BACKGROUND PRESS CALL BY SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS ON VENEZUELA

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 24, 2019 BACKGROUND PRESS CALL BY SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS ON VENEZUELA Via Telephone January 23, 2019   1:43 P.M. EST SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Hi, everybody.  Thank you for joining this phone call.  This is, of course, an important moment, and we want to make sure that you have all the details and information that we can share as soon as possible. As hopefully everybody on this line has seen, the President had a statement on Venezuela, and that went out about a half an hour ago from White House Press. If you have not seen that statement, please feel free to reach out to us, or White House Press, and they can give that to you. That said, I'm going to introduce one of my colleagues from (inaudible) at the NSC.  He is going to walk through the President's statements, share a few words, and then take Q&A. This call is embargoed until the completion of the call, and it's attributed to a senior administration official only. So with that, let me introduce my colleague, and he can make a few words and share the President's remarks. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Good afternoon.  So as my colleague mentioned, let me start out with reading the President's statement, and then I’ll add a few things to it.  And then I'll open up for Q&A. According to the statement, it says, "Today…" -- the statement from the President: "Today, I am officially recognizing the President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, as the Interim President of Venezuela.  In its role as the only legitimate branch of government duly elected by the Venezuelan people, the National Assembly invoked the country’s constitution to declare Nicolas Maduro illegitimate, and the office of the presidency therefore vacant.  The people of Venezuela have courageously spoken out against Maduro and his regime and demanded freedom and the rule of law. I will continue to use the full weight of United States economic and diplomatic power to press for the restoration of Venezuelan democracy.  We encourage other Western Hemisphere governments to recognize National Assembly President Guaidó as the Interim President of Venezuela, and we will work constructively with them in support of his efforts to restore constitutional legitimacy.  We continue to hold the illegitimate Maduro regime directly responsible for any threats it may pose to the safety of the Venezuelan people.  As Interim President Guaidó noted yesterday: 'Violence is the usurper’s weapon; we only have one clear action: to remain united and firm for a democratic and free Venezuela.'" With this, I will add that this recognition by President Trump is pursuant to his Article II of powers to recognize foreign leaders.  As such, this is an important moment and it's an important message to the Maduro regime and an opportunity for them to have a peaceful transition and to accept a peaceful transition to democracy according to their own constitution and their own legal order. If the Maduro government chooses to respond -- if Maduro and his cronies choose to respond with violence, if they choose to harm any of the National Assembly members or any of the other duly legitimate officials of the government of Venezuela, all options are on the table for the United States in regards to actions to be taken. As we have said, the full diplomatic and economic (inaudible) United States will be put forward in support of the legitimate Interim President of Venezuela, who President Trump has now said is Juan Guaidó. I'll open it up for any questions. Q    Hi, thank you for having this call.  I noticed that on the statement you mentioned encouraging other Western Hemisphere countries.  What sort of -- what actions will the administration take to still encourage other countries, such as maybe Mexico, that’s maybe not being very fast on this, on recognizing Guaidó?  This is (inaudible) with the Hill. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yeah.  So we've been working constructively with countries particularly of the Lima Group, which consists of larger countries on the Western Hemisphere, along with some of the Caribbean countries.  But we've been working with those countries and namely, obviously, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Canada, and others in regards to what position they are looking to take and what actions they are planning to pursue. We've also been talking obviously to the European Union and other countries.  Altogether, between the European Union, the Lima Group, and other countries such as Japan, Australia, et cetera, there are almost around (inaudible) countries that held that the Maduro government was illegitimate.  And so, therefore, consequently, the next action should be to recognize Juan Guaidó as the legitimate Interim President of Venezuela. So we will continue to work with all of our partners who have spoken out very loudly and clearly on the issue in order to, one, encourage them to take further steps to ensure that Maduro and his cronies are not able to loot any further from the Venezuelan people.  And, by the way, and in that regards, to work productively if Maduro chooses to seek -- to accept a peaceful transition of power, to find an exit solution for him in that regard. Q    Thank you for doing this.  This is Andrea Mitchell at NBC News.  Can you explain what you mean by "all options are on the table"?  And what could precipitate such actions?  And what steps can you, or have you taken to protect Americans who have actually been in custody still in Venezuela, including some people from the oil companies who have been down there for quite some time and have not been released?  Thank you. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yeah.  So first and foremost, our embassy in Caracas has been extraordinarily active and has been very vigilant of events, and has been in contact, obviously, with the families, with Americans that are on the ground, families of those affected -- some that may be in prison, and others.  So, clearly, our embassy is very cognizant of all of these facts and has prepared for all different scenarios. In regards to the options, frankly, in our sanctions we've barely scratched the surface of what actions the United States can take from an economic sanctions front.  We are willing, and we consider that all of those options are viable.  You know, it's not very difficult to figure out what constitutes the majority of -- (inaudible) majority of hard currency that is being looted by Maduro and his cronies. And therefore, the message is very clear, which we hope the Maduro government has gotten, is that the United States remains resolute in supporting a peaceful transition to democracy and freedom in Venezuela, and it will not allow an illegitimate individual -- in this case, Nicolas Maduro -- or his cronies to continue to loot the assets of the Venezuelan people, of the Venezuelan state, regardless of what sector it is, whether it's gold, oil, or (inaudible). Q    Hi, this is Andrew Feinberg with Breakfast Media.  Thanks for doing this call.  So over the past two years -- two years of the Trump administration -- you guys have taken a lot of actions on Venezuela and listed a whole host of abuses by the Maduro regime: (inaudible) and suppression of freedom of the press, ignoring free elections, suppressing dissent, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But Venezuela seems to be one of the few nations that the President and the administration routinely criticizes for this stuff.  Governments like Erdogan's in Turkey, Putin's in Russia, Duterte's in the Philippines, Saudi Arabia -- they get congratulatory calls, and Venezuela gets called out and sanctioned.  Why is Venezuela's government -- the Maduro political government -- so much worse than all of these other dictators who the President has said very nice things about on occasion? SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yeah.  So our policy towards the Western Hemisphere is dictated by the commitment that 34 out of 35 countries, including Venezuela, made on September 11, 2001, ironically, in Lima, Peru at the time, which was signed at the time by Secretary Powell, who was there, on the Inter-American Democratic Charter which holds that a representative democracy is the practice in the Western Hemisphere. We are bound by the commitment that we made in the Inter-American Democratic Charter.  Venezuela is bound by the commitment that it made in the Inter-American Democratic Charter.  And we hold democracy to be not only an American value, not only for the United States, but across the Western Hemisphere.  That is the reality of geopolitics. Q    Hi, this is Ian Talley, Wall Street Journal.  Thanks for doing this.  Can you tell me, firstly, how this decision was made within the administration?  Did this come from Trump himself?  Was it orchestrated by the NSC?  Was State pushing for this?  Just, can you give us some insight there? And secondly, I just want to clarify when you say that "all actions are on the table," then you used the clause of diplomatic and economic -- when you say "all actions" are you restraining what that means, or confining it to economic and diplomatic, and not to, sort of, a naval blockade, or any (inaudible) of military force? SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  So to answer your first question, Article II of the Constitution provides the power to recognize foreign leaders only to the President, therefore, and not to anybody else, or to any other branch of the Executive.  Therefore, this decision was made solely and squarely by the President who is the person that has the Constitutional authority to do so. The President's interest, his message, his consistency on Venezuela and the need for a democratic transition there is unequivocal.  We've seen it for over a year in that regard, so it's fully consistent with where we have been as an administration from day one. In regards to the sanctions, you know, knowing what we have done, and understanding what is on the table, and which everything is on the table -- all options -- but in the economic sphere, if you look at what we have done, there is still a tremendous amount of leverage and there's still a tremendous amount of magnitude in our toolbox in that regard. As I said previously, we haven’t even scratched the surface, per se.  And there's a whole new -- a whole bunch of new dynamics that come into play, including the fact that now the legitimate decision-makers in regards to economic transactions between Venezuela and the United States is the government of Interim President Juan Guaidó and the National Assembly.  And that will entail a whole bunch of consequences on daily interactions between Venezuela and the United States. If Nicolas Maduro and his cronies attempt to usurp those authorities and engage in certain transactions, that would constitute, frankly, an illegality.  And those are issues that will be discussed in the coming days. Q    Hi, thanks so much.  It's Nick Schifrin from PBS NewsHour.  Thanks so much for doing this.  I just want to be a little more specific on the punishment, if Maduro, for example, arrests Guaidó, or does any (inaudible.)  I've been told that, you know, you've got an oil embargo ready.  Would that oil embargo be instituted if Guaidó was arrested or something happened to him, or if there was violence in the next few hours? And then, an overall question: Now that he has declared himself Interim President, and now that the President of the United States has declared Guaidó Interim President, does that mean that you can divert money toward whomever he says is the rightful recipient of oil revenue?  And does that mean you can, for example, kick out Venezuelan (inaudible) and replace them with Guaidó's diplomat? SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yeah, so you were cutting in and out, but I got most of your question.  You know, when we say all options on the table, it means all options are on the table.  And in that sense, you know, let's remain optimistic and hope that Maduro and his cronies saw the message, the magnitude, frankly, of the message -- (inaudible), frankly, in the last decade -- the magnitude of the message that the Venezuelan people have sent him and his cronies, and will seek to accept this peaceful transition and will seek an exit route -- a peaceful exit route.  So let's remain hopeful in that regards. Now, if they choose the route of violence and seek to usurp the constitutional order and democracy, let us be clear that we have a host of options.  We will take every single one of those options seriously.  And the message to Maduro and his cronies would be that if that is the route they choose, that it would be very clear to them that they will have no immediate future, they will have no immediate livelihood, and therefore, one way or another, have their days counted.   END             1:59 P.M. EST

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REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP AT FAIR AND HONEST PRICING IN HEALTHCARE ROUNDTABLE

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 23, 2019

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP AT FAIR AND HONEST PRICING IN HEALTHCARE ROUNDTABLE Roosevelt Room   2:19 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you all for being here.  I especially want to thank Secretary Azar and Secretary Acosta -- they're doing a fantastic job -- for everything they're doing with respect to healthcare, and more affordable healthcare at that, for the American people.  It's incredible some of the things we've come up with that are much less expensive than Obamacare, and in many respects, are much, much better.  People have to know about the options.  We have a lot of options, and people have to know that. We're here today, though, to discuss how the healthcare system too often harms people with unfair surprises.  They have some really -- surprises in a very negative sense: medical bills and the like.  The pricing is hurting patients, and we've stopped a lot of it, and we're going to stop all of it.  It is very important to me. My administration is committed to delivering a healthcare system that takes care of American people -- of the American people, and like they haven’t been taken care of before.  And we can do that.  It's a very difficult subject, it's a very complex subject, but we've all gotten to understand it very well.  And the strides we've made are rather amazing. We want to take advantage of those strides now, and we want to let them be known to the American people, as we make additional headway.  We've already made that progress.  In certain way we're lowering, and we will continue to lower, healthcare costs.  We approved a record number of generic drugs over the past two years.  If you look at what we've done -- and we're going to be putting out a list at the end of the week -- the number of generic drugs, which brings down the pricing.  They're just as good as the name drug.  In fact, one of things that amazed me -- I was asking a few of the people, including Scott -- I was saying that, "What's the difference between the generic and a big-name drug where you pay much more money?"  And they said, "Absolutely no difference."  Do you still agree with that?  I mean, Secretary, do you still -- SECRETARY AZAR:  Absolutely. THE PRESIDENT:  So, somebody is going to have to explain, why are they paying for the brand?  Will somebody explain that please?  Because they literally say there's absolutely no difference.  Identical.  And you'll pay four, five, six times more money for something that comes in a container that you're more familiar with.  So we've expanded that greatly -- a lot of generic drugs. Through the association health plans -- thank you, Secretary Acosta -- we've expanded access to affordable, high-quality healthcare, particularly for employees of small businesses and self-employed individuals.  And we reduced average premiums on the federal Obamacare exchanges for the first time in the history of the horrible Obamacare.  Okay?  It's the first time it's ever happened. We're working very hard to get those -- the pricing down, as we really do things that are going to make it much better, and ultimately, it will result probably in a court case termination, and then we'll all get together and we'll come up with real healthcare. As the result of our efforts, prescription drug prices have declined in 2018 for the first time in over 50 years.  So, prescription drug pricing has been very important to me.  Think of that statement: For the first time in over 50 years, it's gone down in pricing.  Is that a correct statement? SECRETARY AZAR:  That's correct. THE PRESIDENT:  Because if it's not, you know, they're going to get us.  Okay?  (Laughter.)  We'll be looking very strongly, so we have to realize that that's a very powerful statement.  First time in over 50 years that prescription drug prices have declined -- that’s in 2018. But the seen and unseen costs of healthcare are still taking an enormous toll on millions of American families.  And this is something that I inherited; unfortunately, you inherited it, and also the people inherited.  And we're doing a lot about it. Half of all unpaid bills on consumer credit reports in America are for medical bills.  One-fifth of credit reports include a past-due medical bill.  And you think of so many other bills, but one-fifth -- a big portion of what people are having trouble with right now are medical bills, and we're doing a lot about that. Nearly 40 percent of insured adults report receiving a surprise medical bill in the last year.  Patients should know that the real price -- and what's going on with the real prices of procedures, because they don’t know.  They go in, they have a procedure, and then all of a sudden they can't afford it.  They had no idea it was so bad -- of procedures, treatments, and medicines before they receive them.  And this is a big shock to a lot of people, patients and others. When you go to a grocery store, or you go to see a mechanic, you know the prices upfront, and you get a receipt that shows the cost of every item.  Every single item.  You know exactly what you're paying.  You go and get your car fixed and you say, "How much?"  But people don’t do that with the medical to the same extent, and they get some very unpleasant surprises. And one of the things that happens is when you don’t make a deal upfront, then the doctor, or whoever it may it be, all of a sudden doubles and triples the price, because they figure you don’t care or you're rich -- you have plenty of money; you don’t have to worry about it.  And we don’t want that happening. That’s what we want to do with healthcare so that patients will know exactly what the cost is, what the quality is.  And just think of it as a consumer.  You're really a consumer at a very high level, and you can get some great healthcare.  We have some plans that are great. but you have to go in and price them. So I'd like to hear about some of the experiences of the people around the table.  We've had some incredible experiences, some really eye-opening experiences, and we're going to hear that.  But before we begin, maybe I'll ask Secretary Acosta to say a few words, and follow it up. Mr. Secretary, please.  Okay?  Thank you. SECRETARY ACOSTA:  Mr. President, thank you.  You mentioned association health plans, and I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on some of the preliminary results. You asked us, you ordered us to look at these, to make them available or possible.  And so far, we've had about 30 association health plans across the nation.  We've had two that have gone across multiple states.  And I wanted to highlight one in particular.  An early adopter was the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce.  And so, they had had an association health plan in the past, and so far -- they're still processing -- but they've had more than 500 employers and 100 sole proprietors sign up for this plan. THE PRESIDENT:  Great. SECRETARY ACOSTA:  The plan provides quality.  It's providing substantial cost savings.  For example, a small business where employees used to be paying about $400, $450 per month for healthcare are now on average paying $230 per month.  So a 40 percent reduction.  And it's quality.  It provides a two-year rate lock.  It provides and covers preexisting conditions.  Dental and vision are available.  Health savings accounts are available.  And this is the kind of quality that we're seeing in these plans across the nation. THE PRESIDENT:  And enough people don’t know about it. SECRETARY ACOSTA:  And people do not know about it, but you're seeing chambers of commerce from Massachusetts to Vermont to Nevada.  You've seen the American Veterinary Association that just started a nationwide association health plan.  Land O'Lakes that is starting a multistate health plan for farmers.  And so as these are commencing, you're seeing incredible cost savings and you're going to see many, many more of these. THE PRESIDENT:  And better healthcare. SECRETARY ACOSTA:  And better healthcare. THE PRESIDENT:  So you get better healthcare -- much better healthcare at a lesser cost.  So, you know, people just have to know about it.  And it's available now.  And are you doing the 401?  Or what are you doing with that? SECRETARY ACOSTA:  So we're also taking the concept of an association health plan and extending it to an association retirement plan where, right now, 14 percent of small businesses -- and only 14 percent -- offer retirement savings to their employees.  We wrote a rule -- it's been out for notice and comment -- that would extend the association concept so that these same organizations, whether a chamber of commerce or the American Veterinary Association, can offer 401(k) plans. So instead of every small business having a separate 401(k), you can have large, centralized 401(k) plans.  And not only does this eliminate paperwork, not only does it allow more employees to access retirement savings, but a small 401(k)'s fees are much larger than a large 401(k).  And so you're looking at about a 1 percent fee saving per year with these association retirement plans.  One percent over a lifetime is incredibly meaningful to all of these employees. And then finally, we're working on the reimbursement accounts -- the health reimbursement arrangements -- where employers can give their employees cash.  So those employees can go out and they can buy their own healthcare.  It provides more options.  It provides more flexibility.  And that’s one project that I'm working with Secretary Azar on.  It's out for notice and comment, as well.  And we're very excited about the possibilities. THE PRESIDENT:  So when will you have all of your various plans out, would you say? SECRETARY ACOSTA:  And so, they're both out for notice and comment.  And I would expect certainly the association (inaudible) by spring. THE PRESIDENT:  Good.  Okay, great.  Thank you.  Great job. Mr. Secretary? SECRETARY AZAR:  Well, thank you, Mr. President, for welcoming us here today to discuss this, really, very important topic.  Like all of the Trump administration, HHS knows the right way to bring down costs while improving quality in any area is to empower consumers and to employ market forces. This can't be accomplished without transparent pricing information.  It's got to be meaningful price signals.  But in healthcare, prices are often hidden, far out of line with what many patients will owe, or both. Making prices more transparent can protect patients from the kinds of awful stories that we're going to hear about today, and bring down costs for everybody in both healthcare services and prescription drugs.  People should have the right to know what a service or a drug will cost them before they have to buy that service or drug. One key area is healthcare services.  We've already started bringing transparency to hospital prices.  Starting on January the 1st, hospitals are now required for the first time to post their list of sticker prices online in a machine-readable format, which is a historic first step in much bigger efforts around transparency.  The data has to be machine-readable so that patients can use private sector solutions, like apps, that can help them understand this data. Ultimately, patients should know a service's price and the price that they're going to really pay -- the out-of-pocket -- before they agree to that service.  Delivering that is a complex challenge, which we -- and we put out multiple requests for information on how to make that a reality. And this is a problem not just for the folks who are visiting us from around the table.  None of us are immune -- myself included.  Several years ago, my doctor wanted me to get a relatively routine diagnostic test.  He then sent me within his complex, from his office, over to the hospital unit of this facility, where -- because I had a high deductible plan -- I asked how much it would cost.  Do you know what I was told?  "We can’t tell you."  Well, because I was a former deputy secretary of HHS, I pushed and pushed, and I didn’t -- and I said, "You're going to tell me what this is going to cost."  And eventually, he told me: $5,500. Well, I went on my phone and I quickly checked a very reliable healthcare site run by an insurance plan, and said, "If this very basic diagnostic were done in a doctor's office -- in the doctor's office, not in the hospital -- it should cost $550."  And I said, "Okay, so $5,500.  How much with my insurance company is the negotiated discount?  What will I pay given my insurance company."  "We can't tell you."  "What do you mean you can't tell me?"  And I fought, and fought, and fought.  And eventually they told me.  "$3,500."  So, armed with that information, I took the plastic wristband off and walked out of the facility, and didn’t get the test done. But we have a right to know this information.  We have a right to be demanding customers, because if that happens, we have a right to take that plastic wristband off and walk out of that facility, and not get a surprise bill when we get home, months later.  Many individuals, like the horrific stories we're going to hear today, who cannot afford those types of bills. And we know that employers and insurers who pair price transparency with incentives have driven costs down.  This works.  In one study, costs for imaging -- like what I was going to have -- were driven down almost 20 percent while price disparities across providers also narrowed. Another key area that the President mentioned for transparency is around prescription drugs.  And the President has put forth the first-ever proposal to require disclosing the list prices of drugs in TV ads.  Many patients pay based on their prices in deductibles or co-insurance, based off of the list price of these drugs.  And they've got a right to know that information. And earlier this year, the President put out a regulation and then signed legislation banning gag clauses that prevent your pharmacist from telling you if you can get a drug at a lower cost by simply paying out of pocket for that drug than by using your insurance. One study suggested that 23 percent of patients are paying more in co-pays than -- at the pharmacy than they would if they simply paid in cash.  And the President and Congress delivered that relief and transparency to America's patients. We also are concerned about the issue of rebates.  And, Mr. President, you asked about the issue of "why would anyone ever take a branded drug when there is a generic available."  One of the most common reasons is because a pharmacy benefit manager is getting a rebate payment from that branded company to steer you to use the branded drug, rather than the much, much, much lower cost generic. We're concerned that patients and payers are left in the dark about the hundreds of billions of dollars in rebates being paid from drug manufacturers to pharmacy benefit managers, or so-called middlemen.  These payments are non-transparent and they distort these prices, and create bad incentives in our system. Marty Makary, whom we have here today, has done remarkable work showing how neither patients nor employers who pay for insurance know what's going on with these rebates and prices.  Bringing down prices in healthcare, as this President has promised to do, ultimately has to involve in making sure everybody knows and understands these prices, they're transparent, and they're available. Thank you very much, Mr. President. THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you very much.  And thanks for the great job.  And remember, as we get ready to leave the media, prescription drug prices in 2018 went down for the first time in over 50 years.  And that’s not by accident; that’s because we did a lot of hard work, and it's going to continue to go down.  And we're finally getting drug prices down for the American people. And this was a one-way street up.  And now, for the first time in over 50 years, prescription drug prices have gone down.  So we're very proud of that.  Thank you very much.  I appreciate it. Q    Mr. President, you made an announcement about Venezuela today.  Some administration officials told reporters in a conference call that all options are on the table.  Are you considering a military option for Venezuela? THE PRESIDENT:  We're not considering anything, but all options are on the table. Q    Does that mean you're considering a military -- THE PRESIDENT:  We're just -- all options, always.  All options are on the table. Q    Mr. President, Nancy Pelosi just responded and she said she will not consider a concurrent resolution to have you come to the House on January 29th to deliver your State of the Union.  Your response to the House Speaker? THE PRESIDENT:  I'm not surprised.  It's really a shame what's happening with the Democrats.  They've become radicalized.  They don’t want to see crime stopped, which we can very easily do on the southern border.  And it really is a shame what's happening with the Democrats. This will go on for a while.  Ultimately, the American people will have their way, because they want to see no crime, they want to see what we're doing.  Like, today, we lowered prescription drug prices, the first time in 50 years.  They want to see that.  The Democrats would never have been able to do that. So we're all working very hard.  We'll have to respond to it.  We'll respond to it in a timely manner. Thank you very much everybody. Q    How likely are you to get a deal with the Chinese next week? THE PRESIDENT:  China very much wants to make a deal.  We'll see what happens.  I like where we are right now.  We're doing great as an economy.  They're not doing very well because of the tariffs. But, as you know, fairly soon, that -- the deal that I made with them will come off.  The tariffs will be substantially increased on China.  They're paying billions of dollars to the United States Treasury.  First time we've ever done that.  First time we've ever had money coming the other way from China.  It's always been a one-way street.  But I have a very good relationship with President Xi, and we'll see what happens.  But we're doing very well in our negotiation with China. One way or the other, it doesn’t matter -- one way or the other, we're going to do well. Q    The story from Michael Cohen delaying his testimony -- he says he's been threatened by you and Mr. Giuliani.  He and his family have been threatened.  What's your -- THE PRESIDENT:  No, I would say he's been threatened by the truth.  He's only been threatened by the truth.  And he doesn't want to do that probably for me, or other of his clients.  He has other clients also, I assume.  And he doesn’t want to tell the truth for me, or other of his clients. Okay, thank you very much, everybody.   END                2:37 P.M. EST   ###

The GoldFIsh Report No 326 - Week 105 POTUS Report : Deep State Purge Via RIF

The GoldFish Report

Uploaded on Jan 22, 2019

On The GoldFish Report No. 326, Louisa reviews the recent POTUS Compromise on the wall negotiations and the government shutdown, including the possibility of a RIF issued as a consequence and a strategy to purge the government of the CommuNazi deep state minions that remain in the SES gov/corp revolving door agency and throughout the government as Project Veritas exposed. Jim reports on the leaked Mueller Report exonerating POTUS, the Hit and Run Media story from BuzzFeed et.al., deep state coup to install Pelosi, U.S child bride approvals, RBG and new SCOTUS appointee, detained American-Iranian Press TV Anchor detained, Dems Insurance Policy, Pozner v. Fetzer Legal fund drive links, and much more. To learn more about Jim Fetzer's research, books and articles, visit www.jamesfetzer.blogspot.com. Google 'Nobody Died at Sandy Hook' to find a free DVD of the facts. To receive our Reports you can subscribe to our BITCHUTE Channel at https://www.bitchute.com/profile/qrAL... and to become a Patron of The GoldFish Report you can go to our Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/user?u=10007100 . You can also subscribe to our "NEW" YouTube channel at, and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO-A..., follow us on Twitter at @ReportGoldfish, www.thegoldfishreport.wordpress.com you can also follow us and like us on our 24/7 research news page at www.facebook.com/thegoldfishreport and to help support these and other programs please visit www.thegoldfishreport.com to make a donation. Thank you for your support and Thank you for viewing. Jim Website page: jamesfetzer.org To View The GoldFish Report's POTUS Reports, you can visit our BitChute page or view the unlisted report on YouTube from our POTUS Report page on our website at www.thegoldfishreport.com The GoldFish Report Archives can be found on our new Vimeo Video on Demand channel here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thegoldfis.... Weblink to Moon Rock Books Here: http://moonrockbooks.com/ Jim Fetzer on Twitter: @JimFezer To Donate to Jim Fetzers Legal Defense Fund please visit moonrocksbooks.org and use the yellow donate button to make a contribution! Thank you! DISCLAIMER The following videos were created for educational purposes only. The content of this material strictly for research purposes, and readily available to the general public via the Internet. Viewing of the GoldFish Reports acknowledges that senders and recipients hereby agree to this disclaimer, thus releasing the source author from any and all personal liability. Also, individuals who alter or deviate from this source material, may be exposing themselves to the full extent of law. THE OPINIONS AND HYPOTHESES OF OUR GUESTS AND GUEST CO-HOSTS DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GOLDFISH REPORT POTUS UPDATE. AN OPINION AND HYPOTHESIS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITH NEWLY PRESENTED RESEARCH AND EVIDENCE. THE GOLDFISH REPORT POTUS REPORT IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR INFORMATION THAT MAY BE UNKNOWINGLY INACCURATE, ALTHOUGH WE DO OUR BEST TO PRESENT FACTS, OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES OF WORLD EVENTS AND HOW THOSE MAKING THE DECISIONS MAY IMPACT OUR LIVES. VIEWER DISCERNMENT IS ADVISED. Copyright 2019 The GoldFish Report. All rights Reserved.

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The GoldFish Report No 325 - Week 104 POTUS Report: "Fair Tax Act of 2019"- Time to Abolish The IRS

The GoldFish Report

Uploaded on Jan 14, 2019

On The GoldFish Report No 325, Louisa highlights Bill H.R 25 currently in the Ways and Means Committee in the House of Representatives. This Act is one of the NESARA provisions, slowly but surely working its way into Law to restore the Republic of the United States. Louisa also summarizes the new Big Win for Ivanka with The WEE Act.The WEEE Act affirms the importance of women’s rights—to own and control land and property, to live lives free of violence, to access the financial tools they need to start and grow businesses and to be successful economic actors. Louisa sums up the latest POTUS events and Tweets and much more. Jim reports on POTUS Address, Pelosi & Schumer Response, Presidential Powers, Mueller Investigation Hoax, Yellow Vest Revolution, Erdogen's demand to Trump, John Brennan, Walls, Pozner versus Fetzer Lawsuit and much more! Link To WEE Act: https://frankel.house.gov/news/docume... Link to H.R. 25: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-c... To learn more about Jim Fetzer's research, books and articles, visit www.jamesfetzer.blogspot.com. Google 'Nobody Died at Sandy Hook' to find a free DVD of the facts. To receive our Reports you can subscribe to our BITCHUTE Channel at https://www.bitchute.com/profile/qrAL... and to become a Patron of The GoldFish Report you can go to our Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/user?u=10007100 . You can also subscribe to our "NEW" YouTube channel at, and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO-A..., follow us on Twitter at @ReportGoldfish, www.thegoldfishreport.wordpress.com you can also follow us and like us on our 24/7 research news page at www.facebook.com/thegoldfishreport and to help support these and other programs please visit www.thegoldfishreport.com to make a donation. Thank you for your support and Thank you for viewing. Jim Website page: jamesfetzer.org To View The GoldFish Report's POTUS Reports, you can visit our BitChute page or view the unlisted report on YouTube from our POTUS Report page on our website at www.thegoldfishreport.com The GoldFish Report Archives can be found on our new Vimeo Video on Demand channel here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thegoldfis.... Weblink to Moon Rock Books Here: http://moonrockbooks.com/ Jim Fetzer on Twitter: @JimFezer DISCLAIMER The following videos were created for educational purposes only. The content of this material strictly for research purposes, and readily available to the general public via the Internet. Viewing of the GoldFish Reports acknowledges that senders and recipients hereby agree to this disclaimer, thus releasing the source author from any and all personal liability. Also, individuals who alter or deviate from this source material, may be exposing themselves to the full extent of law. THE OPINIONS AND HYPOTHESES OF OUR GUESTS AND GUEST CO-HOSTS DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GOLDFISH REPORT POTUS UPDATE. AN OPINION AND HYPOTHESIS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITH NEWLY PRESENTED RESEARCH AND EVIDENCE. THE GOLDFISH REPORT POTUS REPORT IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR INFORMATION THAT MAY BE UNKNOWINGLY INACCURATE, ALTHOUGH WE DO OUR BEST TO PRESENT FACTS, OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES OF WORLD EVENTS AND HOW THOSE MAKING THE DECISIONS MAY IMPACT OUR LIVES. VIEWER DISCERNMENT IS ADVISED. Copyright 2019 The GoldFish Report. All rights Reserved.

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REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP IN MEETING WITH CONSERVATIVE LEADERS ON HIS IMMIGRATION PROPOSAL

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 23, 2019 REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP IN MEETING WITH CONSERVATIVE LEADERS ON HIS IMMIGRATION PROPOSAL Cabinet Room    3:29 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT:  So, thank you all very much -- very much for being here.  And a lot of friends in the room.  A lot of great friends.  And, Mr. Vice President, thank you.  And, Secretary Nielsen, thank you very much.  We're doing a great job on the border, considering we don’t have the tools.  They don’t give us the tools to work with, meaning we have to have a wall.  We have to have a barricade of some kind -- a steel barricade.  It's already designed. We're building a lot of wall as we speak -- a tremendous amount.  And we're renovating a lot of the other wall.  Otherwise -- by the way, with what's coming up, because of the strong economy that we have -- we haven’t had an economy like this, I guess, in over 50 years.  Would you say that's correct, Steve? And because of the strong economy, everyone is pouring up, and we're stopping them.  But it's a lot of work.  We have incredible people at the border, and you have to thank all of the Border Patrol agents and the ICE agents I see in Long Island.  They don’t want ICE.  The radical Democrats don’t want ICE there because they're too good; they're doing too good a job. And I always talk about Long Island; that's one of the real hotbeds for the MS-13 gangs.  And I just see this morning, where the, really, radical Democrats don’t want them there because they don’t want to do anything to disturb MS-13.  And when you think about it, MS-13 is about the most violent gang, they say; one of the most violent anywhere in the world.  And they have done -- we're sending them out by the thousands out of our country.  So we think it's too bad. But I would say this: That the State of the Union speech has been cancelled by Nancy Pelosi because she doesn’t want to hear the truth.  She doesn’t want the American public to hear what's going on.  And she's afraid of the truth.  And the super-left Democrats, the radical Democrats -- what's going on in that Party is shocking.  I know many people that were Democrats and they're switching over right now, and they're switching over quickly.  So I hope they know what they're doing for their Party.  So far, they haven’t.  If you know, I won the Senate -- meaning we won the Senate altogether -- but we get no credit for that.  They don’t talk about that.  They talk about the House. I didn’t have any chance to -- other than a couple of people, like from Kentucky, where I went and campaigned for Andy Barr and for some others, they ended up winning their races.  But I couldn’t campaign too much.  Too many people.  But we did a great job with the Senate, and people don’t want to talk about it. I will say that the American people want to hear the truth.  They have to hear the truth.  And the truth is all about -- and said, I think and I hope, well -- we were planning on doing a really very important speech in front of the House and the Senate, the Supreme Court, and everybody else that's there.  It's called the State of the Union.  It's in the Constitution.  We're supposed to be doing it. And now, Nancy Pelosi -- or "Nancy," as I call her -- she doesn’t want to hear the truth, and she doesn’t want to hear -- more importantly, the American people hear the truth.  So we just found out that she's cancelled it, and I think that's a great blotch on the incredible country that we all love.  It's a great, great, horrible mark.  I don’t believe it's ever happened before, and it's always good to be part of history.  But this is a very negative part of history.  This is where people are afraid to open up and say what's going on.  So it's a very, very negative part of history. I'd like to start today -- we're talking about shutdown; we're talking about some conservative values.  These are the great conservative leaders of our country, and they have very strong views.  And we'll be doing that after the press leaves.  But they have very strong views on the shutdown.  And it's not that we have a choice.  I don’t think we have a choice.  We have to make our country safe.  We have done such an incredible job with such poor tools.  We have catch-and-release, where you catch somebody and then you have to release that person into our country. We have so many different elements of rule and regulation.  It's a very sad thing that's gone on.  And this has happened over a long period of time. If you take a look at the visa lottery -- when there's a lottery, do you think they're putting their best people into those lotteries?  It's a lottery.  You know what a lottery is.  Does anybody think they're putting their best people in? You have chain migration, where, as an example, the killer -- the man who ran over people on the West Side Highway in New York -- 8 people killed, 12 injured.  And when you say "12 injured," nobody knows how badly injured they are.  This isn’t like they had a headache.  This is big, big, and horrible problems.  Loss of legs and arms, and worse.  And this man brought in many people -- many, many people -- through chain migration, it's called. So these are all Democrat principles that are no good for our country; they're hurting our country.  And if we did what we had to do, you would bring crime down in half in our country, because so much of it comes through our southern border. Honduras is doing nothing for us.  Guatemala is doing nothing for us.  El Salvador is doing nothing for us.  And we pay them hundreds of millions of dollars a year, but we're going to be stopping pretty soon.  In fact, we're looking at it right now.  We don’t want to do it.  Because when caravans form in the middle of a country, the country can very easily stop those caravans from forming, very easily.  I actually think they encourage the caravans because they want to get rid of the people from their country, and certain people.  A lot of gang members are there.  In the last caravan, we had 618 people with criminal records, and some of them very serious records. I won't soon forget the man that was interviewed where he wanted some kind of pardon, or whatever, when he came into the country.  And the network person said, "Well, what did you do?"  And he said "murder" or something to that effect.  And she goes, "Whoa, murder."  Well, we have -- that's what we have.  We have a lot of very dangerous people that want to come into our country.  And we're not letting them in. We want people to come in based on merit.  We want people to come in that can help us successfully run all these companies that are pouring into the United States because of what we've done and because of all of the incentives, Steve, that we've given, and because this is where the action is.  Steve Moore is one of the great financial gurus, and he would tell you how well we're doing as a country. But we have a lot of people that, really, we need.  We have the lowest unemployment rate we've had in much more than 50 years, with African American, with Asian American, with Hispanic American.  We have the lowest unemployment rate we've had in the history of our country. And that's why, when you look at the Hispanic polls, I'm up 19 percent.  And the reason I'm up 19 percent -- I don’t even think it's the unemployment; I think it's the fact that they understand, better than anybody, what's going on at the border. And they say that President Trump is the only one that's saying it right, and he's doing what you have to.  That's why people were so surprised when they saw the poll that just came out, where I'm up to 50 percent with the Hispanic and up 19 points in a short period of time.  Because they get it better than anybody at the border.  They know what's happening at the border and they know it's a big scam. And the Democrats don’t want to stop people.  That means automatically massive amounts of crime.  And we're not going to put up with it. So Nancy Pelosi, knowing these facts, and knowing it's something that she can't win, that she just went out and said, let's cancel -- for the first time in the history of our country -- "Let's cancel the State of the Union Address."  And it's a disgrace.  Just so you know, she uses on the basis of the shutdown.  But when she asked me to make the address -- formally, in writing; most of you have a copy of the letter -- when she asked me to make the address, she did it during the shutdown -- well into the shutdown, by a couple of weeks. So the shutdown was going on.  Now she's blaming the shutdown.  So if it was because of the shutdown, why do you ask that the address be made?  And she asked that the address be made during a shutdown, and now she's blaming the shutdown. She also knew -- because she went to our people and she asked, "Would it be a security problem?"  She knew it wasn’t a security problem.  She blamed security, but she knew it wasn’t a security problem, and she knew that loud and clear. And she went to the people.  She asked.  They said, "We have no problem whatsoever."  I just got back from Iraq.  I was very safe in Iraq, and I felt very safe.  We had great, great security.  If we can handle Iraq, we can handle the middle of Washington in a very, very spectacular building, and a beautiful room that we should be in, and that’s where it's been for a very long time. So it’s a sad thing for our country.  We'll do something in the alternative.  We'll be talking to you about that at a later date. But I have to say, it's an honor to have these great leaders with us, and we're going to be talking about shutdown.  We're going to be talking about other things.  And we're going to be talking about -- outside of this event that we just discussed -- how well our country is doing, because we're setting records in so many different ways.  We're setting jobs records. Right now, at this very moment, we have more people working in the United States than at any time in the history of our country.  Think of that.  That’s a big, big statement.  I just had a meeting on drug pricing and various other things.  And prescription drugs, for the first time in history -- the history of our country -- have gone down in 2018. So for last year -- just got the numbers -- for the first time in the history of our country, prescription drug prices have gone down.  They've been like a rocket ship until I got here.  And we have more to do.  They're going to go down further.  But think of that: For the first time -- I say it because you guys don’t want to report it, but that’s a big thing, because drug pricing has been very important to me, as is healthcare. First time in the history of our country, in 2018, prescription drug prices have gone down.  That’s a big number.  And you didn’t even know that.  I don’t think anybody at this table knew that.  It just came out.  So we'll let you know. So it's too bad with Nancy Pelosi, what she's done.  It's radical Democrats.  They've become a radicalized party.  They really have.  They have become a radicalized party.  I actually think they've become a very dangerous party for this country.  If you listen to what they're saying, what they're doing, I think they've become a very dangerous -- a very, very dangerous party for this country. I think that Chuck Schumer, sadly, is dominated by the radical left, and he is dominated by Nancy Pelosi.  Very strongly dominated.  He can't move; he's a puppet.  He's a puppet for Nancy Pelosi, if you can believe that.  But that’s what's become and that's what's happening. And we're not going to let it happen to our nation, and we are not going to allow the radical left to control our borders.  Because if they do, you will see crime; you will see drugs; you will see human trafficking like you have never seen ever in the history of our country.  You will never see anything like what you would see.  So we will never let the radical left control our borders. Thank you very much.  Thank you. Q    Mr. President, are you not giving the speech on Tuesday night? THE PRESIDENT:  We'll be announcing what we're doing. Q    Sir, she said it's not cancelled but that she wants to come to an agreeable date.  So, will you agree to a new date? THE PRESIDENT:  We'll see.  We'll see.  Well, it wouldn’t be very hard, but that’s not what she means.  And it's very sad.  I think it's a very, very bad thing for our country, and it's a horrible precedent.  And we have many positive things to say, but we also have things that we want to turn into positives that are big negatives. The southern border is a very, very big deal.  It should've been handled by other Presidents for many times, just like Israel with the -- if you look, moving the embassy to Jerusalem.  Every President talked about it; nobody did it until I came along.  Same thing in a certain, different way with the southern border.  It should've been stopped a long time ago.  They talked about it.  They had approvals for doing it, and they were unable to pull it off.  Other Presidents should've done this.  We're going to do it.  And it's not because I want to, it's because I have no choice.  Because if we don’t do it, this country is going to be worse than any -- at any time in our history in terms of drug infestation and in terms of crime.  And our crime numbers are really good, but our crime numbers would be very much better if we had a stopped-up southern border. And, by the way, the caravan now, they're saying, is massive.  The caravan that's coming up.  Thank you very much, Honduras.  We send Honduras hundreds of millions of dollars, and they send us caravans.  The three of those countries. And, you know, as I said, we're probably going to be stopping that.  We're working on that right now.  I would stop it.  Because, you know, you have two theories: You can give more and let them do economic development, or you can do less.  I'm of the less theory.  I don’t think we should give anything to them. And we've done this with numerous countries over the world where they're not treating us right.  We have countries that get hundreds of millions of dollars -- they don’t even vote for us at the United Nations, until we say we're not going to pay you anymore, and then they immediately vote for us.  So, you know, but that’s not a -- I don’t call that a vote. So I want to thank everybody very much.  We're going to have a great meeting.  And we will have a response to Nancy Pelosi in due course.  But what she's doing to the American people, what she is doing to our Constitution, is a disgrace.  Thank you very much. Thank you very much everybody. END                3:44 P.M. EST   ###

POTUS Roundtable with Conservative Leaders

January 23, 2019
From The White House Press Office

Today, President Donald J. Trump with host a roundtable with conservative leaders to discuss the security and humanitarian crisis at the southern border. The President has made clear that now is the time to finally secure the border and create a lawful and safe immigration system that Americans, and those wanting to become Americans, deserve.
 
The following individuals are expected to participate:
 
The White House
President Donald J. Trump
Vice President Mike Pence
Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, Department of Homeland Security
Jared Kushner, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the President
Stephen Miller, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor for Policy
Brooke Rollins, Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives
 
External Participants
Tim Dunn, Texas Public Policy Foundation
Mark Holden, Americans For Prosperity
Raul Labrador, Former U.S. Congressman
Jim DeMint, Former U.S. Senator
Matt Schlapp, American Conservative Union
Steve Moore, The Committee to Unleash Prosperity
Ken Cuccinelli, Senate Conservatives Fund
Kay Cole James, The Heritage Foundation
Mark Krikorian, Center for Immigration Studies
Ken Blackwell, Family Research Council
Jenny Beth Martin, Tea Party Patriots
Tony Perkins, Family Research Council

TIME TRAVEL AND POLITICS

TIME TRAVEL AND POLITICS

By Anonymous

Hmm.

I have been intrigued by these Q posts which give accurate predictions of coming events.  For instance we have the well known prediction of the death of John McCain. Obviously, if the media report that McCain had cancer is correct, it would not be predictable as to the exact day that he would die.  I have never heard of any oncologist who could be so certain.

So, how did Q know what doctors could not … if it really was cancer?

Obviously, it was not cancer … as many ‘leaks’ have pointed out.  It was a programmed death/execution.

But even with that and the possible variables connected with free will, how could Q predict 30 days into the future?  Is this some sort of crystal ball operation? Is Q able to look into the future and make certain assessments? Or is Q just sending back info from the future. Or …

Or … does Q go backwards … meaning time travel?  Is Q actually in the future, and knowing specific dates in that time line, simply return and make an accurate ‘prediction’ about what is going to happen in 30 days?

And there has been much interest in the exact minute of some of these predictions to correlate with previous posts.

How can that happen?  It has happened so many times that one can rule out just plain luck.

Time travelers.  Many are familiar with Al Bielek and the famous Philadelphia Experiment where the Navy using some of Tesla’s equipment was able to make a ship ‘disappear’ and return.  Only problem was that Al jumped overboard and went into the future to two different points and returned … a bit bewildered. And we have the famous Chaco Canyon ‘Wing Maker’ artifacts which were brought there from the future.  And some are familiar with the John Titor story of the man who popped in and out starting in 1975 and 1998 from the future year of 2036.

And perhaps the most startling revelation of the famous Roswell crash of 1947.  What the son of Col. Philip Corso, Philip Jr., revealed about the relevance of the technology that evolved from the recovered crash was … time travel.  Hmm. So, the ‘government’ has time travel capability? Hmm. No wonder the ‘black projects’ are 100 years ahead of the public technology we typically use.

Time travelling politicians.

Enter Baron Trump, the ‘alleged’ son of President Donald J. Trump … the Marty McFly of Back to the Future fame.

There was an interesting man, Ingersoll Lockwood, who published a book in 1898.  One of the characters he writes about is a real Barron Trump. Hmm. And this character in the novel lives in Troomp Castle.  Hmm. Was there a ‘real’ Barron Trump in the 1800s who made a trip inside the earth and found a time travel center? And if this Barron did obtain time travel capability … is he the alleged son of Pres. Trump, Baron Trump of today?  This might not be so far fetched of an idea when one, again, considers the amazing ability of Q to accurately predict the death of John McCain (however he died … either of disease or execution) 30 days before it happened. Amazing!!!

It has come out recently the information about John Trump, the uncle of Pres. Trump, a MIT graduate who was given by the government, the research of Nicola Tesla.  What did John Trump do with all of that? Rumor has it that he gave his notes to his nephew, Donald. Hmm. What does Pres. Trump know … about time travel? Is this how he is able to keep a step ahead of Pelosi and Shummer?

Time travel and time lines are a most interesting study.  And then we have all of this business about the ‘Mandela Effect’.  And this author has personally experienced time shifts and a ‘start over’.  So, it is not unfamiliar to me. But to many it is perhaps a great mystery … a conspiracy theory.  Why not consider it a fact?

Okay, just another theory about the accuracy of Q … but it is a theory?

Anonymous … traveling in time … from time to time