France Orders Google to Pay €1B for Tax Fraud, Settles for €945M

On September 12, 2019, Google agreed to pay €945 million ($1.1 billion) to French authorities to settle a four-year tax fraud investigation—avoiding criminal prosecution by negotiating a financial settlement despite evidence of systematic tax evasion. The case exemplified how corporate tax fraud is …

MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito resigns after concealing $7.5 million in Epstein-linked donations

MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito resigned after reports revealed he had concealed millions in donations from Jeffrey Epstein and his associates. The lab received at least $7.5 million in funding linked to Epstein, with Ito actively working to hide Epstein’s involvement from MIT administrators …

Commerce Secretary Ross Threatens to Fire NOAA Scientists Who Contradicted Trump's False Hurricane Claim

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross threatened to fire top officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) unless they backed President Donald Trump’s false claim that Hurricane Dorian threatened Alabama. Ross called acting NOAA Administrator Neil Jacobs on September 6, …

Pence's Ireland Trip Costs $3.6 Million with Detour to Trump Property

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 …

Amazon Warehouse Worker Billy Foister Dies on Warehouse Floor After Heart Attack

Amazon Warehouse Worker Billy Foister Dies on Warehouse Floor After Heart Attack

On September 2, 2019, Billy Foister, a 48-year-old Amazon warehouse worker, suffered a fatal heart attack at the Amazon fulfillment center in Etna, Ohio. According to his brother and coworkers, Foister lay on the …

Ring announces partnerships with 400+ police departments, building massive surveillance network

Ring announced it had established partnerships with more than 400 police departments across the United States, marking the first time the company publicly disclosed the scale of its law enforcement surveillance network. The announcement revealed that since Amazon’s 2018 acquisition, Ring had …

Trump Proposes Hosting G-7 Summit at His Doral Golf Resort

President Trump proposed hosting the 2020 G-7 summit at his Trump National Doral golf resort in Miami, which would have directed millions in government spending to his struggling property. Trump claimed Doral was “by far the best physical facility” and offered to host “at …

Oklahoma Wins $572 Million Verdict Against Johnson & Johnson for Opioid Public Nuisance

On August 26, 2019, Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman delivered a landmark $572 million judgment against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson for the company’s role in fueling Oklahoma’s opioid epidemic. The decision marked the first time a drugmaker was held culpable in …

Intelligence Community Whistleblower Files Urgent Complaint About Trump-Zelensky Call

An intelligence community whistleblower filed a formal complaint on August 12, 2019, detailing President Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky and the subsequent White House efforts to conceal the conversation. The complaint described how “multiple White House …

Jeffrey Epstein Dies by Suicide in Federal Custody

Jeffrey Epstein is found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, with the death ruled suicide by hanging. The death occurs despite Epstein being on suicide watch previously, and amid failures in prison protocols including guards falling asleep and security cameras …

Epstein found dead in cell at 6:30 AM - cameras malfunctioned, guards slept, ruled suicide

Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his Metropolitan Correctional Center cell at approximately 6:30 AM. Critical surveillance cameras had malfunctioned overnight, guards assigned to check on him had fallen asleep, and his cellmate had been removed the previous evening. Despite these suspicious …

Night before Epstein death - cellmate removed, cameras will malfunction, guards will sleep

On the night before Jeffrey Epstein’s death, his cellmate was mysteriously removed from his cell, surveillance cameras would malfunction during critical hours, and guards assigned to monitor him would fall asleep during their shifts. These ‘coincidences’ created the perfect …

Mississippi raids - largest single-state immigration enforcement

Largest single-state immigration enforcement action in U.S. history with 680 arrests. Raids proceeded with standard agent identification protocols, contradicting later claims about masked operations being historical practice. Occurred on first day of school, causing significant community disruption, …

Bernie Sanders Appears on Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan Later Endorses Sanders for President

Bernie Sanders appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience (Episode #1330) on August 6, 2019, during his 2020 presidential campaign. The 1-hour-13-minute interview covered healthcare, climate change, criminal justice reform, and Sanders’ anti-establishment political message. Months later, in January …

El Paso Walmart Massacre: 8chan Terrorist Targets Latinos, "Response to Hispanic Invasion"

On August 3, 2019, a white nationalist terrorist killed 23 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, specifically targeting Latino families in what his manifesto called “a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.” The shooter drove 650 miles from Allen, Texas to El Paso specifically to …

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats Resigns After Repeated Conflicts with Trump Over Russia

President Trump announced via Twitter on July 28, 2019, that Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats would resign effective August 15, ending a tumultuous two-year tenure marked by fundamental conflicts over Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and ongoing threats to American …

Trump Pressures Zelensky in Phone Call - "I Would Like You to Do Us a Favor Though"

President Donald Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate his domestic political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden during a July 25, 2019 phone call, explicitly tying U.S. military assistance to political favors in what would become the central act of his first …

Russell Vought Freezes Ukraine Aid on Trump Order, Triggering First Impeachment

Acting OMB Director Russell Vought ordered the freeze of $214 million in congressionally approved security assistance to Ukraine in July 2019 after the Trump White House pressured Ukraine’s government to investigate then-candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter. On July 25, 2019, Trump made his …

Trump Vetoes Congressional Resolutions Blocking Raytheon Saudi Arms Sales, Protecting Defense Contractor Profits

On July 24, 2019, President Trump vetoed three congressional joint resolutions that would have blocked major components of his $8.1 billion emergency arms sale to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, including transfers of Raytheon Paveway precision-guided munitions. The vetoes overrode bipartisan Senate …

Mueller Testifies to Congress, Confirms Report Findings and Lack of Exoneration

Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller testified before Congress in back-to-back hearings of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, marking his first public statements about his 22-month investigation into Russian interference and potential obstruction …

FTC Fines Facebook Record $5 Billion But Grants Zuckerberg Immunity from Personal Liability

The FTC announces a record $5 billion fine against Facebook for privacy violations related to Cambridge Analytica, but grants unprecedented immunity from personal liability to Mark Zuckerberg and other executives for past misconduct while imposing no structural changes to the company’s …

Mark Esper Confirmed as Defense Secretary Despite Raytheon Lobbying Career and Refusal to Recuse

On July 23, 2019, the Senate voted 90-8 to confirm Mark Esper as Secretary of Defense, installing a former Raytheon weapons lobbyist as head of the Pentagon with authority over approximately $700 billion in annual defense spending including contracts worth tens of billions to his former employer. …

Jeffrey Epstein Arrested on Federal Sex Trafficking Charges

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 …

Epstein arrested three weeks after money laundering revelations

Three weeks after Epstein expressed fear about revealing Trump’s money laundering operations to Michael Wolff, Epstein was arrested at Teterboro Airport on sex trafficking charges.

Clarence Thomas Takes 8-Day Indonesia Yacht Trip with Harlan Crow

Thomas accepts luxury trip to Bali including eight-day yacht excursion and private jet travel, later acknowledges he “inadvertently omitted” reporting after ProPublica investigation

Raytheon GBU-12 Bomb Kills Six Civilians Including Three Children in Yemen Village Attack

On June 28, 2019, a Saudi-led coalition airstrike struck a village in Yemen’s Dhamar governorate, killing six civilians including three children, using a weapon identified by Amnesty International as a Raytheon-manufactured GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb. The attack occurred just eight …

James Alex Fields Sentenced to Life Plus 419 Years for Charlottesville Murder

James Alex Fields Jr., the white supremacist who murdered Heather Heyer at the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, received a federal life sentence on June 28, 2019 for hate crimes, followed by a second life sentence plus 419 years from Virginia state courts on July 15, …

Florida Legislature Enacts "Poll Tax" Requiring Payment of Fines to Undermine Amendment 4

Governor Ron DeSantis signs Senate Bill 7066 into law, requiring people with felony convictions to pay all fines, fees, court costs, and restitution before regaining voting rights—directly undermining the intent of Amendment 4, which Florida voters approved with 65% support just seven months …

Supreme Court Rules Partisan Gerrymandering Beyond Federal Court Jurisdiction

The Supreme Court rules 5-4 in Rucho v. Common Cause that partisan gerrymandering claims present “political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts,” effectively eliminating federal judicial oversight of even extreme partisan redistricting. The decision gives state legislatures …

Supreme Court blocks 2020 Census citizenship question as 'contrived'; filings tie rationale to Hofeller partisan plan

In Department of Commerce v. New York, the Supreme Court held that the Secretary’s stated rationale for adding a Census citizenship question was “contrived” and set aside the decision. Separate court filings introduced the late GOP strategist Thomas Hofeller’s 2015 study and …

Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb Joins Pfizer Board After 3-Month Gap

Pfizer announced that Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who served as FDA Commissioner from May 2017 to April 2019, would join the pharmaceutical giant’s board of directors as an independent member. The appointment came just 85 days after Gottlieb resigned from the FDA, raising immediate concerns about …

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb Joins Pfizer Board After Leaving Agency

Scott Gottlieb, former FDA Commissioner, joined Pfizer’s board of directors on June 27, 2019, just 85 days after leaving the FDA. The move sparked significant criticism about the ‘revolving door’ between government regulatory agencies and pharmaceutical companies. Gottlieb will …

Axon Ethics Board Recommends Against Facial Recognition in Body Cameras, Company Agrees to Pause Development

On June 27, 2019, Axon announced it would not commercialize facial recognition technology for body cameras following recommendations from its AI and Policing Technology Ethics Board. The board’s first major report concluded that “facial recognition simply isn’t good enough right …

U.S. Student Debt Surpasses $1.6 Trillion - 107% Increase in a Decade

U.S. student loan debt surpassed $1.6 trillion in June 2019 according to Federal Reserve data, representing a 107% increase from approximately $772 billion at the end of 2009 and affecting some 44 million American borrowers. The milestone crystallized the student debt crisis as a systemic economic …

E. Jean Carroll Publicly Accuses Trump of Sexual Assault in New York Magazine

E. Jean Carroll, a longtime advice columnist and author, published an excerpt from her forthcoming book in New York Magazine alleging that Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in either late 1995 or early 1996. Carroll, who wrote the “Ask E. …

Senate Votes to Block Raytheon Paveway Bomb Sales to Saudi Arabia in Bipartisan Rebuke

On June 20, 2019, the Senate voted 53-45 to pass resolutions blocking major components of the Trump administration’s $8.1 billion emergency arms sale to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, including specifically prohibiting the transfer of 64,000 Raytheon-manufactured Paveway precision-guided munitions. …

EPA Finalizes Affordable Clean Energy Rule Replacing Clean Power Plan With Weaker Standards

On June 19, 2019, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler signed the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule, replacing the Obama-era Clean Power Plan with regulations designed to extend the lifetimes of heavily polluting coal-fired power plants. The ACE Rule established no meaningful limits on carbon pollution …

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao Used Office to Benefit Family Shipping Business

Inspector General report revealed Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao repeatedly used her office and staff to benefit her family’s shipping business, Foremost Group, which has extensive ties to China. Chao directed staff to help with father’s travel, edit his Wikipedia page, send his …

Office of Special Counsel Issues Unprecedented Recommendation to Remove Kellyanne Conway for "Egregious, Notorious, and Ongoing" Hatch Act Violations

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel issued an extraordinary recommendation that White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway be removed from federal service for repeated Hatch Act violations, calling her conduct “egregious, notorious, and ongoing.” Special Counsel Henry Kerner, himself a Trump …

Michigan Drops All Criminal Charges in Flint Water Crisis, Promises New Investigation

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office dismisses every pending criminal case related to the Flint water crisis, dropping charges against eight people including former state health department director Nick Lyon, former Chief Medical Executive Eden Wells, and former Flint Emergency …

Commerce Inspector General Finds Wilbur Ross Lied to Congress About Census Citizenship Question

The Commerce Department Inspector General found that Secretary Wilbur Ross lied to Congress about multiple issues, including the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census and his divestment of Navigator Holdings stock. Ross twice told Congress the addition of the citizenship question was …

Trump Administration Approves Unprecedented Raytheon Technology Transfer to Let Saudis Build Bombs Domestically

On June 7, 2019, reports revealed that the Trump administration’s $8.1 billion emergency arms sale to Saudi Arabia included an unprecedented provision allowing Raytheon to transfer sensitive precision-guided munitions technology to Saudi Arabia for domestic bomb production. The deal authorized …

Claims from Michael Wolff ('Siege') and later commentary; no public evidence of 'Trump money laundering' via Epstein

Michael Wolff’s 2019 book ‘Siege’ and later interviews/podcast episodes raised various allegations and speculations around Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. These claims have been disputed and are not substantiated by official investigations or court records; treat as disputed commentary …

Mueller Warns Charging a Sitting President is Constitutionally Prohibited

Special Counsel Robert Mueller publicly clarified his investigation\u0027s constraints, stating that DOJ policy prohibits charging a sitting president with a federal crime. Mueller emphasized that \u0027under long-standing Department policy, a President cannot be charged with a federal crime while …

Trump Declares Fake Emergency to Ram Through $8.1 Billion Raytheon Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia

On May 24, 2019, the Trump administration invoked a rarely-used emergency provision of the Arms Export Control Act to bypass congressional review and ram through 22 separate arms sales worth $8.1 billion to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Jordan. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared an …

Julian Assange Charged Under Espionage Act - Unprecedented Attack on Press Freedom

A U.S. grand jury added 17 counts under the Espionage Act to the federal indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, marking the first time in American history that the government used the 1917 anti-spying law to prosecute a publisher for receiving and publishing truthful classified …

McGahn Defies Scheduled Congressional Testimony Despite House Subpoena

Donald McGahn failed to appear for scheduled May 21 House Judiciary Committee testimony despite a congressional subpoena, following explicit White House direction to not comply. The incident represents a significant escalation of executive privilege claims, with the White House asserting …

Don McGahn Defies Congressional Subpoena for Mueller-Related Documents

Former White House Counsel Donald McGahn, acting under White House instruction, defied a congressional subpoena from the House Judiciary Committee on May 7, 2019, refusing to provide documents related to the Mueller investigation. This act of subpoena defiance was part of a broader strategy to …

Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch Recalled from Ukraine After Giuliani-Led Smear Campaign

President Trump ordered the recall of Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch from her post in Ukraine on April 24, 2019, with her recall becoming public on May 7, following a coordinated smear campaign orchestrated by Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, corrupt Ukrainian prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko, …

Fisher Sand & Gravel Wins $2B Border Wall Contracts After Fox News Lobbying

Fisher Sand & Gravel received over $2 billion in border wall contracts after CEO Tommy Fisher appeared on Fox News over 20 times lobbying Trump directly, despite the company’s history of tax fraud and environmental violations. Senator Kevin Cramer personally lobbied Trump for Fisher at a …