As she asked the U.S. Supreme Court this month to overturn President Trump’s election loss, the attorney Sidney Powell cited testimony from a
secret witness presented as a former intelligence contractor with insights on a foreign conspiracy to subvert democracy.
Powell told courts that the witness is an expert who could show that overseas corporations helped shift votes to President-elect Joe Biden. The witness’s
identity must be concealed from the public, Powell has said, to protect her “reputation, professional career and personal safety.”
The Washington Post identified the witness by determining that portions of her affidavit match, sometimes verbatim, a blog post that the pro-Trump
podcaster Terpsichore Maras-Lindeman published in November 2019. In an interview, Maras-Lindeman confirmed that she wrote the affidavit and said she viewed it as her contribution to a fight against the theft of the election.
“This is everybody’s duty,” she said. “It’s just not
fair.”
In a recent civil fraud case, attorneys for the state of North Dakota said that Maras-Lindeman falsely claimed to be a medical doctor and to have both a PhD and an MBA. They said she used multiple aliases and social security numbers and created exaggerated online résumés
as part of what they called “a persistent effort . . . to deceive others.”
Powell’s reliance on Maras-Lindeman’s testimony may raise further questions about her judgment and the strength of her arguments at a time when she is becoming an increasingly influential adviser to the
president. Trump’s legal team distanced itself from Powell last month after she falsely claimed Republican state officials took bribes to rig the election. But she has visited the White House three times in the past week, once to participate in an Oval Office meeting. Trump has
Dec 21, 2020 | 08:20 AM EST DOUG KASS
I Can't Recall When My Bearish Market Outlook Was So Far From the Bullish and Confident Consensus
* In late November I cautioned about the possibility that Covid-19 mutates - the evidence is now that it has
* Risk happens fast
* Today's investors are greedy (speculation has run amok) when they should be fearful
* Not since I was uber bullish in both March 2020 and December 2018 and market participants were fearful and Bearish, have I been so far from the market's consensus
* "The Tesla Top?"
* I even reduced my money center bank exposure for the first time in a long while on the "repurchase" gap after the close on Friday
* As many of my long positions have reached and exceeded my targets I have materially sold down my long book in recent weeks
Dec 18, 2020 | 06:09 PM EST DOUG KASS
Taking Off Some From Bank Holdings in the After Hours
* The share repurchase news may mark a near-term top in the banking sector
For the first time in almost a year, I am scaling back some of my bank stock holdings now -- in
after-hours trading.
Though a bit unexpected (from the standpoint of timing) the buyback news after the market's close likely marks a near-term top in the shares of the major money center banks -- which have gotten extended and overbought with the late gaps higher:
* Citigroup (C) is trading at over $62.50 (+$3.50)
* Bank of America (BAC) is trading at $30.05 (+$1.40)
* JPMorgan (JMP) is trading at $125.75 (+$6.70)
* Wells Fargo (WFC) is trading at $30.02 (+$1.01)
* XLF (XLF) is trading at $29.55 (+$1.06)
@realmoney
Dec 18, 2020 | 09:29 AM EST DOUG KASS
A Word Of Caution
Yesterday saw the obliteration in a number of speculative stocks.
I don't own SPACs because many are not analyzable -- and my investment methodology is fundamentally-based.
Others don't seem to care -- as
the upside attraction of chasing "shiny objects" offsets the risks and the general lack of knowledge of the companies.
I fully get their view, but I do not share it. I will never purchase shares in a stock that I don't understand or that is trading below intrinsic value simply
because the share price is rising.
The latter approach of speculating has worked out fine for many -- but I am fearful that the strength of recent months may no longer continue.
@realmoney Dec 17, 2020 | 08:12 AM EST DOUG KASS
I Like Gold More Than Ever
* Our politicians and central bankers have lost their collective minds as short-term thinking (and policy) has replaced long-term planning
Over the last few weeks I have moved back to a very large long
position in gold, as represented by SPDR Gold Shares ($GLD) .
Both on the fiscal and monetary side I believe our officials have lost their collective minds.
Undisciplined and non-productive spending continues to run amok and so has our nation's bloated debt load and twin
deficits while the rationalization for enormous infusions of liquidity by the Fed is now going beyond the pale.
With real interest rates in deeply negative territory I believe the price of gold may begin advancing more rapidly -- even, perhaps, bitcoin-like" in 2021 --
@realmoney one timer!
Dec 16, 2020 | 09:07 AM EST DOUG KASS
Is Mr. Market Secretariat or a Cheap 'Tuesday Night' Horse?
* Rosy Scenario has taken over the investment playing field "as price has a way of changing sentiment" (hat tip to Divine Ms. M)
* Unprecedented liquidity,
historic monetary largesse and zero-commission trading have been the market's drugs; they will not be available at every corner forever
* The market is a fickle temptress... buying equities over the intermediate term at currently stretched valuations has historically been a
poor decision
* The stock market may end up resembling a cheap claimer, a "Tuesday night horse" rather than Secretariat!
@realmoney
What's more "real" - the charts of General Motors and WalMart or the charts of SPACs and the other "shiny objects" of affection?
Well, they both categories are "real." but I would argue that the charts of $GM and $WMT - which have moved steadily lower from their
recent highs (GM from $46.71 to $41.62 and WMT from $153.65 to $145.65) - may foreshadow some broader market concerns.
Don't get me wrong, trade whatevs makes you money - if you can profitably trade speculative stocks, not because they represent fundamental value but because
the share price is taking a northerly route as momentum is your best friend.
But my focus is on the larger market, here - and the deterioration in some large cap market leaders is another reason to have healthy skepticism of the market's overall direction.