Ignoring Geopolitical Risk?

Authored by Daniel Lacalle,

The increase in the global geopolitical risk index has not affected global markets.

The general tone remains bullish despite a surprising “neutral” view shown in CNN’s Fear and Greed Index.

The reality is completely different.

Investors may say they are neutral given the elevated valuations and the global uncertainty, but most asset managers’ positioning is exceedingly bullish and concentrated on very cyclical sectors like banks and technology.

The main reason for this striking contrast between explicit concerns and positioning is a clear consensus of central bank easing as the norm.

Global money supply is expected to grow much faster than nominal GDP in 2026, what I call the monetary tsunami.

Investors should not ignore geopolitical risks and the evident impoverishment of middle classes due to inflationist policies that we have commented on in this column a few times.

Inflating financial asset prices while eroding the real value of fiat currencies generates social discontent, weaker productive investment, and a dangerous sentiment of confidence.

Gold soars as government bonds lose appeal

Risk accumulates gradually but can manifest suddenly, and the current environment is characterised by a perilous sovereign debt bubble that coincides with a decrease in global central banks’ demand for bonds from developed economies.

That is why gold soars. Demand for gold is rising while appetite for government bonds declines.

Global broad money is probably going to rise well above nominal output, with overall money supply growth projected to exceed 12% in 2026 while global GDP stalls around 3–3.1%, far below pre-2008 norms.

Furthermore, global capital investment is likely to be flat relative to depreciation in 2026. This enormous difference between liquidity and real activity reflects years of aggressive monetary and fiscal policies, with out-of-control deficits and bloated public balance sheets still driving central bank behaviour.

In Europe, the challenging political and fiscal situation, particularly in countries such as France, makes it very difficult for the ECB to normalise

According to JP Morgan, US money supply (M2) rose by 1.7 trillion dollars in 2025, growing at 6.6% and above nominal GDP for a third consecutive year.

This creates a risk of persistent inflation and elevated valuations in financial assets. Even if consumer prices rise at a slower pace than in previous years, the risk of loss of purchasing power remains.

For 2026, JP Morgan expects US money creation to exceed 2 trillion dollars, approaching the 2021 pace, as new liquidity channels—especially Federal Reserve T-bill purchases—replace quantitative tightening and extend the monetary stimulus cycle.

In 2026 the Federal Reserve is likely to remain accommodative, bringing real rates down towards a neutral level and even maybe adding a potential “mini–Quantitative Easing” or hidden easing program of roughly 20 billion dollars a month in Treasury purchases and mortgage-backed securities.

In Europe, the challenging political and fiscal situation, particularly in countries such as France, makes it very difficult for the ECB to normalise, forcing it to persist with instruments such as the anti-fragmentation tools and the monetisation of EU funds as well as a larger EU budget.

Resisting the negative impact of inflation

The reason why investors remain bullish is also because recent years’ events have shown that geopolitical risk plays a diminishing role in market volatility.

However, ongoing inflation and geopolitical risk do impact economic growth, investment, and consumer spending, which results in lower forecasts for economic output, reduced earnings estimates for companies that are more sensitive to the economy and keeps valuations at uncomfortable levels.

Global inflation is expected to moderate but remain above pre-pandemic levels around 3%, with developed economies still above their 2% targets because governments refuse to cut spending or deficits, so CPI stays “artificially” high relative to where it should be and underlying growth.

This leads to social discontent and rising populist measures in developed nations, while protests may bring more unrest in countries like Iran.

The situation never ends well. Central banks stopped being independent years ago, and their main strategy is to maintain unjustified low yields in sovereign bonds at the expense of consumers, who suffer the accumulated impact of inflation and rising taxes.

Ignoring geopolitical risks may lead to more aggressive investment in financial assets than would be advisable. However, too much fear leads to real losses for investors who decide to stay in cash and therefore suffer the annual erosion of the purchasing power of the currency.

What to do then?

Active portfolio management, prudent positioning, and a focus on gold, silver, and developed economies’ equities may help investors resist the negative impact of inflation and avoid the risks accumulated due to political uncertainty.

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/26/2026 - 18:25

Appeals Court Denies DOJ's Bid To Arrest More Minnesota Church Protesters

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

Late last week, a federal appeals court denied the Justice Department’s (DOJ’s) request to arrest more individuals involved in an anti-ICE protest that occurred inside a church in Minnesota earlier this month.

Protesters disrupted a Sunday service at Cities Church in St. Paul on Jan. 18, chanting phrases such as “Justice for Renee Good,” following claims that one of the church pastors serves as the acting field office director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minnesota. Several people were arrested on Jan. 22 for allegedly organizing the protest.

The Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Jan. 23 rejected the DOJ’s emergency petition for a writ of mandamus after Minnesota Chief District Judge Patrick Schiltz refused to issue five more arrest warrants related to the protest.

In a Jan. 23 letter to the appeals court, Schiltz said the DOJ had requested arrest warrants for eight people on Jan. 20, but Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko issued warrants for only three, finding no probable cause to arrest the remaining five.

The five individuals allegedly entered the church and yelled “horrible things at the members of the church” but committed no violence, according to the judge’s letter.

“It is important to emphasize that what the U.S. Attorney requested is unheard of in our district or, as best as I can tell, any other district in the Eighth Circuit,” Schiltz said, referring to the DOJ’s request to review Micko’s denial of arrest warrants.

“The reason why this never happens is likely that, if the government does not like the magistrate judge’s decision, it can either improve the affidavit and present it again to the same magistrate judge or it can present its case to a grand jury and seek an indictment,” the judge added.

The DOJ said that arresting the five individuals was necessary to deter potential “copycats” from disrupting churches, synagogues, and religious services. Schiltz disagreed.

“The leaders of the group have been arrested, and their arrests have received widespread publicity. There is absolutely no emergency,” Schiltz said, suggesting that the DOJ could instead take its case to a grand jury.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the DOJ for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

Among the five individuals for whom the DOJ sought arrest warrants is former CNN journalist turned YouTuber Don Lemon, who livestreamed the protest on social media.

Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement on Jan. 23 that the magistrate’s actions “confirm the nature of Don’s First Amendment protected work this weekend in Minnesota as a reporter.”

“Should the Department of Justice continue with a stunning and troubling effort to silence and punish a journalist for doing his job, Don will call out their latest attack on the rule of law and fight any charges vigorously and thoroughly in court,” Lowell said.

Harmeet Dhillon, the DOJ’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, posted on X on Jan. 18 that a house of worship is not a public forum for protest.

“It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws,” Dhillon said.

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/26/2026 - 17:40

Tehran Cheers US Unrest, Calls Minneapolis Protests 'Instant Karma'

Iran's state media has blasted the Trump administration as hypocritical, drawing a direct comparison between the recent protests inside the Islamic Republic and the ongoing unrest ignited by the controversial ICE shootings in Minneapolis.

Iran has seized on the latest fatal shooting of Alex Prettio, arguing that President Trump has no moral standing to condemn how Iranian authorities have handled its own nationwide demonstrations, which were triggered by economic strain and a collapsing currency after years of US-imposed sanctions.

State-backed Press TV pointed to Trump's earlier public call for Iranians to rise up and take to the streets while pointing to the current Minneapolis demonstrations as "instant karma".

Getty Images/BBC

Newsweek observed several fresh broadcasts from Iranian outlets drawing on the comparison:

While these protests were largely peaceful, Iranian state news channel Press TV dedicated a segment in which it presented them as the latest iteration of the anger at the actions of ICE.

The presenter on Press TV, Roya Pour Bagher, referred to social media posts by Americans expressing outrage at the killing, and described "growing fears of an imminent civil conflict—yes a civil war in the United States."  

In a separate clip, Bagher said that footage of Pretti’s killing clearly showed he did not pose a threat to anyone, adding that more protests could help stop the killings. 

This has been the theme across pro-Tehran social media as well:

Iran’s state TV channel Press TV: "Calls on social media demanding Trump’s removal before the US is pushed into the unknown are growing louder, as crimes by ICE against civilians continue to rise." 

Iranian outlet Press TV: "Instant karma? Trump: Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING—TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!"

There's actually some truth here in the way US officials and media portray things whenever there's a protest inside Iran, or any nation deemed a 'rogue' state for that matter: all demonstrations no matter how small or varied in terms of the protesters' actual motives tend to get treated as somehow "pro-Western democracy" in nature, or else as if the "regime" is always on the brink of collapse.

And then there are always the familiar calls by American politicians and pundits of the 'Ayatollah must go' or this or that dictator must go. Western mainstream media is also notorious for grossly oversimplifying complex dynamics behind foreign events and protest movements.

Tehran officials and state media have also of late been saying the Iranian protests that kicked off on December 27, but which last week finally ended, were quickly "hijacked" by foreign powers and interests. For example the below fresh PressTV commentary says:

In an interview with the Press TV website, Nury Vittachi, a Hong Kong-based journalist, author, and political commentator, said the deadly unrest and acts of terrorism in Iran in recent weeks bore the unmistakable signs of a coordinated campaign orchestrated by the United States and Israel.

“There is no doubt that there was heavy involvement from foreign forces during the riots. I have seen this same procedure in many locations,” he stated.

A protest light display was projected onto an ICE detention center in Los Angeles, California, depicting an ICE officer shooting at humanity, democracy, rights, and freedoms.

Follow: https://t.co/7Dg3b41hTx pic.twitter.com/cdwoCEv631

— PressTV Extra (@PresstvExtra) January 26, 2026

Thousands were killed, among them at least dozens or possibly even hundreds of police, security personnel, and pro-government people. But the majority of casualties were clearly on the anti-government side, as even Iran state sources have lately appeared to admit.

The West accuses Iran of often firing on unarmed protesters, while the Islamic Republic has retorted that there was an armed insurrection in tandem with those who went to the streets peacefully - creating a more murky, complex series of bloody clashes with the police and military.

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/26/2026 - 17:20

A Year After Pardons, Freed January 6 Prisoners Tell Their Stories

Authored by Janice Hisle via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A year ago, President Donald Trump pardoned nearly 1,600 people for “offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.”

Illustration by The Epoch Times, Bobby Sanchez for The Epoch Times, Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times, Nathaniel Smith for The Epoch Times, Natasha Holt for The Epoch Times, Leo Shi/The Epoch Times

That decision to issue the blanket pardon, in one of his first official acts as the 47th president, ignited controversy. It covered not only people who strolled through open doors of the U.S. Capitol, unaware they were trespassing, but also rioters who damaged property and assaulted police.

After the initial public backlash subsided, the pardoned—many of them newly freed from prison—began rebuilding their lives.

The Epoch Times interviewed five of those former Jan. 6 prisoners. Their consensus: Jan. 6 is one of the most-mischaracterized events in U.S. history, largely because records—and personal stories like theirs—have been ignored by most media outlets. They say the pardon was not a panacea. Some are still ostracized from friends and family. Others are still recovering from the financial setbacks.

All five believe they’ve been unjustly prosecuted and none say they regret their actions. Rather, the pardoned said they were proud to have stood up for the integrity of U.S. elections, Trump, and American values on that fateful day—despite the great cost.

Micki Witthoeft, mother of Ashli Babbitt, waits outside the DC Central Detention Facility after President Donald Trump pardoned roughly 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants, in Washington on Jan. 20, 2025. Babbitt, a Trump supporter, was the only person killed, by a police officer, during the Jan. 6 conflict. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times Twists of Fate

As Dan Leyden, 58, struggles to regroup after his wife died of cancer late last year, he remains in disbelief over the life-changing events that preceded that horrible loss.

Circumstances lined up and thrust him—a low-profile union electrician from Chicago—into the forefront of the Jan. 6 conflict in 2021.

At the last minute, he had decided to join his brother in Washington to watch “our favorite president” speak, possibly delivering his final big public speech as the 45th president.

But the brothers got separated from each other.

“Then I don’t see that speech, because the man next to me says, ‘Dan, would you walk with me to the Capitol?’ So I walked to the Capitol,” Leyden said, “And, from there, my life has turned upside-down.”

While he doesn’t want pity, Leyden—who injects many of his remarks with wry humor—used the word, “heartbroken,” to describe losses he has suffered.

First, his prosecution cost him the Chicago Park District job he had worked without a single complaint for 24 years.

Also, while beginning to serve a prison sentence that would have spanned three years, Leyden missed the birth of his first grandchild—“a gorgeous baby girl” who he now enjoys visiting.

Days after an overjoyed Leyden was pardoned and freed, he plunged into sorrow over the shooting death of Matt Huttle, 42, a Jan. 6 prisoner who became his friend while they served time in prison together. Stopped for speeding in rural Indiana, Huttle threatened to kill himself rather than face life behind bars again. As Huttle resisted arrest, an officer fatally shot him.

Worst of all, Leyden lost his wife of 27 years to cancer on Dec. 29 last year. That illness, which stress has been known to trigger, hit Linda Leyden shortly after her husband was freed. His incarceration had kept them apart for 15 months.

Dan Leyden, 58, at his home in Chicago on Jan. 13, 2026. A low-profile union electrician, Leyden lost his 24-year career at the Chicago Park District due to the Jan. 6 prosecution while mourning the recent loss of his wife to cancer. Nathaniel Smith for The Epoch Times

Leyden said his wife was known for her compassion. It was her idea to adopt two daughters from a Russian orphanage; they are now grown.

A lively woman, his wife ran marathons in major cities across the United States and as far away as South Africa before she died at 62.

Despite mourning her death, Leyden jokes about their contrasting lifestyles: “I don’t run unless somebody’s chasing me—and the FBI hasn’t been chasing me lately.”

With sarcasm, he disputes a label he and other defendants were given. “I was a very poorly trained ‘domestic terrorist,’” Leyden says, noting he showed up for the wintertime protest wearing a lightweight green flannel shirt over a T-shirt, and “cheap mittens from Walmart.”

Trump was scheduled to speak at The Ellipse, a park about two miles from Capitol Hill, following a series of other presenters.

But the speeches were hard to hear above the din of the crowd, broadcast over poor-quality loudspeakers.

And Leyden was shivering. It was windy; temperatures hovered in the 30s.

Unable to find his brother, Leyden headed toward the U.S. Capitol, hoping the walk would help him feel warmer.

After arriving at the U.S. Capitol, Leyden noted insufficient security; he ended up near a bike rack that functioned as a barricade. Photos show that Leyden was “pushing the barricade,” prosecutors said in a court record.

That’s a misrepresentation, Leyden said: “Did I lean on a bicycle rack? Yeah, I’m guilty.”

About 17 months later, the FBI descended upon his Illinois home. His wife was home alone with the family pets; she was terrified.

Leyden soon surrendered. He faced 29 years in prison, even though he never went inside the U.S. Capitol; neither did his brother, Joe, who was sentenced to six months.

Leyden’s wife urged him to take a plea, saying, “Can we get this nightmare over with?” His legal battle had cost $30,000, wiping out his savings, though he is not in debt.

Now after a year of freedom, he is awash in grief. He doesn’t know what direction his life will take. “I just wanna go walk my dog at the park; my best friend of 29 years is gone,” he said.

Spiritually, he has never given up. Leyden said he was “just knocked to the curb [and] got back up.” He is beginning to feel less ostracized and hopes to go back to union electrical work.

Many people’s lives have been devastated, too, he said, “all because of one day” that remains shrouded in questions.

“The American people deserve the truth,” he said. And that, he said, is worth fighting for.

Flowers and cards Dan Leyden received after his wife’s passing at his home in Chicago on Jan. 13, 2026. Nathaniel Smith for The Epoch Times Grateful, But Wants More Action

Like many former Jan. 6 defendants, Alexander Sheppard hoped that being pardoned would go a long way toward clearing his name.

It didn’t.

Many people still treat the ex-defendants “like we are totally inhuman,” Sheppard, an Ohioan, said.

Another once-maligned group has consistently shown respect. “I’ve had Vietnam veterans tell me: ‘Thank you for your service.’ It’s mind-blowing,” Sheppard said.

Also, people of faith have demonstrated compassion. “A lot of Christians have been praying for the Jan. 6 people,” Sheppard said. “I appreciate that more than anything.”

With those notable exceptions, Sheppard still feels ostracized. He blames “the mainstream media” for falsely labeling nonviolent people like him “insurrectionists.”

On Jan. 6, 2021, Sheppard was 21 and had just started his own company. His prosecution forced him to return to restaurant work; he shares living expenses with his brother. He recently quit the restaurant job in search of a better opportunity.

Sheppard made a last-minute decision to attend the Jan. 6 rally, mostly because he opposed COVID-19 restrictions and believed that the 2020 election was stolen.

He was among many who entered the U.S. Capitol through open doors—unaware that they were trespassing.

Fatefully, Sheppard happened to be nearby when a police officer fatally shot Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt—unwittingly making him far more noticeable.

Sheppard would like to put Jan. 6 behind him. But “another part of me is saying, ‘We can’t move on because the people who did this to me are the criminals,’” who should be held to account.

Alexander Sheppard in Columbus, Ohio, on Jan. 28, 2025. Sheppard said many former Jan. 6 defendants, including himself, have since struggled to find employment. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

Sheppard believes the FBI and Justice Department should apologize and pay restitution, calling for federal trials to be televised to prevent unjust tactics from being used without scrutiny.

People would be stunned to learn what really happened during trials like his, he said. Not a single Republican sat on his jury in Democrat-dominated Washington, D.C.

Prosecutors presented five witnesses against him, and “every single one of them said they didn’t know me,” except for the FBI agent who tracked him down after Jan. 6, he said.

“There’s no victim to my ‘crime’ and there’s no witnesses—and somehow, I get convicted.”

Investigators never asked him about the fatal shooting of Babbitt—which Sheppard witnessed from about 10 feet away. U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd fired the fatal shot and faced no criminal charges.

Babbitt, a stranger to Sheppard, was shot as she attempted to climb through the broken window in a doorframe.

Although the presidential pardon didn’t produce the reputational boost Sheppard had hoped for, “I’m so grateful for the pardon; I’m so grateful that President Trump included every January Sixer.”

Because of a court ruling involving Jan. 6 prosecutions, a judge reduced Sheppard’s 19-month prison term to six months. Thus, he was released in May 2024. Still, he benefited from the pardon in January 2025; it restored his unblemished criminal record and removed restrictions he had faced.

Although he was represented by a public defender, Sheppard took a financial hit after the arrest and the ensuing prosecution.

“I am not completely broke because I have been working a job and keeping expenses relatively low, but I would have a lot more money if I didn’t endure four years of persecution from the federal government,” Shepard said.

He feels there is much unfinished business about Jan. 6.

“We need accountability for FBI agents and prosecutors and judges who let this go down, because, in my opinion, what they did to us January Sixers is … one of the worst human rights abuses and biggest stains on our country’s history,” Sheppard said.

A Christmas card sent to Alexander Sheppard while he was in prison in Illinois from a supporter in Poland, in Columbus, Ohio, on Jan. 28, 2025. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times Curiosity Drove Him

On an early February morning in 2021, in Tampa, Florida, Paul Hodgkins III awakened to the sound he had been dreading: an insistent, loud banging on his front door.

He knew the FBI had caught up with him for entering the Senate chamber of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, six weeks prior.

Wearing only a towel around his waist, Hodgkins opened the door. An officer yelled for him to put his hands up. Hodgkins tried to comply while also attempting to keep the towel in place with his elbows.

“But he handcuffed me behind my back, and left me standing naked in my living room when they all came barreling in,” Hodgkins said, describing the humiliating circumstances of his arrest at his duplex.

At that moment, Hodgkins felt the weight of the federal government crushing him—later reinforced when he saw the words, “The United States of America vs. Paul Hodgkins” on legal paperwork.

Hodgkins, who had no prior criminal record, also gained unwanted notoriety that summer when he became “the very, very first person who was sentenced to prison” for the events of Jan. 6.

At a lawyer’s urging, he pleaded guilty to a single charge and was sentenced to eight months in prison.

Being the first-sentenced defendant “put all eyes on me,” Hodgkins said, describing “a lot of paparazzi” taking his photo at a Washington courthouse. Photographers from a publication based in the U.K. also staked out his neighborhood and snapped pictures of him.

Paul Hodgkins III returns to a Raymond James Stadium parking lot, where he had worked crowd control during a 2020 Trump rally, in Tampa, Fla., on Jan. 13, 2026. Hodgkins, who had no prior criminal record, gained notoriety as the first person sentenced to prison over the events of Jan. 6, 2021. Natasha Holt for The Epoch Times

Hodgkins made a last-minute decision to catch a chartered bus trip to Washington for Trump’s rally on Jan. 6, 2021, spurred by fellow Trump supporters.

After hearing Trump’s speech, Hodgkins followed the crowd to the U.S. Capitol.

Curiosity drove him around to the rear of the Capitol building, and before he knew what had happened, he was inside the Senate Chamber, thinking he might be able to see some of the senators and “encourage them to audit this election.” He didn’t know they had been evacuated because the U.S. Capitol was breached.

At the time, he realized he might be “crossing somewhat of a line,” but thought that, at most, he could face a minor charge such as disorderly conduct.

“I didn’t think I would be getting slapped with felonies and prison time, right?” As he left the Capitol building, an uneasy feeling stalked him, especially after he learned about the shooting death of Babbitt.

Now 43, Hodgkins was among those who paid respects to Babbitt at a memorial service on the anniversary of Jan. 6 this year. He has gotten to know Babbitt’s mother, and still has a hard time watching any footage of the shooting.

Paul Hodgkins III clutches flowers honoring slain protester Ashli Babbitt on the fifth anniversary of her death in Washington on Jan. 6, 2026. Courtesy of Paul Hodgkins III

Besides losing his freedom, Hodgkins’ prosecution cost him his job, but he has been able to find another good job at a machine-motor service shop. He has “plenty of haters” online and has lost friendships over his Jan. 6 involvement.

“And, financially, yes, I was set back a lot by case, but I got back to work, recovered, and marched on. I work, and live comfortably on my own,” Hodgkins said. “I didn’t like my life being so damaged from it all, but I also take pride in how I survived and built my life back.”

Still, he says, “I do not regret that I stood up for President Trump at that time. I don’t regret standing up for my country when I know we were being wronged. I still to this day, I know for myself that the 2020 election was compromised, and I don’t regret confronting that.”

When Hodgkins briefly met Trump at a 2023 dinner, he got the notion that a pardon might follow if Trump won a second term in office. “It was a prayer answered” when the pardon came, clearing Hodgkins’ conviction. It is now framed and on display in his home alongside other Trump memorabilia.

He thinks the pardon will help his career aspirations. “And I’m hoping, you know, before I’m too old to do it, that I might find a wife and start a family. ... Whether that does happen for me or not, you know, I have a very, I have a very blessed life.”

Paul Hodgkins III stands in front of a portrait of President Donald Trump during a St. Patrick’s Day Lincoln Day Dinner at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Ex-New York Officer Conflicted

Being pardoned delivered sweet freedom. But for Sara Carpenter, it also left a bitter aftertaste. She believes the pardon signifies that she was absolved of crimes that she didn’t commit.

“My pardon looks great on paper,” Carpenter said. “And then I say, ‘Wait a minute. It should never have happened to begin with.’”

While she is grateful that the pardon led to her release about midway through a 22-month prison term, Carpenter had filed an appeal. She was hoping to have her convictions overturned, and “that’s why I didn’t want the pardon, in a sense,” she said.

She knows of other pardoned defendants who feel similarly conflicted. Like many of the pardoned, Carpenter alleges she was convicted in an unfair trial based largely on falsehoods.

“I didn’t get tried by a judge and jury,” she said. “I got tried by political activists.”

Carpenter was convicted of two felonies—civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding—and five misdemeanors.

As a retired New York City police officer, Carpenter was particularly offended when the Justice Department alleged she “slapped” officers’ arms.

She has publicly challenged anyone to produce a video proving that claim; none has surfaced, she said.

Carpenter, 56, admits she got riled up; she perceived police were stoking unrest, not quelling it. But she says her actions weren’t criminal.

“I don’t regret what I did,” she said. “I yelled. I raised my voice.”

As an officer who responded to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City, Carpenter suffered lingering trauma that led to her retirement. It also affected her reactions on Jan. 6, she said; a suspected provocateur inflamed her when he compared Jan. 6 to 9/11.

Sara Carpenter, an artist and retired New York City police officer, holds one of her paintings in New York City on Jan. 14, 2026. Though a presidential pardon granted her freedom, Carpenter said it came with a bitter aftertaste—being absolved of crimes she says she never committed. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

Investigators initially treated Carpenter with some deference, she said. Dozens of Jan. 6 defendants worked in law enforcement, government, or military roles.

However, professional courtesies soon evaporated, Carpenter said. In March 2021, authorities raided her New York home, with a helicopter circling above.

Post-pardon, Carpenter, a college-educated artist, is producing artwork “that brings out hope.” With encouragement from others who share “America First” beliefs, Carpenter also does public speaking about Jan. 6.

“The reason I keep talking is so they won’t get away with it,” Carpenter said, alleging unjust persecution of Jan. 6 defendants and coverups of evidence. “The truth is there. People are choosing not to see it.”

She would like to see history courses teach a balanced view of Jan. 6, so children become critical thinkers and evaluate “both sides of a story, not just one.”

Carpenter said her side of the story wasn’t adequately told in court. While prosecutors showed images of her yelling, they didn’t show her praying at the U.S. Capitol, said Carpenter, who comes from a devout Irish Catholic family.

An item of religious significance was used as evidence against her: A trio of wise men figurines. “The three wise men are still being held hostage,” said Carpenter, who has made multiple requests for her personal property to be returned.

The figurines are antiques from her childhood Christmas displays, but where they are now is a mystery. Prosecutors presented them on the witness stand during her 2023 trial—an odd sight that dumbfounded her.

Carpenter says she likely took the figurines to the U.S. Capitol because Jan. 6 is the traditional date that the Vatican celebrates the Epiphany, the three kings’ adoration of the newborn Jesus.

The government’s use and retention of the figurines serve as a metaphor for many things about Jan. 6 that “make no sense,” she said.

“God was with me all the way and still is, because of my relationship with the Good Lord Jesus I have hope in the future,” Carpenter said. “My prayers are with those who did this to us and for Americans to speak up more to not accept being lied to by the past administrations, almost all of whom still hold positions in our government.”

An ornament of the Three Wise Men made by Sara Carpenter at her home in New York City on Jan. 14, 2026. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times The Lego Model

The FBI unwittingly created an internet sensation when agents seized an odd piece of evidence from the Pennsylvania home of Robert Morss: a Lego model of the U.S. Capitol.

Last June, on the four-year anniversary of his arrest, Morss received the Lego box back—empty.

“I think someone has a trophy on their desk somewhere in some federal building, perhaps … but, yeah, the legend continues, you know?” Morss said.

Even though the Lego set remains missing, Morss has embraced his internet-birthed nickname, “Lego Man.” For him, it has become symbolic of his rebuilt, post-Jan. 6 life.

Authorities accused Morss of interfering with police and assisting others in doing so, among other actions on Jan. 6.

Had he not been pardoned in 2025, Morss would have spent five-and-a-half years in prison.

He chronicles his three-and-a-half years behind bars in a new, 565-page book, “Still There: A Story of Survival and Penance in Prison Through the Eyes of a J6 Political Prisoner.”

Besides writing and publishing two books, Morss quit drinking alcohol. He strengthened his Christian faith. He became a public speaker. During one speaking engagement in Florida, he met the woman he intends to marry in April, Olivia Pollock, a fellow former Jan. 6 defendant.

“We realize just how profound it is to have a connection with somebody that has also suffered in a very similar way,” Morss, 32, said. “You know, who else could I be with that could relate to what I’ve gone through?”

It’s essential for people to continue speaking out about what happened on Jan. 6, he said, because “justice dies in the quiet.”

Robert Morss, CEO of LeggoMan Productions, poses with a set of Legos and his Bible in Dallas, Texas, on Jan. 13, 2026. A Lego model of the U.S. Capitol seized from Morss’s home was used as evidence in his prosecution, later earning him the internet nickname “Lego Man.” Bobby Sanchez for The Epoch Times

Using a variant of his “Lego Man” nickname, Morss has launched his own film production company in Texas.

LeggoMan Productions aims to create “movies that reinvigorate the next generation to want to keep this Republic,” Morss said. Although the films will be “gritty,” the stories will be told from a Christian perspective, he said.

Noting that the word, “Lego,” means “I assemble” in Latin, Morss says that sums up what he wants to do: “Assemble” people into a cohesive group. His company is growing, and he expects to hire additional staff—opportunities he wants to provide first to Jan. 6 defendants and veterans.

He is a former Army Ranger who served three deployments to Afghanistan. In addition to the Lego model, authorities seized military-related items and notes, along with clothing Morss wore to the Jan. 6 protest.

In court records, prosecutors described the Lego model as “fully constructed” when the FBI seized it. The government later corrected the record, blaming a “miscommunication” for the inaccurate description.

By listing the model of the U.S. Capitol as evidence, that suggests it could have played a role in Morss’s alleged Jan. 6 planning. Morss and internet commenters savaged that notion as preposterous.

Morss explains why a former girlfriend bought him the U.S. Capitol model: “She knew I was a history buff, and she knew I wanted to be a teacher, and she also knew that I loved Legos.” He propped up the box as a “decoration” at his home, until it was seized.

At a recent fundraising gala, Morss auctioned off other Lego U.S. Capitol models to benefit his production company. “Everybody wants one,” he said; and purchasers asked him to autograph the boxes.

Yet some of the pieces of his life can’t be put back together. His father and brother turned their backs on him. His uncle worked with private investigators to help turn him in to the FBI.

And despite the book sales and speaking engagements, he is still struggling financially.

None of the positive changes in his life would have happened without his faith, he said.

“The only way that I’ve been successful at any of this stuff is because I continue to give glory to God,” Morss said. “It’s like a secret recipe: The more you want to honor God with what you’re doing, the more you incorporate God into your life ... things just seem to work out.”

He advises his Jan. 6 brethren: “Find a new mission that honors God and saves your country, and you'll be okay.”

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/26/2026 - 17:00

In Secret Recordings, Ted Cruz Bashes Trump Tariffs, JD Vance, And Tucker Carlson

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) took aim at President Trump's tariff policy and Vice President JD Vance during closed-door donor meetings last year, according to recordings obtained by Axios. The recordings reveal deep rifts inside the GOP over trade and foreign policy. 

Credit: AP

The recordings, totaling nearly 10 minutes, were provided by a Republican source and were made during two donor sessions in early and mid-2025.

In the recordings, Cruz repeatedly singled out JD Vance and Tucker Carlson, accusing them of driving an anti-interventionist foreign policy inside the Trump administration. Cruz claimed the two were responsible for pushing out former national security adviser Mike Waltz because he supported military action against Iran, even though Trump later embraced that approach.

"Tucker created JD. JD is Tucker's protégé, and they are one and the same," Cruz told donors. He has been feuding publicly with Carlson on social media for months. 

Cruz also said Vance and Carlson played a role in briefly installing Army veteran Daniel Davis in a senior intelligence position. Cruz described Davis as fiercely hostile to Israel and said their involvement triggered backlash that ultimately led to Davis being forced out.

In the second recording, Cruz recounted a tense late-night phone call with Trump after the president rolled out his tariff plan in early April 2025. Cruz and several other senators tried to persuade Trump to back off the policy. The call stretched past midnight and "did not go well," Cruz said. Trump was "yelling" and "cursing" during the conversation.

"Trump was in a bad mood," Cruz told donors. "I've been in conversations where he was very happy. This was not one of them."

Cruz warned Trump that the tariffs could wreck the economy and imperil the GOP's political standing.

"Mr. President, if we get to November and people's 401(k)s are down 30% and prices are up 10–20% at the supermarket, we're going to go into Election Day, face a bloodbath," Cruz said he told Trump.

"You're going to lose the House, you're going to lose the Senate, you're going to spend the next two years being impeached every single week."

Trump's response, according to Cruz, was blunt: "F**k you, Ted."

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the trade deficit shrank to $29.4 billion in October. That marks the smallest gap since June 2009 and a sharp 39% decline from September’s $48.1 billion. The economy also grew at an annualized rate of 4.4% in the third quarter — the fastest pace in two years.

When a donor brought up "Liberation Day," Trump's branding for the tariff rollout, Cruz mocked the phrase. He said he told his staff that anyone using it "will be terminated on the spot." He added, "That is not language we use."

Cruz also told donors he had been "battling" the White House to secure a trade agreement with India. When asked who inside the administration opposed such deals, Cruz pointed to economic adviser Peter Navarro, Vice President Vance, and "sometimes" Trump.

A Cruz spokesperson downplayed the recordings in a statement, insisting that Cruz is "the president's greatest ally in the Senate and battles every day in the trenches to advance his agenda." 

"Those battles include fights over staffers who try to enter the administration despite disagreeing with the president and seeking to undermine his foreign policy," the statement continued. "Sen. Cruz is proud of those fights, his accomplishments, and his close relationship with the president. These attempts at sowing division are pathetic and getting boring.”

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/26/2026 - 16:40

Abandon Big Tech: Ethereum Founder Buterin Calls 2026 The Year To Reclaim Self-Sovereign Computing

Authored by Christina Comben via CoinTelegraph.com,

Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin declared 2026 to be the “year we take back lost ground in computing self-sovereignty,” starting with his own devices. 

In a Friday post on X, he laid out the software changes he has made to reduce reliance on data-hungry, centralized platforms.

The “two major changes” to the software he used in 2025 were switching “almost fully” to Fileverse, an open-source, decentralized document platform — a kind of privacy-preserving Google Docs — and switching “decisively” to Signal as his primary messaging app.

Signal uses end-to-end encryption by default for all one-to-one and group chats, and stores minimal metadata, meaning only limited information, such as when an account was created or the last date it connected to the service.

Telegram, in contrast, only offers end-to-end encryption in optional “secret chats” and otherwise keeps messages and metadata on its own servers, a model that has drawn scrutiny as law enforcement data requests have increased in countries like France.

Becoming more self-sovereign. Source: Vitalik Buterin

Local AI and self-hosted tools

In 2026, Buterin has moved from Google Maps to OpenStreetMap via OrganicMaps and from Gmail to Proton Mail, while prioritizing decentralized social media.

Buterin also discussed his experiments with locally hosting large language models, arguing that sending all data to third-party services is “unnecessary” when users can increasingly run artificial intelligence tools on their own hardware. 

He said better user interfaces, integrations and efficiency are still needed to make local models a seamless default, but added that there has already been “huge progress” compared with a year ago. 

Privacy advocates see broader shift

His post echoes points made by privacy advocate and NBTV founder Naomi Brockwell, who described running models locally as the most private way to use AI without sending prompts or documents to external servers.

How to use AI privately. Source: Naomi Brockwell

Brockwell has spent years teaching privacy-enhancing behavior to mainstream audiences, arguing that privacy is about autonomy rather than secrecy and encouraging the use of tools like Bitcoin, encrypted messengers and self-hosted services to reduce government and corporate surveillance power.

Buterin’s post also comes amid renewed debate over how much access governments and platforms should have to users’ private communications and metadata.

The European Union’s controversial Chat Control proposal, for example, originally included pre‑encryption scanning of messages to detect abusive material, and prompted warnings from civil liberties groups and technologists that client‑side scanning could undermine trust in encrypted apps.

Progressively swapping out everyday apps for encrypted, open-source and local alternatives is, according to Buterin and other privacy advocates, one way for users to start reclaiming control over their data flows.

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/26/2026 - 15:25

Mobocracy: Democratic Politicians Compete In Race To The Bottom Over ICE Shooting

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

This year, there has been a race to the bottom as Democratic politicians fuel the rage in our streets against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

That continued this last week when Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz again rushed to judgment after a shooting, adding that the public should not treat Border Patrol or ICE officers as real “law enforcement” officers.

However, rock bottom was finally reached by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D), who not only said that she does not consider ICE officers to be “real law enforcement,” but raised the possibility of citizens shooting them under state law.

First, the obvious.  

Mayes said, “I put [“officers”] in air quotes because I don’t think they are real law enforcement.” These are real law enforcement officers under federal law, enforcing federal law. Period. The effort by Walz, Mayes, and others to question their status or treat them as impostors is clearly designed to inflame citizens and encourage greater confrontations.

It is a dangerous form of demagoguery. It is sending citizens into harm’s way, encouraging them to impede federal operations involving the arrest of criminal suspects.

Mayes’s comments could justify many putting “attorney general” in air quotes since she is not only misleading citizens about the status of these officers but also enabling the very rage that is causing the injury and death of individuals.

Again, repeating Walz’s talking points, she referred to these officers as “poorly trained.” She obviously has no idea about the training of these officers. The officer involved in the Alex Pretti shooting was an experienced officer with the Border Patrol. The officer involved in the prior Renée Good shooting was also an experienced officer.

While mischaracterizing the officers, figures like Walz are sending demonstrably “untrained” citizens into highly dangerous situations. Walz specifically called out citizens into the streets to record these operations, which is precisely what Pretti was trying to do before his fatal confrontation with officers.

Mayes, however, was not looking for a tie in that race to the bottom. She told citizens that Arizona’s “Stand Your Ground” law might be cited as grounds for the use of lethal force against officers.  She declared:

“You have these masked, federal officers with very little identification — sometimes no identification — wearing plain clothes and masks and we have a ‘Stand Your Ground’ law that says if you reasonably believe your life is in danger and you’re in your house or in your car or on your property, that you can defend yourself with lethal force.”

She later added, “It’s a fact that we have a ‘Stand Your Ground’ law and, in other states, un-uniformed, masked people who can’t be identified as police officers.”

It was a reckless statement of the law.

These laws only protect “reasonable” uses of self-defense. However, they have an express exemption for using force “to resist an arrest that the person knows or should know is being made by a peace officer or by a person acting in a peace officer’s presence and at his direction, whether the arrest is lawful or unlawful, unless the physical force used by the peace officer exceeds that allowed by law.”

It is not uncommon for law enforcement to use officers in plain clothes to make initial arrests or contacts with suspects who might flee or resist.

Mayes’s comments could encourage an already enraged and irrational segment of our population to use lethal force under the false pretense of standing their ground.

Attacks on these officers have increased exponentially with the violent rhetoric of these politicians. Just last week, a rioter bit off the finger of an officer.

Mayes also vowed to prosecute any ICE agent who violates state laws in these operations. She is also mimicking Walz in spreading legal disinformation. While federal officers do not have absolute immunity in all cases, it is extremely unlikely that state officials could successfully prosecute such cases without facing a transfer to federal court and likely dismissal.

Walz made the same misleading claim in saying that Minnesota would investigate the shooting and that the federal government would not be allowed to conduct the investigation. He has no authority to dictate who or how the shooting will be investigated.

While the state can conduct its own investigation, the federal government will investigate a shooting by a federal officer. Walz further pandered to the mob by raising the debunked “bait boy” story and telling citizens that ICE was “shooting them in the face when they come out of donut shops.”

Rage is hard to maintain for months and the Pretti shooting, as described by one Democratic operative according to Fox’s Chad Pergram, is a “new wild card” in the politics on the Hill over funding.

There remain legitimate questions about this shooting. The videotapes do not show, as suggested in early accounts from the federal government, that Pretti approached the officers brandishing a weapon.

Pretti does not obey the commands of the officers in returning to the middle of the road during their operation. However, he did not appear threatening until after the officer pushed him to the side of the road. At one point, he appears to shove the officer as he tries to assist a woman who was pushed to the ground.

What happens next is hard to determine. There is a video that suggests that an officer may have removed his weapon from its holster just before another officer yells “gun.” It is hard to see Pretti’s hands and we do not know what happened in that split second. We may get a better idea as new videotapes emerge.

Law enforcement officers do not expect blind deference on shootings. However, they have a right to expect a fair chance for an investigation to hear their side of a shooting — not a governor or a mayor rushing before cameras to effectively accuse them of murder.

At this point, it may not matter. Only the mob matters.  Minneapolis Brian O’Hara explained: “even if there is an investigation that ultimately proves that at the time of the shooting it was legally justified, I don’t think that even matters at this point, because there just- there is so much outrage and concern around what is happening in the city.”

Walz has demonstrated politics of the lowest kind, stoking anger as citizens and officers alike are injured. Walz is pledging to go to court to stop further operations—a lawsuit that would be another frivolous filing. Previously, the state, including Attorney General Keith Ellison, filed to prevent the federal government from increasing forces to investigate fraud and immigration violations.

Walz, Mayes, and others are following a long line of demagogues who sought to use social unrest to advance their political careers. For Walz, sending people into the streets has the benefit of not having them at home watching and reading about the growing fraud scandal in his state.

It is not a defense of democracy, but mobocracy in Minnesota.

Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the author of the forthcoming “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution,” which will be released on Feb. 3 as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/26/2026 - 14:45

Saudi Aramco Dismisses Oil Glut Narrative As "Seriously Exaggerated"

Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via OilPrice.com,

Forecasts of a massive oil glut are seriously exaggerated as demand keeps rising and global stocks are below the five-year average, according to Saudi Aramco’s chief executive officer, Amin Nasser. 

“Oil glut predictions are seriously exaggerated,” Nasser said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week as carried by Reuters.

Global oil stocks are low, while the amassed barrels in floating storage on tankers are mostly sanctioned supplies, the CEO of the world’s biggest oil firm and top crude exporter said. 

Moreover, spare capacity has dwindled over the past year, also limiting potential efforts to boost output in case of major supply disruptions, according to Nasser. 

“It (spare capacity) is ‌at 2.5% and we need a minimum of 3%. If OPEC+ further unwinds cuts, spare capacity will ‌fall even further and we will need to watch this very carefully,” Aramco’s top executive said. 

The market is oversupplied, analysts say, as reflected in only brief spikes in oil prices in recent weeks driven the geopolitical developments. 

Most investment banks and the EIA forecast that average oil prices will be below $60 per barrel in 2026 due to an emerging and persistent market oversupply, especially during the first half of the year.  

But OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia, insists that the market would be balanced as demand growth is robust and will remain such in 2027, too. 

The International Energy Agency (IEA) this week raised its oil demand growth estimate and expects growth at 930,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2026, up by 70,000 bpd from last month’s assessment. 

The upgrade reflects a recovery in feedstock demand in the petrochemicals industry, on top of expectations of normalized economic conditions after the unpredictable and chaotic tariff policy of the Trump Administration last year.

But the market continues to be oversupplied, the Paris-based agency noted. 

“Indeed, benchmark crude oil prices remain $16/bbl lower than a year ago, reflecting the large global supply surplus that built up over the past 12 months, in line with our forecasts,” the IEA said.

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/26/2026 - 14:05

Egon von Greyerz On The Hidden Crisis Behind Silver's Price Surge

In the following clip, Egon von Greyerz explains why the precious metals market has entered a fundamentally new and unprecedented phase.

One which is driven not by speculation or momentum trading, but by deep structural imbalances between physical supply and an unprecedented physical demand.

Persistent supply deficits in silver over several consecutive years, combined with rapidly rising industrial demand from sectors such as solar energy, electric vehicles, electronics and defense, have created a physical shortage in the last 5 years that paper markets can no longer mask.

At the same time, the volume of outstanding paper contracts in London and New York now vastly exceeds the amount of physical silver available for delivery.

Von Greyerz warns that this imbalance marks a critical turning point, as silver transitions away from a manipulated paper-based system into a genuinely physical market, where price is ultimately set by scarcity, not leverage. 

Watch Egon explain why manipulation fails when physical precious metals run out...

Here are some key excerpts from the full transcript: (emphasis ours)

...this is a fundamental change. Some viewers might remember the late 1970s when silver quickly climbed from a few dollars up to $50. This was primarily speculation by the Hunt Brothers.

[01:44.7] And of course, the market could quickly sell enough paper silver to crash the price. And it didn't stay long at $50. This time, any selling that is attempted by bullion banks fails ,and we've seen many times being sold in the evening and, within a few hours, it's back up again.

[02:06.0] And this has happened last week again. Friday evening was sold off and then quickly went up to $90. I think we're quickly going to see $100 and more already in the Far East and in Australia, like the Perth Mint, selling now silver at over $100.

[02:25.0] So the price in London and in New York will have to follow. So what does that mean for the ordinary investors? Well, it clearly means that silver is just starting the move, and we are going to see, as I have stressed many times, we are going to see multiples of the current price.

[02:44.8] Will it correct? Of course, silver always corrects, but this is not a normal market because it's now turned into a physical market, which is it should always be rather than the manipulation that we have seen in paper markets. [03:00.0] So physical demand has gone from 10% of production to now 50% in the last year. That is a massive increase in demand, obviously stemming from solar panels, electric cars, electrical products, electronic products and also of course from defence contracts.

[03:18.4] Every missile uses quite a lot of silver, and all other electronic products and weapons use a big amount of silver now. So the demand is there on the physical side, and the demand is there on the investment side, and the production just isn't there.

To satisfy this demand, we've had deficits for the last five years.  Those deficits are going to increase. This is why there will be constant demand for silver, and it is probable in the next year or two that there'll be failure in some markets. Whether that will be in the London market, and some bullion bank will go under. Whether that will be on Comex, we don't know.

[03:53.9] But the risk is very high.

So it is obviously absolutely important for investors to hold nothing but physical silver, buy physical and hold it outside the banking system, not within the banking system. Don't buy ETFs, don't buy any futures, hold physical silver and keep it in a safe storage, in a safe vault like we do for clients, and keep it outside the banking system.

[04:19.7] Now, there are of course many other factors that influence the price of the metals. Gold is also going up, but as I have made clear for quite a while, silver will go twice as fast as gold in the coming years. Now the gold-silver ratio has gone from over 100 to about 50.

[04:36.4] Now the long-term ratio is probably going to be around the 15 level initially, but I wouldn't be surprised to see even lower than that, that being a natural level. But now I think the demand is of such magnitude and the supply so minuscule.

...

Now I'm absolutely convinced we'll see $10,000 for gold. What does that mean for silver? If you take the gold-silver ratio at 15, which is an historical quite important level, then you divide 10,000 by 15, you get 666.

[05:38.3] So, a minimum we would see with silver, in my view, is $666. 

...

But remember, you are not buying silver or gold for speculative purposes or to make money.

[08:16.2] You are buying it to protect your wealth against the total destruction of wealth that we're going to see in the next few years. That is a destruction of paper wealth that is now, at levels which are unprecedented in history, because money printing has been unprecedented, and lending has been unprecedented.

[08:35.2] Countries will go bust, banks will go bust in America, in Europe. Whether it's due to property market, whether it's commercial markets, or people not being able to pay their loans, it doesn't matter. Many banks will go under. Governments and central banks are going to print unlimited amounts of money, and therefore, the value of your dollar, your euro or your pound is going to collapse.

[08:58.6] And that would be reflected in a much higher gold price...

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/26/2026 - 13:45

Stellar 2Y Trasury Auction: Surge In Indirects & Bid-To-Cover; Second Lowest Dealers On Record

The first coupon auction of the week just took place, and it could not have gone any better. 

According to the US Treasury, $69BN of 2 Year paper was just sold at a high yield of 3.580%, up from the 3.499% in December, and stopped through the When Issued 3.594% by 1.4bps, the biggest stop through since August.

The bid to cover jumped to 2.750, up from 2.543 and the highest since Nov 2024 (the six-auction average was 2.61). 

The internals were even stronger: Indirects took down 64.4%, a big jump from 53.2% in December and the highest since March 2025. And with Directs awarded 28.3%, Dealers were left with just 7.3%, the second lowest on record (only Feb 2025 was lower).

Overall, this was a stellar auction and clearly there were no jitters head of Wednesday's FOMC decision, where prevailing consensus is that the Fed will be more hawkish.

Ahead of the auction, the UBS desk thought 2s looked to be locally cheap on outright terms and that the recent flattening had also introduced some value, albeit marginal, on the curve. The market is rallying on the follow. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/26/2026 - 13:35

Peter Schiff: Printing Money Is Not the Cure for Cononavirus



In his most recent podcast, Peter Schiff talked about coronavirus and the impact that it is having on the markets. Earlier this month, Peter said he thought the virus was just an excuse for stock market woes. At the time he believed the market was poised to fall anyway. But as it turns out, coronavirus has actually helped the US stock market because it has led central banks to pump even more liquidity into the world financial system. All this means more liquidity — central banks easing. In fact, that is exactly what has already happened, except the new easing is taking place, for now, outside the United States, particularly in China.” Although the new money is primarily being created in China, it is flowing into dollars — the dollar index is up — and into US stocks. Last week, US stock markets once again made all-time record highs. In fact, I think but for the coronavirus, the US stock market would still be selling off. But because of the central bank stimulus that has been the result of fears over the coronavirus, that actually benefitted not only the US dollar, but the US stock market.” In the midst of all this, Peter raises a really good question. The primary economic concern is that coronavirus will slow down output and ultimately stunt economic growth. Practically speaking, the world would produce less stuff. If the virus continues to spread, there would be fewer goods and services produced in a market that is hunkered down. Why would the Federal Reserve respond, or why would any central bank respond to that by printing money? How does printing more money solve that problem? It doesn’t. In fact, it actually exacerbates it. But you know, everybody looks at central bankers as if they’ve got the solution to every problem. They don’t. They don’t have the magic wand. They just have a printing press. And all that creates is inflation.” Sometimes the illusion inflation creates can look like a magic wand. Printing money can paper over problems. But none of this is going to fundamentally fix the economy. In fact, if central bankers were really going to do the right thing, the appropriate response would be to drain liquidity from the markets, not supply even more.” Peter explained how the Fed was originally intended to create an “elastic” money supply that would expand or contract along with economic output. Today, the money supply only goes in one direction — that’s up. The economy is strong, print money. The economy is weak, print even more money.” Of course, the asset that’s doing the best right now is gold. The yellow metal pushed above $1,600 yesterday. Gold is up 5.5% on the year in dollar terms and has set record highs in other currencies. Because gold is rising even in an environment where the dollar is strengthening against other fiat currencies, that shows you that there is an underlying weakness in the dollar that is right now not being reflected in the Forex markets, but is being reflected in the gold markets. Because after all, why are people buying gold more aggressively than they’re buying dollars or more aggressively than they’re buying US Treasuries? Because they know that things are not as good for the dollar or the US economy as everybody likes to believe. So, more people are seeking out refuge in a better safe-haven and that is gold.” Peter also talked about the debate between Trump and Obama over who gets credit for the booming economy – which of course, is not booming.

We are living in crazy times. I have a hard time believing that most of the general public is not awake, but in reality, they are. We've never seen anything like this; I mean not even under Obama during the worst part of the Great Recession." Now the Fed is desperately trying to keep interest rates from rising. The problem is that it's a much bigger debt bubble this time around , and the Fed is going to have to blow a lot more air into it to keep it inflated. The difference is this time it's not going to work." It looks like the Fed did another $104.15 billion of Not Q.E. in a single day. The Fed claims it's only temporary. But that is precisely what Bernanke claimed when the Fed started QE1. Milton Freedman once said, "Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program." The same applies to Q.E., or whatever the Fed wants to pretend it's doing. Except this is not QE4, according to Powell. Right. Pumping so much money out, and they are accusing China of currency manipulation ? Wow! Seriously! Amazing! Dump the U.S. dollar while you still have a chance. Welcome to The Atlantis Report. And it is even worse than that, In addition to the $104.15 billion of "Not Q.E." this past Thursday; the FED added another $56.65 billion in liquidity to financial markets the next day on Friday. That's $160.8 billion in two days!!!! in just 48 hours. That is more than 2 TIMES the highest amount the FED has ever injected on a monthly basis under a Q.E. program (which was $80 billion per month) Since this isn't QE....it will be really scary on what they are going to call Q.E. Will it twice, three times, four times, five times what this injection per month ! It is going to be explosive since it takes about 60 to 90 days for prices to react to this, January should see significant inflation as prices soak up the excess liquidity. The question is, where will the inflation occur first . The spike in the repo rate might have a technical explanation: a misjudgment was made in the Fed's money market operations. Even so, two conclusions can be drawn: managing the money markets is becoming harder, and from now on, banks will be studying each other's creditworthiness to a greater degree than before. Those people, who struggle with the minutiae of money markets, and that includes most professionals, should focus on the causes and not the symptoms. Financial markets have recovered from each downturn since 1980 because interest rates have been cut to new lows. Post-2008, they were cut to near zero or below zero in all major economies. In response to a new financial crisis, they cannot go any lower. Central banks will look for new ways to replicate or broaden Q.E. (At some point, governments will simply see repression as an easier option). Then there is the problem of 'risk-free' assets becoming risky assets. Financial markets assume that the probability of major governments such as the U.S. or U.K. defaulting is zero. These governments are entering the next downturn with debt roughly twice the levels proportionate to GDP that was seen in 2008. The belief that the policy worked was completely predicated on the fact that it was temporary and that it was reversible, that the Fed was going to be able to normalize interest rates and shrink its balance sheet back down to pre-crisis levels. Well, when the balance sheet is five-trillion, six-trillion, seven-trillion when we're back at zero, when we're back in a recession, nobody is going to believe it is temporary. Nobody is going to believe that the Fed has this under control, that they can reverse this policy. And the dollar is going to crash. And when the dollar crashes, it's going to take the bond market with it, and we're going to have stagflation. We're going to have a deep recession with rising interest rates, and this whole thing is going to come imploding down. everything is temporary with the fed including remaining off the gold standard temporary in the Fed's eyes could mean at least 50 years This liquidity problem is a signal that trading desks are loaded up on inventory and can't get rid of it. Repo is done out of a need for cash. If you own all of your securities (i.e., a long-only, no leverage mutual fund) you have no need to "repo" your securities - you're earning interest every night so why would you want to 'repo' your securities where you are paying interest for that overnight loan (securities lending is another animal). So, it is those that 'lever-up' and need the cash for settlement purposes on securities they've bought with borrowed money that needs to utilize the repo desk. With this in mind, as we continue to see this need to obtain cash (again, needed to settle other securities purchases), it shows these firms don't have the capital to add more inventory to, what appears to be, a bloated inventory. Now comes the fun part: the Treasury is about to auction 3's, 10's, and 30-year bonds. If I am correct (again, I could be wrong), the Fed realizes securities firms don't have the shelf space to take down a good portion of these auctions. If there isn't enough retail/institutional demand, it will lead to not only a crappy sale but major concerns to the street that there is now no backstop, at all, to any sell-off. At which point, everyone will want to be the first one through the door and sell immediately, but to whom? If there isn't enough liquidity in the repo market to finance their positions, the firms would be unable to increase their inventory. We all saw repo shut down on the 2008 crisis. Wall St runs on money. . OVERNIGHT money. They lever up to inventory securities for trading. If they can't get overnight money, they can't purchase securities. And if they can't unload what they have, it means the buy-side isn't taking on more either. Accounts settle overnight. This includes things like payrolls and bill pay settlements. If a bank doesn't have enough cash to payout what its customers need to pay out, it borrows. At least one and probably more than one banks are insolvent. That's what's going on. First, it can't be one or two banks that are short. They'd simply call around until they found someone to lend. But they did that, and even at markedly elevated rates, still, NO ONE would lend them the money. That tells me that it's not a problem of a couple of borrowers, it's a problem of no lenders. And that means that there's no bank in the world left with any real liquidity. They are ALL maxed out. But as bad as that is, and that alone could be catastrophic, what it really signals is even worse. The lending rates are just the flip side of the coin of the value of the assets lent against. If the rates go up, the value goes down. And with rates spiking to 10%, how far does the value fall? Enormously! And if banks had to actually mark down the value of the assets to reflect 10% interest rates, then my god, every bank in the world is insolvent overnight. Everyone's capital ratios are in the toilet, and they'd have to liquidate. We're talking about the simultaneous insolvency of every bank on the planet. Bank runs. No money in ATMs, Branches closed. Safe deposit boxes confiscated. The whole nine yards, It's actually here. The scenario has tended to guide toward for years and years is actually happening RIGHT NOW! And people are still trying to say it's under control. Every bank in the world is currently insolvent. The only thing keeping it going is printing billions of dollars every day. Financial Armageddon isn't some far off future risk. It's here. Prepare accordingly. This fiat system has reached the end of the line, and it's not correct that fiat currencies fail by design. The problem is corruption and manipulation. It is corruption and cheating that erodes trust and faith until the entire system becomes a gigantic fraud. Banks and governments everywhere ARE the problem and simply have to be removed. They have lost all trust and respect, and all they have left is war and mayhem. As long as we continue to have a majority of braindead asleep imbeciles following orders from these psychopaths, nothing will change. Fiat currency is not just thievery. Fiat currency is SLAVERY. Ultimately the most harmful effect of using debt of undefined value as money (i.e., fiat currencies) is the de facto legalization of a caste system based on voluntary slavery. The bankers have a charter, or the legal *right*, to create money out of nothing. You, you don't. Therefore you and the bankers do not have the same standing before the law. The law of the land says that you will go to jail if you do the same thing (creating money out of thin air) that the banker does in full legality. You and the banker are not equal before the law. ALL the countries of the world; Islamic or secular, Jewish or Arab, democracy or dictatorship; all of them place the bankers ABOVE you. And all of you accept that only whining about fiat money going down in exchange value over time (price inflation which is not the same as monetary inflation). Actually, price inflation itself is mainly due to the greed and stupidity of the bankers who could keep fiat money's exchange value reasonably stable, only if they wanted to. Witness the crash of silver and gold prices which the bankers of the world; Russian, American, Chinese, Jewish, Indian, Arab, all of them collaborated to engineer through the suppression and stagnation of precious metals' prices to levels around the metals' production costs, or what it costs to dig gold and silver out of the ground. The bankers of the world could also collaborate to keep nominal prices steady (as they do in the case of the suppression of precious metals prices). After all, the ability to create fiat money and force its usage is a far more excellent source of power and wealth than that which is afforded simply by stealing it through inflation. The bankers' greed and stupidity blind them to this fact. They want it all, and they want it now. In conclusion, The bankers can create money out of nothing and buy your goods and services with this worthless fiat money, effectively for free. You, you can't. You, you have to lead miserable existences for the most of you and WORK in order to obtain that effectively nonexistent, worthless credit money (whose purchasing/exchange value is not even DEFINED thus rendering all contracts based on the null and void!) that the banker effortlessly creates out of thin air with a few strokes of the computer keyboard, and which he doesn't even bother to print on paper anymore, electing to keep it in its pure quantum uncertain form instead, as electrons whizzing about inside computer chips which will become mute and turn silent refusing to tell you how many fiat dollars or euros there are in which account, in the absence of electricity. No electricity, no fiat, nor crypto money. It would appear that trust is deteriorating as it did when Lehman blew up . Something really big happened that set off this chain reaction in the repo markets. Whatever that something is, we aren't be informed. They're trying to cover it up, paper it over with conjured cash injections, play it cool in front of the cameras while sweating profusely under the 5 thousands dollar suits. I'm guessing that the final high-speed plunge into global economic collapse has begun. All we see here is the ripples and whitewater churning the surface, but beneath the surface, there is an enormous beast thrashing desperately in its death throws. Now is probably the time to start tying up loose ends with the long-running prep projects, just saying. In other words, prepare accordingly, and Get your money out of the banks. I don't care if you don't believe me about Bitcoin. Get your money out of the banks. Don't keep any more money in a bank than you need to pay your bills and can afford to lose.











The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative journalists , researchers , Whistelblowers , truthers and many more













The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative journalists , researchers , Whistelblowers , truthers and many more

The FBI released a summary of its file from the Hillary Clinton email investigation on Friday, showing details of Clinton's explanation of her use of a private email server to handle classified communications. The release comes nearly two months after FBI Director James Comey announced that although Clinton's handling of classified information was "extremely careless," it did not rise to the level of a prosecutable offense. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the next day that she would not pursue charges in the matter. "We are making these materials available to the public in the interest of transparency and in response to numerous Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests," the FBI noted in a statement sent to reporters with links to the documents. The documents include notes from Clinton's July 2 interview with agents, as well as a "factual summary of the FBI's investigation into this matter," according to the FBI release. Throughout her interview with agents, Clinton repeatedly said she relied on the career professionals she worked with to handle classified information correctly. The agents asked about a series of specific emails, and in each case Clinton said she wasn't worried about the particular material being discussed on a nonclassified channel.