Health care companies that use JPMorgan Chase for investment banking services and mergers voiced "consternation" over JPMorgan's new venture with Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway, according to a Wall Street Journal scoop. CEO Jamie Dimon had to "hit the phones Tuesday to assuage clients’ concerns," per the report.
Why it matters: The stock market hammered health care companies after people thought the new company could threaten the industry's status quo. But the latest report adds to the skepticism that this venture likely will be nothing more than a glorified group purchasing organization and won't be as "disruptive" as many people think.
Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told ABC's This Week that President Trump's decision to release the controversial Nunes memo "could be evidence of his intent to interfere with the [Russia] investigation."
"I think it’s very possible [Nunes'] staff worked with the White House and coordinated the whole effort with the White House," Schiff added.
Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser, said he had close ties to the Kremlin in a 2013 letter "to an academic press during a dispute over edits to an unpublished manuscript," reports TIME. Page is at the center of the Nunes memo controversy after the document alleged the FBI used the disputed Trump-Russia dossier to obtain a FISA surveillance wiretap against him. The key line:
Over the past half year, I have had the privilege to serve as an informal advisor to the staff of the Kremlin in preparation for their Presidency of the G-20 Summit next month.
Between the lines: Page has been suspected of overstating his influence during the course of the Russia probe. "The more Page talks, the less clear his story has become — and people have begun to wonder about not just his competence but also his sanity," NYT's Jason Zengerle wrote last month.
