There’s been plenty of armchair diagnosis about narcissistic personality disorders as well as speculation about leverage Trump could, possibly, have wanted to exercise with foreign states with whom he wants to do business deals (ie Saudi Arabia).

But I think there's more to it. Click here to read:
shorturl.at/irF36

1. No one knows how to manipulate an audience better than Trump.

Yet, today we are handing him the stage, the microphone, the props – and a captive audience, regardless.

THREAD

vickyward.substack.com/p/trump-the-ri… 2. The last time I recall so much live coverage of someone on the move was when the Queen’s coffin was being transported from Westminster Abbey to her final burial at St George’s Chapel in Windsor. And the time before that was the police chase of OJ Simpson.

1. Who does Donald Trump's indictment help? @jaredkushner

The noise around Trump, again, drowns out a new report of his son-in-law's Middle East dealings

THREAD 2. Yes, Trump became the first American president to be indicted on criminal charges.

But, in the midst of the brouhaha as that story broke, The New York Times published an important news story about Jared Kushner’s investments in the Middle East.

nytimes.com/2023/03/30/us/…

Prince Harry makes an unexpected appearance in London for Daily Mail lawsuit.

Elton John, Liz Hurley, and Sadie Frost join the Duke of Sussex in suing the Daily Mail's publisher over unlawful breaches of privacy.

bbc.com/news/entertain… I've written about my experience working in both British and American media.

It is true that there is an underlying meanness of spirit in the English newsrooms that isn’t present in those in the U.S.

vickyward.substack.com/p/are-the-brit…

1.I spent many hours with @MichaelCohen212 in 2017 and 2018, and I revisited my notes where he told me about that "I'd take a bullet" for Trump quote.

THREAD:

vickyward.substack.com/p/inside-micha… 2. I watched Michael Cohen's U-turn in real time, as he slowly began to realize that his former boss, “the big guy” was not going to do anything to protect Michael as the Feds closed in.

1. Ahead of TikTok’s CEO testifying to Congress Thursday around the debate that TikTok’s ownership by the Chinese Government is a security risk, I asked my 20-year-old son who has 28.9k followers for his views on whether TikTok should be banned.

vickyward.substack.com/p/should-tikto… 2. My son’s response: “Mom, 1. Unless you have a really interesting job - and I mean REALLY interesting, like Director of the CIA - your data is more boring, than useful. 2. Mark Zuckerberg already has all of the data on your phone”

Thread

1. The tables have turned for billionaire financier and longtime Trump friend, @TomBarrackJr. Just months ago I was covering his trial, where he was accused of espionage. Now he's reportedly taking a leading role in talks to save First Republic.

vickyward.substack.com/p/tables-are-t… 2. Barrack, 75, and his young aide Matthew Grimes were acquitted of all charges against them, in Barrack’s case alleging unregistered lobbying for the United Arab Emirates.

You can read my summation of what happened here:

vickyward.substack.com/p/heres-why-tr…

1. So, in today's Substack newsletter, Trump's former campaign adviser, @NunbergSam explains why the GOP operatives believe an indictment of Trump by @AlvinBraggNYC would be a huge political boon to the former President.For the whole q and a listen @ vickyward.substack.com/p/i-say-to-dem… 2. per @NunbergSam: Trump's primary numbers will rise, because the "G.O.P. will find something like this, as opposed to last year's civil suit, to be an egregious miscarriage of prosecutorial discretion by a liberal elite D.A."

1. Why do law students at the top law schools in the country heckle visiting conservative speakers to the point that they get accused of censorship and find themselves, I’d argue, on the wrong side of the mainstream narrative?

nypost.com/2023/03/15/sta… 2. They run the risk of looking primitive, when they are anything but. They are the brightest and the best in the country.

1. JP Morgan is suing Jes Staley in a bid to hold him financially accountable for damages due to Epstein ties.

Emails referencing young women and trips to visit Epstein were sent via Staley's JP Morgan corporate email. This begs several questions:

ft.com/content/0b6d54… 2. Was no one inside JP Morgan’s compliance team doing an email check even peripherally? And would Staley not have to have disclose he visited Epstein’s island or took a trip on his plane, given he was a client? There are SEC regulations about this sort of thing.

Thread:

1. To me, the SVB crisis feels like deja vu. It's brought me back to my reporting on the Lehman Brothers after the 2008 Financial Crash.

Here are some echoes in the narrative: 2. I spent months after the crash interviewing many of the former senior lieutenants at what had been Lehman Brothers.

This reporting would become by 2010 book, The Devil’s Casino.

The DA's office signaled that criminal charges for Donald Trump are likely. He might testify before a Manhattan grand jury next week.

How do these whispers of indictment affect prospective 2024 voters?

nytimes.com/2023/03/09/nyr… Last week I spoke with Sam Nunberg, Trump's first Campaign Advisor, who believes these potential indictments may invoke sympathy in Republican voters.

vickyward.substack.com/p/trump-vs-des…

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York (or Fergie as all Brits still affectionately call her) was recently in the US promoting her newest novel, "A Most Intriguing Lady."

To many's surprise, Fergie has proven to be a Royal Family role model. I haven’t been paying much attention to the minutiae of the Fergie’s life so it took me a few mouse clicks to get up to speed and learn that she’s written several novels, and has a contract to write 20 more.

people.com/royals/sarah-f…

I spoke with Sam Nunberg, Donald Trump's first Campaign Advisor, about what the former president's recent bump in the polls could mean longterm.

Here are some highlights from Nunberg: Trump has had some uptick in National polls. However, Nunberg points out that these National polls are less important than polling in early caucus or primary states, namely Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

Earlier this week we learned that in his deposition as part of the $1. 6 billion defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Machines against Fox News, @rupertmurdoch said that he had handed Jared Kushner confidential Biden ads - plus debate strategy.

What debate strategy? From the latest filing:

During Trump’s campaign, Rupert provided Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, with Fox confidential information about [Joe] Biden’s ads, along with debate strategy. (providing Kushner a preview of Biden’s ads before they were public.

Rupert Murdoch admitted in a deposition that several Fox News hosts endorsed the false claims that the election was stolen, even as he himself believed that wasn’t true.

I was not that shocked to read that bit. But I was pretty shocked when I heard Jared Kushner come up... In the weeks before the 2020 election he had allegedly given Jared Kushner “confidential information” about Biden’s ads, including sharing the content of the ads – as well as Biden’s debate strategy.

nytimes.com/2023/02/27/bus…

We are now on week six of the Alex Murdaugh murder trial, which I think could wind up this week.

My sources in South Carolina predict a hung jury, and not just because Murdaugh has been an effective advocate for himself on the witness stand...

cnn.com/2023/02/28/us/… I am told it’s so cold in the courtroom, that the jury can’t wait to leave.

One juror sits huddled in a blanket, and a little strangely, and wears Kleenex stufffed in her ears.

Thank you to @reedgalen of the @ProjectLincoln for having me on to talk about what happens when two New York real estate developers find themselves in the White House.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tru… Even though I have a broken shoulder, discussing this gets me worked up! I think most people still don't understand that for the Trump/Kushner crew, "being in charge" meant "being open for business," right from the get-go.

Would you get pregnant if Putin promised to pay your mortgage?

Today marks the one year anniversary of the Ukraine war. I spoke with Russian supermodel Kira Dikhtyar about her country's "Maternity Capital" program and how it incentivized her pregnancy:

vickyward.substack.com/p/ukraine-war-… Yesterday, I posted part one of my Q&A with Kira.

She has a cousin fighting for Ukraine, and another fighting for Russia.

vickyward.substack.com/p/my-cousins-a…

You may recall that I met Russian supermodel Kira Dikhtyar through my investigations on Jeffrey Epstein.

In today’s substack, I speak with Kira about the personal cost of the war–she has cousins fighting on both sides.

vickyward.substack.com/p/my-cousins-a… Kira had met Epstein when she was just 17. A former Russian Olympic gymnast, she had come to New York for modeling work. He paid her to hang around in his home or office to look decorative while he held meetings with Middle East potentates and US plutocrats.

Murdaugh trial defense attorney Dick Harpootlian once pulled a gun on me. On Tuesday he does the same to prosecutors. Who are not amused.

Forgive me for going down memory lane a second time this week, but some stories are too good not to get a second run

vickyward.substack.com/p/defense-atto… Dick Harpootlian is the South Carolina State Senator and colorful lead defense attorney for Alex Murdaugh.