White House Dossier's

Manhattan federal prosecutors on Saturday filed a letter requesting a judge set a date for Archer, 58, to start his one-year sentence in a fraud case unrelated to the first son’s various scandals. The request came after the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Archer’s 2018 conviction last Tuesday on two felony charges for his role in a conspiracy to defraud a Native American tribe. Archer — who is set to deliver closed-door testimony to the House Oversight Committee on Monday about Biden — had been challenging the conviction. NY Post

Here Are Five Questions Republicans Could Ask Hunter Biden’s Business Partner Under Oath . . . As Hunter Biden’s former business associate is deposed by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, committee investigators could ask him questions to determine President Joe Biden’s involvement in Hunter’s foreign dealings. Devon Archer is a former friend and business partner of Hunter Biden — currently the subject of several federal investigations by both Congress and the Department of Justice — and will be deposed by the committee on Monday. In 2022, he was convicted of defrauding the Wakpamni Lake Community Corporation, a Native American tribe, of over $60 million in fraudulent bond issuances. Daily Caller

Trump Crushing DeSantis and G.O.P. Rivals, Times/Siena Poll Finds . . . Former President Donald J. Trump is dominating his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, leading his nearest challenger, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, by a landslide 37 percentage points nationally among the likely Republican primary electorate, according to the first New York Times/Siena College poll of the 2024 campaign. Mr. Trump held decisive advantages across almost every demographic group and region and in every ideological wing of the party, the survey found, as Republican voters waved away concerns about his escalating legal jeopardy. He led by wide margins among men and women, younger and older voters, moderates and conservatives, those who went to college and those who didn’t, and in cities, suburbs and rural areas. New York Times

Why Trump Is So Hard to Beat . . . In the half century of modern presidential primaries, no candidate who led his or her nearest rival by at least 20 points at this stage has ever lost a party nomination. Today, Donald J. Trump’s lead over Ron DeSantis is nearly twice as large: 37 points, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll of the likely Republican primary electorate released Monday morning. New York Times

Video | GOP Rep. Victoria Spartz rips apart DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas

Hunter Biden on GOP witness Devon Archer: 'Self-made, supermotivated,' with 'disarming charm' . . . Joe Biden's Justice Department is currently racing to jail former Hunter Biden associate Devon Archer before he testifies in front of the House Oversight Committee about the president's alleged complicity in his son's overseas business activities. But before Democrats try to discredit Archer, they ought to listen to the ringing endorsements of the private equity manager — namely, the extensive praise from Hunter himself. In his memoir Beautiful Things, Hunter praised Archer as a "self-made, supermotivated former college lacrosse player with a disarming charm who'd flown all over the world to raise money for his real estate investment firm." Washington Examiner

DOJ can’t sink any lower after attempted jailing of Hunter Biden’s ex-partner Devon Archer before his testimony . . .  By Miranda Devine. What a coincidence! On the eve of Devon Archer’s bombshell testimony to the House Oversight Committee, the Department of Justice tried to put him in jail. It’s another example of a DOJ gone astray. Coming hot on the heels of the first son’s dubious plea deal in Delaware collapsing last week, and amid allegations from senior IRS whistleblowers of political favoritism by prosecutors to protect Joe Biden, you have to wonder how far a weaponized, all-powerful, unaccountable justice system can go. Two more examples from the past week tell you the sky’s the limit — and they’re not even bothering to hide it anymore. On Wednesday, federal prosecutors dropped campaign finance violation charges against cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, who just so happens to have been Biden’s second-biggest donor. On Thursday, new charges against Biden’s chief political rival, Donald Trump, were filed by special counsel Jack Smith over the former president’s handling of classified files.  New York Post

McConnell’s health puts focus on shadow race to replace him . . . Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) health scare has Republican senators wondering whether the 81-year-old lawmaker will stay in the top job beyond the 2024 election and who might eventually replace him. McConnell plans to serve out his current term as leader and has given every indication that he intends to return as Senate GOP leader in the 119th Congress, which starts in January of 2025 — hopefully from his point of view with Republicans in control of the Senate majority.  The Hill

Australia to Host Rotational U.S. Army, Navy Presence . . . U.S. and Australian officials laid the groundwork to host more U.S. forces in Australia, officials from both countries said on Saturday. Deepening that long-standing cooperation through the further “operationalization” of the alliance was a key focus of the 33rd Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) meeting in Brisbane, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong said on Saturday. Australia and the U.S. had made good progress on a range of commitments made at last year’s iteration of AUSMIN, Wong said. US Naval Institute News

Mossad chief visited White House to discuss Saudi normalization . . . David Barnea said to meet earlier this month with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and CIA director Bill Burns as Biden hints at potential progress in securing deal. Israel Times

America’s Military Trails Russia and China in Race for the Melting Arctic . . . On patrol in the Bering Sea last fall, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kimball spotted seven Chinese and Russian vessels steaming through the frigid waters in a double line near Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. The Kimball’s crew identified the main Chinese ship as the Nanchang, one of a new class of cruiser-destroyers that can launch more than 100 guided missiles. The Russian and Chinese ships, which were on a joint exercise, sailed north and east into U.S. waters, sending an unmistakable message about the region’s strategic value to Moscow and Beijing, according to U.S. military officials and national security experts. In recent months, Russian bombers have increased their patrols over the Arctic and have probed further south. Norway’s intelligence service said that with Russia’s strategic weapons are taking on greater importance, among them the nuclear-armed submarines of Russia’s Northern Fleet. More Russian-flagged commercial and government vessels are active in Arctic waters.

While U.S. military officials and analysts don’t expect Beijing to deploy broad military forces in the Arctic, they said China is sharing satellite and electronic intelligence from the region with Moscow. Wall Street Journal

Zelensky after Moscow drone attack: War coming back to Russia . . . Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned war is coming back to Russia after a drone attack on the capital Moscow. Mr Zelensky said attacks on Russian territory were an "inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process" of the war between the two countries. Russia's defence ministry said three Ukrainian drones were downed on Sunday, with two crashing into offices. Vnukovo Airport, southwest of the city centre, was also briefly shut. The drone attack in the early hours of Sunday is the latest that Moscow has blamed on Kyiv. And in a video address on Sunday from the western Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk, Mr. Zelensky said that Ukraine was getting stronger. "Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia - to its symbolic centres and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process." BBC

Poland raises alarm as Wagner forces move closer to border . . . Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has expressed concern about the movement of Russian Wagner forces in Belarus towards the Polish border. “We have information that more than 100 Wagner mercenaries have advanced towards the Suwalki Gap, not far from Grodno in Belarus,” Morawiecki told a news conference on Saturday. This makes the situation on the border “even more threatening”, Morawiecki warned during a visit to an arms factory in Gliwice in southern Poland. Grodno is located in the west of Belarus, about 15km (nine miles) from its border with NATO members Poland and Lithuania. The Suwalki Gap is a narrow strategic land corridor on their territory between Belarus and Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad. Poland, a member of both the European Union and NATO, has worried about its security with Russian ally Belarus and Ukraine on its eastern border. AlJazeera

China says U.S. military aid to Taiwan will not deter its will to unify the island . . .  China accused the United States of turning Taiwan into an “ammunition depot” after the White House announced a $345 million military aid package for Taipei, and the self-ruled island said Sunday it tracked six Chinese navy ships in waters off its shores. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office issued a statement late Saturday opposing the military aid to Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory. “No matter how much of the ordinary people’s taxpayer money the ... Taiwanese separatist forces spend, no matter how many U.S. weapons, it will not shake our resolve to solve the Taiwan problem. Or shake our firm will to realize the reunification of our motherland,” said Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office. “Their actions are turning Taiwan into a powder keg and ammunition depot, aggravating the threat of war in the Taiwan Strait,” the statement said. Politico

A Spending Boom Fuels Russia’s Wartime Economy, Raising Bubble Fears . . . The economic strength has created a sense of well-being among Russians and helped to maintain popular support for President Vladimir V. Putin’s war. But some economists, as well as Russia’s respected central bank chief, have warned that the spending is threatening the country’s financial stability. The concern is that the government is pumping money into the economy too quickly. As Russia’s invasion has descended into a war of attrition, Mr. Putin has poured the country’s sizable financial reserves into expanding military production, while also showering poorer Russians with higher pensions, salaries and benefits like subsidized mortgages. New York Times

US threatens to exit Niger as Russia's Wagner Group revels in military coup attempt . . .  President Joe Biden has threatened to cut military ties with Niger if a coup against the West African democracy’s incumbent president continues, according to U.S. officials anxious to prevent his bodyguards from holding power. “We remind those attempting this power grab by force that an overthrow of a democratically elected president ... would place the U.S.’s substantial cooperation with the government of Niger at risk,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Friday. “Specifically, a military takeover may cause the United States to cease security and other cooperation with the government of Niger, jeopardizing existing security and non-security partnerships.” Washington Examiner

Money

Eurozone returns to growth in second quarter as inflation falls . . . Eurozone inflation fell in line with expectations to 5.3 per cent in July, after the single currency bloc returned to growth in the second quarter. Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, said inflation in the 20-country single currency bloc was down from 5.5 per cent in June. But core inflation, which excludes energy and food prices to give a clearer sign of underlying price pressures, was unchanged at 5.5 per cent. The figures were a setback for the European Central Bank, which raised interest rates for the ninth consecutive time last week. The central bank has said it will keep increasing borrowing costs until underlying price pressures are clearly falling towards its 2 per cent target. Financial Times
 

Democratic donors lukewarm on Kamala . . .  Interviews with nine donors and top donor advisers revealed that some of the biggest money-men and women in the Democratic Party remain lukewarm to the vice president even as she has taken on more of the responsibility of wooing them. Two of those donors went so far as to say the party’s fundraising class was reluctant to host big-money events headlined by Harris because of concerns that she wouldn’t be enough of a draw. Others who have worked with her on fundraisers complained that there was little follow-up after the events. White House Dossier

Donors are wealthy, no-nonsense people who don’t want to waste their money. They can easily perceive that Kamala Harris is in a place – the vice president’s residence – where she has no business being. And that is Joe Biden’s fault.

Culture

High school boys are trending conservative . . . A popular narrative suggests young people are liberal and getting more liberal. Thus, social media buzzed when a chart surfaced in spring that seemed to suggest 12th-grade boys had become overwhelmingly conservative.  As with many Reddit posts and viral tweets, the truth was more complicated. But the numbers do say this: Twelfth-grade boys are nearly twice as likely to identify as conservative versus liberal, according to a respected federal survey of American youth. The Hill

Yay!

What Does It Mean To Be ‘Metagender’ Or ‘Demiromantic’? This School District Is Teaching Kids All About It . . . An Oregon school district is teaching tenth-grade students a variety of gender identities such as “metagender,” as well as the difference between sexual orientation and “romantic orientation.” In a sexual education curriculum for tenth graders, Hillsboro School District, the fourth largest district in Oregon, teaches students that sexual orientation, who you are attracted to physically, and “romantic orientation,” who one is romantically attracted to, are separate from one another and do not need to correlate. The curriculum, created by teachers and counselors, teaches students the definitions of “panromantic” and “demiromantic,” as different types of “romantic orientations.” Daily Caller

Rand Paul announces 'official criminal referral,' says email shows Fauci COVID testimony 'absolutely a lie . . . Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has announced an "official criminal referral" to the Department of Justice with regard to Dr. Anthony Fauci. Paul pointed to an email from February 2020 in which Fauci detailed a call with British medical researcher Jeremy Farrar, who was director of the Wellcome Trust at the time. According to Fauci, those on the task-force call, including Francis Collins, former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, and other "highly credible" scientists with expertise in evolutionary biology, expressed concern about the "fact upon viewing the sequences of several isolates of the nCoV, there were mutations in the virus that would be most unusual to have evolved naturally in the bats and that there was a suspicion that this mutation was intentionally inserted." Fox News

New Covid vaccines are coming to the U.S. this fall, but uptake may be low — Here’s why . . . A new round of Covid vaccines is coming to the U.S. this fall — but many Americans may not roll up their sleeves and take one. That’s largely because pandemic fatigue, the belief that Covid is “over” and confusion over personal risk levels could deter some people from getting an additional shot, experts in public health and health policy told CNBC. But they said public health officials and health-care providers could potentially increase uptake of the new vaccines by communicating a new and simple message this fall: Covid vaccines are likely going to become a routine part of protecting your health moving forward. In September, vaccine manufacturers Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax are slated to deliver new single-strain Covid shots targeting the omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, the most immune-evasive strain of the virus to date. CNBC 

No, thanks.

How Republican 2023 hardcover book sales have stacked up so far . . . A cohort of top GOP lawmakers, 2024 presidential hopefuls, and other notable conservatives sold hundreds of thousands of hardcover copies for their 2023 books during the first weeks of the titles being released, data show. The 10 Republicans, who range from the likes of former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), as well as Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), sold at the very least 194,540 combined week one book hardcover release copies in 2023. That figure is based on BookScan, which tracks 85% of trade print books sold in the United States from major retailers and other entities and doesn't account for all hardcover, e-book, or audio upload transactions. "You can usually sort the winners and losers in politician books by looking at which ones are memoirs," a senior publishing industry employee told the Washington Examiner. "Most politicians only know and care about one thing: themselves. The books that sell much better are about topics voters care about." Washington Examiner

When Climate Change Activism Becomes More Dangerous Than Climate Change . . . For many, climate alarmism is an emergent reality. After years of over-the-top and sensational climate projections ranging from "we only have 10 years to act" to "we are probably already doomed," the hypocrisy of elites is becoming more apparent by the day.  In a time of abundance and opportunity, birth rates are collapsing, anxiety is an all-time high and climate doomerism has taken center stage. This mindset relies on sensationalized projections and abstractions to forge a felt reality. However we come out of this, erasure of oneself from the gene pool and resignation into the deep abyss of climate nihilism cannot be the way. Newsweek

Three whales caught on camera breaching together off Massachusetts . . .  A family fishing off the coast of Massachusetts captured video of the rare moment three humpback whales jumped out of the water in unison. Robert Addie said he was fishing with his daughters and son-in-law near Provincetown when he started recording video of some nearby whales. Addie's footage captured the moment three of the whales breached at the same time, followed by a nearby juvenile a few moments later. Philip Hamilton, senior scientist at the New England Aquarium, said whales have been known to breach in unison, but three at the same time is a "bit rarer" to see. "God was shining down on my family," Addie told The Washington Post. "It was just a fantastic day on the water." UPI

The video is magnificent.