Timeline Events

Media Magnate Gusinsky Arrested, Marking Putin's Media Crackdown

Putin’s government arrested Vladimir Gusinsky, owner of Media-Most and Russia’s largest independent television network, on alleged fraud charges. The arrest was widely seen as a politically motivated attempt to silence critical media, marking an early example of Putin’s systematic …

ALEC's 'Environmental Literacy Improvement Act' Mandates Teaching Climate Denial in Schools

On May 5, 2000, the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) Natural Resources Task Force adopted the ‘Environmental Literacy Improvement Act’ at ALEC’s Spring Task Force Summit, with full approval by ALEC’s Board of Directors in June 2000. The model bill was …

FCC Approves $35.6 Billion Viacom-CBS Merger Despite Ownership Concentration Violations

The Federal Communications Commission approves Viacom’s $35.6 billion acquisition of CBS Corporation despite the merger violating FCC regulations prohibiting one company from owning television stations reaching more than 35% of the U.S. audience and prohibiting ownership of two networks if one …

Dot-Com Bubble Peaks, Exposes IPO Fraud and Analyst Conflicts

The NASDAQ Composite stock market index peaks at 5,048.62 on Friday, March 10, 2000, marking the height of the dot-com bubble before collapsing 78% to 1,114 by October 2002, erasing all gains made during the bubble. Between 1995 and the March 2000 peak, NASDAQ investments rise 600% in what becomes …

Bush Creates Rangers/Pioneers Pay-to-Play Appointment System

George W. Bush formalized an unprecedented campaign bundling system where ‘Rangers’ raising 00,000+ and ‘Pioneers’ raising 00,000+ received federal appointments. In 2000, 241 Pioneers reached their goals, contributing to Bush raising 7 million in first 4 months. By 2004, the …

Subprime Lending Explodes as Predatory Practices Spread to Minority Communities

Subprime mortgage lending reaches $160 billion annually by 2000, a tenfold increase from 1993, as predatory lenders systematically target minority communities with high-cost loans. Rather than expanding homeownership, research shows that subprime lending at this scale actually causes net losses in …

Halliburton Opens Tehran Office While Cheney Still CEO, Completing $40 Million Annual Iran Business Through Cayman Islands Subsidiary Designed to Circumvent U.S. Sanctions

In February 2000, Halliburton’s offshore subsidiary Halliburton Products and Services opened an office in Tehran, Iran, while Dick Cheney remained CEO of the parent company, completing a systematic sanctions evasion structure that generated approximately $40 million annually in oil field …

Bolivia's Cochabamba Water War: Indigenous-Led Uprising Forces Reversal of World Bank-Mandated Bechtel Privatization

Indigenous organizations led by CONAIE and the Coalition in Defense of Water and Life (Coordinadora) launch a massive uprising in Cochabamba, Bolivia, blocking roads and marching on the capital to protest World Bank-imposed water privatization. Throughout the 1990s, Bolivia faced increasing pressure …

AOL-Time Warner $164 Billion Merger Creates Largest Media Conglomerate in History

America Online (AOL), the nation’s dominant Internet service provider, announces its intention to purchase Time Warner for $164 billion in the largest media merger in history. The combined entity would control magazines, video and high-speed Internet cable, cable TV channels (including CNN, …

Ecuador President Mahuad Announces Dollarization 'Jump Into the Abyss' Amid Economic Crisis

Ecuadorian President Jamil Mahuad announces the country will abandon its national currency and adopt the U.S. dollar, describing the decision as ‘a jump into the abyss’ just days before making it. Mahuad’s handling of multiple crises—floods from El Niño, the collapse of oil prices, …

ALEC Membership Reaches 2,000+ State Legislators - Represents One-Quarter to One-Third of All State Legislators Nationwide

By 2000, ALEC’s membership had grown to include over 2,000 state legislators, representing approximately one-quarter to one-third of all state legislators nationwide (out of approximately 7,400 total state legislators across all 50 states). This level of penetration meant that in most state …

Yeltsin Resigns, Oligarchs Elevate Putin to President: KGB Officer Chosen to Protect 'The Family' Transforms Russia into Kleptocracy

Boris Yeltsin resigned as President of Russia on December 31, 1999, elevating Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to Acting President six months before scheduled elections. The succession had been carefully engineered by Yeltsin’s oligarchic allies, known as ’the family,’ who began …

Club New York shooting involving Diddy creates kompromat opportunity

A shooting at Club New York involving Sean Combs, Jennifer Lopez, and rapper Shyne results in three people being injured. Combs and Lopez are arrested but later acquitted, while Shyne serves 9 years in prison. The incident, with its high-profile arrests, conflicting testimonies, and allegations of …

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act Repeals Glass-Steagall, Enables 2008 Crisis

President Bill Clinton signs the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (Financial Services Modernization Act) into law on November 12, 1999, repealing key provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 that separated commercial banking from investment banking and insurance. The Senate passes the final bill 90-8 on …

President's Working Group Recommends Exempting $80 Trillion Derivatives Market from Regulation

The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets issues a unanimous report recommending that over-the-counter derivatives be explicitly exempted from federal regulation, directly repudiating CFTC Chair Brooksley Born’s 1998 warnings about systemic risk. The report is signed by Treasury …

Robert Rubin Joins Citigroup for $126 Million After Engineering Glass-Steagall Repeal

Robert Rubin joins Citigroup just four months after leaving his position as Treasury Secretary, shortly after the November 1999 passage of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act that repealed Glass-Steagall. Rubin’s move to Citigroup - the principal beneficiary of Glass-Steagall repeal - represents one of …

CIA Establishes In-Q-Tel as Revolutionary Venture Capital Arm

In September 1999, the Central Intelligence Agency established In-Q-Tel (IQT), a groundbreaking not-for-profit venture capital firm designed to bridge Silicon Valley innovation with intelligence community needs. The initiative was championed by CIA Director George Tenet, who recognized that …

Putin Appointed Prime Minister by Yeltsin

Vladimir Putin was appointed Prime Minister by Boris Yeltsin on August 9, 1999, marking a pivotal moment in Russia’s political transformation. At the time virtually unknown to the public, Putin was strategically positioned as Yeltsin’s potential successor. His appointment was part of a …

Lawrence Summers Becomes Treasury Secretary, Accelerates Derivatives Deregulation Campaign

The U.S. Senate confirms Lawrence Summers as the 71st Secretary of the Treasury, replacing Robert Rubin and continuing the aggressive deregulation agenda. Summers had spent the previous year as Deputy Secretary orchestrating opposition to derivatives regulation, including making an “irate …

Abramoff and Reed Formalize Tribal Money Laundering Subcontractor Scheme

On April 6, 1999, Jack Abramoff formalized a subcontractor arrangement with Ralph Reed and Preston Gates, involving the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. The scheme involved routing $1.3 million through intermediary organizations like Americans for Tax Reform to conceal payments to Reed’s …

Long-term Geopolitical Consequences of IMF Structural Adjustment

The IMF’s systematic economic intervention during the Asian Financial Crisis created lasting geopolitical shifts, fundamentally altering regional economic sovereignty. With $35 billion in financial support to Indonesia, Korea, and Thailand, the IMF implemented structural reforms that triggered …

Time Magazine Celebrates "Committee to Save the World" While They Block Derivatives Regulation

Time Magazine publishes its February 15, 1999 edition featuring Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Deputy Secretary Lawrence Summers, and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on the cover as “The Committee to Save the World,” celebrating their management of the 1997-1998 Asian and …

Senate Acquits President Clinton on Both Impeachment Articles

The U.S. Senate votes to acquit President Bill Clinton on both articles of impeachment following a five-week trial. On the perjury charge (Article I), the Senate votes 45-55, with 45 Democrats and 10 Republicans voting “not guilty.” On the obstruction of justice charge (Article II), the …

IMF Concludes Comprehensive Structural Adjustment in Southeast Asia

IMF completes its systematic economic restructuring of Southeast Asian economies, fundamentally transforming corporate landscapes. The intervention results in unprecedented foreign corporate access, weakened local economic sovereignty, and a permanent shift in regional economic power dynamics.

Key …

Trump Launches Model Management Agency with Systematic Visa Violations

Donald Trump founds Trump Model Management (originally T Models), which would bring approximately 250 international models to the United States. Investigative reporting later revealed systematic H-1B visa fraud, with models instructed to lie to customs officials and work illegally on tourist visas. …

Asian Financial Crisis: Comprehensive Economic Transformation

By year’s end, the Asian Financial Crisis results in a fundamental restructuring of Southeast Asian economies. Millions lose jobs, local companies are sold at fire-sale prices to multinational corporations, and national economic policies are effectively rewritten under IMF and World Bank …

House of Representatives Impeaches President Clinton on Perjury and Obstruction Charges

The U.S. House of Representatives votes to impeach President Bill Clinton on two articles: perjury before a grand jury (Article I, passed 228-206) and obstruction of justice (Article II, passed 221-212). Clinton becomes the second American president to be impeached, the first being Andrew Johnson in …

Digital Millennium Copyright Act Section 512: Safe Harbor Provisions Create Dual System of Corporate Protection and Individual Vulnerability

President Clinton signs the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), with Section 512 creating ‘safe harbor’ liability protections for online service providers (OSPs) that comply with ’notice and takedown’ procedures. While presented as balancing copyright protection with …

Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act: Disney Lobbying Creates 'Mickey Mouse Protection Act,' Extending Corporate Rent Extraction by 20 Years

President Bill Clinton signs the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA), extending copyright terms by 20 years—from life plus 50 years to life plus 70 years for individual authors, and from 75 to 95 years for corporate works. The legislation, derisively nicknamed the ‘Mickey Mouse …

Higher Education Act Reauthorization Loosens Regulations, Enables For-Profit College Explosion

On October 7, 1998, President Bill Clinton signed the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act that loosened regulations on for-profit colleges and set the stage for the industry’s explosive growth over the following decade. The legislation represented …

Electronic Industries Alliance Blacklisting - K Street Project Enforcement

A pivotal moment in the K Street Project’s systematic transformation of Washington’s lobbying ecosystem, where Republican leadership demonstrated its power to coerce and control industry associations by punishing the Electronic Industries Alliance for hiring a Democratic congressman, …

NationsBank-BankAmerica $62 Billion Merger Creates First Coast-to-Coast National Bank

NationsBank completes its $62 billion acquisition of BankAmerica Corporation, creating the first truly coast-to-coast national bank in U.S. history and taking the Bank of America name. The merger occurs just one year before the formal repeal of Glass-Steagall, demonstrating how banking consolidation …

Federal Reserve Orchestrates $3.6 Billion Bailout of Long-Term Capital Management to Prevent Systemic Collapse

On September 23, 1998, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William McDonough orchestrated a $3.6 billion bailout of hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM) by convincing 14 major banks and brokerage firms to inject capital in exchange for 90% ownership of the failing fund. Founded by …

Federal Reserve Grants Citigroup Temporary Waiver for Glass-Steagall Violation

In September 1998, the Federal Reserve Board granted Citicorp a temporary waiver allowing its merger with Travelers Group, effectively circumventing the Glass-Steagall Act and Bank Holding Company Act. This strategic regulatory maneuver created Citigroup, the first ‘universal bank’ since …

Russia Defaults on Debt and Abandons Ruble Defense: Largest Sovereign Default in History Caps Decade of Economic Devastation

The Russian government under Premier Sergei Kiriyenko announced a sovereign debt default, devaluation of the ruble, and a 90-day moratorium on commercial external debt payments, marking the climax of Russia’s most serious economic crisis since the 1991 Soviet collapse. Three days after …

McKinsey Leverages Asian Financial Crisis for Consulting Expansion

During the 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis, McKinsey & Company positioned itself strategically to provide consulting services to governments and financial institutions undergoing IMF-mandated structural reforms. The crisis triggered widespread economic restructuring in Thailand, Indonesia, and …

Corporate Exploitation of Asian Financial Crisis Structural Adjustment

In June 1998, multinational financial institutions and international organizations systematically exploited the Asian Financial Crisis through coordinated structural adjustment policies. The IMF and World Bank engineered $100 billion in support packages that effectively restructured Asian economies, …

South Korea Completes IMF-Mandated Economic Restructuring

South Korea finalizes comprehensive economic reforms mandated by the IMF, including massive corporate restructuring, labor market deregulation, and opening financial markets to foreign investment. The reforms fundamentally transformed South Korea’s economic model through key changes: financial …

DOJ Files Microsoft Antitrust Suit, Establishes Tech Monopoly Precedent

The U.S. Department of Justice, joined by Attorneys General from 20 states and the District of Columbia, files antitrust charges against Microsoft on May 18, 1998, alleging the company violated the Sherman Act by using its operating system dominance to thwart competition. The complaint charges four …

Brooksley Born's Derivatives Regulation Warning Systematically Suppressed

CFTC Chair Brooksley Born issued a concept release seeking public comment on regulating the $29 trillion over-the-counter derivatives market, warning of systemic risks from unregulated trading. Within hours, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, and SEC Chairman …

ALEC Adopts Paycheck Protection Act to Defund Democratic Party by Restricting Union Political Activity

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Board of Directors approves the “Paycheck Protection Act” in May 1998, following unanimous endorsement by ALEC’s Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force. The model legislation prohibits employees in both public and …

Citigroup Merger Violates Glass-Steagall, Forces Deregulation

Citicorp CEO John Reed and Travelers Group CEO Sanford Weill announce on April 6, 1998, the merger of their companies to form Citigroup, a $140 billion conglomerate combining banking, securities, and insurance services under brands including Citibank, Smith Barney, Primerica, and Travelers. The …

American Petroleum Institute "Victory" Memo Outlines Climate Disinformation Strategy

The American Petroleum Institute (API) organized and funded a Global Climate Science Communications Plan, revealed in the leaked “Victory” memo outlining a multiyear, multimillion-dollar scheme to create uncertainty about established climate science. Created months after the Kyoto …

American Petroleum Institute Drafts Secret Climate Denial Strategy Document

In April 1998, the American Petroleum Institute (API) convened a secret meeting of oil industry executives and public relations consultants to draft the “Global Climate Science Communications Plan.” The leaked document reveals a coordinated strategy to manufacture doubt about climate …

McKinsey and International Organizations Outline Restructuring Strategy for Asian Markets

In the context of the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis, multinational organizations like McKinsey, the IMF, and World Bank recommended aggressive corporate restructuring strategies for Southeast Asian economies. The recommendations focused on financial sector reforms, governance improvements, and policy …

McKinsey Develops Corporate Restructuring Strategy for Asian Markets

McKinsey & Company developed a comprehensive blueprint for corporate restructuring in Southeast Asian economies during the 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis, directly influencing IMF and World Bank policy responses. The strategy focused on transforming regional economic structures through bank …

IMF and World Bank Coordinate Massive Corporate Restructuring in Asian Markets

In the aftermath of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, the IMF and World Bank coordinated an unprecedented $58.4 billion bailout package for affected countries, particularly South Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia. These interventions mandated comprehensive corporate restructuring, including asset sales, …

Monica Lewinsky Affair Becomes Public as Clinton Issues Denial

News breaks that President Bill Clinton engaged in an extramarital affair with Monica Lewinsky, a 22-year-old White House intern, during 1995-1997. The scandal emerges during a sexual harassment civil suit by Paula Jones, when evidence surfaces that Clinton had an inappropriate relationship with …

IMF Forces Massive Corporate Restructuring in South Korea

The International Monetary Fund implements a 7 billion bailout package for South Korea, mandating sweeping economic reforms. This included forced corporate restructuring of the chaebol system, financial sector liberalization, and opening markets to foreign investors. The conditions resulted in …

Deutsche Bank Loans Trump $2.5 Billion Despite Russian Money Laundering and Red Flags

From 1998-2016, Deutsche Bank loaned Donald Trump and his companies over $2.5 billion despite Trump’s history of bankruptcies, defaults, and “Donald risk” that caused all other major US banks to refuse him. This lending relationship persisted even as Deutsche Bank was …