On day 2 of Trump's hush money trial, jury selection continued, with the judge calling out Trump for potentially intimidating a juror. By the end of the day, 7 jurors had been seated.
Census data shows the continuing migration out of rural areas, especially in the Midwest, with population concentration increasing in coastal and southern suburban areas.
Senator Tom Cotton encouraged vigilantism against Palestinian protesters blocking traffic, doubling down on his remarks despite criticism.
Questions were raised about the sufficiency of the $175 million bond provided by Knight Specialty Insurance Company in Trump's civil fraud case, with concerns over collateral, reinsurance arrangements, and the company's eligibility to operate in New York.
The IMF forecasts the U.S. economy to grow at 2.7% in 2024, double the rate of other G7 peers, driven by strong consumer spending and a tight labor market.
Rep. Thomas Massie joined Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's effort to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, amid disputes over providing aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
GOP congressional candidate Yvette Herrell expressed regret that her state couldn't "eliminate all abortion" in 2020, drawing attention to her past anti-abortion stances.
Michigan's Attorney General filed 13 financial charges against former House Speaker Lee Chatfield, separate from the sexual assault allegations against him.
House Republicans sent articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate, though it is unlikely to proceed further.
Smartmatic and One America News Network (OANN) settled a lawsuit over OANN's 2020 election coverage, separate from the ongoing Dominion case.
NPR suspended senior editor Uri Berliner for 5 days without pay after he shared concerns about bias at the network.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that progress in reducing inflation has stalled, suggesting interest rates may need to remain high for longer.
The U.S. Navy Secretary reported over 130 attacks on military and merchant ships in the Middle East in the past 6 months, requiring nearly $1 billion in munitions replenishment.
The Department of Justice plans to sue Ticketmaster's parent company, Live Nation, for antitrust violations related to its dominance in ticketing and venue operations.
The U.S. will impose new sanctions targeting Iran's missile and drone programs, as well as entities supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran's Defense Ministry.
A heartbreaking story revealed that Palestinian paramedics were killed while trying to save a 6-year-old girl in Gaza, despite being given safe passage by Israel.
The Supreme Court gave a skeptical eye to a key statute used to prosecute January 6 rioters, considering whether it can be applied to efforts to obstruct the electoral vote certification.
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1.) [UPDATE] Trump hush money trial Day 2:
[TS] My Summary:
Not much, really. Still picking out the jury. Ended the day with 7 jurors. Will pick back up Thursday.
Notable highlights:
Judge Merchan calls out Trump’s conduct, telling Todd Blanche “while the juror was about 12 feet from client, your client was audibly saying something in her direction….I will not have any juror intimidated in this courtroom.”
Merchan again says to this one additional juror now that he's hopeful that by Monday morning, "We'll be ready to go." He gives the boilerplate instructions and says, "I'll see you Monday, thank you."
2.) [TS] Some more interesting US population data:
Census data showing the decade when the population peaked for each county in the US. You can really see the continuing migration out of rural areas, especially the plains and Midwest, and continuing concentration on the coasts and southern suburbs:
3.) Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) encourages voilent vigilantism on Palestine protestors:
Original:
Edited:
[CONTEXT] In 2020 Tom Cotton wrote an op-ed in the NYT calling for invocation of the Insurrection Act: Send troops into American cities to subdue "anarchy" and "protect law-abiding citizens from disorder.”
Cotton now: “Take matters into your own hands.”
[TS] This is both wrong and dangerous. You can not have citizens metering out justice. This is quite literally how you get the “anarchy” Cotton fears.
[UPDATE] NBC: Sen. Tom Cotton doubles down on comments urging people to 'forcibly remove' protesters blocking traffic.
When asked whether he was calling for violence against protesters, Cotton said he wasn't.
"I’m saying that if people are trying to get to work or pick up their kids from school or take a sick kid to the doctor, and you have pro-Hamas vigilantes blocking the streets, they should get out and move those people off the streets," Cotton said. “The police will get there eventually. But a lot of damage will be done in the meantime."
4.) [UPDATE] Knight Specialty Insurance Co. has now filed a host of documents to persuade Judge Arthur Engoron of the sufficiency of its $175 million bond in the New York Attorney General’s civil fraud case
Right before the midnight deadline, Don Hankey’s Knight Specialty Insurance Company filed court papers to justify their $175 million bond in Trump’s civil fraud case.
[TS] Strange filing. My summary:
The concerns revolve around Knight Specialty Insurance Company (KSIC) providing a $175 million bond to cover potential damages in Trump's criminal case, despite KSIC itself only having $138 million in cash. The plan relies on accessing a Trump Schwab account worth around $175 million as collateral.
However, there are doubts about whether the guarantor (Trump's account) has sufficient funds to fully back the bond. Additionally, while KSIC's parent company KIC has over $1 billion in equity, it is not the direct guarantor, raising questions about the validity of using "reinsurance" from the parent.
There are also concerns about KSIC's eligibility to provide the bond in New York, as they may not have the required certification or qualifications under state insurance laws. The justification provided about "excess lines insurance" transacted from outside the state seems questionable.
Those docs not only say Trump’s collateral is a Schwab securities account held by the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust with $175.3 million in value as of April 5, 2014, even though the filing was made today.
Knight Specialty Insurance Co. also signed an agreement with Trump’s trust and Schwab that allows Knight to control the account within two business days of Schwab’s receiving notice that Knight intends to exert that control
The filings include a Schwab account statement—but all the statement says it that the account includes “cash and cash equivalents” of $175.3 million.
https://t.co/BXg0EqzbFA
Elsewhere, however, Knight states clearly that the account only contains cash:
So CPLR 2502 has specific statutory language about the issuers being qualified to execute the surety bond *in NY state.* The excess lines provision Knight relies on expressly deals with insurers doing business *outside* the state. And Knight’s argument fails to reconcile the two.
The company backing trump's $175M says it can do so because it's an excess line insurer in NY, registered with ELANY. But I went to the ELANY website and Knight Specialty Insurance is NOT ON THE LIST: https://t.co/YZkmOzsQpJ
In fact, Hankey's company isn't even on the list of insurers no longer listed in New York: https://t.co/lqSNKYxJq5
5.) FT: US (2.7%) to grow at double the rate of G7 peers this year, says IMF
Fund also upgrades inflation forecasts as strong demand and tight labour market delay possible Fed rate cuts
The IMF said the next best performer in the G7 this year would be Canada, with growth of 1.2 per cent. It added that Germany’s expansion would be the weakest among the G7 at 0.2 per cent. Japan is forecast to experience growth of 0.9 per cent, while the UK is set to expand by just 0.5 per cent after flatlining in 2023.
[TS] Seems like a string of good news for the US. Just this week in WSJ:
[TS] If we look at JP Morgan’s consumer spending:
Today’s retail sales beat, “alongside upward revisions to previous months, suggests a strong 3.3% rise in 1Q real consumer spending and some upside risk to our 2.25% GDP forecast, as well as building momentum going into 2Q.”
[TS] This aligns with dichotomy of the public who say:
“My personal & State’s finances are good” but
“The US economy is terrible”
If you look at what Americans are doing rather than at what they're saying, it's obvious most of them think the economy, and their personal finances, are in solid shape.
The only other explanation: Americans are so unhappy with the economy that they're spending wildly to make themselves feel better.
6.) Rep Thomas Massie (R-KY) joins MTG’s Motion to Vacate Speaker Mike Johnson.
MASSIE: “I just told Mike Johnson in conference that I’m cosponsoring the Motion to Vacate that was introduced by MTG. He should pre-announce his resignation (as Boehner did), so we can pick a new Speaker without ever being without a GOP Speaker.”
JOHNSON: “I’m not resigning.”
[TS] This is in response to Speaker Johnson motioning that he might allow a vote on Ukraine/Israel/Taiwan aid.
Rep. Massie says he won’t trigger the motion to vacate but he’ll vote for it when it comes up. He’s “pretty certain” more Rs will vote to oust Johnson than McCarthy. “This will get called and he will lose the vote.”
“There’s no sustainable solution where Democrats save him.”
[UPDATE] Per WaPo / M. Sotomayor: House Democrats are open to helping Speaker Johnson overcome a blocked procedural hurdle, known as a rule, to allow for floor debate if the three foreign aid provisions mirror the pieces of the Senate bill.
A draft of Johnson’s plan mirrors the Senate bill, according to five sources familiar with the numbers. It may not include humanitarian assistance mainly directed toward Gaza, which could complicate its passage if Johnson ultimately relies on Democrats
Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ), who voted to oust then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, told me that he is “not really looking at” removing Johnson now amid MTG’s threat. “I think right now, I think the timing would be pretty bad to have a change in command. So I’m not really looking at that right now.”
[TS] Kind of shocked Crane wouldn’t be on board.
[CONTEXT] This means — after Gallagher (R-WI) resigns — Johnson would almost certainly need Democrats to save his job if the motion to oust him comes up for a vote.
Does the speaker’s strategy make sense to you? GOP Rep. Garret Graves: “In a word, no. The reality is, is you have to keep in mind President Biden asked for Ukraine, President Biden asked for Israel, President Biden asked for aid for Taiwan and President Biden supports the changes to TikTok. What are Republicans getting out of this?”
[RELATED] Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) says he’s a hard no on Ukraine aid because it’s unnecessary. “When Donald Trump wins, Putin’s leavin. Putin’s leavin’ Ukraine.”
One House Republican made the point to me that if this GOP plan doesn’t pass, the floodgates will open and they’ll just sign the senate bill discharge petition.
[TS] Can’t believe it hasn’t happened sooner. There's a large majority for the aid bills. We’ll see whether Johnson caves or we actually see members sign the discharge petition.
Not recent news, but it’s worth brining up about Mike Johnson now (re-Israel aid). Last Sat (Apr 13th) after Iran’s attack on Israel he tweeted:
[TS] This tweet is an extraordinary exhibition of dishonesty: It is Mike Johnson who has appeased Russia and Iran for many months, by refusing to allow the House to vote on a bill that could provide weapons to defend against both of them.
“I wish we could have eliminated all abortion in the state,” Herrell said during a virtual candidate forum hosted by the Republican Party of Valencia County in New Mexico.
“I wish we could have gotten even that to go through. But we couldn’t.”
[FULL CONTEXT]
8.) WWMT: Michigan AG files 13 charges against Ex-House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R).
"We've learned that the charges are financial in nature," Chatfield's attorney, Mary Chartier, told The Associated Press. "We're prepared to fight them each and every step of the way."
Chatfield has been under investigation since his sister-in-law said he sexually assaulted her. He has denied the allegations and said they had a consensual affair.
"We've learned there is no CSC charge or something like that," Chartier told AP, referring to criminal sexual conduct.
9.) [UPDATE] House Republicans send Mayorkas (Sec. of Homeland Security) impeachment articles to the Senate.
[TS] I would wager this goes no where in the Senate. They likely will not even have a trial.
10.) WaPo / J. Barr: Smartmatic and One America News Network (OANN) settle lawsuit over 2020 coverage.
Smartmatic sued in November 2021 over claims made during the network's coverage of the 2020 election
[NOTE] This does not affect the Dominion case.
11.) [UPDATE] Uri Berliner (NPR Senior Editor) has been suspended from the public radio network he's served for 25 years after sharing concerns about bias in The Free Press.
[TS] Whether his claims were valid or not, this seems like a no duh to me. Is NPR really going to keep publishing this guy who went to another site and publicly disparaged management? C’mon.
[UPDATE] Per NPR this is only “a five-day suspension without pay, which began last Friday”
12.) AXIOS / C. Brown: Fed Chair J. Powel: Interest rates may stay high as inflation progress stalls.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged that progress in reducing inflation has stalled since the start of 2024. That has come hand in hand with stronger economic growth, enabling the central bank to hold interest rates at their current level for longer than previously expected, Powell said.
Per Ernie Tedeschi: Most trend inflation metrics are still above target (ie 2%), full stop.
Inflation Is Not "Reaccelerating", But It Isn't Obviously Heading Back to 2%, either
13.) N. Bertrand (CNN): US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro tells lawmakers that the Navy has countered “over 130 direct attacks” on US military and merchant ships in the Middle East in the last 6 months.
Also says the Navy has spent nearly $1 billion worth of munitions that need to be replenished via the national security supplemental.
14.) WSJ: DOJ to sue Ticketmaster parent Live Nation for antitrust violations
Agency has probed concert giant’s heft and negotiating power in ticketing, venues
15.) The U.S. will impose new sanctions targeting Iran.
White House National Security adviser Jake Sullivan:
In the coming days, the U.S. will impose new sanctions targeting Iran, including its missile and drone program as well as new sanctions against entities supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s Defense Ministry. We anticipate that our allies and partners will soon be following with their own sanctions.
We continue to work through the Department of Defense and U.S. Central Command to further strengthen and expand the successful integration of air and missile defense and early warning systems across the Middle East to further erode the effectiveness of Iran’s missile and UAV capabilities.
These new sanctions and other measures will continue a steady drumbeat of pressure to contain and degrade Iran’s military capacity and effectiveness and confront the full range of its problematic behaviors.
16.) WaPo: Palestinian paramedics said Israel gave them safe passage to save a 6-year-old girl in Gaza. They were all killed.
For three-and-a-half long hours on Jan. 29, the cellphone in 6-year old Hind Rajab’s hands was the closest thing she had to a lifeline. Alone in the back seat of a car outside a Gaza City gas station, she was drifting in and out of consciousness, surrounded by bodies, as she told emergency dispatchers that Israeli tanks were rumbling closer.
From the operations room of the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), roughly 50 miles away in the city of Ramallah, the team on duty had done their best to save the child. Paramedics were on their way, the dispatchers kept telling her: Hold on.
The paramedics were driving to their deaths
[TS] Heartbreaking story. Makes it even more frustrating knowing that Hamas rejected every single clause of the offer in the latest hostage deal proposal.
17.) NPR: Supreme Court gives skeptical eye to key statute used to prosecute Jan. 6 rioters
The Supreme Court is considering whether a charge of seeking to obstruct an official proceeding, which Trump also faces, can be applied to the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
The law in question criminalizes efforts to obstruct, influence or impede any official proceeding. Conviction can result in a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
[TS] General consensus for those who listened to the oral arguments seems to be that their ruling won’t nullify two of the four counts against Trump.
[SEMI-RELATED] New Trump brief asking SCOTUS to grant him immunity from Jan 6th prosecution makes claim that Ford's pardon of Nixon supports Trump's argument that ex-presidents should be immune for any office-related acts unless impeached & convicted.
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