Federal Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick issued a scathing ruling on November 17, 2025, finding that interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan may have fundamentally undermined the integrity of the grand jury proceedings against former FBI Director James Comey. In a devastating opinion, the judge …
William FitzpatrickLindsey HalliganJames ComeyDepartment of JusticeFBI+2 moreprosecutorial-misconductfifth-amendmenttainted-evidencejudicial-rebukedoj-weaponization+2 more
On August 22, 2025, the FBI executed simultaneous, court-authorized searches of John Bolton’s Maryland home and Washington, D.C. office, seizing electronic devices and documents related to potential classified information mishandling. The raid stems from an ongoing investigation into …
John BoltonDonald TrumpKash PatelJohn RatcliffeFBI+1 morepolitical-retaliationclassified-documentsbolton-raidtrump-criticsfbi-weaponization+5 more
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that White House officials, the Surgeon General, CDC, and FBI ’likely coerced or significantly encouraged’ social media platforms to censor content, constituting state action in violation of the First Amendment. The court found evidence of a …
Fifth Circuit Court of AppealsWhite HouseFBICDCSurgeon General+1 morecensorshipfirst-amendmentsocial-mediagovernment-overreachjudicial-ruling
Joe Rogan claimed on his podcast in July 2023 that January 6 was a false flag operation orchestrated by federal intelligence agencies, stating “That’s a fact” regarding intelligence agency involvement in provoking people into the Capitol Building. Rogan repeatedly promoted the …
Joe RoganRay EppsFBIHouse Select Committee on January 6joe-roganjanuary-6-conspiracyfalse-flag-claimsinsurrection-denialconspiracy-theories+3 more
Elon Musk’s release of internal Twitter documents (Twitter Files) exposes systematic government-social media platform coordination infrastructure that represents the comprehensive institutionalization of WHIG information control template through digital platform capture and systematic …
Elon MuskTwitter/X CorporationMatt TaibbiBari WeissMichael Shellenberger+6 moretwitter-files-revelationsgovernment-social-media-coordinationsystematic-information-controldigital-platform-censorshipwhig-information-template-completion+4 more
Ghislaine Maxwell is convicted on five of six federal charges including sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy, in connection with Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse network. The trial revealed extensive details about the systematic recruitment and abuse of minors, but many documents and witness …
Ghislaine MaxwellAlison NathanSouthern District of New YorkFBIsex-traffickingfederal-prosecutionaccountabilitytransparency-limitationssealed-documents
The FBI launched an investigation into Postmaster General Louis DeJoy over allegations that he orchestrated an illegal straw donor campaign finance scheme at his former company, New Breed Logistics. Former employees told the Washington Post that DeJoy pressured them to make political donations to …
Louis DeJoyFBICarolyn MaloneyJohn Sarbanescampaign financefbi investigationdejoyuspspolitical corruption+1 more
On October 15, 2020, YouTube announced it would ban content promoting QAnon and related conspiracy theories that “target individuals”—but the policy came approximately three years after YouTube’s recommendation algorithm began systematically amplifying QAnon from an obscure 4chan …
YouTubeGoogleQAnon movementFBIQAnon believers+1 moreyoutubeqanonconspiracy-theoriescontent-moderationradicalization+2 more
Twitter and Facebook suppressed the New York Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story after months of FBI warnings about potential Russian ‘hack-and-leak’ operations. The FBI had possessed the laptop since December 2019 and confirmed its authenticity, but when social media companies asked …
Jeffrey Epstein is arrested at Teterboro Airport on federal charges of sex trafficking minors and conspiracy. The arrest by the FBI and NYPD comes after a joint investigation by the Southern District of New York, effectively nullifying the controversial 2008 non-prosecution agreement. The indictment …
Jeffrey EpsteinGeoffrey BermanFBINYPDSouthern District of New Yorkfederal-prosecutionsex-traffickinglaw-enforcementaccountabilitycriminal-justice
Federal prosecutors unveiled Operation Varsity Blues, the largest college admissions fraud case ever prosecuted, charging 50 people including wealthy parents and university coaches. Mastermind Rick Singer ran a $25 million bribery scheme (2011-2018) through his firm The Key, facilitating fraudulent …
Rick SingerLori LoughlinFelicity HuffmanU.S. Attorney Andrew LellingFBIfraudcorruptioneducationinstitutional-capturewealth-inequality
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation agreed to pay $31.65 million to settle civil and criminal charges for systematically defrauding the U.S. Air Force by overbilling labor hours on battlefield communications contracts between January 2011 and October 2013. The settlement included $27.45 million for …
Northrop GrummanDepartment of JusticeU.S. Air ForceDefense Criminal Investigative ServiceFBI+1 moredefense contractorsfraudmilitary-industrial complexfalse claims actpentagon contracts+2 more
The FBI arrested Maria Butina in Washington, D.C. on July 15, 2018, charging her with acting in the United States as an agent of the Russian government without prior notification to the Attorney General, and conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States. The arrest came after an 18-month …
Maria ButinaFBIAlexander TorshinDepartment of JusticeNational Rifle Associationrussian-influencearrestsforeign-agentsnrafara-violations+3 more
At a lavish birthday celebration in Vienna, Russian diplomat Daniil Bisslinger, an attaché from the Kremlin’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, invited Peter Thiel to a private meeting with Vladimir Putin at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The invitation, later reported to the FBI, …
Peter ThielVladimir PutinDaniil BisslingerChristian AngermayerFBIthiel-putinrussian-recruitmentfbi-informantsilicon-valley-targetingcounterintelligence
On January 6, 2017, the U.S. Intelligence Community released a comprehensive assessment concluding that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally ordered an extensive influence campaign aimed at undermining the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA), titled …
Vladimir PutinCIAFBINSADonald Trump+2 morerussia interferenceintelligence communityelection securityputinforeign interference+1 more
The FBI engages Israeli mobile forensics company Cellebrite to crack the iPhone 5C used by San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook, after Apple refuses to create software to bypass the device’s security features. Following the December 2015 terrorist attack that killed 14 people, the FBI …
A federal magistrate judge ordered Apple to create special software to bypass security features on an iPhone 5C used by San Bernardino terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook, triggering the most public battle over encryption in U.S. history. The FBI sought to unlock the device after the December 2015 attack …
AppleTim CookFBIJames ComeyDepartment of Justiceencryptionprivacy-rightstech-resistanceapplefbi+2 more
Chainalysis secures its first federal government contract, a $9,000 data software deal with the FBI, marking the beginning of the U.S. government’s systematic use of blockchain surveillance technology. In 2015, the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service are Chainalysis’s only federal …
Apple announced that iOS 8 implements encryption so strong that the company itself cannot unlock iPhones or iPads, even when presented with a valid search warrant. This represented a dramatic escalation in the encryption debate and a direct response to NSA surveillance revelations, fundamentally …
AppleTim CookNSAFBIencryptionprivacy-rightstech-resistanceapplensa-surveillance+1 more
Human Rights Watch released a comprehensive 214-page report documenting that many high-profile FBI terrorism prosecutions were “an illusion” based on aggressive sting operations that entrapped vulnerable individuals who posed no genuine threat. The report analyzed decades of terrorism …
FBIHuman Rights WatchDepartment of Justicefbi-abuseentrapmentterrorism-prosecutioncivil-libertiesaccountability
Former Utah Attorneys General Mark Shurtleff and John Swallow were arrested by FBI and Utah Department of Public Safety agents on 23 combined felony and misdemeanor charges including bribery, accepting gifts, tampering with evidence, obstruction of justice, and racketeering. Prosecutors alleged both …
Mark ShurtleffJohn SwallowJeremy JohnsonMarc Sessions JensonFBI+1 morecorruptionbriberyevidence-tamperingminimal-accountabilityinstitutional-capture+1 more
Lavabit, an encrypted email service used by Edward Snowden, abruptly shut down rather than comply with federal government demands for the company’s SSL encryption keys, which would have compromised the privacy of all 400,000 users. Founder Ladar Levison announced the closure with a cryptic …
Ladar LevisonLavabitFBINSAEdward Snowdenencryptionprivacy-rightstech-resistancensa-surveillanceedward-snowden+1 more
FBI field offices around the country began surveilling Occupy Wall Street organizers as early as August 2011—a month before the first protesters arrived at Zuccotti Park—treating the nonviolent economic justice movement as a potential terrorist threat despite acknowledging internally that organizers …
FBIDepartment of Homeland SecurityOccupy Wall StreetJoint Terrorism Task Forcefbi-abusesurveillanceprotest-suppressionfirst-amendmentdomestic-spying
FBI agents executed coordinated early-morning raids on the homes and offices of anti-war and international solidarity activists in Minneapolis, Chicago, and other cities, seizing computers, phones, documents, and political materials. The raids targeted activists organizing against the Iraq and …
FBIDepartment of JusticeAnti-war activistsGrand juryfbi-abusesurveillanceprotest-suppressionfirst-amendmentpolitical-repression
The Department of Justice charged 11 individuals on June 27, 2010, for acting as unregistered agents of the Russian Federation. Ten pleaded guilty on July 8, 2010, and were exchanged in a U.S.–Russia spy swap. The case, known as “Operation Ghost Stories,” involved covert communications …
Anna ChapmanU.S. Department of JusticeFBIrussian-spy-ringintelligence-operationsespionage
Four men from Newburgh, New York—James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams, and Laguerre Payen—were arrested in an FBI sting operation in which a paid government informant conceived the plot, provided all the means, and coerced economically desperate men into participating. A federal judge …
FBIShahed HussainJames CromitieDepartment of Justicefbi-abuseentrapmentinformantsterrorism-prosecutioncivil-liberties
U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta approves a controversial plea deal allowing Jeffrey Epstein to plead guilty to state charges of soliciting prostitution from a minor, avoiding federal prosecution. The agreement was negotiated in secret without informing victims, violating the Crime Victims’ …
Alexander AcostaJeffrey EpsteinAlan DershowitzKenneth StarrFBIprosecutorial-misconductinstitutional-capturevictim-rights-violationsplea-dealscorruption
A Department of Justice Inspector General audit revealed that the FBI’s terrorist watchlist contained approximately 35% errors, with large portions of the list governed by no formal processes for updating or removing records. The report exposed systematic failures in a watchlist system that …
FBIDepartment of Justice Inspector GeneralTerrorist Screening Centerfbi-abusewatchlistsno-fly-listcivil-libertiesdue-process
Department of Justice Inspector General Glenn Fine releases comprehensive report documenting widespread FBI abuse of National Security Letters (NSLs) and surveillance authorities. The investigation found FBI systematically circumvented legal requirements, collected intelligence on Americans without …
Glenn FineFBIDepartment of JusticeCongressNational Security Division+1 morefbi-surveillance-abuseinspector-general-reportconstitutional-violationnational-security-letterscongressional-oversight
The FBI ordered informant Craig Monteilh to infiltrate multiple large mosques in Orange County, California, in a dragnet surveillance operation that targeted entire Muslim communities rather than specific suspects. The operation exemplified the FBI’s post-9/11 practice of religious profiling …
FBICraig MonteilhMuslim communityDepartment of Justicefbi-abusesurveillancereligious-profilingcivil-libertiesinformants
Scott Bloch, Special Counsel at the Office of Special Counsel (2004-2008), systematically dismantled federal whistleblower protections by dismissing over 1,000 whistleblower disclosures without investigation. Coalition of whistleblower groups documented his 95% dismissal rate, with only 25 of 530 …
Scott BlochOSCWhistleblower GroupsCongressFBIwhistleblower-suppressionoscobstruction-of-justicescott-bloch
Vice President Dick Cheney systematically orchestrated the creation and authorization of the CIA’s ’enhanced interrogation’ torture program through National Security Council Principals Committee meetings and legal manipulation. Working closely with legal counsel David Addington and …
Dick CheneyGeorge W. BushDavid AddingtonJohn YooCIA+3 moretorturewar-crimesciaenhanced-interrogationblack-sites+5 more
Artist Maria Farmer files a report with the FBI detailing sexual assault by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at Les Wexner’s estate in Ohio. The FBI takes no action on her complaint for over 10 years, allowing the abuse network to continue operating with apparent impunity despite early …
Maria FarmerJeffrey EpsteinGhislaine MaxwellFBILes Wexnerepstein-intelligencelaw-enforcement-failurefbi-coverupvictim-ignoredsexual-assault+2 more
The Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, led by Senator Frank Church, comprehensively investigated illegal activities by US intelligence agencies. The committee exposed widespread constitutional violations including NSA’s Project …
Frank ChurchCIANSAFBIintelligence-oversightcivil-libertiescongressional-investigationsurveillanceinstitutional-reform
On April 22, 1975, the Senate formally established the Church Committee to investigate systematic abuses by U.S. intelligence agencies. Led by Senator Frank Church, the committee exposed unprecedented violations of constitutional rights by the CIA, NSA, and FBI, including illegal surveillance of …
Senator Frank ChurchSenator John TowerU.S. SenateCIANSA+2 moreinstitutional-resistanceintelligence-oversightdemocratic-safeguardsconstitutional-rightsgovernment-accountability
The U.S. Senate voted 82-to-4 on January 27, 1975 to form the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, chaired by Senator Frank Church of Idaho. Created after Seymour Hersh’s December 1974 NYT revelations about CIA assassination attempts, the …
Senator Frank ChurchChurch CommitteeMike MansfieldSeymour HershCIA+3 moreintelligence-privatizationchurch-committeesurveillance-abuseconstitutional-violationproject-shamrock+3 more
On Saturday evening, October 20, 1973, President Richard Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox, who had been appointed on May 18, 1973, to investigate Watergate and had refused Nixon’s “Stennis Compromise” proposal the previous …
Richard NixonArchibald CoxElliot RichardsonWilliam RuckelshausRobert Bork+1 morewatergateobstruction-of-justiceabuse-of-powerinstitutional-corruptionconstitutional-crisis
Just six days after the Watergate break-in, President Richard Nixon met with his Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman in the Oval Office from 10:04am to 11:39am to discuss damage control. During this conversation—secretly recorded by Nixon’s own voice-activated taping system—the President ordered …
Richard NixonH.R. HaldemanVernon WaltersL. Patrick GrayCIA+1 morewatergateobstruction-of-justiceabuse-of-powerintelligence-agenciesinstitutional-corruption
In the early morning hours of June 17, 1972, Washington D.C. police arrested five men inside the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex. Security guard Frank Wills had discovered tape over door locks and called police, who caught the burglars preparing to install …
James W. McCord Jr.E. Howard HuntG. Gordon LiddyBernard BarkerEugenio Martinez+2 morewatergateabuse-of-powerobstruction-of-justiceinstitutional-corruptionintelligence-agencies
Jules Kroll launches Kroll Associates in New York, building a pioneering commercial model for corporate investigations and risk consulting. Kroll recruited many former government investigators from intelligence agencies like the CIA, FBI, Mossad, and MI5. The firm became known as the “CIA of …
The Citizens’ Commission to Investigate the FBI burglarized an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania, and stole classified documents that exposed COINTELPRO—the FBI’s covert and illegal program to surveil, infiltrate, discredit, and disrupt American civil rights organizations and political …
FBIJ. Edgar HooverCitizens' Commission to Investigate the FBIfbi-abusecointelprocivil-rightssurveillancedomestic-spying
On December 4, 1969, at 4:45 a.m., fourteen Chicago police officers raided the apartment of Fred Hampton, 21-year-old chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party. Police fired between 82 and 99 shots into the apartment; the Panthers fired at most one. Hampton was shot twice in the head at …
Fred HamptonJ. Edgar HooverFBIChicago Police DepartmentCook County State's Attorney Edward Hanrahan+2 morefbi-abusecointelprocivil-rightspolice-brutalityinstitutional-corruption+1 more
On June 5, 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy was shot and mortally wounded at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles moments after declaring victory in the California Democratic presidential primary. He died 26 hours later on June 6, 1968. Kennedy’s assassination, coming just two months after the …
Robert F. KennedySirhan SirhanFBILAPDpolitical-violenceassassinationdemocratic-erosion1968-election
On April 4, 1968, at 6:01 PM Central Standard Time, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 39 years old. King had traveled to Memphis to support Black sanitation workers who were striking for better pay, …
Martin Luther King Jr.James Earl RayFBIMemphis Policecivil-rightsviolenceassassinationinstitutional-racismdemocratic-erosion
On August 25, 1967, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover authorized the expansion of the Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) to create a new initiative targeting “Black Nationalist–Hate Groups.” This program represented a systematic effort by the nation’s premier law enforcement …
J. Edgar HooverFBIMartin Luther King Jr.Black Panther PartyWilliam C. Sullivansurveillancecivil-rightsfbi-abuseinstitutional-corruptiondemocratic-erosion
On June 21, 1964, three civil rights workers—James Chaney, 21, of Mississippi; Andrew Goodman, 20, of New York; and Michael Schwerner, 24, of New York—were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan with the direct participation of Neshoba County law enforcement officials. The killings, during the first week of …
James ChaneyAndrew GoodmanMichael SchwernerKu Klux KlanCecil Price+5 morecivil-rightsvoter-suppressionviolenceinstitutional-racismlaw-enforcement-complicity
On October 10, 1963, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy signed an authorization permitting the FBI to wiretap the telephones of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference offices in New York and Atlanta. The authorization, requested by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, …
J. Edgar HooverRobert F. KennedyMartin Luther King Jr.FBIStanley Levisonsurveillancecivil-rightsfbi-abuseinstitutional-corruptiondemocratic-erosion
On September 15, 1963, at approximately 10:24 AM, four members of the Ku Klux Klan detonated 19 sticks of dynamite attached to a timing device beneath the steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The explosion killed four young African American girls—Addie Mae Collins (14), …
Ku Klux KlanRobert ChamblissThomas BlantonBobby Frank CherryFBIcivil-rightsterrorismviolenceinstitutional-racismjudicial-failure
On August 28, 1956, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover formally established COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program), a covert and illegal program designed to surveil, infiltrate, discredit, and disrupt domestic political organizations. Initially targeting the Communist Party USA, the program would …
J. Edgar HooverFBICommunist Party USAsurveillancefbi-abuseinstitutional-corruptiondemocratic-erosionintelligence-manipulation
On June 19, 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed by electric chair at Sing Sing prison, becoming the first American civilians executed for espionage during peacetime and the only Americans executed for Cold War spy activities. Their case remains the most controversial capital punishment in …
Julius RosenbergEthel RosenbergRoy CohnIrving SaypolIrving Kaufman+3 moremccarthyismred-scarecapital-punishmentcivil-libertiespolitical-persecution+1 more