Joshua Martin

[George Jarjour @GeorgeOnTap]

The Los Angeles Lakers just sold for $12.5 billion, the most expensive sale in American sports history. And there’s some for a lack of better words, interesting connections. The seller is Mark Walter, who is under active federal investigation.

The buyer is Josh Kushner who’s brother is Donald Trump’s son in law and the man whose firm tried to buy the FIFA World Cup. The most famous franchise in sports just passed straight from a man being probed by the feds to a man who tried to privatize the world's biggest tournament. Let’s take a look at the full picture, because the full picture is ugly.

Let’s start off with some of the facts because this story is LOADED.

Mark Walter bought the Lakers 14 months ago at a $10 billion valuation. He didn't buy them to just flip them. He tore up the front office, rebuilt the scouting department, overhauled the business side, all the moves of a man planning to own this team for a decade. Then, 14 months in, he sold the Lakers?! Nobody does that. You don't buy your dream asset and unload it before you've finished redecorating, unless something changed and changed drastically.

Here's what happened. Walter is under federal investigation, a probe into the insurance companies he controls, the same case where the FBI reportedly seized his phone and laptop off a private jet at a Chicago airport. Separate investigations by U.S. prosecutors and the SEC are underway.

Now there is no proof of guilt yet. No one has pointed out for sure that the investigation forced this sale. Walter hasn't been charged with anything. The teams themselves are not named in the probe. Every serious outlet says the connection is unproven, and it is.

But you're allowed to look at the picture, and the picture is ugly. A man under federal investigation does not sell his trophy asset 14 months after buying it, at $2.5 billion above what he paid, in a matter of days, for no reason. That's not a normal exit. That's a fast, wildly profitable, remarkably clean getaway from the spotlight, executed at the precise moment the spotlight turned into a liability. You don't liquidate the Los Angeles Lakers this quickly unless you have a reason to want out. What that reason is, only the investigation knows. But the timing is not small.

But then who is buying it is a whole new story.

The buyer is Josh Kushner, founder of Thrive Capital. Weeks ago, that same firm was the lead investor in Gianni Infantino's $20 billion plan to sell off the commercial rights to the FIFA World Cup, the scheme that collapsed under a global revolt and nearly cost the FIFA president his job. Same man. Same firm. Different sport, different continent, weeks apart.

And there's a layer under the Kushner name that makes this bigger than sports. Josh Kushner is the brother of Jared Kushner, who is married to Ivanka Trump. Which means the most famous franchise in American sports is now owned, in part, by the sitting President's son-in-law's brother. Not the President himself, to be clear. He has no stake in this and no role in it. But the Lakers just became connected by marriage to the First Family, at the same time the seller is under a federal investigation run by that same administration's Justice Department. You don't have to allege anything to notice that's a crazy plot twist.

Two of the biggest money scandals in sports right now, a federally investigated owner on one side and the private equity operator who tried to buy the World Cup on the other, just resolved into a single transaction. The investigated man sold America's most famous team to the FIFA guy, in days, at a record price, and most people are reading it as a fun headline about the Lakers getting a new owner.

Here's the thing about the money at the very top of sports. Fans watch 30 teams, 30 owners, 30 separate franchises with their own colors and cities and rivalries. But the capital behind all of it is a small room. It's the same few dozen people, and they keep turning up in each other's deals. The Lakers, the Dodgers, the Giants, the Heat, Liverpool, the World Cup itself, pull the thread on almost any of them right now and you find the same handful of names, buying from and selling to one another.

That's the lesson that runs underneath all of this. At the level fans watch, sports is a game. At the level that actually owns it, sports is an asset class, and it is a far smaller and more connected world than anyone lets on. The Lakers didn't just get a new owner. They moved one square on a board most people don't know they're looking at, from a man under federal investigation to a man connected by marriage to the President.

The Buss family owned the Lakers for 46 years. Mark Walter owned them for 14 months. The next chapter belongs to the man whose firm tried to privatize the World Cup, and whose brother is married into the White House. That tells you everything about how fast the money moves at the top now, and how very few hands it moves between.

[Zito @_Zeets]

Might really stop me being a Lakers fan

[Betsey @Betsycashmoney]

Hmmm... this is certainly a shocking development... 🤔

So Trump's DOJ & Trump's SEC are investigating brand new Lakers owner Mark Walter & Guggenheim Partners, and now suddenly Walter is selling the Lakers to Trump's family member...? 🧐

[Pablo Torre 👀 @PabloTorre]

So……. the Mark Walter federal investigation colliding with Gianni Infantino’s preferred private-equity backers is………… a lot.

[Earl “Deuce” Mingleberry @EarlDeuces]

Cmon dawg it literally takes 10 seconds to set your fantasy lineup each week. Killing myself before I’d ever send a text like this to the boys #nuke

[Grit Capital, Ancient God of Commerce @GritGrowthCap]

*taps the goddamn sign*

[Adam Johnson @adamjohnsonCHI]

you’ll be shocked to learn Flock’s biggest investor is Andreessen Horowitz who is also an early seed investor in Free Press (both in 2021) which is oddly not disclosed in this segment

[katsu @katsuxbt]

Charles Barkley says pickleball is destroying retirees’ bodies while everyone thinks it’s the safe alternative to real sports

Barkley: “There’s not a lot you can do when you get old. That’s something you two gonna be able to do when he gets older, you can’t go play basketball.”

“And let me tell you something. They got this stupid thing going around called pickleball, which is the way old people out here are getting hurt all the time.”

“My doctor friends said pickleball is the gift that keeps giving. Because all these old people are killing themselves and hurt all the time. My doctor friends are in heaven right now. Pickleball is the gift that keeps giving.”

Kittle: “It’s so dangerous. I know multiple people who’ve fallen, torn their UCL, fractured their wrist, ACL, Achilles. I am never stepping on that damn court.”

“I’ll be golfing and I’ll be in the swimming pool. That’s all I need…”

Barkley: There’s a reason people quit playing sports, because their body gives out. What makes you think when you get older you’re going to be out there… shuffling back and forth, diving and lunging?”

“My doctor friends call it the gold mine that keeps giving.”

[ADAM @adamemedia1]

JD Vance: “God forbid we have a President El-Sayed.”

Also JD Vance:

[Scott Lincicome @scottlincicome]

it's a problem, folks.

[Michael (Hedge Fund Manager) @HedgeFundFomo]

Not a great time for this

[NOBUNAGA🇯🇵🏯_夏樹蒼依 @japan_nobunaga]

I mentioned that my garage door was making a sound.

An American immediately said, "I got a guy."

He did not ask what the sound was. He did not ask what kind of door. He produced a guy on the basis of the word garage.

I asked who the guy was.

He said, "Just a guy."

He did not have a company name. He had a first name and a phone number in his phone saved as "Mike Garage."

That is the contact name. Mike Garage. As though Garage is his surname. As though there is a family.

I asked how he found this guy.

"My brother-in-law used him."

I asked if the brother-in-law was satisfied.

He thought about it. Then he said, "He's still standing."

The house is still standing. That is the entire review.

Inside I said: THEY DO NOT KEEP RECORDS. THEY KEEP LOYALTIES.

I called Mike Garage. He answered from inside a vehicle. There was wind. He said he could come Tuesday between eleven and four.

Between eleven and four. A window of five hours. In my country this would be a scandal. Here it is generous. He gave me a window at all. Some guys do not give you a window. Some guys say "Tuesday" and that is the whole appointment.

He came at 1:40.

He fixed it in twenty minutes. He charged me less than I expected and he did not take a card, only cash or an app I had never heard of.

Before leaving he looked at my water heater, which I had not mentioned, and said, "That's gonna go."

I asked when.

"Couple years."

I asked what I should do.

He said, "I'll give you a guy."

He gave me a guy. Mike Garage has a guy. The guy has a guy. There is a network beneath this country made entirely of men named after their function, and none of them advertise, and all of them are busy.

Inside I said: THERE IS A SECOND NATION HERE. IT HAS NO SIGNS. IT IS ENTERED ONLY BY INTRODUCTION.

I have been given four guys since.

I have a guy for trees.

I did not know I needed a guy for trees.

I have trees now, apparently. They are my responsibility. A man named Rick told me so and then left.

[The Hormuz Report @HormuzReport]

BREAKING: A source close to Iranian officials says Tehran has documented a pattern of oil market manipulation tied to Axios reports and Trump administration insiders, including evidence of a $9 billion insider trading operation linked to Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.

Some of the documented timeline from the $9 billion insider profit:

Between April and May 2026, a series of suspiciously timed trades in oil futures markets preceded major Iran war announcements—each tied to reporting by Axios.

On March 23, approximately $500–580 million in shorts were placed 15 minutes before Trump announced he was postponing strikes on Iran. Oil dropped.

On April 7, roughly $950–960 million in shorts were placed hours before Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran. Oil fell around 15 percent.

On April 17, around $760 million in shorts were placed 20 minutes before Iran's foreign minister announced the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Oil dropped.

On April 21, approximately $430 million in shorts were placed 15 minutes before Trump extended the ceasefire. Oil dropped again.

On May 6, nearly $920 million to $1.7 billion in crude oil shorts were placed approximately 70 minutes before an Axios scoop claimed the U.S. and Iran were near a "14-point agreement." Oil dropped 12 percent. Traders made an estimated $125 million. Iran called the report "the Americans' wish list."

Previously, a senior Iranian official told investigative outlet Drop Site News that Tehran privately warned JD Vance during Switzerland talks that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were "abusing" negotiations—"more interested in exploiting insider knowledge to profit in financial markets than reaching a deal."

[MC Squared @mcsquared34]

New micro brew just dropped in Michigan

[Hassan Mafi ‏ @thatdayin1992]

Americans realizing thier gov has been illegally taxing them for over a year and billionaires are getting the refund instead of the customers

[Zynx @ZynxBTC]

The Bitcoin subreddit is absolutely heartbreaking right now.

So many people have been destroyed.

I recommend having a look because it gives you a different perspective compared to X.

Really sad.

[Nikolaj🇺🇦🇵🇸 @nikicaga]

I still think Four Seasons Total Landscaping is the most absurd thing to happen in US politics

[IT Guy @T3chFalcon]

A 22-year-old student teacher in Illinois sent a private Snapchat message to her boyfriend and two roommates.

A student had walked up to her laptop and deleted her lesson plan mid-class. frustrated, she typed something like "should I shoot him" with a gun emoji. venting. four people. private group chat.

An hour later, police walked into her school and arrested her.

here's what happened in between.

Snapchat's AI scanned the private message. flagged it as a potential threat. automatically reported it to the FBI. the FBI forwarded it to local law enforcement. deputies arrived at the school within the hour.

she cooperated immediately. handed over her phone. when shown the message she said: "oh yes. okay. yeah. i'm realizing that was a bad joke. i did not mean it at all serious at all."

police determined she was not a threat. school officials determined she was not a threat. prosecutors reviewed and issued a disorderly conduct charge. she was released the next morning. she lost her student teaching placement.

This means:

Snapchat scans private messages.

Not just public posts or stories. private group chats between you and your closest contacts. automated AI. no human reviewed it first, got flagged and reported.

Snapchat AI → FBI → local police → school → arrest.

in under an hour.

Snapchat's privacy policy says it may share your information with law enforcement when it believes there is a risk of harm. the definition of "risk of harm" is determined by an algorithm.

you are not told when a message is flagged.
you are not told when a report is filed.
you find out when the police arrive.

the message was private.

it wasn't.

[Jesse Livermore @Jesse_Livermore]

Hard to even process -- a president selling market-moving information to banks and wealthy investors in advance of everyone else, and personally pocketing hundreds of millions of dollars from it. This alone is more worthy of impeachment than 100 Watergate cover-ups.

[Nick Hernandez @nick_hernandez]

@greg2126 This water tasted like the water from an Alaskan glacier that was blessed by an Inuit medicine man in the Waterboy.