SPEAKER of the House Mike Johnson (Wikipedia).

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson called the American court system “corrupt” at a press conference Tuesday across the street from the New York City courthouse where former president Donald Trump is on trial for allegedly falsifying financial documents.

“This is not about justice,” he said. “It’s about politics.”

Johnson was involved in efforts to discredit results of the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden, and has called Trump’s trial “a borderline criminal conspiracy.”

Speaker Johnson – first in line for the presidency for succession after Vice President Kamala Harris – was able to keep his position after most Democrats joined Republicans in voting to table a motion by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to oust him. 

Hunter Biden trial delay rejected

A requested delay in the trial of Hunter Biden – son of President Joe Biden – on federal gun charges was rejected by a judge on Tuesday.

HUNTER BIDEN (WIkipedia).

Judge Maryellen Noreika would not allow the motion by Biden’s attorney to postpone the trial until September on the grounds that more time was needed to examine evidence and arrange for witnesses.

Federal prosecutors are accusing Biden of lying about his drug use while buying a gun in 2018. It’s illegal for a felon to possess a firearm.

Biden’s attorney claimed the prosecutors were politically motivated by a desire to embarrass President Biden.

Biden hits Chinese vehicles with tariffs

Big increases in tariffs on Chinese imports – especially automobiles – were announced Tuesday by President Joe Biden. Also being targeted are Chinese cells, semiconductors and advanced batteries. Among the targets of the tariffs is the new BYD Seagull, a $12,000 electric car subsidized by the Chinese government that observers claim would create havoc in the U.S automotive industry.

Lower labor costs and less expensive batteries give Chinese products an edge over American cars when competing on cost.

Prices rise; Fed rate cut hopes decline

Wholesale prices in the U.S. rose by a half-percent in April, as measured by the Labor Department’s Producer Price Index. The increase was 2.2 percent more than the previous month and is the biggest one-month increase in 2024.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday “that it may take longer than expected” to slow inflation enough to cut interest rates.

He urged consumers and producers to “be patient and let restrictive policy do its work.”

Weather: Slowly warming

Conditions in our West Orange County area will warm slowly toward the weekend. Wednesday-through Thursday will see morning clouds followed by afternoon sun with daytime highs of 68 to 69 with overnight lows of 58. Partly cloudy skies will move in on Saturday with a high of 70 (57).