Public pressure could shape Trump’s Russia policy
Risk Journal reporter Richard Vanderford said corporations were likely to face a wave of government investigations after the midterm elections if Democrats take control of Congress.
Polling suggested Democrats were likely to gain control of the House of Representatives and could gain control of the Senate. On Monday, prediction market Polymarket pegged the odds of both chambers flipping at about 74%. U.S. Senate seats were up for election Tuesday.
John Boehner, the House speaker from 2011 to 2015, characterized congressional investigations in political terms. “These investigations are not a legal proceeding…This is a political process. This is the Wild West.”
President Trump’s moves to ease sanctions on Russia were likely to come under Congress’s magnifying glass after the midterm elections, Risk Journal reported. Criticism of Trump’s recent diesel deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin showed Congress already asserting itself and could hint at what might come next.
Legal and political experts said Congress would have difficulty forcing changes by passing sanctions legislation that Trump could veto. They said Congress could nevertheless have some success in shaping Trump’s approach to Russia by marshaling public criticism and pressure placed on the private sector.
Iran, Anthropic and calendar developments
Anthropic IPO. Following a rout in technology stocks last week, investors planning to participate in Anthropic’s IPO were coalescing around a lower valuation for the artificial-intelligence company. In the past several days, institutional investors told the Claude maker and its advisers that the company’s planned IPO later this month should be valued at around $1.5 trillion to $1.6 trillion, according to people familiar with the matter. That range was well below figures closer to $2 trillion that had been bandied about in recent months.
Iran strikes. U.S. officials said the United States attacked Iran’s Qeshm Island on Monday, the latest in a series of limited strikes Washington had secretly carried out against Iran in recent weeks. The attack came as President Trump touted the possibility of a diplomatic deal and followed his comments playing down the possibility of a return to war after Tuesday’s midterm elections.
“We had a war with Iran. We won,” Trump told reporters Monday. “I don’t know if you even call it a war because we haven’t been doing any fighting for months.”
The United States had also been engaged in smaller-scale strikes against Iran for several weeks, officials said. Explosions around Qeshm Island were reported on social media Monday. Some officials described the assaults as defensive in nature, meant to prevent Iran from having the freedom to attack commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Calendar. The WorldECR Export Controls and Sanctions Forum was scheduled for Nov. 18-19 in London. The forum was scheduled to discuss the latest developments in sanctions, export controls, investment screening and international trade compliance.