Chopper pressers are the best pressers.  President Trump delivers remarks to the press pool as he departs the White House for a working weekend in Camp David.

[Video Below – Transcript will Follow]

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Earlier today President Trump called-in for an interview on current political events with Dan Bongino.  The interview begins at 03:45 of video:

The interview covers current COVID-19 mitigation efforts as well as the financial packages used to help offset the economic damage. On the state-bailouts President Trump hints he would not veto a phase-4 package that includes state bailouts; but he would seek to extract significant concessions. That very early position might change because any state bailout would be toxic for reelection.

During the last part of the interview [@28:12] President Trump discusses the Michael Flynn case and the recent developments.

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President Trump participates in a presidential ceremony to recognize heroism in combating the coronavirus pandemic. The event is titled: “hard work, heroism and hope” and the anticipated start time is 4:15pm ET.  [Video Added]

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National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow appears on CNBC to answer growing questions about whether there is a White House plan to punish China.  Kudlow is careful to tamp down any specific reports, while affirming there will be retaliatory measures.

Additionally, Director Kudlow discusses the status of the economy, the current claims under the Payroll Protection Program, and what efforts might yet come.

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Devin Nunes appears for an interview with Lou Dobbs to discuss his perspective on the latest stunning revelations around the Flynn case.  Nunes outlines the importance of looking at the big picture and also considering how the same FBI that was investigating Flynn was purposefully leaking to allies in the media.

Nunes is pretty fired-up in this interview about the scale of corruption the recently released documents highlight.

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FARA was always the way the Obama Administration IC apparatus, writ large, would legally justify political surveillance. [FARA = FISA] Hence Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, knowing purpose of DOJ-NSD, who ran FARA/FISA operations, would not allow an inspector general.

This is why Flynn had to be removed at all costs.

Obama-era political surveillance was being done through the intelligence apparatus (including FBI contractors) since 2012; with FARA as a justification for FISA abuse when needed. Flynn’s mere existence in the administration would have exposed that background surveillance network.

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There is a lot breaking today and we will have MUCH more on breaking developments which includes a release today of the additional 11 pages of information to the Flynn defense team.  The release, when put together with all previously released information, clearly and directly implicates President Obama in the Flynn operation.

In the interim, listen to President Trump remark on the current developments:

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Amid another troubling week for initial unemployment claims showing 3.8 million workers filing for financial assistance President Trump’s Senior Economic Advisor Kevin Hassett appears on Fox News to discuss the status of the economic shut-down.

Hassett notes his current estimate for total workforce unemployment around 19 percent. Additionally, Hassett outlines how the economic data lags the economic activity, so there is much more bad news to come.   That said, with massive influx of federal spending to fill the gap, the White House has now shifted focus toward how best to reignite the economy.

Kevin Hassett has a forward outlook of optimism and notes there is pent-up demand which can re-launch the economy. The economy was so strong prior to the shutdown it is possible to look forward and remain optimistic.

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Earlier today President Trump hosted New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy in the Oval Office to discuss the latest COVID-19 mitigation efforts.  President Trump and Governor Murphy take questions from the press pool:

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The Department of Labor released their weekly report showing first-time filings for unemployment insurance hit 3.84 million last week. Though the worst appears to be in the past, the total number of claims in the past six weeks now exceeds 30 million.

The surge in unemployment claims is an outcome of decisions to shut-down the U.S. economy to control the coronavirus spread. Some states and local regions have recently started to bring their respective economies back online; however, most of the key U.S. infrastructure remains on lockdown.

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President Trump participates in a roundtable discussion with various industry executives on the plan for reopening the American economy. Anticipated start time 4:00pm ET.

White House Livestream Link – Fox News Livestream – RSBN Livestream

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The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released the first quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) advanced estimate and the result is a 4.8% decline in economic activity. [BEA Here]

The revised fourth quarter GDP shows the economy was growing at 2.1 percent prior to the COVID-19 shutdown.  The severity of the change in GDP reflects a severe drop in consumer spending, essentially bringing the economy to a halt in March as the entire nation went into lock-down.  As the BEA explains:

The decline in first quarter GDP was, in part, due to the response to the spread of COVID-19, as governments issued “stay-at-home” orders in March. This led to rapid changes in demand, as businesses and schools switched to remote work or canceled operations, and consumers canceled, restricted, or redirected their spending.

The full economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be quantified in the GDP estimate for the first quarter of 2020 because the impacts are generally embedded in source data and cannot be separately identified. (more)

Digging down into the details the data shows what we all have seen.  There is some specific data that is noteworthy in the tables.

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