A report from earlier today notes the anticipated departure of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, initially scheduled for mid-March, has been delayed… There’s a brutally obvious reason.

WASHINGTON DC – Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has reached an agreement with Attorney General William Barr to stay on at the Justice Department “a little while longer,” a source familiar with their conversation told Fox News – despite initial plans to step down by now.
Fox News and other outlets previously reported that Rosenstein had planned to step down in mid-March. However, sources close to the deputy attorney general say Rosenstein has not yet given his two weeks notice.

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Oh dear, this doesn’t bode well for those who are concerned about U.S. imposed 20% auto tariffs on EU, mostly German, automobiles.  [NOTE: Pay attention to the timing here as it relates to Nord Stream 2] Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel has announced she will no longer uphold her prior agreement for NATO military spending.

At the 2014 NATO meeting in Wales, all NATO members agreed they would immediately begin a process to increase their military spending to two percent of GDP.  However, over time, and in direct contravention to the purpose of the effort, Germany (Merkel) began secretly working behind the scenes with Russia (Putin) on the Nord Stream II gas pipeline.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline delivers natural gas from Russia to Germany.  That pipeline is expected to go on-line this November, 2019.  Today, Angela Merkel announces she will no longer uphold Germany’s financial commitments to NATO. These two issues are directly related.  It now looks like Merkel made a back-door agreement with Russia on NATO.

(Via Daily Mail) Germany’s military spending is set to fall below its NATO targets, in the latest flashpoint in Berlin’s long-running row with Washington.
The latest German budget plans, revealed on Monday, will see defence spending drop well below the two per cent of GDP expected from NATO members.
U.S. ambassador Richard Grenell said the cuts were a ‘worrisome signal’, while President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused Germany of freeloading on U.S. military might.

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The Supreme Court reversed a prior 9th Circuit Court ruling restricting when illegal aliens could be detained and deported.
The SCOTUS ruling (full pdf below) was in favor the Trump administration, allowing federal officials to detain and deport illegal aliens after they have served their time in the U.S. for other crimes regardless of whether they were picked up immediately or later, after criminal release.
The 9th Circuit Court previously stated ICE would have to detain illegal aliens immediately after release or they would be exempt from later detainment.  SCOTUS eliminated that restriction and affirmed detainment and deportation at any time after criminal release.  The ruling was 5-4 with Justice Alito announcing the majority judgement of the court below:
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President Donald Trump and Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro will be holding a joint press conference at approximately 1:45pm EST.
UPDATE: Video and Transcript Added:

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[Transcript] – Rose Garden – 1:54 P.M. EDT – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much everyone. Thank you. Today, I’m very thrilled to welcome President Bolsonaro of Brazil for his first visit to the White House. President Bolsonaro, I want to congratulate you again on your tremendous election victory last October. It was an incredible feat and, really, a truly incredible challenge. And the end result was something the whole world was talking about.
I also know that we’re going to have a fantastic working relationship. We have many views that are similar. And we certainly feel very, very true to each other on trade. I think Brazil’s relationship with the United States, because of our friendship, is probably better than it’s ever been by far.
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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

President Trump Twitter @POTUS / Vice President Pence Twitter @VP

Sarah H Sanders Twitter @SHSanders45

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

HPSCI ranking member Devin Nunes appears on Fox News with Sean Hannity to discuss the lawsuit he filed today against Twitter and some users.

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On the same day that polls show Americans increasingly see through the false premise of the Mueller investigation, and now agree that it’s a ‘witch hunt’, President Trump tweeted out a video segment from Tucker Carlson’s opening monologue. The video is below.  The topic is how the Russia Hoax was pushed on the U.S. electorate:

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President Jair Bolsonaro and First-Lady Michelle Bolsonaro are staying at the Blair House as guests of President Donald Trump and First-Lady Melania Trump.  They will be meeting together tomorrow.
Tonight at 11:00pm Fox News host Shannon Bream has an exclusive interview with President Bolsonaro from the Blair House.   Additionally, the White House has provided some background details that highlights the importance of the summit.

[White House Briefing] SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Hey, good afternoon. So obviously, tomorrow, the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will be meeting with President Trump. Clearly, we have seen, since day one, President Bolsonaro’s election as a real opportunity to fundamentally remake our relationship with Brazil.
This is something that we have been doing since day one, in which, within an hour of President Bolsonaro being — at that time, President-elect Bolsonaro being confirmed as the President-elect, President Trump called him, was on the phone with him. A couple of weeks later, National Security Advisor John Bolton went down to Rio to visit with him. Secretary of State Pompeo led the delegation to his inauguration.
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Earlier today President Trump hosted a White House event to celebrate Greek Independence Day. [Methinks Recep Erdogan is not too happy. LOL]
White House: “On the 198th anniversary of Greek Independence Day, we celebrate the rich history and enduring bond between the United States and Greece. Our strong alliance and unwavering friendship are rooted in mutual respect and a shared commitment to freedom, justice, and democracy.”

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