THE SHOW NOTES: Rejecting Hunter's Plea Deal, The DeSantis Shakeup, & More Rate Hikes
Welcome! A massive crane collapsed in New York City.
NEW: Rudy Giuliani concedes he made 'false' statements about Georgia election workers - NBC
HEADLINE: Gas prices just saw their biggest one-day increase in a year - CNN
NIL: Manchin and Tuberville introduce bipartisan bill to shake up college sports - Fox News
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Hunter Pleads Guilty
🚨 BREAKING BEFORE I HIT SEND: In shocking news, Hunter Biden’s team rejected a plea deal relating to two misdemeanor charges of failure to pay taxes in 2017 and 2018 while avoiding gun charges that would result in probation. When pressed by the judge, prosecutors claimed the plea deal was separate from ongoing investigations into FARA violations meaning Hunter Biden’s legal issues are far from over. Additional details are sparse at this time but watch this clip.
What is a FARA violation: Passed in 1938 to address rising concerns pertaining to Nazi propaganda, the Foreign Agents Registration Act requires that foreign agents comply with stringent disclosure requirements.
MORE BREAKING NEWS: The Trump-appointed judge handling Biden’s case is threatening to sanction the Biden legal team after substantive allegations were made that someone on the team misrepresented their identity to court officials to get filings from a senior Republican lawmaker removed from the public docket.
What this means: A member of the Biden team claimed they were working for Rep. Jason Smith, the Republican chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, and requested that credible allegations from two IRS whistleblowers be removed from the case. Despite wide reporting, the Biden team denies these charges and claims the situation is a misunderstanding.
Sources: NY Post, CNN, Politico
The DeSantis Shakeup
The Ron DeSantis campaign is slashing the number of staffers employed by one-third in an attempt to recalibrate the campaign amidst sagging poll numbers. The former defacto number two GOP primary contender has dropped to within striking distance of an insurgent Tim Scott campaign.
Why this matters: DeSantis posted impressive fundraising numbers in Q2 financial fillings but spent nearly every dollar raised on payroll and event production. Since donors who maxed out to DeSantis shortly after his launch are precluded from donating again this year, the newly trimmed-down DeSantis campaign is looking to reduce overall expenses to bring campaign spending within budget.
Perspective: The unusually large DeSantis campaign employed 90+ staffers at this early juncture of the primary cycle. The number of positions eliminated roughly equals the total size of the Trump campaign.
The message: Early signs are beginning to point to a DeSantis messaging shift that will pivot away from fighting the wokes and towards a policy rollout that will highlight his economic plan. The cash-flush DeSantis Super PAC is planning a hefty ad buy that will feature a softer tone by highlighting his personal biography.
Rate Hikes
The Federal Reserve is expected to raise rates by 25 basis points to the highest level in 22 years at 2 pm today. The 11th increase since 2022 will push rates to the 5.25% to 5.5% range. Bloomberg expects the Fed to leave rates unchanged in September predicting Powell will adopt a “wait-and-see approach.”
NEW: Georgia Prosecutors Eye Criminal Solicitation Charges
The Fulton county district attorney investigating Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia in recent weeks has weighed several potential statutes under which to charge, including solicitation to commit election fraud and conspiracy to commit election fraud, according to two people briefed on the matter.
The move by the Fulton county district attorney, Fani Willis, to identify a list of potential charges marks a major juncture in the criminal investigation and suggests prosecutors are on course to ask a grand jury to return indictments next month.
Among the state election law charges that prosecutors were examining: criminal solicitation to commit election fraud and conspiracy to commit election fraud, as well as solicitation of a public or political officer to fail to perform their duties and solicitation to destroy, deface or remove ballots, the people said.
Full story at The Guardian.
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