Jerome Powell may seem to be assuming the Fed chairmanship at a time of increasing prosperity and renewed respect for the Fed. However, the prosperity is an illusion built on a series of Fed-created bubbles.
Will an audit of the FED, ordered by President Trump end the corrupt Federal Reserve forever?
Joe Rogan and Jordan Peterson sit down and discuss the cultural phenomenon that is occurring and how the radical far left have infected our Universities almost entirely. They are indoctrinating our youth and attempting to subvert humanity. They must be stopped and they will be stopped. People are standing up to their radical beliefs and saying enough is enough. The time for change is now. - Video Source
It’s an observation so strikingly true that you wonder why you didn’t think of it earlier. “Donald Trump,” a friend said the other day, “is teaching the Republican Party how to fight and how to win.”
The Trump way starts with the passage of the historic tax cuts despite tiny Republican majorities in congress and scare tactics from the left. Before passage, polls showed the public was strongly opposed — but Trump pulled, pushed and bullied his party over the finish line.
The roaring results, with millions of workers already getting bonuses, pension boosts and pay hikes, vindicate his determination.
Another piece of evidence is that the government shutdown over the “dreamers” was a huge defeat for Democrats, and Trump piled on the pain with a blistering ad about crimes by illegal immigrants that helped force divided Dems back to work.
The decision by the House intelligence panel to write and release its memo on possible FBI misdeeds is yet more evidence of a new fighting spirit. Even Speaker Paul Ryan, averse to conflict by temperament and training, forcefully supported the memo’s release, saying it was time to “cleanse” the FBI.
This is not George Bush’s or John Boehner’s Republican Party. This is Trump’s GOP, as he demonstrated in spades in his first formal State of the Union address.
After all, that’s what Republicans usually do — soften their tone and, badgered by a liberal Washington press corps, give in to big government ideas.
While Trump did indeed deliver on those promises, it was just barely. Those offers were exceptions in an otherwise damn-the Democrats, full-speed ahead performance.
If this was Trump reaching out his hand, he was doing it from a position of strength and supreme confidence. If there is to be compromise, Dems will have pay dearly for it.
That the president intends to drive a hard bargain was made clear during his remarks on immigration when he said pointedly, “Americans are dreamers, too.”
The tough tone, leavened only by the moving stories of first responders, military heroes and other noteworthy guests seated near the First Lady, suggests that Trump is sticking with what got him to the dance in the first place.
He will continue to be who he is.
The idea that he should be someone else has been a constant refrain from the day he entered the race in 2015. Occasionally he has, but only temporarily, and if last night means anything, it’s that he sees no reason to make radical changes now.
The tax reform and the early signs that it will pay big dividends in economic growth and higher wages give the president a strong wind at his back. He rightly touted the exuberance as “our New American Moment” and declared that “there has never been a better time to start living the American dream.”
On one hand, that approach is a high-risk gamble. Trump is putting all his chips, and his party’s, on the belief that his accomplishments will win over enough voters so the GOP can keep both houses of congress.
Indeed, some polls are already reflecting movement in his direction. A Fox News poll this week shows his approval rating climbing to 45 percent, and his disapproval at 53, although other polls still show him with approval under 40 percent.
The risk is that if he’s wrong, and the midterms are a referendum on him instead of his policies, then the House could flip to Democrats, many of whom want to draw up impeachment articles on Day One. And with special counsel Robert Mueller still on the prowl, the risk is multiplied.
Yet, in truth, America also saw evidence last night that Trump’s bet may be his best chance. The Dems who came to hear the president looked like the unhappiest people on Earth.
They rarely stood and applauded, except when it would have been embarrassing not to. Even when the president touted the lowest African-American unemployment in history, the party that produced the first black president and has on the lock on the black vote gave a collective scowl.
Dems, then, are giving Trump no reason to believe they’re ready to bargain. All of them in both houses voted against tax cuts, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi even demeaned bonuses and pay hikes as “crumbs.”
The party is still stuck in resistance mode, with congressional members following the radical left like so many lemmings.
Against that backdrop, Trump has nobody on the other side to negotiate with. For now at least, full speed ahead is both his best and only option.
Supporters of President Trump are becoming increasingly vocal about his upcoming, possible interview with Mueller. Should he meet with him, or should he avoid it like the plague? With what we have seen recently in the ongoing Russiagate witch hunt, perhaps the far left are simply attempting to set a trap?
It is being reported that the Democratic party is entering into a full blown panic mode, upon hearing the news that the FISA memo will indeed be released to the America public, exposing the Obama administrations blatant abuse of power, during the 2016 election cycle. The level of corruption is apparently so deep and vast, that it is being reported that it will make Watergate look like a drop in the bucket. Heads are already starting to roll and more are yet to come. As can be seen from the above video, Nancy Pelosi is visibly shaken and worried. The greatest routing in political history is about to unfold.
FBI Director Christopher Wray was allegedly "shocked to his core" after viewing the four-page FISA memo Sunday night - hours before asking Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe to step down, according to journalist Sara Carter.
Hannity sat down once again with journalist Sara Carter, whose sources say McCabe may have instructed FBI agents to alter their "302" forms - the paperwork an agent files after interviewing someone: Carter: What we know tonight is that FBI Director Christopher Wray went Sunday and reviewed the four-page FISA memo. The very next day, Andrew McCabe was asked to resign. Remember Sean, he was planning on resigning in March - that already came out in December. This time they asked him to go right away. You're not coming into the office. I've heard rep[orts he didn't even come in for the morning meeting - that he didn't show up.
Hannity: A source of mine told me tonight that when Wray read this, it shocked him to his core.
Sara Carter: Shocked him to his core, and not only that, the Inspector General's report - I have been told tonight by a number of sources, there's indicators right now that McCabe may have asked FBI agents to actually change their 302's - those are their interviews with witnesses. So basically every time an FBI agent interviews a witness, they have to go back and file a report.
Hannity: Changes? So that would be obstruction of justice?
Carter: Exactly. This is something the Inspector General is investigating. If this is true and not alleged, McCabe will be fired. I heard they are considering firing him within the next few days if this turns out to be true.
Carter said that McCabe "quitting" is just the beginning, and that more resignations will be coming.
As we reported yesterday, McCabe was "removed" from his post as deputy director, "leaving the bureau after months of conflict-of-interest complaints from Republicans including President Trump." Several media outlets reported that McCabe is using his remaining vacation days to go on "terminal leave" and that his official retirement from the agency won't happen until March, allowing him to collect the full pension.
And as we noted last week, FBI Director Wray threatened to resign after being pressured by AG Jeff Sessions.
Around the time of the reports of his impending retirement, McCabe had spent several marathon sessions answering questions from Congressional committees behind closed doors.
It was expected that McCabe would hang on until early March, when he would become eligible for his full pension. It's unclear why he's choosing to step down early.
McCabe's accelerated resignation may a sign that Trump appointee Christopher Wray - who succeeded James Comey as FBI Director - is finally cleaning house.
According to Axios, McCabe may be leaving in anticipation of the release of an inspector general's report on how the FBI handled the Clinton email investigation.
President Trump and his party just made a move, not only a move, but a monumental, history changing power move. For the past couple of weeks, if you have been paying attention to the news, you will know that the #ReleaseTheMemo campaign has been under full swing and gaining momentum.
Unsurprisingly, this "rallying cry" as it is being dubbed, has been led by vocal members of the right wing community, who have been pushing for the House Intelligence Committee to release the controversial memo to the public.
The Democrats during this time period have been pushing back heavily against this movement, claiming that it could threaten sources and National security. While members within the Republican Congress, who have witnessed the full contents of the memo have been very vocal about the level of corruption it contains.
Regardless of who is right and who is wrong, we are about to find out the truth. The House Intelligence committee has taken a vote and decided in favor of releasing the memo, much to the relief of those who have been pushing for the truth on this matter.
Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the committee, broke this news first to reporters and had the following to say; “It is a very sad day, I think, in the history of this committee.”
In addition to this, he went at length, explaining why he believes that this memo, which apparently exposes high levels of surveillance abuse and corruption by members within the FBI and other government institutions is a bad idea.
For those who simply want the truth released and for the corruption to be exposed, they were overjoyed and exhilarated by the news, as could be seen on Twitter and various other social media networks shortly after the news was learned. Meanwhile, conspiracy theories of what exactly this memo contains are still running amuck and out of control, as people speculate as to what it contains.
What we do know, is that we are looking at a roller coaster of week in the news cycle, both financially and politically, as it is being reported that what this memo contains is going to radically shake the foundation of the FBI department and result in numerous firings and possibly even criminal charges.
Already, the first victim has been claimed, with FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe being "removed" from his position, after FBI Director Wray was made aware of the memo's contents, foreshadowing what is to come.
This is going to send the markets gyrating, as it seeks to adjust to this news and figure out what the full ramifications of this news is going to have on the United States government as a whole.
Ultimately, I believe in the short term, we are going to see intense finger pointing, numerous heads rolling and a public outcry from members of the MSM as they attempt to spin this story to fit their agendas.
In the end, when the dust settles, I believe the markets are going to respond favorably, for at the end of the day, this is going to result as a huge win for President Trump and his party, cementing their position and vindicating them on many levels. Adding increased security and stability in the current administration and thus the markets as a whole.
Still, this is far from over and is just getting started. Strap yourselves in, put on your helmet and get ready for a bumpy ride, this is going to be a rough one.
The left has become such a menace that it would no longer be honest to not see the perception past the reality of the false left right dichotomy. As such, I have to admit the left is objectively (within a subjective framework, funnily) worse than even the most fanatic right wing movements extant in the Western world.
I am very comfortable with being ahead of the curve. I am actually quite used to going out on a limb and calling market movements before they occur, before it is deemed acceptable, or considered the "norm". This is what contrarian investors do, and I am proud to wear this title. Anyone else who falls into this minority of investors will know exactly what I am talking about, we are comfortable with not having everyone agree with our every assessment and quite uncomfortable when everyone in the room does. This is exactly how I was recently able to call the historic crashes we just witnessed within the cryptocurrency markets, weeks before they occurred, and it is exactly why I was able to call its historic rise over six years ago. In addition to this, my contrarian intuition has served me well throughout the years, allowing me to call silvers massive move higher in its last parabolic bull run, as well as its inevitable top, missing the mark by only $2.00. Recently, I have taken another contrarian position, one in which I believe is going to fully play out over the next two years, the resurgence of the precious metals markets and commodities as a whole. This industry has been beaten, battered and bruised, investors in the space have almost entirely capitulated and have grown even more cynical then they already were, which is saying a lot, considering your average precious metals bug (myself included). We have been treading water for years, just barely keeping our heads above as the cartels beat us back time and time again, suppressing both the price of gold and silver each and every time they look like they are going to surge higher. No more. This year is going to mark a turnaround and a resumption of the bull market in precious metals, funds flowing out of the cryptocurrency markets are already being reported to be flowing into the precious metals space, and other key assets, a predication that I also made in the latter part of last year, before the crash occurred and one that is now playing out. We are not going to see 100% gains this year, so don't get too excited yet. However, 10-15% gains within the physical markets are well within reason, followed by a much stronger performance throughout 2019 as this bull market gains steam. This is going to lead to massive gains in the mining sector, which have also suffered horribly throughout this down trend. I believe that this is where the most profits will be made, in the short to medium term, with many companies making strong gains through 2018 and 2019. Still, these are just the humble predication of a lonely contrarian investor, and fortunately, I'm quite happy if no one agrees. In the meantime, I'll keep stacking, enjoying these artificially suppressed prices.
President Trump once again demonstrates his ability to out negotiate his opponents. Just days ago Schumer stated that the wall was off the table and no funding would be allotted. Fortunately, President Trump holds the majority of the bargaining chips in these talks and out maneuvered his opponents once again. Simply put, if the Democrats don't cave on funding for the wall, then DACA is off the table, entirely. A win, win for Trump and his supporters.
Newly released text messages between controversial anti-Trump FBI agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page reveal several leaks of confidential information to Wall St. Journal reporter, Devlin Barrett, who is now with the Washington Post.
Following the release of the timestamped texts by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, Conservative Treehouse compared the timing of the messages between the agents and tied them to several instances of Barrett breaking news or confirming rumors based on "sources" within the government.
Via the Conservative Treehouse:
On October 28th, 2016 (as above), at the exact time the re-opening of the Clinton investigation hit the media news-cycle, Page and Strzok were texting. From the released messaging we see at 5:19pm Lisa Page is on the phone with “Devlin”:
Page: 5:19pm “Still on the phone with Devlin. Mike’s phone is ON FIRE.”
Strzok: 5:29pm “You might wanna tell Devlin he should turn on CNN, there’s news on.”
Page: 5:30pm “He knows. He just got handed a note.”
Strzok: 5:33pm “Ha. He asking about it now?”
Page: 5:34pm “Yeah. It was pretty funny. Coming now.”
At 5:36pm Devlin Barrett tweets:
Sources, as in Lisa Page - who Barrett was just (or still) on the phone with.
President Donald Trump told CNBC on Thursday the dollar will strengthen over time under his leadership and that recent remarks made by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin about the greenback were misinterpreted.
"The dollar is going to get stronger and stronger, and ultimately I want to see a strong dollar," Trump said in an exclusive interview from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "Our country is becoming so economically strong again and strong in other ways, too."
Trump's latest remarks about the dollar diverge from his past comments. Last April, Trump said he was worried the dollar was "getting too strong."
At the WEF on Wednesday, Mnuchin said he welcomed a weaker U.S. dollar, adding that it would benefit the country's trade. On Thursday, Mnuchin said the comment was not a "shift in my position on the dollar at all. It is perhaps slightly different than previous Treasury secretaries who in recent times have just commented on the strong dollar."
Trump said Mnuchin's comments "were taken out of context," adding he "read his exact statement."
Mnuchin's earlier remarks kicked off a 2 percent decline in the dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency's performance against six other currencies.
Newly released text messages between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page reveal that the agency's top brass was considering appointing former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald as a special counsel in the Hillary Clinton email investigation.
The idea is pitched in a March, 2016 exchange between Strzok and Page - relatively early on in their investigation into Hillary Clinton's mishandling of classified information. Of note, Attorney General Loretta Lynch or one of her deputies would have had to make the ultimate decision to appoint a special prosecutor to look into the "matter."
"Thought of the perfect person [FBI Director James Comey] can bounce this off of?" Strzok wrote to Page in a March 18, 2016 text. "Pat....You got to give me credit if we go with him....And delay briefing him on until I can get back and do it, Late next week or later."
"We talked about him last night, not for this, but how great he is," Page responded.
"I could work with him again....And damn we'd get sh*t DONE," Strzok wrote.
Strzok noted that Fitzgerald was brought in by Comey as a special counsel in the investigation into who leaked the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame.
Appointed in 2001 by President George W. Bush, Fitzgerald was the longest-serving U.S. Attorney in Chicago history - and has led several high profile federal investigations and prosecutions.
In a follow-up text exchange on May 13, 2016, Page asks Strzok "Hey forgot to ask if you mentioned the whole special counsel thing to andy?" (referring to current Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe).
No special prosecutor was selected for the Clinton email investigation despite calls by Republicans to do so as early as February, 2016.
Instead, former FBI Director James Comey had originally determined Clinton's conduct fit the legally consequential charge of "gross negligence" which Peter Strzok later downgraded to "extremely careless" - which is not a legal term of art. The agency ultimately recommended that the Department of Justice not press charges.
In a Thursday letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley asked if whether the FBI had approached the DOJ to appoint a special counsel. "If not, why not?" wrote Grassley, who also demanded all written communications on the subject.
Politics as usual...
The newly released batch of text messages also reveal that the pair of anti-Trump FBI agents were concerned over reprisal from Hillary Clinton, should they aggressively pursue her.
"One more thing: she might be our next president," Page wrote, adding "The last thing you need us going in there loaded for bear. You think she's going to remember or care that it was more doj than fbi?"
"Agreed," Strzok replied.
Th texts also reveal that Page was engaged in a lengthy phone conversation with then-Wall St. Journal (now WaPo) reporter Devlin Barrett - several days after the journalist published a story on FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe's wife receiving over half a million dollars in campaign donations from a committee tied to then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA). Barrett also reportedon an "internal feud" at the FBI over investigating the Clinton Foundation, leading some to suggest that he was a conduit for the FBI to leak information to the public...
The Department of Justice has recovered missing text messages between anti-Trump FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, the DOJ’s inspector general said Thursday.
In a letter sent to congressional committees, Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz said his office “succeeded in using forensic tools to recover text messages from FBI devices, including text messages between Mr. Strzok and Ms. Page that were sent or received between December 14, 2016 and May 17, 2017.”
“Our effort to recover any additional text messages is ongoing,” Horowitz said. “We will provide copies of the text messages that we recover from these devices to the Department so that the Department’s leadership can take any management action it deems appropriate.”
Fox News’ Sean Hannity had reported Wednesday that the Department of Justice had started to recover some of the texts.
The missing messages have been at the center of a storm of controversy on Capitol Hill, after the DOJ notified congressional committees that there is a gap in records between Dec. 14, 2016, and May 17, 2017. Strzok and Page are under scrutiny after it was revealed that the former members of Robert Mueller's team exchanged a series of anti-Trump texts during the presidential campaign.
The gap in records covered a crucial period, raising suspicion among GOP lawmakers about how those messages disappeared.
More than 50,000 texts were exchanged between Strzok and Page, Attorney General Jeff Sessions revealed Monday. Sessions had pledged to figure out how some of their texts went missing.
“We will leave no stone unturned to confirm with certainty why these text messages are not now available to be produced and will use every technology available to determine whether the missing messages are recoverable from another source,” Sessions said in a statement provided to Fox News. “If we are successful, we will update the congressional committees immediately.”
Federal law enforcement officials told Fox News on Wednesday that thousands of FBI cellphones were affected by the technical glitch that apparently prevented those Strzok and Page messages from being stored or uploaded into the bureau’s archive system.
Horowitz sent his letter confirming the discovery of texts to Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who had inquired about the messages.
The five-month stretch of missing messages covers a period of time that includes President Donald Trump's inauguration, the firings of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and FBI Director James Comey and the standing-up of former FBI Director Mueller as special counsel to investigate alleged Trump campaign collusion with Russian officials during the 2016 election.
