Smaller is better…at least in the world of building EVs for the Asian market.

And while less scrupulous publications might take this opportunity to make stereotypical jokes about height, we’ll do no such thing and instead will simply report that according to the IEA’s Global Electric Vehicle Outlook 2024, released Tuesday, China dominated the EV market in 2023.

In fact, it made up 60% of global sales, according to a new report from Reuters. The report forecasts that by 2030, electric vehicles will represent one-third of all cars in China.

The latest IEA report highlights China’s increasing dominance in the global electric vehicle market, particularly across Asia’s burgeoning economies. China is capitalizing on its extensive industrial capabilities to expand its EV influence, promoting more affordable electric vehicles in nations like Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia, the report says.

The key to China’s success has been managing cost, the IEA report notes: “In China, we estimate that more than 60% of electric cars sold in 2023 were already cheaper than their average combustion engine equivalent.”

It continued: “However, electric cars remain 10% to 50% more expensive than combustion engine equivalents in Europe and the United States, depending on the country and car segment.”

“In 2023, 55% to 95% of the electric car sales across major emerging and developing economies were large models that are unaffordable for the average consumer, hindering mass-market uptake,” the IEA report continued, according to Reuters.

“However, smaller and much more affordable models launched in 2022 and 2023 have quickly become bestsellers, especially those by Chinese car makers expanding overseas.”

The report emphasizes China’s growing edge due to making affordable EVs, which is proving successful across Asia.

European and U.S. automakers, by contrast, target wealthier customers with costlier, luxury EV models.

In Asia, countries like Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia are rapidly adopting EVs, supported by favorable policies and incentives, enhancing the market share of Chinese manufacturers.

In 2023, EV sales soared in these regions despite broader market contractions. Additionally, China faces its challenges, including potential EU tariffs and an oversupply in its EV market. The IEA report suggests that for widespread EV adoption, European and U.S. manufacturers need to focus on lowering costs and improving infrastructure.

You can read the IEA’s full report here. 

Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

The US Navy will convert surplus oil rigs in the western Pacific into mobile military bases as part of the US military buildup aimed at China, The Defense Post reported on Tuesday.

The naval engineering firm Gibbs & Cox developed the concept, known as the Mobile Defense/Depot Platform (MODEP), and presented it earlier this month at the Sea Air Space Expo. The idea is to convert oil rigs into mobile missile defense and resupply bases.

“Our target here is to find a solution to help the challenging problem of having capacity issues in the Western Pacific. For not enough cells, not enough missiles, not enough of being able to keep those ships in the forward station,” Dave Zook, an architect at Gibbs & Cox, told Naval News.

Gibbs & Cox claims that the floating bases would be able to hold 512 vertical launch system cells or 100 large missile launchers, which is five times the capacity of a US Navy destroyer.

The idea is to counter China’s ballistic missiles that could take out US warships and bases in the region in the event of an open war.

US military officials have been explicit about the fact that they’re preparing for a direct war with China in the region despite the obvious risk of the conflict quickly turning nuclear. The US has been expanding its military footprint in the Philippines and in Pacific island nations to give China more targets that it will have to hit.

Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, the former head of US Pacific Air Forces who is now the commander of Air Combat Command, made this clear in comments to Nikkei Asia last year.

“Obviously, we would like to disperse in as many places as we can to make the targeting problem for the Chinese as difficult as possible,” Wilsbach said. “A lot of those runways where we would operate from are in the Pacific Island nations.”

Via The College Fix,

A new study out of UCLA says same-sex couples are at greater “risk of exposure to the adverse effects of climate change” than straight couples.

These effects include “wildfires, floods, smoke-filled skies, and drought,” according to a report from KQED.

Same-sex couples disproportionately live in coastal regions and cities, which are more vulnerable to such disasters. They’re also more likely “to live in areas with poor infrastructure, worse-built environments.”

Washington DC, which rates high for “climate risks” such as heat waves, floods, and “dangerously strong winds,” has the greatest proportion of gay couples in the U.S.

San Francisco ranks second, and also faces a high climate change risk. According to KQED report, the city’s Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District flooded 22 years ago, “swamping” the entire area.

The closest supermarket, Rainbow Grocery, also got flooded.

Ari Shaw, director of International Programs at UCLA’s School of Law’s Williams Institute who specializes in “international human rights, LGBTI politics, and U.S. foreign policy,” noted the study “cuts against the narrative” that LGBT individuals “have access to all the resources that they need.”

From the story:

Shaw said his team considered same-sex couples because the U.S. Census gathers information on cohabitating same-sex households but does not broadly collect sexual orientation or gender data.

“This study helps to shine a light on what is likely a much larger and more complicated picture,” he said. “Our findings probably understate the true impact that climate change is having on LGBTQ people.”

The new research moves the needle in helping the nation understand who is at risk of climate disasters, UC Irvine sociology professor Michael Méndez said. He previously studied how queer communities are often left out of disaster planning.

“The needle is moving slowly,” Méndez said. “These disasters are not happening in isolation. If an individual is feeling discrimination, or a lack of safety in their home and a disaster happens, they can feel even more vulnerable.”

But what Méndez said the study doesn’t reveal is who the same-sex couples are in terms of [race], income and their positions in society.

Among several recommendations, Shaw and study co-author Lindsay Mahowald say climate disaster relief should be “administered without discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression,” and that future surveys like the U.S. Census ought to include “measures of sexual orientation and gender identity.”

An anti-work anthem has gone viral on the Chinese social media platform TikTok in recent days. This comes after youngsters have complained on social media about President Biden’s disastrous ‘Bidenomics’ policies that have sparked elevated inflation and crushed their financial mobility. 

The viral video, posted by TikTok user “tedymakesmusic,” has been viewed 1.4 million times and liked nearly a quarter million times.  

Here are the lyrics: 

I don’t want to contribute nothing to society.

I don’t struggle I don’t hustle.

If you want it, you can have it.

Sorry, I wasn’t born to Work. No, I wasn’t born to work. 

I’m too pretty to get dirty. Yeah, I said it. You can sue me. 

Don’t want to lift the finger. For the money. 

This song is currently going viral on TikTok. pic.twitter.com/hcU0ojUbVg

— Catch Up (@CatchUpFeed) April 24, 2024

“Can every corporate worker please turn this on super loud at their desk????” one TikTok user said in the video’s comment section.

Another person said, “This Gen Z’s anthem.” 

“Me thinking about quitting my job & living out a van,” someone else said. 

Youngsters are starting to realize just how much the federal government, college, and the Federal Reserve are scams. These institutions are failing the youngsters and have provided them with worthless degrees and an economic environment that is some of the worst living conditions in a generation due to failed policies. Fed Chair Powell, you had one job – and one job only… 

Plus, woke leftist universities are indoctrinating multiple generations with collectivism, i.e., socialism, which has left some of these folks believing the government will be handing them stimmy checks (universal basic income) and student debt relief checks. Thanks to Powell and lawmakers on Capitol Hill, these kids got a taste of Covid helicopter money via stimmy checks and want more – instead of working. 

For those who don’t want to contribute to society and the economy, remember Goldman’s note from last year specifying that generative AI could displace hundreds of millions of jobs by the end of the decade. 

Authored by Tom Croner via RealClear Wire,

I’m an 81-year-old, seventh-generation farmer working with my son T. Richard on a multigenerational grain and hay farm in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. We grow corn, soybeans, wheat, rye, and hay.

I’m proud to see him out there by himself at night, and regret that I can’t always join him. As the Bible says in John 3:16: “That God so loved the world, he gave his only son.” I don’t know if I’d be able to do that, but I know I am fortunate to have a son who wants to continue the family farming tradition. He is raising his two teenage sons in the same tradition. God only knows what their choices will be.

The latest USDA agriculture census numbers show that the number of farmers over the age of 65 is greater than that of younger farmers. Almost 1.3 million farmers are now at or beyond retirement age, while just 300,000 farmers are under the age of 35.

Passing a new farm bill that addresses these challenges is the best way to help create an environment that attracts new farmers and enables families to pass their farms on to the next generation. In recent years, some federal programs have been put in place to help do that. 

We have participated in USDA cost-sharing programs that encourage cover crops (plants grown to benefit the future growth of other crops) and no-tillage practices that improve soil health, with less erosion and fewer cost inputs. We have seen significant increases in yield, with the same dollars invested.

In 2022, Congress made a generational $20 billion investment to help farmers adopt tried-and-tested conservation practices. Pennsylvania has already gotten $255 million to help farms in our commonwealth.

But unfortunately, like everything else it seems, the funding has been politicized, and it’s at risk in the upcoming farm bill. There’s nothing partisan about taking care of our soil, planting cover crops, and keeping our land viable year after year. That’s what conservation funding encourages, and it’s just good commonsense.

We need our lawmakers in Washington to maintain conservation funding and make sure that it’s included in the upcoming farm bill.

I’m proud that my son is still out managing the farm where I have worked. I’m proud that he’s using good practices that we’ve learned and refined, which have kept our farm healthy for years.

We need Washington to protect conservation funding so that the next generation of Pennsylvania farmers, and the generation after that, can continue to be stewards of the land.

A 33-year old Iranian activist and rapper who has recently been involved in anti-government demonstrations has been handed a shockingly draconian sentence by an Iranian court. Toomaj Salehi was first arrested in Oct. 2022 for publicly backing the so-called ‘anti-hijab’ protests which swept the ultra-conservative Islamic country. But this week…

“Branch 1 of Isfahan Revolutionary Court… sentenced Salehi to death on the charge of corruption on Earth,” his lawyer quoted the court’s ruling as saying. The state laid out its case focused on a highly ambiguous charge of spreading “propaganda”.

Salehi’s lawyer further described that the court “in an unprecedented move, emphasised its independence and did not implement the Supreme Court’s ruling” – while noting that “we will certainly appeal against the sentence.”

The charges further centered on the Revolutionary Court accusing him of “assistance in sedition, assembly and collusion, propaganda against the system and calling for riots.”

In September of 2022, Iran’s Islamic ‘morality police’ arrested 22-year old Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini for “improper hijab” as she entered a subway station. Activists say she had been beaten and later died in custody, while Iranian authorities claim she suffered a natural health episode (state media and officials described it as a heart attack), fainted and hit her head on the ground.

Her death sparked months of protests across major cities featuring anti-government slogans and clashes with police. Some international reports say that in total over 500 demonstrators died, while reports said dozens of police and security service personnel were killed and wounded.

Iranian authorities at the time attempted to tie the raging domestic unrest to an externally supported destabilization campaign by Tehran’s enemies Israel and the United States.

As for the rapper and his immense popularity and influence in Iran, Sky News has observed that “Salehi, who has 2.3 million followers on Instagram, had posted videos after Amini’s death talking about ‘revolution’ and resistance.” According more of his background:

His songs also highlight the widening gap between ordinary Iranians and the country’s leadership, accusing authorities of “suffocating” the people without regard for their well-being.

His angry lyrics resonate among Iranians who are increasingly discontent and alienated by Iran’s clerical establishment — and by the politicians who fail to keep their promises of change.

Salehi has shared his songs on his Instagram and Twitter accounts. But those accounts became inaccessible while he was in custody.

An sample of his music:

Iran (alongside Saudi Arabia and Egypt) leads the Middle East in number of executions each year. In 2023 alone, Iran hanged at least 834 people, which was an 8-year high. This is partly because the Islamic Republic has recently launched a new ‘war on drugs’ crackdown, but also amid geopolitical tensions it has executed suspected spies in greater numbers.

Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via OilPrice.com,

China is currently constructing a total of 26 nuclear power units with a combined capacity of 30.3 gigawatts (GW), the highest in the world, according to a report by the China Nuclear Energy Association (CNEA) cited by local media.

China’s nuclear power units Hualong One in Fuqing, Fujian Province, China. /CFP

Last year, China approved the development of five new nuclear power projects and began construction of five units, the report found.

Air pollution from coal-fired power plants is a major impetus for China to expand its nuclear generation fleet, according to the World Nuclear Association.

China is not giving up coal, but it is betting on nuclear, too, to meet its rising power demand with cleaner energy sources. 

Many countries in the West, with the notable exception of Germany, have also recognized that nuclear power generation would help them achieve net-zero emission goals.

At the COP28 climate summit in Dubai at the end of last year, the United States and 21 other countries pledged to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050, saying incorporating more nuclear power in their energy mix is critical for achieving their net zero goals in the coming decades.   

The United States, alongside Britain, France, Canada, Sweden, South Korea, Ghana, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), among others, signed the declaration at the COP28 climate summit.

China is not a signatory to that declaration, but it aims to develop more nuclear energy capacities to reduce emissions as its demand for electricity rises.

As of September 2023, China had 55 nuclear power units in operation with a combined installed capacity of 57 GW, and 24 units under construction with a total installed capacity of 27.8 GW, Xinhua quoted CNEA official Wang Binghua as saying. By 2060, that capacity is expected to jump to 400 GW, the official said.

China is also expected to approve six to eight nuclear power units each year “within the foreseeable future.”

Quiet macro day with Durable Goods Orders looking like a beat – but only because of sizable downward revisions – as orders and shipments are actually down on a YoY basis.

Source: Bloomberg

But stocks were messy with an opening bid immediately squelched and post-EU-close ramp faded into the US close. Small Caps were the day’s laggard as Nasdaq outperformed while The Dow and S&P desperately tried to get green…

Nasdaq and The Dow got back above their 100DMAs while Small Caps cannot hold above theirs…

Goldman’s Chris Hussey pointed out that, despite an uptick in rates today (yields on 10-year Treasuries are up 6bp to 4.66%), yield sensitive sectors like Tech, Utilities, and Real Estate are outperforming.

On the flip side, Industrials are lagging on the back of particularly weak earnings in Transports.

Source: Bloomberg

And stepping even further back, 9 of the 10 worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500 today reported results after the close yesterday, or before the open this morning — highlighting how earnings are driving stocks amidst a macro vacuum (at least for today).

Volumes were muted today once again, according to Goldman’s trading desk, as they noted once again that hedge funds were slightly better to buy (buying Indust., Info Tech, Disc.), Long-Onlys slight for sale (selling Mats, Disc.,).

TSLA had a big day – its best since Jan 2022 – after earnings last night (that reaffirmed its strategy wasn’t too crazy)…

The basket of MAG7 stocks ended unchanged after a strong open thanks to TSLA’s gains as traders await META’s earnings after the bell…

Source: Bloomberg

Treasury yields were higher across the board today (with the long-end underperforming) as the following two-day chart shows, the 10Y & 30Y yields are back above pre-PMI levels from yesterday while 2Y is at the lows from yesterday…

Source: Bloomberg

The yield curve (2s30s) steepened dramatically once again, now up 14bps in two days, back to one-month highs (still inverted)…

Source: Bloomberg

The dollar ended modestly higher on the day, pulling back during the US session from overnight gains…

Source: Bloomberg

Yen was slammed (again) as traders continue to call The BoJ’s interventionist bluff…

Source: Bloomberg

…as JPY is now well below the last intervention threshold (back at its lowest in 34 years)…

Source: Bloomberg

Bitcoin took another kicking today, tumbling back to a $63,000 handle…

Source: Bloomberg

…once again driven by extreme selling pressure from the perpetual futures market…

Amid all the excitement today, gold ended unchanged and traded in a narrow range…

Source: Bloomberg

Crude prices slipped back from yesterday’s surge despite a big crude draw…

Source: Bloomberg

Finally, Goldman’s Dominic Wilson and Kamkshya Trivedi highlight how geopolitical tensions and stickier than expected US inflation prints have transitioned markets to trading more of a ‘policy shock’ than a ‘growth upgrade’…

…a development that is making directional trades trickie.

Colleges and universities across the country are struggling this week to keep pro-Palestinian protesters off school grounds. Students, and or perhaps a mix of professional protesters funded by radical leftist groups and dirty Gulf money, are storming campuses and setting up encampments. This is likely a coordinated effort nationwide as other pro-Palestinian demonstrators have been busy shutting down critical infrastructure across the country, such as airport terminals, bridges, and other chokepoints that could disrupt the economy. 

Moments ago, pro-Palestinian protesters invaded Harvard University and “set up an encampment in Harvard Yard,” X user Collin Rugg reports. He posted footage of the protesters storming the campus. 

“The move comes just days after Harvard restricted access to the Yard to only Harvard ID holders,” Rugg said. 

He added the protesters are demanding the school “divest from Israel’s war in Gaza.” 

JUST IN: Pro-Palestine protesters storm Harvard University and setup an encampment in Harvard Yard.

The move comes just days after Harvard restricted access to the Yard to only Harvard ID holders.

The Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee is demanding that… pic.twitter.com/Ykp93DREIx

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 24, 2024

On Monday night, police arrested protesters at New York University, ending a multiday standoff. 

Dozens of activists arrested at New York University as New York police clears out campus encampment from pro-Palestine supporters pic.twitter.com/7AFTJ8rwVT

— Palestine Highlights (@PalHighlight) April 24, 2024

Several universities and colleges are experiencing rogue pro-Palestinian demonstrations mid-week. 

On Wednesday, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers were deployed to the University of Texas in Austin to counter protesters. 

Pro Hamas idiots at UT Austin discover what happens why you try to pull a Columbia in Texas
pic.twitter.com/PB1YG3ZaFe

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) April 24, 2024

We are turning our attention to American universities where students are protesting the war in Gaza and the bombing to death of more than 30,000 people by Israel, most of them women and children with the backing, the money and missiles from the United States, following the… pic.twitter.com/8qUjztPRTx

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) April 24, 2024

Students erected a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Southern California.

BREAKING: @USC students and staff have pitched tents in the encampment

No word from @PresidentFolt pic.twitter.com/UXIgxjZ4V4

— Jacob Wheeler (@JWheelertv) April 24, 2024

The situation is unraveling at USC.

ABC reporter says not all the terrorist sympathizers are students. Outside forces have infiltrated the campus to kickstart a riot.pic.twitter.com/ZEKBH2n4xD

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) April 24, 2024

The campus of California Polytechnic State University has been closed after a group of pro-Palestine protesters occupied a building on campus. 

The campus of California Polytechnic State University has been shut down after a group of pro-Palestine protesters occupied a campus building and clashed with riot police late Monday.
The protesters were able to push the police back and out of the building. pic.twitter.com/Q22nOBuIrt

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) April 24, 2024

Sky News asks: “What is going on at America’s top universities?” 

🇺🇸 What is going on at America’s top universities?

🚨 Encampments, anger and arrests across the country, with pro-Palestine protests dividing opinion.

Sky’s US correspondent @Stone_SkyNews explains why

Full story ➡️ https://t.co/LNEiIsHTge pic.twitter.com/tzQgO7Odvq

— Sky News (@SkyNews) April 24, 2024

These kids don’t even know what they’re protesting, which begs the question, who are the groups pushing this on campuses, and who are their backers? 

WATCH: Pro-Palestine demonstrator and friend at NYU struggle to explain why they’re even protesting.

Looks like America’s “elite” universities are doing a terrific job. pic.twitter.com/tciX3ivfol

— Standing for Freedom Center (@freedomcenterlu) April 24, 2024

Al Mayadeen English said protesters are spreading to other schools, including Stanford University, the University of Rochester, Whitman College, and Yale. 

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators continued their protests at New York University and #ColumbiaUniversity, as the pro-Palestine movement continues to spread to other universities, such as Stanford University, University of Rochester, Whitman College, and Barnard College, despite… pic.twitter.com/LMogsLneX8

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) April 24, 2024

US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar told students at the University of Minnesota on Tuesday that she was “incredibly moved” by the protesters. 

US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was seen addressing pro-Palestine student protesters at the University of Minnesota on Tuesday. She also criticised the media and politicians for focusing their attention on student protests at multiple American universities rather than events in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/AHU2QrCJTl

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) April 24, 2024

Brandon Smith via Alt-Market noted:

Whatever your opinion is on the war or the governments involved it’s clear that it has nothing to do with woke activists in the western world.  The war is simply a vehicle which they hope they can hijack and attach their own agendas to. Primarily, progressives view Israel as a symbol of western “colonialism” and in their minds anything colonial must be destroyed. Their concerns for Palestinians are peripheral, if their concerns exist at all. This is about visibility and a chance to create chaos.

While the White House condemns ‘antisemitic’ protesters at universities, we have warned readers in recent weeks about pro-Palestinian protesters disrupting critical infrastructure, such as shutting down airport terminals, blocking bridges, causing significant traffic congestion on highway arteries, and targeting the distribution networks of major corporations. 

So, what does shutting down critical infrastructure have to do with helping poor Palestinian children? It has absolutely nothing and more to do with a Marxist movement, similar to the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Here comes BLM 2.0. We all remember the chaos several years ago. The group was hijacked by Soros’ money and did very little for the black community, but instead burned down neighborhoods and sparked riots. 

It’s an election year, and with that comes chaos by brainwashed and brain-dead Gen-Zers at liberal schools who have absolutely no idea what they’re protesting. 

Where’s the FBI? Why are they publicly ignoring this threat? Maybe they’re too focused on framing Trump supporters. 

Also, why the hell are we, the taxpayers, bailing out the student debt of these brainwashed kids?

And countdown until Bill Ackman’s X-ranting about the explosion, once again, of antisemitism at schools. 

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

Below is an expanded version of my column in the New York Post on the start of the Trump trial and much awaited explanation of District Attorney Alvin Bragg on the underlying alleged criminal conduct. The curious aspect of the case is that the prosecutors are stressing that they will prove largely uncontested facts. Indeed, if all of these facts of payments, non-disclosure agreements, and affairs are proven many of us (including liberal legal experts) are doubtful that there is any cognizable crime.

Here is the column:

For many of us in the legal community, the case of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg against former president Donald Trump borders on the legally obscene: an openly political prosecution based on a theory that even some liberal pundits have dismissed. Yet, this week the prosecution seemed like they were actually making a case for obscenity.

No, it was not the gratuitous introduction of an uncharged alleged tryst with a former Playboy bunny or planned details on the relationship with a former porn star. It was the criminal theory itself that seemed crafted around the standard for obscenity famously described by Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart in the case of Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 184 (1964): “I shall not today attempt further to define [it] … But I know it when I see it.”

After months of confusion of what crime they were alleging in the indictment, the prosecution offered a new theory that is so ambiguous and undefined that it would have made Justice Stewart blush.

New York prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told the jury that one of the crimes that Trump allegedly committed in listing the payments to Stormy Daniels as a “legal expense” was New York Law 17-152. This law states “Any two or more persons who conspire to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means and which conspiracy is acted upon by one or more of the parties thereto, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”

So they are arguing that Trump committed a crime by conspiring to unlawfully promote his own candidacy. He did this by paying to quash a potentially embarrassing story and then reimbursing his lawyer  with other legal expenses.

Confused? You are not alone.

It is not a crime to pay money for the nondisclosure of an alleged affair. Moreover, it is also not a federal election offense (which is the other crime alleged by Bragg) to pay such money as a personal or legal expense.

It is not treated under federal law as a political contribution to yourself.

Yet, somehow the characterization of this payment as a legal expense is being treated as an illegal conspiracy to promote one’s own candidacy in New York.

The Trump cases have highlighted a couple of New York’s absurdly ambiguous laws.  Under another law, New York Attorney General Letitia James secured an almost half of billion dollar judgment against Trump for loans where the alleged victims not only did not lose a dime but were eager for more business from his company. The law does not actually require any loss to a victim to impose a roughly $500 million penalty against a defendant that James pledged to bag in her campaign for office. While the over and under valuing of assets is common in the real estate area, James singled out Trump.

James declined to explain how this law could be used against other businesses since actual losses or injuries are not viewed as necessary. Businesses would just have to trust her and her judgment. In other words, the law could have sweeping applications, but we will know a violation under the civil law when we see it.

As with James, Bragg saw it in Trump. His predecessor did not see it. He declined charging on this basis. Bragg did to.  He stopped the investigation. However, after a pressure campaign, Bragg might not be able to see the crime but he certainly saw the political consequences of not charging Trump.

In New York, prosecutors are expected to have extreme legal myopia: they can see no farther than Trump to the exclusion of any implication for the legal system or legal ethics.

Of course, neither he nor his office has never seen this type of criminal case in any other defendant. Ever.

We have never seen a case like this one where a dead misdemeanor from 2016 could be revived as a felony just before any election in 2024.

The misdemeanors in this case, including falsifying these payments, expired with the passage of the statute of limitations. But Bragg (with the help of Matthew Colangelo, a former top official in the Biden Justice Department) zapped it back into life by alleging a federal election crime that the Justice Department itself rejected as a basis for any criminal charge.

So now there is a second crime that is hard for most of us to see, at least outside of New York. Trump is accused of conspiring to promote his own candidacy by mislabeling this payment, even though it was part of a larger legal payment to his former counsel, Michael Cohen.

They do not see a crime in analogous mislabeling of payments by Democratic candidates.

Take Hillary Clinton who served as senator from New York and ran for president against Trump. For months before the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton’s campaign denied that it had funded the infamous Steele dossier behind the debunked Russian collusion claims. That was untrue. When reporters tried to report on the funding story, one journalist said Elias that “pushed back vigorously, saying ‘You (or your sources) are wrong.’”

It was later discovered that the funding was hidden as legal expenses by then-Clinton campaign general counsel Marc Elias. (The FEC later sanctioned the campaign over its hiding of the funding.). Times reporter Maggie Haberman declared, “Folks involved in funding this lied about it, and with sanctimony, for a year.”

Elias even went with John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chairman, in speaking with congressional investigators and Podesta denied categorically any contractual agreement with Fusion GPS.

While the funds were part of the campaign budget, they were listed as legal expenses and the Clinton people continued to insist that such payments to a former intelligence figure to put together the dossier was a legal expenditure.

It is not clear if Trump even knew how this money was characterized on ledgers or records. He paid the money to his lawyer, who had put together this settlement over the nondisclosure agreement. Cohen will soon go on the stand and tell the jury that they should send his former client to jail for following his legal advice.

In addition to running for president, Trump was a married host of a hit television show. There were ample reasons to secure a NDA to bury the story. Even if money was paid to bury these stories with the election in mind, it is not unusual or illegal. There was generally no need to list such payments as a campaign contribution because they were not a campaign contribution in the view of the federal government.

It is not even clear how this matter was supposed to be noted in records. What if the Trump employee put “legal settlement in personal matter” or “nuisance payment”? Would those words be the difference

Again, it is not clear.

But that does not appear to matter in New York.

The crime may not be clear or even comprehensible.

However, the identity of the defendant could not be more clear and the prosecutors are hoping that the jury, like themselves, will look no further.