In a post Thursday evening on X, venture capitalist Shaun Maguire revealed his support for Trump, noting "the timing isn't a coincidence" as he announced a $300,000 donation to the presumptive Republican candidate.
"Bluntly, that's part of why I'm supporting him," Maguire, a partner at Sequoia Capital, wrote on X about a potential conviction. "I believe our justice system is being weaponized against him."
He wasn't the only prominent business leader who seemed fired up.
Tech investor David Sacks, who was reportedly in talks to hold a Trump campaign fundraiser at his San Francisco home, denounced the guilty verdict on X.
"A sham trial designed for one purpose: to brand Donald Trump as a 'felon,'" Sacks wrote yesterday on X. "Watch Dems and the MSM endlessly repeat that word."
The investor Omeed Malik, of 1789 Capital and Farvahar Partners — who hosted a fundraiser for Trump last month that raised over $10 million, CNBC reported — told CNBC he thinks the verdict will "completely backfire," bolstering support for the convicted candidate.
Maguire, Sacks, and Malik did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
It wasn't only prominent business leaders on Wall Street circling their wagons.
The Trump campaign said it raised a record $34.8 million after the verdict from small-dollar donors, while the National Republican Senatorial Committee also hit a fundraising high of $360,000 on Thursday.
Even billionaires who haven't formally announced their support for Trump were quick to lambast the proceedings.
Amid reports that Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman is leaning toward endorsing Trump, the billionaire wrote on X Thursday that he agreed with Governor Ron DeSantis' assessment of the trial; DeSantis called it "the culmination of a legal process that has been bent to the political will of the actors involved."
Ackman didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's questions about the report that he may back Trump.
Elon Musk, too, said the proceedings had caused "great damage…to the public's faith in the American legal system."
"If a former President can be criminally convicted over such a trivial matter — motivated by politics, rather than justice — then anyone is at risk of a similar fate," Musk wrote on X.
Musk is being considered for an advisory role in Trump's White House, though the two have had a bumpy relationship in the past, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Musk has denied that he's in talks to work with Trump.
Trump's post-conviction speech quickly turned into an airing of grievances.
Trump called star witness Michael Cohen a "sleazebag" and "one of the worst people" to testify.
Trump is still under a gag order not to attack witnesses as he plans to appeal his 34 felony convictions.
It didn't take long for Donald Trump's press conference after his felony convictions to go off the rails.
Trump launched into a free-wheeling speech on Friday, insulting President Joe Biden and spreading conspiracy theories about terrorists crossing the US border.
But most notably, Trump ranted against key prosecution witness and his former lawyer Michael Cohen, risking another violation of the judge's orders in his hush-money case.
In a meandering press conference at Trump Tower on Friday, the former president railed against the "rigged trial" that ended with him convicted on 34 felony counts.
He also slammed "sleazebag" Michael Cohen, whose testimony helped seal his fate.
"This was a highly qualified lawyer, now I'm not allowed to use his name because of the gag order, but you know, he's a sleazebag," Trump told reporters, referring to Cohen without mentioning him by name. "Everybody knows that. Took me a while to find out."
Trump then accused Cohen of throwing him under the bus in a plea deal so Cohen could "get off" himself.
Trump also attacked Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, falsely accusing Bragg of believing that Cohen would be a dishonest witness and taking the case anyway.
"When Bragg came in, he said, 'This is the most ridiculous case I've ever seen,' " Trump said, impersonating Bragg.
Trump may be referring to a comment Bragg once made about not wanting to bring a larger financial crimes case against Trump until it was "ready," NBC New York reported.
"And who would have a certain person — again, gag order — who would have a certain person like this ever testify?" Trump continued, in an apparent reference to Cohen. "[Bragg] said, 'This is essentially one of the worst people I've ever seen, ever, to testify.' "
There's no reporting that Bragg ever said that. But now that Trump has, he could be in trouble yet again.
Trump's attacks on Cohen could amount to another violation of his gag order, which Judge Juan Merchan hasn't lifted yet.
Trump has violated the order — which prohibits him from disparaging witnesses, jurors, and others involved in the case — 10 times since the trial began, racking up a $1,000 fine each time.
Merchan threatened earlier this month to consider jail time for Trump if he violates the order again.
It's not clear how long the gag order will last, but a legal expert told Forbes the judge would likely be hesitant to lift it anytime soon while Trump vows to appeal the case.
On Thursday, the jury in the hush-money trial convicted Trump on all felony charges that he faked business records to cover up a hush-money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her from taking allegations of an affair to the press before the 2016 election.
The conviction was historic: no former president has ever been convicted of a crime.
While the impact of the convictions on the 2024 race isn't clear, it won't stop Trump from running. Convicted felons and even people serving time in prison can run for president.
During his Friday press conference, Trump — the presumptive GOP nominee — bragged about a recent poll that showed him with a lead over Biden if the election were held now.
A service member of Ukraine's National Guard firing a D-20 howitzer on the front line in the Kharkiv region on May 21, 2024.
REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Ukraine's allies look set to approve its use of their weapons on targets inside Russia.
A growing number of NATO allies have backed the move, prompting the US to also reconsider.
Ukraine could attack Russia's border forces, experts told BI, but it's no silver bullet.
As more of Ukraine's allies say it can use weapons they've supplied to hit targets in Russia, under certain conditions, experts say the move will open up new targets, but may not be the silver bullet Ukraine hopes.
Lifting the restrictions will help Ukraine repel Russian attacks, especially at its borders, but comes late, with Ukraine facing major ammunition and manpower shortages, war analysts and experts told BI. For these missions, Ukraine is also likely to lack the Western intelligence support useful to locate high-value targets far beyond the front lines.
"It is so late," Keir Giles, a senior consulting fellow at Chatham House's Russia and Eurasia Programme, told BI. "It is more than two years after a decision like that should've been taken," he said, blaming delays from the US and slow decision-making.
The ability to strike within Russia would strengthen Ukraine's hand, but it was unclear if it would fundamentally alter the course of the war, Alexander Libman, a professor of Russian and East European politics at the Free University of Berlin, said.
"The military logic of allowing Ukraine to use weapons against targets in Russia is straightforward," he said, but "there are structural limits, which Ukraine is now facing."
An overdue shift
Ukraine's allies have sent it billions of dollars in military aid since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, but with the caveat that it wasn't allowed to use the weapons to go after targets on Russian soil.
Many worried that crossing that line would provoke Russian President Vladimir Putin and escalate the conflict. That's meant that Ukraine has had few ways to strike attack aircraft or troop build-ups that threaten it from Russian territory.
But this calculation seems to have changed with the launch of a border offensive near Kharkiv in Ukraine's northeast.
On Tuesday, France said Ukraine should be allowed to use Western weapons to hit targets in Russia — but only sites that Russia is using to launch attacks on Ukraine.
A day earlier, lawmakers from all 32 NATO states adopted a declaration urging alliance members to allow strikes on military targets inside Russia.
And the US, which hasrepeatedlystated it won't allow Ukraine to use weapons it's supplied to strike Russia, appears to be changing its tune.
Three unnamed officials told Politico on Thursday that Ukraine can now use US-supplied weapons to strike inside Russia.
One of the officials said that Ukraine could use US-provided weapons only to hit back at Russian forces hitting them or preparing to hit them in Kharkiv, where Russia has seized more territory and threatens the country's second-largest city.
No more 'sanctuary zones'
In recent weeks, Ukraine has faced renewed Russian offensives, especially in Kharkiv.
One Ukrainian commander told The Times of London that his unit had Russian troops in their sights for weeks as they gathered across the border, but hadn't been allowed to attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, has repeatedly begged the country's partners to let it use Western weapons to target the Russian soldiers across the border.
According to Giles, lifting the restrictions would be of "huge" assistance to Ukraine in repelling incoming Russian offensives, as well as in targeting Russia's war-making capabilities.
"This would be a major step forward because Russia would no longer have the sanctuary zones from which it could prepare and launch these attacks," he said.
He also said that Ukraine could launch the same kind of military campaign it has been conducting against Russia's Black Sea Fleet, where Ukraine has successfully held back Russia's far superior navy despite having no real navy of its own.
This is a "demonstration of what Ukraine could achieve if it did not have these restrictions for striking into Russian territory itself," Giles said.
Going after Russia's air operations
John Hardie, the deputy director of the Russia program at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, said letting Ukraine use Western-provided tube artillery and rocket systems like the US-supplied HIMARS to hit Russian artillery across the border was a "no-brainer."
"It's unfair to make Ukraine sit on its hands until after Russian forces cross the border, or to make Ukrainian guns stay silent when Russian artillery is firing from across the border," he said.
Western-provided missiles like Storm Shadow and ATACMS could also go after some Russian air bases that launch aircraft for glide bomb attacks.
However, he said that this alone won't be enough to turn the tide in Ukraine's favor.
Ukraine could also struggle to develop the intelligence needed to find and quickly strike targets farther inside Russia.
Earlier this month, unnamed Ukrainian officials told The New York Times that they needed more real-time intelligence and information from the US and EU allies about targets in Russia.
It's far from clear whether the US will reverse its position and offer intel to support these strikes. Without it, Ukraine's targeting will be limited to satellite imagery, drone surveillance, and what its informants can spot on the ground.
This is not the only pressing issue. Libman, the Free University of Berlin professor, said that if Ukraine's lack of troops and dwindling artillery shells remain unresolved, it will continue to face "major" problems on the battlefield.
"This does not mean that allowing Ukraine to hit targets in Russia will not help — but it is clearly not a silver bullet to win the war," he said.
Amazon's package delivery drones are expanding their horizons following a nod of approval from the FAA, the company announced on Thursday.
"We're excited to share that the FAA has given Prime Air additional permissions that allow us to operate our drones beyond visual line of sight, enabling us to now serve more customers via drone and effectively expand and scale our drone delivery operations," Amazon said in a press release.
The FAA requires companies to get approval to operate drones beyond a pilot's visual line of sight, something Amazon said it accomplished after developing "detect-and-avoid technology."
"We've spent years developing, testing, and refining our onboard detect-and-avoid system to ensure our drones can detect and avoid obstacles in the air," the company said, including "real planes, helicopters, and a hot air balloon."
Now, Amazon plans to scale the use of its MK-27 drone to "reach customers in more densely populated areas," the company said.
The FAA's permission comes after delays in the company's drone ambitions over the last few years due to field and testcrashes, one of which involved a drone that fell 180 feet and "just blew apart when it hit the ground," Business Insider previously reported.
"It's also important to note that during our commercial operations we haven't had any safety mishaps delivering to customers," an Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider over email.
The company began executing drone deliveries in 2022 in its distribution areas in College Station, Texas, and Lockeford, California — the latter of which the company closed in April to focus on other locations across the nation, CNBC reported.
Earlier this year, an Amazon executive boasted that one of its drones in College Station managed to deliver a box of cookies less than 16 minutes after it was ordered.
One of the first Jeep Wagoneer S EVs on display at a launch event in New York City
Taylor Rains/Business Insider
Jeep has revealed its first EV, the Wagoneer S.
The all-electric Wagoneer gets a sleeker design than the gas-powered SUV.
The SUV will go on sale this fall with a starting price of $71,995.
We just got our first look inside the swanky new, all-electric Jeep SUV at an event in New York City.
The electric Wagoneer S is packed to the gills with tech and packs an impressive powertrain.
A screen-laden interior is made possible by parent company Stellantis's BEV-specific platform, which will underpin the Wagoneer S. The platform is also engineered to deliver zero to 60 mph acceleration in 3.4 seconds the company said.
The first launch edition of Wagoneers will cost $71,995, including delivery fees, when they hit dealer lots this fall.
The company's press release highlights Wagoneer S's "meticulously crafted artisan details" and "tech-focused interior," which signal the electric SUV will follow in its gas-powered siblings' footsteps.
Take a look inside at the first fully electric Jeep:
Wagoneer S gets a sleeker design
New all-electric Jeep Wagoneer S
Stellantis
From the outside, the Wagoneer S gets a face lift in comparison to its gas-powered counterparts.
The front end is more sculpted than the gas-powered Wagoneer's more squared-off nose, giving the Wagoneer S a more aerodynamic look.
A light bar across the front of the Wagoneer S illuminates the signature seven-slot grille.
At least four screens span the dashboard
The interior of the Jeep Wagoneer S EV features multiple screens
Taylor Rains/Business Insider
Driver and passenger will each get a screen in the new Wagoneer S, following a trend among luxury EVs.
Two separate screens appear to control the infotainment and climate settings, separated by a color-customizable ambient lighting strip that carries through the rest of the cabin.
A close-up of the electric knob shifter hints at terrain capability
The electric Jeep Wagoneer S includes multiple drive modes selected by a central knob.
Taylor Rains/Business Insider
When Stellantis first announced the Wagoneer S earlier this month, the company said it would offer standard 4xe and all-terrain capabilities, living up to the Jeep name.
Stellantis also says the Wagoneer S will boast 600 horsepower and reach zero to 60 mph in about 3.5 seconds.
The SUV will be able to go 300 miles on a single charge, Jeep says.
The Wagoneer S is expected to go on sale later this year
Inside, the Jeep Wagoneer S EV features a sleek sunroof
Taylor Rains/Business Insider
Jeep says the first Wagoneer S EVs will hit dealer lots by the fall of 2024.
According to the press release, the CFPB accused PHEAA of illegally collecting payments from student-loan borrowers whose loans had already been discharged in bankruptcy and sending "false information" to credit reporting agencies. Those actions violate the Consumer Financial Protection Act and the Fair Credit Report Act, the lawsuit said.
The CFPB is requesting that the court require PHEAA to provide relief to impacted consumers and pay a civil penalty to the CFPB over its claims of illegal behavior.
"PHEAA has ignored its responsibilities and illegally pursued borrowers for loans they no longer owe," CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement. "The CFPB is suing PHEAA for demanding money from borrowers that they do not owe and for reporting false information to credit reporting companies."
PHEAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, said that under the US bankruptcy code, some private student loans are not subject to the stringent standards that most student loans are when it comes to receiving relief through bankruptcy.
Typically, a borrower has to meet the "undue hardship" standard, which requires them to prove that they cannot maintain a minimal standard of living, that their circumstances aren't likely to improve, and that they have made a good-faith effort to repay their debt.
But, as the CFPB claimed, PHEAA has failed to recognize that some private loans can receive a discharge order without having to meet undue hardship and "treats certain discharged private student loans as though the consumer still owes those debts."
For example, the bankruptcy code exempts student loans that do not meet the definition of a "qualified education loan" from the hardship requirement, which are loans used solely to pay for the cost of attendance at a school eligible for federal funding, and while the student attends at least half-time.
"PHEAA's failure to distinguish between discharged and nondischarged private student loans, its collection on discharged debts, and its furnishing inaccurate information to consumer reporting agencies causes or is likely to cause substantial injury, as consumers will either pay debt they do not owe or risk negative credit reporting and default for nonpayment," the complaint said.
Per the CFPB, American Education Services collected or tried to collect 7,934 private student loans after a bankruptcy proceeding between 2017 and 2021, and 177 of them were non-qualified education loans.
The CFPB has previously issued guidance over potential illegal collections of borrowers' payments after bankruptcy proceedings. In March 2023, the agency released supervisory findings on servicers that improperly collected loans and warned servicers of enforcement action should that practice continue.
Analysts estimate the company sells around $200 million of gold and silver each month, and former CFO Richard Galanti has said the supply usually sells out "within hours."
A big part of their appeal for professional and amateur collectors alike is the fact that the bars and coins are sold at a very low markup to the metal's spot price. (Silver coins from the US Mint fetch a slight premium, since there are tax advantages to those.)
Routing hundreds of millions of dollars in sales through Costco.com is a quick way for the company to show strong e-commerce growth with relatively low risk or complicated capital investment: they simply buy a batch of gold and sell every ounce of it to members.
The strategy is paying off too — digital sales for the quarter were up 20.7% over the same period last year, before Costco's gold went viral.
And, since the gold and silver are member exclusives, the buzz around the metals is another way to attract new sign-ups. After all, what is a $60 membership fee on a $4,000 shopping cart of gold bullion?
Former President Donald Trump's campaign reported record fundraising after his historic felony conviction.
AP Photo/Chris Carlson
Donald Trump's campaign reported record fundraising after he became a convicted felon.
The former president's campaign said it raised $34.8 million from small donors.
President Joe Biden's reelection campaign also tried to fundraise off of the news.
Former President Donald Trump raked in record cash after he became a convicted felon, a sign of how his legal troubles resonate with his most loyal followers.
Trump's campaign said they raised $34.8 million online from small donors. The campaign added that it was the best day ever on the WinRed platform, referencing the digital payments processor that most Republicans use. Due to federal campaign finance deadlines, the campaign's claims could not be immediately verified. Trump's campaign did not define what small donors mean, but it typically refers to Americans who donate $200 or less.
It's not a surprise that the day provided a major boost to Trump's fundraising. His campaign has embraced his outlaw image, even selling merchandise with his mugshot emblazoned. A Politico analysis previously found that Trump's legal struggles coincided with the biggest fundraising days of his campaign.
Trump's team struggled to keep up with the demand. There were multiple reports that Trump's main site crashed or struggled to fully load in the minutes after a Manhattan jury announced it had found him guilty on all 34 felony counts related to a scheme to falsify business records to cover up a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
The former president desperately needs the cash. Last month, Trump and Republicans outraised President Joe Biden and Democrats. But Biden and his allies still held a $58 million cash-on-hand advantage. Biden has benefited from facing little serious primary opposition. Trump had a much more competitive primary. The former president has also raided his political fundraising network to pay his legal fees.
Biden's campaign seemed to gird itself against the possibility that the verdict would boost Trump's fundraising. The president's campaign sent its appeals out after the verdict. One of its messages made clear Trump could set records.
"[T]here is one other certainty — as you read this, Donald Trump's supporters are fired up and likely to set fundraising records for his campaign," a Biden campaign fundraising text read.
It wasn't just Trump. Senate Republicans' campaign arm said it had its biggest fundraising day of the cycle, raising $360,000 online. Republicans hope a more favorable map will help them retake the Senate majority.
It's not just about fundraising.
There could be political peril for Trump in the verdict. It's too soon to have any definitive take on what it means for Trump to be the first former president to be convicted of a felony. As longtime Republican strategist Karl Rove noted, even a small shift among the electorate in swing states could doom Trump.
"If he is found guilty, let's not underestimate that there is a problem," Rove said on Fox News before the verdict was in.
The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower has launched jets on missions to counter the Houthi rebels' missile attacks on commercial shipping.
US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Eric Edinger/Released
The Houthis' claim that they struck the USS Eisenhower is untrue, per a defense official.
The Houthis claimed the missile attack was retaliation for Thursday US strikes in Yemen.
The Eisenhower is a lead ship in the US Navy's response to the Houthis in the Red Sea.
The Houthis' claim that they struck a US aircraft carrier in the Red Sea with missiles is untrue, according to a US defense official.
The missile attack on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower was alleged by the Iranian-backed military group's spokesperson Yahya Saree on Friday. Saree claimed the ship was targeted in response to US and UK strikes in Yemen on Thursday, adding that 16 people were killed and 41 wounded in those attacks.
But a defense official told Business Insider the reports of the Eisenhower being hit were false, and that they were unaware that missiles had even been fired at the flattop.
It remains unclear if the Houthis fired missiles and where they landed; the carrier strike group can track incoming threats like missiles that are a few hundred miles away. The Ike has run flight operations from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which is at a greater remove from Houthi missiles.
A fighter jet lands on the deck of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Jake Epstein/Business Insider
The Eisenhower, a Nimitz-class carrier, is a lead ship in the US Navy's response to the Houthis attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea, and its aircraft have been involved in strikes on the rebel group in Yemen as well as intercepting missile and drone threats.
Since the carrier's strike group — which consists of the Ike, the destroyers USS Gravely and Mason and the cruiser Philippine Sea — first arrived in the Red Sea, they've engaged with Houthis forces in a high-tempo combat environment, defending shipping lanes for relentless attacks.
The Eisenhower and Gravely recently made a port visit in Greece to rearm as US intelligence suggests the conflict with the Houthis may continue on with no end in sight.
US President Joe Biden (R) and China's President Xi Jinping (L) meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on November 14, 2022.
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
Tariffs on China are inflationary, and could slow US GDP growth in the near-term, S&P Global said.
They say this has the potential to delay Fed rate cuts, as prices take longer to disinflate.
While tariffs help long-term domestic growth, they bring market inefficiencies that keep prices up, S&P said.
US efforts to counterbalance Chinese imports could instead create unsteadiness in the country's fight against inflation, S&P Global Intelligence wrote.
In fact, Washington's embrace of tariffs on foreign goods could risk delaying long-awaited interest-rate cuts, in the event it forces the Federal Reserve to keep policy higher for longer, the ratings agency said.
Tariff policies have gained fresh attention in recent months, especially with the US presidential election drawing closer. In order to protect domestic industry, both candidates have embraced protection, with former president Donald Trump going as far as pledging a 10% universal tariff on all US imports, if elected. As for China, he plans a 60% rate.
Though President Biden's policies are less broad-based, his administration hasn't shied away from protectionist tactics, either. Not only has Biden kept most of Trump's previous trade restrictions on China intact, he's recently announced new duties on Beijing's technological exports — from electric vehicles to solar products.
"Yet economists say the new duties, and tariffs more broadly, may carry an unwelcome consequence: higher prices and a heightened probability of higher-for-longer interest rates," S&P wrote. "While the Fed is expected to slightly lower benchmark rates this year from their current decades-long high, higher tariffs are likely to feed through to higher prices, complicating central bankers' decisions."
As of right now, Biden's proposed tariffs will target only a small scope of China's industry, going into effect through 2024 to 2026. Of the 14 categories under scrutiny, the top five accounted for just 3% of Chinese imports into the US in 2022, S&P cited.
But for domestic manufacturers, tariffs can ease the pressure to lower prices, as Chinese competitors lose their low-cost advantage. In this sense, protectionism can boost economic growth in the long run, but not before fueling market inefficiencies and complicating inflation.
"Global supply chains have developed to how they are today to take advantage of efficiencies in production. This keeps world and US GDP higher and prices lower than would exist without globalization and trade," S&P's senior US economist Ben Herzon said in the report.
What's more, these tariffs have the potential to dent US growth, the agency estimates. Currently, GDP is expected to rise by 2.49% this year, just below last year's 2.54% gain.