This article is adapted from today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update. To listen to the podcast version, click here.
Embattled Democrat Eric Garcetti Confirmed
The U.S. Senate Voted to confirm President Biden’s pick for U.S. Ambassador to India — former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. The vote was 52-42 with seven Republicans joining the Democrats to help get him over the line. Garcetti has faced accusations that he is not fit for the role due to his alleged actions, or lack thereof, regarding sexual harassment allegations in his LA office. Here’s one former high-ranking aide, Naomi Seligman, with CNN’s Jake Tapper this week explaining why he shouldn’t get the job.
“Unfortunately, the White House has put undue pressure on Democrats to vote for Eric Garcetti because Eric Garcetti has been a very, very loyal person to President Biden, and that’s unfortunate because these senators that purport to support #MeToo cannot just do it when it’s politically expedient,” Seligman said. “They have to do it when it matters, even if it’s your own political party.”
.@naomiseligman tells @JakeTapper U.S. Ambassador to India nominee Eric Garcetti ignored claims of sexual harassment while he was Los Angeles mayor pic.twitter.com/uD1pWlQbiO
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) March 13, 2023
Banking Update
Moody’s Investors Service, one of the three prime rating services, downgraded its rating of the entire banking system from stable to negative in response to the SVB banking crisis. Daily Wire Senior Editor Cabot Phillips joined Morning Wire Afternoon Update to break down the latest:
Moody’s warned it would downgrade a number of midsize banks, including Comerica, First Republic, UMB, and Western Alliance, after downgrading Signature Bank. Despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to protect banks and the Treasury Department’s promise that depositors would not lose their money, Moody’s, declared, “We have changed to negative from stable our outlook on the US banking system to reflect the rapid deterioration in the operating environment following deposit runs at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Silvergate Bank, and Signature Bank (SNY) and the failures of SVB and SNY.”
Newsom Bailed Out
California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom cheered the federal government’s decision to bail out Silicon Valley Bank’s depositors without mentioning that he is one of them. The Daily Wire’s Tim Pearce told Afternoon Update:
The government’s decision to cover all deposits was a surprise as FDIC insurance is guaranteed to cover only up to $250,000 per account. It turns out, Newsom’s own wineries may stand to benefit from the FDIC’s action. California’s governor owns three wineries that banked with SVB that were at risk of losing money on deposits over the $250,000 threshold.
And the governor’s wife has ties to the bank, as well.
Jennifer Siebel’s charity, the California Partners Project, received a $100,000 donation from SVB in 2021. And SVB Capital’s President sits on the charity’s board of directors. Newsom’s team deflected questions over his ties to SVB saying the governor’s assets have been managed by a blind trust since 2018.
Newark Duped By Indian Scammers
And, The city of Newark, New Jersey admitted earlier this month that it was duped into becoming sister cities with a fake Hindu nation. Mayor Ras Baraka reportedly hosted representatives from the fictitious nation of “Kailasa” at Newark’s City Hall for a “cultural trade agreement,” not realizing that the arrangement was a scam perpetrated by a notorious Indian conman named Swami Nithyananda. Nithyananda has been a fugitive since 2019, wanted in India for rape charges.
City of Newark, New Jersey admits it got scammed into becoming “sister cities” with a fake nation. @CBSNewYork https://t.co/QD0nmin7V5 pic.twitter.com/7NiizmUP5M
— Ali Bauman (@AliBaumanTV) March 9, 2023
Chicago Crime
And the city of Chicago has earned the dubious honor of being the fastest-growing city in the U.S. for auto thefts. A new report indicates that auto thefts rose 55% in 2022 compared to the previous year, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. States that saw the largest increase in vehicle thefts were Illinois, Washington, and New York.
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