President Trump paused for a brief press gaggle with the assembled pool of reporters. President Trump noted he had just received a proposal from Iran but had not yet had time to read it.
At the end of the remarks President Trump was questioned about pulling troops out of Germany and he replied, “we are going to cut way down, and we are cutting a lot more than the 5,000.” WATCH:
A few hours later President Trump sent the following message via Truth Social:
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.
Last week the DOJ indicted Mexican Governor Ruben Rocha Moya along with nine current and former Mexican officials for participating “in a corrupt and violent drug trafficking conspiracy with the Cartel to import massive amounts of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine from Mexico into the United States.” {GO DEEP} This has put Mexican Governor Claudia Sheinbaum in a precarious position.
Both President Sheinbaum and Governor Rocha Moya are from the Moreno political party in Mexico. Following the indictment, Sheinbaum said she would not assist in any extradition effort of Governor Rocha and denounced the U.S. indictment; however, she said the federal government within Mexico would launch their own independent investigation.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum denounced the U.S. prosecution of a sitting Mexican governor and other officials on drug trafficking charges as “political,” and said Thursday that Mexico would not comply with Washington’s demands that the accused be arrested and extradited to the United States.
“We are not permitting a foreign government to say what is the future of Mexico,” said a defiant Sheinbaum, who repeatedly assailed U.S. “meddling” in the incendiary case. (more)
There is considerable support within Mexico to eliminate the corrupt activity of the Cartels who many admit are in control of large sectors of their regional and federal government. As a consequence, many Mexicans support the position of President Trump and the Dept of Justice in prosecuting Governor Rocha Moya if there is evidence to support it.
Today, Sinaloa Governor Rocha Moya said he would step down from his position as the federal investigation of the claims get underway.
Keep in mind the background issue of Germany supplying Ukraine with weapons and material to keep fighting Russia, while the Merz administration triggers policy to force increased German military troop levels.
Facing crushingly high increases in energy costs, last Monday 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.”
Germany is facing a perfect storm of economic consequences following their decision to chase the climate change agenda (Build Back Better) and eliminate their coal and nuclear power plants. Combine the German/EU policy to stop purchasing cheap LNG and oil from Russia, in addition to skyrocketing energy costs from oil/gas flows from the Middle East, and the outcome is rising manufacturing costs leading to massive layoffs.
The German industrial economy is the heart of the EU economy, and President Trump is now hitting them both right where it hurts.
Today two announcements hit an already vulnerable Germany directly. The first is: “The Secretary of War has ordered the withdrawal of approximately 5,000 troops from Germany,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told Fox News Digital. “This decision follows a thorough review of the Department’s force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theater requirements and conditions on the ground.” {source}
The second announcement is even more brutal for Chancellor Merz:
President Trump will be delivering a rally style speech today at The Villages in Florida centered around remarks to emphasize “no tax on social security benefits.” President Trump is expected to speak around 3 to 4pm ET with livestream links below:
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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:
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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,”…
[Page #3 of Exhibit A – Archey Declarations]
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.
President Trump held an Oval Office signing event today for: (1) PROMOTING RETIREMENT-SAVINGS ACCESS FOR AMERICAN WORKERS BY ESTABLISHING TRUMPIRA.GOV, and (2) PROMOTING EFFICIENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND PERFORMANCE IN FEDERAL CONTRACTING.
Following the executive order signing, President Trump took questions from the assembled press pool. WATCH:
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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.