©  AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File

Former President Trump‘s team is applauding a decision by the judge overseeing the Mar-a-Lago documents case to set the trial date for next May.

Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by Trump in 2020, scheduled the trial to begin May 20, 2024, deep into the GOP presidential nominating calendar.

A spokesperson for Trump on Friday called the date “a major setback to the DOJ’s crusade to deny President Trump a fair legal process” and said the “extensive schedule allows President Trump and his legal team to continue fighting this empty hoax.”

Special Counsel Jack Smith had pushed for a trial to start as soon as later this year, while Trump’s team pushed for an extended delay into next year.

From The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch: “Although Cannon rejected Trump’s legal team’s request to indefinitely delay the matter, she largely agreed with his arguments that the complexities of the case required setting a trial well after prosecutors’ requested trial date of December of this year.”

Trump was charged with 37 counts over his handling of classified documents found at his Palm Beach, Fla., property, including charges of violating the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Beitsch noted Trump’s team is expected to file motions that could push the date closer to the presidential election — “a factor that could prompt additional requests to delay the trial.” Read more here

Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Amee LaTour, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.

• The Hill’s Judy Kurtz marks the Friday release of “Oppenheimer” with a rundown of 5 things to know about the real-life physicist dubbed the “father of the atomic bomb.”
  
  

• The Biden administration, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and a group of Republican House members are asking the Supreme Court to block a lower court order halting construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
  
  

• The Hill’s Sarah Fortinsky unpacks the controversy surrounding a Jason Aldean song, which prompted Country Music Television to pull the video and several Republicans to rush to Aldean’s defense.

©  AFP via Getty Images/Ben Stansall

The Biden administration on Friday announced commitments from seven companies — Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI — for “responsible innovation” in the artificial intelligence (AI) field.

The three fundamental principles of the commitments, President Biden said in remarks, are “safety, security and trust.” Commitments adhering to those principles include assessing risks, safeguarding against cyber threats, labeling content altered or generated by AI and rooting out bias.

Biden also emphasized that AI could help address major societal challenges, including cancer and climate change.

In addition to further executive action, Biden said his administration would “work with both parties to develop appropriate legislation and regulation.”

The president noted that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and others are making this “a top bipartisan priority.” 

There’s been a flurry of recent activity from Congress and the White House around AI, including a House proposal to form a bipartisan commission to recommend regulations, Schumer unveiling his SAFE Innovation Framework for AI and Biden meeting with tech leaders in California.

A lawyer for Hunter Biden, the president’s son, is requesting the Office of Congressional Ethics review Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene‘s (R-Ga.) conduct during the IRS whistleblowers hearing this week.

During the hearing, Greene held up graphic sexual images purportedly from the hard drive of an abandoned laptop that used to belong to the president’s son. Parts of the images were blocked with black boxes.

Attorney Abbe David Lowell wrote, “Now more than ever, the House has a duty to make loud and clear that it does not endorse, condone, or agree with her outrageous, undignified conduct and brazen violations of the standards of official conduct that do not reflect creditably on the House of Representatives.”

©  AP Photo/John Bazemore, Pool, File

Former President Carter disclosed he was entering hospice care in February. Anecdotes shared by family since have challenged common misconceptions and “brought attention to the purpose of hospice care, which is to ensure a higher quality of life after a patient has decided to no longer pursue medical treatment,” The Hill’s Joseph Choi wrote. Read the full report here.

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the process to get an abortion amendment on the ballot can go forward, deciding that Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) did not have authority to question the state auditor’s cost estimates for the measure. 

The amendment, which would enshrine the right to make decisions about abortion and other pregnancy-related issues in the state constitution, next goes to the secretary of state for certification of the cost estimate and proposal summary. Then, supporters can start the signature-gathering process. The Hill’s Nathaniel Weixel has more here.

Kate Bedingfield, a former top Biden White House communications official, has joined CNN as a political commentator, the network announced Friday.

Meanwhile, senior political analyst Kirsten Powers announced Thursday on Instagram that “CNN and I have parted ways” after seven years.

“‘Girls Gays Theys’ shirts aren’t obscene: Don’t let conservatives rewrite history” — Kate Ruane, Sy Symms director of U.S. Free Expression programs at PEN America. (Read here)

“Small businesses in blue states are feeling the regulatory heat this summer” — Gene Marks, founder of The Marks Group, a small-business consulting firm. (Read here)

33 days until the first GOP presidential debate.

473 days until the presidential election.

July 23-29, 2023: President Biden proclaimed this Made in America Week, saying, “I call upon all Americans to observe this week by celebrating Made in America and supporting American workers and domestic businesses that are the backbone of building a future here in America.”

There a story you think should be getting more attention? Something people should be talking about? Drop me a line: ALaTour@digital-release.thehill.com

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