On January 1, 2023, a critical reform to the “90/10 rule” governing for-profit college federal aid eligibility took effect, finally closing a decades-old loophole that had incentivized predatory targeting of military veterans and active-duty service members by for-profit colleges seeking …
U.S. Department of EducationVeterans Education SuccessConsumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)Holly PetraeusFor-Profit College Industry+1 morefor-profit-educationveteransgi-billregulatory-reformpredatory-recruitment+2 more
The Arabella Advisors network, managing five nonprofit funds including the Sixteen Thirty Fund, raised $1.35 billion from anonymous donors in 2022, making it the dominant force in Democratic dark money operations. The Sixteen Thirty Fund alone spent $196 million on political causes including $66 …
The House Ways and Means Committee released six years of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns (2015-2020), ending a four-year legal battle and providing unprecedented public access to a sitting president’s financial records. The release followed the committee’s December 20, …
House Ways and Means CommitteeRichard NealDonald TrumpIRSTreasury Departmenttax fraudcongressional oversighttrump tax returnsirs audit failureforeign bank accounts
Carlo Jimenez, a Navy Iraq War veteran and ICE supervisory detention officer, reported weapons violations after an officer distributed pocketknives to staff at Montgomery Processing Center in December 2022. Despite weapons being banned, leadership took no action. After Jimenez reported to DHS …
Carlo JimenezImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)Department of Homeland Security OIGMerit Systems Protection Boardwhistleblower-retaliationcover-upweapons-violationsdetention-misconduct
Securing Inspector General Independence Act of 2022 enacted as part of NDAA, requiring 30-day advance notice to Congress before IG removal, limiting who can serve as Acting IG, and requiring explanation for failure to nominate replacement. Led by bipartisan coalition including Grassley, Peters, …
January 6th Committee investigation found tech platforms systematically bent rules to avoid penalizing conservative content out of fear of political reprisals. Internal documents revealed Facebook maintained “white lists” exempting conservative accounts (Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., …
Twitter/XFacebook/MetaHouse January 6th CommitteeEric TrumpDonald Trump Jr.+2 moreplatform-captureconservative-biasregulatory-capturesocial-media-manipulationpolitical-favoritism+2 more
Donald Trump launched his “Trump Digital Trading Cards” NFT collection on December 15, 2022, featuring 45,000 digital trading cards priced at 9 each that sold out within 12 hours, generating .4 million in immediate revenue and demonstrating how political figures can exploit supporter …
Donald TrumpNFT INT LLCtrump-nftcrypto-fraudpump-and-dumppolitical-monetizationmarket-manipulation
Sam Bankman-Fried is arrested in the Bahamas at the request of U.S. prosecutors and charged with eight criminal counts including wire fraud, securities fraud, commodities fraud, money laundering, and campaign finance law violations. The indictment alleges Bankman-Fried orchestrated a scheme to …
Sam Bankman-FriedFTXU.S. Department of JusticeSecurities and Exchange Commission (SEC)CFTC+1 morecorruptionfraudregulatory-capturetechcryptocurrency+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
A Manhattan jury convicted the Trump Organization on all 17 criminal counts of tax fraud and falsifying business records after deliberating for approximately one day, marking the first time Donald Trump’s company faced criminal charges, trial, and conviction. The jury found two …
The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to ban imports and sales of telecommunications equipment from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE, citing “unacceptable risk” to national security and critical infrastructure. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel stated the agency was …
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)HuaweiZTE CorporationJessica RosenworcelBrendan Carr+2 morefcchuaweiztenational-securitytelecommunications-ban+7 more
Former President Donald Trump hosted a nearly two-hour dinner at his Mar-a-Lago estate with rapper Kanye West (Ye) and white nationalist Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, sparking widespread condemnation from Republicans and Democrats. Trump claimed he “knew nothing about” Fuentes and that …
Donald TrumpNick FuentesKanye Westtrumpwhite nationalismantisemitism2024 election
U.S. District Judge Edward Davila sentences Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes to 135 months (11 years, 3 months) in federal prison plus three years supervised release for defrauding investors of over $140 million. Holmes is ordered to surrender on April 27, 2023 to begin serving her sentence. …
Elizabeth HolmesEdward DavilaU.S. Department of JusticeTheranosFDA+1 morecorruptionfraudregulatory-capturetechhealthcare+3 more
International NGOs and human rights organizations convened to establish a comprehensive, transnational documentation framework for tracking and resisting democratic backsliding. The protocol creates systematic methodologies for collecting, verifying, and rapidly disseminating evidence of …
International NGO AllianceHuman Rights WatchAmnesty InternationalUnited Nations Human Rights CouncilOffice of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)civil-society-resistancedocumentation-strategytransnational-organizinghuman-rights-monitoringinstitutional-accountability
FTX cryptocurrency exchange, Alameda Research, and over 100 affiliated entities file for bankruptcy following the exposure of systematic fraud by founder Sam Bankman-Fried. The collapse was triggered on November 2 when CoinDesk revealed that Alameda Research—FTX’s affiliated trading firm owned …
Sam Bankman-FriedFTXAlameda ResearchChangpeng ZhaoBinance+2 morecorruptionfraudregulatory-capturetechcryptocurrency+3 more
New York’s Adult Survivors Act (ASA), signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul in May 2022, opened a one-year window beginning November 24, 2022, allowing victims of sexual assault to file civil lawsuits regardless of when the abuse occurred, effectively suspending statutes of limitations that …
E. Jean CarrollDonald TrumpKathy HochulBrad HoylmanLinda Rosenthaladult survivors actsexual assaulte. jean carrollnew york legislationstatute of limitations
Elon Musk completed a $44 billion acquisition of Twitter Inc. with significant funding from Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Company and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, raising critical questions about foreign influence over global communication …
France’s data protection authority (CNIL) imposed a €20 million fine on Clearview AI - the maximum penalty allowed under GDPR Article 83 - for unlawful processing of biometric data through its facial recognition technology. The CNIL found that Clearview had collected over 20 billion images …
CNILClearview AIEuropean Data Protection BoardFrancesurveillance-stateprivacy-violationsregulatory-actioninternational-lawgdpr
A Connecticut jury awarded $965 million in damages to families of Sandy Hook victims, representing the largest defamation verdict against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. The landmark decision stemmed from Jones’ repeated false claims that the 2012 school shooting was a ‘hoax’, …
Alex JonesSandy Hook victim familiesConnecticut Superior Courtdefamationmedia-accountabilityconspiracy-theoriesfirst-amendmentlegal-precedent
By October 2022, Sinclair Broadcast Group owned or operated 294 television stations across the United States in 89 markets, reaching approximately 40% of American households and maintaining its position as the nation’s largest owner of local television stations. This unprecedented …
Sinclair Broadcast GroupFederal Communications Commission (FCC)David SmithLocal News Anchorssinclair-broadcastingmedia-consolidationpropagandalocal-news-capturemarket-dominance+3 more
A federal court grants McKinsey & Company’s motion to dismiss Omar Abdulaziz’s lawsuit for failure to state a claim pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), ruling that the consulting firm had no legal duty to protect the Saudi dissident’s identity when it produced …
Omar AbdulazizMcKinsey & CompanyU.S. District Court Southern District of New YorkSecond Circuit Court of Appealsmckinseysaudi-arabiadissident-trackinglitigationcorporate-accountability+2 more
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a comprehensive 220-page civil lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court against Donald Trump, his three adult children (Donald Jr., Eric, and Ivanka), former CFO Allen Weisselberg, former controller Jeffrey McConney, and ten Trump Organization entities, …
New York Times investigative reporters Walt Bogdanich (three-time Pulitzer Prize winner) and Michael Forsythe (George Polk Award winner and U.S. Navy veteran) publish ‘When McKinsey Comes to Town: The Hidden Influence of the World’s Most Powerful Consulting Firm,’ a landmark …
Walt BogdanichMichael ForsytheMcKinsey & CompanyThe New York TimesPenguin Random Housemckinseyauthoritarian-consultinginvestigative-journalismbook-publicationsaudi-arabia+3 more
President Joe Biden announced on August 24, 2022, a sweeping student loan forgiveness plan that would cancel up to $20,000 in federal student debt for Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 for other borrowers earning less than $125,000 annually ($250,000 for couples), potentially benefiting 43 …
Joe BidenMiguel Cardonastudent-debtdebt-reliefjoe-biden
Chicago businessman Barre Seid provided an unprecedented $1.6 billion donation to Leonard Leo’s Marble Freedom Trust through a strategic stock transfer of Tripp Lite to Eaton Corporation. This donation, the largest known to a political advocacy group in U.S. history, potentially avoided …
Barre SeidLeonard LeoMarble Freedom TrustEaton Corporationdark-moneyconservative-movementjudicial-capturenonprofit-financingtax-avoidance+1 more
Three privacy rights advocates filed a class action lawsuit against Oracle Corporation on August 19, 2022, in the Northern District of California, alleging that the company operates a “worldwide surveillance machine” that has compiled detailed digital dossiers on approximately 5 billion …
OracleIrish Council for Civil LibertiesJohnny RyanMike Katz-LacabeJennifer Golbecksurveillanceprivacydata-brokersoraclelawsuits+1 more
Allen Weisselberg, the longtime Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization who served the company for nearly five decades, pleaded guilty in New York state court to 15 felony counts related to a 15-year tax fraud scheme, admitting he failed to pay taxes on $1.7 million in income including …
Allen WeisselbergTrump OrganizationAlvin BraggManhattan District AttorneyDonald Trumptax fraudtrump organizationallen weisselbergguilty pleamanhattan da+1 more
Incumbent Wyoming Republican U.S. Representative Liz Cheney suffers a crushing primary defeat to Trump-endorsed challenger Harriet Hageman, losing 66.3% to 28.9% in one of the most decisive House incumbent losses in 60 years. Cheney, who won her 2020 reelection with 68.6% of the vote, faces …
Liz CheneyHarriet HagemanDonald TrumpWyoming Republican Partytrumpmagapolitical-purgejanuary-6wyoming+2 more
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions Tornado Cash, adding the decentralized cryptocurrency mixer to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List with multiple cryptocurrency addresses as identifiers. This landmark action marks the first time OFAC has …
OFACTornado CashChainalysisLazarus GroupU.S. Treasurysurveillancecryptocurrencysanctionsprivacyofac+1 more
Roger Stone and wife settled DOJ civil lawsuit for $2.1 million over unpaid taxes (2007-2018) and alleged fraudulent transfers. DOJ claimed Stones used Drake Ventures entity and Bertran Trust to evade $1.7M in taxes and hide assets from IRS collection efforts, funding their political influence …
Roger StoneDepartment of Justicefinancial-crimestax-evasionstone-networkfraudulent-transfers
DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari disclosed Secret Service erased text messages from January 5-6, 2021, during a “device replacement program” after oversight officials requested electronic communications. Despite requesting month of records for 24 personnel, Secret Service provided …
U.S. Secret ServiceJoseph CuffariJames Murray (Secret Service Director)Bennie ThompsonLiz Cheneyobstruction-of-justicefederal-records-actcoverupjanuary-6-investigationevidence-destruction+2 more
In response to questions from Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Amazon vice president Brian Huseman disclosed in a July 1 letter that Ring had provided police with user camera footage on 11 occasions during 2022 without obtaining user consent or court warrants. Amazon justified these warrantless …
RingAmazonBrian HusemanEd Markeyringwarrantless-surveillancepolice-accessfourth-amendmentamazon+2 more
Voyager Digital Holdings and affiliates file Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York after the collapse of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), which triggered a domino effect through the interconnected and unregulated crypto lending market. Voyager, like Celsius, …
Voyager DigitalThree Arrows CapitalSecurities and Exchange Commission (SEC)BlockFiCelsius Network+2 morecrypto-fraudregulatory-voidbankruptcysystemic-riskshadow-banking+3 more
TikTok and Oracle formally launched “Project Texas” in July 2022, a comprehensive data isolation initiative designed to address U.S. national security concerns by migrating all American user data to Oracle’s cloud infrastructure and establishing new corporate structures to limit …
OracleTikTokByteDanceTikTok U.S. Data Security Inc.oracletiktoksurveillancedata-storagecloud-computing+1 more
Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the EPA lacked authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants through generation shifting, formally establishing the “major questions doctrine” for the first time by name in a majority opinion. Chief Justice Roberts …
Supreme CourtChief Justice John RobertsJustice Clarence ThomasJustice Samuel AlitoJustice Neil Gorsuch+9 moreclimate-changesupreme-courtjudicial-capturederegulationadministrative-state+2 more
A court in the British Virgin Islands ordered the liquidation of Three Arrows Capital (3AC), a Singapore-based cryptocurrency hedge fund that managed $10 billion in assets just months earlier, after the firm lost over $3 billion and defaulted on hundreds of millions in loans to crypto lenders. …
Three Arrows CapitalKyle DaviesSu ZhuMonetary Authority of SingaporeDubai Financial Services Authority+4 morecryptoregulatory-capturefraudhedge-fund-collapsesystemic-risk+3 more
On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education under Secretary Miguel Cardona reached a landmark settlement in the class action lawsuit Sweet v. Cardona (originally filed as Sweet v. DeVos), agreeing to automatically cancel approximately $6 billion in federal student loans for roughly 200,000 …
U.S. District Court for Northern CaliforniaU.S. Department of EducationMiguel CardonaBetsy DeVosProject on Predatory Student Lending+1 morefor-profit-educationstudent-debt-cancellationborrower-defenseclass-action-settlementfraud-relief+1 more
On June 23, 2022, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation arrested Epic Charter Schools co-founders Ben Harris, 46, and David Chaney, 43, along with former CFO Josh Brock, 40, on racketeering, embezzlement, and conspiracy charges related to what State Auditor Cindy Byrd called “the largest …
Ben HarrisDavid ChaneyJosh BrockOklahoma State Bureau of InvestigationState Auditor Cindy Byrd+2 morecharter-schoolsembezzlementeducation-privatizationracketeeringpolitical-corruption+1 more
The Federal Trade Commission ordered private equity firm JAB Consumer Partners to divest veterinary clinics in four metropolitan areas as a condition of its $1.65 billion acquisition of Ethos Veterinary Health, citing concerns about JAB’s roll-up strategy creating local monopolies in specialty …
Federal Trade CommissionJAB Consumer PartnersJAB Holding CompanyNational Veterinary AssociatesEthos Veterinary Health+1 moreantitrustconsolidationprivate-equityveterinaryhealthcare+4 more
House January 6th Committee’s second hearing revealed Trump raised $250 million post-election through fraudulent “Official Election Defense Fund” that never existed. Committee found Trump’s team sent up to 25 fraudulent fundraising emails daily, raising $100 million in first …
Donald TrumpTrump CampaignSave America PACHouse January 6th CommitteeZoe Lofgren+1 morefraudcampaign-financekleptocracyjanuary-6-committeebig-lie+2 more
The Federal Trade Commission unanimously voted to authorize a comprehensive investigation into pharmacy benefit manager business practices under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act, with all five commissioners voting in favor. The FTC issued compulsory orders to the six largest PBMs—CVS Caremark, Express …
Federal Trade CommissionLina KhanChuck GrassleyMaria CantwellCVS Caremark+2 morehealthcarepbmpharmacyantitrustregulatory-capture+2 more
On June 6, 2022, nine members of Axon’s thirteen-member AI and Policing Technology Ethics Board resigned in protest after the company announced plans to develop Taser-equipped drones for deployment in schools to respond to mass shootings. The resigning members—including founding chair Barry …
AxonBarry FriedmanWael Abd-AlmageedMiles BrundageRyan Calo+2 moreaxonethics-boardtaser-dronessurveillanceresignation+2 more
Trump attorney Christina Bobb signed a certification stating that all classified documents
requested by the May 11 grand jury subpoena had been returned to the government. The
attestation, drafted by Evan Corcoran, proved false when the FBI found 103 additional
classified documents during the August …
Christina BobbEvan CorcoranDonald TrumpDepartment of Justiceclassified-documentsfalse-statementsobstruction-of-justicemar-a-lagocriminal-investigation
On June 1, 2022, Palantir CEO Alex Karp crossed the border from Poland into Ukraine and met President Volodymyr Zelensky in the presidential palace bunker, becoming the first major Western tech CEO to visit since Russia’s February invasion. Karp told Zelensky they could work together “in …
Palantir TechnologiesAlex KarpUkraine Ministry of DefenceVolodymyr Zelenskysurveillance-statemilitary-technologyauthoritarian-infrastructureinternational-conflictartificial-intelligence
The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) fined Clearview AI £7.5 million for breaching UK data protection rules by creating an online database of over 20 billion images of people’s faces collected from publicly available sources on the internet and social media without …
Information Commissioner's OfficeClearview AIUnited Kingdomsurveillance-stateprivacy-violationsregulatory-actioninternational-lawgdpr
Terraform Labs, led by Do Kwon, temporarily halted the Terra blockchain on May 13, 2022, after a catastrophic four-day collapse that wiped out nearly $45 billion in market capitalization and devastated hundreds of thousands of retail investors globally. LUNA, which traded at $119 in April and $87 on …
Do KwonTerraform LabsSecurities and Exchange Commission (SEC)CFTCPaul Engelmayer+2 morecryptoregulatory-capturefraudstablecoinsystemic-risk+4 more
A federal grand jury issued a subpoena requiring Trump to return all documents “bearing
classification markings” in his possession. This legal demand came after the National
Archives discovered classified materials in boxes retrieved from Mar-a-Lago. Trump’s
alleged failure to …
Donald TrumpDepartment of JusticeFederal grand juryclassified-documentsgrand-jurysubpoenaobstruction-of-justicemar-a-lago
Chainalysis announces a $170 million Series F financing led by GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, bringing its valuation to $8.6 billion and cementing the company’s position as the largest enterprise SaaS company in the cryptocurrency industry. The funding round represents another …
TerraUSD (UST), the fourth-largest stablecoin with $18 billion market capitalization, began losing its dollar peg on May 7-9, 2022, triggering a catastrophic “death spiral” that would destroy $40 billion in value within days and crash the broader crypto market. The algorithmic …
Do KwonTerraform LabsSecurities and Exchange Commission (SEC)CFTCJanet Yellen+3 morecryptoregulatory-capturefraudstablecoinsystemic-risk+3 more
The D.C. Attorney General announced a $750,000 settlement resolving allegations that the
Presidential Inaugural Committee and Trump Organization improperly overpaid for event space
at the Trump International Hotel in January 2017. Defendants denied wrongdoing as part of
the settlement.
District of Columbia Office of Attorney GeneralTrump OrganizationPresidential Inaugural Committee (2017)nonprofit-lawconflictshotel