Rather than listen to media pundits explain what President Trump and AG Bill Barr said today at the White House, here’s the transcript:

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much everyone. Are you a citizen of the United States of America? “Oh, gee, I’m sorry, I just can’t answer that question.” And that’s after spending billions and billions of dollars. There used to be a time when you could answer questions like that very easily. There used to be a time when you could proudly declare, “I am a citizen of the United States.”

Now they’re trying to erase the very existence of a very important word and a very important thing: citizenship. They’re even coming after the Pledge of Allegiance in Minnesota. I’m proud to be a citizen. You’re proud to be a citizen. The only people who are not proud to be citizens are the ones who are fighting us all the way about the word, “citizen.”

Today I’m here to say we are not backing down on our effort to determine the citizenship status of the United States population. I stand before you to outline new steps my administration is taking to ensure that citizenship is counted so that we know how many citizens we have in the United States. Makes sense?

We will defend the right of the American people to know the full facts about the population size of citizens and non-citizens in America. It is essential that we have a clear breakdown of the number of citizens and non-citizens that make up the U.S. populations. Imperative.

Knowing this information is vital to formulating sound public policy, whether the issue is healthcare, education, civil rights, or immigration. We must have a reliable count of how many citizens, non-citizens, and illegal aliens are in our country.

The Department of Commerce sensibly decided to include a citizenship question in the 2020 Census, as has been done many, many times throughout the history of the United States.

Unfortunately, this effort was delayed by meritless litigation. As shocking as it may be, far-left Democrats in our country are determined to conceal the number of illegal aliens in our midst. They probably know the number is far greater, much higher than anyone would have believed before. Maybe that’s why they fight so hard.

This is part of a broader left-wing effort to erode the rights of the American citizen. And it’s very unfair to our country.

The Supreme Court ultimately affirmed our right to ask the citizenship question. And, very strongly, it was affirmed. But the Supreme Court ruled that we must provide further explanation that would have produced even more litigation and considerable time delays.

The case is already in three federal district courts that have been, to be totally honest, extremely unfriendly to us. These delays would have prevented us from completing the census on time. It’s deeply regrettable, but it will not stop us from collecting the needed information — and I think even in greater detail and more accurately. Therefore, we are pursuing a new option to ensure a complete and timely count of the non-citizen population.

Today, I will be issuing an executive order to put this very plan into effect immediately. I’m hereby ordering every department and agency in the federal government to provide the Department of Commerce with all requested records regarding the number of citizens and non-citizens in our country. They must furnish all legally accessible records in their possession immediately.

We will utilize these vast federal databases to gain a full, complete, and accurate count of the non-citizen population, including databases maintained by the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration.

We have great knowledge in many of our agencies. We will leave no stone unturned. The Census Bureau projected that using previously available records, it could determine citizenship for 90 percent of our population or more.

With today’s executive order, which eliminates long-standing obstacles to data sharing, we’re aiming to count everyone. Ultimately, this will allow us to have an even more complete count of citizens than through asking the single question alone. It will be, we think, far more accurate.

The Census Bureau can use this information, along with information collected through the questionnaire, to create the official census. In other words, as a result of today’s executive order, we will be able to ensure the 2020 Census generates an accurate count of how many citizens, non-citizens, and illegal aliens are in the United States of America. Not too much to ask.

This will greatly inform a wide array of public policy decisions. This information is also relevant to administering our elections. Some states may want to draw state and local legislative districts based upon the voter-eligible population.

Indeed, the same day the Supreme Court handed down the census decision, it also said it would not review certain types of districting decisions, which could encourage states to make such decisions based on voter eligibility.

With today’s order, we will collect all of the information we need to conduct an accurate census and to make responsible decisions about public policy, voting rights, and representation in Congress.

In everything we do, we will faithfully represent the people of the United States of America.

I would like now to introduce Attorney General Bill Barr to the podium. Thank you. Thank you, Bill. (Applause.)

ATTORNEY GENERAL BARR: Good evening. Thank you, Mr. President. And congratulations on today’s executive order, which will ensure that we finally have an accurate understanding of how many citizens and non-citizens live in our country.

As the Supreme Court recognized, it would be perfectly lawful for the federal government to ask on the census whether individuals are citizens of the United States. And it’s entirely reasonable to want to know how many citizens and non-citizens there are in the United States.

In fact, the federal government has routinely asked questions relating to citizenship ever since the 1820s. But while the Supreme Court correctly recognized that it would be entirely appropriate to include citizenship questions on the census, it nevertheless held that the Commerce Department did not adequately explain its decisions for doing so on the 2020 Census — because, as the Supreme Court recognized, the defect in the Commerce Department’s decision was curable with a better record.

The President asked me to work with Secretary Ross to determine whether there remained a viable path for including a citizenship question on the census. I did so.

In my view, the government has ample justification to inquire about citizenship status on the census, and could plainly provide rationales for doing so that would satisfy the Supreme Court. And therefore, there is no question that a new decision to add the question would ultimately survive legal review.

The problem is that any new decision would be subject to immediate challenge as a new claim in the three ongoing district court cases. In addition, there are injunctions currently in place that forbid adding the question. There is simply no way to litigate these issues and obtain relief from the current injunctions in time to implement any new decision without jeopardizing our ability to carry out the census, which we’re not going to do. We’re not going to jeopardize our ability to carry out the census.

So as a practical matter, the Supreme Court’s decision closed all paths to adding the question to the 2020 census. Put simply, the impediment was not — it was a logistical impediment, not a legal one. We simply cannot complete the litigation in time to carry out the census.

One other point on this: Some in the media have been suggesting, in the hysterical mode of the day, that the administration has been planning to add the citizenship question to the census by executive fiat without regard to contrary court orders or what the Supreme Court might say. This has been based on rank speculation and nothing more.

As should be obvious, there has never been under cons- — this has never been under consideration. We have always accepted that any new decision to add a citizenship question to the census would be subject to judicial review.

Turning to today, I applaud the President for recognizing in his executive order that including a question on the census is not the only way to obtain this vital information. The course the President has chosen today will bring unprecedented resources to bear on determining how many citizens and non-citizens are in our country, and will yield the best data the government has had on citizenship in many decades. That information will be used for countless purposes, as the President explained in his remarks today.

For example, there is a current dispute over whether illegal aliens can be included for apportionment purposes. Depending on the resolution of that dispute, this data may be relevant to those considerations. We will be studying this issue.

Congratulations again, Mr. President, on taking this effective action.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you, Bill. (Applause.) Thank you very much.

END TRANSCRIPT – 5:48 P.M. EDT

President Trump tweeted that he will discuss his latest efforts at including the citizenship question as part of the census. Two senior administration officials confirmed to CBS News that President Trump will announce an executive action to add the citizenship question to the 2020 census. The announcement is scheduled/anticipated for 5:00pm EST today.  U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr is expected to be in attendance.

UPDATE: Video Added

White House Livestream – Fox News Livestream Link – CBSN Livestream Link

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USCG Frogmen Rule!  The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro are back in San Diego after running a series of 14 separate drug smuggling vessel interdictions and disruptions off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America by three Coast Guard cutters between May and July 2019. WATCH:

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) crew members board a self-propelled semi-submersible suspected drug smuggling vessel (SPSS) June 18, 2019, while operating in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Purpose-build smuggling vessels like SPSSs are designed to hold large quantities of contraband while evading detection by law enforcement authorities.

As a result of their latest deployment the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Munro will offload more than 39,000 pounds of cocaine and 933 pounds of marijuana worth a combined estimated $569 million, which was seized in international waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to deliver remarks today at 2:45pm EST -from San Diego- while thanking the crews.

USCG Vice President Pence; James W. Carroll, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy; Uttam Dhillon, acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration; and Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, commander of Coast Guard Pacific Area, are scheduled to visit Munro and give remarks.

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Numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security cooperated in the effort to combat transnational organized crime. The Coast Guard, Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with allied and international partner agencies, play a role in counter-drug operations.

The fight against drug cartels in the Eastern Pacific requires unity of effort in all phases from detection, monitoring and interdictions, to criminal prosecutions by U.S. Attorneys in districts across the nation.

The Coast Guard increased U.S. and allied presence in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Basin, which are known drug transit zones off of Central and South America, as part of its Western Hemisphere Strategy. During at-sea interdictions, a suspect vessel is initially detected and monitored by allied, military or law enforcement personnel coordinated by Joint Interagency Task Force-South based in Key West, Florida.

The law enforcement phase of counter-smuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific is conducted under the authority of the 11th Coast Guard District, headquartered in Alameda, California. The interdictions, including the actual boarding, are led and conducted by members of the U.S. Coast Guard. (Link)

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) crew members aboard the cutter’s 35-foot Long Range Interceptor small boat supervising the intentional sinking of suspected drug-smuggling boats May 17, 2019, following the seizure of cocaine from the boats during an at-sea interdiction while Munro’s crew patrolled international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Due to the distance from land, inadequate tow points and flooding in the engine rooms of the boats, the boats were sunk as a hazard to navigation. U.S. Coast Guard photo

U.K. Ambassador Kim Darroch (pictured left) wrote disparaging diplomatic cables about U.S. President Donald Trump.  The cables were leaked to the media.  Embarrassed by the publicity of the content Ambassador Darroch has resigned after President Trump called him a “pompous fool” and said the administration wouldn’t work with him.

The British Ambassador writes:

“Since the leak of official documents from this Embassy there has been a great deal of speculation surrounding my position and the duration of my remaining term as ambassador. I want to put an end to that speculation. The current situation is making it impossible for me to carry out my role as I would like.  Although my posting is not due to end until the end of this year, I believe in the current circumstances the responsible course is to allow the appointment of a new ambassador.“

Various British politicians are upset about the resignation, saying the U.K. government should have done more to support their embattled Ambassador.  Ultimately this is all a little funny…. The British are going bananas; and President Trump doesn’t care.

White House National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow on the U.S.-China trade talks where recontact has been established and now officially restarted. As noted, President Trump is in no hurry; the status-quo is leverage in our favor.

Additionally Director Kudlow discusses the potential benefits of the USMCA trade deal and whether the Federal Reserve should lower interest rates.

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Regarding “inflation” these pundits just don’t get it.  For over three years CTH has been explaining how President Trump’s maganomic policy would reverse three decades of stagnant Main Street economic growth.  The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) consistently confirms our earlier predictions releasing data where inflation is essentially nonexistent.

Since the mid-to-late 1980’s the U.S. economy split into two divergent economic engines. One traditional engine powered by Main Street, and a second engine powered by Wall Street.  For thirty-plus years the distance between those engines was growing as federal monetary policy provided low interest rate support for investment, but the end destination for the investment was NOT in the U.S. [Hence, globalism]

For more than 30 years monetary policy has been driven by Wall Street influence.  FED interest rates made borrowing cheap, but the money -the actual investment itself- flowed out of the United States.  The end product from the investment, steered by multinationals, created products overseas.  Within this flow of capital there was no benefit to Main Street.

President Trump’s America-First policy has reversed the dynamic.   As a result of his focus and demand, the end product(s) from capital investment are now here in the U.S.A.

The MOUSE is money or investment. The CHEESE is end products, manufactured stuff.

Rather than beg the Wall Street investment mouse to change direction in the manufacturing maze, president Trump has simply moved the cheese to Main Street.  The mouse’s travel changed accordingly.

(BEA Table 4 – pdf)

The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 0.7 percent in the first quarter, compared with an increase of 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter (table 4). The PCE price index increased 0.4 percent, compared with an increase of 1.5 percent. Excluding food and energy prices, the PCE price index increased 1.0 percent, compared with an increase of 1.8 percent. (link)

As companies reevaluate the best place for investment (highest return), and they see that Trump’s policies (corp taxes, tariffs, material and labor costs) focus on greatest benefit being inside the U.S, then companies return to Main Street.  This is what has been happening since Trump took office; and it continues through today.

The prices of highly consumable goods (food, fuel, energy) is kept low by Trump policies  that increase energy production and return a genuine supply-side dynamic to domestic production prices. [The battle with Big AG]

Meanwhile multinationals, and some foreign governments, fight to keep their footing abroad (original investment) by keeping down the price of durable goods manufactured overseas.  This is done by: currency devaluation, increasing productivity, adjusted supply chains and retention incentives afforded by the benefiting nation.  This is done to offset Trump tariffs which are designed to influence a shift in the manufacturing process.

The end result of both production dynamics, domestic and abroad, is low inflation.

This price dynamic is happening at the location of output, internal to the operations that are determining the output price, based on their determination of what U.S. market prices will absorb and a need to retain export position.

Key Point – The pricing is NOT a result of decision-making on new investment; and therefore the pricing dynamic is not able to be impacted or influenced by FED monetary policy.

Only when the majority of manufacturing investment fully returns to the U.S. will FED policy have any significant bearing on manufacturing prices.  This is the parity point where Main Street’s economic engine is recoupled to inflation.

There was 30 years of distance in the FED disconnect, and it will take more than a few years for the recoupling of Main Street to FED monetary policy.

This dynamic is the basic thesis behind THE THEORY HERE.

DECEMBER 2016 – […] Additionally, inflation on durable goods will be insignificant – even as international trade agreements are renegotiated.  Why?  Simply because the originating nations of those products are going to go through the same type of economic detachment described above.

Those global manufacturing economies will first respond to any increases in export costs (tariffs etc.), by driving their own productivity higher as an initial offset, in the same manner American workers went through in the past two decades.  The manufacturing enterprise and the financial sector remain focused on the pricing.

♦ Inflation on imported durable goods sold in America, while necessary, will ultimately be minimal during this initial period; and expand more significantly as time progresses and off-shored manufacturing finds less and less ways to be productive.   Over time, durable good prices will increase – but it will come much later.

♦ Inflation on domestic consumable goods ‘may‘ indeed rise at a faster pace. However, it can be expected that U.S. wage rates will respond faster, naturally faster, than any monetary policy because inflation on fast-turn consumable goods become re-coupled to the ability of wage rates to afford them.

The fiscal policy impact lag, caused by the distance between federal monetary action and the domestic Main Street economy, will now work in our favor.  That is, in favor of the middle-class.

Within the aforementioned distance between “X” and “Y”, a result of three decades traveled by two divergent economic engines, is our new economic dimension….

Earlier today President Donald Trump welcomed Amir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani from Qatar to the White House. Qatar came under considerable scrutiny from President Trump as part of the 2017 mid-east alliance due to their connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, terrorist financing, and regional issues in conflict with Saudi and Egyptian allies.

When President Trump formed the mid-east coalition, & referencing extremist elements, said: “drive them out”, the target audience was Qatar. [Video and Transcript below]

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[Transcript] PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. It’s a great honor to be with the Amir of Qatar — a highly respected man, a real leader in a large part of the world and a very important part of the world. And we’ve known each other a long time. We’ve been friends for a long time.

And we’re doing a lot of work now. They’re investing very heavily in our country. They’re creating a lot of jobs. They’re buying tremendous amounts of military equipment, including planes. And they’re buying commercial planes, as you know — very large numbers of commercial planes from Boeing. And we very much appreciate it.

We’re going to be signing a document today — a very large transaction. You’re going to be invited to the signing. It’s a transaction that will be purchasing a lot of Boeing jets and a lot of money spent in our country, and that means a lot of jobs.

So, we just appreciate everything. We have a great operation — military operation — right now in Qatar. They built one of the great military bases, I would say, anywhere in the world. And it’s just been expanded, with runways and everything else. It’s been really a great honor to work with my friend. Thank you very much for being here.

AMIR AL THANI: Thank you, sir.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you.

AMIR AL THANI: Thank you. Mr. President, I am very happy and honored to be here. And thank you very much for your hospitality. As you mentioned, we enjoy a very great relationship between Qatar and the United States of America.

We’re doing a lot together. As you mentioned, President, we’re signing a few documents today. And our economic partnership has been more than $185 billion, and we’re planning to double this number. We have a lot of investments in the U.S. We trust the economy here. We do a lot in the infrastructure, and we’re planning to do more investments.

Yes, we host at Al Udeid Base, and it’s — we’re working very closely together. You’re invited to come and see Qatar and also to visit the base at any time, Mr. President.

And I really enjoy the personal friendship with you. Thank you very much.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much.

And I will say the base is incredible. It’s — what they’ve done there is absolutely — and a great place to have it, right in the middle of the Middle East. And so it’s — obviously, it’s a very important location.

So thank you all very much. Yes.

Q Mr. President, do you have any reaction to the subpoenas — the new subpoenas of Jared Kushner and other members of your administration?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I don’t know anything about it.

Q Mr. President, can I ask you about Iran? How long are you going to wait before you see the Iranian enrich — before you take that action?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, we’re going to see what happens with Iran. Iran is doing a lot of bad things right now and they better be very careful.

Q Mr. President, do you have full confidence in Secretary Acosta right now and in the future?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, you know, I met Secretary Acosta — the first time, I know — when I made the deal to bring him on into the administration. I can tell you that for two and a half years he’s been just an excellent Secretary of Labor. He’s done a fantastic job.

Now, part of it is our economy is so good; our unemployment numbers are at record lows. You know, so many good things are happening.

But the fact is he’s been a very good Secretary of Labor. What happened 12 or 15 years ago with respect to when he was a U.S. Attorney, I think in Miami — is it Miami?

Q Yeah. Southern District of Florida.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: You know, if you go back and look at everybody else’s decisions, whether it’s a U.S. Attorney or an Assistant U.S. Attorney or a judge — you go back 12 or 15 years ago or 20 years ago, and look at their past decisions, I would think you’d probably find that they would wish they’d maybe did it a different way.

I do hear that there were a lot of people involved in that decision, not just him.

I can only say this: From what I know — and what I do know is that he’s been a great — really great Secretary of Labor. The rest of it we’ll have to look at. We’ll have to look at it very carefully. But you’re talking about a long time ago. And again, it was a decision made, I think, not by him but by a lot of people.

So we’re going to look at it very carefully. We’ll be looking at that very carefully. Okay?

Okay. Anything else?

Q Do you still think Jeffrey Epstein is a “terrific guy”?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him. I mean, people in Palm Beach knew him. He was a fixture in Palm Beach. I had a falling out with him a long time ago. I don’t think I’ve spoken to him for 15 years. I wasn’t a fan.

Q What was all that about?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I was not — yeah, a long time ago. I’d say maybe 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you. I was not a fan of his.

So I feel very badly, actually, for Secretary Acosta because I’ve known him as being somebody that works so hard and has done such a good job. I feel very badly about that whole situation.

But we’re going to be looking at that and looking at it very closely.

We’re also going to be signing a big contract in a little while, so we’re going to see you in a little while in a different room, in a different part of the White House where we’re going to be signing up a big deal with Boeing. Thank you very much. We’ll see you in a couple of minutes.

END 12:18 P.M. EDT

Yesterday AG Bill Barr affirmed he was recused from the DOJ prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein. However, according to new media reporting, based on information from the office of U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, the Attorney General has consulted with DOJ officials and modified his recusal position:

(Tweet Link)

It would appear Bill Barr is recused from aspects surrounding Epstein that connect to the earlier Florida prosecution; and prosecutorial position of the DOJ at the time-frame of the Florida plea agreement (via U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta); however, Bill Barr is not recused from the current SDNY prosecution in 2019 (via U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman).

For the Florida case Barr is recused. For the SDNY case, Barr is not recused.  So AG Barr will have oversight during the SDNY case against Jeffrey Epstein.

This position would reconcile the statement made by AG Barr yesterday:

Billionaire businessman and two-time independent presidential candidate, Ross Perot, has died at 89. He was battling leukemia and died Tuesday morning at his home near Dallas.

Ross Perot was the first modern presidential candidate to cut through both sets of party lines and reach out to the monster vote. Perot’s ferocious opposition to the NAFTA trade deal, and all economic policies against U.S. interests, was the center of his campaign.

There are striking similarities between President Trump and Ross Perot particularly around America-First trade deals and prioritizing policy for the American worker.