Excellent reporting by the New York Times on Brad Karp’s capitulation to Trump. For those who don’t recognize the name, Brad Karp was the longtime chair of Paul Weiss—Citi’s longtime outside counsel.
This is the same Brad Karp whose name surfaced in the Epstein files through his work for Leon Black. Publicly released emails have been reported to show discussions about surveilling a woman and exploring ways to have her deported, allegations that helped precipitate his departure as chair of Paul Weiss.
At some point, you stop believing these are isolated stories. The same elite law firms. The same billionaires. The same Wall Street institutions. The same small circle of extraordinarily powerful people who always seem to have the best lawyers, the deepest relationships, and an uncanny ability to get away with things that are, plainly, illegal.
Meanwhile, Fraser has also capitulated to Trump, dismantling DEI programs to satisfy him and, according to a whistleblower, skirting KYC policies in order to open accounts for his family that are not allowed by regulators. She is also desperately hoping (and expecting) that he will lift her dastardly Consent Order, come November. She needs it done before he loses the midterms.
In the end, she and Karp are birds of feather when it comes being in on the grift that is the Trump Administration’s destruction of democracy. So, if you’ve ever wondered why ordinary people lose faith in our institutions, this is why. It’s one big club and we aren’t in it but at least we won’t burn in hell for being awful people.