If it’s WEDNESDAY… President Biden welcomes India Prime Minister Modi to the White House… ProPublica details how Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito took luxury Alaskan vacation with conservative billionaire who had cases court was considering… House Judiciary Committee hears from former special counsel John Durham… Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., launches DE-SEN bid to replace retiring Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del… And is that CNN poll a warning sign for Donald Trump? An outlier? Or simply movement within the margin of error?
But FIRST... It’s been quite the 24 hours on the ethics/legal beat in Washington.
Conservatives and Republicans are outraged at Hunter Biden’s guilty plea on misdemeanor charges of failing to pay his taxes — at the same time Donald Trump is facing criminal charges over his handling of classified documents after his presidency.
Liberals and Democrats are outraged at how Justice Samuel Alito, back in 2008, took a luxury vacation on a private jet with a billionaire who had business before the Supreme Court.
And then there’s the New York Times report from Tuesday that Trump has a pricey business deal with Oman’s government — as he’s running for president once again.
Several things can be true at the same time on these three matters.
Yes, Hunter Biden used his father’s position in the government to make money for himself as he was battling drugs and addiction. But the charges against him are rarely prosecuted, legal experts say, and the prosecutor working on the case was a Trump appointee.
Yes, Hunter Biden’s plea deal on misdemeanor charges appears less harsh than the criminal charges Trump is facing. But Trump also appeared to have every opportunity to cooperate with the federal government on those documents — and didn’t.
Yes, Alito defends himself by saying that he didn’t know the billionaire, Paul Singer, had business before the court and that his private jet flight came at no cost since his seat “would have otherwise been vacant.” But who else gets access to a free private jet to Alaska? And why do these conservative Supreme Court justices keep accepting these gifts from wealthy conservatives?
And yes, Donald Trump remains a businessman who likes to make money. But if you’re a conservative who’s upset at how Hunter Biden used his father’s position to make money, what about how Trump is using his past office — and maybe future office — as a way to do business with a Middle East government?
Headline of the day
Data Download: The number of the day is … 2
That’s the number of federal misdemeanor tax counts Hunter Biden is expected to plead guilty to, NBC News' Sarah Fitzpatrick, Tom Winter and Dareh Gregorian report.
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Delaware, which has been investigating Biden, said the president’s son didn’t pay his full income tax bill in 2017 and 2018, despite earning more than $1.5 million. Hunter Biden is also accused of using a firearm while being a “user and addicted to a controlled substance.” While an investigation into the firearm charge is still ongoing, the president’s son agreed to pre-trial diversion, which would likely lead to a dismissal of charges as long as he follows the agreement.
The plea deal between the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney and the president’s son, stemming from the first time the Justice Department has ever charged a sitting president’s child, has prompted criticism from Republicans who believe Biden was shown too much leniency. But as NBC News’ Ryan J. Reilly reports, legal experts say that “charges brought against President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden are rarely prosecuted.”
Other numbers to know:
$6.2 billion: The value of a Pentagon accounting error that overestimated the amount of funding for ammunition, missiles and other equipment the agency had already sent to Ukraine.
46%: The portion of single adult migrants who have crossed the southern border into the U.S. and have been eligible to claim asylum under the Biden administration’s new rules, down from 83% in previous years.
6: The number of students who, along with their parents and two authors, are suing a Florida school district for banning a book about two male penguins raising a baby penguin together.
11: The number of disciplinary charges facing attorney John Eastman, who helped formulate a plan to block the certification of the 2020 election. Eastman’s disciplinary hearings started on Tuesday as he faces disbarment in California.
More than 40 million: How many acres of U.S. land are currently under foreign ownership, which has doubled over the last decade. Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., are teaming up on an effort to limit Chinese ownership of U.S. land, per NBC News’ Courtney Kube.
12: How many months of probation former North Carolina GOP congressional candidate Lynda Bennett received on Tuesday for a campaign finance violation. Bennet ran unsuccessfully in 2020 for former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows’ House seat.
9 points: How much national math test scores for 13-year-olds fell in the fall of 2022, compared to pre-pandemic test scores, the Washington Post reports.
Less than 40: How many hours worth of oxygen were left Tuesday night on a submersible vessel that went missing while giving a tour of the sunken Titanic.
Eyes on 2024: Warning sign? Outlier? Or simply movement within margin of error?
CNN’s new poll released Tuesday caught our eye, because it’s the first national poll to show some level of softening in former President Donald Trump’s numbers since he was indicted amid accusations he mishandled classified documents and obstructed the investigation into his conduct.
Trump’s lead in the GOP presidential field dropped from 27 percentage points in CNN’s May poll to 21 percentage points now (Trump leads second-place Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis 47%-26% now, with the rest of the field in the single-digits). And Trump’s favorability among Republicans is down from 77% in CNN’s May poll to 67% now.
The former president still has a big lead over the field, and that 6-point drop is within the poll’s margin of error. Plus, most polls continue to show Trump holding onto his standing in the party — the new NPR/PBS/Marist poll found Trump’s favorable rating improving between its February and June polls.
But it’s worth keeping an eye on whether, as the public becomes more familiar with the substance of the allegations against Trump, that fundamentally loosens the former president’s grip on the GOP or not.
In other campaign news…
Christie’s case: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has told potential wealthy donors that his campaign to take on Trump could cost $100 million. But one of Christie’s wealthy allies, New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, has not yet contributed to the effort, CNBC’s Brian Schwartz reports.
Trump’s trial: Trump’s trial in the classified documents is set to begin Aug. 14, but that date could ultimately be pushed back, per NBC News’ Michael Mitsanas and Daniel Barnes. Meanwhile, Ohio GOP Rep. Mike Turner, the House Intelligence Committee chairman, told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports that Trump “should stop talking” about the indictment.
Never never (back down) land: The pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down is up with a new TV ad accusing Disney of pushing “secret sexual content,” and lamenting the “extreme liberal agendas” of Target and Bud Light, framing DeSantis as the GOP’s culture war warrior.
On the road again: NBC News’ Mike Memoli reports that President Biden will kick off his “Invest in America” roadshow next week, with the president and his Cabinet members slated to hit 20 states in the next few weeks, including Iowa and New Hampshire.
Debate news: Fox News’ Brett Baier and Martha MacCallum will host the first GOP presidential primary debate in Wisconsin on Aug. 23, the network announced Tuesday.
First order of business: During his Fox News town hall Tuesday, South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott said his first executive order if he wins the presidency would be to “restart the XL Keystone pipeline,” per NBC News’ Nnamdi Egwuonwu.
Friendly advice: Politico reports that West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin’s Democratic colleagues are cautioning him against a third-party bid for president.
She’s running: Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester announced Wednesday that she is running for Delaware’s open Senate seat.
Not managing: Democrat Marianne Williamson has lost her second campaign manager in two months, per Politico.
ICYMI: What ELSE is happening in the world:
A federal judge on Tuesday struck down an Arkansas law that would have banned transition care for transgender minors.
President Biden met with artificial intelligence experts in San Francisco on Tuesday as part of a broader effort to manage risks posed by the technology.
