Clara Ferreira Marquez, a Bloomberg reporter focused on energy and Latin America, discusses the U.S. Coast Guard's intensified pursuit of multiple Venezuelan oil tankers, highlighting its significant impacts on the Venezuelan economy under President Maduro. Martin Ritchie, a commodities reporter, dives into the dynamics of the precious metals market, sharing insights on the factors driving record prices for gold, silver, and copper. The conversation also touches on the Justice Department's controversial handling of Epstein files amid rising political tensions.
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DOJ's Epstein Release Draws Political Backlash
The DOJ released thousands of Epstein-related documents with heavy redactions and delayed some files.
Democrats criticized the redactions and vowed to explore legal options.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Prepare For Complex Tariff Ruling Outcomes
Kevin Hassett urged confidence that the Supreme Court will side with the administration on tariffs.
He warned that ordering refunds would create a large administrative problem.
insights INSIGHT
EU Funding Strengthens Ukraine's Position
The EU's 90 billion euro support materially improves Ukraine's negotiating position.
That funding signals the war is unlikely to end quickly and strengthens Kyiv's stance.
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On today's podcast: 1) The US’s pursuit of a third oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela has intensified a blockade that the Trump administration hopes will cut off a vital economic lifeline for the country and isolate the government of President Nicolás Maduro. The US Coast Guard chased the US-sanctioned Bella 1 on Sunday as it was en route to Venezuela. It boarded Centuries, a ship owned by a Hong Kong-based entity, on Saturday — the first non-sanctioned vessel to be targeted. Another very large crude carrier, the Skipper, was intercepted on Dec. 10. The moves on three separate vessels represent the most concerted attempt to date to sever the financial links sustaining a government that Washington says is led by a drug-trafficking cartel, and one that it has also recently designated as a foreign terrorist organization. Maduro has so far withstood the onslaught, but the blockade is beginning to limit hard currency and to hurt an already battered economy. 2) Democratic lawmakers said they plan to explore “all legal options” after the Justice Department announced it will not release all documents about the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein by the Friday deadline, threatening to prolong a high-stakes political fight as the midterm elections come into view. The US Justice Department released thousands of pages of pictures, phone records and notes from investigations into notorious sex offender on Friday, revealing new details about the late financier’s relationships with prominent business leaders and politicians. The department said more files will be released in coming weeks because the volume of material was too much to process by the Friday deadline set by Congress, sparking rebukes from many Democrats. The tranche included heavy redactions, a step intended to comply with the provisions of the law including protections for survivors and other accommodations. 3) A Supreme Court ruling that scraps President Trump’s tariffs — and refunds the import fees collected — would create a major “administrative problem,” the president’s top economic adviser said Sunday. “We really expect the Supreme Court is going to find with us,” Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told CBS’s Face the Nation. Even if the court didn’t find in the Trump administration’s favor, Hassett argued it would be “pretty unlikely that they’re going to call for widespread refunds because it would be an administrative problem to get those refunds out there.” The Supreme Court is weighing a legal challenge to tariffs Trump imposed on dozens of nations under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Administration officials have drawn up options for reimposing import taxes in case of an adverse ruling, while publicly maintaining that a court defeat is unlikely.
Bloomberg Daybreak: US Edition