Politics

Democrats are taking today’s Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank hearing seriously. So seriously that they circulated an emoji-filled document of suggested tweets that they would like for committee members to post. The saddest part is that one of those committee members then repeated those talking points almost word-for-word at the hearing. “Democrats 👏 the decisive action taken by the Biden administration in a critical moment to restore confidence in our banking system,” the Financial Service Committee Democrats circulated in a memo obtained by The Spectator this morning.

Spoilt for choice in the Windy City If the heavy defeat suffered by incumbent mayor Lori Lightfoot last month is anything to go by, Chicagoans have plenty to grumble about when it comes to how their city is managed. But when they head to the polls in the mayoral runoff next week, they cannot complain about a lack of choice. The two candidates are both Democrats, to be sure, but they offer sharply different approaches on the crime and public safety — issues that have dominated the race and which polls suggest are at the forefront of voters’ minds.  Paul Vallas, who used to run the city’s public schools, is running in the moderate lane: sharply critical of Lightfoot and prioritizing public safety above all else. Brandon Johnson is the progressive option.

TikTok’s terrible, no good, very bad day TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew arrived for a hearing on Capitol Hill yesterday with his company facing a forced sale or a ban in the US. In other words, it was an important day for Chew and his company: a chance to put the best case forward for TikTok’s continued existence in America. Chew assembled a formidable force for his Congressional D-Day. TikTok has paid for the best in the business if that business is getting Democratic administrations to do what you want: retaining SKDK, the lobbying firm founded by top Biden advisor Anita Dunn. They also have progressive lawmaker Jamaal Bowman on their side.

Justice for Gwyneth Paltrow! The former Avengers and Shakespeare in Love star is one nepo baby that Cockburn has no trouble defending. Paltrow has had a tough PR week. First, she was vilified for her rather meager diet. Paltrow said on a podcast that she skips breakfast, sips coffee and bone broth in the afternoon, and eats a paleo meal with "lots of vegetables" for dinner. Yes, our Goop queen is looking a bit frail these days, but can we blame a gal who rose to prominence during the Kate-Moss-heroin-chic era? Even Jessica Simpson is still recovering from being called "Jumbo Jessica" in 2009 when she appeared on stage with a slight muffin top. Paltrow also finds her skinny self in court this week over a near-decade old skiing accident at the Deer Valley resort in Utah.

Well, no indictment, but there were developments! Vocabulary word of the week: “exculpatory.” “Something that shows that someone is not guilty of wrongdoing.” Now, use it in a sentence: “Soros-funded Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg neglected to reveal hundreds of pages of exculpatory evidence to the Grand Jury pondering whether to indict Donald Trump.” What does it mean? It means that the orange suit that Bragg was hoping to order up for Trump may have to be retailored in a larger size, one big enough to fit him. Some context: when a prosecutor conceals exculpatory evidence from a Grand Jury or defense attorneys he is guilty of prosecutorial abuse.

For being what Politico describes as a “politics-averse prosecutor,” the Democratic Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, reportedly set to indict Donald Trump any moment now, has certainly spent a fair bit of time targeting the former president and pondering his indictment. Bragg is purportedly on the verge of ordering Trump’s arrest over so-called “hush money” that Trump allegedly had his former attorney Michael Cohen (who served time in prison) pay to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign to keep her quiet about an affair they are said to have had. If he does so, Bragg will become the first prosecutor to bring criminal charges against a former president.