Timeline Events

Cohen Creates Essential Consultants LLC for Stormy Daniels Payment

Michael Cohen establishes Essential Consultants LLC in Delaware, shell company used to pay Stormy Daniels $130,000 and later receive $4 million from corporations and oligarch-linked firms

Stumpf Resigns as CEO, Retains Over $130 Million in Compensation

Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf resigns effective immediately, ending his 34-year career at the bank amid the fake accounts scandal. Despite calls from Senator Elizabeth Warren and others for him to forfeit his compensation and face criminal charges, Stumpf departs with approximately $130-137 million in …

ACLU Exposes Geofeedia's Surveillance of Black Lives Matter Protests Through Social Media Platforms

The ACLU of Northern California released a report revealing that Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram had provided special data access to Geofeedia, a surveillance technology company that marketed its location-based monitoring tools to law enforcement agencies for tracking Black Lives Matter protesters …

Anheuser-Busch InBev Completes $107 Billion SABMiller Acquisition: Beer Industry Consolidates Into Duopoly

Anheuser-Busch InBev completed its $107 billion acquisition of SABMiller, the largest-ever deal in the beer industry, after receiving antitrust approval requiring divestiture of SABMiller’s U.S. business (MillerCoors stake) to Molson Coors. The merger consolidated the global beer industry into …

Trump Stages Pre-Debate Event with Bill Clinton Accusers

On October 9, 2016, just 90 minutes before the second presidential debate in St. Louis, Donald Trump staged a surprise press conference with four women who have accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct or been connected to the Clintons’ legal history. The event, held at the Four Seasons Hotel …

Rumors Surface of Apprentice Outtakes Showing Trump Using N-Word, Burnett Refuses Release

During the 2016 presidential campaign, widespread rumors emerge of damaging outtakes from “The Apprentice” showing Donald Trump using the n-word and other racist and sexist language. Producer Mark Burnett, through his company now owned by MGM, refuses to release any footage, citing …

Republicans Withdraw Support for Trump After Access Hollywood Tape

In the hours and days following the October 7, 2016 release of the Access Hollywood tape, dozens of Republican officials withdrew their support for Donald Trump, with many calling for him to exit the presidential race entirely. The mass defection represented the most serious internal challenge to …

New York Attorney General Orders Trump Foundation to Immediately Cease Fundraising

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued a cease-and-desist order requiring the Donald J. Trump Foundation to immediately stop soliciting contributions in New York State because it had been operating for nearly 30 years without proper registration. The order revealed that the Trump …

Council of Economic Advisers: Market Power Suppresses Wages, Contributes to $1+ Trillion in Lost Worker Income

The Obama administration’s Council of Economic Advisers publishes landmark research ‘Labor Market Monopsony: Trends, Consequences, and Policy Responses’ documenting how employer market power (monopsony) and product market concentration (monopoly) systematically suppress American …

Wells Fargo Claws Back $41 Million from Stumpf's Compensation

Following intense Congressional pressure and public outrage, Wells Fargo announces that CEO John Stumpf will forfeit $41 million in unvested stock awards and his 2016 salary and bonus. The clawback represents the board’s first attempt to impose financial consequences on senior leadership for …

CEO Stumpf Testifies Before Senate, Elizabeth Warren Demands Resignation

Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf testifies before the Senate Banking Committee in a hearing titled “An Examination of Wells Fargo’s Unauthorized Accounts and the Regulatory Response.” Senator Elizabeth Warren delivers a devastating confrontation, accusing Stumpf of “gutless …

Oliver Stone's "Snowden" Film Brings NSA Whistleblower Story to Mainstream Audiences

Director Oliver Stone’s biographical thriller “Snowden” was released in U.S. theaters, bringing Edward Snowden’s story to mainstream audiences through a Hollywood dramatization starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the NSA whistleblower. The film chronicled Snowden’s journey …

Washington Post Investigation Reveals Trump Foundation Used for Self-Dealing and Business Settlements

Washington Post investigative reporter David Fahrenthold published a groundbreaking series of investigations revealing that the Donald J. Trump Foundation had engaged in a systematic pattern of illegal self-dealing, using tax-exempt charitable funds to purchase items for Trump’s personal use, …

Indianapolis Star Investigation Exposes Nassar Abuse After FBI Sat on Allegations for 14 Months

On September 12, 2016, the Indianapolis Star published an investigation exposing Larry Nassar’s systematic sexual abuse of gymnasts, breaking the story that the FBI had failed to investigate for over a year. The newspaper investigation, led by reporters who uncovered the FBI’s …

Raytheon-Manufactured Bomb Kills 31 Civilians at Yemen Water Drilling Site in Apparent War Crime

Before dawn on September 10, 2016, Saudi-led coalition aircraft conducted repeated airstrikes on a water drilling site in Arhab, Sanaa governorate, Yemen, killing at least 31 civilians and wounding 42 others in what Human Rights Watch characterized as an apparent war crime. The first strike hit near …

Wells Fargo Fined $185 Million for Creating 2 Million Fake Accounts

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Los Angeles City Attorney announce a combined $185 million settlement with Wells Fargo for the systematic creation of more than two million unauthorized deposit and credit card accounts. The CFPB assesses a $100 …

ITT Technical Institute Shuts Down All 130 Campuses After SEC Fraud Charges and Federal Aid Cutoff, Stranding 35,000 Students

ITT Technical Institute, one of the nation’s largest for-profit college chains operating more than 130 campuses across the United States, announced on September 6, 2016, that it would immediately cease operations and close all locations, stranding approximately 35,000 actively enrolled …

Standing Rock: Private Security and Police Attack Dakota Access Pipeline Water Protectors

On September 3, 2016, Standing Rock Sioux tribal members and water protectors reported the destruction of sacred burial sites by Dakota Access Pipeline construction crews, leading to violent confrontations between private security contractors and demonstrators. Security workers deployed attack dogs …

Facebook Embeds Staff in Trump Campaign Headquarters to Optimize Targeting for Voter Manipulation

Facebook embeds staff directly in Trump campaign headquarters in San Antonio, working side-by-side with campaign staff including Cambridge Analytica to optimize Facebook advertising for voter targeting and suppression. The unprecedented corporate-political coordination provides Trump’s …

Rep. Tom Price Purchases Discounted Healthcare Stocks While Drafting Industry Legislation

On August 31, 2016, Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), chairman of the House Budget Committee and member of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, purchased between $50,001 and $100,000 in discounted shares of Innate Immunotherapeutics, an Australian biotech company, through a private placement offering …

Mylan EpiPen Price Increases 550% in Nine Years, CEO Heather Bresch Testifies Before Congress

In August 2016, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch faced intense scrutiny when it was revealed that EpiPen prices had increased from approximately $103 in 2007 to over $608 by 2016—a nearly 550% price increase for a life-saving allergy treatment. The scandal exposed pharmaceutical price gouging, the failure …

Stone tweets "Podesta's time in the barrel" 47 days before WikiLeaks

Roger Stone tweeted “Trust me, it will soon be the Podesta’s time in the barrel” on August 21, 2016 - 47 days before WikiLeaks released Podesta emails on October 7. Even Podesta himself didn’t know about the hack until WikiLeaks began leaking. Stone claimed he meant …

Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates Issues Memo to Phase Out Federal Private Prisons, Citing Safety Problems and High Costs

Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates issues a memorandum directing the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to discontinue outsourcing operations to private entities and either decline to renew contracts or substantially reduce their scope as they expire. The memo cites a comprehensive Office of Inspector General …

Raytheon Paveway Bomb Strikes MSF Hospital in Yemen, Killing 11 Including Healthcare Workers

At approximately 3:45 PM on August 15, 2016, a Saudi-led coalition airstrike struck the Abs Hospital in Yemen’s Hajjah governorate, killing at least 11 people including an MSF staff member and injuring at least 19 others. The hospital was clearly marked as a medical facility and Médecins Sans …

Black Ledger Reveals $12.7 Million in Secret Cash Payments to Trump Campaign Chair Manafort

On August 14, 2016, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau revealed a secret “black ledger” documenting $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments from Ukraine’s former pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych’s party to Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s campaign …

UAE Targets Human Rights Defender Ahmed Mansoor with NSO Pegasus Spyware

On August 10-11, 2016, Ahmed Mansoor, an internationally recognized UAE-based human rights defender and recipient of the Martin Ennals Award, receives suspicious SMS messages on his iPhone promising “new secrets” about detainees tortured in UAE jails. Instead of clicking the malicious …

Manafort shares internal polling data with Russian intelligence

Paul Manafort shared internal Trump campaign polling data with Russian intelligence officer Konstantin Kilimnik at Manhattan’s Grand Havana Room. Treasury later confirmed this “provided Russian Intelligence Services with sensitive information on polling and campaign strategy.”

AMI Pays Karen McDougal $150,000 to Kill Story of Trump Affair

National Enquirer pays former Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000 for exclusive rights to story about year-long affair with Trump, largest catch-and-kill payment of campaign

Appeals Court Strikes Down North Carolina Voter ID Law With "Surgical Precision" Ruling

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals strikes down North Carolina’s comprehensive voter suppression law (HB 589) in a scathing ruling that finds the legislature “target[ed] African Americans with almost surgical precision.” Judge Diana Gribbon Motz’s opinion exposes how North …

Trump Publicly Calls on Russia to Hack Clinton Emails, GRU Begins Targeting Clinton Servers Same Day

On July 27, 2016, at a televised press conference, Donald Trump publicly called on Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails: “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.” According to Mueller’s indictment of 12 GRU …

WikiLeaks Releases 20,000 Stolen DNC Emails Three Days Before Democratic Convention

On July 22, 2016, WikiLeaks released 19,252 DNC emails and 8,034 attachments stolen by Russian GRU intelligence—strategically timed for maximum political damage just three days before the Democratic National Convention. The release, coordinated between Russian intelligence (via Guccifer 2.0), …

Peter Thiel Delivers Prime-Time RNC Speech Supporting Trump

Tech billionaire Peter Thiel delivers prime-time RNC speech endorsing Trump, marking Silicon Valley’s entry into MAGA movement and first openly gay speaker at Republican convention

Harvey Weinstein Hires Black Cube to Suppress Rose McGowan Allegations

In July 2016, Harvey Weinstein contracted Black Cube, an Israeli private intelligence firm with former Mossad agents, to suppress sexual misconduct allegations. The operation targeted Rose McGowan and other potential accusers, using sophisticated psychological manipulation tactics like false …

Obama Signs PROMESA Creating Unelected Fiscal Control Board to Govern Puerto Rico's $72 Billion Debt Crisis

President Barack Obama signed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) into law, establishing a seven-member Financial Oversight and Management Board with sweeping powers over Puerto Rico’s government. The board, appointed by the U.S. President rather than …

Hillbilly Elegy Published - Vance as Trump Critic

J.D. Vance publishes Hillbilly Elegy, a memoir that gains national prominence during the 2016 presidential election. Vance openly criticizes Donald Trump, describing him as “the most-raw expression of a massive finger pointed at other people” and privately comparing him to …

Kentucky Governor Bevin Seizes Control of Pension Board Through Executive Order

Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, a former hedge fund partner at Waycross Partners, issues an executive order abolishing the existing Kentucky Retirement Systems board of trustees and creating a new board that gives him authority to appoint 10 of 17 board members. The restructuring comes two months …

Guccifer 2.0 (Russian GRU) Begins Leaking Stolen DNC Emails Hours After Hack Exposure

On June 15, 2016—just one day after CrowdStrike publicly disclosed that Russian intelligence had hacked the Democratic National Committee—the GRU launched the “Guccifer 2.0” persona and began releasing stolen DNC documents. The Mueller investigation later proved that Guccifer 2.0 was not …

Walgreens Terminates Theranos Partnership After 31,000 Customers Receive Voided Test Results

Walgreens formally terminates its partnership with Theranos after discovering that 31,000 Walgreens customers had received voided test results from the blood-testing company’s faulty devices. The termination follows months of deteriorating relations after the October 2015 Wall Street Journal …

Trump Jr. Accepts Meeting Explicitly Framed as "Russia and Its Government's Support"

Donald Trump Jr. accepted meeting at Trump Tower after being promised “official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary” as “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” Meeting included Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, Rinat …

Eric Trump Foundation Funneled Cancer Charity Donations to Trump Organization Businesses

The Eric Trump Foundation, ostensibly dedicated to raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to fight childhood cancer, systematically funneled charitable donations to Trump Organization businesses by paying inflated costs for charity golf events held at Trump properties. Despite …

Trump Attacks Federal Judge Curiel as "Mexican" Despite Indiana Birth, Paul Ryan Calls It "Textbook Racism"

Donald Trump launched racist attacks against U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who was presiding over the Trump University fraud lawsuits, falsely claiming the judge’s Mexican heritage created bias against him. At a San Diego rally in late May and in subsequent media interviews, Trump …

Trump University Victims Testify to Losing Retirement Savings, Disability Income to Fraudulent Scheme

Court documents and victim testimony released in June 2016 revealed the devastating human cost of Trump University’s fraudulent scheme, with students testifying they lost retirement savings, disability income, and home equity after being pressured into purchasing courses costing up to $35,000. …

Judge Unseals Trump University Documents Revealing Predatory Sales Playbook Targeting Vulnerable Consumers

U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel ordered the unsealing of over 400 pages of Trump University documents on May 31, 2016, revealing internal sales “playbooks” that detailed aggressive, predatory tactics designed to extract maximum money from vulnerable consumers. The documents exposed …

Russian Official Alexander Torshin Meets Donald Trump Jr. at NRA Convention After Requesting Trump Meeting

Alexander Torshin, working with Maria Butina, requested that Donald Trump meet with him on the sidelines of the National Rifle Association’s convention in Louisville, Kentucky from May 20-22, 2016. While Torshin never succeeded in meeting with then-candidate Trump himself, he did secure a …

Trump Promises All Supreme Court Picks Will Come From Federalist Society

During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump made a pivotal strategic commitment to outsource Supreme Court nominee selection entirely to the Federalist Society, a move that would fundamentally reshape the federal judiciary. In March 2016, Trump, campaign lawyer Don McGahn, and Federalist Society …

CNP's Secret 2014 Membership Directory Leaked - 413 Conservative Elite Exposed

The Southern Poverty Law Center obtained and released a leaked copy of the Council for National Policy’s 2014 Membership Directory, exposing 413 members of what it described as a “Who’s Who of the Right” - the first comprehensive membership list made public since 1998.

The …

Twitter Blocks Intelligence Agencies from Using Dataminr for Social Media Surveillance

Twitter exercised its contractual veto power to block U.S. intelligence agencies from accessing Dataminr’s social media surveillance platform, marking a rare instance of a tech company refusing to facilitate government intelligence gathering. The decision came as Dataminr was conducting an …

Puerto Rico Defaults on $422 Million Bond Payment, Triggering Largest Municipal Debt Crisis in U.S. History

Governor Alejandro García Padilla ordered Puerto Rico’s first major default, blocking a $422 million payment on Government Development Bank bonds. This historic default was part of Puerto Rico’s unprecedented $72 billion debt crisis, representing debt larger than the island’s GDP. …

Dennis Hastert Sentenced to 15 Months, Judge Calls Him 'Serial Child Molester'

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert was sentenced to 15 months in prison, two years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine by U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin, who described him as a “serial child molester” during an emotional sentencing hearing. Though Hastert was only charged with …

Panama Papers Released - Massive Global Financial Scandal Exposed

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) released the Panama Papers, a collection of 11.5 million leaked documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. The documents revealed how wealthy individuals and public officials used offshore shell companies to hide assets …