It should be transparently obvious by now. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has shifted his tin cup strategy from directly asking for money, to presenting himself as the world’s leading arms manufacturer.  In essence, Zelenskyy has drone pencils in his tin cup.

Keep watching and we will all start to see this grifting business model in play.

Earlier today Zelenskyy said, “President Trump and I had a meeting where we discussed general matters. After that, our negotiating teams held a separate, long meeting. The agreement is as follows: we will brief the European side and discuss these details with them; the Americans will speak with the Russians; and in ten days, we will come back with views and results in some shape or form.

As for a trilateral Ukraine-U.S.-Russia meeting, the American side proposed preparing it and meeting at the technical level. We are waiting for the United States to propose a date. The United States proposed the United Arab Emirates as the venue for such a meeting.

There are concrete agreements regarding Patriot licenses. At our meeting, President Trump stressed that he had made his final decision: Ukraine will receive licenses to produce Patriot missiles. (read more)

Now put the lead-in paragraphs as an overlay against that statement.  Zelenskyy wants to organize his corrupt financial system, specifically the income aspect, around Ukraine as the world’s leading arms dealer.

Obviously, this business model provides numerous benefits for everyone inside the Ukraine govt operation whose lifestyle and affluence are dependent on the inflow of massive amounts of money.

If Zelenskyy can get the Patriot Missile licenses, then he can expand his business operation to build and sell Patriots’ to Germany (have been begging for them) and beyond.  Zelenskyy becomes the EU hub for EU-NATO arms manufacturing and production.  He’s not stupid.  If the USA pulls back from EU-NATO, Zelenskyy steps in to fill the void.  That appears to be his overall plan.

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President Donald Trump and Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping (Pooh Bear) deliver complimentary remarks during tea at the White House.  Chairman Xi was very appreciative of the attention to details provided by First Lady Melania and President Trump.  Expressions of the highest respect were exchanged.

Chairman Xi notes President Trump will be attending the APEC summit in Beijing in November, and Xi will be returning to the USA for the G20 summit at Doral in Miami in December.

President Trump and First Lady Melania, hosted Mr. Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, for tea at the White House and then the four made a brief trip to the National Archives to view America’s founding documents.  Video Below:

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U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer appears on CNBC to discuss the trade aspect of the U.S-China negotiations against the backdrop of the official state visit by Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping.

USTR Greer notes the tariffs against China remain in place and extended for several months as the U.S. reviews Beijing compliance with pre-existing agreements.  This builds on what Greer previously said about ultimately the U.S. and China are in a managed situation, where the U.S. doesn’t put any focus on what China says, we are looking at what China does.

Stunningly, at 4:25 of the video CNBC pundit Kelly Evans chimes in with a weird talking point about the U.S-China trade deficit not changing. Ambassador Greer quickly corrects Ms Evans, noting her baseline is entirely false. The trade disparity between the U.S and China has reduced by 40% over the past year, in part because the U.S. is leveraging tariffs as enforcement mechanisms to previous purchase agreements.  WATCH:

In typical leftist fashion, Ms Kelly Evans says “if true” to the United States Trade Representative.  Who else, other than the USTR, would know the specifics of accuracy for the data Ms Evans is mis-citing.  Quite silly.

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

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Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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President Trump and Chairman Xi Jinping will be delivering remarks this evening during the official state dinner.  Livestream Links Below:

UPDATE: Video Added

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After writing the lengthy outline about the problem faced by Joseph diGenova, a Reagan-era former U.S. attorney and longtime Trump ally who served as counselor to Attorney General Todd Blanche and exited over strategic differences {GO DEEP}, several people provided feedback, generally expressing understanding and agreement.

A few asked for suggestions.

Having looked at the challenges from every direction, and having a deep understanding of the complications within any prosecutorial effort on this highly complex ‘conspiracy’ case, I am going to outline my best advice.

This is how you arrange the case.

In any successful endeavor like this, you need the hook.  You need a central point of focus that brings the entire operation into a clearer view.  Stories like this are not told in a linear fashion; you need a central point of focus and then you build out the storyline from there.

So, what it that inflection?  What is that moment that establishes the point from which everything else falls into place?

First, look at the requirements.  The central event needs to encompass the foundational unlawful activity.  The event needs to be clearly unlawful in nature and highlight the mindset that existed within each of the participants.  The evidence must have a clear, distinct and actionable set of facts that can be directly proven beyond doubt.

The event needs to have been previously investigated, so that time is not wasted repeating a lengthy and exhaustive investigation around the fact pattern.  The event needs a specific set of witnesses, who cannot escape being truthful about the preexisting irrefutable facts. And the event needs to highlight a conspiracy by every participant who cannot deflect their participation by claiming they were unaware of the intent of every action within the process.

Those are the predicate requirements that establish the value of the central point of focus.  This is what makes a grand jury or criminal case jury have a consistent reference point.  If this fact pattern is demonstrably true, then that action or outcome is incontrovertibly self-evident.

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President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcome His Excellency Xi Jinping, President of The People’s Republic of China, and Madame Peng Liyuan for a State Dinner in the East Room of the White House this evening.

The First Lady led the preparations for the dinner, which will be attended by the official delegations as well as business leaders and government officials.

MENU

The menu showcases American ingredients with subtle Chinese influence, bringing the culinary traditions of both nations together. The meal begins with a toast of Schramsberg “Blanc De Noir,” honoring the historic “Toast to Peace” shared by President Nixon and Premier Zhou Enlai in Beijing in 1972. The same American sparkling wine served at that historic gathering continues to be enjoyed at White House functions today.

First Course
Yellow Squash Velouté
Wild Mushroom Fricassée
Crispy Pancetta
Scallion Oil

The first course offers a refined and silky-smooth velouté made of sweet yellow squash. This course is gently blended to highlight its delicate seasonal flavors of earthy wild mushrooms, sautéed with fresh herbs. Together, these ingredients create a rich fricassee, complemented by crispy pancetta for a savory and smoky contrast. A finishing drizzle of scallion oil adds vibrance and a subtle allium brightness to the dish.

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President Trump and Chairman Xi deliver remarks during the welcome ceremony for the official Chinese delegation state visit. The remarks are in both English and Chinese as interpreted within the ceremony.

Chairman Xi announced two giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, would arrive at Zoo Atlanta within days, continuing a tradition that began when Beijing sent a pair to Washington after Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit.

Cunning Panda Xi also said that as the world’s leading AI powers, both countries had the ‘capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI for good.’ ‘We do not need to avoid mentioning competition, but our competition should be a healthy one and should be kept within bounds. It should be a race of catching up with one another, not a wrestle in which either wins or loses,’ Xi said.  FYI that’s the code-speak of the person chasing from behind.  WATCH:

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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney left the United Nations General Assembly and went directly to the New York Times for a pre-scheduled interview with fellow leftist travelers intent on influencing the U.S midterm election.

Carney having previously appointed Clinton/Obama Democratic operative Maia Johnson as his Chief Operating Officer within his office, obviously had one agenda in mind as he strolled into the Times office for his pre-planned operation.

Within the hour-long conversation, the Canadian Prime Minister had several key points of emphasis in his objective. The top-line hook to draw in the audience was his first statement about having prepared for military combat operations against the United States.  [ARTICLE HERE] Key points below:

(1) Carney developed contingency plans to use military combat operations against the United States.  Yes, it is transparently obvious this is a political statement.  His mentioning of this is meant to create the traditional leftist victimhood position used in all psychological operations.  Carney follows this outlandish statement by saying these military plans are no longer needed because he now feels he has “a good relationship” with President Trump.

[…] “Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada said that he had prepared over the past year for the “extreme tail risk” that President Trump might order military action against Canada but disclosed that the two men have spoken “frequently,” even since trade talks collapsed last month, describing a tense, evolving relationship.

Mr. Carney suggested that he had carefully examined the possibility of U.S.-led military action, but declined to discuss in detail what that involved. “I think you have a responsibility in these roles to look at extreme tail risk,” said Mr. Carney, a former central banker for Britain and Canada. … “That’s just risk management. That’s not a base case, but it would be irresponsible not to” prepare.”

(2) Carney outlines how he intends to build a closer economic relationship with China as a hedge against Canadian dependency on the United States.  Given the statements made by Carney in Beijing, this does not come as a surprise; however, it is the expressed open intent to further attach Canada to China that should raise eyebrows.

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