Over 2,300 National Guard troops from West Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Ohio, Louisiana, and Tennessee began patrolling Washington DC streets carrying M17 handguns and M4 semiautomatic rifles, marking an unprecedented militarization of the nation’s capital during peacetime. The armed …
TrumpNational GuardDepartment of Defensemilitarizationposse-comitatusnational-guardauthoritarian-infrastructurecivil-liberties
Brookings June 26, 2025, analysis warned Trump’s deployment of 700 Marines and 4,000 federalized National Guard to LA violates Posse Comitatus Act. Trump invoked 10 USC §12406 (not Insurrection Act) claiming “inherent constitutional authority” to protect federal property. …
Brookings InstitutionLegal scholarsDepartment of DefenseDepartment of Homeland SecurityTrump Administrationanalysiscivil-militaryinsurrection-actposse-comitatuslegal-analysis+2 more
A federal district judge in Northern California ruled on June 12, 2025, that the Trump administration’s federalization of California National Guard and deployment of 700 active-duty Marines to Los Angeles likely violated the Posse Comitatus Act and principles of federalism. The judge found the …
U.S. District CourtState of CaliforniaGovernor Gavin NewsomDepartment of Defense2nd Battalion, 7th Marines+2 morecivil-militarycourtsemergency-powersposse-comitatusfederalism+2 more
The Trump Administration officially accepted a Boeing 747-8 luxury jetliner valued at approximately $400-500 million from the government of Qatar on May 21, 2025, to serve as a new Air Force One presidential aircraft. The acceptance of what Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer characterized as …
Donald TrumpQatarSheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al ThaniChuck SchumerPam Bondi+9 moreemolumentsbriberycorruptionforeign-influencenational-security+9 more
Ongoing federal court cases challenge the president’s authority to unilaterally federalize state National Guard units, with multiple states filing legal challenges to Trump’s deployment of California’s National Guard. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the president …
Supreme CourtState GovernorsDepartment of DefenseCalifornia GovernorNew York Attorney General Letitia James+1 morenational-guardconstitutional-crisisseparation-of-powersfederal-state-relations
In a landmark ruling on April 22, 2025, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals established unprecedented guidelines for presidential authority to federalize state National Guard troops. The decision significantly expanded executive power by upholding the president’s ability to deploy 4,000 …
Federal Appeals CourtGavin NewsomDepartment of DefenseCharles BreyerDonald Trump+1 morenational-guardfederalismmilitary-authorityconstitutional-crisisexecutive-power+1 more
Federal District Court in D.C. issued a landmark ruling challenging Trump administration’s unilateral National Guard deployment powers. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that Trump violated the Posse Comitatus Act by sending National Guard troops to Los Angeles for immigration …
Federal District CourtDepartment of DefenseState GovernorsDonald Trump9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals+5 morenational-guardmilitary-authorityconstitutional-interpretationexecutive-powerjudicial-review+2 more
Trump declared national emergency at southern border citing “invasion” by cartels, criminal gangs, and “unvetted military-age males.” Deployed 1,500 active-duty troops (1,000 Army, 500 Marines) with helicopters and intelligence analysts. Ordered Pentagon to develop 10-day …
Donald TrumpDepartment of DefenseDepartment of Homeland SecurityPentagonMexican President Claudia Sheinbaumimmigrationnational-emergencybordercapture-patternsenergy
On October 16, 2024, defense contractor RTX (formerly Raytheon) agreed to pay over $950 million to resolve Justice Department investigations into fraudulent billing schemes, foreign bribery, and export control violations spanning more than a decade. The settlement addressed three major criminal …
RaytheonDepartment of JusticeQatarDepartment of DefenseGreg Hayesraytheonfraudbriberypentagonqatar+3 more
Elon Musk’s xAI faced intense scrutiny after releasing Grok AI without comprehensive safety documentation, including generating antisemitic content and pulling opinions directly from Musk’s social media posts. Despite these controversies, xAI secured a $200 million Pentagon contract in …
Elon MuskxAIAI Safety ResearchersGSA AI Safety TeamDepartment of Defense+1 moreai-safetytech-communicationcorporate-accountabilityelection-technologygovernment-ai-contracts+1 more
Oracle announced on August 15, 2023, that its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) received authority to operate Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) from the 18-agency Intelligence Community, marking a major expansion of Oracle’s access to the nation’s most classified …
OracleIntelligence CommunityDepartment of DefenseCIAintelligence-agenciessurveillancecloud-computingoracleclassified-information+1 more
The U.S. Department of Defense granted Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) authority to operate (ATO) for Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) and Special Access Program (SAP) missions on February 15, 2022, authorizing Oracle to host and process some of the Pentagon’s most …
OracleDepartment of DefenseU.S. Air ForceDefense Information Systems Agencyintelligence-agenciessurveillancecloud-computingpentagonoracle+1 more
Palantir Technologies and Amazon Web Services announce a formal strategic partnership to optimize Palantir’s Foundry and Gotham platforms for deployment on AWS cloud infrastructure, integrating two of the most powerful surveillance and data analytics systems used by U.S. intelligence and …
Palantir TechnologiesAmazon Web ServicesCIADepartment of Defensesurveillance-infrastructuredata-analyticsintelligence-agenciesgovernment-contractspalantir+2 more
The Department of the Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman a $13.3 billion contract on September 8, 2020, to develop the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent intercontinental ballistic missile system, initiating the engineering and manufacturing development phase of a program estimated to cost between …
Northrop GrummanU.S. Air ForceDepartment of DefenseBoeingOrbital ATKmilitary-industrial complexdefense contractorsnuclear weaponspentagon contractsicbms+1 more
Northrop Grumman completed its $9.2 billion acquisition of Orbital ATK on June 6, 2018, gaining control of the premier supplier of solid rocket motors essential for missile systems and creating anticompetitive market dominance that the Federal Trade Commission warned would “reduce competition …
Northrop GrummanOrbital ATKFederal Trade CommissionDepartment of DefenseBoeingmilitary-industrial complexdefense contractorsmonopoly powermergers and acquisitionsantitrust+2 more
The U.S. Defense Department awarded Northrop Grumman a development contract for the B-21 Raider Long Range Strike Bomber on October 27, 2015, with an initial value of $21.4 billion that could eventually reach $80 billion over the program’s lifetime, representing one of the largest defense …
Northrop GrummanU.S. Air ForceDepartment of DefenseBoeingLockheed Martin+1 moremilitary-industrial complexdefense contractorspentagon contractsstealth technologynuclear weapons+1 more
Northrop Grumman’s RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance drone program experienced massive cost escalation, with per-unit costs exploding from an initial $60.9 million in 2001 to $222.7 million per aircraft (including development costs) by 2013—a nearly four-fold increase that forced the Air Force to …
Northrop GrummanU.S. Air ForceDepartment of DefenseGovernment Accountability Office (GAO)military-industrial complexdefense contractorscost overrunssurveillance statedrone warfare+2 more
U.S. Army Private First Class Bradley Manning (later Chelsea Manning) was arrested at Forward Operating Base Hammer in Iraq for allegedly leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks, including evidence of war crimes and civilian casualties. The arrest initiated what would …
Chelsea ManningWikiLeaksU.S. ArmyDepartment of Defensewhistleblower-prosecutionwikileaksiraq-warafghanistan-warwar-crimes
The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber’s operating costs reached approximately $150,000 per flight hour according to U.S. Department of Defense estimates, making it the most expensive military aircraft to operate in history and generating massive ongoing revenue for Northrop Grumman …
Northrop GrummanU.S. Air ForceDepartment of Defensemilitary-industrial complexdefense contractorscost overrunspentagon contractsstealth technology+1 more
Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, a 24-year-old Green Beret from Pittsburgh, was electrocuted in a shower at Radwaniyah Palace Complex near Baghdad on January 2, 2008, when an improperly grounded water pump installed by KBR short-circuited and sent electrical current through the shower water. Pentagon …
Ryan MasethKBRHalliburtonDepartment of DefenseDefense Contract Management Agency+2 moreprivate-militarycorporate-impunityaccountability-crisiswar-crimescorporate-negligence
Blackwater private military contractors’ killing of 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad’s Nisour Square exposes systematic corporate-state fusion accountability crisis where privatized government military functions operate beyond constitutional and legal constraints. The massacre demonstrates …
Blackwater WorldwideErik PrinceState DepartmentCentral Intelligence AgencyIraqi Government+3 moresystematic-corporate-capturesystematic-constitutional-violationblackwaterconstitutional-constraint-bypassprivatized-government-functions+10 more
President George W. Bush appointed James G. Roche as Secretary of the Air Force in 2001 despite—or perhaps because of—Roche’s 17-year career as a top executive at Northrop Grumman, one of the Air Force’s largest contractors, exemplifying the revolving door that enables defense industry …
James G. RocheNorthrop GrummanU.S. Air ForceDepartment of DefenseGeorge W. Bushrevolving doormilitary-industrial complexdefense contractorscorruptionconflicts of interest+1 more
The Federal Trade Commission approved Boeing’s $13.3 billion acquisition of McDonnell Douglas, completing a merger wave that reduced major U.S. defense contractors from 51 firms in the late 1980s to just five dominant primes by the late 1990s. The consolidation wave was actively encouraged by …
BoeingMcDonnell DouglasFederal Trade CommissionDepartment of DefenseLes Aspin+1 moreantitrustconsolidationmergerdefense-contractorsoligopoly+3 more
The term “credibility gap” enters widespread use to describe the growing disconnect between the Johnson administration’s optimistic public statements about Vietnam War progress and the grim reality experienced by soldiers and reporters in the field. The New York Herald Tribune …
Secretary of Defense Robert McNamaraPresident Lyndon B. JohnsonSenator J. William FulbrightDepartment of Defensegovernment-deceptionmilitary-industrial-complexinstitutional-corruptionpropagandasystematic-corruption
Congress holds 25 hearings throughout 1959 to investigate the revolving door between defense contractors and senior military officials, marking the first systematic examination of conflicts of interest in weapons procurement. General Omar Bradley, who served as the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs …
U.S. CongressGeneral Omar BradleyDepartment of DefenseDefense Contractorsrevolving-doormilitary-industrial-complexdefense-contractsconflict-of-interestcongressional-oversight
The Senate Armed Services Committee confirms Charles Erwin “Engine Charlie” Wilson as Secretary of Defense by a vote of 77 to 6, despite controversy over his massive General Motors stockholdings valued at more than $2.5 million (approximately $24 million in 2018 dollars). Wilson had …
Charles Erwin WilsonDwight EisenhowerGeneral MotorsSenate Armed Services CommitteeDepartment of Defensemilitary-industrial-complexrevolving-doorconflict-of-interestcorporate-state-fusiondefense-policy
President Harry Truman vetoes the Internal Security Act of 1950 (McCarran Act) on September 22, 1950, sending Congress a lengthy veto message criticizing specific provisions as “the greatest danger to freedom of speech, press, and assembly since the Alien and Sedition Laws of 1798,” a …
Pat McCarranKarl MundtHarry TrumanHubert HumphreyU.S. Congress+4 moremccarthyismred-scarecongressional-actioncivil-libertieshuac+1 more
James Vincent Forrestal, a successful Wall Street financier who ran the investment bank Dillon, Read & Co., becomes the first United States Secretary of Defense when the National Military Establishment is formally established. Forrestal’s appointment represents the archetypal revolving …
James ForrestalHarry TrumanDepartment of DefenseDillon, Read & Co.military-industrial-complexrevolving-doorwall-street-capturedefense-policyinstitutional-capture+1 more
President Truman signs the National Security Act, merging military departments into the National Military Establishment (later Department of Defense), creating the CIA and National Security Council, and establishing the National Security Resources Board to coordinate military, industrial, and …
Harry S. TrumanU.S. CongressDepartment of DefenseCentral Intelligence AgencyNational Security Councilmilitary-industrial-complexnational-security-stateintelligence-agenciesdefense-industryinstitutional-capture