The Trump administration capped refugee admissions at 7,500 with nearly all slots reserved for Afrikaners (white South Africans), bypassing UN refugee processes and standard persecution criteria. The fast-tracking of white refugees while excluding people of color from war-torn regions demonstrates …
ProPublica investigation revealed that U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson, a Trump appointee and former CIA officer, systematically protected El Salvador President Nayib Bukele from U.S. and Salvadoran law enforcement investigations. Based on a previously undisclosed State Department inspector general …
Ronald JohnsonNayib BukeleState DepartmentTrump Administrationinstitutional-capturediplomatic-corruptionobstruction-of-justiceforeign-autocrat-alignment
The American Foreign Service Association warned career diplomats they face retaliation for providing honest policy counsel that deviates from Trump administration positions. The State Department added ‘fidelity’ as a promotion criterion, effectively requiring ideological loyalty over …
State DepartmentAmerican Foreign Service AssociationDonald TrumpCareer Diplomatsinstitutional-capturediplomatic-purgeloyalty-over-expertiseforeign-policy-corruption
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau announced visa sanctions against foreigners who ‘praise or make light of’ conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death, inviting Americans to report social media posts to consular officials. The policy weaponizes visa authority to punish …
Christopher LandauState DepartmentCharlie Kirkfirst-amendment-violationsextraterritorial-censorshipvisa-weaponizationspeech-suppression
Trump invoked ‘pocket rescission’ to unilaterally claw back nearly $5 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid from the State Department and USAID, circumventing Congress’s constitutional authority over federal appropriations. Pocket rescission is a controversial executive …
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the State Department would deny visas to Palestinian Authority and PLO officials seeking to attend the United Nations General Assembly, preventing Palestinian representatives from addressing the international body. The denial violates the 1947 UN …
Marco RubioState DepartmentTrumpPalestinian Authorityforeign-policy-corruptioninternational-lawUN-relationsPalestinian-rightstreaty-violations
Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agents, whose mandate is protecting diplomats and securing U.S. embassies abroad, began patrolling Washington DC streets alongside FBI, Customs and Border Patrol, and U.S. Marshals Service, making arrests for minor offenses unrelated to diplomatic security. The DSS …
The State Department revoked over 6,000 student visas, including 200-300 for alleged ‘support for terrorism,’ with particular focus on students participating in pro-Palestinian protests and criticism of Israel’s Gaza war. A Tufts student was detained for six weeks after co-writing …
State DepartmentMarco RubioDepartment of Homeland Securityweaponizationinstitutional-capturefree-speech
The Trump administration fired nearly all USAID employees by placing them on administrative leave, cutting the workforce from over 10,000 to 294 employees (97% reduction). The mass firing disrupted humanitarian programs globally and prompted lawsuits from the American Foreign Service Association. …
USAIDTrump AdministrationAmerican Foreign Service AssociationState Departmentagency-eliminationforeign-aidgovernment-restructuringworkforce-reductionmass-layoffs+2 more
USAID officially eliminated by July 1, 2025—faster and more comprehensively than Project 2025 anticipated—with 92% of international development grants terminated and functions folded into State Department. This marks a dramatic reduction of American diplomatic soft power, with over 80% of USAID …
USAIDState DepartmentMarco RubioProject 2025 Implementation TeamInternational development programsusaid-eliminationinternational-developmentdiplomatic-influenceforeign-aidsoft-power-reduction
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
FAA approves 4,000 Starlink terminals worth $400 million despite existing contract with another company, while State Department announces $400 million Tesla Cybertruck contract and Commerce changes broadband requirements favoring Starlink.
FAAStarlinkTeslaState DepartmentDepartment of Commerceself-dealingstarlinkgovernment-contractsmuskregulatory-capture
State Department procurement documents showed plans for a 400 million purchase of armored Tesla vehicles, dramatically expanding a smaller Biden-era EV plan. After media scrutiny, the State Department removed Tesla from documents and claimed the purchase was on hold with no plans to proceed.
State DepartmentTeslaElon Muskstate-departmentteslacybertruckgovernment-contractsmusk
Edward “Big Balls” Coristine, 19, was appointed to DOGE and granted access to the State
Department, CISA, DHS, FEMA, and Office of Personnel Management despite being fired from
Path Network in 2022 for leaking data and running DiamondCDN which serviced the EGodly
cybercrime group. …
Edward CoristineElon MuskDOGEState DepartmentCISA+1 moresecurity-clearancecybersecurityinstitutional-capturedoge-personnelnational-security
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 BlinkenRTTreasury 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
Rex Tillerson, former ExxonMobil CEO who received Putin’s Order of Friendship for Russian energy deals and maintained 45 million in oil investments, became Secretary of State despite unprecedented opposition. Tillerson had negotiated a 00 billion Arctic drilling deal with Russia’s …
Rex TillersonExxonMobilVladimir PutinDonald TrumpState Departmentoil-industryrussia-connectionsregulatory-captureforeign-influenceinstitutional-destruction
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
The systematic distribution of backdoored PROMIS software through Robert Maxwell and other intermediaries created an unprecedented global surveillance network. Intelligence agencies in multiple countries, including Zimbabwe, South Africa, Guatemala, Colombia, Nicaragua, Bulgaria, Egypt, East …
Robert MaxwellUS IntelligenceSoviet KGBMultiple intelligence agenciesState Department+1 morepromis-softwareglobal-surveillanceintelligence-networkbackdoorsmutual-espionage+3 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