Garland Blames Trump for Stalled Hunter Biden Probe

• On Wednesday, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) pressed Attorney General Merrick Garland about why the Justice Department investigation, run by U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss, allowed the statute of limitations to expire for prosecuting the president’s son on tax charges that would have stretched back to his time on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, while current President Joe Biden was vice president.
• A plea agreement between the Justice Department and Hunter Biden fell apart in July. Last week, a grand jury indicted the younger Biden on three drug-related gun charges.
• The president and his son are not above the law. Americans deserve to know the truth about the Biden family’s crimes and corruption.

Schedule an Interview: Cully Stimson and Hans von Spakovsky

Biden’s Latest Attack on American Energy Is Costing Your Family

• The average American family is spending about $2,400 more on energy today than when Biden took office. That means families’ energy bills have increased more than a third in less than three years.
• On his first day in office, Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline and issued what was supposed to be a temporary moratorium on all oil and natural gas activities in ANWR. Now, Biden has canceled all leases and permits there, closing off one of the nation’s most energy-rich areas.
• This is the consequence of Biden’s war on reliable, American energy, which he repeatedly promised as a presidential candidate that he would wage if elected.

Schedule an Interview: EJ Antoni

China’s Defense Budget Is Much Bigger Than It Looks

• U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) recently revealed that U.S. government estimates put the Chinese annual defense budget at around $700 billion. That is far higher than previous estimates and almost on par with the United States’ 2023 defense budget of just over $800 billion.
• China has been steadily decreasing the share of its military budget spent on personnel, while increasing the amount spent on equipment, such as missiles, aircraft, and warships.
• Beijing’s shift from a military that overspends on personnel to a military focused on modern weapons systems will require a sea change in Washington’s strategic thinking.
• The first and most important thing U.S. policymakers can do is to make Sullivan’s leaked estimate public. It is difficult to make the case for more defense spending or a strategic shift to the Indo-Pacific if the public data says that China is only spending a fraction of what the U.S. does.
• On the international stage, the United States should work with other nations concerned about the Chinese military buildup to push for greater transparency in military expenditures.

Schedule an Interview: Wilson Beaver