President Trump ‘unexpectedly‘ negotiated a major asylum deal with the government of Guatemala.  In a surprise announcement on Friday President Trump invited the press into the oval office where Guatemalan Interior Minister Enrique Degenhart and acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan were gathered in advance.

It’s important to remember that President Trump spoke about this on Wednesday during an impromptu presser.  In essence President Trump delivered an offer/threat at the end of several months of negotiations.  REMINDER:

Q What are you going to do about Guatemala? Guatemala. What are you going to do about Guatemala?
THE PRESIDENT: So, Guatemala gave us their word. We were going to sign a safe third agreement and then, all of a sudden, they backed up. They said it was their supreme court. I don’t believe that. But they use their supreme court as the reason they didn’t want to do it.
So we’ll either do tariffs or we’ll do something. We’re looking at something very severe with respect to Guatemala. I’ve already cut all payments; I did that a year ago. I cut all payments going to Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. We used to send them $500 million for nothing. For nothing. They didn’t do anything except set up caravans.
So, Guatemala we’re going to take care of and it won’t even be tough. We’re going to do — we’re looking at a couple of different things. ~ Wednesday July 24th, 2019.

(more…)

A major win for the Trump administration as the Supreme Court has just ruled to stay a lower court ruling that blocked the President from using $2.5 billion in defense funds to build border security wall.   This means the Department of Homeland Security can now use $2.5 billion in defense appropriations to build the border wall.  A massive win!

The ruling was 5-4 with the liberal justices in the minority.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Trump administration to move forward with plans to build a wall along parts of the Mexican border while litigation over paying for it proceeds.

(more…)

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross appears with Charles Payne to discuss the latest economic data and the Q2 GDP release.  Within the interview Secretary Ross explains the information behind the data; the status of the USMCA and Pelosi’s motives to delay ratification; the baseline for the U.S-China trade discussions, and the position of the administration to advance the economic interests of the U.S. above all others.

(more…)

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has released the data for the second quarter of 2019.  The Q2 GDP growth rate of 2.1 percent beat all economic expectations, and highlights strong consumer spending throughout the U.S. economy.

The two primary drags on the Q2 release are also the most volatile: Export/Import contributions (-.65%), and Inventory contributions (-.86%) [table 2]. However, consumer spending was much stronger than anticipated (+4.3%) showing the internal strength of the U.S. labor market and the impact of wage growth which still exceeds 3.6 percent.
The inflation index is still low at 1.5 percent year-over-year, and highlights a point all economic pundits overlook.  With countries attempting to stop the impact of tariffs on their exports they are devaluing their currency (EU and China) and subsidizing their export industries (China).  This has the cumulative effect of lowering their price. As a consequence, and with a strong dollar, the U.S. is importing deflation.
The Fed can do nothing of substance to impact low price inflation because the causes are external to the U.S. economy.  CTH predicted this in 2016, and we stand by that assertion today because we now have almost three years of empirical data to prove it.
Wall Street wants bad news because Wall Street wants a lower fed rate.  As a direct consequence Wall Street’s multinational corporate media bias over the GDP data release is hilarious. The headline from NBC is typical: “Economic Growth Slows Less Than Expected in Second Quarter”….    Sometimes you just have to laugh.
(more…)

President Trump called-in to Sean Hannity’s TV show tonight to discuss his perspective on the Robert Mueller testimony and current DC events.

(more…)

Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Doug Collins and Intel Committee Ranking Member Devin Nunes appear on Fox News to discuss their perspective on Robert Mueller, the issues revealed by the testimony, and the behind-the-schemes maneuvers of the democrats on both committees.  It’s an interesting dual-interview.

(more…)

The second quarter Gross Domestic Product growth result will be released tomorrow.  The Q2 GDP growth rate is historically the worst quarter of the year.  A growth rate higher than 1.5 percent will be a strong indicator the U.S. economy remains on track for a cumulative year of around three percent.

In the latest economic releases the orders for durable goods “unexpectedly” jumped in June [2 percent], again indicating the overall strength of the U.S. economy and strong consumer purchasing.  Additionally the trade in goods deficit “unexpectedly” declined 1.2 percent in June as more manufacturers “surprisingly” shift production back to the U.S, and domestic consumers are “unexpectedly” loyal to USA.
Every economic indicator is positive, and each series of released data shows the U.S. economy is increasingly strong.  Despite the empirical data, media reporting on economic forecasts continue to convey a negative slant disconnected from what is happening.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods surged in June, suggesting some improvement in business investment, but economic growth is still expected to have slowed sharply in the second quarter amid weaker exports and a smaller inventory build.

(more…)

President Trump has tweeted support for an American artist A$AP Rocky after Swedish authorities file formal charges which may result in a two-year prison term.
It seems remarkable that a street fight, which did appear to be validly self defense, could result in such a serious situation for this young American musician. President Trump has attempted to help the artist who remains in detention, and expresses disappointment in the status.

ABC News – Rapper A$AP Rocky was charged with assault in Sweden on Thursday over a brawl in the streets of Stockholm on June 30, according to prosecutors.
“I have today commenced criminal proceedings against the three individuals suspected of assault causing actual bodily harm, having come to the conclusion that the events in question constitute a crime and despite claims of self-defence and provocation,” said public prosecutor Daniel Suneson, of the City Public Prosecution Office in Stockholm.

(more…)

In our opinion the content of the diary by former FBI Director James Comey, as outlined in what has formally been called “The Comey Memos”, is devastating to the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI.   How do we know? Because the FBI is fighting like hell to keep even descriptions of the memo(s) content from becoming public.
Here’s something you don’t see CTH say every day…. We’re on the side of CNN !

Rather complex backstory with citations HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE.

In the background of what was The Mueller Investigation, there was a FOIA case where the FBI was fighting to stop the release of the Comey memos.
Within that courtroom fight Mueller’s lead FBI agent David Archey wrote a series of declarations to the court describing the content of the memos and arguing why they should be kept classified.
The FOIA fight shifted.
The plaintiff, CNN, argued for public release of the content of the FBI agent’s descriptions, now known as the “Archey Declarations”.
Hat Tip Techno Fog for the latest court filing update.  As you can see from the filing graphic, the DOJ is requesting more time to file a response to a motion that would force them to release the “Archey Declarations” [detailed explanations of what’s inside the Comey Memos].
After a lengthy back-and-forth legal contest, on June 7th Judge James E Boasberg agreed to allow the FBI to keep the Comey memo content hidden, but instructed the DOJ/FBI to release the content of the Archey Declarations.
(more…)

The U.S. worker initiative is one of the least discussed success stories in the landscape of MAGAnomics.  At the heart of the program is a new-era retraining program through a partnership between private companies and the education sector.  There are programs ongoing throughout the nation and it really is a remarkable success.
UPDATE: Video Added

.
[White House] Today, President Trump, Vice President Pence, Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump and members of the Cabinet will host an event at the White House with workers and CEOs to celebrate the one year anniversary since the launch of the Pledge to America’s Workers.
(more…)