WE THOUGHT YESTERDAY that there was a chance Judge Maryellen Noreika might reject the Hunter Biden plea deal, and sure enough — the deal is off, becoming a major political issue, largely because Biden was denied his key wish: immunity from any other prosecution for perpetuity.
THUS THE ONGOING PROBE WILL CONTINUE into a wide range of Biden’s alleged transgressions. A strong case can be made that he is vulnerable to a charge that he failed to register as a lobbyist for a foreign country, a felony. Actually, Joe Biden is vulnerable to that charge also, especially if he was involved, when he was Vice President, in boosting Hunter’s foreign business dealings.
EVEN IF A PLEA BARGAIN is reached in the coming weeks, the damage has been done to the Bidens. The president and his aides have consistently argued that he and Hunter never discussed business, but there are reports from the New York Post and others that he did discuss business with Hunter, repeatedly.
(The New York Post specializes in coverage of lurid murders and sex scandals, but it has become a “must read” because of its groundbreaking coverage of Hunter Biden. We read it every morning — the Post has beaten the mainstream press and has uncovered key details of this story.)
DEMOCRATS WE TALKED WITH YESTERDAY were aghast that this scandal could persist into the fall and do serious damage to President Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign. Some Democrats worry that President Biden faces a credibility crisis if more details foccus not just on Hunter, but Joe as well.
COULD THIS SCANDAL DRIVE JOE BIDEN OUT OF OFFICE? We suspect that key members of both parties will get an earful from voters during the upcoming August recess. The public wants different candidates, but it still appears that a Biden-Trump race is likely, perhaps with a vigorous third party challenge.
A RISK BOTH PARTIES FACE is that leaders in their 80s are vulnerable, as Mitch McConnell demonstrated yesterday. McConnell, 81, has never fully recovered from a bad fall several months ago, sources say, and his gait — always shaky after a childhood bout with polio — has become increasingly unsteady.
McCONNELL COULD STEP DOWN before he’s up for re-election in 2026, although Republicans are in no rush to push him out; he’s still considered a master strategist. If he steps down, there would be a three-way race to succeed him among Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.), John Barrasso and John Cornyn (R-Texas), the former Senate GOP whip.
McCONNELL’S SENATE SEAT ISN’T TOTALLY SAFE, surprisingly, in conservative Kentucky. Moderate Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear is very popular and probably will win re-election this fall. Beshear could then eye the Senate seat.
THE CONGRESSIONAL UFO HEARING was crowded out yesterday by the Fed rate hike, Hunter Biden’s blockbuster and McConnell’s episode, but there was a strong consensus that more hearings are coming.
A FORMER MILITARY INTELLIGENCE OFFICER offered a bombshell — extraterrestrial aircraft debris, and bodies, are in U.S. government custody, he said — an unproven allegation that nevertheless will become part of a narrative that we aren’t alone.
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