Vance: Trump's New Fraud Czar

Trump II gave Vice President J.D. Vance a highly whittled down job, fraud czar.  Serious fraudsters received Presidential pardon after pardon in the last year.  Trump II's "Just Us" department carved out white collar and corporate crime for special treatment.  They did after dropping thousands of fraud/white collar crime cases to focus on immigration.

This assignment comes after Iran asked for Vance to negotiate on ending Trump's/Netanyahu's war of opportunity on Iran.  Anything that takes attention away from Trump II is detested and must be countered.  

Vance got his V.P. job after Trump dined with David Sacks and fellow TechGods.  Vance worked for TechGod Peter Thiel before starting his own firm Narya Capital, a private equity underwriter (PEU).

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod brethren, but love affairs come with spats.  Trump II may be the spatiest of them all.  If you think it's tedious watching from the outside, it's sheer hell on the inside.  

Trump is the bringer of carnage, the destroyer of human connection and the thief of even the smallest item of value.  And that is his good side.

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.

Trump's Iran War: March Good to Two Generals

Face the Nation interviewed General Frank MacKenzie regarding Trump II's war of choice on Iran.  I searched for any private equity ties.  General MacKenzie added two new jobs since Trump II attacked Iran on Saturday, February 28th (other than his recent naming as President of The Citadel).

WestExec Advisors added MacKenzie as Principal on March 12th, while Teneo announced MacKenzie's Senior Advisor role on March 27th.  Another general, James Hecker, was added to the same two firms in the same roles as MacKenzie.

Teneo was founded by Doug Band, Declan Kelly and Paul Keary.  Two of the three left the firm after uncomfortable news broke.

Doug Band left in December 2020 to focus on his family office (generational wealth created in part from PEU consulting).  He broke the Larry Summers "insiders don't say bad things about insiders" rule.

Teneo's connected consultants help private equity underwriters (PEU) who lever political relationships as well as equity.  

Declan Kelly left Teneo in 2021 after behaving boorishly at a fundraiser.

Kelly started his own advisory firm complete with a captive PEU, Consello Capital.   Founder Keary managed to avoid a nasty exit and is currently Teneo's CEO.

The other firm employing the two Generals is WestExec Advisors.  This firm supplied a number of Biden cabinet members, as did Pine Island Capital, another PEU.  WestExec has two former Red Team Congressmen on board.

 Teneo has bipartisan stripes, long a PEU staple in their employment stable.  

Bill Clinton and Tony Blair once acted as paid advisors to Teneo.  

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod/CryptoBro brethren.  Increasingly, more are one.  The whole sodden lot wants to remake the world in their favor, not yours.  That's the nation we face.

Update:  The Carlyle Group is returning to its roots and offering a new defense fund (Bloomberg)

Trump II's Loser Meme-coin

Trump II closed the FII Institute conference in Miami with a keynote speech.  He opened his talk by noting that everyone in the audience is rich from the front to the middle to the back of the room.  

The moderator asked Trump about the one leadership quality that is missing in the world today.  Trump said "winning."  He then divided leaders into winners and losers and commented he likes to hang out with losers because it makes him feel better.  

An April 25th dinner with Trump II at Mar-a-Lago is the prize for 297 winners of the his $TRUMP meme-coin holder contest with the top 29 getting exclusive access to the President and his "superstar hosts."

Will Trump feel bad about himself at the dinner because he is around so many winners or will he look at these people as losers for ponying up valuable money for a Walmart steak and no personal time with the President (one attendees take on the winning the first $TRUMP dinner contest)?  

This is the third Saudi investment conference since Trump II was sworn back into office in January 2025.  The two prior events coincided with rising $TRUMP prices.  That pattern held until day 3 of the conference when Trump offered his fireside chat.  Below are three March 2026 screenshots of $TRUMP.  It shows a price of $2.89 on March 9, $3.18 on March 22 and $2.85 on March 29.  

The Dinner Contest boost got $TRUMP as high as $4.25.  Since then its been doing a lot of losing.

Other than its initial blow off pop $TRUMP's short lifetime has been one of decline.  Does that meas Trump II can hang out with himself as a loser and feel better about his winning side (the fees generated by trading)?  Absolutely.

Also, David Sacks and his fellow TechGods think Trump is a winner.  Trump told the FII  crowd that AI is the place for investment money but cautioned.  "You better hope that it works."

Spoken like a real winner....

"Trump's playbook - built on domination, disruption, and relentless self-promotion—breaks every conventional rule of leadership yet often achieves results through sheer force of will"

Frankly, I am tired of all the winning private equity underwriters (PEU) and TechGods/CryptoBros have had at the expense of the common person.  

I'd offer up a number of "something else's" missing in leadership today, balance, virtue, sharing, relationship, vision, listening, knowledge, empathy, beauty and harmony.

Update 3-30-26:  Trump shifted from slamming losers to stupid people.  RFK Jr. tried to usurp the word empathy and apply it to Trump II.  It did not stick.

More than One Trump Speaks at Saudi FII Miami

Trump II provided a Presidential Address to close the three day FII Priority "Capital in Motion" conference in Miami.  This was the fourth time for this annual event after it was established by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and its Future Investment Initiative (FII).  

Another Trump was on the speaking agenda.  Don Jr. shared his profitable front running of Dad's government strategies.  

Zach Witkoff spoke twice at the FII conference, as did his father Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner (each having their own dedicated sessions).  The three spoke alongside a number of other private equity underwriters (PEU)

The elder Witkoff spoke on how power and capital flow, while the younger addressed digital assets and stablecoins.  Jared Kushner is currently raising an additional $5 billion from Middle East countries so it was nice of the Saudis to give him a platform to sell.

Kushner tackled the U.S.-Gulf investment relationship under Trump II's war of choice on Iran, conducted in conjunction with Israel, our 51st state.

Miami is a key city in the Trump economy and former Mayor Frances Suarez had the opportunity to sell it as an investment destination.  Suarez recently changed PEU teams from DaGrosa Capital Partners to Alpha Wave Global.  He celebrated a big Abu Dhabi commitment to Alpha Wave as their new President.

 

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod/Cryptobro brethren.  Increasingly, more are one.  It's a tidal wave of alpha's.

CNN's Poly PEU Nondisclosure

CNN's Smerconish had Admiral James Stavridis on his show this morning with no mention of his full time job at The Carlyle Group, a politically connected private equity underwriter (PEU)  This nondisclosure occurred for the fourth week in a row (March 7, 14, 21 & 28).  

Stavridis is working overtime in his role with Carlyle "focusing on international activities and global strategy"  as Carlyle intends to profit from the fighting, as well as the aftermath.

There are three things that I’m watching. Number one: What is the physical location of Steve Witcoff and Jared Kushner? These are the two absolute negotiators that Trump trusts the most. Are they in Geneva or another neutral site? Are they in a plane headed toward Europe? Are they parked in New York? Are they down to Washington for consultations?

Stavridis' other two things are the Marines and the Strait of Hormuz.

Host Michael Smerconish avoided this line of questions but went on to point out insiders profiting from Polymarket bets relative to Trump's various and sundry "excurions" (wars) and financial markets in a later segment.  

Special Envoy Jared Kushner is another PEU who has played a significant role in the current conflict.  Affinity Partners promotes its ability to read and influence international tea leaves.

Jared is currently seeking $5 billion in additional funding from Middle Eastern countries for Affinity Partners.  

Libertarian TechGods turned interventionist once they saw the potential of tapping Uncle Sam's wallet, something known for decades by the more subtle PEU boys.

Palantir’s co-founders, Peter Thiel and Joe Lonsdale, have both publicly argued that conflict with Iran is inevitable, with Lonsdale saying he was hoping to “invest in Iran” after a regime change. 

Palantir’s CEO, Alex Karp, predicted war with Iran would prove the worth of the company’s autonomous weapons system.

Did Palantir's system target the girls elementary school in Minab, Iran?  That answer may never come in our free and open democracy.

Stavridis agrees with the TechGods of Spying:

Iran could still do damage, they could use terrorism, they could use cyber, they could continue to close the strait. But their capability is reduced to a point where, as an investor, I continue to be comfortable in getting into the region. 

And all of this, I think, ultimately is going to move the Israelis and the Gulf Arab states closer together. Put those two things together, I think the Gulf remains highly investable. 

...the investment opportunities in a post conflict Iran are very high. It’s three times the size of Texas, full of oil and gas, a highly educated population, and a deep sense of history.

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod/CryptoBro brethren.  Increasingly, more are one.  And they want to go All In on Iran.  As for Carlyle, Stavridis noted:

“We’re going to assess the geopolitical risk. We’re going to bake that into our investment thesis” – and in many cases, that leads us to pass on markets where the risk-return isn’t there.

Uncle Sam takes the risk, PEUs & TechGods get the return.  At preferred tax rates to boot!

Update:  The Carlyle Group is returning to its roots and offering a new defense fund (Bloomberg)

Trump II Stacks PCAST with TechGods

Trump II announced his first round of appointees to his council of advisors on science & technology.  To no surprise, it's full of TechGods.  

There is a record of customer harm between Marc Andreessen, who walked away from fintech Synapse's collapse, and Mark Zuckerberg, who's company was found liable for harming children in two different court cases.  Good to have both the child predator "facilitator" and financial conman view on the panel.  

What, no prediction market founder?  Isn't this the way "knowledge" will be grown in the future?  Hardly,  they couldn't even foresee that insiders would create stacked bets to profit handsomely.  

Access to the federal budget and continued regulatory capture is the aim of this dastardly crew.  Meanwhile, Trump plans to usurp them in as many ways as possible.  After all, Trump II is a deal maker and deal makers earn deal fees.  

I predict a fusion tie-up in the future once Trump Media and Technology Group merges with TAE Technologies.  Surely, Bob Mumgaard will want to buy out TAE-TMTG at a premium price.  

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU (private equity underwriters) and their new TechGod/CryptoBro brethren.  Increasingly, more are one.

Update 3-27-26:  America's new Addiction Center bar will open in Washington, D.C.  

‘The Situation Room’ by Polymarket is coming to Washington, D.C.,” read the announcement posted last Wednesday to Polymarket’s social media. The prediction-market company described the pop-up as “the world’s first bar dedicated to monitoring the situation,” a kind of newfangled sportsbook that instead of showing live sports and betting lines would pipe in information of every kind about the state of the world, from live X feeds to real-time flight radar.

Customers are encouraged to show up with all their addictive apps, car titles, home deeds and large credit lines, dollar or crypto based.  Wage garnishment forms will be available for those who need to leave and get home to their families, assuming they have not been sold to cover prior lost bets.

Churchill, Mr. Henry & Trump II

The White House published a Presidential Message on the 251st anniversary of Patrick Henry's famous speech given in the Henrico Parish Church (later renamed St. John's Church) on Richmond's Churchill. 

Trump II's message focused on the famous line "Give me Liberty or Give Me Death."  Trump has usurped this to "Give Me (whatever I want) or I will Give You hurt (possibly including death)."

Here's how one author summarized Trump II:

"Trump's playbook - built on domination, disruption, and relentless self-promotion—breaks every conventional rule of leadership yet often achieves results through sheer force of will"

It breaks nearly ever Biblical commandment as well.

Here's the part of Patrick Henry's famous speech the White House did not include in its special message:   

We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? 

For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it. I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging the future but by the past. 

And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. 

Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? 

Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it?

May I offer an update?

"What means this domestic martial array (ICE, Palantir, Anduril, Hadrian, Flock, FBI purchased citizen location data)?  For what purpose Sir?  And this from people who claim to be Libertarians?  Liberty for them but not for all?  Hogwash!  

Give me a President who wishes to serve, not to be served!  One who would cast off the eye of intrusion in daily life and return government to supporting the common good, not  surveilling the common man.

What good is it to have a dossier on every citizen, where various monarchical ministries know more about us than we know about ourselves?  And why are there dank shadows where this light of constant inspection never reach?  What is hiding there?

Who is hiding there?  They who prey on the young and innocent.  They who twist our faith for their earthly purposes of greed and power accumulation.  They who tariff our tea for the king's purse and call it beautiful.  Travesty!

It's purpose must be to take our very souls while protecting the profiteers and the king's henchmen!  Have you no decency, Mr. Thiel?  Give me real Libertarians, not apartheid replants!  

And this would be king, my God he is insufferable.  Surely, other branches of government have checked him and found him wanting?  

Why is everyone so quiet?"    

Update 3-25-26:  My wise friend reminded me of the great Patrick McHenry, former Interim Speaker of the House for the Red Team.  McHenry could well have said "Give me post-Congressional employment and I'll be your bitch."  It's not confirmed, but data indicates such.

The Gods of Taking: Trump & Ares

Financial crisis worsen when the big money boys no longer trust one another to make good on their debts.  Private credit is such an area.  Several years ago Apollo's Marc Rowan referred to private credit as investment grade (which is wasn't then and clearly is not now).  Financial advisors pushed private credit and private equity into individual accounts, many of them 401k's and IRAs.  

Take Ares Strategic Income Fund, which recently reported:

Ares has restricted redemptions from the $22.7 billion Ares Strategic Income fund after exit requests reached 11.6% in the first quarter. The firm said the majority of repurchase requests were made by a limited number of family offices and smaller institutions in select geographies who represent less than 1% of our over 20,000 shareholders.

Family offices and likely sovereign wealth funds (SWF) are cousins of private equity underwriters (PEU).  Many PEUs branched into private credit (you finance my junk, and I'll finance yours).   

Family offices are financial behemoths who know what happens when credit goes bad.  Those who wait for the promised lifeboats find out no more exist.

The Trump administration is too busy front running their key strategies to care about retirees losing their annuities, pension benefits or retirement savings.  

Trump II is in that exclusive group that will take theirs and run.  This will happen long before the pain spreads enough for them to actually be held to account for their actions that encouraged fiction and fraud. 

Trump II is the greatest taker in our country's history, fueled by the world's greatest military might.  We've never really seen anything like it.  His savage, dangerous, militarized focus is like the Greek God Ares himself, the God of Excursions.

Professional Market Makers do $TRUMP

$TRUMP, the only official Trump meme by President Donald J. Trump has a new update for his non-investment, non-security meme-coin.  It involves professional market makers who provide liquidity depth via an institutional market structure.  That's a lot for $TRUMP and its associated ideals, beliefs & artwork.  

Trump II holds the cards, including the vast majority of unlocked coins and the government agencies that would review and condemn this obvious shill that sells meal access to the United States President for big holders that churn the non-investment, non-security for fees:

CIC Digital LLC, an affiliate of The Trump Organization, and Fight Fight Fight LLC collectively own 80% of the Trump Cards, subject to a 3-year unlocking schedule. CIC Digital LLC and Celebration Cards LLC, the owner of Fight Fight Fight LLC, will receive trading revenue derived from trading activities of Trump Meme Cards.

Everybody's front running something:

Traders made bets worth half a billion dollars in the oil market about 15 minutes before Donald Trump’s post touting 'productive' talks with Iran sent the price of crude tumbling

And the cops on the beat have been told to look the other way.

SEC Enforcement Director Margaret Ryan clashed with Agency bosses before resigning last week.

Ryan wanted to be more aggressive in pursuing misconduct, including cases with ties to Trump and his family.

Politicians Red & Blue love private equity underwriters (PEU) and their new TechGod/CryptoBro brethren.  Increasingly, more are one.

White House Japan Summit Dinner Featured TechGods & PEUs

TechGods of Spying (Palantir's Alex Karp & Shyam Sankar) and War (Anduril's Palmer Luckey) joined other insiders at the White House Dinner as part of the U.S. Japan summit.  Financial juggernauts BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, Softbank and Mastercard were represented.  Las Vegas Sands, Open AI, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries executives also attended.  

Most of the private equity underwriters (PEU) who attended did so in their professional role within the Trump Administration, J.D. Vance (Narya Capital), Howard Lutnick (GCM Grosvenor), Doug Burgum (Arthur Ventures) and Scott Bessent (Key Square Capital).  Senator Bill Hagerty (Haggerty Peterson & Co) was also at the White House dinner.

TechGod and PEU Peter Theil is an investor in both companies, Palantir and Anduril.  He met with the Japanese Prime Minister weeks before the White House visit where Trump II compared the U.S./Israeli attack on Iran to Pearl Harbor for its surprise nature.  

There is a different surprise attack going on.  Polticians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod brethren.  Increasingly, more are one and they are taking all the spoils. 

Update 3-22-26:  Alex Karp's Palantir has the corner on domestic surveillance.  Take that, Anthropic!

The company cut its teeth protecting Bilderbergers, where Alex Karp and Peter Thiel served on its steering committee.

Update 3-23-26:  Anthony Scaramucci of SkyBridge Capital wrote a remarkable piece in Fortune about the deterioration of the American Empire due to the themes PEUReport has identified since its beginning in 2007.

CNN: Carlyle Vice Chairman Back, Much Left Unsaid

It's becoming a weekly event for Carlyle Group Vice Chairman Admiral James Stavridis to be interviewed by Michael Smerconish with no disclosure as to the man's day job.  

Stavridis could have provided color on Carlyle co-founder David Rubenstein's decision to sell 500,000 shares of stock for over $23 million.  Surely, the man's tax bill went down like other billionaires in his class.  

Is Rubenstein funding another historical project as part of his "patriotic philanthropy," the political sales pitch for his longtime "carried interest" tax dodge?  

Does he plan to invest the money in his daughter Alexa's new PEU fund based in West Palm Beach, Florida - the New Cracker Wall Street?

Later on Smerconish interviewed the parents of Sam Bankman-Fried about his "innocence."  For a lawyer Smerconish went light on the legal details that contributed to SBF's conviction.  

SBF and David Rubenstein both invested in Paxos, alongside numerous other TechGods and private equity underwriters (PEU).  SBF approach Rubenstein for an investment as FTX neared financial trouble.  Rubenstein passed.

Co-mingling customer funds with company trading accounts is a longtime financial sin that has taken down many executives.  

Back to Admiral Stavridis and his day job, global strategy at Carlyle.  I am sure he is working overtime to assess the impact on Carlyle's portfolio and where/how to put their giant vaults of dry powder to work.  Trump II's country by country takeover has a strong economic motivation as "deal makers earn deal fees" and he needs greater net worth.

Consider this from another PEU, Skybridge Capital's Anthony Scaramucci:

...the U.S. and its allies had developed a “systemic blind spot” after the Berlin Wall fell, treating liberal democracy's victory as inevitable and making economic mistakes that fueled political and cultural fractures. 

He admitted that, as a young Wall Street analyst, he had ignored the concerns of American workers while leaders justified offshoring, trade integration, and China's WTO entry.

It was the PEU boys who bought U.S. companies and shuttered factories, sending jobs overseas.  Politicians provided them tax breaks that helped millionaires become billionaires.  

The factories are "coming back" but they will be automated.  Carlyle's Stavridis may be working on this, but we know Jeff Bezos is as well.  Axios reported:

(Bezos) is in talks to raise $100 billion for a fund that would buy manufacturing companies "and seek to use AI technology to accelerate their path to automation."

TechGods and at least one Trump boy have a stake in factory automation company Hadrian.  Don Jr. is a partner for 1789 Capital which took a stake in Hadrian two months ago.

Stavridis could have talked about:

1.  the Trump's race to expand the American economic pie by raiding other countries or 
2. the PEU race within the race to garner larger and larger chunks of Uncle Sam's budget in the new Red Team's "state capitalism" or 
3. the race to paper over criminal behavior in our new anything goes business environment.  

That I would have found more interesting.

Update 3-28-26:  Smerconish had Admiral James Stavridis on his show again this morning with no mention of his full time job at Carlyle (the fourth week in a row).  The host went on to point out insiders profiting from Polymarket bets but missed his guest's job of profiting from political connections and influencing global governments.

Update 3-30-26:  The Carlyle Group is returning to its roots and offering a new defense fund (Bloomberg)

Greasy Palms: Team Trump II

Corey Lewandowski, former Special Advisor to Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem, is alleged to have asked for a cut of any deal contractors made with the department.

...wanted to be compensated based on the company’s new or renewed contracts with DHS, the two sources said. 

 “He wanted payments — what some people would call a success fee.”

This is a widespread practice amongst the private equity underwriting (PEU) crowd.  It is also pervasive in Trump world, where the White House looks the other way for members of its team.

The U.S. government has gone "deal maker" under Trump II.  From his inauguration the Trump boys have targeted (front run) dad's strategic initiatives for profit.

Deal fees can be direct or indirect.  

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's boys as well as Steve Witkoff's kids are benefitting mightily from Trump II.

Stable coin Tether is based outside the United States and has never conducted a financial audit of its operation, despite news announcements of such last March.

The White House announced a fraud initiative focused on federal benefit programs.  

It mentioned the use of third party contractors.  You guessed it, Don Jr.'s 1789 Capital invested in such a firm last November (ramp).

Nobody acts on insider information better than the Trumps and members of their inner circle.  They have a Washington, D.C. club with that as a mission.  The Executive Branch Club is just that.  

And you and I aren't in it.

Update 3-23-26:  Trump told the media on the tarmac at Palm Beach International Airport "I do deals.  I love deals."  And dealmakers get deal fees, directly or indirectly ($TRUMP dinner with the President on 4-25-26).

Update 3-25-26:  Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners is seeking another $5 billion from countries mostly located in the Middle East.  As the recently named Special Envoy for Peace, Kushner must file a financial disclosure but that is yet to be released to the public.  Jared is not off to a good start in his new role.