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Is This Why Justin Amash Is Pushing for Trump’s Impeachment?

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By Townhall. . . .Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) had a tantrum because former White House Counsel Don McGahn decided to wipe his rear end with the subpoena that was issued to him. It’s part of the Trump White House’s legal strategy of slapping away these worthless subpoenas because we all know these aren’t oversight investigations. They’re impeachment hearings. They’re aimed at trying to get the president over anything, something.

Storm noted that there’s been a liberal shift in the programming at Fox New on the weekends, which could be a sign that we’re in the post-Roger Ailes era. Rupert Murdoch’s sons are running the show—and they’re not conservatives. He’ll walk you through it folks, but let’s just say that Chris Wallace should find guests who aren’t liberals or former Obama officials. This is Fox News after all. . .

And alas, we come to Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), one of the few libertarians in Congress, who recently declared that Trump could be impeached, which is rich given that police state tactics were used against the president and some of his staff during the 2016 election. Also, there could be a China connection. Yep, trade is causing tension between the U.S. and China and it would seem that the Michigan congressman has some investments that could get squeezed. Sofia Carbone at Human Events has the story:

In 2010 the Michigan Live website detailed how Amash and his family were ostensibly profiting from the creation of tools in China which were then sold by the Amash family business in Michigan.

The impeachment impresario’s 2017 Financial Disclosure Report details the congressman reported between $100,001 and $1,000,000 in income from a company called Michigan Industrial Tools, which in turn is owned by Dynamic Source International, based in China. Dynamic Source International manufactures products overseas and sells them in the United States via Michigan Industrial Tools (MIT).

(Read more from “Is This Why Justin Amash Is Pushing for Trump’s Impeachment?” HERE)

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Trump Impeachment Call from Rep. Amash ‘Very Disturbing,’ Kevin McCarthy Says

By Fox News. House GOP Chairman Kevin McCarthy is disputing five-term Congressman Justin Amash’s call for President Trump’s impeachment.

Joining a growing chorus of Republicans, McCarthy said Tuesday that Rep. Amash, D-Mich., was out of step with others in the Republican Party and with the American people.

On “Sunday Morning Futures” this past weekend he told Maria Bartiromo, “What he wants is attention in this process. He’s not a criminal attorney. He’s never met Mueller. He’s never met Barr. And now he’s coming forward with this?”

“It’s very disturbing,” McCarthy remarked. “This is exactly what you would expect from Justin. He never supported the president. And I think he’s just looking for attention.” (Read more from “Trump Impeachment Call from Rep. Amash ‘Very Disturbing,’ Kevin McCarthy Says” HERE)

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This Is What China Tariffs Could Do for American Jobs

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A 25 percent tariff on all imported goods from China would create more than 720,000 American jobs by 2024, a new study finds.

The United States would undergo a nationwide reshoring-jobs effort if it imposed a tariff on all Chinese imports, the latest study from Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) researchers Jeff Ferry and Steven Byers finds.

Ferry and Byers’ study reveals that an across-the-board 25 percent tariff on every good imported to the U.S. from China would “deliver a significant, sustained boost to the US economy” by creating 721,000 American jobs and adding $125 billion to the nation’s GDP by 2024.

“Our model demonstrates that across-the-board US tariffs on Chinese imports stimulate the US economy, increase US production and jobs, and lead to a reduction in US import costs over time,” Ferry said.

“This result is consistent with US experience in 2018 and early 2019 when tariffs on steel, aluminum, and other industries led to job creation in those sectors,” Ferry said. “The modeling results provide additional evidence that decoupling the US economy from China and its predatory trade and subsidy practices will make the US economy stronger, with more production, investment, and jobs.” (Read more from “This Is What China Tariffs Could Do for American Jobs” HERE)

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With Farmers Hit Hard by Chinese Tariffs, the Trump Admin Devises $15 Billion Agriculture Aid Plan

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As America’s trade fight with China escalates, the Trump administration is planning to provide even more assistance to farmers whose bottom lines have been affected by the increases in foreign tariffs.

Last year the federal government ended up paying farmers $12 billion to cover the loss of foreign sales to tariff increases, and this year it’s looking like the number is going to be $15 billion.

“We’re gonna take the highest year, the biggest purchase that China has ever made with our farmers, which is about $15 billion,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday, “and do something reciprocal to our farmers so our farmers can do well, they’ll be planting, they’ll be able to sell for less and make the same kind of money until such a time as it’s all straightened out.”

The move comes after Trump faced considerable pushback from Senate Republicans whose state agricultural economies were hit by slumping foreign sales, the Washington Post reports.

In a Monday press release, Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee Chairman John Hoeven, R-S.D., praised the President’s idea and noted that the assistance would take the form of “Market Facilitation Program” payments and other agricultural assistance.

“We appreciate the Administration’s recognition of the challenges in farm country and their commitment to provide agriculture assistance. As chairman of the Agriculture Appropriations Committee, I’ve been making the case to the Administration, both at USDA and the White House, that our producers need another round of MFP as well as other ag assistance,” the statement says. “At the same time, supporting our agriculture industry will send a clear message to China that the U.S. is going to do what it takes to get better trade deals.”

While agricultural commodities across the board have been hit hard by the standoff between Washington and Beijing, one of the hardest-hit crops is soybeans, which fell to record low prices on Monday amid a massive supply glut and stalled Asian purchases.

And that supply glut is hitting the president right in his geographic base of support, as several of the states with the highest soybean acreages are states that voted for him in 2016, as shown by the map below.

“We’ve been understanding during this negotiation process, but we cannot withstand another year in which our most important foreign market continues to slip away and soybean prices are 20 to 25 percent, or even more, below pre-tariff levels,” said John Heisdorffer, American Soybean Association Chairman and Iowa soy farmer, on Monday. “Our patience is waning, our finances are suffering, and the stress from months of living with the consequences of these tariffs is mounting.”

Early on Tuesday morning, the president tweeted that “Our great Patriot Farmers will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of what is happening now,” and that the funding for the new subsidies would be paid for by the “massive Tariffs” currently leveled against China and others. “The Farmers have been ‘forgotten’ for many years. Their time is now!”

(For more from the author of “With Farmers Hit Hard by Chinese Tariffs, the Trump Admin Devises $15 Billion Agriculture Aid Plan” please click HERE)

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Trump Fires First Shot in U.S.-China Trade War

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The trade war begins: Trump hikes tariffs on China

The Trump administration has officially imposed tariffs on roughly $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

Tariffs on the select Chinese exports were raised from 10 percent to 25 percent overnight, resulting in a plummeting stock market and a promise from Beijing to impose retaliatory tariffs of its own.

“China deeply regrets that the US has decided to increase the tariffs from 10 per cent to 25 per cent on US$200 billion worth of China goods exported to the United States,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement following the tariff hike.

“We’ll have no choice but to take the necessary countermeasures,” the statement added.

President Trump took to Twitter Friday to signal that he may leave the tariffs in place for quite some time.

“Talks with China continue in a very congenial manner – there is absolutely no need to rush,” the president said in one of his tweets.

North Korea again commences missile tests following long hiatus

The regime that rules North Korea has started to test-fire short-range missiles, following relative calm through the course of the Trump administration.

On Thursday, the South Korean military reported seeing Pyongyang test-firing projectiles into the sea, marking a significant escalation from a regime that was once in discussions about denuclearization.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has pledged to keep his military in “full-combat posture,” according to North Korean state media, which released photos of Kim watching the military exercises that occurred this week.

President Trump was not particularly amused with the North Korean saber-rattling, but remained open to further negotiations.

“They were smaller missiles, they’re short range missiles,” President Trump told reporters. “Nobody’s happy about it, but we’re taking a good look and we’ll see, we’ll see. The relationship continues, but we’ll see what happens.”

Guaido says he would ‘probably accept’ US military intervention in Venezuela

Venezuela opposition leader or interim president, depending upon your politics and views on the situation unfolding in Caracas, Juan Guaido continues to consider the possibility of American military intervention in his country.

In an interview with the Italian publication La Stampa, Guaido said he would “probably accept” U.S. military intervention intended to topple socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro.

“If the Americans were to propose a military intervention I would probably accept it,” Guaido said, according to a translation by The Telegraph.

Iranian regime offers cold response to POTUS’ ‘call me’ outreach

The regime that rules Iran is thoroughly rejecting any notion of diplomacy with the United States, following President Trump’s offer to negotiate with the mullahs this week.

“There will be no negotiations with America,” a top Iranian general raged, according to one of its state-run media outfits, Fox News reported Friday.

Trump said Thursday at the White House, commenting on the newly imposed sanctions against the Tehran regime: “What I would like to see with Iran, I would like to see them call me.”

The Trump administration has sent some serious firepower to maintain a presence off of Iran’s coast, following reported U.S. intelligence picking up information on a terrorist threat originating from Iran and its terrorist proxies.

Sec. Pompeo to meet with Putin in Russia next week

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet face to face with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week in Sochi, Russia, the State Department said in a press release Friday.

While in Sochi, he will also meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The parties will discuss “the full range of bilateral and multilateral challenges,” the State Department said.

Secretary Pompeo will also lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Russia. The landmark commemorates the Soviet soldiers who perished during World War II, when the U.S. and Soviet Union struck an alliance to defeat Nazi Germany. (For more from the author of “Trump Fires First Shot in U.S.-China Trade War” please click HERE)

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Trump Just Threatened HUGE Tariffs on China

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China may back out of trade talks scheduled for this week with U.S. officials after President Donald Trump threatened Beijing with increased tariffs.

Trump said in a Sunday afternoon Twitter post that the current 10% tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods will rise to 25% on Friday. He also threatened to impose 25% levies on an additional $325 billion of Chinese goods “shortly.”

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He had planned to bring a large delegation to Washington on Wednesday to hash out a trade deal — and there’d been talk in recent days that something resembling a deal could result. Instead, two sources briefed on the talks said the Chinese side may back out of this week’s negotiations.

That was pegged to Trump’s new threats, they said, which abandon a six-month truce after Beijing waffled on some previously discussed commitments.

One source said the Chinese vice premier will likely cancel the trip he’d planned for himself and a 100-person delegation for the final round of talks that U.S. officials had previously said could yield a deal by Friday. Chinese officials canceled a trip in late September 2018 in similar circumstances. (Read more from “Trump Just Announced HUGE Tariffs on China” HERE)

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Chinese City Offering Rewards for People to Turn in Christian Groups

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A city in southern China is offering $1,500 to citizens willing to inform on “illegal religious groups,” ramping up China’s crackdown on underground churches.

The Guangzhou Department of Ethnic and Religious Affairs officially announced the offer of the reward on its website, saying that anyone who provides information about the structure of an illegal religious group, or information leading to the capture of key members and leaders of those groups would receive 10,000 Yuan. The announcement comes as part of Guangzhou officials’ increasingly severe crackdown on Christian churches that have not registered with China’s communist government. . .

Guangzhou authorities raided and shut down Rongguili Church in December of 2018, claiming that the unregistered church had violated China’s Religious Affairs Regulation. The church, which served a congregation of roughly 5,000 Christian faithful, was one of the most prominent centers of Christian worship in southern China. Christians in Guangzhou, however, are not alone in suffering persecution from Chinese government officials.

Shortly before the closure of Rongguili Church, authorities in Chengdu shut down Early Rain Covenant Church and arrested its pastor and 100 of its 500 members. Authorities in Beijing shut down Zion Church, which served 1,500, in September of that year. Chinese authorities have repeatedly kidnapped and detained pastors and priests who refuse to submit to the Chinese Communist Party. At least four regional governments have also banned children from attending church and any other religious activity and threatened any believers caught taking a child to church with severe penalties. (Read more from “Chinese City Offering Rewards for People to Turn in Christian Groups” HERE)

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China Warns U.S. Against Push to Label Pakistan-Based Jihadi a ‘Global Terrorist’

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China and its all-weather ally Pakistan are reportedly furious with the United States for pushing a draft resolution this week to outlaw the Pakistani leader of an anti-India, U.S.-designated terrorist group directly to the United Nations Security Council, bypassing established procedures. . .

Responding to the recent U.S. move, Geng Shuang, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, reportedly urged the United States to “act cautiously” and avoid “forcefully” pushing the draft resolution.

“This is not in line with [the] resolution of the issue through dialogue and negotiations. This has reduced the authority of the committee as a main anti-terrorism body of the UNSC, and this is not conducive to the solidarity and only complicates the issue,” Geng added. . .

China and Pakistan are closed military and financial allies. While Pakistan refuses to condemn the reported mistreatment of Muslims in China’s Xinjiang province, Beijing has repeatedly defended Islamabad against accusations of serving as a sanctuary for terrorists.

According to the U.S. government, China faces a terrorist threat from jihadis training and operating in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, which houses the highest concentration of terrorist groups in the world. (Read more from “China Warns U.S. Against Push to Label Pakistan-Based Jihadi a ‘Global Terrorist'” HERE)

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Top U.S. General Makes Revelation About Google and China’s Relationship

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During his testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford said while Google continues to not work with the U.S. military, they will work with China. He said their work with China in turn benefits the Chinese military.

“The work that Google is doing with China is indirectly benefiting the Chinese military and I’ve been very public on this issue as well,” Dunford said. “The way I described it to our industry partners is look we’re the good guys and the values we represent and the system we represent is the one that will allow, and has allowed you, to thrive.”

“We watch with great concern when industry partners work in China, knowing there is that indirect benefit, and frankly ‘indirect’ maybe not a full characterization of the way it really is,” he continued. “It’s more of a direct benefit to the Chinese military.” . . .

Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan also warned about China’s increased spending on its military.

“China’s defense spending approaches that of the U.S., when we take into account purchasing power and the portion of our budget going to military pay and benefits. “That, coupled with China’s organized approach to steal foreign technology, has allowed China to modernize its missile, space, and cyber capabilities, as well as project power far beyond its borders,” he said. (Read more from “Top U.S. General Makes Revelation About Google and China’s Relationship” HERE)

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Prominent NeverTrumper Led Org That Took Illegal Campaign Cash From Chinese Nationals

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The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has administered a record-breaking fine to Right to Rise USA, the super PAC that supported Jeb Bush’s failed presidential campaign.

According to the FEC, Right to Rise accepted a campaign donation of $1.3 million from American Pacific International Capital (APIC), a corporation incorporated in California but controlled by Chinese nationals, which makes the donation illegal under campaign finance law. The super PAC will have to pay a $390,000 penalty for the infraction, while APIC was fined $550,000.

While the media has extensively covered this information, little coverage has been devoted to the individuals in charge of the super PAC at the time that it accepted the cash from the China-backed outfit. Most of the focus has been centered around Neil Bush’s seat on the board of APIC and on Charlie Spies, then treasurer of the super PAC and now its general counsel. No media outlets have discussed who was in charge of the massive outfit and his possible role in the scandal.

Mike Murphy is a high-profile NeverTrumper and a valued member of the Republican consultant class who was best known for working on the failed John McCain presidential campaign. He is also a controversial figure for his role in wasting $100 million to try to get Jeb Bush elected. He was in charge of Right to Rise at the time the super PAC committed the massive FEC violation. It remains unclear what Murphy knew of the illegal donation at the time.

Murphy, like his close friend Bill Kristol, pretty clearly cottons to the Trump-Russia conspiracy theories.

Moreover, the GOP consultant, who is also a NBC contributor, frequently appears on television to advance the Trump-Russia conspiracy.

It is all too ironic that Murphy, who forwards the idea that the president is tied to a foreign government, oversaw an organization that was subject to a potential Chinese influence operation.

The Chinese government runs what scholars and intelligence officials consider the most sophisticated influence campaigns worldwide. Beijing designates large sums to influencing elections throughout the world and has attempted to interfere in U.S. politics, too. The Trump administration recently accused Beijing of attempting to interfere in the 2018 election.

Trump-Russia never came to fruition, but China’s continuing influence and interference efforts, through both influential Republican and Democratic circles, continue apace. (For more from the author of “Prominent NeverTrumper Led Org That Took Illegal Campaign Cash From Chinese Nationals” please click HERE)

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China Is Furious With U.S. – Here’s Why

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By The Daily Caller. China lashed back Saturday at the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom’s claim that Beijing is “at war with faith,” calling it slander.

Sam Brownback urged China in a Friday speech in Hong Kong to allow investigations of its detainment camps, in which former Uighur Muslim detainees said they experienced inhumane conditions, torture and brainwashing, and also said the Chinese government must correct the wrongs it has committed against religious freedom in general.

The Chinese foreign ministry’s office in Hong Kong in turn demanded that critics stop their “slander” of China’s policies and stop using religious issues to interfere in Chinese affairs. . .

The office called on U.S. officials to “cease their slander of China’s policies on religion and the situation with freedom of faith and cease using religious issues to interfere in China’s internal affairs,” according to The Associated Press.

Brownback said the Trump administrations is “deeply concerned” by China’s oppression of Uighur Muslims, which he characterized as “a deliberate attempt by Beijing to redefine and control these Muslim minority groups, [their] identity, culture and faith.” (Read more from “China Is Furious With U.S. – Here’s Why” HERE)

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China Protests U.S. Criticism of Policies on Religion

By AP. China has issued a protest over remarks the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom made criticizing Beijing’s polices toward Muslim and Tibetan Buddhist minorities and saying the country was “at war with faith.” . . .

China’s constitution and laws protect freedom of religion and critics should “cease their slander of China’s policies on religion and the situation with freedom of faith and cease using religious issues to interfere in China’s internal affairs,” the office said in a statement.

U.S. officials and UN experts say China is believed to be holding 1 million Uighurs, Muslims and members of other majority Muslim ethnic groups in political education camps in Xinjiang. The U.S. and other governments have criticized the crackdown. (Read more from “China Protests U.S. Criticism of Policies on Religion” HERE)

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