Beltway Insider: Trump/Trade Deals, Impeachment Trial, Trump’s Legal Team, Chris Collins, Election 2020: The Gloves Come Off

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after weeks of political strategizing, signed the two Articles of Impeachment sending the documents with the House Mangers to the senate chambers for the formal presentation by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff.

President Trump's job approval rating, according to the website fivethirtyeight.com, which tracked for the period ending January 11, 2020, increased by .50 percentage point to 42.3% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness decreased .50 percentage point to 53%. A slight 3% of the population polled have no opinion. Ratings are calculated bi-monthly.

Trump Scores Two Major Trade Victories

President Trump signed two major trade pacts this week as he continued to split his time between the necessities of securing counsel for the upcoming Impeachment Trial, following through on the business at hand, and campaigning for re-election.


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The United States-Mexico-Canadian Pact which represent more than $1 trillion dollars in trade is projected to increase job growth in the United States by more than 500,000. The majority of these positions will be in manufacturing as the trade deal requires 40% of all automobile parts to be made in the United States.

"The USMCA, which has already been ratified by Mexico but not by Canada, requires 75 percent of automobile components be manufactured in the United States, Canada and Mexico in order to avoid tariffs. By 2023, some 40 to 45 percent of automobile parts must be made by workers who earn at least $16 an hour," FOX News reported.

The Trade Deal may restore the Rust Belt states to a portion of their former glory, pre-1980s, when manufacturing and the use of steel and iron products were made in states along the Great Lakes region including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, which during the height of the industrial power were the seat of manufacturing in United States with producers such as the Big Three Automakers, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.

"During the 20th century, America built thousands of manufacturing plants in small cities in the Midwest. There were food processing plants, auto manufacturers, textile fabric mills, cut and sew apparel mills, paper mills, foundries, hand tool manufacturers, major appliance manufacturers, machine shops, and many others, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data from that era," Industry Week reported.

President Trump also scored with the signing of the first phase of the China Trade deal which, according to the New York Times, "China has committed to buy an additional $200 billion of American goods and services by 2021 and crack down on business practices that the Trump administration has criticized."

The deal which was endorsed by more than 50 US CEOs and political and organizational leaders, appears to provide a much-needed economic boost to the American Farmer as the agriculture commodities will be exempt from tariffs.

American farmers are facing bleak times and the China Deal, appears to provide some relief. The only question is it too little too late to save the deteriorating backbone of the American agriculture community.

"I just want to say this is a great day for both China and the United States. This is an agreement that people have been talking about for 40 years and never were able to get even a piece of paper signed. And we never had an agreement. And this is going to be a great agreement for both countries. It's far greater than $200 billion, and it'll grow every year. It also unifies the countries," President Trump said during remarks made at the luncheon following the signing.

President Trump tweeted, "The farmers are really happy with the new China Trade Deal and the soon to be signed deal with Mexico and Canada, but I hope the thing they will most remember is the fact that I was able to take massive incoming Tariff money and use it to help them get through the tough times!

Impeachment Trial Set to Begin

Each element of the Impeachment proceedings has been approached with dignity, formality without compromise which has been sorely lacking in government as of late.

The processional of six House Managers lead by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Representative Adam Schiff and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Representative Jerold Nadler (NY) delivered the Articles of Impeachment to the senate.


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The Representatives accompanying Schiff and Nadler to the Senate chambers were House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.; Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo.; Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla.; Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas; and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.

"Before the articles were read aloud, the sergeant-at-arms issued a warning: "all persons are commanded to keep silent, on pain of imprisonment, while the House of Representatives is exhibiting to the Senate of the United States articles of impeachment,"' CNN reported.

After a full reading of the Articles of Impeachment, House Resolution 755, Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress, President pro tempore of the United States Senate Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley informed the House Managers they would be notified when the trial would proceed.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) released the decorum rules which the Senators will adhered to during the presentation of the evidence.

A one page document which can be read here instructs the Senators that they must "refrain from speaking to neighboring Senators while the case is being presented" and "no use of cellphones or electronic devices will be allowed in the Chamber" and are only permitted to read material associated with the proceedings.

President Trump Responds

"THE HONORABLE DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, HEREBY RESPONDS: The Articles of Impeachment submitted by House Democrats are a dangerous attack on the right of the American people to freely choose their President.  This is a brazen and unlawful attempt to overturn the results of the 2016 election and interfere with the 2020 election—now just months away.  The highly partisan and reckless obsession with impeaching the President began the day he was inaugurated and continues to this day," Jay Allen Sekulow and Pat A. Cipollone, Counsel to the President Donald J. Trump stated.

The complete seven-page response can be read here.

Chief Justice John Roberts Takes Oath

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts was sworn in by President pro tempore of the United States Senate Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, to preside over the Impeachment Trial with fairness and impartiality without loyalty to party, president or affiliation.

Administers Oath to Senate

Roberts then administered the same oath to the full senate, charging them with the duty of impartiality without loyalty to party, president or affiliation, of which they agreed. They followed up by attesting to the oath and duties therein by signing the oath book.

Immediately following the swearing in, which is specific in the wording, that senators must swear an impartiality in the impeachment trial, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was accused of being a perjurer by "former President George W. Bush's ethics chief Richard Painter" who presented McConnell's own words which were spoken on December 17, 2019, in which the Senator stated, '"I'm not an impartial juror. This is a political process. There's not anything judicial about it," McConnell told reporters on December 17, according to the article. "The House made a partisan political decision to impeach. I would anticipate we will have a largely partisan outcome in the Senate. I'm not impartial about this at all,"' Newsweek reported.

The possibility of Senator McConnell, and other's who have voiced strong opinions of guilt or innocence, prior to the formal presentation of evidence stand the chance of facing removal.

In response to McConnell very public statements indicting his refusal to be impartial, "the watchdog group Public Citizen filed a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee  to determine whether the majority leader's recent statements violate his oath as well as the rules of the Senate requiring impartiality. The complaint seeks a determination on whether he should recuse himself from the impeachment proceedings," USAToday reported.


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"Senators [must] maintain "a veil of ignorance" as if they didn't know the party affiliation of the president being impeached, George Washington University experts Ira C. Lupu and Robert W, Tuttle wrote in a blog for The Hill newspaper. "This includes evaluating the evidence, and deciding whether the proven misconduct justifies removal from office," they wrote. "Senators violate their oath if they apply friendlier standards to Presidents of their own Party than to those of the opposing Party ... Any Republican Senator who would vote to remove a Democratic President for such misconduct must, by their Oath, vote to remove Trump,"' USAToday reported.

Trump's Legal Team

"President Trump's impeachment team is taking final shape. Today he tapped the former independent counsel Ken Starr, the celebrity lawyer Alan Dershowitz and several other prominent attorneys to join the group, which will be led by Pat Cipollone, the White House counsel, and Jay Sekulow, one of Mr. Trump's personal lawyers," The New York Times reported.

White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham included the following statement along with the release of information presenting President Trump's legal team, "President Trump has done nothing wrong and is confident that this team will defend him, the voters, and our democracy from this baseless, illegitimate impeachment.  The Articles of Impeachment House Democrats have adopted threaten grave and lasting damage to our institutions and to our Nation.  The President looks forward to the end of this partisan and unconstitutional impeachment.  It's time for Congress to turn its attention back to the work of the American people and leave sham political investigations like this one in the past."

Disgraced Republican Representative Chris Collins Sentenced

Republican New York representative Chris Collins has been sentenced to 26 months in prison for Insider trading after tipping off his son of the failure of a clinical trial for biotechnology stock which would have resulted in $800,000 loss for Collins, his son and friends. The father and son, both of which, have received prison time had an estimated worth of $35million at the time the loss was to be posted.

"Lawmakers bear the profound privilege and responsibility of writing and passing laws, but equally as important, the absolute obligation of following them," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said in a statement. "Collins's hubris is a stark reminder that the people of New York can and should demand more from their elected officials, and that no matter how powerful, no lawmaker is above the law," FOX News reported.

Even as the former representative is scheduled to report to federal prison in Pensacola Florida in March, it is still within the realm of possibility that he could receive a presidential pardon, especially if the President is not re-elected.

Election 2020: The Gloves Come Off

The 2020 Election has taken a dark turn as the glad tidings of December turned into bone-chilling bitter winds of January with the beginning of the official start of the 2020 primary season less than three weeks away.

No longer a united cause to retake the Oval office, the democratic contenders have initiated an all-out war to capture the single prize: the democratic nomination for President of the United States.


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The recent debate in Iowa, saw the gloves come off as the top three contenders began in earnest to fight for the trust of the voters. Biden, who jumped in securing the top spot since the announcement of his campaign has been everyone's target and now with Vermont senator Bernie Sanders leading in Iowa, the stage was his and he intended to convince the voters of Iowa that he was the candidate of choice.

Warren and Sanders, who have allegedly remained friends are now distancing themselves from each other, as two lobby muddied comments at each other.

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker has officially suspended his presidential campaign; Billionaire Hedge Fund manager Tom Steyer has qualified for New Hampshire debate along with former Vice President Joe Biden, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg which is scheduled for February 7, 2020.

By this time one candidate will have secured one primary race and the remainder will be fighting for survival.

 

For more information on President Donald Trump www.whitehouse.gov.

Sources: Various © Articles covered by Copyright protection.

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