You know that the bear in this picture can run 30 mph, right?

He is on a downhill grade, so maybe he can out run the beast.

But it is a little funny, no? Especially if you are thinking the

cyclist is a liberal. I mean, he IS in bear country, during the

winter, ridding a bicycle wearing stretch panties. Only Libs

do such nonsense.

Did you know: This is about the Podesta Group

A couple of recent (last day or two) developments with regard to the Podesta Group. Tony Podesta resigned from that agency, indicating a man preparing for a legal defense after the Podesta Group was named in the Manafort indictment.

Secondly, the Podesta Group has announced that it plans to change its name, an obvious effort to mitigate future legal woes. Because of these two events, it is clear that the Podesta Group and the Dems fear they are being sucked into the Mueller investigation.

Understand that while Trump is still in the crosshairs, Mueller is pursuing the Russian involvement in our election process more than he is investigating Trump as a secret agent. Comey told those who were paying attention, this past June/July, that Trump was not a part of any criminal investigation.

This blog will not obsess on Mueller's hunt for bad guys. Unless or until there is something to report concerning Mueller versus Trump, I really do not care what Mueller does.

I am returning to my emphasis on politics and the Promise Keeper at work taking our country back from the European Socialist and Commun-ists in our midst. Make no mistake, Trump's promise keeping agenda spells the [temp] end to the Socialist/Obama legacy. That is why he is so hated by the Left Outs.

Now you know.

The following question destroys the claim that Trump was a secret agent of Russia.

If Manafort or the unpaid volunteer, Papadopoulos, were liaisons between Russia and Trump, why were their employment or usefulness with the campaign terminated ? If "liaison," they would not have been terminated, and if that is not true, then they were terminated AS LIAISONS and others would have been moved into their place to serve as "liaison."

No "liaison," no connection to Russia, no communication with Putin, no collusion.

Case closed. End of discussion.

Expect to see Dems confuse plans for meetings that never took place with actual "collusion."

Fact: Sessions testified that he knew nothing about any collusion with the Russians. That is because "collusion" involves actual meetings with, planning with, arrangements to interfere . . . . with Russian help, in this case. THAT is collusion. Before reading the following, know this: Papdopoulos never met with the Russians on behalf of the campaign, as a spokesman for the campaign. He never went to Russia. All of his schemes and plans were rejected by the campaign. This article is so much trash, because it conflates non-action with premeditation and partnership ~ editor.

The following is as scurrilous a bit of propaganda as anything put into print to this point in time.

Is Very, Very Bad News for Attorney General Jeff Sessions

The biggest news of Mueller Monday — the rollout of a money-laundering indictment against Donald Trump’s former campaign adviser, Paul Manafort and campaign aide Rick Gates, and the unsealing of a false-statements plea deal by another campaign volunteer, George Papadopoulos — may involve someone not named explicitly in either indictment: Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

That’s because Sessions has repeatedly testified to the Senate that he knows nothing about any collusion with the Russians. (Though in his most recent appearance, he categorized that narrowly by saying he did not “conspire with Russia or an agent of the Russian government to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.”)

But the Papadopoulos plea shows that Sessions — then acting as Trump’s top foreign policy adviser — was in a March 31, 2016, meeting with Trump, at which Papadopoulos explained “he had connections that could help arrange a meeting between then-candidate Trump and President Putin.” It also shows that Papadopoulos kept a number of campaign officials in the loop on his efforts to set up a meeting between Trump and Putin, though they secretly determined that the meeting “should be someone low level in the campaign so as not to send any signal,” itself a sign the campaign was trying to hide its efforts to make nice with the Russians.

You will not believe what Nancy is calling for, now.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) issued a call for an independent investigation into Trump campaign collusion with Russians just moments after Special Counsel Robert Mueller unsealed indictments for campaign operatives Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, who have turned themselves in to federal authorities.
(Source: Breitbart, here).

Editor's notes: Clearly, the Minority Leader in the House, if fully aware that the Mueller investigation is not producing the hoped for outcome. There simply is no other reason to call for another investigation.

Guaranteed, the Dems are going to regret the day they followed the lead of Hillary Clinton, and pushed for the Mueller investigation. It is kind of an axiomatic rule: When nothing is there, nothing can found. Apparently the Dems don't agree. And they think they are only intellectuals in the country. Kind of a laugher, no?

Trump has an advantage in all this Russian crap: Namely, that he is more popular than those accusing him.

Scott Adams of "Win Bigly," makes this curious summary statement as to what is going on with this Russian thingy.

Think about it: According to Adams, the most unpopular President of our time, is in the biggest fight of our time, with a host of characters less popular than he is, namely a pack of lawyers, the Dems and Hillary Clinton.

Adams, not a Trump supporter, concludes, "So I think he is going to come out OK."

News Alert: Mueller is, now, doing his part in a failed campaign sponsored by the Never Trump crowd, in both parties.

You should know that according to Jonathan Turley, George Washington Univ. Law School professor and former Justice Department attorney, told Tucker Carlson, on his Monday broadcast at FoxNews, that the Mueller investigation is now centered on registration of foreign involvement violations and financial transaction unreported and otherwise nefarious in nature.

And, General Flynn is apparently being charged with FARA violations, understanding that FARA is short for Foreign Agents Registration Act. According to Truley, this type of violation is fairly common and seldom prosecuted. With Mueller, the decision has been made to prosecute such violations.

In summary, Manafort is in trouble for fraud on many levels beginning in 2005, and, General Flynn for failure to register his involvement with a foreign power, something, as I just wrote, that is common to D.C.

The second major point of this post, has to do with Comey's testimony to Congress on January 6 fo 201, to wit:

“I discussed with the FBI’s leadership team whether I should be prepared to assure President-elect Trump that we were not investigating him personally,” Comey said. “That was true; we did not have an open counter-intelligence case on him. We agreed I should do so if circumstances warranted. During our one-on-one meeting at Trump Tower, based on President-elect Trump’s reaction to the briefing and without him directly asking the question, I offered that assurance.”

Surprisingly, there is no reason to believe that Mueller has changed that focus. I believe that Mueller has failed to find a connection between Trump and the Russians, even if non-criminal, and is now bent on justifying months and wasted months of time and money doing his part in a failed campaign to do the bidding of the Never Trump crowd, in both parties.

Finally, as a side light, Jeb Bush staffers are involved in this growing attack versus Trump, as is fellow conservative, Billy Kristol in his association with the Washington Free Beacon. Expect to see more on this point in future postings, here, at Midknight Review.

_________________
You might read https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-interpret-robert-muellers-new-charges/ I don't know that I endorse every line in this article, but it is important to understand what is going on with Mueller and this article does help.

Post Manafort's arrest? Life goes AS USUAL. Here is a listing of issues on tap for government attention.

Trump reportedly requested a meeting with the Iranian president at the United Nations in September. President Hassan Rouhani turned down Trump’s request, which would have come a day after Trump’s U.N. speech, in which he was highly critical of Iran. (Bloomberg)
The U.S. military is investigating whether two Navy SEALS had a role in the killing of a Green Beret soldier, who was strangled in Mali earlier this year. (Dan Lamothe)
A Belgian minister said the former president of Catalonia, who was removed from office last week amid a crisis over Catalonia's independence, could apply for asylum in his country. “Catalan people who feel politically threatened can ask for asylum in Belgium. That includes President Puigdemont. This is 100 percent legal,” said Theo Francken, the state secretary for asylum and migration. (Politico)
The president of Kurdistan announced his intention to resign. Masoud Barzani led the push for last month’s referendum on independence from Iraq, which prompted a military response from the Iraqi government. (Tamer El-Ghobashy)
Open Affordable Care Act enrollment begins Wednesday, but experts expect decreased sign-ups due to customer confusion over Republican efforts to dismantle the law and the Trump administration’s decision to slash funding for advertising. (Amy Goldstein and Juliet Eilperin)
The case of an American citizen suspected to be a member of ISIS is causing problems for the Justice Department, which does not believe it has enough evidence against the man to charge him. If charges aren’t filed, authorities will have to release the suspect shortly. (Dana Priest, Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky)
A retired Green Beret and convicted murderer attended Bowe Bergdhal’s sentencing hearing last week at Fort Bragg, where he made threatening remarks about the former Taliban prisoner and said during the proceedings: “I got a firing squad standing by.” His attendance appears to have been the result of a security oversight at the sprawling military complex. (Alex Horton)
The Education Department is considering only partially forgiving federal student loans for students defrauded by for-profit colleges. Since its implementation, the Obama-era policy has helped tens of thousands of deceived students and canceled more than $550 million in loans owed to the now-defunct schools. (AP)
Leaders of a historic church in Alexandria, Va., have decided to remove plaques from their sanctuary honoring George Washington and Robert E. Lee, who were both former parishioners. In a letter sent to members, church leaders called their decision “a sincere attempt to have a family conversation about our worship space, our larger history and our future.” (Lori Aratani)
Saudi Arabia has officially granted citizenship to a humanoid robot named Sophia. But the decision quickly prompted an international outcry as critics noted the machine — which looks like Audrey Hepburn, mimics human expression and insists she “strives for empathy” — ironically now enjoys more freedoms than real, flesh-and-blood women in the country. (Cleve R. Wootson Jr.)

By now you know that Manafort has been arrested. You also know that he was not a liaison between Trump and the Russians. Ohio Democrats know this, as well.

Understand as you read this excerpt, that the economy stupid is not going to be an issue for the 2018 or 2020 campaigns. So, where does that leave the Democrats? You tell me? ~ editor

Washington Post:
The Daily 202: Ohio Democrats say talking about Mueller's probe is not the way to win in 2018

COLUMBUS, Ohio — While Washington elites are fixated on Robert Mueller, the chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party is doing everything he can to prevent his activists and candidates from becoming distracted by the special counsel and his next moves.
“Let me just put it this way: We don’t spend a lot of time around here talking about Vladimir Putin and James Comey,” David Pepper said in an interview here Sunday. “I’m as frustrated as anyone by what Comey did and that Putin interfered, and Congress should get to the bottom of that, but if that’s what we talk about … we will lose again.”

Pepper has spent a year now trying to figure out how Democrats can win again in a state that Barack Obama carried twice but Hillary Clinton lost. An open governorship and a competitive Senate race in 2018 have added to the sense of urgency.

What is that message? In short: It’s still the economy, stupid. Democrats feel like they can both galvanize their own base and win over people who voted for Barack Obama but defected to Donald Trump by prosecuting the case that the president has not delivered on his populist promises.
Nearly a thousand of the Democratic faithful came to a convention center down the street from the state capitol last night for the state party’s annual dinner. During a three-hour program, in a dark ballroom on a frigid night, no one referenced the Russia investigation. Activists didn’t broach it during interviews, and I didn’t hear it come up in side conversations during a reception before the event. Instead, the biggest applause came whenever a politician had the good sense to celebrate Ohio State’s 39-38 win over Penn State on Saturday.
-- Mueller also went unmentioned during an hour-long debate yesterday between the four Democrats running in a wide-open primary to succeed Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), who is term limited. The lion’s share of the conversation focused on the economy, health care and the opioid epidemic. (Three issues, by the way, that are inextricably linked.)

To give you a taste of how it played out: Nan Whaley . . . . . .

(read the full article linked in this post's secondary headline.)

Here is a picture of 33 Democrats throwing in for 2020.

Most of them are what we call "nobodies." But I see Biden,

Warren, Bernies, Cory Booker, Franken, Zuckerberg, the billinaire Steyer, but strangely, no blacks. So much for the inclusiveness of

the Social Democrat Party.

Their inviestigation is failing, so they begin their effort that failure does not matter: It is not the crime but nature of the accusations that count - that is what these clowns believe.

Here is how CNN/NBC and the commun-ist forces giving power to that network plan on dealing with the projected failure of the Mueller investigation: In view of what appears to be a fact, CNN has decided to make any decision as to indictments and arrests, a "serious blow" to the presidency. Never mind that the stated purpose of the Mueller investigation was to bring down Trump via direct chargers as to his supposed ties to Russian Intel.

There is no connection between Trump and those in the Russian community seeking to influence our election process. Below is an opening comment from CNN in an effort to frame the arrest of whoever, on Monday, as a "major political blow to President Donald Trump." If Trump was not involved with Manafort or General Flynn's digressions, there is no "blow" to his presidency.

Regardless of who is charged and what the charges are, it is clear that the news constitutes a major political blow to President Donald Trump. After a week when the President attempted to spin a story about Hillary Clinton's corruption and collusion vis-a-vis the Russians, when some Republicans called on Mueller to resign and when the administration insisted that the congressional investigations come to an end, the hard-hitting Mueller may be about to shift the conversation.

They are not going to accomplish their goal in all this "investigating," so they are hoping to move the goal posts without folks noticing, and, pretend that they have been wildly successful.

Here is their problem: If they can't remove Trump via criminal accusation and/or impeachment, he will be hell to beat in 2020, what with a booming economy and a world giving credit to Trump as the leader of the Free World.

Kathy Griffin has devolved into a Hollywood hating phenom and I am loving it.

Kathy Griffin attacked TMZ founder Harvey Levin in a video posted to Twitter and YouTube Saturday, and released his personal phone number.

In the video, Griffin blasted Levin, saying, “I just want you guys to know Harvey Levin, Harvey Levin a blogger, is very much in bed with everyone from Hollywood to Donald Trump.”

Griffin said she made the video as a result of TMZ’s fueling the fire that erupted after she received criticism for posting a photo in which she held a fake severed head resembling Donald Trump. Griffin apologized for the video but was nevertheless the subject of controversy, losing her job with CNN’s New Year’s Eve program. In August, Griffin retracted her apology and said the whole thing was “blown out of proportion” and that she “lost everybody.”

Editor's notes: Griffin comes in first, ahead of other skanks such as Miley, and, Madonna. Her Moma must be proud - but a score of Hollywood types are not. I don't see her with a lot of stand-up friends. She became "popular," not because she was funny, but because she was filthy. Good riddance.

In the Virginia Governors Race, the Dems have started slinging mud. Does their internal polling tell them something we don't know???

Townhall: The polls are all over the place, but Virginia’s gubernatorial race could be close—and Republican candidate Ed Gillespie could win. That’s why national Democrats are getting jittery.
[Remember, Virginia is a Blue State ~ editor]

Case in point, this rather insane attack linking Ed Gillespie to white supremacy and neo-Nazis by the Ralph Northam campaign.

As some have noted, this is not something that you push out if you’re ahead in this race. I think it’s not off the mark to suggest that something spooked the Democrats in the internal polling. The mailer issued by Northam, the Democrat, tries to tie Gillespie to the horrific . . . . . . . . . .
Concerning the reaction from the local press, Virginia’s top newspapers have commented that what Northam has pushed out with this mailer is pretty much libelous, while others noted that Gillespie’s statement and actions after the tragic Charlottesville protests not only showed that the Republican candidate has done all the right things, but that he and Northam are on the same side of this issue.

How the Episcopal Church became the voice of the World Without Borders crowd.

Posted on October 29, 2017 by Steven Hayward in Political correctness, Religion

How Churches Die

There’s a saying attributed variously to Robert Conquest or John O’Sullivan that “any institution that is not explicitly right-wing will become left-wing over time.” A good case in point is the Episcopal Church, which was once known as “the Republican Party at prayer,” but which has for the last several decades fallen in line behind every politically correct enthusiasm of the left. . . . . .

From the Editor: Blogroll Power Line. It is a great conservative blog. And the above article is well worth the read.

Who is on the hot seat ? If Mueller has leaked to BuzzFeed, the victim is Manafort.

BuzzFeed: FBI Probe Of Paul Manafort Focuses On 13 “Suspicious” Wire Transfers — BuzzFeed News has learned of a series of wire transfers, made by companies linked to Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, that federal officials deemed suspicious. Many of the wires went

Editor's notes: Look, Paul Manafort is the only suspect whose house was raided and evidence taken. He may be the only one who has had transfer of cash carefully investigated. And he is the only one who was fired by Trump for having had concealed business dealings with the Russians.

Saudi Arabia is in the beginning of a "Moderatem Islam" movement.

Ian Bremmer, author of "Superpower" and Middle East expert, gives Trump credit for his visit to the Middle East, and his appearance before the 51 Islamic states in attendance. He was so well received by that conference that after his return, he did trade contracts worth 400 billion dollars. No such luck with Barack. No such kindly reception by the Muslim world with out wannabee Muslim Prez.

But the primary point of this post, is the revolution - the moderate revolution - that is going on within Saudi Arabia and its new King.

Trump visit and the new soon to be king of Saudi Arabia marks a historic change in the GEO political world of the Mid East. Barack was absolutely convinced that he would the change agent. Instead, he only brought chaos and division.

Hail to the Agent of Change and our Prez, Donald J Trump.

CNN is in tight with Fusion GPS. Anyone surprised?

CNN’s reporting on the Trump-Russia dossier has left out at least one crucial fact: the close ties between the network and the opposition research firm at the center of the dossier controversy.

CNN’s reporting on the dossier, led by justice correspondent Evan Perez, has been favorable to the firm, Fusion GPS, and hyped the dossier’s credibility. Left out of Perez’s reporting, which has relied largely on unnamed sources, is his personal closeness to Fusion GPS’ operatives. Fusion has repeatedly been described in Senate testimonies as a smear-for-hire operation that manufactures misleading or false media narratives for its clients.

Glenn Simpson, the Fusion co-founder most often associated with the dossier, is used to working on stories with Perez. As reporters at The Wall Street Journal, Perez and Simpson regularly co-authored stories on national security.

Another Fusion founder, Tom Catan, worked as a reporter for the Journal at the same time as Perez and Simpson. The third Fusion co-founder, Peter Fritsch, worked above Perez and Simpson as the senior national security editor.

Read the full report at The Daily Caller, here.

So, is Billy Kristol and the Washington Free Beacon implicated in the Russian probe? Absolutely not.

How misleading is this headline? Over 2300 such headlines have gone into print since Trump was sworn into office. 2300 nonsensical, misleading, and/or outright lies, since the Trump beginnings. And this is another one of those headlines.

New York Times: Conservative Website First Funded Anti-Trump Research by Firm That Later Produced Dossier

Here are the facts: The conservative website in question is that of The Washington Free Beacon. The anti-Trump character involved is none other than Bill Kristol, one of the first Trump Haters. And this storyline HAS NOTHING to do with the current probe into Fusion GPS. Nothing, and the NY Times knows this. That is why they wrote " . . . by firm that later produced the Dossier." "Latter" means, "has nothing to do with . . . ."

Here is an excerpt from the Free Beacon that helps to understand their use of opposition research:

Free Beacon, 10/27/2017:
Since its launch in February of 2012, the Washington Free Beacon has retained third party firms to conduct research on many individuals and institutions of interest to us and our readers. In that capacity, during the 2016 election cycle we retained Fusion GPS to provide research on multiple candidates in the Republican presidential primary, just as we retained other firms to assist in our research into Hillary Clinton. All of the work that Fusion GPS provided to the Free Beacon was based on public sources, and none of the work product that the Free Beacon received appears in the Steele dossier.

Go to the Beacon for the rest of the story, here.

Regular features found in Migknight Review - new and revised:

Besides the Mady Rose updates (300 clicks per week), and, Friday's Comprehensive News Headline posting (30-50 headlines in toto), I will be posting Gun Rights Updates when I receive them. This is the first of those posts:

STATE GRASSROOTS ROUND-UP

	Arizona Arizona: Anti-Hunting Groups Launch Initiative to Ban Cougar, Bobcat Hunting
	Illinois Illinois: Trigger Modification Ban Fails on House Floor
	Massachusetts Massachusetts: Gun Control Bills Go to Conference Committee
	Ohio Ohio: Right to Carry Reform Bill Passes House

Reporting on why Mueller's investigation is part of the Never Trumper campagin.

This is really a big deal. Posting a 3 pt GNP in a quarter that included three cat 4/5 hurricanes, a mass shooting in Vegas of historic proportions, and epic wild fires in the West, would have never happened in an Obama Administration. A move from 2% GNP to 3%, gives the American economy an additional trillion dollars and hundreds of new jobs. These numbers prove that the economy has been waiting for Trump. It is happening, folks. The end of the Federal/regulatory assault on business has come to an end. The nation's economy has shifted gears, and all the credit goes to Donald J Trump. Hail to the Chief ~ editor.

Daily Caller: The American economy grew at a 3 percent rate in the third quarter of 2017, continuing to expand after posting an impressive 3.1 percent growth rate in the second quarter, according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
President Donald Trump and members of his cabinet have repeatedly pledged to get the economy growing at a 3 percent, or higher, during his tenure in the White House. Republican leadership in Congress is on board with this message, barreling ahead with a tax reform to keep the economy revved up.
The U.S. stock market has skyrocketed since Trump defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, posting record highs on a near-weekly basis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average–the benchmark stock market index–is up 4,500 points since the 2016 November election, and the market has gained roughly $4 trillion in capitalization.

Prediction: Mueller, in bed with the likes of CNN, may arrest Manafort and Flynn on Monday.

The Russia investigation into President Trump's alleged collusion with Russia is being conducted by former FBI director Robert Mueller, who today saw the grand jury he impaneled recommend charges.
At least one person could face arrest as soon as this Monday.
But while the charges remain sealed until Monday, one news organization had the scoop Friday night.
CNN exclusively reported the news Friday, citing anonymous sources connected to the probe.
The news channel reports:

A federal grand jury in Washington, DC, on Friday approved the first charges in the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller, according to sources briefed on the matter.

The charges are still sealed under orders from a federal judge. Plans were prepared Friday for anyone charged to be taken into custody as soon as Monday, the sources said. It is unclear what the charges are.

A spokesman for the special counsel's office declined to comment.

Mueller has recently come under criticism for his role conducting the Russian probe. As the FBI director who oversaw his agency's investigation into Uranium One and Russian racketeering, some have argued he's not a disinterested observer on matters related to the FBI's reputation investigating Russia. The Wall Street Journal and others are calling for Mueller to recuse himself.

As of publication, every other media outlet reporting the story is sourcing it back to CNN.
CNN itself reported tonight that typically the subjects of grand jury charges are notified immediately, but in this case neither any subjects, nor their attorneys, have been notified.
CNN, meanwhile, did not disclose who affiliated with the Muller probe offered these updates. The network's report began with a reference to "sources briefed on the matter" but never shed any light on who the sources are.

See the report here.
________________________

Editor's notes: Why Monday? Mueller has indictments in hand. Let me say that again: MUELLER HAS INDICTMENTS IN HAND. But no arrests until Monday or, perhaps, Tuesday?! Why wait until then?

Clearly, the discovery of the Clinton's Campaign and DNC monetary investments in Fusion GPS and the creation of that phony document, the "Steele's Dossier," threatens to rob Mueller of his place in history. Monday, or, perhaps, Tuesday, is, also, the deadline for compliance with a court ordered surrender of documents and bank records held by Fusion GPS. And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is precisely why Mueller, with indictments in hand, is waiting until the first of next week to make these arrests.

Who are the subjects of the coming arrests? Well, no leaks on that, but Mueller has spent more time on Paul Manafort and General Flynn than any of the other candidates. In fact, Manafort's home was raided and boxes of "evidence" taken from that home. His is the only raid, by the way.

The fact the Mueller is waiting until Monday, coupled with the fact that he leaked the coming arrests to CNN proves the political nature of this investigation. Keep that in mind.

For certain, he will not arrest the president. Presidents cannot be indicted. They have to be impeached (the trial) and voted out of office, by congress. So that is off the table.

And if accusations against the President are not made by Mueller, this whole investigation will be considered a failure and an expensive waste of money and time. Millions have been spent and more than 300 hours of interviews have been taken, and for what? We don't know. But when the announcements are made, the Patriot Nation will be measuring those results against the time and money used to secure these arrests. I am betting the outcome will not look good for the Dems or Mueller.

Now you know. Enjoy the weekend. What will be will be.

Here is the background story on the man who is going to blow the lid off this Russian Collusion crap. Turns out it was Hillary, not Trump. Why am I not surprised.

Daily Caller: A former FBI informant who blew the whistle on a high-profile bribery case involving a Russian energy company was intimidated by Obama administration lawyers into dropping a civil suit against the government last year, his attorney says.

Victoria Toensing, the lawyer for the informant, told The Daily Caller’s Vince Coglianese that Obama Justice Department lawyers told her client that “his reputation and liberty [was] in jeopardy” if he did not drop a lawsuit against the government.

On Wednesday, the Trump Justice Department released the informant from a confidentiality agreement, clearing the way for him to testify before several congressional committees about his undercover work at Uranium One, a Canada-based energy company that has ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton and their family foundation.

The Justice Department’s waiver will allow the informant to meet with the Senate Judiciary Committee, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the House Intelligence Committee.

The FBI and Justice Department had previously blocked the informant from speaking with Congress or anyone else.

“The Russians have threatened him, and up until just last night the U.S. government has threatened him,” Toensing told Coglianese during an interview on WMAL’s “Mornings on the Mall.”

The Washington Free Beacon was an original funder to Fusion GPS back in the days before there was any Russian connection.

Don't get confused. Hillary's campaign and the DNC funded the Steele Dossier produced by Fusion GPS after that research company developed contacts with the Russians ~ editor.

Washington Examiner reports: Lawyers for the conservative publication Washington Free Beacon informed the House Intelligence Committee Friday that the organization was the original funder for the anti-Trump opposition research project with Fusion GPS.

The Free Beacon funded the project from the fall of 2015 through the spring of 2016, whereupon it withdrew funding and the project was picked up by the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign.

The original arrangement between the Free Beacon and Fusion GPS involved opposition research into multiple Republican candidates, not just front-runner Donald Trump.

Sources close to the Free Beacon stress that the project, when the Free Beacon funded it, had nothing to do with Russia and did not involve Christopher Steele, the former British spy who gathered anti-Trump dirt in Russia. Steele was retained by Fusion GPS when the project was funded by Democrats, and not in its initial phase, when the Free Beacon was involved.

The Free Beacon was founded in 2012. Its founders included Michael Goldfarb, who has moved back and forth between conservative journalism, politics, and activism. The Free Beacon was originally part of a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization called the Center for American Freedom, but in 2014 became a for-profit organization. It has never revealed its ownership.

GOP intends to place a financial cap on Mueller's never ending "investigation."

There is a developing movement within GOP leadership to place limits, financial limits, on Mueller's investigation. Obviously, he has moved on and away from any potential charges against President Trump, or charging Trump with anything close to "high crimes and misdemeanors."

Turns out that the Dems have gotten their collective butt kicked every way but loose. Kind of funny to my way of thinking.

And, do they climb out of the ditch they are digging? Not a chance. Why? Because they know that all this waste of time and money spent on a fantasy, will come back on them - not to mention the fact that they are guilty of the very crimes they have falsely accused our president.

Comprehensive list of headlines for the week that was:

I intend to post a comprehensive list of major and interesting headlines (interesting to me) for the "week that was." If you missed something or see something of interest, this list is for you. ~ editor