November 29, 2017
How Fox News Host Judge Jeanine Pirro Became Trumps Wartime Ally
The judge who President Donald Trump listens to and respects the most doesnt sit on the Supreme Court. She has a show on Fox News that airs on the weekends.
Jeanine Pirro, a former district attorney who hosts Justice with Judge Jeanine on the conservative cable-news giant, is among an exclusive club of right-leaning, Fox-affiliated hosts whom President Trump not only tunes in to regularly but also consults privately for advice on political and policy matters. And its not just Trump. Pirro also has become a confidant to the presidents family and those in his inner circle, as well.
The Daily Beast spoke with six sources who have come in and out of Trump-world during his political rise. All regard Pirro as a Trump whisperersomeone who the president sees as a good friend and wartime ally, as one White House official described.
Last week, The New York Times reported that Pirrowho had been interviewed during Trumps presidential transition for the role of deputy attorney generalmet with the president in the Oval Office on Nov. 1. During that meeting, she blasted Attorney General Jeff Sessions for, among other alleged missteps, not investigating the widely disproven Uranium One scandal.
According to the Times, Pirro told Trump that a new special counsel should be appointed to investigate the issue, which is based on the faulty premise that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton unilaterally approved a uranium deal in exchange for donations to her familys foundation (in reality, the State Department was one of nine votes). The non-scandal has had tremendous reach in conservative-media circles, including Pirros own program. Via a Fox News spokeswoman, Pirro told the Times that everything I said to President Trump is exactly what Ive vocalized on my show.
A source briefed on the meeting confirmed the detail in the Times story to The Daily Beast and added that the two also talked about the presidents own Russia-related troubles and the related investigations, Clinton in general, President Barack Obama, former FBI Director James Comey, and alleged media bias against Trump and his team and supporters.
The White House press office and Pirro did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
Beyond that meeting, Pirro has visited the Trump White House on multiple occasions and conducted a friendly interview with the president in the West Wing for her show in mid-Mayjust a few days after Trump fired Comey.
Trump is a fan and an avid viewer of Justice, which airs on Saturday nights, and has tweeted support for Pirro and her show. The feelings are clearly mutual.
During the 2016 presidential race, Pirro was often spotted swinging through Trump Tower by campaign staff, to show support and bounce around ideas with aides and Trump family members.
Following the publication in October 2016 of the infamous grab em by the pussy tapewhich kicked off a flood of sexual-assault and harassment allegations against Trumpscores of Republicans and conservatives distanced themselves from the future president. But not Pirro.
[Trumps] words are disgusting, devastating, and embarrassing, she said in an Opening Statement, shortly after the Access Hollywood footage came out. Its the kind of locker-room and frat-house talk that personally infuriates me. But guess what? I still, without a doubt, support Donald Trump.
Trump ended up surviving the infamous video and the sexual-misconduct allegations. And the month before he was inaugurated, Pirro celebrated on-air by declaring: The man is going to deliver, its a new era.
Since the start of that new era, Pirro has been seen by the administration as a top ally and advocate. Clips from her show are known to circulate within the White House and among senior staff, as well, including a monologue that aired in late Marchafter the initial House version of Trumpcare tanked spectacularlyin which Pirro called on House speaker Paul Ryan to quit his job.
I want to be clear, Pirro underscored, this [failure] is not on President Trump.
Over time, Judge Jeanine has ingratiated herself with the Trump clan as well, including Eric Trump, Lara Trump, and Donald Trump Jr. Pirro hosted Trump Jr. in-studio in June to aggressively trash Comeys conduct and character, and to give cover to the president as he was facing the beginning of the chaos and blowback resulting from the FBI directors firing.
The family loves her, absolutely, a Republican close to the White House and Trump family said. When Eric and Lara had their new baby, she was messaging with them about how blessed they were.
Pirro is no stranger to politics. In 2005, she launched a campaign to unseat Clinton from the U.S. Senate, only to drop her bid amid poor fundraising and a similarly bad public response. Later, she ran to be the attorney general for the state of New York, only to lose to Andrew Cuomo.
Whether or not a return to politics is in her future, Pirro remains close to the people best positioned to help make such a run happen. Earlier this month, she had a sit-down with Steve Bannon, the Breitbart chairman and Trumps former chief strategist, at his Washington, D.C., house on Capitol Hill, according to a source familiar with the meeting.
I think shes fantastic, Darrell Scott, a Cleveland-area pastor and alumnus of Trumps presidential transition team who still works with the administration, texted The Daily Beast. Brilliant, articulate, friendly and a fast driver.
The pastor was referencing the news that Pirro was ticketed after being clocked driving an astonishing 119 mph in a 65-mph zone in upstate New York early Sunday afternoon.
I had been driving for hours to visit my ailing 89-year-old mom and didnt realize how fast I was driving. I believe in the rule of law and I will pay the consequences, Trumps favorite judge said in a statement.
Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-fox-news-host-judge-jeanine-pirro-became-trumps-wartime-ally
November 30, 2017
What Bitcoin Watchers Are Saying After the Surge Past $10,000
by MeDaryl • Cars • Tags: Arthur Hayes, Asia, Bitcoin, BITMEX, Cryptocurrency, Currency, Hong Kong, Jehan Chu, New York, technology, Wall Street
Bitcoin entered uncharted territory on Wednesday after breaching $10,000 for the first time, leaving investors to wonder how long the rally will go — and whether it will end in tears.
The digital currency climbed as much as 4.4 percent to a record $10,379.53 during Asia trading hours, capping a more than 10-fold increase this year. Its market value has surpassed $176 billion, according to Coinmarketap.com.
Here’s what bitcoin watchers are saying about the dizzying rally.
Arthur Hayes at BitMEX
“They said it was a bubble at $1,000, they said it was a bubble at $5,000 and they said it was a bubble at $10,000,” said Hayes, chief executive officer and co-founder of Hong Kong-based BitMEX, a cryptocurrency derivatives venue. “Shorting anything is a very dangerous game, especially if you’re shorting into a transformational monetary system. These transformational experiences happen once every few hundred years and are extremely chaotic.”
Hayes, who was speaking on the phone from New York after attending the Consensus: Invest cryptocurrency conference, said he saw more people wearing suits than jeans and hoodies — a sign of growing interest on Wall Street.
“The fear of missing out is becoming stronger and stronger,” he said. “The traditional asset manager or investor, banker who has probably poo-pooed bitcoin the past few years is now paying upwards of thousands of dollars to hear about how they can get involved in this new industry.”
Hayes said bitcoin may reach $50,000 by the end of 2018.
Stephen Innes at Oanda
“I’d be a little bit worried on a falling knife scenario,” said Innes, head of trading for Asia-Pacific at Oanda Corp. in Singapore. “Are current investors prepared for this? No, of course not.”
Longer term, cryptocurrencies will gain more credibility as CME Group Inc. starts selling bitcoin futures and other mainstream institutions get involved, Innes said. For now, he sees a short-term pullback of 3 percent to 6 percent as investors take stock of how much they’ve gained.
“When we’re starting to get into these crazy numbers, I’m a little bit fearful that retail traders are jumping in under the false guise of this will run on forever,” he said. “We know things never go in a straight line.”
Jehan Chu at Kenetic Capital
“If you look at the kind of trajectory not just of the currency and the price, but really of the mind share among influencers, among governments, among central banks, among enterprises — that’s actually where I see the real guideposts of where the price will go,” said Chu, managing partner at cryptocurrency fund Kenetic Capital in Hong Kong, who first bought bitcoin at about $1,100 in 2013.
“One of the main factors is the settling down of the civil wars that have been raging on,” Chu said, referring to intense debate within the industry over technology upgrades that resulted in the formation of a rival coin called bitcoin cash. “There’s much less drama at the moment at least. One side has disarmed and that has really provided a clear path ahead to show that the ecosystem can grow in a more predictable manner.”
Read more: A QuickTake explainer on the forks and fights behind bitcoin
Chu sees some risk of a correction, but not a major one, and said that high prices will ironically serve to draw more institutional interest.
Dave Chapman at Octagon Strategy
“Now, you’re getting an enormous amount of legitimacy and credibility in the bitcoin protocol,” said Chapman of cryptocurrency trading firm Octagon Strategy in Hong Kong. “Admittedly, there is an element of FOMO (fear of missing out). That’s not entirely healthy for the current market. There is a sizable amount of people investing in bitcoin purely on speculation.”
Chapman sees a correction coming, but is unsure how large it will be.
“I see possibly a correction but then also an immediate bounce-back just owing to the size of the market. People will double down and see it as a buying opportunity.”
Gavin Yeung at Cryptomover
“Owning a whole bitcoin is now a status symbol,” said Yeung, CEO of Hong Kong-based investment company Cryptomover. “We are coming to see that bitcoin itself is a Veblen good. The higher the price, the more desirable the product is to the general public.”
Lewis Fellas at Bletchley Park Asset Management
“The principal driver has been the proposed CME futures contract, which has really woken up Wall Street,” said Fellas, chief investment officer at Bletchley Park Asset Management, which invests in cryptocurrencies. “The secondary driver is media coverage. It’s fueling a fear-of-missing-out as we set successive new highs, luring people in for a quick profit ahead of the futures contract.”
The risk of a near-term retreat is real as regulators could still block or delay the proposed futures, Fellas said. “A delay or ‘no’ could easily trigger a 30 to 40 percent correction.”
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-29/what-bitcoin-watchers-are-saying-after-the-surge-past-10-000