Earlier today President Trump held a cabinet meeting to discuss ongoing COVID-19 mitigation efforts and the ongoing policies to reopen the U.S. economy.  The presentation included powerful remarks from Assistant HHS Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Dr. Eli McCance-Katz. [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, everybody. Please. So, welcome to our Cabinet meeting. And every member of my Cabinet is working tirelessly to defeat the invisible enemy. That should have never happened to our country. It should have never happened to the world. It’s a disgrace. It could have been stopped at the source, but they decided not to do that.

But we’re going to safely reopen our country and our economy, and it’s happening very rapidly. And it’s happening, interestingly, where numbers are actually going down; you look at Florida, the state of Florida. Done a great job. You look at Georgia, you look at others — they’re open. And some are doing extremely well, far beyond what people thought.

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It looks like Sidney Powell has angered Emett Sullivan as the DC judge has now granted all of the requests by prosecuting amicus John Gleeson.

In an order today Judge Sullivan granted Gleeson with the requested schedule to include a July 10th briefing deadline and oral arguments scheduled for July 16th.

Just as the news broke Flynn’s defense attorney Sidney Powell appeared on Lou Dobbs to react.

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Acting DNI Richard Grenell declassified the hidden paragraph of the Susan Rice memo and it was released earlier today.  Our suspicions about the content of the redacted paragraph being Michael Flynn connected are confirmed.

On January 5, 2017, President Obama and Susan Rice were discussing incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn with FBI Director James Comey. The motive for Susan Rice to write the January 20, 2017, memo to file becomes clear.  Here’s the paragraph:

Within this paragraph we find the motive for writing it (emphasis mine):

“Director Comey affirmed that he is proceeding “by the book” as it relates to law enforcement.” … “Comey said he does have some concerns that incoming NSA Flynn is speaking frequently with Russian Ambassador Kislyak.”  “Comey said that could be an issue as it relates to sharing senssitive information.”  “President Obama asked if Comey was saying that the NSC should not pass sensitive information related to Russia to Flynn.”  “Comey replied “potentially.””  “He added that he has no indication thus far that Flynn has passed classified information to Kislyak, but he noted that “the level of communication is unusual.”

Remember, the position of President Obama and Susan Rice is that they were unaware of any FBI investigation of Flynn (or the Trump campaign); nor did they have any involvement in directing it to take place.

The content of this January 5th meeting makes the first part of their claim challenging to accept.   Thus the need for Susan Rice to cover for it.

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Moments ago Michael Flynn defense counsel Sidney Powell filed an appeal to the D.C. Circuit, a Petition for Writ of Mandamus (pdf link here), asking for intervention to correct Judge Sullivan’s unauthorized action.

Within the request Flynn’s defense requests the DC Appeals Court to order district court judge Emett Sullivan to: (1) grant the Justice Department’s Motion to Dismiss; (2) vacate its order appointing amicus curiae; and (3) reassign the case to another district judge as to any further proceedings.

The request cites numerous legal precedents in favor of granting the writ; but it’s a DC panel of judges so politics will likely play a role in determining what the appeals court decides to do.  Given the nature of this extraordinary situation it is difficult to predict success or failure for the request to intervene.   The whole darn thing is bizarre.

Within the petition the defense team notes:

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The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence voted today to approve Rep. John Ratcliffe to be the next US intelligence director. Senators approved Ratcliffe in an 8 to 7 vote along party lines during a closed-door meeting. The previous SSCI vote to approve Dan Coats in 2017 was 14 to 2.  DNI Coats turned out to be a disappointment protecting the swamp.

Mr. Ratcliffe now moves to be confirmed by the full Senate before replacing acting Director of National Intelligence Richard “Ric” Grenell, who also is US ambassador to Germany. As acting DNI Grenell built a strong foundation for Ratcliffe to build upon; and there is a strong likelihood Grenell will stay close to the administration and lead President Trump’s Intelligence Advisory Board.

The ODNI position is important within the intelligence apparatus as the DNI is the hub for all intelligence agencies and the director controls the overall intelligence community.  The DNI also coordinates the declassification and release of executive branch documents.

Politico reports Ratcliffe is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate in a vote likely to be held after Memorial Day, according to Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo).

On April, 17, 2020, President Trump directed Secretary Perdue to expedite assistance to America’s farmers, ranchers and consumers. The President directed USDA to use all funds and authorities at its disposal. In addition to the $16 billion in direct payments, the details of which are expected to be announced shortly, USDA has begun to purchase & distribute up to $3 billion of ag products to those in need through the Food Box Distribution Program.

On Friday, May 15, 2020, Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump and Secretary Perdue toured Coastal Sunbelt Producers in Laurel, MD, which has begun the packing and distribution of these boxes to families in need. Contracts to distributors have been awarded by USDA.

Earlier today President Trump delivered remarks on supporting our Nation’s farmers, ranchers, and food supply chain in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

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Kayleigh McEnany is very impressive as a press secretary. Today, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany appeared on ‘Fox & Friends’ this morning to discuss President Trump’s announcement that he is taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventative measure.

Additionally, McEnany discusses the ongoing White House economic recovery policy; the decision to withhold funding from the WHO until answers are given and reforms are made; and recent remarks by AG Bill Barr.

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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

Kayleigh McEnany Twitter @PressSec

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 †

The power of government comes from the people; or as we say in the U.S. “from the consent of the governed.”  When the people lead, the politicians are forced to follow.

Without implied consent the municipal or state government has no power.  None.

As a result, the lock-downs end when the majority of We The People no longer give our consent.

How do We The People retract our consent? We simply refuse to comply.

When the majority of people simply refuse to comply with unilateral dictates, and laugh in the faces of those who attempt to enforce them, the government no longer has power.

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