Trump vows to stay in the race even if convicted . . . “I’ll never leave,” he tells POLITICO. The former president leveled harsh criticisms at special counsel Jack Smith and argued that the case against him was politically motivated and flimsy. “These are thugs and degenerates who are after me,” he said. Trump predicted he would not be convicted and said he did not anticipate taking a plea deal, though he left open the possibility of doing so “where they pay me some damages.” He sidestepped the possibility that he would pardon himself should he win the presidency in 2024. “I don’t think I’ll ever have to,” Trump said. “I didn’t do anything wrong.” Trump said campaign fundraising had skyrocketed since the indictment was issued. Politico

US citizen detained in Russia over drug charges. . . An American citizen has been arrested in Moscow after being accused of "running a drug dealing business involving young people," reports say.  Michael Travis Leake, 51, is identified by Reuters as formerly being a singer in the Russian rock band Lovi Noch. Fox News 

See my Fox & Friends interview about this case HERE

House Republicans set to pass legislation to hobble the administrative state . . . House Republicans are set to pass legislation that would dramatically roll back government bureaucracy and put more control in the hands of elected officials. Washington Examiner

Unfortunately, the leader of the administrative state would veto it, even if it got through the Senate. 

Biden laughs off FBI bribery claims as evidence against him and Hunter mounts . . . Audacity is Joe Biden’s magic power.

When the walls are closing in, he laughs in your face and dares you to come after him. He did it last week when he laughed at a question about “damning evidence in an FBI file” that he allegedly took a $5 million bribe from a Ukrainian energy company in return for a policy decision when he was vice president. “Where’s the money?” he quipped, before calling the allegation “a bunch of malarkey.” NY Post

Marjorie Taylor Greene ‘Dumbfounded’ As To Why Republicans Have Not Impeached Biden . . . Georgia Republican firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene -- after reviewing the document that the FBI has held closely which alleges that President Joe Biden was involved in a bribery scheme when he was vice president -- said she did not know what her fellow Republicans were waiting for to pull the impeachment trigger. "That’s the part that literally leaves me dumbfounded,” she said to Breitbart News about what might get her GOP colleagues interested in impeaching the president. Conservative Brief

Populism May Be Driving RFK Jr. Toward the White House . . .  Two months before the 2016 presidential election, I predicted that New York City businessman Donald Trump would win the election, win Pennsylvania, and get 306 electoral votes. Trump did win, of course, he took Pennsylvania, and he ended up with 304 electoral votes. Years before that prediction, I worked on three winning presidential campaigns — although that experience had little to do with the accuracy of my prediction in 2016.  nstead, it came down to taking off partisan blinders, studying the 2012 election results, factoring in the positive or negative effects of viral statements the two major candidates had made, and, most especially, assessing the needs and fears of working-class Americans. The Messenger

Biden has support from less than two-thirds of Democrats in the primaries. Not great news for a sitting president.

Trump’s Lawyer Advises Against Plea Deal in Classified Documents Case . . . An attorney for former President Donald Trump said Sunday that she advises against a plea deal in the federal government’s classified document case. “I know, I would never advise that, especially when he’s not done anything wrong. You take a plea deal to make something go away,” Alina Habba told “Fox News Sunday.” “That’s an admission of guilt. He would never admit guilt. Because there was nothing wrong with declassifying documents, taking documents with you.” Habba added that any “indictment is a one-sided document,” continuing, “He has a defense—the defense is real. He had the Presidential Records Act, which only he has in play. Hillary Clinton didn’t have that. Biden didn’t have that. And we’ll put that defense on.” Epoch Times

Trump ‘Is Toast’ ‘If Even Half’ Of Charges Stick, Bill Barr Warns . . .Former Attorney General Bill Barr warned Sunday on Fox News the charges against former President Donald Trump — if “even half” true — could be disastrous for the former president.

Trump announced the indictment Thursday ahead of the official indictment being unsealed Friday. The charges against Trump include 31 counts of alleged violation of the Espionage Act or the willful retention of national security information, as well as one count of “conspiracy to obstruct justice,” one count of “withholding a documents or record,” one count of corruptly concealing a document or record,” one count of “concealing a document in a deferral investigation,” one count of “scheme to conceal” and one count of “false statements and representations.” Daily Caller

Well, you can eat toast too.

Senate presses on with Ukraine funding push despite McCarthy comments . . . House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) comments this week that poured cold water on the idea of an additional Ukraine aid package have not deterred the Senate.

In order to pass McCarthy's debt ceiling deal last week, Senate leadership pledged they would bring a supplemental Ukraine funding bill up for a vote if necessary later this year. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) were facing a potential mutiny from a number of defense hawks, led by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), as they tried to pass the bill as is before the "X-date" default deadline. Washington Examiner

Biden’s fight to restore ‘America’s soul’ clashes with tradition, Christian beliefs . . . President Biden has framed his presidency and reelection run as a battle for “the soul of America,” which his campaign defines as a fight for causes such as abortion and transgender rights. Some Christian leaders are bristling. “The Biden administration and the progressive left have a perverted, skewed understanding of the soul of America. They are ripping the country apart with this assault on our children that includes the so-called right to destroy an innocent life and to destroy a child’s innocence with the radical LGBTQ ideology,” said Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote.org, which advocates for Catholic principles. Washington Times

Biden’s plan to phase out gas-powered cars is all pain for consumers and no gain . . .Some people love electric vehicles (EVs). They drive them relatively short distances to work, charge them overnight in their garages and never stop for gas. Others, due to cost, convenience and climate, prefer gasoline-powered vehicles. Thankfully, Americans today still have that choice. But if the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) latest proposed rule on car emissions is finalized as written, they won’t for much longer. The new rule would require 60 percent of vehicles sold in the U.S. to be battery-powered electric by 2030 and 67 percent by 2032, compared to just 6 percent today. This would effectively eliminate the choice of gasoline-powered cars for American drivers and make the economy more dependent on China, a source of the minerals needed to create their batteries. The public has only until July 5 to comment. The Hill

Hunter Biden’s suspicious email on Ukraine raises red flag for classified doc probe . . . If Biden special counsel Robert Hur is doing his job as ruthlessly as is his Trump counterpart Jack Smith, then he should be looking at links between the president’s alleged mishandling of classified documents and allegations Biden and his son took $5 million bribes in Ukraine. At least one email from Hunter Biden’s laptop during his father’s vice presidency stands out as worthy of Hur’s scrutiny, to determine if there is any overlap with classified documents found in Joe Biden’s Delaware home or various offices. Hunter refers to “my guys upcoming travels” in his email to business partner Devon Archer dated April 13, 2014, one week before Joe visited Ukraine as vice president.  NY Post

Oh no! Tim Scott’s radical vision for America . . . In a fundraising email by Republican presidential candidate Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the senator espouses traditional values. White House Dossier

Voting machine printer company says Maricopa Election Day report 'inaccurate,' seeks correction . . . The printer company said Maricopa County did not contact them during the investigation into Election Day printer issues. A printer company says a report by Arizona's Maricopa County on errors at voting centers on Election Day 2022 is "factually inaccurate" and is seeking a correction from the county attorney’s office. Ballot printer issues at more than 70 vote centers in the county on Election Day last year resulted in long lines because tabulator machines could not read some of the voters' ballots. Just the News

The Pentagon Is Freaking Out About a Potential War With China . . . Dozens war-game scenarios have been enacted over the last few years, most recently in April by the House Select Committee on competition with China. And while the ultimate outcome in these exercises is not always clear — the U.S. does better in some than others — the cost is. In every exercise the U.S. uses up all its long-range air-to-surface missiles in a few days, with a substantial portion of its planes destroyed on the ground. In every exercise the U.S. is not engaged in an abstract push-button war from 30,000 feet up like the ones Americans have come to expect since the end of the Cold War, but a horrifically bloody one. Politico

White House Says China Has Had Cuba Spy Base Since at Least 2019 . . . The White House on Saturday said that China has had a spy base in Cuba since at least 2019 and Beijing’s efforts to expand its intelligence gathering are ongoing. The statement, which the White House said was based on newly declassified intelligence, follows a Wall Street Journal report Thursday that said China and Cuba had reached an agreement in principle to build an electronic eavesdropping station on the island. Officials familiar with the matter said that China planned to pay Cuba, long in dire economic straits, billions of dollars as part of the negotiations. Wall Street Journal

‘A Very Dangerous Situation,’ Benedict Rogers Says of US Depending Too Much on China For Imports . . . According to the Council on Foreign Relations, “the United States imports more from China than from any other country.” The total volume of imports in 2022 from China into the U.S. amounted to more than $536 billion, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported.

The Group of Seven leaders in May issued a statement about “de-risking and diversifying” from China, while also  cknowledging that they would not be “decoupling or turning inwards.” Daily Signal

The Marine Corps Is Waging ‘Civil War’ With A Secretive Group Of Retired Officers Over The Service’s Future . . . The U.S. Marine Corps is facing fire from high-ranking retired officers as the outgoing commandant passes on responsibility to implement his radical changes to new leadership, according to experts and a review of arguments by current and retired Marines. A secretive group of retired Marine Corps generals, including two previous commandants, renewed a years-long assault against what they characterized in multiple articles as dangerous narrow-mindedness underlying Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger’s plan to revamp the force, of which the latest update was released on Monday. Daily Caller

Ukraine’s Offensive Relies on Army Gear That Doesn’t Shoot . . . In Ukraine’s expanding offensive, some of its most critical military gear doesn’t fire a shot. Instead, the equipment keeps weaponry operating and helps Kyiv’s troops advance as they fight to eject Moscow’s dug-in forces. The nonlethal fleet is vital because tanks, rocket launchers and infantry fighting vehicles demand vast amounts of support in blasting their way forward. The equipment includes everything from mobile fuel and water tanks and medical and maintenance trucks to unusual vehicles that install portable bridges or clear minefields. They carry ammunition, food, spare parts and the heavy-duty lubricants that lumbering blast-resistant equipment demands. Wall Street Journal

Ukraine forced to shut down largest nuclear plant due to combat, flooding . . . Violent clashes with Russian forces have been reported in Ukraine's eastern regions, threatening the reactor's safetyUkraine's nuclear energy agency has suspended operations at the nation's largest nuclear plant due to safety concerns. The sixth and final reactor at Ukriane's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been put into a state of cool shutdown. Fox News

Chechen force signs contract with Russia's defence ministry that Prigozhin refused . . .  Russia's Defense Ministry said on Monday it has signed a contract with the Akhmat group of Chechen special forces, a day after Russia's powerful mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin refused to do so. The signing followed an order that all "volunteer units" should sign contracts by July 1 bringing them under the control of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, as Moscow tries to assert its control over private armies fighting on its behalf in Ukraine. Reuters

Russia Blows Dam in Donetsk to 'Slow' Ukraine Advance: Kyiv . . .  Kyiv authorities have accused Russia of destroying another dam in occupied territory in a bid to slow Ukrainian's nascent counteroffensive. This time the dam was in the eastern Donetsk Oblast, which has been a hotspot for fighting throughout nine years of war between the two neighbors. A spokesperson for the Tavria Front Defence Forces—a Ukrainian military unit operating on the Donetsk front—told Ukrainska Pravda on Sunday that occupying Russian troops destroyed a dam on the Mokri Yaly River, causing significant flooding on both sides of the waterway. Newsweek

Silvio Berlusconi: former Italian prime minister has died at 86 . . . Reuters

Money

Revealed: The Financial Burden of Illegal Immigration . . . The current wave of migrants entering the nation as a result of President Biden’s border policies will impact the nation not only culturally, but also financially. Both immediate and long-term costs of absorbing thousands of immigrants will be far higher than currently expected — and in some ways, already are. When the administration dropped Title 42, the Border Patrol apprehended some 10,000 migrants per day at the nation’s southern border. The current migrant wave has already stretched large cities’ financial capacities to the limit. Chicago recently passed a $51 million funding package to support immigrants. This followed significant protests by residents of the city’s South Shore neighborhood against a plan to use a former school to house migrants. The Messenger

Return of working moms taking jobs market by storm . . .
US women labor force participation rate for ages 25-54 hits all-time high in May. Though about 2 million American women fled the workforce during the pandemic, there are more women on U.S. payrolls than ever before. Working women and mothers who picked up new positions in the post-COVID era spoke to FOX Business’ Gerri Willis on Wednesday, saying the boom is all thanks to newfound flexibility. Fox Business

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s Big Problem Just Got Even More Complicated . . . The Fed aims to avert financial instability while also fighting inflation—predicaments that frequently call for opposite policies. Wall Street Journal

Bank fraud trial tests Ukraine’s efforts to curb corruption . . . A legal effort by Ukraine’s largest bank to recover billions of dollars in assets from its former oligarch owners opens in England’s High Court on Monday — a fraud trial that has become a test of Kyiv’s commitment to tackling corruption. The London trial was postponed last year because of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. PrivatBank is claiming $1.9bn together with interest of up to $2.5bn from Igor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Bogolyubov, who co-owned the bank until it was nationalised in 2016. The state took it over after regulators found a $5.5bn hole in its balance sheet, allegedly from fraudulent lending. Its recapitalisation cost the state 6 per cent of Ukraine’s gross domestic product, making it one of the biggest banking collapses in Europe relative to national output. Financial Times

Ukraine President Zelensky's presidential campaign was bankrolled by oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, who is banned from entry to the United States because he is under multiple investigations of corruption. Ukraine is designated by the Council of Europe as the most corrupt country in Europe, right up there with Russia. 

California port problems piling up amid labor negotiations . . .  The Chamber of Commerce urged the Biden admin to appoint a mediator for labor negotiations between the ILWU and PMA over a new contract covering West Coast port workers. Fox Business

This underappreciated cybersecurity stock could rally more than 35%, Morgan Stanley says . . . CNBC

JPMorgan Reaches Settlement With Epstein’s Victims . . . JPMorgan Chase on Monday reached a tentative settlement with sexual abuse victims of Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased financier, after weeks of embarrassing disclosures about the bank’s longstanding relationship with him, said the bank and lawyers for the victims. The proposed deal would settle a lawsuit filed last November in Manhattan federal court by an unidentified woman on behalf of victims who were sexually abused by Mr. Epstein over a roughly 15-year period when they were teenage girls and young women, the suit said. The number of victims could potentially rise to more than 100. New York Times

Dr. Peter Attia on How to Live Longer and Feel Younger . . . 
A conversation with the longevity expert about his new book 'Outlive'—and what makes life worth living in the first place. Free Press

Fentanyl has taken a record toll on the Army. Families demand answers . . . The emerging scope of drug abuse in the military has alarmed lawmakers, who in late May introduced a bill to compel the Pentagon to publicly release overdose data each year, as well improve treatment for personnel suffering from addiction. The proposed legislation comes as experts say the services have done a poor job tracking overdoses, which have increased among active duty troops in the last two years. And many families contend that preventive measures, including urinalysis tests and rehabilitation, fall short. Washington Post

‘Unabomber’ Ted Kaczynski reportedly killed himself . . .
Kaczynski was 81 and suffering from late-stage cancer. Kaczynski had been held in the federal Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, since May 1998, when he was sentenced to four life sentences plus 30 years for a campaign of terror that set universities nationwide on edge. He admitted committing 16 bombings from 1978 and 1995, permanently maiming several of his victims. Politico

George Soros' son, 37, gives first interview since taking over father's $25B empire: 'I'm more political' . . .Alex Soros gives first interview since being selected as George Soros's successor Fox Business

Trump Classified Documents Include Secret Recipe For McRib . . . With news breaking of the Department of Justice handing down an indictment of former President Donald Trump, new details regarding the classified documents found in Trump's possession have come to light. A new report indicates these documents included the McDonald's secret recipe for the McRib sandwich. BabylonBee

Alligator wanders into South Carolina fire station . . . Firefighters in South Carolina said they ejected an unwanted visitor after an alligator wandered into their station. The Awendaw-McClellanville Consolidated Fire District said in a Facebook post that firefighters at Fire Station 4 in McClellanville found the gator. The alligator was ushered outside "without any issues," officials wrote. UPI