Bondi Has PEU Shoulder to Cry On

Loyalty is the one over-riding demand from Trump II and that was not enough to save Pam Bondi's job (Attorney General).  Women fare poorly in Trump world and Pam became the second female cabinet member to be let go.  

It happened in the midst of Trump II's flailing in his horrific war of choice on Iran.  Pam's boyfriend has a substantial shoulder to cry on.  As a private equity underwriter (PEU), John Wakefiled is a member of the elite financial class that sponsors politicians, writes laws/regulations, ensures preferential tax rates and taps Uncle Sam's wallet for massive sums.  

Let's reminisce about Pam's good days with Trump.  The Trump Foundation gave Bondi's political campaign $25,000 as the Florida Attorney General considered whether to bring criminal charges in conjunction with the failed Trump University.  Foundations are barred from making political donations, but Trump did it anyway as rules and laws do not apply to him.

Pam advised Trump Media & Technology Group for a handsome sum, $3 million.  TMTG is in the midst of going nuclear and that may be the private sector job calling Pam so badly.  Trump likes his chess pieces (people) to stay on the board even if they've gone from Queen to pawn.

Trump has usurped law in the U.S. such that his savage whims constitute same.  Pam Bondi did her part willingly.  Now it's her PEU boyfriend's job to reassemble the shell of person that remains.  

A redemption path exists but that takes courage, brutal honesty, the removal of masks/fake language and dropping attachment to earthly things.  It requires placing the relationship with our maker at the very top.  

Pam would have to drop Trump II, the slimy dealmaker who ditched her, the one who entangled her with his demands, financial strings, and damning by feint praise.  He loves you Pam but only in the private sector.  

Carlyle Co-Founder Power100 Honoree

PRNewswire ran the following:

Power100 is proud to announce a featured fireside chat at the 2026 Power100 Honoree Dinner with David Rubenstein, Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group and host of Bloomberg Presents: The David Rubenstein Show. The conversation will be led by Ken Kencel, Chief Executive Officer of Churchill Asset Management. 

The Power100 Honoree Dinner will take place on May 3, 2026, at the Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel. The dinner is invite-only and attended by a curated group of leaders from across the investment ecosystem who gather to reflect, connect, and emerge as a collective force in shaping the investment management industry. 

Each year, the event is oversubscribed and attended by more than 150 allocators and consultants overseeing collectively over $10 trillion in assets. Yet the numbers only begin to tell the story. What truly defines the room is the convergence of intellect, resilience, and vision demonstrated by the allocators, asset managers, advisors, and industry leaders who participate in the weekend's events.

The last time Rubenstein and Ken Kencel appeared in PEUReport was in regard to Elle Rubenstein's implosion as a board member for the Alaska Permanent Fund titled "PEU Arrogance Beyond Comprehension:  Alaska Big."   

Since then another Rubenstein daughter, Alexa, started Hobe Mountain Partners in Palm Beach, Florida.  Hobe Mountain is a spin off from Dad's Declaration Partners, his home office and Carlyle Group conflict of interest.  

Ken Kencel left Carlyle during a turbulent time (leadership turnover) but remains a friend and admirer of Mr. Rubenstein.  Power100 included a picture of Rubenstein with President Joe Biden.  Biden stayed at Rubenstein's Nantucket estate over Thanksgiving for many years (over a decade).

Remember who else loves private equity underwriters (PEU)?  Our curated group of elected officials, politicians Red & Blue.  They have the intellect, resilience and vision to keep supporting the greed and leverage boys to the detriment of the common person.  

Trump Drone News

The Trump boys plan to usurp Ukraine's drone technology and sell it to the U.S. military (WSJ).  They also are targeting the UAE (Bloomberg).  

And they added another General to their Advisory Board, Lt. General Keith Kellogg, Trump II's former Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia (Defense One).  

Trump II will address the nation this evening.  I expect him to drone on and on.  Will it be another front-running opportunity for his kids?  Highly likely.

TechGods Go Firing: Oracle Up to 30,000?

 

TechGods, CryptoBros and PEUs (private equity underwriters), oh my!  Beloved by politicians (who increasingly are one).

Carlyle Gobbles Up Another RIA

The Carlyle Group will acquire MAI Capital, a registered investment advisor (RIA) rollup,  from Harvest Partners.  

MAI is a gatekeeper, able to steer their account holders into Carlyle affiliated investments.  

As for Carlyle, their most recent annual report states:

...we may cause different funds to invest in a single portfolio company, for example, where the fund that made an initial investment no longer has capital available to invest. 

We also may cause different funds that we manage to purchase different classes of securities in the same portfolio company. For example, one of our CLO funds could acquire a debt security issued by the same company in which one of our private equity funds owns common equity securities. A direct conflict of interest could arise between the debt holders and the equity holders if such a company were to develop insolvency concerns, and we would have to carefully manage that conflict. 

A decision to acquire material non-public information about a company while pursuing an investment opportunity for a particular fund gives rise to a potential conflict of interest when it results in our having to restrict the ability of other funds to take any action with respect to that company. 

Our affiliates or portfolio companies may be service providers or counterparties to our funds or portfolio companies and receive fees or other compensation for services that are not shared with our fund investors. 

In such instances, we may be incentivized to cause our funds or portfolio companies to purchase such services from our affiliates or portfolio companies rather than an unaffiliated service provider even though a third-party service provider could potentially provide higher quality services or offer them at a lower cost.

Individual investors may wish to consider if they want even a penny of their retirement account allocated to opaque, potentially "conflict of interest" riddled private investments.  

Carlyle already holds a minority stake in Captrust, another RIA.  Last year Carlyle purchased Intelliflo, a practice management software suite for RIAs.  It carved out RedBlack, its U.S. subsidiary, from Intelliflo but news sources stated Carlyle is supporting both businesses. 

RedBlack’s team is “excited to be backed in this endeavour by a sponsor with the reputation and credentials of Carlyle.”  

I smell an impending computer conversion.  Oh MAI....

Hegseth: Frontunner in Greed as well as Death?

FT reported that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's broker sought a multimillion dollar investment in defense weapons makers weeks before Trump II started his war of choice on Iran.

The Pentagon is denying this and it has considerable tools at its disposal to reframe stories it does not like.

As Trump II and Hegseth like movie references, the defense investment story will be reframed by Caddyshack.  Trump II is the golfer, Hegseth the groundskeeper and the Iranians are gophers.

"Superior intelligence and superior firepower.  That's all she wrote..."

"You know, someone should invest in that."  

But that statement was not offered by Pete Hegseth.  Hegseth has had one thing on his mind, getting those Iranian gophers.  He is so singularly focused that Pete does not see front-running done by Trump's kids, Jared Kushner, Howard Lutnick's kids, Steve Witkoff's kids, Corey Lewandowski, Tom Homan.....

So clearly Pete Hegseth's wanting to profit from his job, like other Trump appointees, is "entirely false and fabricated."  Spoken like a psyop.  Are you buying?

Carlyle Returning to Its PEU Roots: "Defense/War"

Bloomberg reported on a Carlyle Group leak:

Carlyle Group Inc. plans to launch a fund focused on the defense sector amid growing demand by governments to upgrade their military forces, according to people with knowledge of the matter. 

The Washington, DC-based firm has reached out to investors to discuss the fund, pitching it as a way to invest in so-called reindustrialization, the people said, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. 

This entails expanding the US’s industrial base and manufacturing. US President Donald Trump has prioritized weapons development, seeking a 50% boost in the annual defense budget next year to $1.5 trillion. 

Carlyle has its roots in the defense industry, having recruited former Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci in its early days. He brokered acquisitions of defense firms at low prices as the US Department of Defense cut spending in the 1990s, scoring big profits for the alternative asset manager. 

Carlyle was granted exclusivity to negotiate with the US Army to construct a data center across 1,384 acres at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. Carlyle invests in the data center ecosystem and has more than 20 gigawatts of data center capacity under development across the portfolio, including Copia Power.

The Army is seeking public, private partnerships for energy, industrials, supply chains, manufacturing and critical materials.   Everybody wants in, the Trump boys, private equity underwriters (PEU), TechGods, etc.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, a former PEU with Flex Capital,  has been meeting with private equity firms to fund a $150 billion infrastructure investment.

The Red Team wants to cut healthcare funding to pay for massive increases in defense spending for wars the little people (voters) do not want as Trump II continues his country acquisition spree.  

  

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod/CryptoBro brethren,  Increasingly, more are one.  How many will invest in Carlyle's new retro defense/re-industrialization fund?  Surely, Bloomberg's article tickled some interest amongst insiders.