Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - ‘It has to stop’

The special Congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol continued its public hearings Tuesday with a broad expansion of its case against Donald Trump. Connecting the Trump White House to state capitals across the country, the committee further depicted an alleged conspiracy to stymie American democracy with what Democratic Representative Adam Schiff called “a dangerous and escalating campaign” of political pressure in which, according to Republican Representative Liz Cheney, Trump had a “direct and personal role.” Evidence presented along with witness testimony from two staunch Republicans, Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, showed how Trump’s lawyers and aides sought in the months after he lost the 2020 election to upend results in swing states with false claims of fraud and fake slates of electors. Trump’s followers harassed and threatened violence against state officials who were unwilling to bend, as well as their spouses, children, mothers and even grandmothers, according to the testimony.

From left, Rusty Bowers, Arizona Republican House speaker, Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, and Gabriel Sterling, Georgia’s secretary of state chief operating officer, during a hearing of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol in Washington on June 21. Photographer: Michael Reynolds/EPA

But more subtly, the committee presented evidence that—as Jan. 6, 2021 approached—Trump was repeatedly informed by the Justice Department and White House officials that his claims of fraud were false—but he continued to spout them anyway. Within Attorney General Merrick Garland’s sprawling criminal probe of the deadly effort to keep Trump in power, proving Trump knew the fraud claims were false is seen as a key prerequisite to any successful prosecution. The committee also played part of an emotionally charged and prescient press conference by Gabriel Sterling, Raffensperger’s deputy, in which he directly addressed Trump’s unsubstantiated allegations of fraud against Georgia election workers. Warning of the threat of violence Trump’s falsehoods could engender, Sterling said in his now famous speech that “it has to stop.” The date was Dec. 1, 2020. —David E. Rovella and Natasha Solo-Lyons

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Cheney’s starring role in making the case against Trump in nationally televised hearings has made this stalwart conservative a pariah among Trump-following Republicans and won her few friends in her home state of Wyoming.

Liz Cheney Photographer: Tom Brenner/Bloomberg

US equities rebounded Tuesday after last week’s rout erased almost $2 trillion from the S&P 500. The index added 2.4% today, led by energy and consumer discretionary shares, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 2.5%. A drop in Treasuries took the benchmark 10-year yield back toward 3.3%. Here’s your markets wrap.

Nouriel Roubini, Goldman Sachs and others have warned of what they see as a growing likelihood the US economy will fall into recession, stoking fears of the Fed’s aggressive inflation fight despite the prediction being far from universal. But at the same time, the central bank’s effort may be having some desired effects, namely cooling the job market.

US single-family rents jumped 14% year-over-year in April, marking the 13th period of record-breaking annual gains. Supply shortages and a strong job market are driving prices up.

Homes in Hercules, California Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

US banking giants are poised to return $80 billion to shareholders after this year’s Fed stress tests, less than last year’s elevated level which followed a pandemic-driven pause in buybacks. 

Switzerland imported gold from Russia for the first time since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, showing the industry’s stance toward the isolated nation’s precious metals may be softening. 

The secretary of Russia’s Security Council threatened retaliation in a growing standoff with the European Union after NATO member Lithuania blocked the transit of sanctioned goods to Moscow’s militarized exclave of Kaliningrad. NATO member Estonia meanwhile says Russia is targeting it with missile simulations.

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Elon Musk struck a sober tone Tuesday as he predicted a probable US recession and left doubts about his controversial commitment to a $44 billion takeover of Twitter. In an interview with Bloomberg News Editor in Chief John Micklethwait at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, the Tesla CEO said some of the electric-vehicle maker’s employees need to be cut as supply-chain snarls crimp growth. 

Elon Musk, right, speaks via video link during the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday.  Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg

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