Six days ago, in Marsberg, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized the U.S. approach to Iran, saying Washington was being “humiliated by the Iranian leadership” and demanding the conflict end “as quickly as possible.”
Three days ago, President Trump responded with an announcement that U.S. troops in Germany would be drawn down, and there would be a 25% tariff on all imported European autos. {GO DEEP}
White House National Economic Council Director, Kevin Hassett, appears on CBS news to dispatch the narrative engineering of Margaret Brennan.
I completely understand why the White House appears to have finally had enough of Ms. Brennan’s dramatic performances and has chosen not to send most representatives into this nonsense pantomime any longer. She’s even more insufferable than Jake Tapper. That said, Kevin Hassett is likely the only member of the administration kindhearted enough to deal with the snark and lack of substance.
What I don’t understand is why the White House just doesn’t tell her in brutally honest terms: Margaret, your dramatic performances are tiresome, and your intellectual vigor is running at a continual deficit. Regards.
True to form, Ms. Brennan wanted desperately to pontificate about the terrible state of the U.S. economy blaming the White House for the failure of Spirit Airlines, and demanding Kevin Hassett address the Iran conflict that is not in his portfolio. Director Hassett stayed comfortably in his lane, smiled and took apart the fake news construct as professional as possible given the absurdity of Brennan’s presentation.
[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: We begin this morning with the director of the White House Economic Council. Kevin Hassett joins us from Los Angeles. Good early morning to you.
KEVIN HASSETT: Oh yeah, good morning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well Director, President Trump sent a letter to Congress on Friday saying a few things. One that the conflict with Iran, the ceasefire has been extended. He also said the hostilities have been terminated. He also said the threat posed by Iran remains significant, and the force posture will continue to be updated. Then overnight, we saw the President said Iran has not yet paid a big enough price for what they’ve done to humanity. What exactly is the message to the market?
KEVIN HASSETT: Right. Well, I think the market has been pretty consistent. The fact is that what the President is seeing is that the blockade is working. It’s putting an enormous amount of pressure on Iran, and Iran’s threats to put mines in the straits have even made it so that humanitarian aid that, of course, we would let through to Iran, that there are a lot of those ship captains that are wary of going to Iranian ports because they’re worried about where the Iranians have put the mines. And so, you know, I go down to the sit room many times a week and get briefed on what’s going on in Iran, and they’re an economy that’s really on the precipice of extreme calamity. They are having a hyperinflation. They’re starting to have hunger. The bottom line is that the pressure on the great American people, because of these people who are like really intent on American and Israeli destruction with their nuclear weapons, are still in power. One last thing, Margaret, I don’t know if you noticed, but the UN Human Rights folks came out this week condemning Iran because they’re killing people who are trying to stand up to this regime that’s potentially, you know, causing starvation and even famine.
Yury Ushakov is the Senior Aide to Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin. Following a lengthy telephone call between President Trump and President Putin, Ushakov provides the following readout:
MOSCOW – Aide to the President of Russia Yury Ushakov: Colleagues, good evening.
President Vladimir Putin held another telephone conversation with President of the United States Donald Trump. The call lasted for more than an hour and a half. The exchange between the two presidents was conducted in a friendly manner and was frank and businesslike.
Understandably, Vladimir Putin began by expressing his sympathy and support for the President of the United States in connection with the assassination attempt against him on April 25 at the Washington Hilton hotel. Fortunately, neither Donald Trump himself, nor his spouse, nor any members of his entourage were harmed. The secret service was quick to neutralise the assailant. The Russian leader strongly condemned this crime and stressed, in particular, that politically motivated violence was unacceptable in any forms and manifestations.
It was also mentioned during the conversation that this dangerous incident occurred on the eve of the US First Lady’s birthday on April 26. President Vladimir Putin asked to convey his best wishes and noted her contribution to efforts aimed at facilitating the reunification of Russian and Ukrainian children with their families.
When discussing the international agenda, the presidents focused on the developments surrounding Iran and the Persian Gulf.
Chopper pressers are the best pressers. President Trump pauses to answer questions from the assembled press pool as he departs the White House for an event at The Villages in Florida.
The majority of the questions centered around Iran and ongoing negotiations. President Trump stated he is not happy with the latest proposals from the representatives of the Iranian delegation as they do not reflect control within the government. “It is a very disjointed leadership structure,” President Trump noted. “They are confused and combative with each other.” The USA economic embargo against Iran known as “Operation Financial Fury” continues with Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent grinding the Iranian economy to a halt.
President Trump also noted the European Union has not fulfilled their obligations within the U.S-EU trade agreement, and as a result President Trump is raising the tariff rate on European vehicles to 25 percent. WATCH:
I apologize for the deep weed details, but this stuff will soon become critical. If James Comey is indicted for leaking the “Comey memos” suddenly the door opens wide to see how the Robert Mueller appointment was a coordinated ongoing ‘conspiracy’ effort to target Donald Trump.
Back in June 2017 CNN (and other media) filed a FOIA suit to gain the Comey memos. As the lawsuit progressed through a lengthy battle -where the Mueller team did not want to turn over those memos- Mueller’s lead FBI agent, David Archey, made sworn declarations to the court. Those statements became known as the “Archey Declarations”. Inside those declarations agent Archey provided a specific outline of the FBI and the memos.
There are two sets of documents that outline a very specific picture. Robert Mueller’s lead FBI Agent David Archey made sworn declarations to the court. However, at the time of his sworn statement, Archey did not have knowledge of an inside FBI “whistleblower” who provided information to DOJ Inspector General, Michael Horowitz.
There is a distinct conflict within the IG Horowitz report on James Comey (and memos) [Available Here] and the David Archey declarations [Available Here]. However, beyond the conflict there’s an even more alarming picture of how Robert Mueller was deployed, when all the information is overlaid in a timeline. A very clear picture emerges; very clear.
Note the date: Agent Archey states the “investigative team” came into full possession of the Comey memos: “on or by May 12th, 2017,”…
The “investigative team” would be Andrew McCabe, Bill Priestap, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, and then James Baker as lead counsel for the group. The “Director’s staff” would be James Rybicki, who is identified by Archey as having “maintained” possession of the memos.
This “small group”, particularly Comey’s Chief of Staff, James Rybicki, is the center of the team. This team is also confirmed by the IG Horowitz report. This team had the memos on May 12th, 2017.
Now we move into the aspect where the motives and ideology become clear as we look at the IG custodial record of the memos, as outlined by the Supervisory Special Agent in charge of Comey’s documents within the IG report, compared to the Archey declarations. (more…)
In the first case against James Comey for allegedly lying to Congress, there was no dismissal; instead, the judge rejected US Attorney Lindsey Halligan’s involvement. After that, the statute of limitations ran out. However, if the report below is accurate, this would represent the third currently active investigation against former FBI Director James Comey, and Lindsey Halligan might get the last laugh.
The first investigative notice to Comey was in mid-March from the Sunshine State. Essentially the ‘conspiracy case’ being reviewed by Jason A. Reding Quiñones, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida {SOURCE}. The second investigative case was in North Carolina, where a grand jury released an indictment for threats against President Trump {SOURCE}. Now, Bloomberg is reporting on a third investigation against Comey for leaking classified documents to his friend and special government employee, Daniel Richman.
BLOOMBERG – […] The investigation is tied to his dissemination of documents to Columbia University Law Professor Daniel Richman, the individuals added. If successful, it would be the Trump DOJ’s third time indicting Comey since last fall.
[…] It hasn’t been decided if the department will present an indictment to a grand jury in Eastern Virginia, where Comey resides, or if the case could be pursued in a different location—such as in Richman’s home of New York. (read more)
It doesn’t really matter whether New York or the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA), either location would be the third state where the disgraced former FBI Director Comey would have to defend himself. Again, I remind everyone of ‘pressure points’ in Lawfare.
If the EDVA/NY case proceeds it is based around James Comey leaking his memos to his friend Daniel Richman.
Several key economic reports were released today highlighting a broad and strong U.S. economy with a very strong labor market.
♦ The first quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) [DATA HERE] The first estimate is for growth at 2.0 percent. At first glance that is lower than we expected; however, a deeper look shows a large increase in imported goods that are deductions to the equation. The imported goods increased 25.8% more than the fourth quarter of 2025 [Table 1.1], that led to a net -1.30 percent deduction [Table 1.5].
The jump in imports is a result of massive capital expenditures on tools and equipment for the ongoing manufacturing boom. All the manufacturing machines and industrial tools that are not made in the USA become imported goods deducted from our economic valuation.
Exports were very strong rising 12.9 percent over the prior quarter. However, the 25.8% increase in imports created a net deduction from GDP (-1.30%). The last time we imported this much was just before the tariffs went into place and companies were rushing advanced orders, in the first quarter of 2025; this created a rebound effect in the second quarter.
I estimate the second quarter rebound will be even greater this year because we are exporting massive amounts of oil and LNG right now. Simultaneously, the capital expenditure imports will likely soften.
As you are aware, CTH is watching the small details closely on the U.S-Russia alignment against the backdrop of friction with the European Union, the U.K and NATO on issues surrounding Iran. In the past several days there have been several smaller moments lost amid media chatter of bigger news items, this is one such example today in the Oval Office.
During a press availability with the Artemis II astronauts, President Trump was asked for an update on the Ukraine conflict and seemingly stalled negotiations between U.S. intermediaries and Russia. At 04:12 of the video below, President Trump notes he spoke at length with Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin today on issues related to the Ukraine conflict, and {{{thoughtful-pause}}} Iran. WATCH:
President Vladimir Putin is in no hurry to ceasefire in Ukraine, and the U.S. military operation in Iran is not against his interests.
On April 12, 2026, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent quietly extended the sanction relief for Russia, permitting oil/gas sales loaded on vessels by 4/17/26 for transit and sale through 5/16/26. This permits Russia to push oil to Asia, specifically China, India and ASEAN countries where it is needed, while simultaneously the UAE and Saudi Arabia increase oil pumping avoiding the issues with the Strait of Hormuz.
This is happening while the U.S. is providing large oil and LNG supply increases to South/Central America, Europe and Japan to offset any global shortages.
Russia supplies China, India and Southeast Asia; the U.S. supplies Europe and Japan; the UAE supplies India and Australia; while Saudi Arabia supplies Africa and Europe. Global markets stable, Iran then faces operation financial fury led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. {Go Deep}
The Federal Reserve is reported to be historically apolitical, meaning all considerations are absent of politics. However, no individual Federal Reserve Chairman has been more overtly political than Jerome Powell.
Today, after announcing yet again the Fed will not lower interest rates, Chairman Jerome Powell announced he will not leave the board of the federal reserve even after his term has expired and he is replaced by recently advanced Kevin Warsh. Powell said he plans to maintain a “low profile” as a governor, but it will be the first time since 1948 that a Federal Reserve Chairman has stayed on the board at the end of their chairmanship.
The Inspector General is currently reviewing the massive cost overrun for a new multi-billion-dollar Federal Reserve building that has been the heart of controversy since the initial $1 billion overrun was announced. “I’ve said that I will not leave the board until this investigation is well and truly over with transparency and finality, and I stand by that,” Powell said.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced today a two-count indictment against former FBI Director James Comey from the Eastern District of North Carolina for threats against President Donald Trump. [Indictment Here]
According to the Press Release: […] “The Indictment includes two counts, first in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 871, alleging that James Comey, 65, knowingly and willfully made a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States. This charge alleges that on May 15, 2025, by publicly posting an image over the internet via Instagram depicting “86 47”, which a reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States.
The Indictment also charges Comey in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 875(c), that James Comey consciously disregarded a substantial risk that his communication would be viewed as threatening violence, and that he knowingly transmitted a communication in interstate commerce that contained a threat to injure the person of another, which a reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to a person.” (SOURCE)
James Comey is charged with Threatening the President in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 871(a) and Transmitting a Threat in Interstate Commerce in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 875(c). If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Additionally, similar to the criminal referral connected to former ICIG Michael Atkinson, today’s grand jury indictment creates a pressure point for ongoing DOJ investigations into additional related matters concerning FBI Director James Comey.
