Crooked Media - What A Day: That dog don't Hunter

Another day, another Hunter Biden update. I’m sorry, I don’t make the rules!
 

• A plea deal the younger Biden struck back in June would have required him to plead guilty to two charges of failing to pay taxes, in a standard agreement that requires judicial approval, and agree to a pretrial “diversion agreement”—under which he would admit to unlawful gun possession and agree to conditions such as not purchasing a firearm in the future, and not using drugs—in order to avoid actual charges of unlawful possession of a firearm.
   

• Federal Judge Maryellen Noreika—an appointee of disgraced former president Donald Trump—questioned the nature of the agreement, and in her line of inquiry uncovered the extent of the dispute between federal prosecutors and Biden’s lawyers over whether the agreement would protect him from the possibility of additional criminal charges. Noreika expressed her displeasure, saying that the lawyers had crafted a two-step plea deal that may not be reviewable or enforceable by the court. After that, the two sides worked together on a revised and limited plea deal. But Noreika then said she was not ready to accept the jointly revised agreement.
   

• Noreika accurately stated that the type of agreement reached between DOJ prosecutors and Biden’s attorneys is not typically approved by a judge, because a judge is not party to a diversion agreement, nor are judges generally responsible for pursuing criminal charges. Biden’s attorneys argued that his case has been politicized, and that the deal struck was meant to protect him from a biased prosecutor in the future. Noreika said she understood that argument but added that the agreement may be unconstitutional, and prosecutors could avoid it with traditional pleas or by leveling all of the charges against Biden.

Clearly, this was never going to be a cut-and-dry tax evasion case.
 

• For now, the criminal charges laid out against Hunter Biden in the proposed plea deal are still active. Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss (also a Trump appointee!) continued to describe the federal investigation as ongoing, but would not reveal further details when pressed. Judge Noreika asked the younger Biden a series of questions to ensure that he understood the details of his agreement. He repeatedly responded in the affirmative, then detailed to the judge his history of drug abuse, how his addiction has ruined his business relationships, and that he has received in-patient treatment for drug and alcohol addiction at least six times in the past two decades. 
   

• From the outset, Hunter’s case has been plagued with prosecutorial delay, and debate over whether he is being either treated too harshly or not harshly enough because he is a member of the First Family. The trial has also unlocked a latent—or in the case of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), very active—psychosis in many congressional Republicans, particularly members of the Freedom Caucus, who have spun anything Hunter-related into full-blown conspiracy theories. Just this week, members of the House GOP filed a brief with the court in the hope of torpedoing the plea agreement, in the naked (sorry) hope of prolonging the aroma of scandal around the Biden family, and maybe even getting Hunter into more trouble than he’s agreed to accept in order to hurt his dad. Sick people!

Ideally, Biden’s case should be handled swiftly and fairly, as if he were any other American, but his last name makes that prospect unlikely, not least because the GOP is out for blood. Regardless of outcome, Republicans will doubtless make Hunter one of their chief talking points for the next 16 months, because they want to neutralize their own, much more serious brushes with crime and corruption, and—as always bears repeating—they have nothing to offer the public apart from outrage at the president’s adult son, who has never held public office.

In case you missed it, Lovett or Leave It is bringing the Errors Tour to New York City on July 27 and Philadelphia on July 28 with some amazing guests, including Jeanene Garafalo, Isaac Mizrahi, Mary Radzinski, R. Eric Thomas, and more! Head to crooked.com/events to get your tickets today!

The Federal Reserve increased interest rates another one-quarter of a percentage point to the highest level in 22 years. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell suddenly froze during a weekly GOP leadership press conference on Wednesday afternoon, and was escorted away by his colleague Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), who happens to be a doctor. McConnell returned shortly thereafter and took questions. 

President Biden will nominate former Gov. Martin O’Malley (D-MD) to head the Social Security Administration. 

A new McKinsey study reports that more women than men may lose their jobs by 2030 as a result of artificial intelligence. We knew the A.I. guys were up to no good. 

Elon Musk is backing advertisers into using the website formally known as Twitter (we’re never calling it “X”) by threatening to strip their account verification if they don’t spend a certain amount of money on ads. Cool, so, extortion!

Actor Kevin Spacey was found not guilty on seven counts of sexual assault and two counts of other sexual offenses after a four-week trial in London.

Two Greek pilots were killed on Tuesday when their plane crashed fighting wildfires on the island of Rhodes. 

A construction crane partially collapsed then burst into flames in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday morning, injuring six people. 

Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor died Wednesday at the age of 56.

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In scarcely one year, the Inflation Reduction Act has exploded green energy manufacturing and technology in the United States. 

Democratic members of the California congressional delegation are increasingly turning up the heat on Hollywood studios to give the actors and writers guilds a fair deal. 

A coalition of booksellers, authors, and publishers sued the state of Texas over a new law banning certain books from public schools citing First Amendment violations. 

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) signed a series of bills on Wednesday expanding bargaining powers for teachers unions and making it easier for out-of-state teachers to move to Michigan in an effort “to recruit and retain the talented educators that provide Michigan students with a phenomenal education.” Incentives for good teachers—imagine that!