On Saturday evening, October 20, 1973, President Richard Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox, who had been appointed on May 18, 1973, to investigate Watergate and had refused Nixon’s “Stennis Compromise” proposal the previous …
Richard NixonArchibald CoxElliot RichardsonWilliam RuckelshausRobert Bork+1 morewatergateobstruction-of-justiceabuse-of-powerinstitutional-corruptionconstitutional-crisis
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a major civil rights lawsuit against Donald Trump, his father Fred Trump, and their real estate company, Trump Management Inc., for systematic racial discrimination in housing. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, …
Donald TrumpFred TrumpRoy Cohnracismhousing discriminationtrump familycivil rightsdoj
David Rockefeller, chairman of Chase Manhattan Bank, founded the Trilateral Commission in July 1973 as a private organization to foster cooperation between the United States, Western Europe, and Japan. The initiative was led by Rockefeller and Zbigniew Brzezinski, who became the commission’s …
David RockefellerZbigniew BrzezinskiJimmy CarterChase Manhattan BankTrilateral Commissionregulatory-capturecorporate-influenceinternational-coordinationbanking-networksglobal-governance
In the aftermath of the 1973 Chilean coup, the Chicago Boys, a group of economists trained by Milton Friedman at the University of Chicago, began implementing radical free-market economic reforms under Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. Their ‘shock therapy’ approach involved rapid …
Milton FriedmanArnold HarbergerAugusto PinochetThe Chicago BoysAmartya Seneconomic-shock-therapyneoliberalismchile-economic-policypsychological-manipulationinstitutional-capture
On September 3, 1973, a fire destroys the baghouse pollution control system at the Bunker Hill lead smelter in Kellogg, Idaho—then the largest smelting facility in the world. In a secret board meeting, Gulf Resources & Chemical Corp., the facility’s owner, makes a calculated decision to …
Gulf Resources & Chemical Corp.Bunker Hill Mining & Metallurgical ComplexIdaho Department of HealthU.S. Environmental Protection Agencycorporate-crimeenvironmental-destructionmining-industrypublic-healthcorporate-negligence
Comprehensive organizational analysis exposes the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) as a systematic state legislative capture mechanism operating under 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status while functioning as corporate lobbying operation. ALEC’s structure enables corporations to directly …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Paul WeyrichHenry HydeLou BarnettCorporate membersorganizational-profilestate-legislative-capturecorporate-lobbyingmodel-legislationclosed-door-policy+2 more
On July 13, 1973, Alexander Butterfield—who had served as deputy assistant to President Nixon from 1969 to 1973—was questioned in a background interview by Senate Watergate Committee staff members prior to his public testimony. Butterfield was brought before the committee because he was H.R. …
Alexander ButterfieldRichard NixonH.R. HaldemanDonald SandersFred Thompson+1 morewatergatesurveillancecongressional-oversightabuse-of-powerinstitutional-corruption
On June 25, 1973, recently fired White House Counsel John Dean began week-long testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, starting with a 245-page opening statement that took six hours to read. Dean testified that he had told President Nixon: “I began by …
John DeanRichard NixonH.R. HaldemanJohn EhrlichmanHoward Baker+1 morewatergatecongressional-oversightobstruction-of-justiceabuse-of-powerinstitutional-corruption
On May 17, 1973, the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities—commonly known as the Senate Watergate Committee—opened televised public hearings into the Watergate scandal. Chaired by Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina, with Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee as vice chairman, the …
Sam ErvinHoward BakerSenate Watergate CommitteeRichard Nixonwatergatecongressional-oversightinstitutional-corruptionabuse-of-powertransparency
On March 21, 1973, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez that the Texas school finance system—which relied on local property taxes and created vast spending disparities between wealthy and poor districts—did not violate the Equal Protection Clause. The …
Justice Lewis PowellJustice Thurgood MarshallDemetrio RodriguezMexican American Legal Defense and Educational FundU.S. Supreme Courteducationsupreme-courtfunding-inequalitycivil-rightsproperty-tax+1 more
U.S. District Judge John Joseph Sirica, known as “Maximum John” for giving defendants the stiffest sentences guidelines allowed, presided over the trial of the Watergate burglars with deep skepticism about their claims of acting alone. Sirica employed an innovative strategy of …
John SiricaJames W. McCord Jr.G. Gordon LiddyJohn DeanJohn N. Mitchellwatergateobstruction-of-justicejudicial-oversightinstitutional-corruptionabuse-of-power
Comprehensive organizational analysis reveals the Heritage Foundation’s structure as a systematic corporate capture mechanism. Founded by Paul Weyrich, Edwin Feulner, and funded with Joseph Coors’ $250,000 seed money, Heritage grew from startup to $100M+ annual revenue by 2010s, reaching …
Heritage FoundationPaul WeyrichEdwin FeulnerJoseph CoorsRichard Mellon Scaife+3 moreorganizational-profilethink-tank-infrastructurecorporate-capturerevolving-doordark-money+2 more
On January 30, 1973, after a trial before Judge John Sirica, G. Gordon Liddy and James W. McCord Jr. were convicted on charges of conspiracy, burglary, and wiretapping in connection with the June 17, 1972 break-in at Democratic National Committee headquarters. Five other defendants—E. Howard Hunt, …
G. Gordon LiddyJames W. McCord Jr.Bernard BarkerVirgilio GonzalezEugenio Martinez+3 morewatergateobstruction-of-justiceinstitutional-corruptionintelligence-agencies
The U.S. Supreme Court decides Roe v. Wade, establishing constitutional right to abortion and instantly creating a rallying point for grassroots anti-feminist and anti-abortion organizing that will transform American politics and provide the social issue dimension needed to fuse economic …
U.S. Supreme CourtNellie Grayroe-v-wadeabortionconservative-mobilizationreligious-rightsocial-issues
Conservative activist Paul Weyrich, with Representatives Henry Hyde and others, founds the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in Chicago—the same year Weyrich co-founds the Heritage Foundation with financial backing from beer magnate Joseph Coors. ALEC is established specifically to …
Paul WeyrichHenry HydeAmerican Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Heritage FoundationJoseph Coors+1 morealecstate-capturemodel-legislationcorporate-lobbyingconservative-movement+1 more
The Business Roundtable is formally established through merger of three CEO organizations (the March Group, Construction Users Anti-Inflation Roundtable, and Labor Law Study Committee), creating a unique corporate coordination infrastructure where CEOs directly collaborate with government officials …
John ConnallyArthur BurnsReginald JonesJohn HarperU.S. Treasury+1 morebusiness-roundtablecorporate-coordinationpowell-memoceo-activismstate-corporate-coordination
Phyllis Schlafly founds Eagle Forum in Alton, Illinois, creating permanent institutional infrastructure for conservative social activism that will last for decades. Initially created to coordinate the STOP ERA campaign, Eagle Forum quickly grows into a comprehensive conservative advocacy …
On October 18, 1972, Congress overrode President Nixon’s veto of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments, known as the Clean Water Act. The overwhelming bipartisan override (52-12 in the Senate, 247-23 in the House) represented a rare defeat for industrial polluters who had lobbied …
Richard NixonEdmund MuskieAmerican Petroleum InstituteChemical Manufacturers AssociationNational Association of Manufacturers+1 moreenvironmentalclean-water-actregulatory-capturecorporate-lobbyingpollution+1 more
Syndicated columnist Jack Anderson publishes the confidential Powell Memo in his “Washington Merry Go Round” column, exposing Lewis Powell’s August 1971 corporate blueprint for institutional capture to public scrutiny. The leak occurs over a year after Powell wrote the memo and …
Jack AndersonLewis F. Powell Jr.U.S. Chamber of Commercepowell-memocorporate-strategyinstitutional-capturemedia-exposure
Donald Henry Segretti, hired by his friend Dwight L. Chapin (Nixon’s appointments secretary), ran an extensive campaign of political sabotage against Democratic candidates throughout 1972, with his work paid for by Nixon’s lawyer Herbert Kalmbach from presidential campaign funds. …
Donald SegrettiDwight L. ChapinKen W. ClawsonHerbert KalmbachEdmund Muskie+1 morewatergateelectoral-manipulationdisinformationinstitutional-corruptionabuse-of-power
Just six days after the Watergate break-in, President Richard Nixon met with his Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman in the Oval Office from 10:04am to 11:39am to discuss damage control. During this conversation—secretly recorded by Nixon’s own voice-activated taping system—the President ordered …
Richard NixonH.R. HaldemanVernon WaltersL. Patrick GrayCIA+1 morewatergateobstruction-of-justiceabuse-of-powerintelligence-agenciesinstitutional-corruption
In the early morning hours of June 17, 1972, Washington D.C. police arrested five men inside the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex. Security guard Frank Wills had discovered tape over door locks and called police, who caught the burglars preparing to install …
James W. McCord Jr.E. Howard HuntG. Gordon LiddyBernard BarkerEugenio Martinez+2 morewatergateabuse-of-powerobstruction-of-justiceinstitutional-corruptionintelligence-agencies
The Omaha Sun publishes a bombshell investigation on March 30, 1972, revealing that Boys Town, the iconic Catholic charity founded by Father Edward Flanagan, is sitting on a $209 million endowment—making it richer than any Nebraska company and ranking approximately 230th in Fortune magazine’s …
Boys TownWarren BuffettPaul WilliamsStanford LipseyOmaha Sun Newspapers+1 moretax-exempt-abuseinstitutional-corruptionnonprofit-fraudinvestigative-journalismfinancial-fraud
On March 3, 1972, workers at General Motors’ Lordstown, Ohio assembly plant authorized a 22-day strike after GM’s Assembly Division (GMAD)—which workers called “Get Mean And Destroy”—implemented brutal speedups that reduced task time to 35-second bursts with only 5-second …
United Auto Workers Local 1112General Motors Assembly DivisionGeneral Motors CorporationSenator Ted Kennedylabor-organizingdemocratic-resistancecorporate-exploitation
Agha Hasan Abedi established the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) in Luxembourg, creating an international bank with initial capital from Bank of America and Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. BCCI rapidly expanded to become the seventh-largest private bank in the world before being …
Agha Hasan AbediSheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al NahyanBank of Americabankingfinancial-crimeinternational-bankingmoney-launderingregulatory-capture
Phyllis Schlafly launches her STOP ERA campaign with an article titled ‘What’s Wrong with Equal Rights for Women?’ published in her February 1972 newsletter, fundamentally reshaping American conservative politics and pioneering the anti-feminist movement. After being asked to …
Lewis F. Powell Jr. was sworn in as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on January 7, 1972, after being nominated by President Nixon and confirmed by the Senate with an overwhelming 89-1 vote. A corporate lawyer with board memberships in 11 major corporations, Powell’s appointment …
Lewis F. Powell Jr.Richard NixonSupreme CourtU.S. Senatepowell-supreme-courtjudicial-capturecorporate-interestsconstitutional-interpretationnixon-administration
Jules Kroll launches Kroll Associates in New York, building a pioneering commercial model for corporate investigations and risk consulting. Kroll recruited many former government investigators from intelligence agencies like the CIA, FBI, Mossad, and MI5. The firm became known as the “CIA of …
President Richard Nixon nominates Lewis F. Powell Jr. to the Supreme Court just two months after Powell authored his secret corporate blueprint memo to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on August 23, 1971. Amidst a rare opportunity to reshape the Supreme Court, Nixon nominates Powell alongside William …
Richard NixonLewis F. Powell Jr.John MitchellU.S. Chamber of CommerceSupreme Courtpowell-memosupreme-court-nominationjudicial-capturecorporate-blueprintnixon-administration+1 more
President Nixon nominates corporate lawyer Lewis Powell to Supreme Court as Associate Justice, just 59 days after Powell wrote confidential memo to Chamber of Commerce calling for business to acquire “political power” and use courts as “most important instrument for social, …
Richard NixonLewis F. Powell Jr.U.S. SenateWilliam H. Rehnquistsupreme-court-nominationjudicial-capturepowell-memo-implementationcorporate-judicial-strategy
In September 1971, the White House Special Investigations Unit—mockingly known as the “Plumbers” because their mission was to stop leaks—broke into the Los Angeles office of Dr. Lewis Fielding, psychiatrist to Daniel Ellsberg, who had leaked the Pentagon Papers exposing government lies …
E. Howard HuntG. Gordon LiddyChuck ColsonJohn EhrlichmanEgil Krogh+2 morewatergateabuse-of-powerintelligence-agenciesinstitutional-corruptionwhistleblower-retaliation
Corporate lawyer Lewis Powell drafts a confidential 34-page memorandum to Eugene B. Sydnor Jr., Chair of Education Committee of U.S. Chamber of Commerce, titled “Attack On American Free Enterprise System.” This document provides a comprehensive, systematic blueprint for corporate capture …
Lewis F. Powell Jr.Eugene B. Sydnor Jr.U.S. Chamber of CommerceNixon Administrationpowell-memocorporate-strategyjudicial-capturebusiness-blueprintdemocracy-capture
On August 15, 1971, President Richard Nixon announced his “New Economic Policy” in a televised address, unilaterally closing the gold window and ending the convertibility of U.S. dollars to gold at the fixed rate of $35 per ounce established under the Bretton Woods system. The …
Richard NixonJohn ConnallyPaul VolckerArthur Burnseconomic-policyfinancial-deregulationinstitutional-captureneoliberalism
The Supreme Court decides 6-3 in New York Times Co. v. United States that the Nixon administration cannot prevent newspapers from publishing the Pentagon Papers, marking the first time in American history a publication was temporarily halted due to national security concerns. A federal judge in New …
U.S. Supreme CourtNew York TimesWashington PostDaniel EllsbergNixon Administration+1 morepress-freedomgovernment-deceptionconstitutional-lawwhistleblowinginstitutional-corruption
At a press conference on June 17, 1971, President Richard Nixon declared drug abuse “public enemy number one,” launching what became known as the War on Drugs. This announcement marked the beginning of a dramatic expansion of federal drug control policy and law enforcement that would …
Richard NixonJohn Ehrlichmanmass-incarcerationinstitutional-racismwar-on-drugspolicing
On June 13, 1971, The New York Times began publishing excerpts from a 7,000-page classified Defense Department study titled “History of U.S. Decision-Making in Vietnam, 1945-1968”—soon known as the Pentagon Papers. Leaked by military analyst Daniel Ellsberg, the documents revealed that …
Daniel EllsbergNew York TimesWashington PostPresident Richard NixonSecretary of Defense Robert McNamara+2 moregovernment-deceptionmilitary-industrial-complexwhistleblowerpress-freedomvietnam-war
After four months of proceedings, Lieutenant William Calley is found guilty on 22 counts of premeditated murder for his role in the My Lai massacre and sentenced to life in prison. Calley becomes the only person convicted for the mass killing of between 347 and 504 unarmed Vietnamese civilians, …
Lieutenant William CalleyPresident Richard NixonSecretary of the Army Howard CallawayLieutenant General William Peerswar-crimesinstitutional-corruptiongovernment-deceptionmilitary-corruptionaccountability-failure
The Citizens’ Commission to Investigate the FBI burglarized an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania, and stole classified documents that exposed COINTELPRO—the FBI’s covert and illegal program to surveil, infiltrate, discredit, and disrupt American civil rights organizations and political …
FBIJ. Edgar HooverCitizens' Commission to Investigate the FBIfbi-abusecointelprocivil-rightssurveillancedomestic-spying
The Oregon Legislature passes and Governor Tom McCall signs the Oregon Forest Practices Act, the nation’s first comprehensive forest management legislation, which becomes effective in 1972. While portrayed as environmental protection, the Act represents a sophisticated regulatory capture …
Oregon LegislatureTom McCallOregon timber industryOregon Department of Forestryregulatory-captureenvironmental-destructiontimber-industryself-regulationinstitutional-corruption
On December 31, 1970, President Richard Nixon signed the Clean Air Act of 1970, establishing the most comprehensive air quality legislation in history. The act created national ambient air quality standards, gave the newly formed Environmental Protection Agency enforcement authority, set emission …
President Richard NixonSenator Edmund MuskieAmerican Petroleum InstituteNational Coal AssociationAutomotive Industry+1 moreenvironmental-regulationpublic-healthcorporate-lobbyingregulatory-reform
On December 29, 1970, President Richard Nixon signed the Occupational Safety and Health Act, creating the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and establishing for the first time comprehensive federal authority to set and enforce workplace safety standards. The legislation responded …
President Richard NixonU.S. CongressAFL-CIONational Association of ManufacturersChamber of Commerceworker-rightsregulatory-reformcorporate-lobbyinglabor-movementpublic-health
On December 2, 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency began operations after President Richard Nixon’s Reorganization Plan No. 3 consolidated environmental programs scattered across fifteen federal agencies. The creation of EPA represented the first comprehensive federal approach to …
President Richard NixonWilliam RuckelshausCouncil on Environmental Qualityenvironmental-regulationregulatory-reformgovernment-reorganization
Economist Milton Friedman publishes his landmark essay ‘A Friedman Doctrine: The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Its Profits’ in The New York Times Magazine, establishing the intellectual foundation for shareholder primacy and profit maximization as the sole corporate …
Milton FriedmanChicago School economistscorporate-powereconomic-policywealth-extractionideologyshareholder-primacy
Following a 1969 Mississippi-based lawsuit against the IRS in which federal courts issue a preliminary injunction denying tax exemption to private schools that are segregated by race, the IRS adopts a non-discrimination policy applying to private schools on July 10, 1970. The policy, though it takes …
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)Federal courtsCivil rights organizationsBob Jones Universityirs-policysegregation-academiestax-exemptioncivil-rights-enforcementreligious-right-origins
President Nixon signed the Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970, extending the VRA’s special provisions for another five years, banning literacy tests nationwide, and lowering the voting age to 18 for all elections. The legislation represented significant expansion of federal voting rights …
Richard NixonCongressEmanuel CellerAttorney General John Mitchellvoting-rightsfederal-legislationliteracy-testsyouth-votingvra-extension
On April 22, 1970, approximately 20 million Americans—10% of the nation’s population—participated in the first Earth Day, the largest mass demonstration in American history to that point. Organized by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin and coordinated by young activist Denis Hayes, Earth Day …
Senator Gaylord NelsonDenis HayesEnvironmental ActionPresident Richard Nixonenvironmental-regulationgrassroots-organizingpublic-healthsocial-movement
Richard Mellon Scaife, heir to the Mellon banking and aluminum fortune, purchased the Tribune-Review newspaper in Greensburg, Pennsylvania for approximately $5 million in 1970, marking his entry into media ownership as part of a broader strategy to build conservative infrastructure across multiple …
Richard ScaifePittsburgh Tribune-ReviewScaife Foundationsconservative-mediadark-moneymedia-infrastructureconservative-movementscaife-network+2 more
On December 4, 1969, at 4:45 a.m., fourteen Chicago police officers raided the apartment of Fred Hampton, 21-year-old chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party. Police fired between 82 and 99 shots into the apartment; the Panthers fired at most one. Hampton was shot twice in the head at …
Fred HamptonJ. Edgar HooverFBIChicago Police DepartmentCook County State's Attorney Edward Hanrahan+2 morefbi-abusecointelprocivil-rightspolice-brutalityinstitutional-corruption+1 more
The Selective Service System conducts its first draft lottery since 1942 at its Washington D.C. headquarters in response to widespread criticism that the draft systematically favors wealthy and educated Americans. Of the 2.5 million enlisted men serving in Vietnam, 80% come from poor or …
Selective Service SystemU.S. CongressCongressman Alexander Pirnieclass-inequalityinstitutional-corruptiongovernment-deceptionsystematic-corruption
Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh publishes explosive revelations about the My Lai massacre through Dispatch News Service after both Life and Look magazines refuse the story. Hersh’s investigation begins when he receives a tip on October 22, 1969 about a soldier being court-martialed at …
Journalist Seymour HershWhistleblower Ronald RidenhourLieutenant William CalleyU.S. ArmyDispatch News Servicewhistleblowinggovernment-deceptionwar-crimesinstitutional-corruptioninvestigative-journalism