©  The Associated Press

A federal judge in D.C. says former President Trump‘s ongoing campaign for the 2024 presidential election will have no bearing in how she handles his ongoing election interference case.

“The fact that he is running a political campaign has to yield to the administration of justice,” U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said during a hearing this morning. “If that means he can’t say exactly what he wants to say in a political speech, that is just how it’s going to have to be.”

“I cannot and I will not factor into my decision what effect it will have on a political campaign for either side,” she added.

The Hill has live updates from the hearing here.

The hearing — the first in the case on charges that Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election results — was centered on special counsel Jack Smith‘s request for a protective order to prevent the defense from releasing investigative materials to the public. More directly, to prevent Trump from revealing details.

Prosecutors don’t want Trump revealing information that could taint a jury, intimidate witnesses or otherwise interfere.

“Such a restriction is particularly important in this case because the defendant has previously issued public statements on social media regarding witnesses, judges, attorneys and others associated with legal matters pending against him,” Smith’s attorneys wrote in their request for the protective order.

Chutkan indicated in the hearing that she’s likely to issue a limited protection order, but she said that witness intimidation won’t be tolerated.

“I will be scrutinizing those very carefully,” she said.

Chutkan’s decision is expected to have a major impact on the timeline for the anticipated trial.

Prosecutors have said they have roughly 11.6 million pages of documents prepared for Trump’s team, with more expected.

“I can just imagine your motion for a trial date,” Chutkan joked to Trump attorney John Lauro about the massive trove.

Smith wants a Jan. 2 start date. 

On Truth Social, Trump argued that a trial, “if it happens at all,” should only come after the 2024 election.

“Only an out of touch lunatic would ask for such a date, ONE DAY into the New Year, and maximum Election Interference with IOWA!” he wrote.

Reminder: This is the case in which Trump is accused of attempting to stay in power after the 2020 election.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has announced he will appoint a special counsel to investigate the president’s son, Hunter Biden.

Garland has tapped David Weiss to lead the probe. Weiss is a federal prosecutor in Delaware who has been investigating Hunter Biden.

“On Tuesday of this week, Mr. Weiss advised me that in his judgment, his investigation had reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel, and he asked to be so appointed,” Garland said in a statement Friday.

Read the developing report here.

The death toll from the devastating wildfires on the island of Maui has risen to 55, but Hawaiian officials say that figure is sure to grow amid ongoing search and rescue efforts.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green has called the wildfires, which decimated most of the western side of the island, “likely the worst natural disaster in Hawaii state history.”

He described the situation in the town of Lahaina, a popular tourist destination with historical significance, as “utter devastation.”

“Lahaina, with a few rare exceptions, has been burned down,” Green said. “Without a doubt, it feels like a bomb was dropped on Lahaina.”

Maui officials are urging people not to return to Lahaina while crews work to recover remains of those who died in the fires.

“Understand this: Lahaina town is hallowed, sacred ground right now,” Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said. “We have to get them out. We will get them out as fast as we can, but I need your patience while we do this.” (The Hill)

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) took a swipe at White House spokesman Ian Sams this week: “He’s not the most flattering person I’ve ever seen,” he said during an interview with Newsmax.

Comer, who has been leading the House GOP’s charge to raise issues over President Biden’s son, Hunter, was ostensibly doing the interview to give an update on the latest memo on bank records the committee has obtained. Sams had dismissed the memo as a “flop.”

But when a photo of Sams showed up on screen alongside his memo quote, Comer quipped: “I could have done without that picture. He’s not the most flattering person I’ve ever seen.”

He went on to call Sams “a clown.”

Back to that memo… Oversight Republicans have not identified any direct payments to the president but argued they do not need to as they continue to lob corruption claims. (The Hill)

President Biden says China is a “ticking time bomb,” and it could mean bad news on the world stage.

Biden specifically pointed to the country’s slowing growth and a high unemployment rate in some of his starkest comments about Beijing since taking office.

“China is a ticking time bomb in many cases,” Biden said during a fundraising event in Utah this week.

“They’ve got some problems,” he added. “That’s not good because when bad folks have problems, they do bad things.”

Biden earlier this week issued an executive order restricting some U.S. investments in Chinese technology sectors. (The Hill)

The Iowa State Fair is bringing out the GOP presidential hopefuls this weekend.

The Hill’s Caroline Vakil is reporting live on the scene. Keep up with the latest here.

Democratic political strategist James Carville never holds back when talking politics, and the bombastic long-time Clinton ally can be quite indiscriminate when taking aim at the sources of his ire.

The Hill’s Alex Gangitano chatted with the Ragin’ Cajun in a far-ranging interview covering his take on former President Trump and his GOP rivals, the future for Democrats and the “f—ing bullshit” he sees in the No Labels’ effort to woo a third-party candidate into the presidential race.

A few choice takeaways:

No Labels: Many Democrats have worried that a third-party candidate could cost President Biden a second term in the White House if he and Trump are the major party nominees. No Labels has been courting Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) as a potential independent contender, and he hasn’t explicitly ruled out the option.

“No Labels is my favorite,” Carville told The Hill. “They won’t tell you where their money comes from; they say they’re funded by undisclosed corporate dark money. And they won’t take a position on anything.

“But yet they’re offering the American people something new and fresh,” Carville added. “That’s a good line of f—ing bulls—- there.”

Democratic Party’s future: “You find me somebody more talented than a [Pennsylvania Gov.] Josh Shapiro or [Georgia Sen. Raphael] Warnock or [Maryland Gov.] Wes Moore or [Kentucky Gov.] Andy Beshear or [Michigan Gov.] Gretchen Whitmer, [former New Orleans Mayor and Biden infrastructure czar] Mitch Landrieu, [North Carolina Gov.] Roy Cooper, I ain’t seen them,” Carville said. “These are some staggeringly talented politicians. If they ever got out in the open and people saw them, holy moly.”

“The greatest myth in American politics is — I hear this all the time — well James, we don’t have any bench. Are you sh—ing me? We got a bench that’s 100. The whole sideline is our bench,” he added.

Trump’s future: “First of all, I don’t know how much longer he can live at this rate and this kind of stress,” he said.

More from the interview here.

More people in the United States died by suicide in 2022 than ever recorded, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Suicides were up 2.6 percent from 2021 — 49,449 people last year compared to 48,183 in 2021.

But there was a notable shift in trends that have become expected. Fewer young people died by suicide, while there was an increase among older demographics.

The Hill’s Sarah Fortinsky has the breakdown of the trends and demographics here.

This weekend is the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower.

“People in the U.S. can reasonably expect to see around 40 Perseids in the hour just before dawn on the peak nights. That’s about one every couple of minutes, which is not bad,” Bill Cooke, who leads NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, told the agency’s media blog. “However, we are assuming you are out in the country, well away from cities and suburbs.”

Here is NASA’s guide for how, where and when you can expect to see a shooting star.

For the Bravo fans out there: Naturally, we’ve seen a few links between the Real Housewives of New York City and former President Trump’s orbit over time. But a shocking major plot point and iconic moment from 2016 has been revealed to also oddly link back to one of Trump’s now ex-cronies. Netflix’s Jarett Wieselman’s tweet sums up the reveal with the appropriate shock and tone all of us can feel.

The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in D.C. but heading to Delaware later, and Vice President Harris is in Chicago.

• 10 a.m.: President Biden received the Presidential Daily Briefing.

• 10 a.m.: Hearing in Trump election interference case began.

• 2 p.m.: Vice President Harris will speak at a Gun Safety University event in Chicago, addressing gun violence survivors, volunteers and student leaders.

• 2 p.m.: House Natural Resources Committee is having a field hearing at the Curry Village in Yosemite National Park in California to discuss wildfires and forest management.

• 4 p.m.: Harris returns to D.C.

• 6:10 p.m.: Biden is scheduled to depart the White House to head to Rehoboth Beach for the weekend.

All times Eastern.

• 2 p.m.: Vice President Harris will speak at Gun Safety University event in Chicago, addressing thousands of gun violence survivors, volunteers and student leaders. (Watch here)

• 2 p.m.: House Natural Resources Committee is having a field hearing at the Curry Village in Yosemite National Park in California to discuss wildfires and forest management. (Note: Because of the remote location, the committee expects to upload the hearing to YouTube after it ends. Watch it here)

Today is National Presidential Joke Day! Now, blame it on recent presidential history … but I think this could probably just be called “Dad Joke Day” because – let’s be honest – they’ve all been a bit corny or awkward with their jesting.

History lesson: Today is the 39th anniversary of a hilarious joke President Reagan made in 1984. Reagan, the former actor, was known for his joking nature. While he thought he was just playing around during a sound check for a Saturday address, Reagan inadvertently through a broadcast mishap announced to the masses: “My fellow Americans, I’m pleased to tell you today that I’ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.” (You can listen to it here)

Cue up the Cold War laughter. And nearly four decades later, the same joke would be similarly terrifying.

And because you made it this far, check out this hilarious video of some harbor seals that really want that salmon.

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