TOM BRADY: KARMA CAUGHT UP WITH HIM IN MINNEAPOLIS.

ICHEOKU says for any person, especially a man, to leave his friend hanging in the hour of his most need of him, says a lot about the character of such person. Tom Brady was President Donald John Trump's good friend, a buddy, with whom he has shared so many private jets hours and also played several golf together. But last year when the whole world was piling up on the president, instead of showing his support in solidarity, TB became a no show and to make matters worse, he boycotted the Patriots victory visit to the White House and to the chagrin of the president. 

A lot of watery excuses were made for his absence but Americans knew better. Americans saw a wossie whose wife wears the pantsuit in his house and who could not stand up to his wife and tell her that as a team captain Quarterback, he has to lead his boys to the White House; and she better put up with it or shut the f**k up and at worse, get himself another wife if she walks. But TB wavered and abandoned his long time friend when his presence at the White House would have meant the whole world to the president. The president and millions of American irredeemable deplorables have not forgotten and will never forget the dissing Tom Brady gave to the leader of Team MAGA, President Donald John Trump, just because his wife, who he could easily replace, made him. What a friend the president has in Tom Brady; and you ask yourself with a friend like Tom Brady, does President Donald John Trump need an enemy.

But the Almighty God to whom we all pray to was not asleep nor would he let Tom Brady shine as usual after his great betrayal of a president who did nothing to deserve his sudden turn back on him. So in Super Bowl LII, in Minneapolis Minnesota, the good Lord sent the great Karma to go remind Tom Brady how not to be bad friend. Tom Brady and his New England Patriots were denied another moment in the sun of winning the NFL championship, as an underdog Philadelphia Eagles defeated them. ICHEOKU says whoever said that the good Karma ever goes to sleep. Simply put, a payback time for Tom Brady for abandoning his friend President Donald John Trump, just because of the convenience of political correctness and what was popular; and forgetting the road they traveled together prior. SAD.

THE RELEASED FBI FISA MEMO: UNMASKED THE MOTHER OF ALL COLLUSIONS.

ICHEOKU says the most disturbing thing arising from the released memo is the implicit corruption within the upper echelon of the Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as the Justice Department; two organs of government empowered to enforce the laws of the United States of America. The very thing that makes third world non functioning countries not functional - corruption; and this is the sole reason the matter must be pursued to its logical conclusion, in order to prevent any future such violations and once again reestablish the confidence of the American people in both departments. 

So many lawyers have been taken down for trying to bribe witnesses and pervert justice; so many judges have been dealt with for taking bribes; as well as Congress men and women, some of who served terms in prison and are still serving terms for trying to corrupt the system; all thanks to the investigative prowess of the FBI. As for ordinary Joe and Jill citizens of America, several thousands of them have been taken down and punished through the instrumentality of both the FBI and DOJ as well; hence both organs of law enforcement must be made to practice what they preach by forcing them to stay above board and atop of every fray. They have to be held accountable for their present involvement in the matter leading up to the last election and attempt to subvert the election of President Donald John Trump and sabotage his presidency. Simply put, what they did was both grave and unacceptable to our solemn trust in their law enforcement infallibility.

Therefore allowing the current unfolding sordid drama to go unpunished is condoning a cancer which will eventually eat into the very fabric that holds and makes America exceptional. The people must not be made to lose faith in the very backbone of our justice system and only getting to the very root of the matter and punishing everyone implicated therein is the only acceptable action that will assuage the current matter. It does not matter who goes to prison over the scandal and everyone implicated thereto must be made to face the justice which they tried to pervert by colluding to subvert an American presidential election. Any other thing, conclusion or opinion is simply unacceptable and should not be canvassed nor entertained, period. 

Finally Americans have now seen who actually participated in the real "RUSSIAN COLLUSION"; yet they were chasing the wind all along, pointing Americans to the wrong direction. possibly in their attempt to hoodwink the American people and prevent them from seeing who in fact are the culpable parties here. It is a very sad day for all those who have been sent away for corruption as well as the entire American people whose faith in the justice system has been so supremely shaken up with what the released memo revealed. How else can anyone sum it up than to say it was the mother of all collusion. 

PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI: HIS HEART IS WITH HIS FULANI PEOPLE.

ICHEOKU says actually blames those novitiate Nigerians who were expecting something different from President Muhammadu Buhari, a Fulani first and Nigerian second, inexplicable president of Nigeria. A man with such a storied pro Fulani credentials dating way back in his days as Lt Colonel in the Nigerian army that fought the Biafran civil war and continuing till the present. Yet some Nigerians are living in denial and wishing that what is not there could magically assume a form and effervesce to reality. It is only in Nigeria that holograms are mistaken for real people and expected to perform like humans with blood in their veins and brain in their cranial cavity. As for ICHEOKU and other rightly  thinking Nigerians, we are not surprised by the president's current antics, particularly his soft heart for the Fulani people. Rather, we would have been surprised had the president been any different or acting any differently and in any other way, short of his current Fulanization of Nigeria escapade. 

Simply put, there is no reasonable basis for any right thinking Nigerian to, based on the president's storied antecedents and precedents, justify any such expectation that President Muhammadu Buhari would be a fair minded Nigerian president; who is not biased for his Fulani roots. This is a man who never left Nigerians in doubt as to where his true loyalty lies and had consistently proved and showed it whenever the opportunity  arose. Therefore, nobody and no Nigerian should now blame him for trying to unifying his  Fulani people of Niger Republic with their Fulani kits and kins of Northwestern Nigeria into one formidable power bloc and whatever arranged political unit he desires or will craft out sometime later in the future. Fulani United globalization bug seemed to have bitten the president and his mission has now apparently changed from leading Nigeria towards attaining greatness to organizing a strong Fulani caliphate which will be competitively relevant in the affairs of the world, particularly in Nigeria and Africa in general.

This is a man who as then Head of State, locked up in a maximum security prison a Vice President while placing the Fulani president in a luxurious home arrest, simply because he is a Fulani and better than the rest. Here is a president who as then Head of State, while prosecuting his supposed War Against Indiscipline and locking up politicians in long prison sentences for corruption, allowed his Fulani ADC Jokolo, to clear 53 suitcases loaded with currency and other valuables belonging to his Fulani father and then Emir of Gwandu from the customs and without consequence or paying necessary import duties or undergoing normal routine Custom's clearance of imported goods. Here is a president who as then Head of State, sided and sponsored a Fulani man from Niger Republic Ide Oumaru for the Secretary General of then Organization of African Unity and against his fellow Nigerian country man and then already Acting Secretary General Peter Onu. Any Nigerian who would expect such a man, who could take such audacious Fulani action, to suddenly become more Nigerian, needs to have his or her head examined. 

Here is a man who then as a "bloody" civilian led a twenty vehicle convoy to Agodi Ibadan to protest to then Governor Lam Adesina that "your people are killing my people", arising from a Fulani crash with local indigenes. Then he continued threatening the lives of baboons and dogs and even took some lives of baboon and dogs; and was planning to take more lives of baboon and dogs until Goodluck Jonathan conceded an election which was otherwise heavily rigged by Fulani people for their Fulani great uncle and now President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari. These disposable baboons and dogs are definitely not of Fulani stock, otherwise he would not have made them an endangered specie. That thousands of Fulani from Niger Republic and Chad were bused in during the last presidential election to boost the voters in Kano, Bauchi and other Fulani border communities of Northern Nigeria is a fact. That thousands of underage Fulani almajiris voted in that election was also a fact. 

The present Inspector General of Police as then police commissioner in Kano oversaw the mouth numbing rigging that witnessed a 100% voter turnout in Kano. The first of its kind in any part of the world, where no registered person died, relocated, traveled, was indisposed, in hospital, incarcerated was unable to vote; but it happened in Kano State under another crazed-out Fulani Governor Kwankwanso and they broke out for their Fulani big brother and uncle President Muhammadu Buhari. The IGP was handsomely rewarded with the coveted position of the IGP for his brazen audacity during the election in Kano State which also saw the resident Electoral Commissioner burnt to death alongside his family to prevent his threatened exposure of what took place in that election.

Then add the Fulani INEC chairman Jega who skewed the election for the Fulani desired outcome and of course the Fulani heads of NSA, Defense etc, whose all goal was to engineer a power shift back to the North, despite serving under the pleasure of an incumbent Southerner who appointed them to office. But atypical of the Fulani people, their loyalty is first to the Fulani tribe before any other thing comes a distant second. So without an organized Fulani consensus to elect President Muhammadu Buhari president and conspiracy against then incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, there would not have been a President Muhammadu Buhari today. Understandably, a grateful president who knows that he owes so much to his Fulani brothers for his presidency, decided to go all out of his way to show them much love. His gratitude and appreciation for the honor of having made him president, saw him rewarding his Fulani foot soldiers, who midwifed and made possible his presidency against all odds, with the headship of practically every security agencies in the country as well as other very juicy parastatals. 

When you add his first trip abroad which was to the citadel of Fulani in Africa, Agadez, Niger Republic, to pay homage to his roots and to show where his heart really lies, then the picture of his unalloyed loyalty gets clearer. He got away with that and now his Fulani brothers herdsmen are running amok throughout the country without reprisals and being protected by their big uncle in Aso Rock. His latest mantra is that seven Fulani lives are worth more than 73 Tiv lives and the Fulani axe men's brigandage and spilling of blood is continuing, unabated and unchecked in the country; simply because their big brother or rather great uncle is in Aso Rock. That done, he ordered the minister of Transport to build a railroad from Daura to Niger Republic while depriving the entire Southeast of Nigeria such infrastructural development. The same man had a 1000 kilometer of pipeline constructed and completed, bringing crude oil from Niger Republic to Kaduna refinery, since becoming president. His latest Fulani project is the refinery he is now proposing to build at the tip of Katsina State that will be fed with crude oil from Niger Republic. 

ICHEOKU completely and fully understands that people tends to gravitate towards their father's lineage and President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria should not be an exception or expected to otherwise be any different. His biological father, Mallam Muhammadu Buhari Sr, a duck seller, was from Agadez, Niger Republic. According to his story, it was during  one of his business trips to sell his ducks in Daura that he was lovestruck with the president's mother and the rest they say became history. But that is not without saying that a child cannot take the citizenship of his or her mother as well; but Nigerians should cut the president some slacks and put on the president's lenses in order to see why the president's heart is somewhere other than in Nigeria and his love for his kindred in Niger Republic is profound. His father's people are his people; and even ICHEOKU would be so similarly smitten if the president; a man who has now become the most successful son of Niger Republic who achieved greatness by becoming president of the most populous country in Africa. That definitely is a milestone and every culture celebrates their successful stories. 

So Nigerians, please stop, cease and desist, from castigating the president's overtures to his people across the border up North as blood is thicker than water. Fulani existed as a people long before the British created the contraption called Nigeria and still remains indissoluble. He shares the same DNA with them and maintains other cultural affinities with the Fulani people and his heart, lies with them and the president is eminently entitled to so do. Therefore, let Nigerians show some understanding instead of the current reproach and if they are still mad, to next time, vote for a real Nigerian for Nigerian president because foreigners will always identify with their own people. Even Joseph identified with his Israeli people; as well as Moses who left his epicurean heights in Pharaoh's Egypt to be with his people and even killed an Egyptian in defense of his Jewish own people. Then President of the United States of America, Barack Hussein Obama, left his heart in Kenyan, despite being the president of the most powerful country in the world. Yes, it is the heart and most times, it controls all of our actions and President Muhammadu Buhari is just a victim of his heart.

THE MEMO: THE CRITICAL POINTS OF CONFLICT.

Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe admitted that no surveillance warrant would have been sought from the FISA court without the Michael Steele's dossier information. Michael Steele was engaged by Hillary Clinton's campaign and Fusion GPS to obtain dirt information on then candidate Donald John Trump which subsequently produced the infamous Steele's dossier. 

Michael Steele admitted to then Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr that he “was desperate that Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate about him not, being president.” Bruce Ohr's wife was also then employed by the same Fusion GPS which hired Michael Steele to help it with digging up dirt on Trump. But Bruce Ohr kept this critical bias information and the fact that his own wife was also employed in the illicit dirty job activities by the same Fusion GPS out of the Justice department application to the FISA court to obtain a surveillance warrant that led up to the Russian probe. 

ICHEOKU says the web of conspiracy could not be any clearer: first you have a desperate Michael Steele who is out to stop the election of Donald Trump by all and every means necessary. Then you have interest of financial gains through employment, which probably persuaded the hiding of the vital information from the FISA court. The information could have negated the issuance of the warrant and without which the court might have otherwise declined its issuance. Yet somebody is saying what; that the Russian Investigation is not a big ruse or as the president would say, a political WITCH hunt.

THE MEMO: THE INFAMOUS FBI AND DOJ ANTI TRUMP (FISA) DOSSIER.

Declassified by order of the President 

February 2, 2018

January 18, 2018

To: HPSCI Majority Members

From: HPSCI Majority Staff

Subject: Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Abuses at the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Purpose

This memorandum provides Members an update on significant facts relating to the Committee’s ongoing investigation into the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and their use of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) during the 2016 presidential election cycle. Our findings, which are detailed below, 1) raise concerns with the legitimacy and legality of certain DOJ and FBI interactions with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), and 2) represent a troubling breakdown of legal processes established to protect the American people from abuses related to the FISA process.

Investigation Update 

On October 21, 2016, DOJ and FBI sought and received a FISA probable cause order (up; under Title VII) authorizing electronic surveillance on Carter Page from the FISC. Page is a US citizen who served as a volunteer advisor to the Trump presidential campaign. Consistent with requirements under FISA, the application had to be first certified by the Director or Deputy Director of the FBI. It then required the approval of the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General (DAG), or the Senate confirmed Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division. The FBI and DOJ obtained one initial FISA warrant targeting Carter Page and three FISA renewals from the FISC. As required by statute (50 U.S.C. 1805 (d)(1)) a FISA order on an American citizen must be renewed by the FISC every 90 days and each renewal requires a separate finding of probable cause. Then-Director James Comey signed three FISA applications in question on behalf of the FBI, and Deputy Director Andrew McCabe signed one. Sally Yates, then-Acting DAG Dana Boente, and DAG Rod Rosenstein each signed one or more FISA applications on behalf of DOJ. 

Due to the sensitive nature of foreign intelligence activity, FISA submissions (including renewals) before the FISC are classified. As such, the public’s confidence in the integrity of the FISA process depends on the court’s ability to hold the government to the highest standard, particularly as it relates to surveillance of American citizens. However, the rigor in protecting the rights of Americans, which is reinforced by 90-day renewals of surveillance orders, is necessarily dependent on the government’s production to the court of all material and relevant facts. This should include information potentially favorable to the target of the FISA application that is known by the government. In the case of Carter Page, the government had at least four independent opportunities before the FISC to accurately provide an accounting of the relevant facts. However, our findings indicate that, as described below, material and relevant information was omitted.

1) The “dossier” compiled by Christopher Steele (Steele dossier) on behalf of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Hillary Clinton campaign formed an essential part of the Carter Page FISA application. Steele was a longtime FBI source who was paid over $160,000 by the DNC and Clinton campaign, via the law firm Perkins Coie and research firm Fusion GPS, to obtain derogatory information on Donald Trump’s ties to Russia.

a) Neither the initial application in October 2016, nor any of the renewals, disclose or reference the role of the DNC, Clinton campaign, or any party/campaign in funding Steele’s efforts, even though the political origins of the Steele dossier were then known to senior DOJ and FBI officials.

b) The initial FISA application notes Steele was working for a named U.S. person, but does not name Fusion GPS and principal Glenn Simpson, who was paid by a U.S. law firm (Perkins Coie) representing the DNC (even though it was known by DOJ at the time that political actors were involved with the Steele dossier). The application does not mention Steele was ultimately working on behalf of—and paid by—the DNC and Clinton campaign, or that the FBI had separately authorized payment to Steele for the same information. 

2) The Carter Page FISA application also cited extensively a September 23, 2016, Yahoo News article by Michael Isikoff, which focuses on Page’s July 2016 trip to Moscow. This article does not corroborate the Steele dossier because it is derived from information leaked by Steele himself to Yahoo News. The Page FISA application incorrectly assesses that Steele did not directly provide information to Yahoo News. Steele has admitted in British court filings that he met with Yahoo News—and several other outlets—in September 2016 at the direction of Fusion GPS. Perkins Coie was aware of Steele’s initial media contacts because they hosted at least one meeting in Washington DC in 2016 with Steele and Fusion GPS where this matter was discussed.

a) Steele was suspended and then terminated as an FBI source for what the FBI defines as the most serious of violations—an unauthorized disclosure to the media of his relationship with the FBI in an October 30, 2016, Mother Jones article by David Corn Steele should have been terminated for his previous undisclosed contacts with Yahoo and other outlets in September—before the Page application was submitted to the FISC in October—but Steele improperly concealed from and lied to the FBI about those contacts.

b) Steele’s numerous encounters with the media violated the cardinal rule of source handling—maintaining confidentiality—and demonstrated that Steele had become a less than reliable source for the FBI. 

3) Before and after Steele was terminated as a source, he maintained contact with DOJ via then-Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr, a senior DOJ official who worked closely with Deputy Attorneys General Yates and later Rosenstein. Shortly after the election, the FBI began interviewing Ohr, documenting his communications with Steele. For example, in September 2016, Steele admitted to Ohr his feelings against then-candidate Trump when Steele said he “was desperate that Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate about him not, being president.” This clear evidence of Steele’s bias was recorded by Ohr at the time and subsequently in official FBI files— but not reflected in any of the Page FISA applications.

a) During this same time period, Ohr’s wife was employed by Fusion GPS to assist in the cultivation of opposition research on Trump. Ohr later provided the FBI with all of his wife’s opposition research, paid for by the DNC and Clinton campaign via Fusion GPS. The Ohrs’ relationship with Steele and Fusion GPS was inexplicably concealed from the FISC. 

4) According to the head of the counterintelligence division, Assistant Director Bill Priestap, corroboration of the Steele dossier was in its “infancy” at the time of the initial Page FISA application. After Steele was terminated, a source validation report conducted by an independent unit within FBI assessed Steele’s reporting as only minimally corroborated. Yet, in early January 2017, Director Comey briefed President-elect Trump on a summary of the Steele dossier, even though it was—according to his June 2017 testimony—“salacious and unverified.” While the FISA application relied on Steele’s past record of credible reporting on other unrelated matters, it ignored or concealed his anti-Trump financial and ideological motivations. Furthermore, Deputy Director McCabe testified before the Committee in December 2017 that no surveillance warrant would have been sought from the FISC without the Steele dossier information. 

5) The Page FISA application also mentions information regarding fellow Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos, but there is no evidence of any cooperation or conspiracy between Page and Papadopoulos. The Papadopoulos information triggered the opening of an FBI counterintelligence investigation in late July 2016 by FBI agent Pete Strzok. Strzok was reassigned by the Special Counsel’s Office to FBI Human Resources for improper text messages with his mistress, FBI Attorney Lisa Page (no known relation to Carter Page), where they both demonstrated a clear bias against Trump and in favor of Clinton, whom Strzok had also investigated. The Strzok/Lisa Page texts also reflect extensive discussions about the investigation, orchestrating leaks to the media, and include a meeting with Deputy Director McCabe to discuss an “insurance” policy against President Trump’s election.

PRESIDENT DONALD JOHN TRUMP: STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS 2018.

"Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, the First Lady of the United States, and my fellow Americans: 

Less than one year has passed since I first stood at this podium, in this majestic chamber, to speak on behalf of the American People—and to address their concerns, their hopes, and their dreams. That night, our new Administration had already taken swift action. A new tide of optimism was already sweeping across our land.

Each day since, we have gone forward with a clear vision and a righteous mission— to make America great again for all Americans. Over the last year, we have made incredible progress and achieved extraordinary success. We have faced challenges we expected, and others we could never have imagined. We have shared in the heights of victory and the pains of hardship.  We endured floods and fires and storms. But through it all, we have seen the beauty of America's soul, and the steel in America's spine. 

Each test has forged new American heroes to remind us who we are, and show us what we can be. We saw the volunteers of the "Cajun Navy," racing to the rescue with their fishing boats to save people in the aftermath of a devastating hurricane. We saw strangers shielding strangers from a hail of gunfire on the Las Vegas strip. We heard tales of Americans like Coast Guard Petty Officer Ashlee Leppert, who is here tonight in the gallery with Melania. Ashlee was aboard one of the first helicopters on the scene in Houston during Hurricane Harvey. Through 18 hours of wind and rain, Ashlee braved live power lines and deep water, to help save more than 40 lives.  Thank you, Ashlee. 

We heard about Americans like firefighter David Dahlberg. He is here with us too.  David faced down walls of flame to rescue almost 60 children trapped at a California summer camp threatened by wildfires. To everyone still recovering in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, California, and everywhere else—we are with you, we love you, and we will pull through together. 

Some trials over the past year touched this chamber very personally.  With us tonight is one of the toughest people ever to serve in this House—a guy who took a bullet, almost died, and was back to work three and a half months later: the legend from Louisiana, Congressman Steve Scalise. We are incredibly grateful for the heroic efforts of the Capitol Police Officers, the Alexandria Police, and the doctors, nurses, and paramedics who saved his life, and the lives of many others in this room. 

In the aftermath of that terrible shooting, we came together, not as Republicans or Democrats, but as representatives of the people. But it is not enough to come together only in times of tragedy. Tonight, I call upon all of us to set aside our differences, to seek out common ground, and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people we were elected to serve. 

Over the last year, the world has seen what we always knew:  that no people on Earth are so fearless, or daring, or determined as Americans. If there is a mountain, we climb it. If there is a frontier, we cross it. If there is a challenge, we tame it. If there is an opportunity, we seize it. So let us begin tonight by recognizing that the state of our Union is strong because our people are strong. And together, we are building a safe, strong, and proud America. 

Since the election, we have created 2.4 million new jobs, including 200,000 new jobs in manufacturing alone. After years of wage stagnation, we are finally seeing rising wages. Unemployment claims have hit a 45-year low. African-American unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded, and Hispanic American unemployment has also reached the lowest levels in history.  

Small business confidence is at an all-time high. The stock market has smashed one record after another, gaining $8 trillion in value. That is great news for Americans' 401k, retirement, pension, and college savings accounts. And just as I promised the American people from this podium 11 months ago, we enacted the biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history. Our massive tax cuts provide tremendous relief for the middle class and small businesses. To lower tax rates for hardworking Americans, we nearly doubled the standard deduction for everyone. Now, the first $24,000 earned by a married couple is completely tax-free. We also doubled the child tax credit. A typical family of four making $75,000 will see their tax bill reduced by $2,000—slashing their tax bill in half. 

This April will be the last time you ever file under the old broken system—and millions of Americans will have more take-home pay starting next month. We eliminated an especially cruel tax that fell mostly on Americans making less than $50,000 a year—forcing them to pay tremendous penalties simply because they could not afford government-ordered health plans. We repealed the core of disastrous Obamacare—the individual mandate is now gone. We slashed the business tax rate from 35 percent all the way down to 21 percent, so American companies can compete and win against anyone in the world. These changes alone are estimated to increase average family income by more than $4,000. Small businesses have also received a massive tax cut, and can now deduct 20 percent of their business income. 

Here tonight are Steve Staub and Sandy Keplinger of Staub Manufacturing -- a small business in Ohio. They have just finished the best year in their 20-year history.  Because of tax reform, they are handing out raises, hiring an additional 14 people, and expanding into the building next door. One of Staub's employees, Corey Adams, is also with us tonight. Corey is an all-American worker. He supported himself through high school, lost his job during the 2008 recession, and was later hired by Staub, where he trained to become a welder.  Like many hardworking Americans, Corey plans to invest his tax-cut raise into his new home and his two daughters' education. Please join me in congratulating Corey. 

Since we passed tax cuts, roughly 3 million workers have already gotten tax cut bonuses—many of them thousands and thousands of dollars per worker. Apple has just announced it plans to invest a total of $350 billion in America, and hire another 20,000 workers. This is our new American moment. There has never been a better time to start living the American Dream. So to every citizen watching at home tonight—no matter where you have been, or where you come from, this is your time. If you work hard, if you believe in yourself, if you believe in America, then you can dream anything, you can be anything, and together, we can achieve anything. 

Tonight, I want to talk about what kind of future we are going to have, and what kind of Nation we are going to be. All of us, together, as one team, one people, and one American family. We all share the same home, the same heart, the same destiny, and the same great American flag. Together, we are rediscovering the American way. In America, we know that faith and family, not government and bureaucracy, are the center of the American life. Our motto is "in God we trust.' And we celebrate our police, our military, and our amazing veterans as heroes who deserve our total and unwavering support. 

Here tonight is Preston Sharp, a 12-year-old boy from Redding, California, who noticed that veterans' graves were not marked with flags on Veterans Day. He decided to change that, and started a movement that has now placed 40,000 flags at the graves of our great heroes. Preston: a job well done. Young patriots like Preston teach all of us about our civic duty as Americans.  Preston's reverence for those who have served our Nation reminds us why we salute our flag, why we put our hands on our hearts for the pledge of allegiance, and why we proudly stand for the national anthem. Americans love their country. And they deserve a Government that shows them the same love and loyalty in return. 

For the last year we have sought to restore the bonds of trust between our citizens and their Government. Working with the Senate, we are appointing judges who will interpret the Constitution as written, including a great new Supreme Court Justice, and more circuit court judges than any new administration in the history of our country. We are defending our Second Amendment, and have taken historic actions to protect religious liberty. 

And we are serving our brave veterans, including giving our veterans choice in their healthcare decisions. Last year, the Congress passed, and I signed, the landmark VA Accountability Act.  Since its passage, my Administration has already removed more than 1,500 VA employees who failed to give our veterans the care they deserve—and we are hiring talented people who love our vets as much as we do. I will not stop until our veterans are properly taken care of, which has been my promise to them from the very beginning of this great journey. All Americans deserve accountability and respect—and that is what we are giving them, our heroes, our veterans. So tonight, I call on the Congress to empower every Cabinet Secretary with the authority to reward good workers—and to remove Federal employees who undermine the public trust or fail the American people. 

In our drive to make Washington accountable, we have eliminated more regulations in our first year than any administration in the history of our country. We have ended the war on American Energy—and we have ended the war on beautiful clean coal. We are now very proudly an exporter of energy to the world. In Detroit, I halted Government mandates that crippled America's beautiful autoworkers—so we can get the Motor City revving its engines once again. Many car companies are now building and expanding plants in the United States -- something we have not seen for decades. Chrysler is moving a major plant from Mexico to Michigan; Toyota and Mazda are opening up a plant in Alabama. Soon, plants will be opening up all over the country. This is all news Americans are unaccustomed to hearing—for many years, companies and jobs were only leaving us.  But now they are coming back. 

Exciting progress is happening every day. To speed access to breakthrough cures and affordable generic drugs, last year the FDA approved more new and generic drugs and medical devices than ever before in our history. We also believe that patients with terminal conditions, terminal illness, should have access to experimental treatments immediately that could potentially save their lives. People who are terminally ill should not have to go from country to country to seek a cure—I want to give them a chance right here at home. It is time for the Congress to give these wonderful Americans the "right to try." 

One of my greatest priorities is to reduce the price of prescription drugs. In many other countries, these drugs cost far less than what we pay in the United States and it's over, very unfair. That is why I have directed my Administration to make fixing the injustice of high drug prices one of our top priorities for the year. And prices will come down substantially, watch. 

America has also finally turned the page on decades of unfair trade deals that sacrificed our prosperity and shipped away our companies, our jobs, and our Nation's wealth. The era of economic surrender is totally over. From now on, we expect trading relationships to be fair and, very importantly, reciprocal. We will work to fix bad trade deals and negotiate new ones. And we will protect American workers and American intellectual property, through strong enforcement of our trade rules. As we rebuild our industries, it is also time to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. 

America is a nation of builders. We built the Empire State Building in just 1 year—is it not a disgrace that it can now take 10 years just to get a permit approved for a simple road? I am asking both parties to come together to give us the safe, fast, reliable, and modern infrastructure our economy needs and our people deserve. Tonight, I am calling on the Congress to produce a bill that generates at least $1.5 trillion for the new infrastructure investment we need. Every Federal dollar should be leveraged by partnering with State and local governments and, where appropriate, tapping into private sector investment -- to permanently fix the infrastructure deficit. Any bill must also streamline the permitting and approval process— getting it down to no more than two years, and perhaps even one. Together, we can reclaim our building heritage. We will build gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways, and waterways across our land. And we will do it with American heart, American hands, and American grit. 

We want every American to know the dignity of a hard day's work.  We want every child to be safe in their home at night. And we want every citizen to be proud of this land that we love. We can lift our citizens from welfare to work, from dependence to independence, and from poverty to prosperity. As tax cuts create new jobs, let us invest in workforce development and job training.  Let us open great vocational schools so our future workers can learn a craft and realize their full potential. And let us support working families by supporting paid family leave. As America regains its strength, this opportunity must be extended to all citizens.  That is why this year we will embark on reforming our prisons to help former inmates who have served their time get a second chance. 

Struggling communities, especially immigrant communities, will also be helped by immigration policies that focus on the best interests of American workers and American families. For decades, open borders have allowed drugs and gangs to pour into our most vulnerable communities. They have allowed millions of low-wage workers to compete for jobs and wages against the poorest Americans. Most tragically, they have caused the loss of many innocent lives. 

Here tonight are two fathers and two mothers:  Evelyn Rodriguez, Freddy Cuevas, Elizabeth Alvarado, and Robert Mickens. Their two teenage daughters -- Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens -- were close friends on Long Island.  But in September 2016, on the eve of Nisa's 16th Birthday, such a happy time it should have been, neither of them came home. These two precious girls were brutally murdered while walking together in their hometown. Six members of the savage MS-13 gang have been charged with Kayla and Nisa's murders. Many of these gang members took advantage of glaring loopholes in our laws to enter the country as illegal, unaccompanied alien minors—and wound up in Kayla and Nisa's high school. 

Evelyn, Elizabeth, Freddy, and Robert: Tonight, everyone in this chamber is praying for you. Everyone in America is grieving for you. Please stand, thank you very much. And 320 million hearts are breaking for you. We cannot imagine the depth of your sorrow, but we can make sure that other families never have to endure this pain. Tonight, I am calling on the Congress to finally close the deadly loopholes that have allowed MS-13, and other criminal gangs, to break into our country. We have proposed new legislation that will fix our immigration laws, and support our ICE and Border Patrol Agents—these are great people, these are great, great people, who work so hard in the midst of great danger—so that this can never happen again. 

The United States is a compassionate nation. We are proud that we do more than any other country, anywhere in the world, to help the needy, the struggling, and the underprivileged all over the world. But as President of the United States, my highest loyalty, my greatest compassion, and my constant concern is for America's children, America's struggling workers, and America's forgotten communities. I want our youth to grow up to achieve great things. I want our poor to have their chance to rise.  

So tonight, I am extending an open hand to work with members of both parties— Democrats and Republicans—to protect our citizens of every background, color, religion, and creed. My duty, and the sacred duty of every elected official in this chamber, is to defend Americans—to protect their safety, their families, their communities, and their right to the American Dream. Because Americans are dreamers too. 

Here tonight is one leader in the effort to defend our country: Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Celestino Martinez—he goes by CJ. CJ served 15 years in the Air Force before becoming an ICE agent and spending the last 15 years fighting gang violence and getting dangerous criminals off our streets—tough job. At one point, MS-13 leaders ordered CJ's murder and they wanted it to happen quickly. But he did not cave to threats or fear. Last May, he commanded an operation to track down gang members on Long Island. His team has arrested nearly 400, including more than 220 MS-13 gang members. We have sent thousands and thousand of terrible MS-13 people out of this country. So I just want to congratulate you CJ. And I asked CJ wants the secret. He said: "We're just tougher than they are," and I liked that answer. CJ, we're going to send you reinforcements and we're going to do it quickly. 

Over the next few weeks, the House and Senate will be voting on an immigration reform package. In recent months, my Administration has met extensively with both Democrats and Republicans to craft a bipartisan approach to immigration reform. Based on these discussions, we presented the Congress with a detailed proposal that should be supported by both parties as a fair compromise—one where nobody gets everything they want, but where our country gets the critical reforms it needs and must have. 

Here are the four pillars of our plan: The first pillar of our framework generously offers a path to citizenship for 1.8 million illegal immigrants who were brought here by their parents at a young age—that covers almost three times more people than the previous administration. Under our plan, those who meet education and work requirements, and show good moral character, will be able to become full citizens of the United States over a 12-year period. The second pillar fully secures the border. That means building a great wall on the Southern border, and it means hiring more heroes like CJ to keep our communities safe. Crucially, our plan closes the terrible loopholes exploited by criminals and terrorists to enter our country—and it finally ends the horrible and dangerous practice of "catch and release." 

The third pillar ends the visa lottery—a program that randomly hands out green cards without any regard for skill, merit, or the safety of American people. It is time to begin moving towards a merit-based immigration system—one that admits people who are skilled, who want to work, who will contribute to our society and who will love and respect our country. The fourth and final pillar protects the nuclear family by ending chain migration. Under the current broken system, a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives.  Under our plan, we focus on the immediate family by limiting sponsorships to spouses and minor children. This vital reform is necessary, not just for our economy, but for our security, and our future. 

In recent weeks, two terrorist attacks in New York were made possible by the visa lottery and chain migration. In the age of terrorism, these programs present risks we can no longer afford. It is time to reform these outdated immigration rules, and finally bring our immigration system into the 21st century. These four pillars represent a down-the-middle compromise, and one that will create a safe, modern, and lawful immigration system. For over 30 years, Washington has tried and failed to solve this problem. This Congress can be the one that finally makes it happen. Most importantly, these four pillars will produce legislation that fulfills my ironclad pledge to only sign a bill that puts America first. So let's come together, set politics aside, and finally get the job done. These reforms will also support our response to the terrible crisis of opioid and drug addiction. Never before has it bee like this. It is terrible, we have to do something about it. 

In 2016, we lost 64,000 Americans to drug overdoses: 174 deaths per day. Seven per hour.  We must get much tougher on drug dealers and pushers if we are going to succeed in stopping this scourge. My Administration is committed to fighting the drug epidemic and helping get treatment for those in need, for those who have been so terribly hurt. The struggle will be long and difficult—but, as Americans always do, in the end we will succeed, we will prevail. 

As we have seen tonight, the most difficult challenges bring out the best in America. We see a vivid expression of this truth in the story of the Holets family of New Mexico. Ryan Holets is 27 years old, and an officer with the Albuquerque Police Department. He is here tonight with his wife Rebecca. Last year, Ryan was on duty when he saw a pregnant, homeless woman preparing to inject heroin. When Ryan told her she was going to harm her unborn child, she began to weep. She told him she did not know where to turn, but badly wanted a safe home for her baby. In that moment, Ryan said he felt God speak to him: "You will do it—because you can." He heard those words. He took out a picture of his wife and their four kids. Then, he went home to tell his wife Rebecca. In an instant, she agreed to adopt. The Holets named their new daughter Hope. Ryan and Rebecca: You embody the goodness of our Nation. Thank you. Thank you, Ryan and Rebecca. 

As we rebuild America's strength and confidence at home, we are also restoring our strength and standing abroad. Around the world, we face rogue regimes, terrorist groups, and rivals like China and Russia that challenge our interests, our economy and our values. In confronting these horrible dangers, we know that weakness is the surest path to conflict, and unmatched power is the surest means of our true and great defense. For this reason, I am asking the Congress to end the dangerous defense sequester and fully fund our great military. 

As part of our defense, we must modernize and rebuild our nuclear arsenal, hopefully never having to use it, but making it so strong and so powerful that it will deter any acts of aggression by any other nation or anyone else. Perhaps someday in the future, there will be a magical moment when the countries of the world will get together to eliminate their nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, we are not there yet, sadly. 

Last year, I also pledged that we would work with our allies to extinguish ISIS from the face of the Earth. One year later, I am proud to report that the coalition to defeat ISIS has liberated very close to 100 percent of the territory just recently held by these killers in Iraq and Syria and other locations elsewhere. But there is much more work to be done. We will continue our fight until ISIS is defeated. Army Staff Sergeant Justin Peck is here tonight. Near Raqqa last November, Justin and his comrade, Chief Petty Officer Kenton Stacy, were on a mission to clear buildings that ISIS had rigged with explosives so that civilians could return to the city, hopefully soon and hopefully safely. Clearing the second floor of a vital hospital, Kenton Stacy was severely wounded by an explosion. Immediately, Justin bounded into the booby-trapped building and found Kenton but in very, very bad shape. He applied pressure to the wound and inserted a tube to reopen an airway. He then performed CPR for 20 straight minutes during the ground transport and maintained artificial respiration through two-and-a-half hours and through emergency surgery. 

Kenton Stacy would have died if not for Justin's selfless love for his fellow warrior. Tonight, Kenton is recovering in Texas. Raqqa is liberated. And Justin is wearing his new Bronze Star, with a "V" for "Valor." Staff Sergeant Peck: All of America salutes you. Terrorists who do things like place bombs in civilian hospitals are evil. When possible, we have no choice but to annihilate them. When necessary, we must be able to detain and question them. But we must be clear: Terrorists are not merely criminals. They are unlawful enemy combatants. And when captured overseas, they should be treated like the terrorists they are. 

In the past, we have foolishly released hundreds of dangerous terrorists, only to meet them again on the battlefield— including the ISIS leader, al-Baghdadi. So today, I am keeping another promise. I just signed an order directing Secretary Mattis—who is doing a great job, thank you—to reexamine our military detention policy and to keep open the detention facilities in Guantánamo Bay. I am also asking the Congress to ensure that, in the fight against ISIS and al-Qa'ida, we continue to have all necessary power to detain terrorists—wherever we chase them down, wherever we find them. And in many cases, for them, it will now be Guantánamo Bay. At the same time, as of a few months ago, our warriors in Afghanistan have new rules of engagement.  Along with their heroic Afghan partners, our military is no longer undermined by artificial timelines, and we no longer tell our enemies our plans. 

Last month, I also took an action endorsed unanimously by the Senate just months before: I recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Shortly afterwards, dozens of countries voted in the United Nations General Assembly against America's sovereign right to make this recognition. American taxpayers generously send those same countries billions of dollars in aid every year. That is why, tonight, I am asking the Congress to pass legislation to help ensure American foreign-assistance dollars always serve American interests, and only go to America's friends. As we strengthen friendships around the world, we are also restoring clarity about our adversaries. 

When the people of Iran rose up against the crimes of their corrupt dictatorship, I did not stay silent. America stands with the people of Iran in their courageous struggle for freedom. I am asking the Congress to address the fundamental flaws in the terrible Iran nuclear deal. My Administration has also imposed tough sanctions on the communist and socialist dictatorships in Cuba and Venezuela. 

But no regime has oppressed its own citizens more totally or brutally than the cruel dictatorship in North Korea. North Korea's reckless pursuit of nuclear missiles could very soon threaten our homeland. We are waging a campaign of maximum pressure to prevent that from happening. Past experience has taught us that complacency and concessions only invite aggression and provocation. I will not repeat the mistakes of past administrations that got us into this very dangerous position. We need only look at the depraved character of the North Korean regime to understand the nature of the nuclear threat it could pose to America and our allies. 

Otto Warmbier was a hardworking student at the University of Virginia. On his way to study abroad in Asia, Otto joined a tour to North Korea. At its conclusion, this wonderful young man was arrested and charged with crimes against the state. After a shameful trial, the dictatorship sentenced Otto to 15 years of hard labor, before returning him to America last June—horribly injured and on the verge of death. He passed away just days after his return. Otto's wonderful Parents, Fred and Cindy Warmbier, are here with us tonight—along with Otto's brother and sister, Austin and Greta. Incredible people. You are powerful witnesses to a menace that threatens our world, and your strength inspires us all, thank you very much. Thank you. Tonight, we pledge to honor Otto's memory with American resolve. 

Finally, we are joined by one more witness to the ominous nature of this regime. His name is Mr. Ji Seong-ho. In 1996, Seong-ho was a starving boy in North Korea. One day, he tried to steal coal from a railroad car to barter for a few scraps of food. In the process, he passed out on the train tracks, exhausted from hunger.  He woke up as a train ran over his limbs. He then endured multiple amputations without anything to dull the pain or the hurt. His brother and sister gave what little food they had to help him recover and ate dirt themselves—permanently stunting their own growth. Later, he was tortured by North Korean authorities after returning from a brief visit to China. His tormentors wanted to know if he had met any Christians.  He had—and he resolved to be free. 

Seong-ho traveled thousands of miles on crutches across China and Southeast Asia to freedom. Most of his family followed. His father was caught trying to escape and was tortured to death. Today he lives in Seoul, where he rescues other defectors, and broadcasts into North Korea what the regime fears the most—the truth. Today he has a new leg, but Seong-ho, I understand you still keep those crutches as a reminder of how far you have come. Your great sacrifice is an inspiration to us all. Seong-ho's story is a testament to the yearning of every human soul to live in freedom. 

It was that same yearning for freedom that nearly 250 years ago gave birth to a special place called America. It was a small cluster of colonies caught between a great ocean and a vast wilderness. It was home to an incredible people with a revolutionary idea: that they could rule themselves. That they could chart their own destiny. And that, together, they could light up the world. That is what our country has always been about. That is what Americans have always stood for, always strived for and always done. 

Atop the dome of this Capitol stands the Statue of Freedom. She stands tall and dignified among the monuments to our ancestors who fought and lived and died to protect her. Monuments to Washington and Jefferson and Lincoln and King. Memorials to the heroes of Yorktown and Saratoga—to young Americans who shed their blood on the shores of Normandy, and the fields beyond. And others, who went down in the waters of the Pacific and the skies over Asia. And freedom stands tall over one more monument: this one. This Capitol. This living monument to the American people. 

We're a people whose heroes live not only in the past, but all around us—defending hope, pride, and the American way. They work in every trade. They sacrifice to raise a family. They care for our children at home. They defend our flag abroad. And they are strong moms and brave kids.  They are firefighters, police officers, border agents, medics, and Marines. But above all else, they are Americans. And this Capitol, this city,  this Nation, belongs entirely to them. Our task is to respect them, to listen to them, to serve them, to protect them, and to always be worthy of them. 

Americans fill the world with art and music. They push the bounds of science and discovery. And they forever remind us of what we should never ever forget: The people dreamed this country. The people built this country. And it's the people who are making America great again. As long as we are proud of who we are, and what we are fighting for, there is nothing we cannot achieve. As long as we have confidence in our values, faith in our citizens, and trust in our God, we will not fail. Our families will thrive. Our people will prosper. And our Nation will forever be safe and strong and proud and mighty and free. Thank you, and God bless America. Good night."