THE SHOW NOTES: MAGA Money Problems, Fani Willis, & Hamas Is Not Militant?
Welcome! Capitol Police have declined to press charges after a staffer for a Democratic Senator filmed himself having sex in the Senate.
LOLOL: My friend Rep. Rich McCormick was reported by the Capitol Visitor Center for doing pull-ups at the top of the US Capitol.
DATA: Trump leads Haley in South Carolina by 26 points - Politico
POLL Biden jumps to a six-point lead over Trump in the Quinnipiac poll.
HEADLINE: US approves plan to strike Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq, officials say - BBC
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MAGA Money
Donald Trump’s protracted legal battles on multiple fronts are depleting campaign funds at an alarming rate. Trump’s campaign and his primary Super PAC blew through more cash than either raised in the past three months.
Super PAC data: Here’s where Trump’s PAC financial situation stands from reporting data from the last six months of 2023: MAGA PAC spent over $4 million on Trump’s legal fees and currently has less than $600,000 in the bank. The Save America leadership PAC raised $6.6M but spent nearly $25 million on legal fees. The MAGA Inc Super PAC brought in $47.8 million but spent $30 million on refunding other Super PACs after being drained supporting Trump’s legal bill.
Campaign data: Trump’s 2024 campaign committee raised $19.1 million in Q4 of last year but burned through $23.56 million with legal fees being the second largest cost driver.
That’s not all: The cash-depleted Republican National Committee is seeking a line of credit to fund its operating expenditures after it reported a $15 million fundraising shortfall last year.
Meanwhile: Democrats are cash-bloated with the Biden campaign announcing $46 million in the bank while his primary Super PAC touted an impressive $24 million in reserves.
Bottom line: The financial woes for the RNC and Team Trump stand in stark contrast with a Democratic Party simply sitting on their pile of cash and waiting.
A $560 Billion Property Warning Hits Banks From NY to Tokyo
The US commercial real estate market has been in turmoil since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. But New York Community Bancorp and Japan’s Aozora Bank Ltd. delivered a reminder that some lenders are only just beginning to see the pain.
New York Community Bancorp’s decisions to slash its dividend and stockpile reserves sent its stock down a record 38% and dragged the KBW Regional Banking Index to its worst day since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last March. Tokyo-based Aozora Bank plunged more than 20% after warning of a loss tied to investments in US commercial property. In Europe, Deutsche Bank AG more than quadrupled its US real estate loss provisions to €123 million ($133 million) in the fourth quarter from a year earlier.
The concern reflects the ongoing slide in commercial property values coupled with the difficulty predicting which specific loans might unravel. Setting that stage is a pandemic-induced shift to remote work and a rapid run-up in interest rates, which have made it more expensive for strained borrowers to refinance. Billionaire investor Barry Sternlicht warned this week that the office market is headed for more than $1 trillion in losses.
Full story at Bloomberg (paywall)
Democrats Have A Biden Problem
Frank Luntz told CNBC that according to the data, the weakest candidate to take on Donald Trump is Joe Biden.
Fani Willis
Fulton County DA Fani Willis once said that Fulton County deserves a “DA who won’t have sex with employees” or “put money in their own pocket.” It appears she did both.
Hamas Is Not Militant?
"You may disagree with their politics but that does not make Hamas militant."
Trending news:
Illegal migrant flips middle fingers after being charged with attacking NYPD in Times Square - Fox News
Inside Trump’s Costly Outburst: ‘Like an 8-Year-Old Having a Temper Tantrum’ - Politico
Biden expected to issue executive order targeting Israeli settlers in West Bank - Politico
Gen Z boys and men more likely than baby boomers to believe feminism harmful, says poll - The Guardian
California introduces first-in-nation slavery reparations package - Politico
Ben Shapiro’s new song hit No. 1 on iTunes. How did that happen? - MSN
Donald Trump’s Wealth Under Siege From Civil Lawsuits - WSJ (paywall)
Market snapshot:
Ben Shapiro: "I just want to thank God, @IAMTOMMACDONALD, and my parents, who paid for 15 years of classical violin lessons so I could become the #1 rapper in America."
The political right is the only demographic with a sense of humor anymore.
Going inside the Capitol after being consensually let in by Capitol Police: CRIME.
Filming gay sex in that same Capitol: NO CRIME.
Everyone understand? Or do you need to be re-educated like Jordan Peterson?