The Show Notes: Trump's Passports, Trouble For Republicans, & The Biden Tax
Welcome! The Justice Department asked a judge not to disclose the affidavit behind Mar-a-Lago search.
OUTRAGE: Minneapolis teachers union agreement stipulates White teachers be laid off first, regardless of seniority - Fox News
Primary Day: In Alaska and Wyoming primaries, 2 Trump critics could meet different fates as Palin eyes a comeback.
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Clip of the day:
Trump
DOJ: The Department of Justice has asked a judge to not divulge the sworn affidavit describing the basis for the raid at Mar-a-Lago. The Justice Department said, “if disclosed, the affidavit would serve as a roadmap to the government’s ongoing investigation, providing specific details about its direction and likely course, in a manner that is highly likely to compromise future investigative steps.”
Garland: The Wall Street Journal reports that Merrick Garland deliberated for weeks over whether to approve the application for a warrant for Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Now the Attorney General must decide whether to pursue charges against Trump or any of his associates ahead of a midterm election and a possible Trump vs Biden rematch.
Passport: Contrary to a CBS report, FBI agents did indeed confiscate Trump’s three passports during the Mar-a-Lago raid. The passports and other items not related to the investigation were returned yesterday.
Bottom line: Republicans are set to make the midterms about Donald Trump instead of Joe Biden and Democrats are happy to oblige.
Trouble For Republicans?
The National Republican Senatorial Committee is cutting its television ad reservations by $10 million (paywall) in three must-win races for Republicans to take back the Senate. The latest sign of fundrasing woes for the NRSC means fewer ad dollars for Blake Masters in Arizona, Dr. Oz in Pennsylvania, and Ron Johnson in Wisconsin.
Bottom line: Republicans are behind Democrats in small-dollar donations thanks to spam email and text efforts.
Inflation Reduction Act
Joe Biden signs the Inflation Reduction Act into law today at 3:30 following a damning analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. This is from The New York Post:
“An analysis by the CBO estimates those earning less than $400,000 — the group on which Biden promised not to raise taxes — will pay an estimated $20 billion more in taxes over the next decade as a result of the Democrat-pushed $740 billion package, which also sets aside $80 billion to hire 87,000 IRS agents.”
U.S. Approves Nearly All Tech Exports to China
This is from The Wall Street Journal (paywall):
“The U.S. has identified intensifying technological competition with China as a top national-security threat. But a Commerce Department-led process that reviews U.S. tech exports to the country approves almost all requests and has overseen an increase in sales of some particularly important technologies, according to an analysis of trade data.
Of the U.S.’s total $125 billion in exports to China in 2020, officials required a license for less than half a percent, Commerce Department data shows. Of that fraction, the agency approved 94%, or 2,652, applications for technology exports to China. The figures omit applications “returned without action,” meaning their outcomes were uncertain.
The result: The U.S. continues to send to China an array of semiconductors, aerospace components, artificial-intelligence technology and other items that could be used to advance Beijing’s military interests.”
Biden Time
The rest of the news:
First lady Jill Biden tests positive for COVID-19 - The Hill
Saudi Golf venture LIV quietly enlisted the help of a global PR titan - Politico
Taliban mark 1st year back in power, but for many Afghans there’s nothing to celebrate - NBC
Homebuilders say U.S. is in a ‘housing recession’ as sentiment turns negative - CNBC
The world's economic engine is sputtering - Axios
Trump Organization chief expected to plead guilty in tax evasion case - The Guardian
Political Chips - Stratechery
200+ Sex Trafficking Victims, 37 Missing Children Found During National Sweep - Breaking911
A new, powerful signal that Dems’ midterm hopes aren’t lost - Politico
Trans Totalitarianism: Time For Moral Panic - The American Conservative
"Defund the FBI" complicates GOP's midterm messaging - Axios
Giuliani targeted in criminal probe of 2020 election - AP News
Average person tells 4 lies per day, survey shows - Study Finds
The ESG Investing Backlash Arrives - WSJ (paywall)
Prosecutors Struggle to Catch Up to a Tidal Wave of Pandemic Fraud - NYT (paywall)
Tweets that caught my eye: