flynn and previously called on President
that Strzok’s relationship with Contreras “is something Trump to pardon his brother.
they might look into.”
The take down of General Flynn was a Deep State set up.
General Flynn’s brother, Joseph J. Flynn and his son,
Michael Flynn Jr. both reacted to the bombshell news. General Flynn’s phone call with Russian Ambassador
Kislyak during the Trump transition was illegally leaked to
Michael Flynn Jr. responded to Sara Carter by saying this the liberal media.
information could have come in handy for General Flynn
471
Dirty cop Andrew McCabe and disgraced FBI agent Peter
Strzok worked in coordination to take out General Flynn.
Trump-hating FBI agent Peter Strzok then ambushed
General Flynn and interviewed him on January 24th 2017
without his lawyer present.
At the end of January, Special Counsel Robert
Mueller requested the postponement of former National
Security Advisor Gen. Michael Flynn’s sentencing.
General Flynn should be pardoned and reimbursed for all
of his legal fees.

Now we find out Strzok and Judge Contreras were You can donate to Lieutenant General (Retired)
buddies! Michael T. Flynn’s legal defense fund by clicking here.

On December 1st 2017 it was reported General Michael

Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI deep state
operatives in the ongoing Trump witch hunt.

472
 Rush Limbaugh Explains How Robert Mueller Will
Attempt To Financially Destroy President Trump
By Joshua Caplan
March 16, 2018, 3:44 Pm
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has
crossed President Trump’s “red line”
after issuing a subpoena for documents
related to the Trump Organization’s
business dealings with Russia.
New York Times reports:
The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III,
has subpoenaed the Trump Organization to
turn over documents, including some
related to Russia, according to two people
briefed on the matter. The order is the first
known time that the special counsel
demanded documents directly related to
President Trump’s businesses, bringing the
investigation closer to the president. […]
The Trump Organization has said that it
never had real estate holdings in Russia,
but witnesses recently interviewed by Mr.
Mueller have been asked about a possible
real estate deal in Moscow. In 2015, a
longtime business associate of Mr. Trump’s
emailed Mr. Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen
at his Trump Organization account claiming
he had ties to President Vladimir V. Putin of
Russia and said that building a Trump
Tower in Moscow would help Mr. Trump’s
presidential campaign.
Radio host Rush Limbaugh theorized on his program
Friday that one of Mueller’s true objectives is to
financially destroy President Trump.
473
Partial transcript via Breitbart News:
And these requests, the subpoena for
documents from the Trump Organization, I
ask you again, what has that to do with the
campaign and with collusion and with the
Russians? They’ve already been looking
into Trump business in Russia with the
Miss, what is it, USA, whatever his pageant
is.
Do you all remember during the early days of the
campaign there was news that Trump, in a tax return
something like 20 years ago, took a $900 million
deduction that was granted and survived an audit by the
IRS? Now, I forget the details. It had to do with losses that
he had incurred in that year in building things. It was
around 900 or $920 million deduction. I’ll never forget
when it was reported because most people will never come
close to ever having that in a lifetime, and to have a guy
personally write that much off?
…
Anyway, I think Mueller wants that $920 million back. I
think Mueller wants to prove that that was a faulty
deduction. I think that they want to go back, they want to
get Trump’s tax returns because they want to nullify that
$900 million deduction, and then they want to collect 20
years of interest and penalties and wipe Trump out.
In the meantime, President Trump’s lawyers are in the
process of negotiating with special counsel Robert Mueller
to bring the Russia probe to an end, reports Rebecca
Ballhaus and Peter Nicholas of the Wall Street Journal.
Mueller’s tentacles continue to reach further and further.
CNN reported that investigators are attempting to
determine whether former Blackwater chief Erik Prince
misled the House Intelligence Committee about a meeting
he had in Seychelles in January of 2017.
Prince is accused of using the meeting as an opportunity to
establish a secret back channel with Russia.
Fox News’ Catherine Herridge spoke with one of President
Trump’s personal lawyers about the new subpoena request
by Special Counsel Mueller.

According to Herridge, Trump’s lawyer was unaware of

the subpoena and said it may be a ‘wrap up’ subpoena or
‘clean up’ subpoena which may signal the end of the
investigation.

474
‘Congress Should Get Answers’ GOP Lawmakers Rip DOJ
For Hiding Peter Strzok Had Personal Relationship With
Judge Involved In Flynn Case
By Cristina Laila
March 16, 2018, 4:22 Pm

DeSantis tweeted:

Congress should get answers on the recusal of

Judge Contreras and the relationship between
the judge and the FBI’s Peter Strzok. The
handling of the Flynn case has been
problematic to say the least.

Trump-hating FBI agent Peter Strzok had a

personal relationship with Rudolph
Contreras, the judge who previously
recused himself from General Flynn’s case
according to a new report by Sara Carter.

GOP lawmakers ripped the DOJ for hiding the fact that
Peter Strzok had a relationship with Judge Contreras from
Congress.

Freedom Caucus Chairman, Rep Mark Meadows (R-NC)

Pictured: FBI agent Peter Strzok (L) and Judge Rudolph
Contreras (R)
Sara Carter reports on the texts:
Social media was set ablaze after Sara Carter
published her report on Peter Strzok’s cozy
relationship with Judge Contreras.
Rep Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said Congress should get
answers.
reacted to the news.
Rep Meadows tweeted:
Important story. When a lead FBI investigator
(Peter Strzok) discusses his personal
relationship with a FISA judge, the DOJ should
not keep that kind of material from Congress,
and more importantly, from the American
people. We need to know. Period.

475
 Rep Meadows then followed up with a call for greater
transparency from the DOJ and FBI.

Here’s the bottom line: the DOJ/FBI must operate with

greater transparency and turn over more documents with
fewer redactions, allowing Congress to investigate and do
our jobs. That’s what the American people demand.

476
 REPORT: Failed AG Sessions
Will Not Fire Andrew Mccabe *Updated*
By Cristina Laila
March 16, 2018, 4:47 Pm, Updated At 10:15 PM EST
According to independent journalist Mike Cernovich,
McCabe is safe. AG Sessions will not fire the FBI Deputy
Director despite clear misconduct.
McCabe is set to receive a hefty pension.
Cernovich’s sources are telling him Sessions will not drop
the hammer on McCabe.
Cernovich tweeted: Jeff Session said he won’t fire
McCabe, two sources familiar with his decisionmaking
told me, thus sending a message to @realDonaldTrump
that those who lie to the FBI in an effort to help Hillary are
safe.
Jeff Session said he won’t fire McCabe, two
sources familiar with his decisionmaking told
me, thus sending a message to
@realDonaldTrump that those who lie to the
FBI in an effort to help Hillary are safe.
— Mike Cernovich �� (@Cernovich) March 16,
2018
Cernovich then tweeted: McCabe is safe, Sessions isn’t
going to fire him despite clear misconduct.
McCabe is safe, Sessions isn’t going to fire him
despite clear misconduct.
— Mike Cernovich �� (@Cernovich) March 16,
2018
477
Attorney General Jeff Sessions was
mulling firing FBI Deputy Director Andrew
McCabe after an internal review
recommended he be terminated.
McCabe is currently on ‘terminal leave’ and
is set to retire on Sunday with his full
pension.
According to Horowitz’s report, McCabe authorized illegal
leaks to the media and misled the Inspector General’s
investigators.
As previously reported, according to the New YorkTimes,
McCabe authorized a leak to the Wall Street Journal which
led to an October 2016 article that revealed an internal
dispute between the FBI and DOJ about how to handle
Hillary Clinton’s email investigation that had just been
reopened after classified emails were found on Weiner’s
laptop.
Americans should not fund McCabe’s pension after what
he did to weaponize the FBI, mislead the FISA court
among other criminal actions.
This is just like Lois Lerner all over again. Corrupt IRS
official Lois Lerner is receiving a fat pension despite
targeting conservative organizations.
Mike Cernovich previously broke the Susan Rice
unmasking story and Rep. John Conyers sexual harassment
scandal.
The Gateway Pundit will update as soon as the story is
confirmed with a statement from the Attorney General or
Attorney General’s office.
UPDATE: The Washington Post is reporting Sessions has
fired McCabe, however; he will most likely put up a legal
fight to receive his pension.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions late Friday night fired
former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, a little more
than 24 hours before McCabe was set to retire.
Sessions announced the decision in a statement just before
10 p.m., noting that both the Justice Department Inspector
General and the FBI office that handles discipline had
found
“that Mr. McCabe had made an unauthorized
disclosure to the news media and lacked
candor — including under oath — on multiple
occasions.”
He said based on those findings and the recommendation
of the department’s senior career official,
“I have terminated the employment of Andrew
McCabe effective immediately.”
478
The move will likely cost McCabe a significant portion of
his retirement benefits, though it is possible he could bring
a legal challenge. McCabe has been fighting vigorously to
keep his job, and on Thursday, he spent nearly four hours
inside the Justice Department pleading his case.
Cernovich responded:
Were my sources wrong or did this get passed
on to POTUS?
No one will ever know! https://t.co/5bQjpNz4uk
— Mike Cernovich �� (@Cernovich) March 17,
2018
 MSNBC Republicans Suffer Mind-Numbing Trump
Meltdowns Over Porn, Russia, Trade
By Curtis Houck
March 16, 2018 7:08 PM EDT
One could say that it was late on a Friday afternoon, but
then again, this is MSNBC’s Deadline: White House and
liberal Republicans offering fear-mongering
prognostications are nothing new. On the March 16
edition, host Nicolle Wallace led a band of MSNBC
Republicans as each offered assessments ranging from
bragging about smearing Sarah Palin to arguing the
President’s tariffs will cause a depression to ironically
complaining about having to discuss porn.
Wallace started with fellow failed McCain campaign aide
Steve Schmidt as she bragged about how
“we were concerned that Sarah Palin might
not have been up for the job of vice
president”
and later aired them out in the media. Somehow, she saw
parallels between the 2008 campaign and the President’s
firing of Rex Tillerson.
Schmidt agreed, recalling how he ruled any
potential Palin presidential bid would be
“catastrophic” as “[t]here were many, many
people” who thought “she was unfit
temperamentally, intellectually, from every
conceivable character perspective, from a
veracity perspective, were still suspending
disbelief and saying, oh, yes, this person,
because she’s on Fox, because she has a
rabid fan base, I'm going to say that, yes,
she’d be qualified to be president.”
Eventually, he brought Trump into the equation by
comparing Palin to Trump and surmised that the Trump
479
tariff on steel and aluminum would create not only a
“recession” but a “possible depression.”
Schmidt ironically complained that “we” (presumably the
media)
“seek to change the subject from his
relationship and payoffs and maybe
physical threats to a porn star”
while the President is, in his mind, preparing to kowtow to
North Korea.
“He's increasingly getting rid of people he
reviews as restraints and the American
President is a head of a constitutional
republic...but operates within a system of
norms and rules and laws and this is part of
his increasing autocratic actions where he
acts alone outside a system where he does
what he feels,” he ranted.
Before a commercial break, Schmidt rambled about how
“Vladimir Putin has opened his hand and he
has placed it squarely on the throat of both
this country and the United Kingdom”
and seemed dumbfounded that Stormy Daniels has
fetched more attention:
How is this not the lead of the news? We're talking about
payoffs to a porn star. The country is under attack. The
country is under threat. The President refuses to act. He
increasingly acts like somebody who has been
compromised by tile foreign power. He is increasingly
acting erratically as his investigation draws nearer, it
expands[.]
Fake conservative Washington Post columnist Jen Rubin
wasn’t going to be left out, lamenting that Congress hasn’t
investigated the alleged Trump-Stormy Daniels
relationship and thus illustrates
“who is enabling this President and why he
has gotten as far as he has.”

Even more absurd was Rubin’s conclusion that, along with
the Russia probe, the inability for Congress to investigate
Daniels threatens our republic:
And unfortunately, right now, we have a Congress that is
not doing its job and I cannot stress enough that the
Founding Fathers did not imagine a system that would
work this way. They imagined a system in which the
Congress would act as an oversight authority, would check
the executive and when that does not happen, we wind up
in very deep constitutional waters.
Back to Schmidt, he invoked the gun control
student activists as having show “courage,”
“leadership,” and “principle” while Trump has
created “chaos,” shown a “lack of any
decency around the White House,” and
offered “payoffs to porn stars.”
“And it's just this remarkable moment where
we have growing threats in the world, where
there is this sense that the momentum of his
recklessness is drawing us closer to real
consequence, economic consequence that
will crush the dreams and aspirations of
America's working families as he blunders
his way into a trade war,” Schmidt
complained.
Wallace concluded with accolades for Rubin and Schmidt:
“Steve Schmidt and Jennifer Rubin, we can't
get enough of either of you. Thank you for
spending so much time with us.”
To see the relevant transcript from MSNBC’s Deadline:
White House on March 16, click “expand.”
MSNBC’s Deadline: White House
March 16, 2018
4:26 p.m. Eastern
NICOLLE WALLACE: Steve, let me ask you something that's
close to home for you and me, and at least one other person at
this table, John Heilman is here. During the McCain/Palin
480
campaign, it was our job to keep secret the degree to which we
were concerned that Sarah Palin might not have been up for the
job of vice president, and we did. After the campaign, people like
John Heilman and his coauthor Mark Halperin wrote a book
called Game Change, HBO went on to make a movie. And at that
point, which would be the parallel to Rex Tillerson being gone, at
that point we shared some of the things we'd seen and some of
the concerns we had. Talk about, I mean, because what you
started out by saying is right, but it's pretty agonizing. Someone
that went in and served at the highest levels on behalf of a
politician aren't going thinking about coming out talking about
what a bleep show it all was.
STEVE SCHMIDT: No, they don't and I remember, in my case, in
2009 I was asked at a conference hosted by John King of CNN,
who asked what I thought of Sarah Palin as a potential nominee
for the presidency in 2012. I answered it in one word. I said it
would be catastrophic. There were many, many people, long
after the hour, that it was clear she was unfit temperamentally,
intellectually, from every conceivable character perspective, from
a veracity perspective, were still suspending disbelief and saying,
oh, yes, this person, because she's on Fox, because she has a
rabid fan base, I'm going to say that, yes, she'd be qualified to be
president. Eventually it all comes out, but what we're seeing
lately is this emboldened President. We can learn and study
about trade wars, for example, by reading about the impact or the
— of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff, or we can understand the impact
of a trade war experiencially today with the recession and
possible depression and the loss of jobs that will follow. We seek
to change the subject from his relationship and payoffs and
maybe physical threats to a porn star, that he upends America's
strategy and gives North Korea the strategic gift that it has
always sought, parity and equal status and a rival party on the
world stage with the United States of America to change the
subject. He's increasingly acting out. He's increasingly
emboldened. He's increasingly getting rid of people he reviews
as restraints and the American President is a head of a
constitutional republic, is the head of state, the head of
government, the commander in chief, but operates within a
system of norms and rules and laws and this is part of his
increasing autocratic actions where he acts alone outside a
system where he does what he feels. He does what he intuits. He
does what his instinct tells him to do, no matter his almost
uniform abject ignorance on every conceivable subject on which
he's acting.
(....)
SCHMIDT: Vladimir Putin has opened his hand and he has
placed it squarely on the throat of both this country and the
United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, we see a military-grade
nerve gas attack on English soil that the President of the United
States refuses to personally, directly condemn and in this
country, we've seen Russian interference and — and access to
critical infrastructure, including our electrical grid, including our
nuclear power plants. This is extraordinary, this attack on the
United States of America. How is this not the lead of the news?
We're talking about payoffs to a porn star. The country is under
attack. The country is under threat. The President refuses to act.
He increasingly acts like somebody who has been compromised
by tile foreign power. He is increasingly acting erratically as his
investigation draws nearer, it expands and it expands. The circle
of people who are closest to him.
WALLACE: Steve Schmidt is just getting started. He's not going
anywhere. Neither is anybody here at the panel.
(....)
JEN RUBIN: This is beginning to resemble the Goodfellas movie,
that these people are acting like thugs, threatening people,
paying hush money. I'll say a few things. First of all, the notion
that Congress should not be investigating a payment to shut up a
witness in advance of an election, which arguably violated
campaign finance rules tells you everything you need to know
about who is enabling this President and why he has gotten as
far as he has. So, put that in the back of your mind for November
when the control of one or both of the houses of Congress may
change.
This is extraordinary conduct and we are going to learn more
obviously when Stormy Daniels does a 60 Minutes interview,
which was promised later in the month. But at this point, it's very,
very disturbing to think that, first of all, there are people out there
who have information that is incriminating. Do the Russians also
have information that’s incriminating? If Stormy Daniels and six
women are running around with information, do we not think
that’s been picked up by others as well? So, I think it’s — not
only — put aside for a moment the morals of it. His wife was
pregnant at the time he had this affair. I think the real implications
and the fact we have a President who is so blackmail-able should
concern all of us. And unfortunately, right now, we have a
Congress that is not doing its job and I cannot stress enough that
the Founding Fathers did not imagine a system that would work
this way. They imagined a system in which the Congress would
act as an oversight authority, would check the executive and
when that does not happen, we wind up in very deep
constitutional waters.
(....)
EVAN MCMULLIN: I've been slow to sort of say that this is the
sort of thing we need to focus on amid everything else. But
there's a — there’s a reason why Trump and his team are
fighting this so hard. I don't know what it is. I mean, to me, you
481
sort of expect that the President is unfaithful to his wife even
when she's pregnant.
(....)
WALLACE: Steve Schmidt, I asked Michael Avenatti about this
idea of whether — now that he's in the line of work of defending
women who had alleged sexual relationships with the President,
if other women had come forward, he acknowledged it was
between five and 12 that had. He confirmed this morning on
Morning Joe and I believe last night on CNN that he's now
looking at six women. You've run campaigns. You've worked in
the White House. What does this look like? I mean, what does
Donald Trump's war room, to the degree it's staffed by men like
Michael Cohen who is sitting on a subpoena from — I'm not
saying sitting meaning he's not responsive, but in receipt of a
subpoena for his activities from Bob Mueller, what does that look
like in light of the Stormy Daniels scandal?
SCHMIDT: You know, I was thinking about Jennifer just referring
to them as the cast from Goodfellas. I agree with the sentiment,
but it's more like Dumbfellas. It's a group of scumbags like
Michael Cohen sitting around in cahoots with each other,
subjects of investigations and litigation themselves, in a cauldron
of chaos in the west wing of the White House. I think it's
remarkable as we look at the news this week, we've seen
leadership from teenagers in America. We see the adults looking
at teenagers for their courage and principle. We see teenagers
watching the news and maybe younger, watching stories about a
President of the United States, this chaos, the lack of any
decency around the White House, payoffs to porn stars,
everything that is up is down, what's down is up in this corrupted
world of the Trump presidency. And it's just this remarkable
moment where we have growing threats in the world, where there
is this sense that the momentum of his recklessness is drawing
us closer to real consequence, economic consequence that will
crush the dreams and aspirations of America's working families
as he blunders his way into a trade war, wholly ignorant how the
North American supply chain works or how global trade
functions. Perhaps blundering his way towards a military conflict
on the Korean Peninsula. It seems, though, that the closer these
investigations move to him and to the people around him, the
more reckless he's becoming.
WALLACE: Steve Schmidt and Jennifer Rubin, we can't get with us.
enough of either of you. Thank you for spending so much time
.

482
 President Trump’s Debt Increase Half
That Of Obama’s – US Debt Surpasses $21 Trillion
By Jim Hoft
March 16, 2018, 7:23 Pm
The US Debt surpassed $21 Trillion for the
first time in history this week. What the MSM
won’t tell you is that President Trump’s debt
increase is half of Obama’s at the same time
in their Presidencies.
President Trump took over in 2017 with
nearly $20 trillion of debt and the related
interest payments on the debt. He faced
headwinds from the Federal Reserve (FED)
which had increased interest rates by a full
one percent since the 2016 election. In spite
of this, President Donald Trump’s debt is
half that of Obama’s.
The US Debt since President Trump was inaugurated on
January 20th, 2016 through March 1, 2018, increased by
slightly more than $1 trillion. On inauguration day the debt
was at $19.9 trillion and on March 15, 2018 the debt stood
at $21.0 trillion.
Although $1 trillion is a lot of money added
to the debt, it is half of what President
Obama added during the same time frame in
his first year plus in office.
Where President Trump has increased the
US Debt to date by only 5.4% , Obama
increased the debt by 18.9% or 13.5% more
than President Trump.
President Obama inherited a US Debt amount of $10.6
trillion on his inauguration and increased it by more than
$2 trillion by March 15, 2010.
483
Obama increased the US Debt amount by
nearly $1 trillion more than President Trump
in the same respective time in office.
Right after Barack Obama was elected President, on
December 16, 2008, the Federal Reserve (The Fed)
lowered the Fed Funds rate by an entire percent, from 1%
down to 0% . The Fed had not lowered the Fed Funds rate
by such a large amount (1% ) since at least before 1990, if
ever. The Fed kept this 0% rate for most of Obama’s eight
years in office.
CNBC reported in December 2015 that
President Obama oversaw “seven years of
the most accommodative monetary policy in
U.S. history” (from the Fed).
The Fed Funds rate was at zero for most of Obama’s time
in office. Finally, in December 2015 the Fed announced its
first increase in the Fed Funds rate during the Obama
Presidency.
The only Fed Funds Rate increases since 2015 were after
President Trump was elected President. The Fed increased
the Fed Funds Rate on December 14, 2016, March 15th,
2017, June 14, 2017 and again on December 13, 2017.
Four times the Fed has increased rates on
President Trump after doing so only once on
President Obama late in his 2nd term.
Increases in the Fed Funds Rate increase the cost of
borrowing. With $20 trillion in debt, a 1% increase in
interest payments equals $200 billion in annual interest
payment increases.
President Obama benefited from the lowest possible
interest rates possible for most of his eight years and in
spite of this, nearly doubled the US Debt from $10 trillion
to nearly $20 trillion.
The MSM won’t tell you but President Trump
has increased the US debt by half of that of
Obama in their first few months in office. As
a result America is moving in the right
direction for the first time in at least a
decade.
 DEVELOPING: Facebook Suspending
Trump-Affiliated Research Firm Cambridge Analytica
By Cristina Laila
March 16, 2018, 8:36 Pm

Is this a way to stick it to Trump’s campaign manager Brad

Parscale who previously ran Donald Trump’s digital
media?

Facebook has launched at all out assault on conservatives

with their algorithm changes.

Conservative voices are being snuffed out on Facebook

while liberal sites such as CNN are being boosted.

The Gateway Pundit has written extensively about this

assault on conservative voices.

The latest algorithm changes by Facebook suppressed

Social media giant Facebook is suspending
conservative publishers and boosted liberal propaganda.
the Trump-affiliated political research firm
Cambridge Analytica.

Washington Post Silicon Valley correspondent, Elizabeth

Dwoskin tweeted out the news.

Cambridge Analytica is a the Mercer-affiliated firm that

helped Donald Trump win in 2016. The company is a
privately held company that combines data mining and
data analysis with strategic communication for the
electoral process.

484
DEVELOPING: Facebook is suspending Trump-
affiliated political research firm Cambridge Analytica.
Story to come.
Facebook released a statement on their decision to suspend
Cambridge Analytica:
By Paul Grewal, VP & Deputy General Counsel
485
We are suspending Strategic Communication Laboratories
(SCL), including their political data analytics firm,
Cambridge Analytica, from Facebook. Given the public
prominence of this organization, we want to take a
moment to explain how we came to this decision and why.
We Maintain Strict Standards and Policies
Protecting people’s information is at the heart of
everything we do, and we require the same from people
who operate apps on Facebook. In 2015, we learned that a
psychology professor at the University of Cambridge
named Dr. Aleksandr Kogan lied to us and violated
our Platform Policies by passing data from an app that was
using Facebook Login to SCL/Cambridge Analytica, a
firm that does political, government and military work
around the globe. He also passed that data to Christopher
Wylie of Eunoia Technologies, Inc.
Like all app developers, Kogan requested and gained
access to information from people after they chose to
download his app. His app, “thisisyourdigitallife,” offered
a personality prediction, and billed itself on Facebook as
“a research app used by psychologists.” Approximately
270,000 people downloaded the app. In so doing, they
gave their consent for Kogan to access information such as
the city they set on their profile, or content they had liked,
as well as more limited information about friends who had
their privacy settings set to allow it.
Although Kogan gained access to this information in a
legitimate way and through the proper channels that
governed all developers on Facebook at that time, he did
not subsequently abide by our rules. By passing
information on to a third party, including SCL/Cambridge
Analytica and Christopher Wylie of Eunoia Technologies,
he violated our platform policies. When we learned of this
violation in 2015, we removed his app from Facebook and
demanded certifications from Kogan and all parties he had
given data to that the information had been destroyed.
Cambridge Analytica, Kogan and Wylie all certified to us
that they destroyed the data.
Breaking the Rules Leads to Suspension
Several days ago, we received reports that, contrary to the
certifications we were given, not all data was deleted. We
are moving aggressively to determine the accuracy of these
claims. If true, this is another unacceptable violation of
trust and the commitments they made. We are suspending
SCL/Cambridge Analytica, Wylie and Kogan from
Facebook, pending further information.
We are committed to vigorously enforcing our policies to
protect people’s information. We will take whatever steps
are required to see that this happens. We will take legal
action if necessary to hold them responsible and
accountable for any unlawful behavior.
How Things Have Changed
We are constantly working to improve the safety and
experience of everyone on Facebook. In the past five
years, we have made significant improvements in our
ability to detect and prevent violations by app developers.
Now all apps requesting detailed user information go
through our App Review process, which requires
developers to justify the data they’re looking to collect and
how they’re going to use it – before they’re allowed to
even ask people for it.
In 2014, after hearing feedback from the Facebook
community, we made an update to ensure that each person
decides what information they want to share about
themselves, including their friend list. This is just one of
486
the many ways we give people the tools to control their
experience. Before you decide to use an app, you can
review the permissions the developer is requesting and
choose which information to share. You can manage or
revoke those permissions at any time.
On an ongoing basis, we also do a variety of manual and
automated checks to ensure compliance with our policies
and a positive experience for users. These include steps
such as random audits of existing apps along with the
regular and proactive monitoring of the fastest growing
apps.
We enforce our policies in a variety of ways — from
working with developers to fix the problem, to suspending
developers from our platform, to pursuing litigation.
 BREAKING: Former FBI Deputy
Director Andrew McCabe Is Fired
By Jim Hoft
March 16, 2018, 9:03 Pm

The Washington Post reported on Friday
that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew
McCabe was fired — two days before he was
set to retire.
The firing may affect this retirement package.
McCabe is the first Deep State criminal to
face justice.
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe
was fired on Friday night, Attorney General Jeff
Sessions announced.
“Pursuant to Department Order 1202, and
based on the report of the Inspector General,
the findings of the FBI Office of Professional
Responsibility, and the recommendation of the
Department’s senior career official, I have
terminated the employment of Andrew McCabe
effective immediately,” Sessions said in a
statement.

Mike Flynn Jr. tweeted this out after the

news.

McCabe reportedly heard from a press

release that he had been fired.

FOX News reported:

487
 Mike Flynn Jr. Celebrates McCabe’s Firing – Unleashes
Ferocious Tweetstorm
By Cristina Laila
March 16, 2018, 9:35 Pm

“Pursuant to Department Order 1202, and

based on the report of the Inspector General,
the findings of the FBI Office of Professional
Responsibility, and the recommendation of the
Department’s senior career official, I have
terminated the employment of Andrew McCabe
effective immediately,” Sessions said in a
statement.
General Flynn’s son Mike Flynn Jr. started his tweetstorm
by celebrating McCabe’s firing and said,
“he’s had it out for my father since his days at
The Washington Post reported on Friday the DIA.”
that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew
McCabe was fired — two days before he was
set to retire.

The firing may affect this retirement package.

McCabe is the first Deep State criminal to

face justice; he was a part of the ‘insurance
policy’ conversation with Strzok and Page.

General Flynn’s son Mike Flynn Jr. celebrated McCabe’s

firing and unleashed a ferocious tweetstorm.

Flynn Jr then thanked AG Sessions and called McCabe a

‘corrupt POS’:

FOX News reported:

Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe

was fired on Friday night, Attorney General Jeff
Sessions announced.

488
TICK TOCK COMEY! The take down of General Flynn was a Deep
State set up.

General Flynn’s phone call with Russian Ambassador

Kislyak during the Trump transition was illegally leaked to
the liberal media.

Dirty cop Andrew McCabe and disgraced FBI agent Peter

Strzok worked in coordination to take out General Flynn.

Trump-hating FBI agent Peter Strzok then ambushed

General Flynn and interviewed him on January 24th 2017
without his lawyer present.

On December 1st 2017 it was reported General Michael

Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI deep state
operatives in the ongoing Trump witch hunt.

At the end of January, Special Counsel Robert

Mueller requested the postponement of former National
Security Advisor Gen. Michael Flynn’s sentencing.

General Flynn should be pardoned and reimbursed for all

of his legal fees.

You can donate to Lieutenant General (Retired) Michael T.

Flynn’s legal defense fund by clicking here.

489
 Andrew McCabe Releases Angry Statement
Following Firing, Blasts President Trump
By Kristinn Taylor
March 16, 2018, 9:40 Pm

Fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe released a

statement Friday night following the news of his firing
right before he became eligible for retirement benefits.
McCabe blasted President Donald Trump for tweeting
about him and calling for him to him to be stripped of his
pension. McCabe also claimed he was being singled out
for what he witnessed in the aftermath of Trump’s firing of
FBI Director James Comey.

Images of McCabe’s statement:

490
Text version of McCabe’s statement (H/t HuffPost):
I have been an FBI Special Agent for over 21 years. I
spent half of that time investigating Russian Organized
Crime as a street agent and Supervisor in New York
City. I have spent the second half of my career focusing
on national security issues and protecting this country
from terrorism. I served in some of the most challenging,
demanding investigative and leadership roles in the FBI.
And I was privileged to serve as Deputy Director during a
particularly tough time.
For the last year and a half, my family and I have been
the targets of an unrelenting assault on our reputation
and my service to this country. Articles too numerous to
count have leveled every sort of false, defamatory and
degrading allegation against us. The President’s tweets
have amplified and exacerbated it all. He called for my
firing. He called for me to be stripped of my pension after
more than 20 years of service. And all along we have
said nothing, never wanting to distract from the mission
of the FBI by addressing the lies told and repeated about
us.
No more.
491
The investigation by the Justice Department’s Office of
Inspector General (OIG) has to be understood in the
context of the attacks on my credibility. The investigation
flows from my attempt to explain the FBI’s involvement
and my supervision of investigations involving Hillary
Clinton. I was being portrayed in the media over and
over as a political partisan, accused of closing down
investigations under political pressure. The FBI was
portrayed as caving under that pressure, and making
decisions for political rather than law enforcement
purposes. Nothing was further from the truth. In fact, this
entire investigation stems from my efforts, fully
authorized under FBI rules, to set the record straight on
behalf of the Bureau, and to make clear that we were
continuing an investigation that people in DOJ opposed.
The OIG investigation has focused on information I
chose to share with a reporter through my public affairs
officer and a legal counselor. As Deputy Director, I was
one of only a few people who had the authority to do
that. It was not a secret, it took place over several days,
and others, including the Director, were aware of the
interaction with the reporter. It was the type of exchange
with the media that the Deputy Director oversees several
times per week. In fact, it was the same type of work that
I continued to do under Director Wray, at his request.
The investigation subsequently focused on who I talked
to, when I talked to them, and so forth. During these
inquiries, I answered questions truthfully and as
accurately as I could amidst the chaos that surrounded
me. And when I thought my answers were
misunderstood, I contacted investigators to correct them.
But looking at that in isolation completely misses the big
picture. The big picture is a tale of what can happen
when law enforcement is politicized, public servants are
attacked, and people who are supposed to cherish and
protect our institutions become instruments for damaging
those institutions and people.
Here is the reality: I am being singled out and treated
this way because of the role I played, the actions I took,
and the events I witnessed in the aftermath of the firing
of James Comey. The release of this report was
accelerated only after my testimony to the House
Intelligence Committee revealed that I would corroborate
former Director Comey’s accounts of his discussions
with the President. The OIG’s focus on me and this
report became a part of an unprecedented effort by the
Administration, driven by the President himself, to
remove me from my position, destroy my reputation, and
possibly strip me of a pension that I worked 21 years to
earn. The accelerated release of the report, and the
punitive actions taken in response, make sense only
when viewed through this lens. Thursday’s comments
from the White House are just the latest example of this.
492
This attack on my credibility is one part of a larger effort
not just to slander me personally, but to taint the FBI, law
enforcement, and intelligence professionals more
generally. It is part of this Administration’s ongoing war
on the FBI and the efforts of the Special Counsel
investigation, which continue to this day. Their
persistence in this campaign only highlights the
importance of the Special Counsel’s work.
I have always prided myself on serving my country with
distinction and integrity, and I always encouraged those
around me to do the same. Just ask them. To have my
career end in this way, and to be accused of lacking
candor when at worst I was distracted in the midst of
chaotic events, is incredibly disappointing and unfair. But
it will not erase the important work I was privileged to be
a part of, the results of which will in the end be revealed
for the country to see.
I have unfailing faith in the men and women of the FBI
and I am confident that their efforts to seek justice will
not be deterred.”
This post will be updated.
UPDATE: Report: McCabe Threatened to Take People
Down With Him if Fired.
 Unhinged MSNBC Analysts Claim Andrew McCabe Was
Fired To Cover Up Stormy Daniels Affair
By Jim Hoft
March 16, 2018, 10:10 Pm

Oh my word how do people watch this lunacy on MSNBC

night after night.

How insane.

On Friday night deep state operative Andrew

McCabe was fired before his scheduled
retirement. MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell tried to
connect McCabe’s firing to cover up the
The news of McCabe’s firing sent MSNBC Stormy Daniels affair.
hacks into a frenzy.

The far left hosts tried to connect the news

to the Stormy Daniels allegations.

Via Jack Posobiec:

493
 PBS's David Brooks Rips Larry Kudlow,
John Bolton As The Republican D-List Of Aides
By Tim Graham
March 16, 2018 10:46 PM EDT

the worst decision-makers, because he’s

always driven by ideology. John Bolton is
talked about coming in to the national security
adviser. That’s a job where you want somebody
neutral to let the process work its way.

John Bolton, who is a Fox News analyst, is

anything but neutral on anything. And so
what you just see is worse personnel, more
chaos.

Since everything Brooks said would please the average

When it came time to discuss the week in review on
Friday's PBS NewsHour, they picked a familiar first topic:
Disorder and chaos at the Trump White House. The exits
of Rex Tillerson and Gary Cohn (and the rumored ouster
of H.R. McMaster) caused all the usual tumult.
David Brooks, who is somehow described as the
Republican or conservative half of the pundit panel,
dismissed the ascent of men liked by the conservative
movement as the worst kind of public servants, the C or D
level of Republican aides, because they're too ideological.
Trump expects loyal servants who praise him, Brooks said,
"a process of constantly having to suck up to
the president...you have always got to please
the prince. And you have always got to play in a
princely manner."
As in how David Brooks wrote of how he admired Barack
Obama's "perfectly creased" pants? Then he unloaded on
Kudlow and Bolton:
liberal fan of PBS, liberal analyst Mark Shields
proclaimed, as usual,
“I agree with David.” Then he want on a tear
about how Bobby Kennedy, and he worked for
Bobby and looked better because he worked
next to "one of the great men of the 20th
century."
Talk about pleasing the prince in a princely manner.
Later, the PBS panel fancied the idea of a GOP primary
challenge to Trump in 2020, perhaps by retiring Sen. Jeff
Flake --the man who couldn't win his own state election
this time around. That didn't look like it would succeed at
this point, but Shields was still positive, with this odd bit
of praise:
"To Jeff Flake’s credit, he’s an insurrectionist."

DAVID BROOKS: And what worries me is, they

never had really access to the Republican A-
level staff, but they had the B-level. And now
we’re going down to C and D. Larry Kudlow, a
new economic appointee, very nice guy, I agree
with him on a lot of things. But Philip Tetlock,
who is a scholar who studies decision-making,
several years ago identified Kudlow as one of
.

494
 Sean Hannity Reacts To McCabe’s
Firing “More Coming…TICK TOCK”
By Cristina Laila
March 16, 2018, 10:49 Pm

Sean Hannity reacted to McCabe’s firing, saying there is

more coming…TICK TOCK.

Hannity tweeted: McCabe Fired, just a start. Hannity

REAL NEWS. We have been talking about McCabe for
MONTHS! More coming….Tick Tock….

The Washington Post reported on Friday

that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew
McCabe was fired — two days before he was
set to retire.

The firing may affect this retirement package. President Trump promised to drain the swamp; we expect
to see more heads roll soon.
McCabe is the first Deep State criminal to
face justice; he was a part of the ‘insurance Who’s next?
policy’ conversation with Strzok and Page.
Stay tuned; the much-anticipated IG report will be released
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe was fired very soon.
on Friday night, Attorney General Jeff Sessions
announced.

“Pursuant to Department Order 1202, and based on the

report of the Inspector General, the findings of the FBI
Office of Professional Responsibility, and the
recommendation of the Department’s senior career official,
I have terminated the employment of Andrew McCabe
effective immediately,” Sessions said in a statement.

Conservatives celebrated on social media. Finally, cold

hard justice was served to a dirty cop who tried to prevent
Donald Trump from becoming president.
.

495
 POTUS Trump Goes Scorched Earth On McCabe And
Comey In Midnight Tweet After Sessions Fires Mccabe
By Cristina Laila
March 16, 2018, 11:21 Pm

The Washington Post reported on Friday President Trump previously called out McCabe for trying
that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew to race the clock to get his pension after he took ‘terminal
McCabe was fired — two days before he was leave’.
set to retire.

The firing may affect this retirement package.

McCabe is the first Deep State criminal to

face justice; he was a part of the ‘insurance
policy’ conversation with Strzok and Page.

President Trump went scorched earth on dirty cop McCabe

and Comey in a midnight tweet.
Trump tweeted:
Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the
hard working men and women of the FBI – A
great day for Democracy. Sanctimonious James
Comey was his boss and made McCabe look
like a choirboy. He knew all about the lies and
corruption going on at the highest levels of the
FBI!
TGP’s Kristinn Taylor reported, fired FBI Deputy Director
Andrew McCabe released a statement Friday night
following the news of his firing right before he became
eligible for retirement benefits.
McCabe blasted President Donald Trump for tweeting
about him and calling for him to him to be stripped of his
pension.
McCabe also claimed he was being singled out for what he
witnessed in the aftermath of Trump’s firing of FBI
Director James Comey.

Sean Hannity warned his millions of Twitter followers

Friday night there is more to come…TICK TOCK.

496