Domestic Politics Archives

US Attorney Drops Criminal Probe Against Federal Reserve

24Apr

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Finance, Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Types of News: Brief, United States

US Attorney Drops Criminal Probe Against Federal Reserve

Trump and Powell tour Federal Reserve headquarters, where renovations are taking place, in July 2025. Updates: As of October 3, 2026, Following the release of an inspector general report into renovations at the Federal Reserve under former chair Jerome Powell’s leadership, the case is effectively closed and will not be reopened. April 24, 2026—Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, announced today that she is closing a criminal investigation into the Federal Reserve. Pirro wrote on X that someone has asked the Inspector General of the central bank to “scrutinize the building costs overruns” to settle questions. The criminal probe is part of a larger politicalization of the Justice Department under President Donald Trump. It has also been characterized as a...

Trump to Headline Controversial Memecoin Event at Mar-a-Lago

14Apr

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Finance, Banks, Cryptocurrency, Metals, Types of News: Analysis, United States

Trump to Headline Controversial Memecoin Event at Mar-a-Lago

Event Highlights Questions About Pay-For-Access April 14, 2026—President Donald Trump is expected to headline an upcoming cryptocurrency memecoin conference giving top investors exclusive access at a luncheon at the Trump family’s Mar-a-Lago estate later this month, according to advertisements for the event. It’s an indication that even as the president implements public policy, he takes time off his official role to make money from sales of his personalized, celebrity memecoin. It is another sign of the merging of government and business. Furthermore, it raises concerns about political influence-for-sale amid the opaque world of cryptocurrency. Exclusive Gamified Invite The April 25 event is an exclusive, invite-only gala for people holding the $TRUMP token. It is the second ...

Pre-War, Hegseth Tried to Invest in Military Industrial ETF

31Mar

By No Comments

Arms Sales, Military Industry, Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, United States, WAR: Dispatches & Dialogue

Pre-War, Hegseth Tried to Invest in Military Industrial ETF

March 31, 2026—Among the news reports about war profits by those in Washington with insider information comes a report about War Secretary Pete Hegseth. The Financial Times confirmed in its reporting today that Hegseth may have tried to invest millions of dollars in a fund specializing in the military industrial complex. Hegseth’s broker at Morgan Stanly reportedly contacted BlackRock, which flagged the request for the “high profile potential client.” The fund, iShare Defense Industrials Act (IDEF), has decreased in value by 9.7 percent over the past month but is up by 4 percent so far this year. Its largest holdings include: RTX, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman. The FT reported that the investment was not completed because the fund “was not yet available for Morgan Stanley...

Judge Blocks Case Against Fed Chair, Citing Political Motives by Trump

13Mar

By No Comments

Finance, Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, United States

Judge Blocks Case Against Fed Chair, Citing Political Motives by Trump

March 13, 2026—A U.S. District Court ruled that a criminal investigation of the Federal Reserve by the D.C. Attorney is politically motivated rather than for a “proper purpose.” In January, the U.S. Justice Department issued grand jury subpoenas to the central bank relating to a $2.5 billion renovation at the Fed headquarters. The ruling asserts that President Trump “has long coveted control over interest rates and yearned to lower them to his advantage.” A decision by District Court Judge James Boasberg effectively stops that investigation. He writes in Case 1:26-mc-00012-JEB: “There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas’ dominant (if not sole) purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign and make way for a Fed Chair who will. On the othe...

U.S. Budget Deficit FY2026 on Track to Top $2 Trillion

10Feb

By No Comments

Finance, Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, United States

U.S. Budget Deficit FY2026 on Track to Top $2 Trillion

February 10, 2026—The U.S. budget deficit is on track to top $2 trillion this year. In the first four months of fiscal year 2026, which started on October 1, 2025, the federal government ran a deficit of $696 billion. Revenues increased by 12 percent with higher receipts coming into the government from individual taxes and tariffs. The customs duties saw an increase of $90 billion, four times the amount the government received in 2025. Individual income taxes are projected to reach $925 billion in FY2026. Government spending held steady in the first four months at $2.4 trillion. The largest expenditures in the first four months were: Social Security ($538 billion), Medicare ($402 billion), net interest on the debt ($351 billion), and defense ($324 billion). The data comes from the...

Democratic World Order is ‘Crushed,’ Human Rights Watch Reports

4Feb

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Communism, Dictatorship, authoritarian, Democracy, Human rights, Types of News: Brief

Democratic World Order is ‘Crushed,’ Human Rights Watch Reports

February 4, 2026—Democracy is in retreat around the world, driven in large part by a “downward spiral” in the United States, according to the 2026 report by the Human Rights Watch, a nonprofit organization based in New York City. “Under relentless pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, and persistently undermined by China and Russia, the rules-based international order is being crushed, threatening to take with it the architecture human rights defenders have come to rely on to advance norms and protect freedoms,” Philippe Bolopion, HRW executive director. Democratic rights are at risk in the United States and around the world. Photo from Human Rights Watch video. Democratic Retreat While once viewed as a champion of democratic freedoms, the United States now leads the world...

Banking, Cryptocurrency Industries Compete for Washington’s Attention

2Feb

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Finance, Banks, Cryptocurrency, Metals, Types of News: Brief, United States

Banking, Cryptocurrency Industries Compete for Washington’s Attention

Regulation of Stablecoins: Yield is the Issue February 2, 2026—The White House hosted a two-hour meeting today with representatives from the banking and cryptocurrency industry, two sectors that are likely to compete for capital. Though the meeting was not broadcast live, it reportedly included representatives from the American Bankers Association, the Crypto Council for Innovation, Blockchain Association, PayPal, Ripple, Tether, the Independent Community Bankers of America, and others. According to crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett, the two-hour meeting resulted in a “constructive discussion” on the risks and rewards of stablecoin yield. “Issues were framed so that both sides know where boundaries are,” Terrett posted on X on Monday. Regulations & The CLARITY Act Sinc...

America on the Brink of Turmoil, Tyranny and Perhaps Even Civil Conflict

26Jan

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Democracy, Immigration, Migration, Types of News: Analysis, United States

America on the Brink of Turmoil, Tyranny and Perhaps Even Civil Conflict

Photo pulled from YouTube video by NYT photographer David Guttenfelder about Jan. 24, 2026 the Minneapolis shooting. Federal Immigration Crackdown Incites Fear, Killings, and Civil Protests January 26, 2026—The United States is on the brink of a national crisis and a government shutdown after the second killing by gunfire of an American citizen by federal forces. Conflict over immigration in the United States is adding to the pressures of growing inequality, corruption, and a national debt above $38 trillion. Tensions are rising due to the deployment of federal forces in U.S. cities who are now targeting U.S. citizens as well as immigrants. ‘Under Siege and Occupation’ Citizens in some cities and states report across social media that they feel under siege or occupation by U.S...

United States: Democratic Dysfunction Creates Costs, Uncertainty for Defense, GAO Says

23Jan

By No Comments

Democracy, United States

United States: Democratic Dysfunction Creates Costs, Uncertainty for Defense, GAO Says

January 23, 2026—In the United States, Congress has the authority and responsibility to manage the nation’s finances. It is tasked with passing 12 annual appropriations bills into law. More often than not, Congress fails to do its job. It routinely relies on continuing resolutions (CRs), which package several funding bills into a single bill to extend federal funding to agencies. In a recently released report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) looked at the impact of Congress’s use of CRs on defense planning. In all but four years of the last 49 years, funds for the Defense Department (A.K.A. War Department) were wrapped into CRs, creating uncertainty in planning. The GAO said the result is “delays, increased costs, operational challenges, spending challenges, and administrativ...

Jamie Dimon Played It Safe in Comments; Trump Sued Him Anyway

22Jan

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Finance, Banks, Cryptocurrency, Metals, Types of News: Brief, United States

Jamie Dimon Played It Safe in Comments; Trump Sued Him Anyway

Five Years After Bank Closed His Accounts, Trump Sues Bank and CEO Jamie Dimon spoke at the World Economic Forum on January 21, 2026. January 22, 2026—A day after JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon gave an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in which he was largely deferential to President Donald Trump, Trump sued both the bank and Dimon for $5 billion. Trump’s complaint alleges libel and unfair and deceptive trade practices. He accused the Wall Street firm, one of the world’s largest private investment companies, of debanking his bank accounts without warning on February 19, 2021. Debanking is a term used to describe the sudden closure by a financial institution of a client’s account, often based on non-financial reasons for risk management. Critics refer ...