President Trump, the Raging, Unconventional Dragon-slaying Defender of America -- But Who Has the "Right Stuff" to Be His Successor?

JUST DAYS AFTER CORSI FACED DOWN A MUELLER PLEA BARGAIN, MUELLER GOES AFTER MANAFORT. Isn't it convenient that special counsel Robert Mueller just happened to have another plea bargain "lies" story ready. • • • MUELLER SAYS MANAFORT IS LYING TO HIS TEAM. Fox News reported Monday that : "Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort lied to the FBI and Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office 'on a variety of subject matters' since his plea deal earlier this year, thereby violating the agreement, Mueller said in a court filing submitted Monday night, while adding that Manafort claims he's been truthful." Mueller's joint status report noted that both sides called for a sentencing date to be set without delay. • Manafort, 69, was convicted on eight counts of financial fraud last summer relating to work he completed in Ukraine as a political consultant -- years before he worked on the Trump campaign as chairman for several months. Fox News explained : "Approaching a separate trial on similar charges in September he entered into an arrangement with the government in which he was expected to answer questions on a wide variety of matters. Manafort remains jailed and is expected to face at least 10 years in prison. 'After signing the plea agreement, Manafort committed federal crimes by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Counsel’s Office on a variety of subject matters, which constitute breaches of the agreement,' Mueller's office said. Manafort, however, according to the report, contested the claims of the special counsel. 'Manafort met with the government on numerous occasions and answered the government’s questions,' the report said...Manafort has provided information to the government in an effort to live up to his cooperation obligations. He believes he has provided truthful information and does not agree with the government’s characterization or that he has breached the agreement.' " • But, Mueller's office argued it would "file a detailed sentencing submission to the Probation Department and the Court in advance of sentencing that sets forth the nature of the defendant’s crimes and lies, including those after signing the plea agreement herein." • TheHill also carried the Manafort story on Monday, reporting that : "As part of the agreement, Manafort pleaded guilty to two felony charges related to his foreign lobbying efforts and agreed to fully cooperate with Mueller’s sprawling investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. He had been working with the special counsel for roughly 2 1/2 months. Manafort, who served on Trump’s campaign for six months, was seen as a crucial witness in Mueller’s inquiry into whether anyone on the campaign colluded with Moscow....However, Manafort's attorneys said in their own portion of the filing that he met with Mueller’s officials 'numerous times' following his plea deal and that he believes his answers to be truthful and not constituting a breach of the agreement. He believes he has provided truthful information and does not agree with the government’s characterization or that he has breached the agreement,' the filing states. 'Given the conflict in the parties’ positions, there is no reason to delay the sentencing herein, and he asks the Court to set a sentencing date in this matter.' ” • Mueller's government filing notes that the breach relieves the government of any obligations under the plea agreement, including promises to seek a lighter sentence for Manafort. • With Jerome Corsi refusing to accept a plea bargain offered by Mueller because it would require him to lie, the Manafort development on Monday raises the question whether Mueller was saving the court filing that charges Manafort with lying for just such an occasion. It also highlights the rampant speculation that Mueller is nearing the final stages in his investigation. Last week's submission by President Trump of written responses to written questions from Mueller on collusion is an indication that Mueller is reaching the end of his probe. Mueller has also sought an in-person interview with the President, though negotiations between Trump’s lawyers and the special counsel on the prospect have not yielded progress, and any attempt by Mueller to subpoena the President would be met with acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker's intervention to weigh the benefits versus the constitutional crisis such a subpoena attempt of a sitting President would create. • • • THE CLINTON FOUNDATION IS LOSING DONORS. Also on Monday, Fox News' Brooke Singman reported that : "Newly released tax documents showing a plunge in Clinton Foundation donations after Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential election defeat have fueled long-standing Republican allegations of possible “pay-to-play” transactions at the organization, amid a Justice Department probe covering Foundation issues. The tax filings, which were made public this month, show the Clinton Foundation pulled in $62.9 million in 2016, but only $26.6 million the following year, representing a nearly 58% drop. Tax documents for 2018 are not yet available. A spokesman for the Foundation told the New York Post, which first reported the figures, that they 'anticipated a decline' in 2017 and said it was 'largely attributable to the absence of sponsorship and membership contributions for CGI [Clinton Global Initiative].' The final CGI meeting was held in 2016, and the wind-down was a likely factor in the donation drop. Representatives for the Clinton Foundation did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment." • However, Singman states that the filings "further emboldened congressional Republicans concerned the Foundation benefited first from Clinton's position atop the State Department and later as a presidential candidate, by way of donors seeking political favors -- only for that cash flow to dry up when it was clear Hillary Clinton was out of government." House Freedom Caucus Chairman Representative Mark Meadows gave a statement to Fox News that said : "The remarkable significance of the drop in Clinton Foundation donations raises grave concerns their operations were not above board as the American people have been led to believe. Whenever we look at the possibility of 'pay to play' by government officials, current or former, it demands answers -- and anyone who uses public office to sell access for their own financial benefit must be held accountable." • President Trump was more direct, tweeting on Sunday that it "shows that they illegally played the power game" and "monetized their political influence through the Foundation." • The Clinton Foundation repeatedly has denied the allegations. But, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions revealed in March that he had appointed US Attorney John Huber to lead an evaluation into a range of Clinton-related issues -- including the FBI's handling of the email case and the Foundation's operations. Huber has been silent about his investigation, but House Republicans last week announced they plan to hold a hearing on December 5 to hear Huber’s testimony -- just one month before Democrats take control of the House. Representative Meadows, who heads the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations, told TheHill last week that it was time to “circle back” with Huber on developments in the probe. Meadows said : “Mr. Huber with the Department of Justice and the FBI has been having an investigation -- at least part of his task was to look at the Clinton Foundation and what may or may not have happened as it relates to improper activity with that charitable Foundation, so we’ve set a hearing date for December 5th.” When Sessions appointed Huber he said that Huber was conducting his work “from outside the Washington DC area” and would cooperate with Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz. Sessions said, at the time, that Huber’s review would “include a full, complete and objective evaluation of these matters in a manner that is consistent with the law and facts.” Huber is a twice Senate-confirmed US attorney for the district of Utah. He previously served in leadership roles within the US Attorney’s Office as national security section chief and executive assistant US attorney. • Singman said that it is "noteworthy that the new acting attorney general is Matthew Whitaker, who before joining the Justice Department led The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, a conservative nonprofit that focused heavily on scrutinizing Clinton. Whitaker, while leading FACT, appeared in more than 200 television and radio appearances from 2014 to September 2017 when he became chief of staff for Sessions. According to the Washington Post, Whitaker criticized Clinton, the Clinton Foundation, the investigation into her private email server and special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation during those appearances more than 700 times." • • • TRUMP CALLS OUT MUELLER CONFLICTS. The latest attention being paid to the Clinton Foundation will likely be overshadowed by the expected conclusion of Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling and potential "collusion" with Trump campaign associates during the 2016 presidential election. • LifeZette noted on Monday that President Trump slammed special counsel Robert Mueller and wondered whether Mueller would be covering all of his own “conflicts of interest” in a preamble for the impending report that summarizes his findings in the Russia probe. President Trump and other Republicans have criticized Mueller for hiring a dozen or more registered Democrats and those who donated to Democrat candidates -- including to 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton -- to investigate President Trump and his campaign. The President has targeted Mueller’s Democrat team members, dubbing them the “13 Angry Democrats.” The most prominent among those 13 is prosecutor Andrew Weissmann -- who attended Clinton’s election night party. • President Trump's Monday tweet was direct : "When Mueller does his final report, will he be covering all of his conflicts of interest in a preamble, will he be recommending action on all of the crimes of many kinds from those ‘on the other side’”(whatever happened to Podesta?)...and will he be putting in statements from...hundreds of people closely involved with my campaign who never met, saw or spoke to a Russian during this period?....So many campaign workers, people inside from the beginning, ask me why they have not been called (they want to be). There was NO Collusion & Mueller knows it!” • On Tuesday, President Trump again hit Mueller, tweeting early in the morning : “The Phony Witch Hunt continues, but Mueller and his gang of Angry Dems are only looking at one side, not the other. Wait until it comes out how horribly & viciously they are treating people, ruining lives for them refusing to lie. Mueller is a conflicted prosecutor gone rogue.” A second tweet said : “The Fake News Media builds Bob Mueller up as a Saint, when in actuality he is the exact opposite. He is doing TREMENDOUS damage to our Criminal Justice System, where he is only looking at one side and not the other. Heroes will come of this, and it won’t be Mueller and his...terrible Gang of Angry Democrats." Continuing, the President added in a third tweet : “Look at their past, and look where they come from. The now $30,000,000 Witch Hunt continues and they’ve got nothing but ruined lives. Where is the Server? Let these terrible people go back to the Clinton Foundation and “Justice” Department!" • • • FIFTEEN DAYS !!! While President Trump surely is paying attention to the leaks and filings coming out of the Mueller probe, he also has the southern border crisis to deal with. On Sunday, hundreds of migrants rushed the US border at multiple points along the San Ysidro port of entry, some attacking US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents with rocks and bottles. The CBP temporarily shut down San Ysidro the port while officers dealt with the mass of migrants attempting violently to make their way across the border. And, President Donald Trump on Monday morning threatened to close the border permanently and called for Congress to fund the wall, tweeting : “Mexico should move the flag-waving migrants, many of whom are stone-cold criminals, back to their countries. Do it by plane, do it by bus, do it anyway you want, but they are NOT coming into the USA. We will close the border permanently if need be. Congress, fund the WALL!” The President repeated that warning when he took questions from White House pool reporters as he was boarding his helicopter to leave for Mississippi to support GOP candidate Cindy Hyde-Smith in the Senate run-off election. • Can President Trump energize the outgoing Speaker Paul Ryan sufficiently to get through the House in the next 15 days bills to fund the wall, end chain migration, mandate E-verify, end the visa lottery system, and allow immediate turnbacks for asylum-seekers from non-contiguous countries who present themselves at the border rather than making a claim from within their home country. It is a big order -- BUT, Speaker Paul Ryan is set to end his tenure in Congress with no real legacy to point to. By doing something lasting and positive for America in his last 15 days, Ryan could leave a legacy for the Republican Party and America to build on. • • • DEAR READERS, when I try to describe where the United States is now, "dysfunctional" and "out of control" are the words that keep coming to mind. I really wonder where we will find a path forward that can possibly accommodate both the radical Progressive Left and the Conservative Constitutional Right. Such an accommodation is hard to imagine, isn't it? • A friend and advisor wrote to me last night to say : "I am so disappointed with the good guys not getting anyplace with the Clinton-Obama clan this past 2 years...what’s it take. And now just before the stolen House takes over we have : a daughter who must have been under a mushroom in the WH lawn with all the talk of Hillary emails; the US Border looking like a fight on the West Bank or any stone throwing event in a 3rd world country; a Special Counsel making cases out of lies & lies; and a deadbeat national party whose leaders stand far from Trump. The list is endless and known to you all too well." • There is really no answer to that view. We have President Trump to cling to now, but he is, as we said in the last blog -- ALONE. Even his beloved daughter Ivanka seems to have failed to understand the precipice that both her father and America are staring at. And, when Donald Trump has gone -- probably in 2024, but earlier if the radical ProgDems have their way -- who will take his place? I have enormous respect for Mike Pence, but can he possibly be expected to stand as firm as President Trump in the face of the entire world?? We can rule out Rubio and Romney and Paul and Haley and almost anyone else now in a position from which to launch a campaign to take over the leadership of the GOP. They are all flawed by their own grace and dignity -- and conventionalism. • President Trump is of another mold -- he is dignified and polite and full of grace and charm when he is allowed to be, but he can put all that aside in an instant and become the raging, death-defying, unconventional dragon-slaying defender that America needs. And, through it all, the President holds his base close to his heart and under his wings. Who else has that unique ability? Christie? Nunes? Cruz? Pence? If one of these men is ready to take on the martyrdom of being Donald Trump's successor, now is the time to move close to President Trump without trying to upstage him. Now is the time to pledge allegiance to the Trump agenda and find the people and money to take the plunge into the full-time job of becoming President Trump's successor. THAT must rapidly become the single most important item on the agenda of President Trump, on the agenda of the part of the GOP that supports him, and on the agenda of every Deplorable and Conservative American now alive. These are, indeed, Times that Try Men's Souls.