STORYLINE:

Former US President Barack Obama endorsed Joe Biden on April 14th, giving the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee a boost from the party's biggest fundraiser and one of its most popular figures.

"This is a big deal for Biden because it helps him create some momentum, " says Julie Pace, Associated Press Washington Bureau Chief.

The endorsement marked Obama's return to presidential politics more than three years after leaving the White House.

He didn't mention his successor, President Donald Trump, by name and instead sought to bridge the ideological divide among Democrats.

"He's eager to get out there. He is eager to start drawing the contrast with Donald Trump, Pace said. "This is basically what he's been waiting for."

Biden now has the support of all of his former Democratic primary rivals except for Elizabeth Warren.

The Massachusetts senator is expected to formally endorse Biden soon, according to a person familiar with her plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss her thinking.

Two other prominent Democrats who have yet to publicly back Biden are former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, the party's 2016 nominee.

Hillary Clinton has been in regular touch with Biden, including several times since Sanders dropped out of the race, according to an aide.

Obama avoided intervening in the Democratic primary, but followed the race closely from the sidelines and is eager to take a more active public role.

He's expected to headline fundraisers for Biden and public events in key swing states, if such gatherings can still be held given social distancing guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic.

After his endorsement was released, Obama sent a fundraising appeal to Biden supporters, asking for donations ranging from $5 to $100.

The endorsement will test whether Obama can transfer his personal popularity to Biden.

While the former president is seen favorably by a wide swath of Democratic voters, he was also a deeply polarizing figure during his two terms in office.

During his presidency, Democrats lost about 1,000 legislative seats around the country, starting with disastrous 2010 midterms that also cost the party control of the House and many statehouses.

***

ASIAN AMERICANS ACTORS ON CALLING COVID-19 'THE 'CHINESE VIRUS': MAKING THIS BLANKET STATEMENT IS BAD

President Trump has stopped calling COVID-19 the "Chinese Virus" but some believe the damage is already done.

"I felt like it was a very uneducated statement," said TV personality Jeannie Mai, who was born in the United States to a Vietnamese mother and a Chinese father. "I think you have to be very responsible when you choose terminology to give people an idea of what to picture, what to visualize."

"The Good Doctor" actor Will Yun Lee, who was born in the U.S. to Korean parents, said blaming a group of people is dangerous because it only encourages xenophobia and racism.

"Making this blanket statement is bad. People take it the way they're going to take it. And unfortunately a lot of people have taken it to associate it to anybody who looks like me or is Asian-American or whatever Asian ethnicity you are. It becomes like the word 'chink,' right? It's a very harsh word."

Trump isn't the only person who has referred to COVID-19 in this way.

Earlier in April, TV host Bill Maher defended the notion of calling coronavirus the "Chinese Virus" on his HBO show, "Real Time with Bill Maher," saying it's logical because that's where it originated.

"Tigertail" and "The Farewell" actor Tzi Ma, who was born in Hong Kong and moved to the U.S. as a child, responded to Maher's statement saying, "For the moment it could be funny. For the moment it could give you some gratification or satisfaction by saying it. However you have to remember that there are ramifications."

Nico Santos of the NBC comedy "Superstore" was born in the Philippines and moved to the U.S. as a teen. He said this blame mentality rears its head whenever there is fear a community.

"We saw the same sort of thing happen when when the AIDS crisis was happening. People directed that sort of like fear and hate towards the LGBTQ community. When 9/11 happened, there was a lot of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim sentiment. Even people who actually weren't Muslim or who weren't of Middle Eastern descent, who said, if you just look like you work, if you're basically you looked like you were brown or maybe came from that part of the world, you all of sudden, you know, bore the brunt of that of that hate."

***

The Justice Department on May 7th said it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for Trump and his supporters in attacking the FBI's Russia investigation.

The move is a stunning reversal for one of the signature cases brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. It comes even though prosecutors for the last three years had maintained that Flynn had lied to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador in a January 2017 interview. Flynn himself admitted as much, and became a key cooperator for Mueller as he investigated ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign.

In court documents being filed May 7th, the Justice Department said it is dropping the case "after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information." The documents were obtained by The Associated Press.

The Justice Department said it had concluded that Flynn's interview by the FBI was "untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI's counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn" and that the interview on January 24, 2017 was "conducted without any legitimate investigative basis."

The U.S. attorney reviewing the Flynn case, Jeff Jensen, recommended the move to Attorney General William Barr last week and formalized the recommendation in a document this week.

The decision was quickly embraced by Trump, who has relentlessly tweeted about the case and last week pronounced Flynn "exonerated," and energized supporters who have taken up the retired Army lieutenant general as something of a cause celebre. But it may also add to Democratic concerns that Attorney General William Barr is excessively loyal to the president, and could be a distraction for a Justice Department that for months has sought to focus on crimes arising from the coronavirus.

The Justice Department's action comes amid an internal review into the handling of the case and an aggressive effort by Flynn's lawyers to challenge the basis for the prosecution. The lawyers cited newly disclosed FBI emails and notes last week to allege that Flynn was entrapped into lying when agents interviewed him at the White House days after Trump's inauguration.

***

Paul Manafort, Donald Trump's onetime presidential campaign chairman who was convicted as part of the special counsel's Russia investigation, has been released from federal prison to serve the rest of his sentence in home confinement due to concerns about the coronavirus.

Manafort, 71, was released May 13th from FCI Loretto, a low-security prison in Pennsylvania, according to his attorney Todd Blanche. Manafort had been serving more than seven years in prison following his conviction.

His lawyers had asked the Bureau of Prisons to release him to home confinement, arguing that he was at high risk for coronavirus because of his age and preexisting medical conditions.

Manafort was hospitalized in December after suffering from a heart-related condition, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press at the time. They were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Manafort was among the first people to be charged in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, which examined possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 election campaign.

He was prosecuted in two federal courts, convicted by a jury in federal court in Virginia in 2018 and later pleaded guilty in Washington.

He was sentenced last March and was immediately hit with state charges in New York that could put him outside the president's power to pardon. New York prosecutors have accused him of giving false information on a mortgage loan application.

***

US President Donald Trump's long-time personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen was released from federal prison on May 21st to serve the remainder of his sentence at home, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

Cohen had been serving a federal prison sentence at FCI Otisville in New York after pleading guilty to numerous charges, including campaign finance fraud and lying to Congress.

The person was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Cohen was released on furlough as part of an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus in federal prisons. Cohen, 53, began serving his sentence last May and originally was scheduled to be released from prison in November 2021.

Prison advocates and congressional leaders have been pressing the Justice Department for weeks to release at-risk inmates, arguing that the public health guidance to stay 6 feet (1.8 meters) away from other people is nearly impossible behind bars.

Attorney General William Barr ordered the Bureau of Prisons in March and April to increase the use of home confinement and expedite the release of eligible high-risk inmates, beginning at three prisons identified as coronavirus hot spots. Otisville is not one of those facilities.

The Bureau of Prisons placed Cohen on furlough as it continues to process a move to home confinement, another person familiar with the matter said.

The agency has the authority to release inmates on furlough for up to 30 days and has been doing so to make sure suitable inmates, who are expected to transition to home confinement, can be moved out of correctional facilities sooner, that person said.

***

Joe Biden blistered President Donald Trump on June 2nd for directing authorities to drive back peaceful protesters outside the White House "in order to stage a photo op."

The former vice president said the commander in chief was "more interested in power than in principle."

Biden was delivering a speech in Philadelphia, addressing the civil unrest across America in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

Biden is also working to elevate his voice in the national debate after more than two months of the campaign for the White House being frozen amid the outbreak of the coronarvius.

He's also looking to provide a stark contrast to Trump who has struck a forceful tone against protests.

***

It's official. After an almost year-long, often tumultuous battle, former Vice President Joe Biden has crossed the finish line, formally clinching the Democratic nomination.

The milestone sets him up for a bruising battle against President Donald Trump that will play out amid the backdrop of a pandemic, economic collapse and civil unrest, a daunting trifecta of challenges Biden hopes to use to his advantage.

"They're some of the sternest challenges our nation has ever faced," Biden said June 5th at an event in Delaware. "They need a president who cares about them, who cares about helping them heal now."

Biden became the presumptive nominee almost two months ago when his last opponent in the primary, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, dropped out of the race.

But he only pulled together the nearly 2-thousand delegates needed to seal the nomination after the latest round of contests this week.

The former vice president's path to the prize wasn't always so clear. While he consistently led the largest primary field in history in the national polls, his campaign looked to be in trouble after a string of losses in the early contests.

He rebounded with a resounding win in South Carolina. From there, he dominated Super Tuesday, launching what turned out to be an insurmountable comeback.

While Biden no longer has to battle Democratic rivals, he has a host of other issues to tackle, from winning over skeptics in his party's left wing to running a campaign essentially out of his Delaware home.

Though Biden has started to venture out more this week, the coronavirus pandemic has largely confined him to his Wilmington, Delaware, home for much of the past three months.

University of Virginia Center for Politics Director Larry Sabato says while that approach may irk his rival, Donald Trump, and challenge political norms, it could be just the right move during this unprecedented campaign year.

"The best strategy for Joe Biden may be a low-key strategy, which fits in pretty well. Do the events that you want to do, organize them from the basement and let Donald Trump deal with the problems. It's actually tougher this year to be the incumbent than it is to be the challenger," Sabato says.

"Most people know that Joe Biden was a two term vice president under Barack Obama and that he opposes, as Obama does, almost everything that Donald Trump has been doing or trying to do. That is enough of a contrast for most voters," Sabato adds.

With his place in the 2020 presidential race now set, all eyes are turning to what could be the most important decision of Biden's five-decade political career: choosing a running mate, something he says he hopes to do by August 1st.

***

The Trump administration is suing former national security adviser John Bolton to block the publication of a book that the White House says contains classified information.

The suit follows warnings from President Donald Trump that Bolton could face a "criminal problem" if he doesn't halt plans to publish the book.

The administration has also said the former adviser did not complete a pre-publication review to ensure that the manuscript did not contain classified material.

Bolton's attorney, Chuck Cooper, has said Bolton worked for months with classification specialists to avoid releasing classified material. He has accused the White House of using national security information as a pretext to censor Bolton.

He has accused the White House of using national security information as a pretext to censor Bolton.

Trump said June 16th Bolton could face a “criminal problem” if he doesn’t halt plans to publish the book.

He said Attorney General William Barr will decide if Bolton will be charged.

***

President Donald Trump “pleaded” with China’s Xi Jinping during a 2019 summit to help his reelection prospects, according to a scathing book by former adviser John Bolton that accuses the president of being driven by political calculations when making national security decisions.

The White House was working furiously to block release of the book, whose China revelations carry echoes of Trump’s efforts to solicit political help from Ukraine that led to his impeachment.

Bolton, Trump's national security adviser for a 17-month period, called Trump's attempt to shift the June 2019 conversation to the US election a stunning move, and wrote that it was among innumerable conversations that “formed a pattern of fundamentally unacceptable behavior that eroded the very legitimacy of the presidency”.

Deeply critical of the president and much of his senior team, Bolton wrote that because staff had served him so poorly, Trump “saw conspiracies behind rocks, and remained stunningly uninformed on how to run the White House, let alone the huge federal government.” He added that while he was at the White House, Trump typically had only two intelligence briefings a week “and in most of those, he spoke at greater length than the briefers, often on matters completely unrelated to the subjects at hand.”

The 577-page book paints an unvarnished portrait of Trump and his administration, lending the most vivid, first-person account yet of how Trump conducts himself in office. Several other former officials have written books, but they have been almost entirely flattering of the president. Other former officials have indicated they were saving their accounts of their time working for Trump until after he left office in order to speak more candidly. The Associated Press obtained a copy of Bolton's book in advance of its release next week.

As for the meeting with the Chinese president in Osaka, Japan, Bolton wrote that Trump told Xi that Democrats were hostile to China.

“He then, stunningly, turned the conversation to the coming U.S. presidential election, alluding to China’s economic capability to affect the ongoing campaigns, pleading with Xi to ensure he’d win,” Bolton said. “He stressed the importance of farmers, and increased Chinese purchases of soybeans and wheat in the electoral outcome.”

The book, titled “The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir,” which is set to be released Tuesday by Simon & Schuster, has been the subject of a lengthy battle between Bolton and the White House.

Trump signed legislation June 17th that seeks to punish China for a crackdown on ethnic minorities, even as the Bolton book said the American leader expressed support for the brutal campaign in a private conversation with his Chinese counterpart.

The Uighur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 passed with overwhelming support from Republicans and Democrats in Congress. Trump signed it with no ceremony, issuing a statement in which he said a sanctions provision intruded on executive authority and he would regard it as non-binding.

***

A top White House aide who handles President Donald Trump's trade policy toward China described John Bolton's controversial new book as "revenge porn," and said Bolton took no interest in China policy, despite his position as Trump's national security adviser.

"It's 'Big Lie' Bolton. It's 'Book Deal' Bolton." He's doing it for the money," said Peter Navarro, Trump's director of trade and manufacturing policy.

In his book, Bolton claims that President Donald Trump “pleaded” with China’s Xi Jinping during a 2019 summit to help his reelection prospects,

He also accuses the president of being driven by political calculations when making national security decisions.

The White House has been working furiously to block the book, asking a federal court for an emergency temporary restraining order June 17th against its release.

Navarro said Trump has used tariffs to stand up to China in retaliatation to such Chinese actions as intellectual property theft, militarizing the South China Sea and cracking down on Hong Kong.

"I think there's a consensus now in this government that China is the single greatest strategic and existential threat to this country."

"It's not Russia. It's certainly not Venezuela. It's not Iraq, Iran or Afghanistan issues," Navarro said. "It's China."

"He took no interest in that whatsoever," he said.

***

Supporters of President Donald Trump faced off with anti-racism protesters on June 20th in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the President held a campaign rally.

Black Lives Matter activists flooded the city's downtown streets, and some got into arguments with Trump supporters who were shouting “all lives matter”.

Later in the evening, a group of armed men began following the protesters.

There were no reports of trouble.

02:29:18

00:00:00

Barak Obama gives Biden a boost with endorsement

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ASSOCIATED PRESS, POOL

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ARCHIVE - Washington - 23 March 2010

1. Biden introducing Obama at healthcare law signing

++CONTAINS AUDIO OF EXPLETIVE++ Biden heard saying to Obama: "This is a big f------ deal"

ARCHIVE: Washington - 7 January 2015

2. President Obama speaks in the Oval Office with Vice President Joe Biden

POOL

4:3 FROM SOURCE

ARCHIVE: Chicago - 4 November 2008

3. Various, then President-elect Obama on stage after victory speech with then-Vice President elect Joe Biden

00:13:03

Asian American actors on calling COVID-19 the 'Chinese Virus': 'Having this blanket statement is bad'

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Archive: Washington, DC, 18 March 2020

4. UPSOUND (English) Reporter question:

"Why do you keep calling it the Chinese virus? There are reports of dozens of incidents of bias against Chinese Americans in this country - why do you keep using this?"

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, U.S. President:

"Because it comes from China. It's not racist at all, no.

Los Angeles, 6 April 2020

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeannie Mai, TV Personality - on Trump calling COVID-19 the "Chinese virus":

"It was a very uneducated statement. I think you have to be responsible when you choose terminology to give people an idea of what to picture, what to visualize."

00:38:19

Justice Dept. drops Michael Flynn's criminal case

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 18 December 2018

7. Michael Flynn leaves courthouse as competing demonstrators chant "lock him up" and "U.S.A."

00:45:16

Manafort released from prison due to virus concerns

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

ARCHIVE: Washington, DC - 23 May 2017

8. Former campaign chairman for US President Donald Trump, Paul Manafort leaves courthouse

ARCHIVE: New York - June 27, 2019

9. Paul Manafort in handcuffs walks in hallway of a Manhattan courthouse escorted by court officers

00:54:18

Ex-Trump lawyer Cohen to be released from prison

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POOL

ARCHIVE: Washington - 28 February 2019

10. Various of Cohen testifying in Congress

01:05:10

Trump attorney Michael Cohen out of prison

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 21 May 2020

11. Michael Cohen exits vehicle and walks into residence

01:11:19

Biden: Trump more set on 'power than principle'

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Philadelphia - 2 June 2020

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Joe Biden (D) Presidential candidate::

"We can be forgiven for believing the president is more interested in power than in principle, or just in serving the passions of his base than the needs of the people in his care. For that's what the presidency is, the duty to care, to care for all of us, not just those who vote for us, but all of us."

01:37:22

Biden clinches Democratic presidential nomination

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Los Angeles, 3 March 2020

13. Joe Biden walks into rally after winning a number of Super Tuesday contests

Los Angeles, 3 March 2020

14. Biden on stage at California rally after winning a number of Super Tuesday contests

01:46:15

US Justice Dept. sues Bolton to block book release

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ASSOCIATED PRESS, POOL

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ARCHIVE: Washington, DC - 30 September 2019

15. Mid shot of John Bolton walking up to podium

ARCHIVE: Seoul, South Korea - 24 July 2019

16. John Bolton arriving to meet South Korean officials

POOL

Washington, DC - 4 June 2020

17. Mid shot of William Barr at Justice Department news conference

01:59:20

Bolton book: Trump asked China for reelection help

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Washington - 17 June 2020

18. Bolton's book, "The Room Where it Happened"

02:04:03

White House aide calls Bolton book 'revenge porn'

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POOL

Washington, DC - 18 June 2020

19. Peter Navarro walking to microphone

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Peter Navarro, Assistant to the President, Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy :

"Look, I knew John Bolton pretty well after he got in here and my take on him. It's big lie Bolton. It's book deal Bolton. He's doing it for the money. That's pretty clear. And my view is it's the Washington swamp's equivalent of revenge porn.

02:19:23

Pro and anti-Trump protests near Tulsa rally

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tulsa, Oklahoma - 20 June 2020

21. Trump supporters holding banners reading (English) ''Make America Great Again!''

22. Armed men following the protest

The top Democrat on the US House of Representatives' intelligence committee says Russian interference "unquestionably" had an influence on the 2016 US presidential election.

California congressman Adam Schiff made the remark in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Schiff also commented on a former foreign policy adviser to President Donald Trump's campaign who has acknowledged in testimony to Congress that he had contact with a high-level Russian official while on a trip to Russia last year.

The congressman also urged Republican and Democrat leaders to support special counsel Robert Mueller in his investigation.

Washington DC - 7 November 2017

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Adam Schiff, Democratic member of the US House of Representatives and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee: ++VARIOUS ANGLES++

"I think unquestionably it had an influence on the election. It influenced the election by millions and millions of Americans seeing Russian content on social media pushed out by the Kremlin. It had an effect in that the Russians were dumping emails that forced Hillary Clinton on a daily basis to have to defend herself and the campaign, and it changed the topic of the conversation on the campaign trail. But again the very best proof that the Trump campaign viewed the Russian interference as influential is the fact that the president used it as a central part of his campaign speeches on a daily basis."

2. Cutaway of audience

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Adam Schiff, Democratic member of the US House of Representatives and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee:

"And the single greatest impediment to getting to that consensus is the President of the United States, who refuses to admit it even happened, who to this day calls it a hoax and a witchhunt. So he is I think quite deliberately for his own reasons preventing the country from coming together around a defence to further Russian meddling."

5. Wide of Schiff and AP Washington Bureau Chief Julie Pace

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Adam Schiff, Democratic member of the US House of Representatives and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee: ++VARIOUS ANGLES++

"First, it was apparent right from the very beginning of the hearing that what Carter Page (foreign policy adviser to Trump's 2016 presidential campaign) had been saying publicly was completely at odds with what he would later testify to. And the documentary evidence that we were already in possession of so publicly even to up to two days before coming before Congress he was saying that when he went to Russia it was as a private citizen, he had no meetings of any consequence. It was basically talking to your man on the street, but as now has been revealed when we released the transcript, he met with people as high as the deputy prime minister of Russia."

(AP Washington Bureau Chief Julie Pace: "Which he's denied previously.")

"Which he denied previously, even at the very beginning of his interview I asked him: 'Did you have any private conversations any private meetings with Russian government officials?' (His response was) 'No, absolutely not.' But he sends a memo back to the campaign - which in itself is significant, because he was claiming this was a private trip - sends a memo saying that in a private conversation, basically, that I had with the deputy prime minister and others in the presidential administration and members of the Duma I gained important insight and outreach that I want to share with the campaign. Completely at odds with what you have been saying publicly."

7. Wide of Schiff and Pace

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Adam Schiff, Democratic member of the US House of Representatives and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee: ++VARIOUS ANGLES++

"The most important thing I think that we can do right now is speak out on a very bipartisan basis that the President needs to leave (special counsel) Bob Mueller alone and finish this work, and I think that's the most important because we don't want to wait till there's a constitutional crisis. We need the White House to get the message now that that there will be a dramatic pushback should he try to fire Bob Mueller."

9. Audience member asking question

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Adam Schiff, Democratic member of the US House of Representatives and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee:

"Probably the lowest hanging fruit is we're going to require that the tech companies, when they do political advertising, carry the same kind of disclaimer that other media are required to carry. So a paid ad on Facebook is going to need to disclose that it was paid for by what campaign then the candidate endorses the message. They were a carve out. They're not going to be carved out anymore."

11. Schiff and Pace

US President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared together at an unscheduled Rose Garden news conference on Monday, insisting their relationship is "outstanding" and they are "closer now than ever before".

Trump, who spent August attacking McConnell for failing to pass legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, pledged to work closely with the Majority Leader on health care and overhauling federal taxes.

McConnell, seconded the president's latest views.

The two took questions at length from a quickly assembled White House press corps that stood bunched together on the lawn since there wasn't even time to set up chairs.

Trump defended his former top adviser, Steve Bannon, who is now threatening all-out political war on McConnell and establishment Republicans, including incumbent senators.

But the president also suggested he might try to talk Bannon out of some of his threats against Senate Republicans whom McConnell pledged to defend.

It was not clear what led to the impromptu question-and-answer session, which followed lunch between the two men at the White House.

It comes at a critical time, with the Senate poised to take a crucial vote this week on a budget that would set the stage for tax legislation that many Republicans view as make-or-break following the failure on health care.

Asked about special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, Trump said: "The whole Russia thing was an excuse for the Democrats losing the election."

He added: "There has been absolutely no collusion. It's been stated they have no collusion."

Washington, DC - 16 October 2017

1. US President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell walking out of White House

++CONTINUATION INTO SHOT 2; NO CUT++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, US President:

"Thank you very much. I just want to say that we just spent quite a bit of time inside with the Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell who has been a friend of mine for a long time, long before my world of politics, early into his world of politics I think. But we've been friends for a long time. We are probably now, despite what we read, we're probably now, I think at least as far as I'm concerned, closer than ever before and the relationship is very good. We're fighting for the same thing. We're fighting for lower taxes, big tax cuts, the biggest tax cuts in the history of our nation."

3. Cutaway of media

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, US President:

"My relationship with this gentleman is outstanding, has been outstanding. We are working very hard to get the tax cuts, we will continue to work hard to get the health care completed."

5. Cutaway of media

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader:

++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON WIDE SHOT++

"I want to underscore what the president said. We have the same agenda. We've been friends and acquaintances for a long time. We talk frequently, we don't give you a read-out every time we have a conversation but frequently we talk on the weekends about the issues that are before us. Obviously, passing the budget, which enables tax reform and tax reduction comes next, then the supplemental to take adequate care of those who've been harmed by the natural disasters we've been afflicted with lately."

7. Cutaway of media

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, US President:

"Well, I have a very good relationship as you know with Steve Bannon. Steve's been a friend of mine for a long time. I like Steve a lot. Steve is doing what Steve thinks is the right thing. Some of the people that he may be looking at, I'm going to see if we talk him out of that, because frankly they're great people. What Mitch will tell you is that maybe with the exception of a few, and that is a very small few, I have a fantastic relationship with the people in the Senate and with the people in Congress. I mean, I have, with our House of Representatives, I have a great relationship with political people. If you read the papers you think it's like I'm on one island and they're like on the other, well it's not the way it is."

9. Cutaway of reporters shouting questions

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, US President:

"The whole Russia thing was an excuse for the Democrats losing the election. And it turns out to be just one excuse. I mean, today Hillary blamed Nigel Farage (former leader of the UK Independence Party). That one came out of nowhere. So that was just an excuse for the Democrats losing an election that frankly they have a big advantage in the Electoral College. They should always be able to win in the Electoral College but they were unable to do it. So, there has been absolutely no collusion. It's been stated that they have no collusion. They ought to get to the end of it because I think the American public is sick of it. Go ahead."

11. Cutaway of reporter asking question about special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, US President:

"(Reporter question: Are you considering firing Robert Mueller?)

No, not at all."

13. Cutaway of reporter asking question about Hillary Clinton running in the 2020 presidential election

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, US President:

"Oh I hope Hillary runs. Is she going to run? I hope. Hillary please run again."

15. Cutaway of reporters

16. Trump and McConnell walking back up the steps toward the White House

File in HD available here -

https://ap.archive.sourceclips.prod.eu.s3.amazonaws.com/News Rushes/

Rushes of Trump’s remarks before boarding Marine One.

South Lawn

10:43 A.M. EDT

President Donald Trump: So, the unemployment numbers just came out, and they’re the best numbers we’ve had in over 50 years. The unemployment number is down to 3.5 percent. So that goes way, way back. We haven’t had numbers like this in a long time. Wages are up by almost 3 percent. That’s a fantastic increase for everybody out there working. We’re very happy about those numbers. The stock market is substantially up, as it was yesterday. And our country does well. Europe is not doing well. Asia is doing poorly, to put it mildly. And we continue to do very well; we’re the miracle.

But the unemployment numbers just came out: 3.5 percent unemployment. And that is a tremendous number; the lowest in over 50 years. So, very happy.

And, I think, really, very important — again, I’ll say: Wages are up. When I was running, wages were nowhere. They were going down. And people were having two and three jobs, and they were making less money than they made 20 years before. Now wages are up. So we’re very happy about that.

One other thing, having to do with Poland. So, Poland is a country; great people. We have a lot of Polish Americans living in the United States. I’ve just signed — I will soon be signing — and sign certain preliminary applications. We will be giving a full visa waiver to Poland. That means that people from Poland can easily travel there, and people from here can easily go back and forth. They can each — people from the U.S., people from Poland, can very easily go back and forth between the United States and Poland.

So, they’ve been trying to get this for many, many decades. And I got it for the Polish people, in honor of the Polish people in the United States and in Poland. So, we’re very happy with that.

Yeah.

Q Did you see Adam Schiff got four Pinocchios by the Post, this morning, for lying?

President Donald Trump: Well, I heard Adam Schiff got four Pinocchios. That’s good. He should have gotten them two and a half years ago.

That’s a very nice question. Let me shake your hand. Come here. That’s a very nice question. That’s almost a surprise. I figured that was a trick question, right?

Q Also, what does your letter to Pelosi say? And when will you send it?

President Donald Trump: Well, we’ll be issuing a letter. As everybody knows, we’ve been treated very unfairly, very different from anybody else. If you go over not only history — I mean, if you go over any aspect of life, you’ll see how unfairly we’ve been treated. We’ve done a fantastic job.

Everything, to me, is about corruption. We want to find out what happened with 2016. And, as you know, there’s a lot of work going on, on that. I don’t care about Biden’s campaign, but I do care about corruption. His campaign — that’s up to him. Politics — that’s up to them. I don’t care about politics. Politics, as I think I’ve made clear — and yesterday, somebody asked me a question, and I gave an answer — but always in the form of corruption.

What I want to do — and I think I have an obligation to do it, probably a duty to do it: corruption — we are looking for corruption. When you look at what Biden and his son did, and when you look at other people — what they’ve done. And I believe there was tremendous corruption with Biden, but I think there was beyond — I mean, beyond corruption — having to do with the 2016 campaign, and what these lowlifes did to so many people, to hurt so many people in the Trump campaign — which was successful, despite all of the fighting us. I mean, despite all of the unfairness.

So, we are looking at corruption. We’re not looking at politics. We’re looking at corruption.

Q Sir, what did you say to the Chinese about the Bidens, sir?

President Donald Trump: I don’t know. Somebody said that a long time ago. Was that in 2017? I don’t know. You’d have to tell me when. All I can tell you is this: When I speak to foreign leaders, I speak in an appropriate way. If you notice, they don’t mention the call that I had with the President of Ukraine. They don’t mention that because it was so good.

The only time they mentioned it was when Adam Schiff made it up. You talk about Pinocchios — that should get 10 Pinocchios. He made up — he made up a story. It was a phony story. Adam Schiff. So, they don’t talk about that anymore.

You know, when this came out, it was “quid pro quo.” Well, there was none. Also, yesterday, the Ambassador — who I heard was tremendous and a tremendous person — he was 100 percent for what we’re saying. A hundred percent. And, if you look, he also said there was no quid pro quo. That’s the whole ballgame.

But now the Democrats don’t bring that up anymore because they lost. Look, they never thought I was going to release the phone call between the Ukrainian President and myself. When I released that call, they were — they were jumping around like you wouldn’t believe. They didn’t know how to respond. And then they found out — and then they found out that the call itself was so bad for them. It was a perfect call. There was nothing — we hand that call out. We’ve handed the call out to people, and they’d say, “Wow, this is incredible.” We’re very proud of that call. When I speak to a foreign leader, I speak in an appropriate manner.

Now, we’re also doing trade deals with China and we’re doing deals with a lot of people for the country, so I’m not looking to insult people. I can tell you that. But we can probably find that out.

Q Would you be more willing to do a trade deal with the Chinese if they investigate Biden?

President Donald Trump: No, it has nothing to do with it. No. No. I want to do a trade deal with China, but only if it’s good for our country. And it could happen. Because you know they’re very much — they’re very much coming over next week, as I understand it. So I’d like to do a great deal with China, but only if it’s a great trade deal for this country. One thing has nothing to do with the other.

Q Do you want the House to proceed with an impeachment inquiry at this point? An official impeachment inquiry.

President Donald Trump: Well, I wouldn’t mind because we have no rights. They way they’re doing it, they’ve taken away our rights. So, if they proceed — and, you know, they’ll just get their people. They’re all in line. Because even though many of them don’t want to vote, they have no choice. They have to follow their leadership. And then we’ll get it to the Senate, and we’re going to win.

The Republicans have been very unified. This is the greatest witch hunt in the history of our country. So we beat the one that started immediately. We went through two years of Mueller, and that came out like a 10. It came out perfect. And a few days go by and they start this nonsense. And this is just as ridiculous.

So the Democrats, unfortunately, they have the votes. They can vote very easily, even though most of them, many of them, don’t believe they should do it. And I do believe — I do believe that because of what they’re doing with Pelosi and their real leaders, AOC plus 3 — that’s their real leaders — I really believe that they’re going to pay a tremendous price at the polls.

And we saw the first glimpse of it two weeks ago, in a great state, North Carolina. We saw a great, great glimpse of what’s going to happen. Because, in North Carolina, we had two races. One gentleman, Dan Bishop, was down by 17 points with three weeks to go, and he won easily. And the other man, as you know, Greg Murphy, was up by a very little bit and he won by a massive amount — I don’t know, someplace in the twenties. Twenty percent or something. Maybe higher.

So I think you got your first glimpse of what’s going to happen. And the big key is that I have to campaign there. But if you look at what happened in North Carolina — two races — we won both of them, and we won them easily. And one was almost tied and the other one was a big, big lead, and that one turned and the tie became a landslide.

Q Mr. President, did Mitch McConnell make you any promises about a vote on impeachment in the Senate?

President Donald Trump: Well, I don’t know about Mitch. I have a lot of respect for Mitch McConnell. I know that; I saw his statements. And he thinks that this is ridiculous. He thinks it’s unfair. I saw his statement yesterday that he put out where he read my phone conversation and he thought it was a wonderful conversation. And it was.

But, see, the Democrats don’t talk about that anymore. They try and go to other things. These people are looking for anything they can get because they know they’re going to lose the election. And we’re in election season now. For them to be doing this now, it’s never been done.

Q The U.S. is speaking to North Korea in Sweden. What do you expect?

President Donald Trump: What?

Q The U.S. is speaking to North Korea in Sweden right now. What do you expect?

President Donald Trump: So we’re dealing with North Korea. They want to meet, and we’ll be meeting with them. It’s probably being set up as we speak, but we’ll let you know. But North Korea would like to do something. Iran would like to do something. We have a lot of countries in a very good position right now, despite the witch hunt, which hurts our country and it hurts America. But Iran wants to do something. North Korea wants to do something. And China would like to do something.

Q Is the Justice Department investigating Joe Biden?

President Donald Trump: I don’t know that. That, you’d have to ask. Is the Justice Department investigating Joe Biden?

Q Yes, sir.

President Donald Trump: Well, that, you’d have you to ask Attorney General Barr. But I can tell you, just as an observer, what I saw Biden do with his son — he is pillaging these countries, and he’s hurting us. How would you like to have, as an example, Joe Biden negotiating the China deal if he took it over from me after the election? He would give them —

Q Mr. President —

President Donald Trump: Wait. He would give them everything. He would give them everything. How would you like to have that? Joe Biden would just roll out the red carpet. He would give them everything.

So, again, this doesn’t pertain to anything but corruption. And that has to do with me. I don’t care about politics. I don’t care about anything. But I do care about corruption. And to have somebody take out a billion and a half dollars out of China, who’s totally unfit. He’s unfit. To have him get a billion and a half dollars, to have him — and now I’m hearing the number of $50,000 a month. Now I’m hearing the number of $50,000 a month is very low. It’s a much higher number that Biden’s son was getting per month. The fact is it’s much higher. And for him to — and for him, as a total — for him, as a totally unqualified person, to be getting hundreds of thousands a month is very, very (inaudible).

So, again, is the Justice Department investigating that? I just don’t know.

Q Mr. President, do you think the Democrats have the votes? Do you think the Democrats have the votes to impeach you? Do you think you will be impeached?

President Donald Trump: Well, I think they follow the leader. One thing with the Democrats — I give them credit for it — a lot of them don’t want it; you know that, you interview them. A lot of them are in there — they call them “Trump districts” — where I won and then they won after when I wasn’t running. But I’m going to win them big.

If you look at what’s happened with my polls, they’re through the roof. You know why? Because of this phony witch hunt. If you look at what happened with the fundraising, we’ve set a record — the Republicans — because people are sick and tired of it.

I got a call the other night from pastors — the biggest pastors, evangelical Christians. They said, “We have never seen our religious or any religious so electrified.” They are — they say they’ve never seen anything like it. Churches are joining. Hundreds of thousands of people. And, you know, that’s to a large extent because of you and your partner, the Democrats.

Q But do you think it will pass the House, sir? Do you think it will pass the House and die in the Senate?

President Donald Trump: Well, I think this. I think this: We have great — we have a great relationship in the Senate. I have a 95 percent approval rating in the Republican Party. I believe the Senate — and I haven’t spoken to that many senators — but I believe the senators look at this as a hoax. It’s a witch hunt. It’s a disgrace. Should have never happened. Just like Russia collusion delusion should have never happened. That was a witch hunt. And just like that, should have never happened.

So I think in the Senate, I think they feel that the Republican Party has been treated very, very badly. Now, in the House, they have the majority. They all vote with AOC and plus three. Nancy Pelosi is petrified of them. I mean, she’s afraid she’s going to lose her position. Nancy Pelosi will lose her speakership right after the election when the Republicans take over the House.

Q Sir, can we talk about the text messages that included holding off a visit to the White House?

President Donald Trump: The one text message that I saw was just about the last text message. Because I don’t know — I don’t even know most of these ambassadors. I didn’t even know their names. But the text message —

Q But what it included, sir, was a visit to the White House.

President Donald Trump: — the text message that I saw from Ambassador Sondland — who’s highly respected — was: There’s “no quid pro quo.” He said that. He said, by the way — it almost sounded like in general — he said, by the way, there’s “no quid pro quo.” And there isn’t.

Now, for Biden there would be. But listen to this: There is no pro quo. And that was the text message that I saw. And that nullified everything.

Q Have you asked foreign leaders for any corruption investigations that don’t involve your political opponents? That is, are there other cases where you’ve asked for corruption investigations?

President Donald Trump: You know, we would have to look. But I tell you, what I asked for and what I always will ask for is anything having to do with corruption with respect to our country. If a foreign country can help us with respect to corruption and corruption probes, and that — I don’t care if it’s Biden or anybody else. But if they can help us — if Biden is corrupt, if his son is corrupt. When his son takes out billions of dollars — billions — and he has no experience; he just got fired from the Navy — when they do that, that’s no good.

So the only — just to finish your question — anything having to do with corruption, I actually feel I have an obligation to do that.

Q Including with Mr. Putin, sir?

Q Is someone advising you that it is okay to solicit the help of other governments to investigate a potential political opponent?

President Donald Trump: No, I don’t say anything is okay. I’ll tell you what’s okay.

Q Is someone advising you that?

President Donald Trump: Here’s what’s okay: If we feel there’s corruption, like I feel there was in the 2016 campaign — there was tremendous corruption against me — if we feel there’s corruption, we have a right to go to a foreign country.

And just so you know — just so you know, I was investigated. I was investigated. Okay? Me. Me. In my campaign — I ran, I won. I was invest- — you won’t say that, will you? I was investigated. I was investigated. And they think it could have been by UK. They think it could have been by Australia. They think it could have been by Italy. So when you get down to it, I was investigated by the Obama administration. By the Obama administration I was investigated. So when these people talk —

But as far as I’m concerned, what I want to look at and what we want to investigate: anything having to do with corruption.

Q In your view, Mr. President, do you view China as an ally, a partner, or an adversary?

President Donald Trump: I view China as somebody we’re trying to make a deal with; we have a very good chance of making a deal with. We’ve had good moments with China. We’ve had bad moments with China. Right now, we’re in a very important stage in terms of possibly making a deal. If we make it, it will be the biggest trade deal ever made — if we make it.

But I view China as somebody that we deal with on the world stage. I would like to get along with China if we can. And if we can, that’s great. If we can’t, that’s okay, too.

But what we’re doing is we’re negotiating a very tough deal. If the deal is not going to be 100 percent for us, then we’re not going to make it.

And I will — and I will say this. I will say this. I will say this: China very much wants to make this deal. China is getting killed. The tariffs are killing China. What’s happened is they have now 3 million loss of jobs, their chains are broken up. If you look at their supply chain, which is a disaster — companies are going to other countries, including us. China, right now, is a total disaster.

Q Mr. President, does a trade with China have anything to do with an investigation into Joe Biden? And will you ask Xi to investigate?

President Donald Trump: No, no, no. Let me tell you: I’m only interested in corruption. I don’t care about politics. I don’t care about Biden’s politics. I never thought Biden was going to win, to be honest. I picked somebody else a long time ago. And we’ll see what happens.

But I never thought Biden was going to win. But I don’t care. I mean, frankly, if he won, I’d be very happy. I think he’d be an easy opponent. But I never thought Biden was going to win. I don’t care about politics, but I do care about corruption. And this whole thing is about corruption. This whole thing — this whole thing is about corruption.

This is about corruption, and this is not about politics. This is about corruption. And if you look and you read our Constitution and many other things, we — I have an obligation to look at corruption. I have an actual obligation and a duty.

Q Are you going to comply with the House subpoenas?

President Donald Trump: What?

Q Are you going to cooperate with the House in this investigation?

President Donald Trump: I don’t know. That’s up to the lawyers. I know the lawyers think they’ve never seen anything so unfair. They’ve never seen anything so unjust. I’ve been President now for almost three years, and I’ve been going through this for almost three years. It’s almost become, like, a part of my day.

But in the meantime, we have the best economy we’ve ever had. We have the best job numbers we’ve had in 51 years. The best unemployment numbers that we’ve had in a half a century. The best numbers that we’ve ever had — African American, Hispanic American, Asian American, women — everything. We have the best numbers that we’ve had in many, many, many decades.

And you know what? People understand that. People are working. They’re making money. The — if you look at one very important number that was just announced: wages up 3 percent. That’s unheard of. That’s unheard of. So, it’s a great thing.

Q What about other Democrats? What about other Democrats?

President Donald Trump: I didn’t hear you. Go.

Q Mr. President, when did you first get the idea to investigate the Bidens’ activity in Ukraine? Who advised you to look into that?

President Donald Trump: We’re investigating corruption. We’re not investigating campaigns. I don’t care about his campaign. As I said, I didn’t think — I didn’t think and I don’t think Biden is going to win. All right? I don’t think.

And maybe to answer your question, when you say, “Who is going to win?” — I’d rather not make a prediction, but I do have a feeling about it.

I didn’t think — because I’ve watched Biden over the years, and Biden is not the brightest person. I never thought he was going to win. I never felt he was going to win. If you look at his other two campaigns, he was a one-percenter. He got very few votes. He got taken off of the garbage heap by Obama. Obama took him off the garbage heap. So it’s one of those things.

But I never thought that Biden — I didn’t think Biden was going to win. I guess that everybody has a shot. But I don’t think he would be, frankly, my toughest opponent.

And just to finish off — just to finish off, I don’t think that he will win. I didn’t think he was going to win, and I don’t think he’s going to win.

Q Joe Biden’s poll numbers are dropping pretty badly. Elizabeth Warren’s are rising. Bernie is sick. What do you think about facing Elizabeth Warren?

President Donald Trump: That’s fine. I mean, it’s fine. She’s a socialist and maybe worse than that. But we’ll see.

I heard — I haven’t seen his poll numbers. I haven’t seen Biden’s poll numbers. Look, Joe Biden was never going to make it. All right? He was never going to make it. He tried it twice. He’s at 1 percent. There’s a reason.

When I announced, I went to number one, day one, and I stayed there the entire primary season. I never was off center-stage. I was never given credit for that, but that’s okay. Except by Steve. The only one that gave me credit was Steve.

Q Did you try to talk to Rouhani at the UN?

President Donald Trump: Who?

Q Did you try to talk to Iran’s President?

President Donald Trump: No, they were trying to set up a meeting but he wanted sanctions lifted. And I said, “You must be kidding.” We had no interest. Rouhani wanted a meeting at the UN. We did talk. I didn’t speak to him personally, but our sides talked. He wanted sanctions lifted or partially lifted, and I said no.

Q (Inaudible) socialism in Venezuela for political campaign.

President Donald Trump: We’re watching Venezuela very, very closely. The people are suffering, and we are watching it very closely. We’re also giving big aid to Venezuela.

Now, one thing. I’m now going to Walter Reed Hospital. We’re going to be giving out five Purple Hearts to unbelievably brave young people.

And I’m going to meet you — some of you are going over. I don’t know. I think some of you are going over. So we could talk further over there. Although, when we’re there, I would like you to respect the process. We’re giving out Purple Hearts to very brave people, wounded warriors, people that have been — I mean, they’re just incredible people. And I’m going to be back here in probably two hours.

Thank you. Good job.