One of The Great Ones

Who is Donald J. Trump?

A 74 year old man coming back home from work at 2AM while most men his age are retired in their vacation homes.

He comes back after a long day that probably started before the sun rose and gets back home exhausted with his tie open and hat in his hand feeling that an accomplished day is finally over.

That amazing man is in the age of many people’s grandfathers, great grandfathers or my grandfather when he passed away, but this man just came back home from work, for me, for you.

This man, left his massive gold covered mansion where he could retire happily and play golf all day long.

But this man put his wealth aside and went to work for free, for $1 a year, for me, for you, for us, for AMERICA.

While other presidents became rich from the presidency, this man LOST over 2 billion dollars of his wealth during this short 4 years of his life.

He put aside his amazing retirement lifestyle for getting ambushed every single day by the media and the Radical Left Democrats that trash this man who works for them until 1AM for free!

He doesn't do it for money or power, he already had it. He is doing it so their houses will be safe, so their schools will get better, so they will be able to find jobs or start a new business easier, so they will be able to keep few dollars in their pockets at the end of the month while other presidents before him made sure to keep digging in their pockets and empty them for taxes.

Look at this picture again, that man is at the age of your fathers, grandfathers or maybe YOU! Where is your respect? Honor? Appreciation? Are you THAT BLIND? THAT BLIND to not see a thing this man is doing for you and for your family?

THAT BLIND that after all his work for minority groups in America you keep calling him a racist? I am the son of an Auschwitz Survivor and someone who lost 99% of my family to the camps and ovens of Nazi Germany. And I’m no fool! DONALD TRUMP IS NO RACIST OR ANTI-SEMITE!

Are you THAT BLIND to not see how much this country developed in last 4 years?

President Donald J. Trump, I want to thank you with all my heart. I am so sorry for blind hatred you have been made to endure.

You are a good and generous man. I KNOW THIS. What I don’t know and think about often is what kind of people is it who can be so hateful in their hearts to spew such hate and evilness, not just at you but at your family too?

Or people mocking and making jokes of you because you’re not a professional politician groomed in speech making and straight faced lying.

Or attacking your wife and young son.

People so sure they have not been manipulated.

People who believe their hatred is their own. But for why, they can’t articulate.

What kind of people are these? WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE ARE THESE??

People not realizing they have been manipulated and brainwashed by such a deep rooted EVILNESS MOTIVATED BY AN EVIL MEDIA AND DEMOCRAT PARTY.

The American People are in a bad place right now.... in their hearts and souls. God help us.... Trump is not the problem.

JUST SO YOU KNOW THIS ABOUT YOUR GOVERNMENT

Just in case you were wondering -  

 

*YES, the Governor of Michigan used to work for George Soros.

* YES , CALIF GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM IS NANCY PELOSI'S NEPHEW.

* YES, ADAM SHIFF'S SISTER IS MARRIED TO GEORGE SOROS’ SON.

* YES, JOHN KERRY'S DAUGHTER IS MARRIED TO A MULLAH'S SON in IRAN.

* YES, Hillary's daughter Chelsea IS married to George Soros' nephew.

* YES, ABC News executive producer IAN CAMERON is married to SUSAN RICE, Obama's former National Security Adviser.

* YES, CBS President DAVID RHODES is the brother of BEN RHODES, Obama's Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications.

* YES, ABC News correspondent CLAIRE SHIPMAN is married to JAY CARNEY, former Obama White House Press Secretary.

* YES, ABC News and Univision reporter MATTHEW JAFFE is married to KATIE HOGAN, Obama's former Deputy Press Secretary.

 
* YES, ABC President BEN SHERWOOD is the brother of Elizabeth Sherwood, Obama's former Special Adviser.

* YES, CNN President VIRGINIA MOSELEY is married to TOM NIDES, former Hillary Clinton's Deputy Secretary.

THIS IS WHAT YOU CALL A "STACKED DECK."

IF YOU HAD A HUNCH THE NEWS SYSTEM WAS SOMEWHAT RIGGED AND YOU COULDN'T PUT YOUR FINGER ON IT, THIS MIGHT HELP YOU SOLVE THE PUZZLE.

 

This is “Huge” and is a 'partial' list since the same incestuous relationship holds true for NBC/MSNBC and most media outlets.

 

Trump has been right all along. Fake News is generated by this incestuous relationship.

 

THERE ONCE WAS A SIMPLER TIME

Advice from An Old Farmer

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.
Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.
Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.

Words that soak into your ears are whispered… not yelled.
Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight.
Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.
Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.

It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.
You cannot unsay a cruel word.
Every path has a few puddles.
When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

The best sermons are lived, not preached.
Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.
Don’t judge folks by their relatives.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

Live a good, honorable life… when you get older, think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time.
Don ‘t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t bothering you none.
Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.
If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.

Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
The biggest troublemaker you’ll ever deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin’.
Always drink upstream from the herd.
Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.
If you get to thinkin’ you’re of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around..
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.
Most times, it just gets down to common sense.
Author unknown

WE REALLY ARE LIVING IN A BIZARRE WORLD

We are living in a Bizarre World:
• If a dude pretends to be a woman, you are required to pretend with him.
• Somehow it’s un-American for the census to count how many Americans are in America.
• Russians influencing our elections are bad, but illegal Mexicans voting in our elections are good.
• It was cool for Joe Biden to "blackmail" the President of Ukraine, but it’s an impeachable offense if Donald Trump inquires about it.
• Twenty is too young to drink a beer, but eighteen is old enough to vote. 
• Sexualizing children is bad, but 11-year-old, "drag queens" are good.
• Illegals aren't required to show ID, but citizens can't buy cough medicine without it
• People who have never owned slaves should pay slavery reparations to people who have never been slaves.
• Inflammatory rhetoric is outrageous, but harassing people in restaurants is virtuous.
• People who have never been to college should pay the debts those that went
• Immigrants with tuberculosis are welcome, but you’d better be able to prove your dog is vaccinated.
• Irish doctors and German engineers who want to immigrate must go through a rigorous vetting process, but any illiterate Central-American, "gang-banger”, who jumps the southern fence is welcome.
• $5 billion for border security is too expensive, but $1.5 trillion for “free” health care for illegals is not.
• If you cheat to get into college you go to prison, but if you cheat to get into the country, you go to college for free.
• Politicians who say that the President is not above the law, put illegal immigrants and themselves above the law.
 • We see other countries going Socialist and collapsing, and it seems like a great plan to us.
• Fourth-of-July parades are bad, but parades of women dressed as female genitalia are good.
• Some people are held responsible for things that happened before they were born, and other people are not held responsible for what they are doing right now.
* And pointing out all this hypocrisy, makes us "racists."

IS THIS PANDEMIC REALLY AS IT SEEMS?

If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools." – Plato

✔🇺🇸"Tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a dying society." ~ Aristotle

✔🇺🇸America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Abraham Lincoln

COMMENTARY :
Written by Bill O'Reilly

China’s Bio weapon, and Pelosi..
My wife Angie will tell you that I study history and world events fluently every day. I have studied China for many years. To get answers I need to questions, I call many I know in Washington on Capitol Hill (from my tenure on two Presidential campaigns and Presidential talks) and I ask them for straight up answers to better understand what affects us as a nation.

Well, in 2016 America elected a new Sheriff: Donald J Trump. For decades the Chinese walked all over America but the new President said “not anymore”. Trump literally strangled China’s economy to the point their economy was in its worst free fall ever. Trump negotiated a new 50 billion trade agreement. He had Xi by the proverbial balls. America’s economy was on fire and unstoppable. President Xi Jingping knew he could not beat the USA militarily and he knew any domesticated economic attack would fail as our economy was too strong. He had to act. But how?

Enter the USA democrats led by Pelosi and Schiff. Impeachment. A hoax. A distraction for our people and President. Xi Jingping and his thugs see this. They aren’t stupid. They have very intelligent intellectual thinkers in their government. Now you must understand , the Chinese regime are truly Barbarians. Notice I did not say ALL CHINESE. The Chinese people are a good people. I enjoy my interactions with them.

The communist regime has millions of its own citizens slaving in gulags simply for speaking against the government or openly practicing Christianity. Knowing they could not attack us openly they needed to be coy, like a deceptive fox. In my opinion, I believe the regime released a biological weapon upon the world that doesn’t kill everyone, but kills “enough,” especially the elderly and in-firmed. Back in WW 2 Hitler thought the same way. He got rid of what he considered the useless and rejects of society.

Trumps task force uses models to figure things. Xi used and uses “models” too. China's president figured that if he killed a few of his own (a few hundred thousand to them would be a few out of 1.4 billion people) and spread the virus to other nations (especially to the USA) they would “level the economic playing field” and not have fired a shot.

Losses of his own people were acceptable costs of a new war. When China’s own doctors attempted to sound the warning, they were immediately silenced. In fact one died and another has simply disappeared. Trump and the other allied leaders indeed KNOW this is what happened. They have under reported their own deaths. Trump knows he cannot outrightly seek retribution. His news conference today showed me this when he balked publicly about no outright retribution over Xi’s handling of this and he immediately brought up the “trade deal”. However, Trump wasn’t being weak, he too was now being coy. We know this was a biological weapon. The food market story is bullshit.

Xi knows we know it. Trump also today announced he sent two battle groups of destroyers and other ships to sea several days ago to fight drugs and rogue actors like Iran should they try anything.

I say he did this to show Xi he knows what has transpired (we have the greatest intelligence assets) and that they (the Chinese) should rethink further action. Politics is premier. We cannot overtly attack China for what they have done as we would also suffer greatly. We all know this.

But China has temporarily achieved its goal. America was literally consumed by Trumps phony impeachment brought by the ultra left democrats (supported by democrat rank and file and one Republican Mitt Romney) and Xi Jingping saw an opening. He took it. Xi did what Trump usually does...he walked onto the world stage and threw a grenade into the “room” and left. It exploded in the form of this worldwide pandemic. It brought the USA and the rest of the world to its knees and leveled the economic playing field.

Our economy is now near depression. Xi didn’t fire one bullet. Trump needed to up his game of chess and putting our Naval ships to sea was his next move. He said he is a “war” President. He is.

But now on not one but two fronts. One front is the virus and the other front is the Chinese. While the Saudi’s and Russians are screwing with oil prices they aren’t overtly doing what this pandemic is doing. The drug smuggling story for dispatching the Naval Force is bullshit and the world knows it. I am of the opinion Trump can indeed bring us back from this catastrophe albeit with a changed playing field.

But Trump is a genius in chess and financial matters. He’s become a champ at international politics too. I am sure Trump can once again lead the economy to even stronger strength and greatness the it was . He can do it quickly I’m sure of it. He has proved it. Xi Jingping needs to be sent a message loud and clear. NEVER AGAIN. We need to bring all of our critical manufacturing back from China beginning with our medicines they were recently threatening to withhold. We can do it immediately. Again, another reason for Trump putting to sea such a sizable Naval Force. Sending a clear message.

We all must ride out the next few weeks. Then we and the world pick up the pieces and move on. The democrats who have given Xi this opening wrapped in a bow must pay a heavy price in November as they (the democrats) truly have cost and continue to cost America precious lives by the phony scandals. Nancy Pelosi continues to help the Chinese by her daily shameless attacks upon the President and meddling in stimulus packages as she did this last weekend. Yesterday’s statements she made were truly appalling and the lowest of low. I didn’t think she could go any lower. What a disgrace she is to our nation.

But, Pelosi aside, make no mistake, China must and will be taught a lesson the likes they have never seen before and Trump is the man to pull the trigger.

We the people must teach the democrats the same lesson at the polls. They (the radical wing of the party) are the enemy of a free America. I am certain of it. The entire democrat party of our forefathers is dead. Remember people, Trump indeed tried to warn us all of the Conavirus in his State of the Union Speech. He spoke of it. He said he was on top of it.

After he spoke , Nancy Pelosi ripped up the speech calling Trumps words “a manifesto of lies”. She disgraced the country and all of our fellow honored citizens present in the House Chamber. Well she now has American blood on her hands. She is very majorly responsible for these needless deaths as well as the Chinese. Her and Adam Schiff.

The left and democrats laughed as she tore up his speech. Well, as they laughed the disease he just spoke of in that speech came to our shores. Republicans and Democrats alike are now dying. Your family members and mine. Our grandparents and middle aged citizens alike. Bodies are being loaded in trucks with forklifts in Brooklyn outside of hospitals. No one is safe. Our liberty is for the most part suspended. As we bury our dead (without proper funerals) from this calamity let’s drive the nails into the coffin of the Democrat party as well in November.

It’s time people. Stand up for your rights and your country! Our Liberty and survival is at stake! I am praying for God’s blessing on our nation. But, God also gave us the ability to think for ourselves and it’s time we placed blame for all this death where it belongs: on the doorsteps of Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff and Xi Jingping directly.
Wake Up America.
WAKE UP!

Written by: Bill O'Reilly

THE LESSON THAT> AMERICA NEEDS TO LEARN

...THE LESSON THAT> AMERICA NEEDS TO LEARN AND THEN PUT TO USE!
In early January 2014, Bob Lonsberry, a Rochester talk radio personality on WHAM 1180 AM, said this in response to Obama's "income inequality speech":


Two Americas --The Democrats are right, there are two Americas.  The America that works, and the America that doesn’t.  The America that contributes, and the America that doesn’t.  It’s not the haves and the have nots, it’s the dos and the don’ts.  Some people do their duty as Americans, obey the law, support themselves, contribute to society, and others don’t. That’s the divide in America.  It’s not about income inequality, it’s about civic irresponsibility.  It’s about a political party that preaches hatred, greed and victimization in order to win elective office. It’s about a political party that loves power more than it loves its country.  That’s not invective, that’s truth, and it’s about time someone said it.

The politics of envy was on proud display a couple weeks ago when President Obama pledged the rest of his term to fighting “income inequality.” He noted that some people make more than other people, that some people have higher incomes than others, and he says that’s not just.  That is the rationale of thievery. The other guy has it, you want it, Obama will take it for you. Vote Democrat. That is the philosophy that produced Detroit. It is the electoral philosophy that is destroying America.  It conceals a fundamental deviation from American values and common sense because it ends up not benefiting the people who support it, but a betrayal. The Democrats have not empowered their followers, they have enslaved them in a culture of dependence and entitlement, of victim-hood and anger instead of ability and hope.

The president’s premise – that you reduce income inequality by debasing the successful – seeks to deny the successful the consequences of their choices and spare the unsuccessful the consequences of their choices.  Because, by and large, income variations in society is a result of different choices leading to different consequences. Those who choose wisely and responsibility have a far greater likelihood of success, while those who choose foolishly and irresponsibly have a far greater likelihood of failure. Success and failure usually manifest themselves in personal and family income. You choose to drop out of high school or to skip college – and you are apt to have a different outcome than someone who gets a diploma and pushes on with purposeful education and/or employment. You have your children out of wedlock and life is apt to take one course; you have them within a marriage and life is apt to take another course.  Most often in life our destination is determined by the course we take.  My doctor, for example, makes far more than I do. There is significant income inequality between us. Our lives have had an inequality of outcome, but, our lives also have had an in equality of effort. While my doctor went to college and then devoted his young adulthood to medical school and residency, I got a job in a restaurant. He made a choice, I made a choice, and our choices led us to different outcomes.  His outcome pays a lot better than mine. Does that mean he cheated and Barack Obama needs to take away his wealth? No, it means we are both free men in a free society where free choices lead to different outcomes.

It is not inequality Barack Obama intends to take away, it is freedom. The freedom to succeed, and the freedom to fail.  There is no true option for success if there is no true option for failure.  The pursuit of happiness means a whole lot less when you face the punitive hand of government if your pursuit brings you more happiness than the other guy. Even if the other guy sat on his arse and did nothing. Even if the other guy made a lifetime’s worth of asinine and shortsighted decisions.  Barack Obama and the Democrats preach equality of outcome as a right, while completely ignoring inequality of effort. The simple Law of the Harvest – as ye sow, so shall ye reap – is sometimes applied as, “The harder you work, the more you get." Obama would turn that upside down. Those who achieve are to be punished as enemies of society and those who fail are to be rewarded as wards of society.

Entitlement will replace effort as the key to upward mobility in American society if Barack Obama gets his way. He seeks a lowest common denominator society in which the government besieges the successful and productive to foster equality through mediocrity.  He and his party speak of two Americas, and their grip on power is based on using the votes of one to sap the productivity of the other. America is not divided by the differences in our outcomes, it is divided by the differences in our efforts. It is a false philosophy to say one man’s success comes about unavoidably as the result of another man’s victimization. What Obama offered was not a solution, but a separatism. He fomented division and strife, pitted one set of Americans against another for his own political benefit. That’s what socialists offer. Marxist class warfare wrapped up with a bow. Two Americas, coming closer each day to proving the truth to Lincoln’s maxim that a house divided against itself cannot stand. Pass this on………………….

WHO IS THE ENEMY.... REALLY

It should be easy enough to put all that we know down on paper (the true scientific approach to solving any problem) to solve the problem of China – just take a long, hard look at Congress and what Political Party has had contiguous dealings with China throughout their careers in Congress – it’s the Democrats such as Diane Feinstein – look closely to know who the rest of them are including everything known (even such as who railed Against Trump in his tariff talks with China putting out unending lies that the farmers would be hurt, then the workers would be hurt, then industries would be hurt, and on it still goes.)
It is very important that the Democrats become known for what they really are – they are truly the King’s (George) men who were the Tory out of England here in the US at the time the group calling themselves Republicans after ‘Republic’ of the United States of America were going to have a vote to abolish slavery in the early 1800s. – the Tory scrambled to form a party and called themselves ‘Democrat’ after the bilge of a lie they told about ancient Greece – that ancient Greece was a democracea which meant the people ‘voted’, a terrible lie b/c the ancient Greeks were ruled brutally/ruthlessly by absolute monarchs – but just think how that lie took hold by the Tory Democrats saying it over and over and over and over again.
The bald truth is that democracy does not mean Freedom in any way, shape, or form, it has always meant Enslavement. – but the Democrats still proceed with repetition of a lie (such as ‘gay’ meaning homosexual which is certainly does not but the Democrats want desperately for everyone to believe that too – and there are many other instances of lies repeated incessantly to get people to believe it is the truth, which Pelosi is doing right now with more of her lies she wants to put into the next Stimulus Phase
Attorney General Barr calls it Sabotage on We People and the nation.
Seems that he and Durham are about to stop it by removing the obstructions by the perp Democrat Enslavement to us living True Freedom (no wonder the Democrats are demanding Barr resign/recuse himself/be fired, to get him and his Freedom Talk out of the spotlight b/c it gives We People ideas, which is plain stupid b/c We People elected someone who believes as we do and is all for Freedom too !
Finally, the end of the Tory is here.

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

It has occured to me that just maybe if the House had not tried so hard to impeach the president back six months ago. things would be different now.Had they just stopped opposing his every breath, and devoted some of their time to working with our president on some of the things he was doing and trying to do. Things such as building the wall, and keeping immigrants from illegally coming into our country. And had the media tried reporting the actual news like they should have been doing. Instead of trying to bring him down with every word and every occurrence of whatever it was he was doing at the time. This country might have been able to see the danger that China was coming into in time to have averted this world wide pandemic. Just think of the effort and the money that the House put into trying to dismantle Trump's administration. Then think of how that much money and effort being put to some constructive use, like working together with each other on both sides of the aisle, on efforts to improve our infrastructure and protecting this country from the likes of those who want to destroy it. It might even have been possible to have helped China defeat this virus before it crossed their own border. It is entirely likely that at the first sign of the virus threat in China, that This country could have massed some type of medical or scientific help to have defeated the virus strain from ever growing exponentially as it has. But no. The destruction of this Republican president was of much more importance, and the ripping up of his SOTU address was immensely more important than doing anything to help our country. For such was not to be. For it was the democratic intent of our government in the house of representatives and the mainstream media of this country to cause as much grief for our president as possible, and to distract him from the governing of this country as much as they possibly could to keep him from doing a good job of it. To cause as much disruption of the process of governing as possible so as to cause him to fail at doing it. Well hooray, look what their efforts have gained for us. It has nothing to do with what the president has or has not done. The blood of this tragedy rests jointly on the hands of the House of representatives, and their cohorts in the media whose efforts to disrupt the governing of this country were such an intense matter that they forgot that such a thing as this virus could happen. Which brings to mind this old adage "be careful what you wish for, you may just get it."

TRUMP'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO DATE

IGNITING A HISTORIC ECONOMIC BOOM: President Trump’s pro-growth policies are unleashing economic growth and providing opportunities to workers across the country.

Due to President Trump’s pro-growth policies, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth exceeded 3 percent over the last four quarters.
Real GDP grew at annual rates of 3.4 percent in the third quarter of 2018 and 4.2 percent in the second quarter.
More than 5 million jobs have been created since President Trump’s election and the unemployment rate remains below 4 percent.
This is the eighth time this year that the unemployment rate has been below 4 percent.
Prior to this year, the unemployment rate had fallen below 4 percent only five times since 1970.
The unemployment rate for African Americans in May fell to 5.9 percent, which is the lowest rate on record.
Asian and Hispanic-American unemployment rates have reached record lows this year.
Initial weekly jobless claims have hit a nearly 50-year low under President Trump.
Under President Trump, job openings outnumber the unemployed for the first time on record.
Recently, more than two-thirds of Americans rated “now” as a good time to find a quality job, tying a record high in a poll by Gallup.
Americans are seeing more money in their pockets thanks to the booming economy.
In recent months, workers have seen their largest nominal year over year wage growth in nearly a decade.
In 2017, real median household income rose to a post-recession high.
President Trump’s policies are helping to lift Americans out of poverty.
African-American and Hispanic-American poverty rates reached record lows of 21.2 percent and 18.3 percent, respectively, in 2017.
Since the election, 4.6 million Americans have been lifted off of food stamps.
Consumer confidence has soared under President Trump, recently reaching an 18-year high.
President Trump is delivering on his promise to bring back American manufacturing.
The National Association of Manufacturers’ Outlook Index had the highest annual average in its history over the past year.
Manufacturing added 284,000 jobs in 2018, the most added in a year since 1997
Small Business optimism jumped to a record high under President Trump, according to a survey by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).
The NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index broke a 35-year record in August.
President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law, ushering in the largest package of tax cuts and reforms in American history.
These tax cuts are delivering real results for American families and workers.
More than 6 million workers received tax cut bonuses and benefits.
More than 100 utility companies have announced lower rates.
President Trump is ensuring American workers receive the training and education they need to compete in today’s economy.
President Trump signed an executive order establishing the National Council for the American worker.
More than 185 companies and associations have signed our “Pledge to America’s Workers,” promising more than 6.4 million new training and career opportunities.
The President signed legislation that reauthorized the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, making more than $1 billion available for career education programs.
President Trump has prioritized the economic empowerment of women.
The women’s unemployment rate recently reached its lowest rate in 65 years.
The Small Business Administration lent approximately $500 million more in capital to women-owned businesses in 2017 compared to 2016.
The Administration helped launch the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative, which could leverage more than $1 billion to support women entrepreneurs.
ROLLING BACK RED TAPE: President Trump is rolling back costly regulations that have burdened hardworking Americans and stifled innovation.

President Trump has followed through on and exceeded his promise to roll back two regulations for every new one created.
President Trump’s Administration surpassed the 2:1 ratio in 2018, eliminating 12 regulations for every new one in 2018.
In 2017, the Trump Administration eliminated 22 regulations for every new one.
Since taking office, President Trump’s deregulation efforts have achieved $33 billion in regulatory savings.
In 2018, these efforts alone delivered $23 billion in benefits to American families and business owners.
President Trump has signed 16 Congressional Review Act resolutions into law, eliminating burdensome Obama-era rules and regulations.
President Trump announced U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, which would have harmed America’s economy and cost American workers millions of jobs.
President Trump signed an executive order to streamline the permitting process for infrastructure projects with a goal of cutting approval time from up to 10 years to an average of 2 years.
President Trump signed legislation to roll back burdensome Dodd-Frank regulations that harmed community banks.
NEGOTIATING BETTER DEALS FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE: President Trump is negotiating fair and balanced trade deals that protect American industries and workers.

President Trump negotiated a new trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico to replace the disastrous and outdated North American Free Trade Agreement.
Once enacted by Congress, the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) will better serve the interests of American workers and businesses.
USMCA will incentivize billions of dollars in auto and auto parts production in the United States and create a freer and fairer market for American agriculture.
USMCA also includes the strongest-ever provisions on labor, environmental, digital, and intellectual property protections to reflect the realities of the 21st century economy.
The President renegotiated the United States–Korea Free Trade Agreement to preserve and grow jobs in the American auto industry and increase American exports.
The United States and Japan are set to begin negotiations on a United States–Japan Trade Agreement.
President Trump is establishing a new trade relationship with the European Union (EU), working toward the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers to transatlantic trade.
President Trump has established a Trade and Investment Working Group to lay the groundwork for post-Brexit trade with the United Kingdom (UK) and has notified Congress of his intent to negotiate a free trade agreement with the UK.
This year, President Trump filed a withdrawal notification with the Universal Postal Union, launching a one-year negotiation to secure fair international postal rates for American mailers.
President Trump has expanded market access for American agricultural producers.
Argentina has opened to American pork and beef, Brazil to American beef, Japan to lamb and Idaho chipping potatoes, South Korea to American poultry, and more.
The Administration authorized $12 billion to aid farmers affected by unfair retaliatory tariffs.
The Trump Administration has begun the process to expand the sale of E15, or gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol, to year round.
Under President Trump, the United States will no longer accept bad trade deals and unfair trade practices that harm American workers and industries.
One of the President’s first actions after taking office was withdrawing the United States from the terrible Trans-Pacific Partnership, which incentivized outsourcing.
In 2017, the Administration oversaw 82 antidumping and countervailing duty investigations.
President Trump is holding China accountable for its unfair trade practices, such as the theft of intellectual property, by imposing tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods.
Following President Trump’s successful meeting with President Xi in Buenos Aires, both agreed to conduct negotiations over 90 days to address the United States concerns.
American steel and aluminum jobs are coming back following President Trump’s tariffs to protect domestic industries that are vital to national security.
President Trump imposed tariffs to protect American-made washing machines and solar products that were hurt by import surges.
UNLEASHING AMERICAN ENERGY:President Trump is rolling back costly and burdensome regulations to unleash America’s incredible energy resources.

After years of stifling regulation under the last Administration, President Trump is unleashing America’s energy potential.
America is the largest crude oil producer in the world and production has hit a record high.
President Trump’s policies are helping to boost American energy exports.
The Administration has streamlined Liquefied Natural Gas terminal permitting.
In 2017, the United States became a net natural gas exporter for the first time in 60 years.
American coal exports increased by more than 60 percent in 2017.
President Trump is expanding access to our country’s abundant natural resources.
The President signed legislation to open up energy exploration in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge.
In July 2018, the Department of the Interior announced it would hold the largest oil and gas lease sale in history.
In 2017, the Administration approved construction of the Dakota Access pipeline and the cross border permit for the Keystone XL pipeline.
The Administration issued permits for the New Burgos Pipeline that will export American petroleum products to Mexico.
The President has ended the war on coal, cutting Obama-era regulations such as the “Stream Protection Rule” which was estimated to cost industries $81 million a year.
President Trump is replacing the Clean Power Plan, a flawed Obama-era regulation that the Supreme Court ordered halted.
President Trump rescinded the hydraulic fracturing rule, which was expected to cost the oil and gas industry $32 million per year.
The Trump Administration curbed the burdensome Obama-era rule on methane, saving American energy developers hundreds of millions of dollars in regulatory costs.
EXPANDING OPTIONS FOR QUALITY AND AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE:President Trump is expanding access to affordable healthcare choices and taking action to lower drug prices.

President Trump’s Administration is working to provide Americans with affordable alternatives to Obamacare.
The Administration expanded short-term, limited duration health insurance plans that are expected to be nearly 50 percent cheaper than unsubsidized Obamacare plans.
President Trump has expanded association health plans, allowing more employers to join together across State lines and affordably offer coverage to their employees.
The Administration proposed a reform to Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) regulations that will give consumers more freedom to purchase benefits that fit their needs.
Roughly 800,000 employers are expected to provide HRAs for more than 10 million employees once the rule finalized.
Americans have more healthcare freedom thanks to the President signing legislation that ended Obamacare’s individual mandate penalty.
While healthcare premiums had been steadily increasing as a result of Obamacare, the average benchmark exchange premium will decline for the first time in 2019 thanks to President Trump’s policies.
Next year, Americans will benefit from more insurer participation on the exchanges.
Medicare Advantage plans offer more benefit options than ever before, and average premiums in 2019 will be 6 percent lower than in 2018.
President Trump launched an unprecedented campaign to drive down drug prices, leading more than a dozen drug manufactures to enact price freezes, reductions, or rollbacks.
In 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a record number of generic drugs, breaking the previous record set by the Administration in 2017.
The FDA’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 generic drug approvals are expected to bring nearly $9 billion in savings in 2017 alone.
President Trump signed legislation eliminating contractual gag clauses that stopped pharmacists from informing patients about lower drug prices.
The President put forth an initiative to stop global freeloading that drives up prices for American patients.
The Administration provided Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D plans with new negotiating tools to drive down drug costs for American patients.
The Administration implemented reforms to the amount Medicare pays hospitals for drugs that are purchased under the 340B program, saving seniors $320 million in 2018.
President Trump signed “Right to Try” legislation to expand access to experimental treatments for terminally ill patients.
FIGHTING BACK AGAINST THE CRISIS NEXT DOOR: President Trump mobilized his entire Administration to combat the opioid crisis that has devastated communities across the country.

President Trump launched an Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand, introducing new measures to confront the driving forces behind this crisis.
The President signed the landmark SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, the largest and most comprehensive legislative package addressing a single drug crisis in history.
The President helped secure a record $6 billion in funding to fight the opioid epidemic.
The Administration provided more than $2 billion in grants in 2018 to help States, territories, tribes, and local communities prevent and treat opioid abuse.
The Administration pursued scientific solutions to prevent and treat addiction through the Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative.
The President launched a national public awareness campaign about the dangers of opioid addiction and youth opioid usage.
Last year, President Trump created a Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, which recommends ways to tackle the opioid crisis.
The Administration declared the opioid crisis a nationwide Public Health Emergency in 2017.
President Trump is working to cut off the flow of deadly opioids into our country and to disrupt the networks that distribute them to our communities.
The Administration secured first-ever indictments against Chinese nationals for fentanyl trafficking.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) launched a surge to target fentanyl and heroin dealers in the districts with the most severe overdose death rates.
The DOJ formed a Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement team and shut down the biggest Darknet distributor of drugs.
Last year, the DOJ announced the largest healthcare fraud takedown in history, arresting more than 120 defendants with opioid-related crimes.
The President launched a Safer Prescribing Plan that seeks to cut nationwide opioid prescription fills by one-third within three years.
The Administration has led four National Prescription Drug Take-Back Days, collecting a record-breaking 1,837 tons of expired and unneeded prescription drugs.
STANDING UP FOR THE SANCTITY OF LIFE AND PROTECTING RELIGIOUS LIBERTY: The President is committed to defending the right to life and religious liberty.

Shortly after taking office, President Trump reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy.
President Trump defunded a United Nations (UN) agency for colluding with China’s brutal program of forced abortion and sterilization.
The Administration withdrew guidance that constrained State’s ability to exclude family-planning providers that provide abortion services from the Medicaid program.
The Trump Administration proposed new regulations to ensure Title X family planning funding does not go to projects that perform, support, or refer patients for abortion.
The Trump Administration issued regulations establishing new or expanded exemptions from the Obamacare contraceptive mandate based on religious beliefs or moral convictions.
In 2017, the President issued an executive order to promote free speech and religious liberty.
KEEPING AMERICAN COMMUNITIES SAFE: President Trump has made clear that his first responsibility is to protect the safety and security of Americans.

Federal Bureau of Investigation data shows violent crime decreased under President Trump’s watch in 2017, following two consecutive years of increases.
United States Attorneys indicted the most violent criminals on record last year.
Last year, the DOJ announced nearly $100 million in grant funding to hire hundreds of additional law enforcement officers.
President Trump is cracking down on the vile MS-13 gang that has brought violence to communities across the country.
In 2017, the DOJ worked with international partners to arrest and charge approximately 4,000 MS-13 members.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations arrested nearly 800 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.
President Trump signed an executive order to restore State and local law enforcement’s access to surplus equipment that can be used to help keep our communities safe.
President Trump enhanced and updated the Project Safe Neighborhoods program.
The DOJ announced the creation of the National Public Safety Partnership in 2017, launching a cooperative initiative with cities to reduce violent crime.
President Trump signed legislation to improve the Federal firearm background check system and keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals.
President Trump signed the First Step Act, which includes bipartisan reforms to make our Federal justice system fairer and our communities safer.
The First Step Act will help prepare inmates to successfully rejoin society, reducing recidivism and improving community safety.
This legislation includes commonsense sentencing reforms that will make our Federal justice system fairer while keeping violent criminals and sex offenders off our streets.
ENFORCING OUR LAWS AND SECURING OUR BORDERS: From the first day of his Administration, President Trump has worked to uphold the rule of law and secure our borders.

President Trump released an immigration framework that would fix our broken immigration system through merit-based reform and provide the resources needed to secure our border.
This includes closing the legal loopholes that enable illegal immigration, ending chain migration, and eliminating the visa lottery.
President Trump secured funding to begin building the wall and construction has already begun in areas along the southern border.
President Trump deployed the military to assist in securing the southern border.
President Trump and his Administration took action to require aliens seeking asylum to go to a port of entry to make their claim.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehended 17,256 criminals and 1,019 gang members in FY 2018.
ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested 158,581 aliens in FY 2018, an 11 percent increase from FY 2017.
90 percent of those arrested had criminal convictions, pending charges, or had been issued final orders of removal.
ICE ERO increased removals by 13 percent in FY 2018 to 256,086, the majority of whom were convicted criminals.
Removals of convicted criminal aliens increased by 14 percent from FY 2017.
Nearly 6,000 known or suspected gang members were removed in FY 2018, a 9 percent increase from FY 2017.
The Department of Justice prosecuted a record number of criminal immigration offenses in FY 2018, and increased the number of prosecutions for illegal entry by 84 percent over FY 2017.
Immigration courts are now completing more cases than at any point since 2011
President Trump kept his promise by launching the office of Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) within the Department of Homeland Security.
The Administration has more than doubled the number of jurisdictions participating in the 287(g) program, which enables State and local law enforcement to aid immigration enforcement.
President Trump has made our country safer by ordering the enhanced vetting of individuals entering from countries that do not meet our security standards.
These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court ruling.
REBUILDING AMERICA’S MILITARY FORCE: President Trump is rebuilding our military and defending America’s interests across the world.

President Trump ended the devastating defense cuts of the past Administration and has secured historic investments to rebuild our military.
President Trump signed legislation providing $700 billion for defense in FY 2018 and $716 billion in FY 2019.
President Trump is supporting America’s men and women in uniform, securing the largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.
The President issued a new National Security Strategy to keep America safe from all threats.
The Administration has also released new strategies specific to cybersecurity, biodefense, counterterrorism, and weapons of mass destruction terrorism.
President Trump directed the first whole-of-government assessment of United States manufacturing and defense supply chains since the Eisenhower Administration.
President Trump initiated the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review, improving United States deterrence policy and existing capabilities to counter nuclear threats.
President Trump empowered our military commanders with broad authority in order to take the fight to ISIS, and the results are clear.
ISIS has lost nearly all of its territory, more than half of which has been liberated since President Trump took office.
All of ISIS’ territory in Iraq was successfully liberated.
ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city Raqqah has been recaptured.
ISIS’ territorial caliphate has been defeated and President Trump has announced that he is bringing America’s troops in Syria home.
President Trump announced a new Iran strategy to confront all of Iran’s malign activities and withdrew from the horrible, one-sided Iran nuclear deal.
All sanctions that had been lifted or waived under the Iran deal have been reimposed.
The Administration has sanctioned more than 160 individuals tied to the regime’s support of terrorism, ballistic missile program, human rights abuses, and more.
President Trump took decisive military action to respond to the barbaric use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime.
President Trump directed strikes in response to the regime’s chemical weapons attacks in April 2017 and April 2018.
The Trump Administration has also rolled out sanctions targeting those tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
President Trump is strengthening America’s cyber defense and directed the elevation of the United States Cyber Command into a major warfighting command.
The President announced that the Department of Defense will work to create a Space Force to serve as an independent branch of the United States military.
RESTORING AMERICAN LEADERSHIP ABROAD: President Trump is restoring American leadership on the world stage and advancing an America first agenda.

President Trump held an historic summit with Chairman Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.
Since the summit, the leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both countries have met.
Because of the President’s actions, North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.
The remains of POW/MIA service members from the Korean War are being returned to the United States.
Prior to the summit, President Trump’s leadership helped secure the passage of historic UN sanctions on North Korea.
President Trump followed through on his promise to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the American embassy there.
President Trump withdrew the United States from the UN Human Rights Council due to its bias against Israel.
The Administration made clear that it does not accept the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction over Americans and will continue to protect America’s sovereignty.
President Trump has successfully advocated for cutting waste at the UN.
Changes made to the organization’s structure allowed the UN to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from their budget, while making the organization more efficient.
The President’s leadership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has encouraged members to increase their defense spending and realign the Alliance’s priorities.
In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending among NATO allies.
President Trump convinced the Alliance to strengthen counterterrorism activities, and NATO formally joined the coalition to defeat ISIS.
President Trump’s Administration is working to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific through investments and partnerships.
President Trump has imposed tough sanctions on the corrupt regimes in Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua.
President Trump has taken tough action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including Russia’s efforts to undermine United States elections.
The Administration has imposed sanctions on more than 200 individuals and entities related to Russia’s destabilizing activities.
The Trump Administration has enhanced support for Ukraine’s defense by stepping up sales of weapons to its military.
The Trump Administration has secured the release of numerous American citizens held abroad, including Pastor Andrew Brunson from Turkey, Josh Holt from Venezuela, and more.
President Trump attended G20 summits in Argentina and Germany, where he promoted American First policies and encouraged closer cooperation.
In 2017, President Trump conducted tours through Asia to promote America’s interests.
HONORING AMERICA’S COMMITMENT TO OUR VETERANS: President Trump is honoring America’s commitment to our veterans by ensuring they receive the quality care they have earned.

President Trump secured a record $73.1 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide quality medical care for our veterans.
This funding included $8.6 billion for mental health services, $400 million for opioid abuse prevention, $206 million for suicide prevention, and more.
The President signed the VA MISSION Act, revolutionizing that VA healthcare system and reforming numerous services for our veterans.
This legislation will consolidate and reform existing programs to give eligible veterans better access to healthcare providers in their communities.
Thanks to this legislation, eligible veterans will have access to walk-in community clinics that offer immediate, local care.
President Trump and his Administration have expanded access to telehealth services for veterans, including through the “Anywhere to Anywhere” VA health care initiative.
President Trump issued an executive order requiring the Administration to improve access to mental health treatment and suicide prevention resources for veterans.
President Trump signed the Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, making it easier to fire failing employees and protect whistleblowers.
Under President Trump, the VA has removed, demoted, or suspended more than 4,300 employees for poor performance.
President Trump signed the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017, streamlining the process used by veterans when appealing benefits claims.
President Trump fulfilled his promise to create a new White House VA Hotline to provide veterans with 24/7 support.
The VA is providing veterans with online access to wait time and quality of care data.
The President signed the Forever GI Bill, providing veterans, service members, and their families with enhanced education benefits.
Last year, programs at the VA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development helped more than 51,000 veterans find permanent housing and access supportive services.
TRANSFORMING GOVERNMENT: President Trump has followed through on his pledge to transform the Federal Government and increase accountability and transparency.

President Trump’s Administration submitted a plan to reorganize the executive branch in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
In a historic show of transparency and accountability, the Trump Administration completed the Department of Defense’s first ever audit.
The President implemented a five-year ban on lobbying for White House employees and a lifetime ban on lobbying for foreign countries.
Each quarter since taking office, President Trump has donated his salary, fulfilling a promise he made to the American people.
President Trump is reshaping our Federal judiciary, appointing judges who will follow the Constitution as written.
The President has appointed Circuit Court judges at a record pace.
President Trump has appointed two Supreme Court justices, Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
• Passing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that will bring relief and business to the American farmer.

• Passing 12 weeks of paid family leave for federal workers. An initiative that Ivanka Trump has been advocating for since Day One. And on a personal level, one that NO LESS than 10 career HUD employees thankedme for in private - with some even admitting they may vote for him in 2020.

• Reaching an historic trade deal with China that lifts the unfair tariff burden off the American tax-payer that the LAST THREE PRESIDENTS had no problem paying for DECADES.

• Getting Space Force

• Requiring Hospitals to publicly disclose the costs charged and paid by ALL insurance companies to ensure transparency and fair competition.

• Making animal cruelty a FEDERAL FELONY, praised by the American Humane Society as a bill they’ve been trying to pass for DECADES

• Forcing delinquent foreign countries to contribute an additional $530 BILLION to NATO so that Americans are no longer bearing the global burden

• Expanding federal civil rights protections against anti-semitism, which was duly praised by the President of the Anti-Defamation League

Ridiculous Report on Impeachment of Trump

House Judiciary Committee Releases BOMBSHELL… Trump Declared GUILTY?
(Breitbart) – The House Judiciary Committee released a report Saturday in which it argued that a president may be impeached for “illegitimate motives” even if his actions are “legally permissible.”
The 52-page report, written by 20 members of the staff for the Democratic majority, attempts to provide a legal and constitutional basis for the Democrats’ ongoing effort to impeach the president.
The report states: “The question is not whether the President’s conduct could have resulted from permissible motives. It is whether the President’s real reasons, the ones in his mind at the time, were legitimate.”
That novel theory is only one of several questionable features of the report.
1. The report ignores all of the “expert” legal scholars who testified three days before. The report does not bother to cite any of the testimony from Wednesday’s lengthy hearing, with three witnesses called by Democrats and one called by Republicans. That suggests the report was written well in advance of the hearing. The report does cite published works by one of the witnesses, Micharl Gerhardt, but ignores those of his writings unhelpful to their case.
2. The report uses the same misquote used in the hearing, and by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). The Democrat staff cite President Donald Trump as saying Article II of the Constitution means can do whatever I want as president.” As Breitbart News explained Friday, that is a misquote (backed by deceptively-edited video in the hearing), because Trump was talking specifically about his power to fire the Special Counsel (which he did not).
3. The report invents an absurdly broad standard for “bribery.” The report, backed by selective and misleading claims about the Framers’ intent, declares: “Impeachable bribery occurs when the President offers, solicits, or accepts something of personal value to influence his own official actions.” That standard would implicate every elected official in the United States, all of whom accept campaign contributions in return for policy promises.
4. The report cites radical left-wing activists committed to impeaching Trump. The report cites “scholars” such as Zephyr Teachout, who is on the advisory board of a group called “Impeach Trump Now.” It also cites Harvard’s Laurence Tribe, who declared in December 2016 that Trump’s impeachment should “begin on Inauguration Day.” It ignores contrary views, even by left-wing sources like Cass Sunstein, whom it quotes selectively (see below).
5. The report invents an absurdly broad “abuse of power” standard. Sunstein wrote in 2017 that “abuse of power” was, by itself, too vague: “Almost every American president has, on more than one occasion, passed the bounds of his power, in the sense that his administration has done something that it is not lawfully entitled to do.” (They cite his book on impeachment, but ignore that point.) Notably, “abuse of power” is not in the Constitution.
6. The report actually defends the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson and cites it as precedent. The Johnson impeachment is almost universally regarded as an error. Yet the report, after conceding that a president “cannot be removed” simply because of “unpopular policies,” argues that Johnson should have been removed for exactly that, because he had “illegitimate motives.” This astonishing claim, citing Tribe, is worth quoting in full:
Rather than directly target President Johnson’s faithless execution of the laws, and his illegitimate motives in wielding power, the House resorted to charges based on the Tenure of Office Act. But in reality, “the shaky claims prosecuted by [the House] obscured a far more compelling basis for removal: that Johnson’s virulent use of executive power to sabotage Reconstruction posed a mortal threat to the nation—and to civil and political rights—as reconstituted after the Civil War … [T]he country was in the throes of a second founding. Yet Johnson abused the powers of his office and violated the Constitution to preserve institutions and practices that had nearly killed the Union. He could not be allowed to salt the earth as the Republic made itself anew.” Viewed from that perspective, the case for impeaching President Johnson rested on his use of power with illegitimate motives.
7. The report bends over backwards to justify impeachment without any crime being committed. The report spends a great deal of space arguing that a president does not have to commit an actual crime to be impeached — a claim hotly debated among scholars. It notes that previous impeachments have included charges of “non-criminal” acts, but ignores the fact that no presidential impeachment has ever proceeded without any criminal acts alleged.
8. After saying crimes are not necessary, the report cites the criminal grand jury process. Immediately after arguing that impeachment is not a criminal process (see above), the report cites the criminal grand jury, in which the accused has few legal rights or protections, in an attempt to justify the House’s bizarre impeachment process, in which President Trump — unlike Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton — has been denied basic legal rights.
9. The report claims that Trump has more rights than Nixon and Clinton did. That false claim ignores the fact that unlike his predecessors, Trump has not been allowed legal representation in the key fact-finding stage of the process, which Democrats — for the first time — moved to the secretive Intelligence Committee. Moreover, it ignores that Republicans have been denied the ability to object to witnesses called by the Democrat majority.
10. The report claims that hearsay evidence is sufficient to impeach the president. After noting that the usual rules of evidence do not apply in the House, the report ignores that the only witnesses with direct knowledge of the president’s intentions testified that there was no “quid pro quo” regarding aid to Ukraine. One, Gordon Sondland, said he believed Trump wanted a “quid pro quo” for a White House meeting but had no direct knowledge to show it.
11. The report claims the president is “obstructing” Congress by appealing to the courts. The report claims that Trump can be impeached for denying requests for witnesses and documents, ignoring the fact that the president is raising constitutionally permissible defenses that await adjudication by the courts. Notably, the House itself has decided not to pursue key witnesses, apparently because it wants to rush to impeachment before election season.
The report states its conclusions “do not necessarily reflect those of the Committee on the Judiciary or any of its members.” The committee will hold its first evidentiary hearing toward articles of impeachment on Monday.
breitbart.com/politics/2019/12/07/house-judiciary-committee-report-president-can-be-impeached-for-motives-without-breaking-law/
(Breitbart) – The House Judiciary Committee released a report Saturday in which it argued that a president may be impeached for “illegitimate motives” even if his actions are “legally permissible.”
The 52-page report, written by 20 members of the staff for the Democratic majority, attempts to provide a legal and constitutional basis for the Democrats’ ongoing effort to impeach the president.
The report states: “The question is not whether the President’s conduct could have resulted from permissible motives. It is whether the President’s real reasons, the ones in his mind at the time, were legitimate.”
That novel theory is only one of several questionable features of the report.
1. The report ignores all of the “expert” legal scholars who testified three days before. The report does not bother to cite any of the testimony from Wednesday’s lengthy hearing, with three witnesses called by Democrats and one called by Republicans. That suggests the report was written well in advance of the hearing. The report does cite published works by one of the witnesses, Micharl Gerhardt, but ignores those of his writings unhelpful to their case.
2. The report uses the same misquote used in the hearing, and by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). The Democrat staff cite President Donald Trump as saying Article II of the Constitution means can do whatever I want as president.” As Breitbart News explained Friday, that is a misquote (backed by deceptively-edited video in the hearing), because Trump was talking specifically about his power to fire the Special Counsel (which he did not).
3. The report invents an absurdly broad standard for “bribery.” The report, backed by selective and misleading claims about the Framers’ intent, declares: “Impeachable bribery occurs when the President offers, solicits, or accepts something of personal value to influence his own official actions.” That standard would implicate every elected official in the United States, all of whom accept campaign contributions in return for policy promises.
4. The report cites radical left-wing activists committed to impeaching Trump. The report cites “scholars” such as Zephyr Teachout, who is on the advisory board of a group called “Impeach Trump Now.” It also cites Harvard’s Laurence Tribe, who declared in December 2016 that Trump’s impeachment should “begin on Inauguration Day.” It ignores contrary views, even by left-wing sources like Cass Sunstein, whom it quotes selectively (see below).
5. The report invents an absurdly broad “abuse of power” standard. Sunstein wrote in 2017 that “abuse of power” was, by itself, too vague: “Almost every American president has, on more than one occasion, passed the bounds of his power, in the sense that his administration has done something that it is not lawfully entitled to do.” (They cite his book on impeachment, but ignore that point.) Notably, “abuse of power” is not in the Constitution.
6. The report actually defends the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson and cites it as precedent. The Johnson impeachment is almost universally regarded as an error. Yet the report, after conceding that a president “cannot be removed” simply because of “unpopular policies,” argues that Johnson should have been removed for exactly that, because he had “illegitimate motives.” This astonishing claim, citing Tribe, is worth quoting in full:
Rather than directly target President Johnson’s faithless execution of the laws, and his illegitimate motives in wielding power, the House resorted to charges based on the Tenure of Office Act. But in reality, “the shaky claims prosecuted by [the House] obscured a far more compelling basis for removal: that Johnson’s virulent use of executive power to sabotage Reconstruction posed a mortal threat to the nation—and to civil and political rights—as reconstituted after the Civil War … [T]he country was in the throes of a second founding. Yet Johnson abused the powers of his office and violated the Constitution to preserve institutions and practices that had nearly killed the Union. He could not be allowed to salt the earth as the Republic made itself anew.” Viewed from that perspective, the case for impeaching President Johnson rested on his use of power with illegitimate motives.
7. The report bends over backwards to justify impeachment without any crime being committed. The report spends a great deal of space arguing that a president does not have to commit an actual crime to be impeached — a claim hotly debated among scholars. It notes that previous impeachments have included charges of “non-criminal” acts, but ignores the fact that no presidential impeachment has ever proceeded without any criminal acts alleged.
8. After saying crimes are not necessary, the report cites the criminal grand jury process. Immediately after arguing that impeachment is not a criminal process (see above), the report cites the criminal grand jury, in which the accused has few legal rights or protections, in an attempt to justify the House’s bizarre impeachment process, in which President Trump — unlike Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton — has been denied basic legal rights.
9. The report claims that Trump has more rights than Nixon and Clinton did. That false claim ignores the fact that unlike his predecessors, Trump has not been allowed legal representation in the key fact-finding stage of the process, which Democrats — for the first time — moved to the secretive Intelligence Committee. Moreover, it ignores that Republicans have been denied the ability to object to witnesses called by the Democrat majority.
10. The report claims that hearsay evidence is sufficient to impeach the president. After noting that the usual rules of evidence do not apply in the House, the report ignores that the only witnesses with direct knowledge of the president’s intentions testified that there was no “quid pro quo” regarding aid to Ukraine. One, Gordon Sondland, said he believed Trump wanted a “quid pro quo” for a White House meeting but had no direct knowledge to show it.
11. The report claims the president is “obstructing” Congress by appealing to the courts. The report claims that Trump can be impeached for denying requests for witnesses and documents, ignoring the fact that the president is raising constitutionally permissible defenses that await adjudication by the courts. Notably, the House itself has decided not to pursue key witnesses, apparently because it wants to rush to impeachment before election season.
The report states its conclusions “do not necessarily reflect those of the Committee on the Judiciary or any of its members.” The committee will hold its first evidentiary hearing toward articles of impeachment on Monday.
breitbart.com/politics/2019/12/07/house-judiciary-committee-report-president-can-be-impeached-for-motives-without-breaking-law/