memeorandum: White House picks former Maryland governor to lead Social Security Administration (John Sakellariadis/Politico)

3:20 PM ET, July 26, 2023

Top Items:

Hunter Biden's Plea Deal in Jeopardy — The judge is questioning the scope of his deal, and the parties are furiously trying to salvage it. Under the agreement with the Justice Department, Biden had agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and avoid prosecution and jail time on a gun charge.

Discussion: NBC News, NPR, Washington Examiner, Washington Free Beacon, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, Insider, Vox, Breitbart, Slate, Althouse, The Daily Caller, Rolling Stone, Mediaite, IJR, Sun-Sentinel and acecomments.mu.nu

Washington Post:

Judge puts Hunter Biden guilty plea on hold for now — Expected guilty plea by the president's son is put off over concerns about whether or not it gives him immunity from possible future charges — WILMINGTON, Del. — A federal judge on Wednesday delayed accepting a plea deal …

Punchbowl News:

7/26/23 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM — If you work at the DCCC or you're camped out in House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' second-floor Capitol office, the current state of the Republican Conference probably has you salivating. … If you talk to senior GOP leadership figures privately, they'll admit this.

Discussion: Raw Story

Bethany Irvine / Politico:
Playbook PM: Plea deal or no deal?

Discussion: The Hill, New York Times, delawareonline, Townhall, The Guardian, Associated Press, One America News Network and Washington Examiner

Samuel Chamberlain / New York Post:
Hunter Biden lawyer accused of deception to seal bid to block plea deal

Discussion: The Messenger, Associated Press, American Greatness, Daily Mail, Power Line, BizPac Review, Washington Examiner and RedState

Wall Street Journal:
Hunter Biden Plea Deal in Jeopardy

Discussion: RedState, New York Magazine, New York Daily News, Washington Times, Reuters, Mediaite and CBS News

Docket updates for United States v. Biden …:
CORRECTING ENTRY: — ORAL ORDER re 8 and 9 - The Court is in receipt of the parties' letters regarding …

Discussion: Fox News, The Messenger, The Daily Caller and BizPac Review

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Hunter Biden plea deal falls apart during first court appearance

Discussion: CBS News, New York Times, The Messenger, BizPac Review, Power Line, RedState, The Gateway Pundit and The Hill

Marshall Cohen / CNN:
Judge threatens to sanction Hunter Biden's lawyers after legal dispute with GOP lawmaker

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Examiner, Washington Free Beacon, Raw Story, Breitbart, JONATHAN TURLEY, The Messenger, The Gateway Pundit, TheBlaze and RedState

New York Times:
Republicans in Congress Seek to Block Hunter Biden's Plea Deal

Sarah Burns / The Irish Times:

Sinéad O'Connor, acclaimed Dublin singer, dies aged 56 — The Irish musician found worldwide fame with hit single Nothing Compares 2 U in 1990 — Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor has died at the age of 56. — In a statement, the singer's family said: “It is with great sadness …

Lisa Lerer / New York Times:

Anti-Trump Ads in Iowa Feature Republican Voters Who Turned Against Him — Hoping to persuade G.O.P. voters that Donald Trump cannot win another general election, the Republican Accountability Project is running ads that feature voters who grew disillusioned with him.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, American Greatness and Financial Times

Paul Rosenzweig / The Atlantic:
The 2024 Election Could Be the End of the Cases Against Donald Trump

Discussion: Salon, Raw Story and Bulwark+

Jose Pagliery / The Daily Beast:
The Fulton County Case Against Trump May Be the Most Serious—and Imminent

Discussion: Alternet.org, Raw Story, Breitbart, The Guardian and The Messenger

Jill Lawrence / Bulwark+:
Could a Special Plea Deal Keep Trump Out of the White House?

Discussion: Raw Story, NBC News, Alternet.org and New Republic

Rolling Stone:
Trump Struggles to Find Enough Lawyers to Handle His Many Indictments

Discussion: UPROXX, Politico, Raw Story and The Daily Beast

NBC News:

Rudy Giuliani concedes he made ‘false’ statements about Georgia election workers — The Trump ally's acknowledgment came in a Tuesday filing related to the 2020 election workers' lawsuit about baseless claims of fraud that he made against them. — Rudy Giuliani conceded in a court filing Tuesday …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Insider, ABC News, The Daily Beast, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, CBS News, Bloomberg, Deadline, Washington Times, National Review, The Hill, Raw Story, The Messenger and PoliticusUSA

Alan Feuer / New York Times:
Giuliani Concedes He Made False Statements About Georgia Election Workers

Discussion: Associated Press, Alternet.org, Washington Examiner and Raw Story

Jaclyn Diaz / NPR:
Rudy Giuliani concedes he made false statements against 2 Georgia election workers

Discussion: HuffPost, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Talking Points Memo and New York Daily News

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Giuliani won't contest Georgia election workers' claims that he falsely accused them of manipulating ballots

Discussion: New York Post, The Guardian, CBS News, The Messenger, Washington Post, New Republic, UPI, RedState, USA Today, IJR and Daily Kos

Department of Transportation:

U.S. Department of Transportation Requires Airline Lavatories to Be More Accessible for Wheelchair Users — Rulemaking Finalized on 33rd Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act — WASHINGTON - On the 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) …

Discussion: Bloomberg and BizPac Review

Justin Bachman / The Messenger: Larger Bathrooms Coming to Single-Aisle Airplanes

Dan Merica / The Messenger:
Florida Democrats Launch Voter Registration Program to Reverse Party's Precipitous Decline

Discussion: Florida Politics and The Capitolist

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Senate Republicans see Biden impeachment as fraught with risk — Senate Republicans see impeaching President Biden ahead of the 2024 election as a risky political strategy that could turn off moderate voters and are hoping to wave their House GOP colleagues off from marching down that road.

Discussion: The Messenger, Twitchy, Associated Press, Mediaite, NBC News, Political Wire and CNN

Washington Post:
Republicans tiptoe toward an impeachment inquiry

John Sakellariadis / Politico:

White House picks former Maryland governor to lead Social Security Administration — O'Malley, a Democrat, will require Senate confirmation to take over at the agency, which oversees a $1 trillion budget. — The Biden administration has tapped former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley to head …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Messenger, Reuters, The Hill, Washington Post, Associated Press, Washington Times and The White House

Washington Post:

Doctors who put lives at risk with covid misinformation rarely punished — A Wisconsin doctor in 2021 prescribed ivermectin, typically used to treat parasitic infections, to two covid-19 patients who later died of the disease. He was fined less than $4,000 — and was free to continue practicing.

Martin Pengelly / The Guardian:

Tucker Carlson claims in book Fox News firing was part of $787.5m settlement — Former prime-time host tells biographer he ‘knows’ firing was part of deal to resolve Dominion Voting Systems defamation case — Tucker Carlson “knows” he was fired by Fox News in April as a condition …

Discussion: The Messenger, Mediaite, Raw Story and The Daily Signal

Jeff Ernsthausen / ProPublica:

How the Ultrawealthy Use Private Foundations to Bank Millions in Tax Deductions While Giving the Public Little in Return — It's a simple bargain: The rich get huge tax breaks by donating art, property and company shares to benefit the public. But some donors collect millions while offering little or no public access.

Brian Klaas / The Atlantic:

The Dictator Myth That Refuses to Die — Authoritarians would have you think that they can do certain things better than their counterparts who have to deal with checks, balances, and public opinion. Don't believe it. — Last week, at a Fox News town hall (where else?) …

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

Tuberville's tales about his father in World War II have false elements — The Fact Checker … — Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), in a tweet posted with a Fox News interview, June 6 — “He lied about his age at 16, joined the Army.” — Tuberville, in the Fox interview

Discussion: New Republic, The Daily Beast, Raw Story and Alternet.org

New York Times:

Where Is Melania Trump Now? — The former first lady has mostly retreated from public view — and steered clear of the campaign trail — while her husband fights to return to the White House and faces increasing legal peril. — Lisa Lerer covers national politics and reported from New York.

Discussion: Insider, The Daily Beast, Silicon Valley, UPROXX and Raw Story