The Daily Grift – April 1, 2026

Happy April Fool’s Day. Today’s episode is about the oldest trick in Washington: the promise of reform.Congress spent Q1 swearing it would pass a stock trading ban. Q1 just ended. Congress went on vacation. Meanwhile, the Deputy Attorney General killed crypto enforcement while personally holding crypto - and nobody is being held accountable for any of it. And we close with two numbers you need to hear at the same time: $220 million, and 366. Listen to find out why they belong together.Today’s episode is up now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. Link in bio.In other news:The Defense Secretary’s broker tried to buy war stocks before the bombs dropped. Memphis cops pepper-sprayed the people keeping protesters safe. And the guy who wrote the White House’s AI policy quit so he could fund the politicians who’ll protect it. Three stories about the same thing: the people with the most power using it to make sure nobody else gets any.Pete Hegseth’s Broker Tried to Buy Defense Stocks Weeks Before the Iran War StartedPete Hegseth’s Morgan Stanley broker called BlackRock in February asking about putting several million into a defense industry ETF – weeks before the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran. The investment didn’t go through because the fund was too new to process. The Pentagon denied the Financial Times report. The STOCK Act has a $200 fine and no teeth. 86% of Americans want a trading ban. Congress has an honor system.Read the full story ->Memphis Police Pepper-Sprayed the Protest Marshals at the No Kings MarchSeveral thousand people marched peacefully through downtown Memphis on Saturday for No Kings. Minutes before it ended, police rolled up, deployed pepper spray, and arrested three people – the march’s own safety marshals in orange vests. The charge was “obstructing a highway,” a brand-new Tennessee law sponsored by a Republican state senator. Trump declared Memphis his model city last week. The city sent its answer back.Read the full story ->David Sacks Wrote Trump’s AI Policy Then Quit to Fund the Politicians Who’ll Keep ItDavid Sacks spent a year as Trump’s AI czar shaping deregulation policy. Then he stepped down and backed a $100 million PAC to elect candidates who’ll protect what he built. Total AI industry midterm spending now tops $300 million. They’ve already won 10 of 11 primaries where they spent money. Polling shows bipartisan skepticism toward AI – but the demand for deregulation isn’t coming from voters. It’s coming from the people spending $300 million to make sure voters don’t decide.Read the full story ->The full investigation lives at rachelandthecity.com. Start with the suspects, or dig into the GriftMatrix.// Go Deeper on rachelandthecityLatest PostsDavid SacksEpstein & WexnerPODCAST SOURCESLawmakers said they wanted to rein in their own stock trading. What happened? - Roll Call Complaint Accuses Trump’s Criminal Attorney of “Blatant” Crypto Conflict in His Role at DOJ - ProPublica Documents Reveal a Web of Financial Ties Between Trump Officials and the Industries They Help Regulate - ProPublica March 22, 2026 - Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American Partial DHS shutdown drags past 6 weeks as Congress remains split - NBC16/AP CREW and 7 organizations tell Congress: oppose the Stop Insider Trading Act - CREW Get full access to Rachelandthecity at rachelandthecity.substack.com/subscribe