President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden leaves after a court appearance, Wednesday, July 26, 2023, in Wilmington, Del. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday, Aug. 11, he has appointed a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe, deepening the investigation of the president's son ahead of the 2024 election. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
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Hunter Biden indicted on gun charges after plea deal collapse
Hunter Biden, son of President Biden, was indicted by a Delaware grand jury Thursday on three gun-related charges after a plea deal fell apart over the summer.
As The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch reports: “The court filings detail charges Hunter Biden would have entered a diversion program for under the failed plea agreement, charging him with failing to disclose drug use when seeking to buy a weapon — resulting in two charges — as well as for unlawful possession of a firearm while addicted to a controlled substance.“
The indictment didn’t include tax-related charges, which were part of the plea deal that broke down. Special counsel David Weiss could seek to bring those charges outside of Delaware.
The indictment comes on the heels of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) greenlighting several committee chairmen to open an impeachment inquiry into President Biden this week.
One of the subjects of the inquiry is the allegation that Hunter Biden received preferential treatment from the Justice Department in his case. The White House has denied having any involvement in the case.
Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Amee LaTour, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.
CATCH UP QUICK
A House committee announced a Sept. 28 hearing as part of its probe into Maui wildfires that claimed at least 115 lives. Testimony is expected from officials of two state agencies and Hawaiian Electric.
The deadline for the United Auto Workers and three companies to reach a contract agreement and avoid strikes in a small number of factories is tonight at 11:59 p.m.
The Democratic National Committee‘s (DNC) Rules and Bylaws Committee granted New Hampshire another extension for complying with the DNC’s new presidential primary calendar, with the state party chairman maintaining the state will hold the first Democratic primary.
The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate voted to oust nonpartisan state Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe. Democrats argue the chamber doesn’t have the power to remove Wolfe from the role, and a legal battle is likely.
The Hill’s Lauren Sforza reported that GOP leaders “have falsely claimed that [Wolfe] orchestrated a plan to rig the 2020 election in Wisconsin — a swing-state President Biden carried in 2020 by nearly 21,000 votes.” Read more here.
COURTS
Trump won’t stand trial in October, judge rules
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee rejected prosecutors’ request to try the 19 defendants in the Georgia 2020 election interference case together in October, meaning former President Trump won’t be tried next month.
“The Court joins the skepticism expressed by several federal courts that denying severance always ensures efficiency, especially in ‘mega trials’ such as this,” McAfee wrote.
“Though McAfee did not set a trial date for Trump, his ruling sets a motions deadline of Dec. 1, which would come before any eventual trial,” The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld and Ella Lee noted.
CONGRESS
Senate ‘minibus’ likely a no-go this week
The Senate likely won’t vote on a “minibus” package including three appropriations bills this week after Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) objected to moving forward on a substitute amendment Thursday.
From The Hill’s Alexander Bolton: “Senate Republican sources say Johnson wants to break up the appropriations package into individual bills so they match the House Republican strategy of passing the 12 annual appropriations bills separately to maximize leverage with Democrats in the year-end spending negotiations.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said some Republican senators are “trying to mimic the Freedom Caucus in the House.” Read more here.
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NASA announced it appointed a director of research to study unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), including UFOs, though the agency did not release the person’s name.
“They are being tasked with developing and overseeing the implementation of NASA’s vision for UAP research,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said.
Romney biography says he and Manchin explored creating new party
An excerpt from a forthcoming biography of outgoing Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) says he, along with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), considered creating a new political party.
“We’d say, ‘This party’s going to endorse whichever party’s nominee isn’t stupid,'” Romney told the biographer.
Team Biden’s latest battleground ad
President Biden‘s reelection campaign has a new ad airing in Wisconsin touting job creation. It’s part of a $25 million blitz of advertising in battleground states. The Hill’s Alex Gangitanohas more here.
PUNDIT CORNER
“22 years after military force was authorized in Afghanistan, Congress needs to restore basic checks and balances” — Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Stephen Miles, president of the group Win Without War. (Read here)
“US outreach to China is raising questions and doubts in Korea” — Seong-Hyon Lee, a senior fellow with the George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations and a visiting scholar at Harvard University Asia Center, and Zoe Leung, senior director of research at the George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations. The views expressed in this publication are solely those of the authors. (Read here)
⏲️ COUNTDOWN
13 days until the next GOP presidential primary debate.
16 days until the government funding deadline.
🗓 ON TAP TOMORROW
Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown.
UNDER THE RADAR
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