Month: April 2023

Via The Cradle,

Israeli warplanes launched yet another attack on Syria early on Sunday, striking a number of targets in the central Syrian city of Homs from Lebanese airspace, Syrian state-news outlet SANA reported.

The strikes resulted in the wounding of five Syrian Arab Army (SAA) soldiers and the infliction of some material damages. “At around 00:35 a.m. on Sunday, the Israeli enemy carried out an aerial act of aggression from the direction of northeastern Beirut, targeting some sites in the city of Homs and its countryside… Our air defenses intercepted the missiles and shot some of them down, and the aggression resulted in the injury of five army personnel and some material damages,” a Syrian military source was quoted as saying by SANA.

According to Persian media, an Iranian advisor who had been injured during Friday’s Israeli attack on Damascus died after succumbing to his injuries.

“Meqdad Mehghani was wounded during the Zionist attack on Friday dawn and was martyred,” Iran’s Mehr news agency reported on Sunday.

This is Israel’s sixth attack on Syria since the devastating February 6 earthquake struck the country, and the ninth Israeli attack on Syria since the beginning of the new year. This is also the third Israeli attack on Syria in just four days.

In the early hours of March 30, Syrian air defense systems were activated to counter missile attacks on Damascus. The following day, early on Friday March 31, Israel struck the Syrian capital once again, killing Iranian military advisor and officer Milad Heydari. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has vowed a retaliation.

Israel’s airstrikes on Syria are illegal under international law, but happen very frequently under the pretext of targeting Iranian and Hezbollah targets. More often than not, however, the strikes target the SAA.

Israel bombed Syria again. This time in Homs. The UN is in hibernation. pic.twitter.com/wiwiB9bSiA

— Kevork Almassian🇸🇾🇦🇲 (@KevorkAlmassian) April 1, 2023

In a statement condemning Friday’s “barbaric” attack on Damascus, the Syrian Defense Ministry claimed that Israel’s constant airstrikes against Syria are carried out in coordination with extremist militants. Over the years, Israel has played a deep role in the Syrian conflict, and has provided direct support to extremist groups fighting against Syria.

By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

Fortune Favored the Bold

With stocks up over 3% last week, fortune clearly favored the bold. The commodity complex did well across the board, with WTI leading the way, up almost 10%! I could have titled this report, Being Cautious Didn’t Pay the Bills Last Week, but that doesn’t do justice to strength that we saw at the end of last week and for the entire quarter for some of the riskier segments of capital markets. ARKK is up 29% on the year and Matt Damon’s Bitcoin is up over 70% since the start of the year and 40% since early March when banking fears first hit markets. By no means have we been cautious this entire quarter, but we did enter last week advising caution and have to decide whether that is where we still want to hang our hat.

While I truly hope that I don’t have to endure a new series of Matt Damon and “Fortune Favors the Bold” commercials, I have to give a hat-tip to those who said to buy bitcoin because banks weren’t safe. I never believed that and still don’t (as a depositor), but it has played well in social media and doesn’t seem as far-fetched today as it did in February.

The MOVE Index (a measure of treasury market implied volatility) plummeted from a high of almost 200 on March 15th to 135 (128 is the 1 year average) as a semblance of normalcy returned to the treasury market. You could get up and grab a cup of coffee and not have the 2-year move 20 bps while you were briefly off the desk,

The strength in equities was likely given a boost as we had month-end and quarter-end buying, coinciding nicely with weekly and a slew of daily option expirations.

Banks

While it is time to Move Beyond Banks (where we highlight shipments, inventory and delinquencies as well as the upcoming earnings seasons) we need to start with banks.

Even after a 3% positive week for stocks none of the issues in I Know What You Did Last Winter have been resolved.

The one issue that I am watching most carefully how companies, banks and individuals respond to the divergence in short-term rates (anything from SOFR at 4.82% to T-Bills around 4.5% to bank deposits still averaging below 1%, to Bitcoin and stable coins at 0%).

This is not an “’urgent” issue, but neither is it glacier-like in its pace, which may explain why KRE (SPDR Regional Banking ETF) barely rallied in an otherwise risk-on week. If having to compete on deposit rates becomes an issue (and it might not), it would be a drag on banks, big, small and medium.

It is impressive that the broad market shrugged off ongoing risk concerns at middle size banks (based on KRE movement), but the risks mentioned last week, affecting much more than just small and midsize banks remain in the background and I suspect have a reasonable chance of being brought to the foreground again.

Inflation

I am not worried about a return to inflation fears. The PCE deflator came in below expectations (0.3%) and last month was revised down (0.5% instead of 0.6%). Yes, we went from Chair Powell discussing disinflation risks at eh first FOMC meeting of the year, to more concerns, but I remain in the camp that most of the inflationary pressures have subsided. That the Fed has already gone too far. Inflation data should help the bond market.

Jobs

The most consistent economic data of any type has been the jobs data. While other data has hinted at slowdowns, but then at rebounds, etc., the jobs data has been quite steady.

Lost in the shuffle in March, largely because of the focus on Silicon Valley Bank (which kicked off the entire banking fears), we seem to have forgotten that wage pressures looked like they were declining in the February data.

Last month, rather than our instant reaction to NFP we had to publish NFP, Debt Ceiling & Bank FUD because even on the day they were published, the jobs data was taking a back seat.

Total jobs (I’m looking for disappointment) and wage pressures (I expect continued improvement) will move markets and the two pieces of data combined will determine market direction and there is a wide range of possible outcomes (I’m in the camp that jobs will be small enough that it will ignite recession fears, but could easily see a “goldilocks” type of print), which is a range so wide, not to be of much use to anyone. Fortunately, we will have more clarity well before Friday as JOLTs and ADP come out.

The Fed

The Fed is almost done hiking (they shouldn’t have hiked last month given my view on inflation (already coming down) and concerns about lag effects of previous hike s(they clearly pushed some things/entities to the breaking point)).

I expect the Fed will have to continue to message that they will not cut rates anytime soon (I would have agreed with that message earlier in the year, but as they continue to hike, they seem to be creating conditions that could cause them to reverse course against their messaging).

Stocks as a “Long Duration” Asset Redux?

I can see where risky assets are getting a bid. The investment thesis that stocks are a long duration asset and will do incredibly well as the Fed finishes their hiking cycle is simple, has recent history on its side, which makes it compelling. Who doesn’t want to see some of these companies return to their former glory?

I just don’t think conditions are right for that sort of spike:

• Rates at 4% is far different than rates at 0%.

• Gobs and gobs of free money are not getting paid to citizens or companies unlike during COVID.

• While the Fed balance sheet grew again (as they had to lend money to banks), the large scale asset purchases, constantly sucking investible assets out of the market, has been replaced by a plan to slowly reduce the balance sheet.

• Growth had taken on a life of its own. The “bigger and better” the growth story, the better. Markets might be a little more jaded this time around.

Bottom Line

Small positive bias for bonds. The data should continue to support the bond market, though jobs remain a wildcard on that front.

Neutral to slightly bearish credit spreads. Credit spreads do tend to be tied to bank cost of funds and at the moment, I see that trending higher. Similarly, we could see some heavy issuance as companies ramp up bond sales while rates are low, spreads are decent and the Debt Ceiling and summer are fast approaching.

From slightly cautious to medium bear on equities. I could either decide I was wrong to be somewhat cautious on equities last week and get on the “breaking to new levels” bandwagon. That view has much to support it. Or, I can fade the move as discussed Thursday on Bloomberg TV, and I want to be more conservative (growing a short position) in equities here as the short squeeze (VIX spiking was an indication that real hedges had got put on, rather than just investors popping in and out of 0DTE options (which don’t count in VIX calculations) and quarter-end buying stretched what good news there was for stocks.

So what wild and crazy thing that no one was expecting will happen in Q2 2023? If you told me I would use Banks and Crisis in a sentence in Q1 on January 1st, I probably would have laughed, and yet, that’s where we got to.

Good luck and if you missed last week’s Around the World, I highly recommend catching up on it, as the geopolitical issues and risks are not going away.

Authored by Tom Luongo via Gold, Goats, ‘n Guns blog,

So, the Democrats and their Davos benefactors have finally done it. They have finally found something they can indict President Donald Trump on. Apparently 34 somethings, which makes for great headlines.

The usual suspects have been thrown their chum — both TDS patients and MAGAtards. The social media war is now in full swing. And, frankly, it couldn’t be more tiresome.

A few get why this is so inane but most are focused (or being focused) on the wrong thing, as always.

Jonathan Turley has a good rundown of the questionable legality of this case. But, again, while he’s not wrong to focus on that and the shady politics, he also misses the larger implications of this indictment.

This is a case so legally tenuous that even the Federal Government, famous for being able to convict a ham sandwich, wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot pole.

Because indicting Trump for any of these petty things is nothing less than the end of politics and a declaration of civil war.

Davos through the Democrats have been running a culture war for decades to stamp out the past. It is quite Leninist. Turley and others have focused on it’s ‘just not done’ to indict a President, especially something as irrelevant as paying hush money to Stormy Daniels.

But, ‘just not done’ is exactly the thing being indicted here, not Trump. Trump is just the fulcrum on which all of this rests.

This is just the politics of envy taken to its ultimate conclusion. Racism, sexism, ageism, transphobia, LGBTQT+BBQ Sauce rights are all the same political position. They are all about tearing down the old institutional order.

It’s been going on for generations, invading male spaces like Augusta National, forcing female reporters in locker rooms, endlessly arguing the wage gap between men and women.

Of course, these same people can no longer even define the women whose rights they fight for.

Is the latest term ‘people who menstruate,’ or is that just so last week?

I thought I was supposed to still wear my mask in my electric car to fight for the rights of Ukrainian men to get pregnant while fighting for freedumb from Putler!

So forgive me if I’m a little confused.

This is a perspective that reduces society to whatever we did before was wrong. Progress in the minds of religious puritan Progressives is a never-ending battle against sin. Yesterday is forever evil while Tomorrow holds the promise of heaven on earth.

In the South we just call these people Yankees and go back to eating our barbeque and playing with our kids.

That sin is stratification as a result of rewarding merit. But what is merit to people who view all profit as exploitation?

You can answer that however you wish, but by their actions it’s clear they believe merit is stealing.

This is why “you didn’t build that,” you “basket of deplorables.’ Anything you have earned can and should be taken from you for wrongthink.

And that’s what’s at the heart of this Trump indictment. Trump is the distillation of everything they need to tear down to validate their envy. He’s white, male, politically connected, a little corrupt, very cheesy and the antithesis of what middle-class bicoastal midwits believe they should be.

Successful.

They hate Trump not because he’s successful but because our society allowed for him to become successful.

To the progressive midwit, any society that allows a man like Donald Trump to rise like he did needs to be destroyed.

Is it really any different than the teenager who rebels to become an atheist because s/h/ze finally asked how can a god allow such evil in the world to exist if he has the power to stop it?

Did I mention these people have the epistemology of weevils?

Again, in the South we say, “Some people just need killin’” Well, to the puritan mind, “Some societies just need killin’.”

That’s why Trump’s indictment signals the end of politics as we believed it operated. The key word there was ‘believed.’ We are dealing with people who see those that disagree with them as irredeemable.

You voted for Trump? Twice? Burn in hell you fascist!

It’s the only time most of these people want guns to exist.

Civilization rests on the fantasy that there is a shared acceptance of the rules on which it operates. Americans are both immensely cynical and naïve about politics in this sense. We all know politicians are lying when their lips are moving but we also believe in the myth that the American system of justice will get the right answer often enough to keep the lights on.

Today that’s a very big assumption.

The End of Clausewitz

Carl von Clausewitz is very famous for saying that war is politics by other means. He’s so famous for it that he’s become a part of speech, Clausewitzian. It’s a short-hand for this idea.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the greatest writers are ones who achieve this, dare I say it, merit badge. So, today this indictment of Trump is at once, Phildickian, Kafkaesque, Clausewitzian and Hitlerian.

Phildickian because it feels like we live in some alternate America.

Kafkaesque because Trump is being indicted for a crime we can barely define.

Hitlerian because its clearly tyrannical to shut down political opponents

And Clausewitzian because the indictment isn’t about politics but a much broader war.

Davos is at war with humanity through undermining the institutions of civilization itself. They will not be stopped in their quest to secure global control over humanity. They have stoked an animus against Trump in the minds of people like Nancy Pelosi that can only end in fire and violence.

They know that the 2024 election is where all their dreams come together. They need another Davosian quisling in the White House to counter what’s happening with the Federal Reserve’s hawkish policy.

Davos has control over the political and monetary policies of Europe. It lost political control over the UK and got it back and will reverse Brexit. That’s brought the Bank of England back in line. However, it is very clear at this point they do not control the Fed.

So, they have political control until January 2025 in the US, but do not have monetary control over the Fed until 2026, when Powell’s second term is done. This is the window for US patriots to win this civil war before it even begins in earnest.

Powell’s tight monetary policy will be the Democrats’ main talking point for 2024.

“The GOP and the Fed are the reason you are broke. They cost you your job, the dream of a new house.” We need more free money to help the poor.

If you think you’re sick of Elizabeth Warren now, just wait.

I have to hand it to these guys, they’ve turned the libertarians into their biggest water carriers by turning “End the Fed” into a strategic asset on the battlefield. With neither monetary nor political control over the US, there can be no 21st century version of V-E Day. It’s bad enough that the Global South has rebelled.

Davos knows this is it for them. 2024 in the US or bust. George Soros said as much at Munich this year. This is why Trump needs to be indicted even though the case is legally illiterate.

Look, the conservative commentators who think that indicting Trump will only improve his chances of winning the election are wrong. It doesn’t matter that he can run for office from jail.

Do you think a GOP run by Cocaine Mitch McConnell will have the balls to defy their Uniparty paymasters and nominate Donald Trump from prison?

Trump will not be allowed to run.

Because of all the words spilled about this so far only Martin Armstrong has come close to the truth of what the real strategy is.

Bragg will most likely seek a Gag Order in addition to a denial of bail, which no matter how ruthless the judge, will probably realize he cannot deny bail to a former President. Still, they will most likely put a Gag Order on Trump, and that way they can throw him in jail even indefinitely as they did to me using Civil Contempt of Court which is not a crime. If they charge him with Criminal Contempt, then he gets a trial by jury. Under Civil Contempt, you have ZERO rights and no right to a trial.

If this was coming from anyone other than Martin Armstrong I would dismiss it out of hand. Maybe Marty is being paranoid. I hope he is.

In your heart of hearts do you really think that? I don’t. Because this is being driven by people who everyday maneuver the world into a potential nuclear exchange with Russia over its right to exist as a country.

Tell me, after everything you’ve seen them do over COVID-19, they wouldn’t relish the opportunity to put a gag order on Trump.

It’s the only thing still animating most of these walking dead in D.C. for fuck’s sake.

Armstrong continues:

They kept me in prison on Civil Contempt from 2000 to 2007. I was released ONLY because I got to the Supreme Court and they ordered the government to explain how I could be held for 7 years without anything on statute 28 USC 1826 which had a maximum of 18 months. To avoid having to answer, they suddenly released me.

So forget the payment to a Porn Star

They can now gag trump, restrict his movements, and harass him to PREVENT him from running in 2024. They will listen to every word he says and are just going to wait to be able to throw him in prison on Civil Contempt indefinitely with ZERO Constitutional Rights. Welcome to the REAL America. They call it a “protective order” to protect the Government and Bragg as you are stripped of ALL your First Amendment rights.

Now, for Trump, if Bragg tried to pull this, his case would be fast-tracked publicly up to the Supreme Court. And then it gets interesting. Do you think Trump would be exonerated with this court? Under these circumstances? The current pressure?

Or do you expect them to do what they did with the election, refuse to hear the case because of ‘a lack of standing’ like they did over the 2020 election, when they clearly had the authority to hear the cases.

Last I checked John Roberts was still in charge up there.

Eighteen months ago I was thankful for all of Davos’ insane over-reactions, pathetic narratives, and unsustainable lies. While I don’t believe Davos is redeemable I still hold out hope that there are enough of in the right positions who are to just say no when the times comes.

With each loss on the battlefield of public opinion and in the policy room Davos has doubled down rather than backed down. Theirs is the Way of the Psychopath not the Warrior.

Their Eurodollar system is dying on the SOFR vine.

So, don’t discount this indictment to Trump. To them this is still their best path to victory.

The fear of a second Trump term is real, not because Trump is so great but because they can’t control him and he’s got a chip on his shoulder the size of Florida’s budget surplus.

Marty is right. They will play this all the way out. They have no other choice if they want to win this war they’ve started to validate their view of themselves as gods among mere men.

Regardless of the outcome of Trump’s ‘legal troubles,’ the real victory will be having destroyed what’s left of what was truly beautiful, a government (in theory) subservient to the people.

This is what we have to focus on preserving as their acolytes burn the libraries and erase the memory of our sins they can’t bear to face like adults.

*  *  *

Join my Patreon if you hate politics.

Russia’s detention of US citizen and Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich has prompted a very rare phone call between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Given that Gershkovich is facing spying accusations, this makes the case significantly bigger and higher stakes than the prior long-running Britney Griner imprisonment and prisoner swap saga. Any espionage-related conviction would likely bring a prison sentence of at least 20 years, or possibly even life in prison, for the 31-year old journalist.

“Secretary Blinken conveyed the United States’ grave concern over Russia’s unacceptable detention of a U.S. citizen journalist,” an official US readout of the Sunday call states. “The Secretary called for his immediate release.”

The FSB security service had described that Gershkovich was caught ‘illegally’ gathering “classified” information on a sensitive government-linked defense company. The White House slammed the accusation and detention as “ridiculous”. 

Blinken had also used the opportunity of the phone call to once again demand the release of former Marine Paul Whelan. Controversially, he had been left out of the Griner and Viktor Bout prisoner swap (Bout has been dubbed the “merchant of death” given he was a global arms trafficker), which aroused considerable public anger directed at the Biden administration in the US.

As for Lavrov, he alleged the US is seeking to politicize the case of the Wall Street Journal reporter. According to statements from the Kremlin side: 

“Blinken’s attention was drawn to the need to respect the decisions of the Russian authorities, taken in accordance with the law and international obligations of the Russian Federation,” the Russian foreign ministry said.

“It was emphasized that it is unacceptable for officials in Washington and the Western media to whip up a stir with the clear intention of giving this case a political coloring,” the ministry added, saying Blinken initiated the conversation.

In the wake of the arrest, the US State Department and its embassies abroad urged all American citizens to not travel to Russia for any reason. 

.@emmatuckerWSJ on a timeline for establishing communication with detained reporter Evan Gershkovich: “We are hopeful that a lawyer will get to see him next week…I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to make some sort of contact with him next week. But who knows.” pic.twitter.com/ICV1buJbRX

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) April 2, 2023

The Russian government has been accused – particularly since the start of the Ukraine invasion in February 2022 – of detaining Americans in order to use them as bargaining chips to get major concessions from the US and Europe, and to gain the release of detained Russians held in the West.

Gershkovich is currently in pre-trial detention at Moscow’s Lefortovo prison. Wall Street Journal Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker has decried the “complete outrage” of his arrest, calling the accusations of spying “utter nonsense”. 

Authored by Allan Stein via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

One night this past winter, Lynne Lamon of Plattsburgh, New York, was driving up the U.S.-9 northbound by Canada’s border when she noticed three young men walking on the side of the road.

The men were dressed poorly for the subzero temperatures and wind chill from Lake Champlain. Their down vests were tattered and leaking feathers.

Lamon pulled over, rolled down the window, and told the men to get in and warm up. 

Through broken English, she realized they were illegal immigrants from Ecuador who were on their way to the Canadian province of Quebec.

“They were happy to get a ride. I wasn’t afraid at all,” Lamon said. “They were young men that had wives and mothers at home.”

“They were so thankful. I turned on what you call an English-Spanish app on my phone so that we could talk. They were happy about that.”

Lamon drove the men to a local restaurant, bought them breakfast, and gave them water for the trip north.

The men said they wanted to go to the nearest U.S. port of entry, but Lamon said, ‘No. You will be taken in [by federal border officers] and brought back to Plattsburgh.”

“Why are they going to Canada? I don’t know,” Lamon said of the three men. “They didn’t have any relatives there. They walked forever, like three months. They had sneakers on that were frozen [to their] feet.”

Like many U.S. citizens, Lamon believes it’s a moral imperative to lend aid to illegal immigrants, despite the legal consequences.

“I’m an old hippie” at heart, she told The Epoch Times.

However, Federal Statute 8 U.S. Code Section 1324, makes it a crime to transport illegal immigrants in the United States.

“What this means is that if you give a ride to someone who is in the United States illegally, then you could be charged with transporting illegal aliens. Such a federal violation could lead to fines and up to five years imprisonment,” according to the law office of Abdel Jimenez based in Florida.

Regardless, there’s money to be made in transporting illegal immigrants.

Some American citizens will offer rides for hundreds of dollars, fueling a quiet passage along Canada’s 3,500-mile land border with the United States.

Some, like Lynne Lamon, do it out of kindness.

In Derby, Vermont, hotel employees Matt and George said they have seen people charge illegal immigrants as much as $500 for rides to metropolitan areas.

Sometimes, the families are so large that several vehicles are needed.

One local man told The Epoch Times he made $400 driving an individual from Derby to Boston.

Matt and George said illegal immigrants are a nuisance when they crowd into the small hotel lobby after being dropped off by Border Patrol.

Since Border Patrol “has to drop them off somewhere, they drop them off here–or at gas stations,” George said. “They bring their luggage—garbage bags. They have little kids; they don’t have car seats. They don’t have anything.”

“They don’t want a room. They’re looking for rides to Boston, New York, or Miami. Those are the biggest places they want to go,” Matt said.

While some do spend money on a hotel room, most illegal immigrants will loiter in the warm lobby for hours for a private ride.

Few choose to stay in Derby, Matt said.

“Most go to White River Junction [Vermont] to the Greyhound Station. We have no taxis here. So many locals will make a fortune off it because they will take them to places they want to go.”

Matt said he doesn’t see giving rides to illegal immigrants as “aiding and abetting” illegal immigration. 

Not anymore.

“They’re here legally now [whereas] Border Patrol before would arrest them,” George said. “They privately find a person and pay them to get to Greyhound or Amtrak—whatever.”

In fiscal year 2020, Border Patrol agents arrested 32,376 illegal immigrants along the U.S.-Canada border, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.

During the pandemic, border encounters plummeted to about 27,180 but surged again to 109,535 in fiscal 2022.

The two countries recently enacted an agreement to turn away asylum-seekers caught in illegal points of entry. A pre-existing agreement required that asylum-seekers must apply in the first country they arrive in, but was only applicable at official border-crossings, creating a loophole for migrants to cross at illegal points of entry from the United States into Canada to make asylum claims.

Read the rest here…

On Wednesday, we advised premium subscribers on our private twitter feed that Goldman’s FICC desk had just issued its highest conviction trade in a while: buy oil (specifically Long CON3 85-115 Call Spread, Short CON3 70 Put).

And unlike Goldman’s sellside research desk, which has been long oil and commodities for much of the past year for fundamental reasons – which clearly have  been secondary in a time when only technicals, positioning and liquidity matter – Goldman’s FICC desk only publishes high conviction notes when there has been a material change in the underlying market dynamic, like now.

Because after tumbling to a 15 month low in mid-March, in a move that was facilitated by a near-record pile up of shorts and the break of key support levels, the worst case scenario now appears priced in.

More importantly, as Goldman correctly anticipated, the technical picture has flipped 180 degrees. Perhaps realizing that the bulk of gains on the short side have been made, speculative bears are capitulating and according to the latest weekly CFTC Commitment of Traders report, short money managers unwound bearish bets on US crude by the most since 2016.

Speculators had piled into short positions as turmoil in the banking industry roiled financial markets but the rapid exit indicates the bearish momentum is now ending. That said, the onus is now on the oil bulls to take control, something they appear unwilling to do just yet, because even as shorts tumbled, bullish bets also slumped to a fresh decade low…

… however after netting out shorts, the aggregate managed money position rose modestly alongside the sharp rebound in oil in the past week.

Will oil continue its recent ascent? The answer will depend on whether the short capitulation accelerates and whether bulls finally step in with some conviction.

It seems OPEC+’s decision to suddenly slash 1 million barrels/day of output could not be better timed from a ‘squeeze the specs’ perspective.

Authored by Savannah Hulsey Pointer via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A prominent progressive organization describes the indictment of former President Trump by a Manhattan grand jury as “embarrassing.”

After the March 30 announcement that Trump had been indicted in his home state of New York, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee issued a statement highlighting many more reasons why the former president should have faced legal penalties.

Given the severity of the possible accusations in these ongoing cases, some liberals are concerned that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s decision may undercut any future indictments.

“After inciting an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, pressuring local officials to overturn the 2020 election, receiving financial kickbacks from foreign powers, and numerous other crimes during his presidency, it’s embarrassing and infuriating that the first indictment against Trump is about … Stormy Daniels,” Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said in a statement.

“The January 6th Select Committee and bold leaders like [Rep.] Jamie Raskin [D-Md.] did their job,” he said.

“It’s time for Merrick Garland and the Justice Department to do theirs.”

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who was heavily involved in the push to impeach Trump, said during a recent TV interview that the Department of Justice (DOJ) should have brought charges against Trump.

“I’ve been very critical, as you know, Andrea, of the Justice Department and the pace of their investigation of the whole, multiple lines of effort by Donald Trump to overturn the election culminating in the violence of January 6th,” Schiff told Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC.

“And had they, I think, pursued that with more urgency, they would have gone first, and, you know, presuming—and it’s a big presumption—that they find sufficient evidence to charge the president, those would have been the most serious charges. And those should, in the logical scheme of things, be the first that you bring.”

Schiff commented on the uniqueness of the situation and repeated the most common refrain among Democratic lawmakers, that no one is above the law: “The indictment of a former president is unprecedented. But so, too, is the unlawful conduct in which Trump has been engaged.

“A nation of laws must hold the rich and powerful accountable, even when they hold high office. Especially when they do. To do otherwise is not democracy,” the lawmaker said on Twitter.

Some conservatives have voiced their opinion that this indictment could help seal Trump’s victory in 2024. Just hours after the indictment, Real America’s Voice Host David Brody took to Twitter, saying this could have a far-reaching impact on the election.

“It would be a mistake to think that the indictment of Donald Trump ONLY fired up the MAGA base. No. This will help Trump with blue collar independents and Soft D’s in the Rustbelt and Heartland. These are the exact voters who propelled Trump to the presidency in key swing states. So remember this isn’t just about Republicans getting fired up about this.”

Read more here…

Russian state media is reporting that prominent pro-Kremlin blogger and war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky has been killed in blast at a St. Petersburg cafe, which wounded at least six others. The number of injured soon climbed to 15 as emergency services flooded the scene.

Tass news was the first to report the explosion, after which multiple videos purporting to show the moment of the blast began circulating on social media. The location has been identified as the ‘Street Bar’ café in the historical city center on the Neva River bank, just across from the well-known Admiralty building.

The moment of an explosion in a cafe in St. Petersburg. Propagandist Vladlen Tatarsky held an event there. He is reportedly killed and six others were wounded. pic.twitter.com/lWijn522qN

— NOËL 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) April 2, 2023

While the cause of the blast is still being investigated, initial reports point to an improvised explosive device having been planted inside the cafe.

Tatarsky was holding some kind of public event there, and given he’s a controversial figure, he appears to have been the target of the bombing. According to details in RT News:

A military correspondent and blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky (real name Maksim Fomin), was allegedly killed in the incident, RIA Novosti reported, citing emergency services. 

Tatarsky joined the Donbass militias back in 2014 in the wake of the Maidan coup in Kiev. He has since become known in Russia as a blogger and a correspondent reporting on the situation in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Tatarsky also authored several books. 

According to Readovka news outlet, the man was holding a recital at the café that was rocked by the blast.

Further the state media report confirms that “An improvised explosive device was blown up near the stage in the cafe, emergency services report.”

Russia: Explosion reported in cafe in St. Petersburg. 1 person killed, at least 6 more wounded https://t.co/ejKSxdghwC pic.twitter.com/k3pQFOW7JY

— Liveuamap (@Liveuamap) April 2, 2023

The rare attack in the heart of Russia’s second largest city has the hallmarks of a political assassination, akin to the car-bomb killing of Darya Dugina last August, in an attack which may have been meant for her father Alexander Dugin. 

The Sunday cafe blast could be another covert operation deep inside Russia by Ukrainian partisans, after a series of bolder and bolder cross-border terror incidents, which the Kremlin as well as President Vladimir Putin have condemned, promising to escalate the war in response.

Unverified reports say a bomb may have been hidden inside a gift that Tatarsky was handed. In the coming days Kremlin officials are likely to address the assassination of the journalist and controversial political commentator directly.

Video showing the moment Tatarsky is handed a figurine which the Russians claim was packed with explosives. pic.twitter.com/zQaUv1QFn8

— doge (@IntelDoge) April 2, 2023

developing…

Authored by Jana J. Pruet via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg convened a New York grand jury earlier this year, which voted on Thursday to indict former President Donald Trump for allegations linked to a business records investigation related to a “hush money” payment to adult entertainment actress Stormy Daniels in 2016.

“This evening we contacted Mr. Trump’s attorney to coordinate his surrender … for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal,” a spokesperson from Bragg’s office said in a statement, The Epoch Times reported. “Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected.”

Trump is the first-ever U.S. president to face criminal charges.

The former president is accused of making a $130,000 payment to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, in exchange for her silence on an alleged sexual encounter with her. Trump has consistently denied having any extramarital relationship with the woman.

Joe Tacopina, Trump’s lawyer, told The Epoch Times that the former president is expected to be in New York City next week for arraignment. Tacopina suggested that April 4 could be the date of his arraignment.

Grew Up in Harlem

Bragg, who took office in 2022, won the Democratic primary and then the general election in November 2021, making him Manhattan’s first black district attorney. New York City has five elected DAs—one for each borough.

He is the fourth elected Manhattan DA in the last 80 years. He was preceded by DA Cyrus Vance Jr., who retired at the end of 2021 after 12 years.

The 49-year-old grew up in Harlem, according to his official biography. He earned his B.A. from Harvard University and his J.D. at Harvard Law School.

Bragg has spent more than two decades working in the criminal justice system.

Before becoming DA, Bragg served as an Assistant Attorney General for the state of New York and as an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

During his campaign, Bragg made promises to indict Trump, and when he took office, he inherited a yearslong grand jury investigation of the alleged payment to Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump was implicated by his former attorney Michael Cohen as part of a plea deal. In 2018, Cohen was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine after pleading guilty to eight counts, including criminal tax evasion and campaign finance violations. Under Vance, the case stalled. The Federal Election Commission also looked into the matter but dropped its investigation.

But after taking office, Bragg had concerns about the strength of the case against Trump, leading to the resignation of two lead investigators.

Earlier this year, Bragg convened a new grand jury and proceeded with the case.

High-Profile Cases

Bragg, who describes himself as a white-collar prosecutor, has been involved in a number of high-profile cases.

Since becoming DA, he announced an indictment against Trump’s former strategist Steve Bannon who is accused of defrauding donors in a fundraising scheme to build the wall along the southern border.

He was also involved in two cases against the Trump Organization.

Allen Weisselberg, chief financial officer for the Trump Organization and the Trump Payroll Corp., was charged under Vance, Bragg’s predecessor. The companies were charged with tax fraud and accused of reducing payroll liability from executive salaries through untaxed bonuses and millions in luxury perks.

Weisselberg pleaded guilty to the charges. He was sentenced to five months in jail and agreed to testify against the Trump companies.

Bragg oversaw the case against the Trump Organization, which was found guilty late last year. The Trump Organization and Trump Payroll Corp. were fined $810,000 and $800,000, respectively. Trump, who denied involvement, was not personally charged in the case.

Bragg also represented the family of Eric Garner, who died after being placed in a chokehold by a police officer in 2014.

Bragg’s Campaign Backed by Soros?

Billionaire George Soros, 92, founder of Open Society Foundations, is known for putting millions of dollars behind liberal prosecutors and political candidates but has claimed no connection to Bragg.

Florida Gov. Ron Desantis called out Bragg as being “Soros-backed” in response to Bragg’s announcement of the indictment against Trump. Many Republicans, including Trump, have concurred with DeSantis.

Read more here…

After a six-week hospitalization for severe depression, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman has been discharged. The recovering stroke victim has returned to his suburban Pittsburgh home for additional time off before a planned April 17 return to the Senate. 

I am so happy to be home. I’m excited to be the father and husband I want to be, and the senator Pennsylvania deserves.

Pennsylvanians have always had my back, and I will always have theirs. pic.twitter.com/mNrPOp08rB

— Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) March 31, 2023

While Fetterman’s hospitalization began in mid-February, he says depression started setting in soon after he won one of the most hotly-contested races of the midterms, defeating the Trump-endorsed Dr. Oz and flipping the open seat to the Democrats. 

Fetterman suffered “severe symptoms of depression with low energy and motivation, minimal speech, poor sleep, slowed thinking, slowed movement, feelings of guilt and worthlessness,” according to a discharge brief written by Dr. David Williamson, neuropsychiatry chief at Walter Reed Military Medical Center. He didn’t have suicidal thoughts, according to the doctor. 

His treatment included medications, talk therapy and therapeutic walks at Walter Reed’s rooftop healing garden. Over his six-week stay, “sleep was restored, he ate well and hydrated, and he evidenced better mood, brighter affect and improved motivation, self-attitude and engagement with others.”

His return is good news for the Democrats, who have a thin 51-49 edge in the Senate. 

Fetterman was initially hospitalized over feelings of light-headedness. However, doctors found the cause was dehydration and malnourishment, springing from the deeply depressed Fetterman’s failure to eat and drink. His symptoms had “progressively worsened over the preceding eight weeks and Fetterman had stopped eating and taking fluids, causing him to develop low blood pressure,” said Williamson. 

The 53-year-old suffered a near-fatal stroke on May 13, 2022 — four days before the Pennsylvania primary — and was left with communications impairments that were painfully evident on those occasions where his campaign dared put him in front of cameras and microphones. 

Anchor plays Fetterman’s disastrous answer on fracking from the debate, then asks “do you understand why people are questioning your ability to be our senator?”

Fetterman: “No, I—I believe that, that my support of fracking has always been, been one that—in the past.” pic.twitter.com/jIkkESIGHP

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 2, 2022

His depression hospitalization came just days after a lengthy and jarring New York Times profile that obliterated previous campaign assurances of Fetterman’s fitness for Senate duty following his stroke.

While the campaign was going, those assurances were eagerly echoed by leftist media — who vilified those who questioned them — but here’s the Times after the seat was secured for the Democrats:

“His adjustment to serving in the Senate has been made vastly more difficult by the strains of his recovery, which left him with a physical impairment and serious mental health challenges that have rendered the transition extraordinarily challenging — even with the accommodations that have been made to help him adapt.”       

If Fetterman were to step down, his successor through the next scheduled statewide election would be appointed by Democratic Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. 

Appearing on CBS Sunday Morning, Fetterman told Jane Pauley that, even though the was coming off a huge victory, “depression can absolutely convince you that you actually lost,” and that he began a “downward spiral…I had stopped leaving my bed. I’d stopped eating.”

While not yet exemplary, Fetterman’s speech appears to have improved significantly, at least in this clip:

Six weeks after entering Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for inpatient treatment for depression, Sen. @JohnFetterman shares his struggle with depression, his health, and more in an intimate interview with Jane Pauley this “Sunday Morning.” pic.twitter.com/3o2926I48B

— CBS Sunday Morning 🌞 (@CBSSunday) March 31, 2023

Roughly one in three stroke survivors experience symptoms of depression, though few require hospitalization. Trying to overcome serious physical and mental challenges to a degree that he can function as a United States senator can’t be helpful.