President Trump issued pardons to campaign chairman Paul Manafort (convicted of financial fraud and conspiracy), adviser Roger Stone (witness tampering and lying to Congress), National Security Adviser Michael Flynn (lying to FBI about Russia contacts), and Charles Kushner (tax evasion and witness …
Donald TrumpPaul ManafortRoger StoneMichael FlynnSteve Bannon+2 morepardonobstruction-of-justicecorruptionabuse-of-powerrule-of-law
President Trump pardoned four Blackwater private military contractors convicted of killing 14 Iraqi civilians, including two children, in Baghdad’s Nisour Square in 2007. Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, and Dustin Heard were serving sentences ranging from 12 years to life …
Donald TrumpErik PrinceBetsy DeVosNicholas SlattenPaul Slough+2 morePardonsCorruptionWar-CrimesBlackwaterAbuse-of-Power+1 more
The New York Times published a detailed investigation revealing that Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater and brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, recruited former American and British intelligence officers to conduct domestic espionage operations targeting Democratic political campaigns and …
Erik PrinceRichard SeddonJames O'KeefeProject VeritasBetsy DeVos+2 morepolitical-espionageinstitutional-captureprivate-intelligencepolitical-surveillanceabuse-of-power
Frontier Services Group announced plans to build a training facility in Xinjiang province, the western Chinese region where as many as 1 million Uyghur Muslims had been placed in extrajudicial detention camps under comprehensive surveillance. FSG’s Chinese website posted a statement saying the …
Erik PrinceFrontier Services GroupChang ZhenmingCITIC Grouphuman-rights-violationschinaprivate-militarysurveillance-technologyethnic-cleansing+1 more
Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund led a $15 million Series B investment in Carbyne (formerly Reporty Homeland Security), the Israeli surveillance technology company founded by Unit 8200 intelligence veterans and previously funded by Jeffrey Epstein and Ehud Barak. The investment directly connected …
Peter ThielErik PrinceLital LeshemJeffrey EpsteinEhud Barak+6 moresurveillance-technologyprivate-intelligenceisraeli-intelligenceunit-8200conflicts-of-interest+2 more
DarkMatter, the UAE-based private intelligence company employing former U.S. intelligence operatives, signed a Global Strategic Memorandum of Understanding with Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei for “Big Data” systems and “Smart City” surveillance solutions. The …
DarkMatterHuaweiErik PrincePegasusUnited Arab Emiratessurveillance-technologytechnology-transferchinauaeprivate-intelligence+1 more
Burisma Holdings, the Ukrainian energy company, announced the appointment of Joseph Cofer Black to its board of directors on February 15, 2017, less than one month after Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. Black, the former vice chairman of Blackwater (the private military contractor …
Joseph Cofer BlackErik PrinceNikolay ZlochevskyiHunter BidenMitt Romneyconflicts-of-interestforeign-influenceprivate-intelligenceregulatory-captureukraine
Erik Prince, founder of military contractor Blackwater and brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, met with Putin ally Kirill Dmitriev in Seychelles to establish back channel between incoming Trump administration and Kremlin. George Nader told Dmitriev that Prince “is designated by Steve …
Erik PrinceKirill DmitrievGeorge NaderSteve BannonJared Kushner+1 morebackchannelprivatizationdiplomatic-bypassrussian-connectionsblackwater+1 more
Jeffrey Epstein and Ehud Barak jointly invested in Carbyne (initially Reporty Homeland Security), a sophisticated surveillance technology company co-founded by Unit 8200 veterans Lital Leshem, Amir Elichai, and Alex Dizengof. Barak invested $1.5 million through a limited partnership company called …
Jeffrey EpsteinEhud BarakPinchas BuchrisPeter ThielErik Prince+6 morejeffrey-epsteinehud-barakcarbyneunit-8200surveillance-technology+4 more
Erik Prince founded Frontier Services Group (FSG), a Hong Kong-listed security, logistics and insurance company backed by Chinese state capital. Prince was introduced to Chang Zhenming, chairman of China’s state-owned CITIC investment conglomerate, in 2013, providing Prince entry to the …
Erik PrinceChang ZhenmingCITIC GroupFrontier Services Groupprivate-militaryforeign-influenceconflicts-of-interestchinatechnology-transfer+1 more
Xe Services (formerly Blackwater) was acquired by a group of private investors and renamed Academi, with Erik Prince exiting the company he founded. The acquisition and rebranding represented the second major corporate transformation designed to distance the entity from Blackwater’s documented …
Erik PrinceXe ServicesAcademiJohn AshcroftJack Quinn+2 moreprivate-militarycorporate-impunityconflicts-of-interestreputation-launderingaccountability-crisis
Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater, was hired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi to create a secret, private mercenary army for the United Arab Emirates, receiving $529 million for the contract. The force, operated through Prince’s company Reflex Responses (R2), was …
Erik PrinceMohammed bin Zayed Al NahyanReflex ResponsesUnited Arab Emiratesprivate-militarymercenariesforeign-influencemiddle-eastwar-crimes+1 more
Blackwater Worldwide officially changed its name to Xe Services LLC in a strategic rebranding effort to distance the company from its toxic reputation following the 2007 Nisour Square massacre, congressional investigations documenting 195 shooting incidents in Iraq, and widespread accusations of war …
Erik PrinceBlackwaterXe Servicesprivate-militarycorporate-impunityaccountability-crisisreputation-launderingwar-crimes
Erik Prince testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for nearly four hours, defending Blackwater’s operations in Iraq despite overwhelming evidence of excessive force and lack of accountability. The hearing came weeks after the September 16, 2007 Nisour Square …
Erik PrinceBlackwaterHouse Oversight CommitteeHenry Waxmanprivate-militaryiraq-waraccountability-crisiscongressional-oversightcorporate-impunity
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
Four Blackwater contractors—Scott Helvenston, Jerry Zovko, Wesley Batalona and Mike Teague—were ambushed and killed by Iraqi insurgents while conducting a delivery for food caterers ESS in Fallujah. The contractors’ bodies were beaten, burned, dragged through the city streets, and hung from a …
Erik PrinceBlackwaterScott HelvenstonJerry ZovkoWesley Batalona+2 moreprivate-militaryiraq-warwar-crimescorporate-negligenceaccountability-crisis