Tag Archives: Wall Street multinational corporations

May 5 2023

How Corrupt Is Our Current Situation? It’s Worse Than Most Can Fathom…


Posted originally on the CTH on May 4, 2023 | Sundance 

The football spiking by AG Merrick Garland today deserves some context, and I am going to take you through a story that will highlight just how bad the situation really is.

Everything that preceded the 2020 federal election was a complex system of control by a network of ideologues, federal agencies, allies in the private sector, financial stakeholders and corrupt interests all working toward a common goal.  There’s no need to go through the background of how the election was manipulated and how the government and private sector, specifically social media, worked to influence the 2020 outcome because you have all seen it.

Whether it was local election officials working to control outcomes, federal agencies working to support them (CISA, FBI, DHS), financial interests working to fund them (Zuckerberg et al), or social media platforms controlling the visible content and discussion (Twitter Files, Google, Facebook etc.), the objective was all the same.  It was a massive one-sided operation against the freewill of the American voter.

In the aftermath of the 2020 election, those same system operators, govt officials, corporate media, private sector groups and social media platforms then circled the wagons to scatter the evidence of their conduct.  If you questioned anything you were a threat.  That’s the context to the dynamic that unfolded.

Lawfare operatives joined forces with Democrat staffers, and allies in social media platforms all worked in concert to target the voices of anyone who would rise in opposition to the corruption that was stunningly clear in the outcome of the election process.  Corporate media then labeled, isolated, ridiculed and marginalized anyone who dared to point out the obvious.

When AG Merrick Garland says this of January 6, 2021: […] “the Justice Department has conducted one of the largest, most complex, and most resource-intensive investigations in our history. We have worked to analyze massive amounts of physical and digital data. We have recovered devices, decrypted electronic messages, triangulated phones, and pored through tens of thousands of hours of video. We have also benefited from tens of thousands of tips we received from the public. Following these digital and physical footprints, we were able to identify hundreds of people.” {link} The targeting operation needs context.

Do you remember on April 27th when DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz recently said, “more than 3.4 million search queries into the NSA database took place between Dec. 1st, 2020 and Nov. 30th, 2021, by government officials and/or contractors working on behalf of the federal government.”  The result was “more than 1 million searches of private documents and communication of Americans that were illegal and non-compliant,” and over “10,000 federal employees have access to that database.” {OIG Testimony}.

Put the statement from Garland together with the statement from Horowitz, and you get an understanding of what was done.

Hundreds of stakeholders in the Lawfare network joined forces with hundreds of people who became staff researchers for a weaponized Congress.  Hundreds more social media background agents then poured thousands of hours into feeding private information to the DOJ, FBI, J6 Committee and all of their hired staff working on the project.

How do I know?

I was one of their targets.

Before telling the rest of the story, some background is needed.

I am well versed in the ways of the administrative state and the corrupt systems, institutions and silos that make up our weaponized government. I can (a) see them; (b) predict their activity; and (c) know where their traps and operations are located.

Traveling the deep investigative weeds of the administrative state eventually gives you a set of skills.  When people ask how the outlines on this website can seem so far ahead of the sunlight that eventually falls upon the outlined corruption, this is essentially why.  When you take these skills on the road, you learn to be a free-range scout, and after a long while you learn how to track the activity.

When I was outlining how the Fourth Branch of Government works and/or Jack’s Magic Coffee Shop and the DHS system operating inside it, I wasn’t shooting from the hip. However, people will always seek to dismiss the uncomfortable truth.

Sometimes you just have to wait for the evidence you know exists to surface, or for a situation to unfold that is driven by a self-fulfilling prophecy. The bizarre CTH predictions turn out to be the truth of the issue because they are based on the factual evidence of the issue.

That level of how the system works came in very handy when I received this subpoena from Chairman Bennie Thompson and the J6 Committee.  Warning, things are about to get very uncomfortable if you don’t accept the scale of corruption that exists.

Pay attention to the red box on the page shown. This is essentially the probable cause that justifies the subpoena itself.  I have redacted a name in the box for reasons you will see that follow.

I was never in Washington DC on January 6, 2021, nor did I work with or communicate with anyone who was involved in any of the activities that are subject to the J6 committee investigative authority.

I’m going to skip a lot of background noise, irrelevant legal stuff, jurisdictional issues, discoveries from discussions with lawyers and the experience gained in association with this ridiculous subpoena.  I am going to focus on the biggest story within it.

Sticking to the information in the Red Box above, notice how the J6 committee has evidence, “public-source information and documents on file”, showing my participation, communication, and contact with people and technology that are material interests to the committee.

Here’s the kicker…. I had no clue what the hell they were talking about.  There’s not a single aspect of their outline that I had any knowledge or connection of.

I had no idea what Zello was. I had no idea who 1% watchdog might be. I had never heard of “Stop the Steal J6” or associated “channel.”  I had never heard of the person redacted, and I had never communicated with any Oath Keeper, any communication system, or platform, or anyone or anything – nothing – that is outlined in that subpoena.

Those points of evidence outlined in the subpoena had no connection to me at all.

The subpoena might as well have been asking me to appear in Michigan because my Red Ferrari was involved in a hit and run accident, during my trip to Detroit.  I don’t own a Ferrari; I have never been to Michigan; I certainly never had an accident; I wasn’t on a trip and have never visited Detroit.  The entire construct of their probable cause for the subpoena was silly. Complete and utter nonsense.

That said, how could there be “public records” and “documentary” evidence of something that never happened?

At first, I thought this was some silly case of mistaken identity and they just sent a subpoena to the wrong person.  However, the investigators were adamant the evidence existed, and the need for testimony was required.

After taking advice from several smart people, and after discovering the costs associated with just the reply to the committee and/or representation therein; suddenly I realized there might be more value for me in this subpoena than the committee.  After all, how can there be public-records and documents that I own a red Ferrari and went to Michigan when I don’t and never did.

After several back and forths I discovered, through their admissions of their own research, and through documents they extracted as an outcome of their tasks to prove the merit of their claims, that someone *inside* Twitter had created a fictitious identity of me associated with the networks and communications as the investigators described them.

Think about what was discovered here.

Someone inside the Twitter platform, an employee of Twitter, had made a decision to target me. As a result: (a) they had been doing this for a long time with a specific goal in mind; and (b) they created an elaborate trail of background activity and identity that was entirely fabricated.

Eventually, my assigned investigative unit admitted this.

Once, the federal investigators realized what took place they wanted to get rid of me -and my snark filled curiosity- with great urgency.

They also had an ‘oh shit’ moment, when they contemplated everything, including what they had revealed to me from the outset of my contact, now several months prior.

What I discovered in this experience was that DHS, and by extension DOJ/FBI and the January 6 investigators, had direct administrative level backdoors into all social media platforms.

Overlay the Twitter files now, and then expand your thinking….

In their quest to prove that I owned a Red Ferrari, traveled to Michigan and had a hit-and-run accident, these investigators outlined to me how the United States Government, through their DHS authority, has employees, agents and contractors with open portals into all social media platforms.

Yes, the federal government is inside the mechanics of the systems (Twitter, Facebook, Meta, Instagram, Google, YouTube, WhatsApp, Zello, etc) and they have administrative access in real time to monitor, review, extract and evaluate everything, soup-to-nuts.

It was only because the investigators and forensic data knuckleheads have these portals, that they were able to locate the source of the fabricated evidence they were originally attributing to me.  This was an investigative process and research discovery being conducted in the data processing systems of Twitter in real time as they questioned me.

Once they realized what had taken place, and as soon as I started asking how they were making these admissions (now carrying an apologetic certainty), suddenly the investigators wanted no further contact or communication with me.  You’re good, whoopsie daisy, our bad, sorry.

Now, take some time to fully digest and absorb what I have just shared.

The U.S. government is worried about TikTok, because U.S. citizen data might be extracted?

Meanwhile, the U.S. government, at a fully unrestricted administrative level, is inside Twitter, Facebook, Meta, Insta, YouTube etc., running amok and extracting anything – including private messages… and they’re somehow worried about protecting us from TikTok data collection.  Think about it.

Provide your thoughts in the comments and I will try to fill in any blanks or questions you might carry.  In the interim, live your best life.

Ears of an elephant, eyes of a mouse.

May 5 2023

Merrick Garland Delivers Speech Following Conviction of Four J6 Defendants for “Sedition” – Seditious Conspiracy


Posted originally on the CTH on May 4, 2023 | Sundance 

Comrades, today after ordering the slow drums to resound loudly, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland delivered remarks celebrating the conviction of four Americans who were charged with Seditious Conspiracy for their conduct on January 6, 2021.   Together with federal enforcer Christopher Wray and Deputy AG Lisa Monaco at his side, AG Merrick Garland warns everyone to stay in obeyance with the dictates and fiats of the regime.

Their arrest, imprisonment and conviction shall serve as a warning to any American citizen who might seek to challenge the authority of Joe Biden, the system of justice he represents, and/or the power of the United States government.  The federal punishment and sentences are to be determined at a later date.

18 US Code 2384: If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both. (link) 

[Transcript] Hear ye’ Hear ye’ – Today, the Justice Department secured the conviction of four leaders of the Proud Boys for seditious conspiracy related to the January 6th attack on the Capitol.

In addition, those defendants and a fifth member of the Proud Boys were all convicted of felonies including obstructing Congress’s certification of the 2020 presidential election results and conspiring to prevent Congress and federal officers from discharging their duties.

The evidence presented at trial detailed the extent of the violence at the Capitol on January 6th and the central role these defendants played in setting into motion the unlawful events of that day.

Today’s verdict makes clear that the Justice Department will do everything in its power to defend the American people and American democracy.

Since the January 6th attack, the Justice Department has conducted one of the largest, most complex, and most resource-intensive investigations in our history.

We have worked to analyze massive amounts of physical and digital data. We have recovered devices, decrypted electronic messages, triangulated phones, and pored through tens of thousands of hours of video.  

We have also benefited from tens of thousands of tips we received from the public. Following these digital and physical footprints, we were able to identify hundreds of people who, often masked, took part in the unlawful conduct on that day.

I am grateful to the Department’s prosecutors, FBI agents, investigators, analysts, and others who have worked on these cases with extraordinary diligence, skill, integrity, and courage.

Over the past two years, the Department has secured more than 600 convictions for a wide range of criminal conduct on January 6th, as well as in the days and weeks leading up to the attack.

We have secured the convictions of defendants who fought, punched, tackled, and even tased police officers who were defending the Capitol that day; who crushed one officer in a door and dragged another down a flight of stairs; who attacked law enforcement officers with chemical agents that burned their eyes and skin; and who assaulted officers with pipes, poles, and other dangerous or deadly weapons.

We have secured the convictions of defendants who obstructed the certification of a presidential election as well as the subsequent criminal investigation in the events of January 6th.

And now – after three trials – we have secured the convictions of leaders of both the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers for seditious conspiracy – specifically conspiring to oppose by force the lawful transfer of presidential power.

Our work will continue.

At my Senate confirmation hearing just over a month after January 6th, I promised that the Justice Department would do everything in its power to hold accountable those responsible for the heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government.

And as I have said repeatedly, the Department will conduct all of its work in a manner that adheres to the rule of law and honors our obligation to protect the civil rights and civil liberties of everyone in this country.

Today’s verdict is another example of our steadfast commitment to keeping those promises.

The Justice Department will never stop working to defend the democracy to which all Americans are entitled. (link)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=J-jm3LMziFc%3Ffeature%3Doembed
May 5 2023

Something Different – Ed Sheeran Wins Copyright Lawsuit


Posted originally on the CTH on May 4, 2023 | Sundance 

Media are reporting a decision in a copyright lawsuit between the estate of Marvin Gay and singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran.  The jury has found Ed Sheeran did not violate any copyright infringement.

This sort of issue is not generally anything that interests me.  However, I watched a great video a few days ago that encapsulates the issues in the lawsuit very well, and it presents an interesting set of questions.   This is a really good video even if you have not paid attention. WATCH:

May 4 2023

Main Justice Whistleblower Reveals Evidence of Joe Biden Criminal Bribery Scheme


May 3, 2023 | Sundance 

Two weeks ago, I wrote, “If Susan Rice is departing, the question becomes how the club removes Biden from the 2024 race?  There are a multitude of approaches and leverages available for the Lightbringer’s team, which includes Deputy AG Lisa Monaco at Main Justice.” (more)

Looks like today we have our answer.  [House Letter to DOJ] – [House Subpoena]

WASHINGTON – Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member and long-time whistleblower advocate Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) today are demanding the FBI produce an unclassified record alleging a criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national. The document, an FBI-generated FD-1023 form, allegedly details an arrangement involving an exchange of money for policy decisions. Comer issued a subpoena today following legally protected disclosures to Grassley’s office.

“We believe the FBI possesses an unclassified internal document that includes very serious and detailed allegations implicating the current President of the United States. What we don’t know is what, if anything, the FBI has done to verify these claims or investigate further. The FBI’s recent history of botching politically charged investigations demands close congressional oversight,” Grassley said.

“The information provided by a whistleblower raises concerns that then-Vice President Biden allegedly engaged in a bribery scheme with a foreign national. The American people need to know if President Biden sold out the United States of America to make money for himself. Senator Grassley and I will seek the truth to ensure accountability for the American people,” Comer said.

Grassley has long raised concerns about political bias infecting high-level investigative decisions at the FBI, including investigations related to the Biden family’s foreign business arrangements and bank records. While FBI Director Christopher Wray pledged to prevent any retaliation targeting whistleblowers, the FBI and Justice Department have thus far refused to voluntarily provide responsive records or answers to congressional inquiries related to its handling of these politically sensitive investigations. (more)

Hopefully everyone can see what’s going on here.  Remember, current DAG Lisa Monaco was one of Obama’s central crew.

The best part of this story is going to be watching Main Justice pretending to refuse to comply with the subpoena, the same way Ron DeSantis pretended he was never running for the GOP nomination.   Which means the pretending will be transparent.

Eventually, someone is going to tap Jill Biden on the shoulder and say ‘that’s enough’.

If Susan Rice is departing, the question becomes how the club removes Biden from the 2024 race?  There are a multitude of approaches and leverages available for the Lightbringer’s team, which includes Deputy AG Lisa Monaco at Main Justice.

The criminal activity of Hunter Biden, and the potential for outcomes – or lack therein, can be leveraged.  The direct connection to the action of the principal, “the big guy” Joe Biden, could be leveraged.

The Biden administration’s interference in any number of related investigations can be leveraged, and… keep in mind…. it is not coincidental the evidence of the interference is manifest by the same team that would remove the principal.  Yeah, think about that for a moment.

Put aside the 2024 contest participants for a moment (ie. the shiny things), and instead focus on what peripheral risks exist to Joe Biden that could be deployed at any moment to push him to a graceful off ramp.

There are many club-installed insurance policies, political landmines all around Joe Biden.  Which one will they show him? [link]

I think we have our answer.

May 3 2023

Government’s Rule #1 – There are no Rules in time of Need


Armstrong Eonomics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted May 2, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; With Mexico pushing to nationalize mines claiming it is targeting lithium, many see this law as opening the door to seizing all mines. You have always warned that as we move closer and closer to 2032, governments will become more authoritarian because they feel that they are losing power. Do you see mines becoming a target when they cancel the paper money and force everyone into government digital currency since gold will be the obvious alternative?

Thank you for sharing your experience. I am sorry for what they did to you, but the positive outcome is first we now know you are not one of them, and secondly that we would never have had access to Socrates. You have your sweet revenge for you are now much more widely known than had you remained exclusive.

Keep that stiff upper lip, as they say.

NP

ANSWER: Yes, I have heard that many times. I was shocked that just 3 months after my release I held a conference mainly because they wanted to shoot the movie The Forecaster. I was totally stunned when people were flying in from around the world. When I asked why they came, they said they wanted to make sure it was really me writing and not the government using my name. That was a surprise but it also shows how much people did not trust the government and that was 12 years ago.

RULE #1 – There are no rules in times of crisis. The government will do whatever they want and it is up to the people to challenge them in court.

In Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, also known as The Steel Seizure Case, which made it to the Supreme Court where they ruled against President Truman by invalidating his seizure of the nation’s steel industry. In doing so, the Court limited the extent of the powers of the President of the United States under the Constitution. That was then. Biden has done some outrageous actions all with executive orders that defeat Congress and any democratic system.

Back in 1917, President Wilson nationalized the railroad industry to keep workers from striking during WWI. Truman could do something similar via Executive Order, but he had other options as well. In 1947 Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act, which banned strategies to help workers organize unions and limited the president’s power to seize industries during times of labor unrest. This allowed Truman to force workers back to work for 80 days while negotiations continued between labor and management. In 1948, an amendment was added to the Selective Service Act, allowing the president to seize industry facilities that were unable to fill their government orders for wartime products. The steel industry was not defaulting on its order obligations; however, as commander-in-chief, the president could make all military decisions for the United States, including mobilization efforts.

The story of the Youngstown decision begins with war. In 1950, the United States became involved in the Korean War when North Korean forces invaded the Republic of Korea. President Truman, without a Congressional declaration of war, sent troops to South Korea. In doing so, President Truman became the first president to involve the United States in a major war without specific authorization from Congress.

We must understand that this is the precedent. Biden will pull the same thing and get us involved in World War III and will circumvent Congress if the Neocons think Congress will not declare an act of war. People will say but that is unconstitutional. We ended up in the Korean War with no declaration of war either.

Herbert Hoover launched an investigation into the Great Crash based on a phone call where someone alleged that people manipulated the market down to discredit his administration. His investigations launched the SEC. In his memoirs, he apologized admitting that something the government will burn down the barn to a single rat.

They can seize gold mines and do the same to cryptocurrencies. Anyone who thinks there is some rule of law that will protect them – good luck. This is why I recommend coins and NOT bars for precious metals. Just as in the EU, they have made it illegal for a hotel to accept cash, they will do the same to cryptocurrencies and probably gold bullion. Already in Europe, it is ILLEGAL to pay for anything in excess of €10,000 in cash.

Anyone who thinks that by some miracle cryptocurrency will run parallel to the government’s digital currencies when they eliminate cash probably smoked too much when they were in college. They will not tolerate any competition. As we approach 2032, they will become much more aggressive and destroy everything we thought was our basic human right. Just look at what Trudeau did in Canada not to the Truckers, but froze anyone’s account to even donated money to them.

We do NOT live in a free society nor in a democracy at all. Because of their fiscal mismanagement, they have killed the economy, and now to prevent an uprising when the people figure it all out, they will become increasingly more authoritarian.

Edward Gibbon wrote of Caracalla: Each

“distinction of every kind soon became criminal. The possession of wealth stimulated the diligence of the informers; rigid virtue implied a tacit censure of the irregularities of Commodus; important services implied a dangerous superiority of merit; and the friendship of the father always insured the aversion of the son. Suspicion was equivalent to proof; trial to condemnation. The execution of a considerable senator was attended with the death of all who might lament or revenge his fate; and when Commodus had once tasted human blood, he became incapable of pity or remorse”

(Book 1, Chapter 4).

On April 8th, 217AD, Caracalla was traveling to visit a temple near Carrhae in southern Turkey. On his journey, he stopped briefly to urinate. A soldier quietly approached Caracalla and stabbed him to death. Such is the fate of tyrants. When the military realizes that the enemy is within, they will eventually turn and defend the people. That is what history offers as an important lesson. They are going to do everything to stop Trump from becoming president because he is not a politician and now knows the game. He would fire all the Neocons and they will sooner assassinate him than relinquish the power they have seized under Biden. They have begun WWIII against Russia and China without a declaration of war as was the case against North Korea.

May 2 2023

Government Corruption is Unprecedented


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted May 1, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Hi Martin
Thanks largely to you, my family and I never took the covid vaccines. You are/were right that the Covid pandemic was a scam.
However, today, I read a post by you that reported that an 11% spontaneous abortion rate is something to be concerned about. The average miscarriage rate for woman younger than 35 is 15% and it gets worse, the older you get.

HH

REPLY: I think this T-Shirt sums it all up. We cannot survive under a Republic without term limits. Once someone becomes a politician, all is lost. Our politicians have been bribed and now there is a lawsuit filed against the head of the EU for she never put it to Parliament, bought billions of doses many times more than the population of Europe, with ZERO accountability.

These people have crossed to the other side and we become the enemy. I was in British Columbia about 20 years ago and I was totally shocked by a left-wing woman politician I do not remember her name. She actually said that EVERYTHING we earn belongs to the government. They decide how much we are allowed to retain.

Klaus Schwab is an academic. Most are just Marxists and believe that they need to suppress human nature and we should own nothing, surrender all imagination and creativity, and just work like ants in their leftist vision of a farm.

Schwab’s Dream – the Ant Farm

May 2 2023

Senator Ron Johnson Notes Republicans on Senate Homeland Security Committee Refused to Support Hunter Biden Investigation


Posted originally on the CTH on May 1, 2023 | Sundance 

During an interview on Sunday conducted by Maria Bartiromo with Senator Ron Johnson, ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Senator Johnson revealed that Republicans on his own committee refused to investigate the issues that surfaced from the Hunter Biden laptop, because they were worried about the appearance of politics during a 2020 election year.  Note, that’s an outcome of a Mitch McConnell decision.

Additionally, following revelations from the laptop of Hunter Biden, Senator Johnson outlines that current Secretary of State Anthony Blinken lied to congress when he said he never had any email contact with Hunter Biden.  Emails from Secretary Blinken are on the Biden laptop. WATCH:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=wqo-_Cz_SG8%3Ffeature%3Doembed

.

May 1 2023

Victor Davis Hanson Gives Big Picture Perspective on Fox News and Tucker Carlson Firing


Posted originally on the CTH on April 30, 2023 | Sundance 

Victor Davis Hanson often has a unique big picture perspective on current events, linking and contrasting the disconnected high-brow outlook to the pragmatic perspectives of the modern populist movement.

Hanson takes an academic approach to the reality of current social constructs, yet in his own unique way he can describe the current status in a thoughtful and practical way.  In this analysis VDH contrasts the goals of the ideological media, specifically the goals of those in the Republican wing of the media control apparatus, to the reality they have created by removing the voice of Tucker Carlson.  WATCH:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=2SiaaCznZKE%3Ffeature%3Doembed

.

In their quest to control the mounting opposition to the corporate manipulation behind the DC Potemkin Village, the corporate media are creating a nimbler and more consequential army of opposition to their efforts.  The need for control is a reaction to fear.

There is a particular type of spider that carries several hundreds of young on her body after birth.  If you spot one of these in your shower, and your irrational fear instinct is to smash what seems to be a big scary spider, what you discover in the aftermath is the bathtub walls moving.  Yes, you may have squished the spider, but hundreds of smaller spiders are now crawling all around you.

May 1 2023

Sunday Talks, Gary Cohn Discusses the First Republic Bank Dynamic, and Confirms Something Interesting…


Posted originally on the CTH on April 30, 2023 | Sundance 

Gary Cohn is connected to the banking and finance industry, well connected.  In this interview with Face The Nation earlier today, Cohn is discussing the current status of First Republic Bank, another big player in the California banking system that is about to collapse.  Cohn notes something at the 1:15 mark that just seems obvious yet is undiscussed in most outlines of the FRB discussion.

Six weeks ago, in an effort organized by the FDIC, $30 billion was pushed into FRB by eleven larger banks to stabilize it.  However, the only thing that infusion of capital did was allow institutional depositors time and ability to withdraw their funds. A complete racket.  Once the at-risk group exits, suddenly the collapse is back on the tee.  WATCH:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=KN8dbNVxqt4%3Ffeature%3Doembed

[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: We want to turn now to Gary Cohn, who is the vice chairman of IBM, former Goldman Sachs president and a former Trump administration top economic adviser. Good morning to you. Lots of titles, Gary, Lots of experience. That’s why we like having you here. I want to ask you about what’s happening with First Republic. It’s been under pressure. We know they’ve been looking for a buyer, the FDIC, the government is looking to arrange, moving it into government control and then maybe selling it. What are you hearing about how this would roll out?

GARY COHN: Margaret, thanks for having me. I think you’re portraying the situation as we find ourselves again on a weekend. As we closed business of Friday, the FDIC was in a process of looking for acquirers or bidders for the assets over the course of the weekend. I think the FDIC has asked potentially three banks for their final bids for the entire bank. The FDIC would prefer to sell the bank in its entirety than the pieces. What will most likely happen is the FDIC will seize control and then simultaneously resell the asset to the successful bidder. I think that will happen sometime later this afternoon before the markets open in Asia this evening.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And this will be a faster process than what happened with SVB?

COHN: It will be- it will be a much faster process. Now, we’ve been going down this process for the last two weeks or so as first republics continues to be under pressure and continues to lose deposits. Unfortunately, First Republic reported this week that they had a massive outflow of deposits over the last quarter.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So if First Republic is sold, then the acquirer would take on the deposits. So what do you think about the conversation we had earlier with Congressman Khanna about whether Congress needs to do something here? Because it seems like we’re just going into emergency mode now for three banks.

COHN: Yeah.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Does there need to be a broader change to the regulatory system and to the laws?

COHN: Well, it’s an interesting question. So, look, I don’t agree with Congressman Khanna that we want unlimited FDIC insurance. I think that to me is a bit of a race to the bottom.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You had picked like two, 2 million. 5 million, 10 million.

COHN: Yeah. I mean, there’s got to be some limit. It’s- at some point you have to limit because you don’t want to race to the bottom where you know, the weakest bank with the weakest balance sheet in the world can offer you the highest rate of return on your deposits. And therefore, you take your deposits there because guess what? They’re insured by the federal government. That’s not what we want to see. We want to see some type of discipline in the system. When you talk about more and more regulation, I smiled because if you look at the report that came out that you referenced with Ro Khanna as well, you know, one of the findings in the report is that the regulators did not do a very good job enforcing the existing rules. So if you can’t enforce the rules you already have on the books and by- it’s hard to enforce the rules because there are so many rules, do you want to create more and more rules when you can’t enforce the one you already have? Part of me feels like we need to get a simpler, more coherent set of rules so the bank regulators can actually enforce them and they know what the important rules are.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But the bank regulators here are at the Fed. That’s what we’re talking about here.

COHN: They’re at the Fed and at the States. Remember–

MARGARET BRENNAN: That’s true.

COHN: –we have state regulated banks and federally regulated banks.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, that’s a big conversation for California since they just had two banks–

COHN: It is.

MARGARET BRENNAN: –have some big problems. But Fed Chairman Powell is going to face questions from the press midweek.

COHN: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: They- he gives a press conference around the decision on interest rates that he is expected to be making. Do you think these banking problems are going to interfere with his plan?

COHN: I don’t think these problems are going to interfere with his plans. I actually think they’re helpful to his plans.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Because they’re slowing the economy?

COHN: Exactly. What the- what the chair has been trying to do is slow the economy down. He’s been trying to tamp down inflation. Inflation is too many goods chasing too few products. And part of the chasing has been the easy availability of credit. Now that we’ve seen deposits lose- the- leave the system and we’ve seen banks in tighter financial position, they are not offering loans as easily as they were before and the loans have become more expensive. So people are borrowing less money, they have less access to credit, so their ability to purchase is going down. Purchasing power is waning in the United States, which is exactly what the chairman’s been trying to do by raising interest rates. So he’s in essence, getting enormous amount of help out of this banking crisis, not what he wanted to see happen in any way, shape or form, but the unintended consequence is very helpful to slowing down the economy and tamping down inflation.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So does it up the odds of a recession being more than mild?

COHN: It probably ups the odds. Yes. I mean, it definitely ups the odds. It takes control out of the Fed. The Fed is no longer in total control of slowing down the economy. They’ve now got the banking industry playing along with them. But as we’ve seen in the economic data recently, the consumer in the United States still is in relatively good shape. They are starting to run out of savings. The money that they got during COVID, we put an enormous amount of stimulus into consumers bank accounts and that administrations, both administrations, every every administration put enormous amount of stimulus in the bank accounts. We see from the savings data that’s starting to to wear down. It’s starting to run off. So is that runs off further and further. The economy would become more credit dependent to keep thriving. So I think we will see a slowdown. And I still think we’re in a relatively decent shape. We may have a recession, but I still. I think we could muddle through the bottom here without a real deep recession.

MARGARET BRENNAN: The chair of the House Financial Services Committee, Congressman McHenry, called the Fed’s report a self-serving justification of Democrats long held priorities. He may be venting. It doesn’t look like Congress is doing anything to change regulation or laws related to banking. There was an FDIC report on the collapse of Signature Bank, which blamed bad management, but it also said regulators just didn’t have enough staff. In New York. I mean, there’s some pretty damaging bits of information in here. If you put aside the politics, the regulators don’t have enough staff. They didn’t act. So who are they being held accountable by unless it’s Chair Powell?

COHN: Well, it is Chair Powell. And I think- I think when the chairman goes to Congress and remember, he testifies in front of both the House and the Senate a couple of times a year. Historically, all of the questions have been on monetary policy. I think we’re going to start seeing a lot more questions on the regulatory and the regulatory policy. How is regulation working? Are they keeping up to what they need to do? Do they have proper staff or there are issues that are going by that are not being covered? This is a huge finding. I mean, this is a bit of a seismic moment because we believe in the United States and I think the US population believes that the banks where they deposit their hard earned money are well regulated. And we have found out this week in the Fed’s own report that these banks are not well regulated, and they admitted it themselves. I ran a regulated bank. I know that if we would have ever told our regulator that we did not have a enough people to regulate ourselves, they would have shut us down. So we cannot be in a position where the regulators themselves say we do not have enough staff to regulate you properly.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You ran one of the biggest banks. Gary, we’ve got to leave it there. We’ll be back in a moment.