Trump's SEC pick has deep ties to the financial crisis

Jay Clayton is Trump's SEC pick, where he'll serve on the Financial Stability Oversight Council that monitors risk in the financial system.

Flashback: As a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell, Clayton broker deals for large banks and their risky mortgage activity in 2008, including:

  • Barclays Capital's acquisition of Lehman Brothers' assets
  • Bear Stearns' sale of Morgan Chase
  • the U.S. Treasury Department's capital investment in Goldman Sachs

Why it matters: Trump has said he will crack down on Wall Street, adding "I'm not going to let Wall Street get away with murder. Wall Street has caused tremendous problems for us."

But he also profited off the foreclosure crisis, bragging in a Trump University promo: "I've always made a FORTUNE in FORECLOSURES, and YOU WILL TOO."

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Axios
5 mins ago - Podcasts

The fight over fracking

Fracking has become a flashpoint in the election's final week, particularly in Pennsylvania where both President Trump and Joe Biden made stops on Monday. But much of the political rhetoric has ignored that the industry has gone from boom to bust, beset by layoffs, bankruptcies and fire-sale mergers.

Axios Re:Cap digs into the state of fracking, and what it means for the future of American energy, with Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group.

Axios
27 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Democrats sound alarm on mail-in votes

Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images

Democrats are calling a last-minute audible on mail-in voting after last night's Supreme Court ruling on Wisconsin.

Driving the news: Wisconsin Democrats and the Democratic secretary of state of Michigan are urging voters to return absentee ballots to election clerks’ offices or drop boxes. They are warning that the USPS may not be able to deliver ballots by the Election Day deadline.

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Orion Rummler
35 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Nxivm cult leader Keith Raniere sentenced to life in prison

Carts full of court documents related to the U.S. v. Keith Raniere case arrive at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in May 2019. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Nxivm cult leader Keith Raniere, 60, was sentenced to 120 years in prison on Tuesday in federal court for sex trafficking among other crimes, the New York Times reports.

Catch up quick: Raniere was convicted last summer with sex trafficking, conspiracy, sexual exploitation of a child, racketeering, forced labor and possession of child pornography. His so-called self-improvement workshops, which disguised rampant sexual abuse, were popular among Hollywood and business circles.

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