Judge Juan Merchan granted an indefinite postponement of Donald Trump’s sentencing on 34 felony convictions, effectively acknowledging that Trump’s election victory had made it impossible to sentence him in the foreseeable future. The postponement - from a scheduled November 26 …
On June 27, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked Purdue Pharma’s $6 billion bankruptcy settlement that would have granted the Sackler family—who extracted over $10 billion from Purdue while the company fueled the opioid epidemic—broad immunity from all current and future civil lawsuits. The …
On May 30, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon’s December 2021 ruling, holding that bankruptcy courts do have authority to approve non-consensual third-party releases. The divided 2-1 decision reinstated the Purdue Pharma …
On February 25, 2022, Johnson & Johnson and three major drug distributors—McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen—finalized a $26 billion national settlement to resolve thousands of opioid lawsuits from states, counties, cities, and Native American tribes. Despite the record settlement …
On September 1, 2021, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Drain approved a bankruptcy settlement granting the Sackler family “global peace” from civil liability for the opioid epidemic, despite vigorous opposition from the Department of Justice and nine state attorneys general. The ruling …
On October 21, 2020, the Department of Justice announced a settlement totaling more than $8 billion with Purdue Pharma—touted as the largest penalties ever levied against a pharmaceutical manufacturer—yet the settlement allowed the Sackler family to keep the vast majority of billions extracted from …
On September 15, 2019, Purdue Pharma filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after facing thousands of lawsuits from states, local governments, Native American tribes, and victims related to the opioid crisis. The bankruptcy filing was a strategic maneuver designed to shield the billionaire …
On August 2, 2018, the Trump administration’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped its two-year investigation into how ExxonMobil factors climate change regulations into its calculations of asset values. The SEC informed the energy giant in a letter dated Thursday that it would …
On July 13, 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General released a report finding that former HHS Secretary Tom Price violated federal travel regulations on 20 of 21 trips reviewed, wasting at least $341,000 in taxpayer funds through improper use of chartered …
On May 10, 2007, Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty to a felony charge of illegally misbranding OxyContin in an effort to mislead and defraud physicians and agreed to pay $600 million—representing approximately 90 percent of OxyContin profits during the offense period. The company admitted to misleading …
Former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara publishes “In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam,” admitting that the Vietnam War was “terribly wrong” and that he knew it all along. McNamara writes: “We of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations who participated …
Seven chemical companies including Dow and Monsanto agree to pay $180 million to thousands of Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange, settling the class action lawsuit out of court just before trial. Monsanto alone pays slightly over 45% of the settlement sum. All seven companies, having been …
Attorney Victor Yannacone files a class action lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against U.S. chemical manufacturers of Agent Orange, including Dow Chemical Company and Monsanto—the two largest producers—along with Diamond Shamrock, Uniroyal, Thompson Chemicals, Hercules, and dozens of …
On Sunday, September 8, 1974—exactly one month after Nixon’s resignation—President Gerald Ford addressed the nation from the Oval Office to announce his decision to “grant a full, free and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard …
Under order from the Supreme Court’s unanimous July 24 decision in United States v. Nixon, President Nixon released the tape recording of his June 23, 1972 conversation with Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman on August 5, 1974. The tape provided irrefutable proof that Nixon had ordered the CIA to …
On June 21, 1974, Charles Wendell “Chuck” Colson—Nixon’s Special Counsel and the official known as the President’s “hatchet man”—pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in connection with attempts to discredit Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg. Colson …
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, …
After Union naval forces under David G. Farragut capture New Orleans in spring 1862, General Benjamin F. Butler is appointed military governor of the occupied city, beginning one of the most controversial and corrupt episodes of the Civil War. Butler’s brief tenure becomes notorious for …
Simon Cameron submits his resignation as Secretary of War on January 11, 1862 (remaining until January 20), amid investigations into War Department procurement irregularities and cabinet disagreements over emancipation policy and patronage distribution. Lincoln appointed Cameron, a Pennsylvania …
Throughout the Civil War, military suppliers systematically defraud the government and endanger Union soldiers by selling defective equipment and supplies in what becomes known as the “shoddy” scandal. Contractors sell boots made from cardboard that dissolve in rain, clothing made from …