President will have led a Coronavirus Briefing since he appeared in the rose garden with admiral gerard back in may, it was made the 11th. He was talking about testing back then, but a lot has happened since including these big spikes in coronavirus cases. The president is sure to get a lot of questions about that as well as an increase in the number of debts, schools not reopening in many jurisdictions. They are probably going to go with Online Learning to start the school year. Its fairfax county, just outside of d. C. Many states having to roll back. Likely to get asked for more money for testing in the face of the relief bill that is being renegotiated in the senate. Democrats claimed that the white house is trying to block new money for testing, but the white house says it just wants to make sure that the money goes to the right place. Heres what she said in her Daily Briefing earlier today. Listen here. Nobody is blocking any money from testing. One of the things i would add is that this is an ongoing negotiation. We are just in the early days of that. Currently, we have 10 billion. Thats with the fee. That is allocated for testing. We are willing to put in money and for targeted testing that makes sense, not just dumping money into a pot that already contains 10 million. Dave its a little bit of a mystery. We do not know who will be appearing with the president at the briefing. They are kind of holding that as a bit of a surprise. But, it is also becoming clear that this is not just going to be a briefing about the coronavirus. The president will entertain other subjects as well. I think its an opportunity for him to get out there in front of the American People since he cant hold any of these big political rallies. So, the president wants to be seen as being president ial, doing his job. One of the topics he could possibly talk about is whether or not he will be sending more federal Law Enforcement officers into cities across america. And as you pointed out, this hour, chad, secretary of Homeland Security will be in the briefing about the situation in portland and the federal response to that. David. Dave one thing you know and we know is that it is 99 degrees in washington, d. C. , today. And you might love it, but its a tough day to wear a mask, but there are a lot of questions about whether or not the president will be wearing one. Well see. John i doubt if he will be wearing one in the briefing room. Dave john roberts, great to see you today. Thank you. As john just mentioned, moments from now on what it calls a violence, chaos, and anarchy in portland. Officials are fighting to get federal agents out of the city. Dan has the very latest. In fact, the press conference, dan, we are going to get back to you, because the press conference is beginning. There is acting director chad wolf. Chad mainly the federal courthouse. The Department Commission is very clear. We are charged with protecting federal facilities across the country. We have been protecting the courthouse in Downtown Portland ands 1997 when first open. We began to see a rise in violent activity in late may in portland. It coincided with the death of george floyd. Let me reiterate that the department fully supports those who wish to peacefully protest. Let me say this again. We support and we will protect those who want to peacefully protest. Unfortunately, what we are seeing in portland every night, roughly from midnight to 4 30 or 5 00 a. M. , is the complete opposite. Again, what is occurring in portland in the early hours of every morning is not peaceful protesting. These individuals are organized and they have one mission in mind. To burn down or to cause extreme damage to the federal courthouse and to Law Enforcement officers. At times, we also see them targeting city property. These individuals congregate in the same area night after night. We see them planning their attacks. And yet, the city of portland takes little to no action to stop or disperse this crowd. These individuals carry lasers, baseball bats, explosive fireworks, metal pipes, glass bottles, accelerants, and other weapons all targeting federal facilities and federal Law Enforcement. And yet, the city of portland takes little to no action. These individuals have repeatedly destroyed protective sensing, extensively feed the courthouse, pour plywood down from the courthouse and lit it on fire. Attempted to bridge the courthouse. Have thrown explosive materials in the courthouse. And again, the city of portland takes little to no action. The reasons increase dhs personnel are in portland is to go fold. Criminal activity every night for 52 nights. And two, the lack of action from city officials and Law Enforcement. Department Law Enforcement officers are there to support the symbol of jus justice to the courthouse. We mostly do that in a very defensive posture appeared however, we have been forced because of lack of local Law Enforcement presence to take measures such as arrests to protect our officials. The law is clear on what our authority entails. Specifically, federal statute states that the secretary of Homeland Security shall protect buildings, grounds, and property that are owned, occupied, and secured by the federal government. The law goes on to state that the department conducts investigations. Again, im quoting on and off partner don my property in question on offenses that may he been owned by the federal government or persons on that p. We will arrest individuals who have damaged federal property. We do this in conjunction with many of our officers in portland have many other response abilities in the country. They are away from their families and putting their lives at risk original night. The smear attacks leveled against our officers is disgusting. As it relates to cdp officers deployed in portland, these highly trained officers are in multiklamath large where, because they work on the southwest border. That is there every day uniform and is completely appropriate. They have patches and the commissioner will talk about that in a bit that show which agency they are from. We repeat, these offices are not military. Lets not confuse that. I have seen Inaccurate Press reports accusing them of being military. They are civilians. They are not the gestapo. That is hyperbolic and dishonest. Every Law Enforcement officer and every reasonable american knows this. I look forward t to the day that our officers are redeployed back to their regular daytoday mission. We will not shrink from her duty because of this violence. Ive heard the mayor of portland recently state that the federal government is to blame for this violence. Rational people know that is not true. He would have you believe that enforcing federal law incites violence. He would have you believe that Holding Criminals Accountable incites violence. And the last 52 days, portland has declared a riot on numerous occasions because of is nightly violence. And while this action helps, unfortunately, they only take this action when city officials or local Law Enforcement are targeted, not federal. On july 3rd, before any surge of dhf Law Enforcement resources arrived in portland, the mayor said the violence in has been going on for more than a month now. Groups continue to target the justice center. They continue to target small businesses. These attacks undermine public safety. These words are true today as they were before they arrived in portland. My message is very simple. If you are looking to peacefully protest in portland, the department respect your right to do so. Please do so away from the violent activity that is taking place near the courthouse on a nightly basis for your own safety. If you are a violent rider looking to inflict damage to federal property or Law Enforcement officers, you need to find another line of work. We will not retreat. We will continue to take the appropriate action to protect our facilities and our Law Enforcement officers. If you are a local leader, now is the time to step up and protect your community. Work with the department and other federal authorities in portland to responsibly bring this nightly violence to a close. And if you are in the media, report the facts, all the facts. Do not glamorize the anarchists and the criminals. Do not perpetuate the false narrative many of us have seen recently. Two headlines before coming down here today. One, u. S. Official calls protests anarchists. Inaccurate and very misleading. Individuals trying to set fire to a building and no longer protesting, they are criminals. I or any other senior official at the department has no problem with Peaceful Protesters. Ive said that a couple of times. I will say that again. Second headline. Unidentified federal agents are detaining protesters in portland. Again, on accurate and false. As youve heard i say, you will here acting commissioner morgan say. We are only targeting and arresting those who have been identified as committing criminal acts like any other Law Enforcement agency does across the country ever signaled day of the week. We all have the responsibility to condone the violent activity that is occurring night after night. I was in portland last week. Its a beatable city. But unfortunately, i saw buildings and businesses shut down and boarded up. I was briefed that the violence has cost the city businesses roughly 23 million in lost revenue. We cannot let one of our cities continue to experience this lawlessness night after night. Let me turn it over now to chris klein, was our Deputy Director of federal protective services. We have the mission to protect federal property across the country. He will walk you through the role of fds as well as an operational summary of the past few nights. After that, we will have mark morgan. He will talk to about the role the cdp is playing in portland. Thank you. Dave we will continue to monitor this press conference. A very historic moment. I dont think weve seen a moment like this since the riots of the 1960s when federal authorities were brought in or even before that when federal officers were brought in to desegregate the self against the wishes of some of the local officials. But that is essentially what is at play here. Local officials are taking one position on the federal authorities coming in and arresting people. In the federal authorities are taken another position and federal agents are going to continue to go into these communities that the Administration Says are completely out of control and are being destroyed where citizens are being put in danger by anarchists and others, not the Peaceful Protesters come about by the anarchists. And therefore, the federal agents will continue to go into these areas and arrest people. Chad, Homeland Security director was suggesting that a lot of the headlines were correct, suggesting that these officers were going in as unidentified individuals, some even go into an extreme as saying they were stormtroopers going in unannounced and unidentified to arrest people. He was making the case that is not so. With me now is Homeland Security deputy. Thanks for staying with us, can. I appreciate you being here. How exactly are these federal agents identified . I mean, are they distinguishable from the Police Officers . Ken very easy to answer. So, a cdp there in portland has police on the front, police on the back, and on both arms they have their Customs Border protection and department of hom,Homeland Security is as wel. They also have a badge number as well, but not their name because of the doxxing of Law Enforcement and the threat to their families and post. Every single agent interacting with a crowd there has that sort of identification on them. And, when they approach an individual who may be a suspect or who may be a witness, they verbally identify themselves as federal agents as well. And of course, they have been wearing the same thing with the same crowd every day for a number of weeks now. Now, the violence predates our expanded presence they are by more than a month as you heard the secretary just say. But they have seen these officers wearing the same uniforms day after day doing their job all while the criminals and rioters do their thing. Dave now, i mentioned that there are parallels to what we have been seeing here. As horrible as seeing our cities being destroyed, we have seen these things in the past. In the 60s, there were riots. And we have seen the use of federal troops in the past. Of course, they were used to desegregate the south in many cases. Schools had jim crow segregation laws. Federal troops were se sent in. Do you see that as a parallel to what is happening now . I think that was a more widespread and more severe situation that what you are seeing now. I mean, just in portland, we were doing what we are doing now two years ago when the mayor of portland publicly announced that when one of our facilities was being attacked, that he was withdrawing for leas police sup, local police support. We dont have to expand our officers on the ground, because we achieved more working together. You have a mayor and a Political Leadership that blocks their Law Enforcement from working together. They make all of us less efficient and they make their communities less theyve all on purpose, which is just mindboggling. Dave all right, let me get to the issue of the constitutionality of all of this, which, and it may indeed be challenging the courts. George, our legal expert here, mention what he sees as unconstitutional view of what is happening there. Let me play the sound bite and get your reaction. Let me play it. Speak of the federal put troops or military personnel or policet the invitation of the governor e legislature of the state. Thats not only federal law, thats in the constitution. And as horrific as it is for people who believe in the sanctity of the person and to private property to watch this destruction, theres very little that the feds can do about it. What happened in portland over the weekend, david, was not only unlawful and unconstitutional, it was just plain wrong. Dave now, i understand that you dont agree with that position, but there are a lot of people who do. And it may, in fact, be taken to the courts. Are you prepared to argue it or are you going to go ahead with the force necessary to quiet these disturbances . Ken yeah, look, i appreciate other people dont agree with advancing more aggressive and responsible policing, and i tweeted about his comments there about how wrong they were. He said that its in the statute. No, the statute is that we will defend these properties and facilities just as the secretary not only noted. He quoted the law. You cannot find in the constitution somewhere that says federal Law Enforcement officers cant go do their job at federal facilities in and around them to exercise federal authority to protect federal lawt as much is. Ken im not accusing you. Im just asking you about it. Dave my question is whether or not you were prepared to defend it if necessary all the way to the supreme court. Ken absolutely. Dave or will you just keep going on with what youre doing . Ken we certainly are well within the boundaries of the law and the constitution. This is a layup of a win for anybody who would find a to legally challenge us protecting federal facilities under federal law and executing arrests for people who violate that or attack those officers. That is legally easy to defend and i am a legal expert. I dont have any problem saying that. Its just, its really a policy argument that you hear as opposition. But, lets look at just left wing mayors. Surely they will be nice. Even that city council started to advance more to take back their own city. Dave i only have about 30 seconds. But i want to ask you about antifa and whether a federal statute will be used to try to get inside of antifa, find out who is involved, who is funding it, et cetera, and finally, it is antifa a terrorist organization . Ken well, antifa, is probably not one organization. Theres a different one in washington than there is in portland and so fourth. But, organized intentional violence can qualify under rico statutes for prosecution. Thats a department of justice question more than department of Homeland Security, because we do Law Enforcement. They do prosecution. But that is an available tool under the circumstances. Dave can the acting Deputy Director of Homeland Security. Great to see you, my friend here thank you very much for being here. I appreciate it. Ken great to be with you. Dave mark meadows, wrapping up a meeting with house speaker, nancy pelosi and Chuck Schumer all the new relief bill. Chad, keeping track of those talks. Theres a lot to keep track of here this summer. Summers are supposed to be lazy. Not this one. Speaker yeah, this is going to be a busy couple of weeks as they try to knock out this bill. This is the first round of negotiations. He met with republicans earlier today. Mthe key is going to be what Senate Republicans decide to do. He wants to write the bill. Hes going to relief that in the next couple of days. That does not sit well with democrats. Listen. In your own Office Without any input from democrats, dropping it on the floor and demanding that democrats support it is no ones idea of bipartisanship. You cannot fool the American People with these words that just dont ring true.