August 22, 2026

Good morning! Today is Saturday, August 22nd 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. On day 175 of the Iran War, President Trump threatens an "economic D-Day" against Tehran as Brent crude nears $94 and gas hits $4.11 at the American pump. Jack Kieffaber warns that new SDNY U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald's prosecution of Tricolor founder Daniel Chu under the dormant "financial kingpin" statute will test whether Manhattan's era of lawfare is truly over. Jude Russo reflects on Massachusetts's new late-term abortion law and the aporia of a pro-life movement that intellectually condemns abortion as murder while politically treating it as one issue among many. and now for the details. We begin with day one hundred and seventy-five of the Iran War, where the front has shifted from the battlefield to the ledger. President Trump this week threatened what he called an "economic D-Day" against Tehran, promising the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent followed up with a warning that any nation retaining ties to Iran would face, in his words, "economic oblivion." The Treasury Department has re-designated Hezbollah as a specially designated global terrorist group, tagging it explicitly as an Iranian proxy, and Bessent is expected to unveil further measures on Monday. Reaction abroad has been mixed. China's foreign ministry rejected the pressure campaign and called for diplomacy. The United Arab Emirates, however, which was Iran's top trading partner last year, has announced it is cutting all economic ties with Tehran. As Andrew Day reports for The American Conservative, the war continues to roil global energy markets. Brent Crude sits near ninety-four dollars a barrel, and the average price of gasoline at the American pump is now four dollars and eleven cents. Iran's lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, told his countrymen Friday they must prepare to weather what he called unjust sanctions. Turning to the Justice Department, and a story about whether the era of lawfare in Manhattan is truly over. Jamie McDonald was sworn in last month as the new U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, succeeding Jay Clayton, who has moved on to serve as director of national intelligence. McDonald inherits an office once famed for its measured independence, but one that under the Biden years developed a reputation for aggressive, politically tinged prosecutions, from the raid on Rudy Giuliani to the failed case against Mayor Eric Adams. Jack Kieffaber, writing for The American Conservative, argues that the reclamation project is far from finished. Kieffaber focuses on the case of Daniel Chu, founder of the subprime auto lender Tricolor, which collapsed into bankruptcy last September amid an industry-wide meltdown. Three senior executives have pleaded guilty to cooking the books. But prosecutors are pursuing Chu himself under a dormant statute known as the financial kingpin law, which carries a mandatory minimum of ten years and a maximum of life in prison. Kieffaber notes the lead prosecutor, Micah Fergenson, came up through Democratic politics as an aide in the Obama White House counsel's office under Norm Eisen. Kieffaber warns that under the government's theory, any CEO whose subordinates commit fraud could face life imprisonment on cooperator testimony alone. He argues that between now and the January trial, McDonald's handling of the Chu case will show whether Manhattan's era of prosecutorial weaponization is genuinely over, or merely under new management. Those are today's highlights. For the full stories and more, visit theamericanconservative.com. Thank you for starting your morning with us.