The State Department announced the U.S. Institute of Peace has been renamed the ‘Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace,’ with Trump’s name installed on the building’s facade in Washington, DC. The renaming follows the administration’s armed takeover and gutting of the …
Donald TrumpState DepartmentU.S. Institute of PeaceFederal Judiciaryauthoritarianisminstitutional-capturepropagandanarcissismrule-of-law
Trump administration officials notified Congress of plans to close six Voice of America overseas bureaus and four shortwave radio transmitters, defying federal court orders requiring VOA operations to resume. The closures will shut down VOA presence in Jakarta, Islamabad, Nairobi, Prague, and other …
Donald TrumpKari LakeVoice of AmericaFederal JudiciaryState Departmentmedia-suppressionforeign-policyauthoritarianismchinarussia+1 more
The State Department announced plans to pay Tesla $400 million for unspecified services, coming weeks after Trump systematically fired federal officials investigating Elon Musk’s companies. The payment followed the removal of FDA staffers reviewing Neuralink, EEOC leaders investigating Tesla …
State DepartmentTeslaElon MuskDonald Trumpelon-muskteslastate-departmentgovernment-contractsquid-pro-quo+1 more
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on September 13, 2024 that the State Department was revealing declassified U.S. intelligence findings showing RT (Russia Today) has evolved into a full-scale Russian intelligence operation. The key revelation was that in Spring 2023, the Russian government …
State DepartmentAntony BlinkenRT (Russia Today)Treasury DepartmentRussian Intelligence Servicesrt-intelligencerussian-operationscyber-capabilitiesstate-departmentsanctions+1 more
In a significant move to preserve institutional integrity, career diplomats and foreign service officers formalized enhanced internal resistance and preservation mechanisms in response to potential political disruptions. Building on the historical ‘dissent channel’ established in 1971, …
State DepartmentCareer DiplomatsForeign Service OfficersDepartment of State Leadershipinstitutional-resistancegovernment-integritydiplomatic-ethicsbureaucratic-resiliencestate-department-reform
Vice President Mike Pence’s September 2019 stay at Trump Doonbeg in Ireland cost taxpayers $3.6 million total, requiring a 181-mile detour from Dublin meetings. Pence flew across Ireland to stay at Trump’s golf resort rather than in Dublin where his official meetings occurred. The …
Mike PenceTrump International Golf Links & Hotel DoonbegSecret ServiceState Departmentemolumentsdomestic-emolumentstrump-propertiestaxpayer-wasteconflict-of-interest
President Trump signed Executive Order 13769, titled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States,” banning citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries—Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen—from entering the United States for 90 days. …
Donald TrumpRudy GiulianiJim MattisState Departmentmuslim-banauthoritarianismreligious-discriminationimmigrationrule-of-law+1 more
Edward Snowden boarded an Aeroflot commercial flight from Hong Kong to Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on June 23, 2013, accompanied by Sarah Harrison of WikiLeaks, just days after the U.S. filed espionage charges and requested his extradition. The Hong Kong government allowed Snowden to leave …
Edward SnowdenWikiLeaksSarah HarrisonHong Kong governmentState Departmentedward-snowdenasyluminternational-relationshong-kongrussia+1 more
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
On July 28, 2005, KBR employee Jamie Leigh Jones, then 22 years old and working her fourth day on the job in Baghdad, alleged she was drugged and gang-raped by KBR coworkers at Camp Hope in the Green Zone. Army doctors examined Jones and found evidence of sexual assault “both vaginally and …
Jamie Leigh JonesKBRHalliburtonTed PoeState Department+2 moreprivate-militarycorporate-impunityaccountability-crisissexual-assaultmandatory-arbitration+1 more
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Saudi Crown Prince Fahd signed a framework agreement in Washington DC establishing the US-Saudi Arabian Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation. This historic agreement created both economic and military commissions aimed at promoting Saudi investments in the …
Henry KissingerPrince Fahd bin AbdulazizRichard NixonSaudi ArabiaUnited States+1 morepetrodollar-systeminternational-agreementseconomic-policyoil-politicscold-war-geopolitics
In 1950, the State Department revoked the American passport of Paul Robeson—All-American football player, Phi Beta Kappa recipient at Rutgers, Columbia Law School graduate, internationally acclaimed concert performer, actor, and persuasive political speaker. The revocation came in response to …
Paul RobesonState DepartmentJ. Edgar HooverFBIred-scarecivil-libertiespolitical-persecutionsurveillance-stateracial-justice
President Harry S. Truman signs the U.S. Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (Public Law 80-402), popularly called the Smith-Mundt Act after sponsor Congressman Karl E. Mundt (R-SD), on January 27, 1948. The Act regulates broadcasting of programs for foreign audiences produced under …
Harry S. TrumanKarl E. MundtU.S. CongressState DepartmentVoice of Americapropagandainformation-warfarecold-warstate-departmentvoice-of-america
The Joint Chiefs of Staff authorize Operation Paperclip on September 3, 1945, establishing a secret program to recruit German scientists, engineers, and technicians for American military and intelligence agencies. The program ultimately brings over 1,600 German scientists and their families to the …
Joint Intelligence Objectives AgencyWar DepartmentWernher von BraunState DepartmentOffice of Strategic Services+1 moreintelligence-apparatusnational-security-stateinstitutional-corruptionwar-crimescold-war+1 more