On November 30, 2025, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” with Kristen Welker and publicly denied defying a federal court order—despite the Justice Department having admitted in court filings just four days earlier that she personally made the …
Kristi NoemDepartment of Homeland SecurityU.S. District Judge James BoasbergKristen WelkerNBC News+1 morecourt-defiancejudicial-independenceconstitutional-violationpropagandawillful-disregard+3 more
On November 26, 2025, the Department of Justice disclosed in a court filing that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made the final decision to proceed with deportation flights to El Salvador despite U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s explicit order on March 15 to turn the planes around. …
Kristi NoemU.S. District Judge James BoasbergDepartment of JusticeTodd BlancheEmil Bove+3 morecourt-defianceconstitutional-violationcriminal-contemptwillful-disregarddeportation-abuse+5 more
On October 25, 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Chanthila “Shawn” Souvannarath, 44, to Laos in direct violation of a federal court order issued just one day earlier. Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana had issued a …
Chanthila "Shawn" SouvannarathChief Judge Shelly D. DickImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)ACLU of LouisianaTrump Administration+1 moreicecourt-defiancerule-of-law-erosiondeportationtorture+5 more
Federal Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong issued a landmark ruling ordering the Trump administration to stop indiscriminate immigration sweeps in Southern California. The ruling came after the ACLU brought a case alleging unconstitutional arrests and denial of attorney access. The judge found …
Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah FrimpongImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)Department of Homeland SecurityU.S. District Court Central District of CaliforniaACLU of Southern Californiaimmigration-enforcementicejudicial-interventionracial-profilingconstitutional-violation+4 more
A federal district judge in Northern California ruled on June 12, 2025, that the Trump administration’s federalization of California National Guard and deployment of 700 active-duty Marines to Los Angeles likely violated the Posse Comitatus Act and principles of federalism. The judge found the …
U.S. District CourtState of CaliforniaGovernor Gavin NewsomDepartment of Defense2nd Battalion, 7th Marines+2 morecivil-militarycourtsemergency-powersposse-comitatusfederalism+2 more
He Tianying, a Chinese tech executive and delegate to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, purchased $3.7 million of Trump’s memecoin to secure a private dinner with the president, revealing deep constitutional concerns about foreign influence and presidential access …
Donald TrumpHe TianyingJustin SunAdam SchiffElizabeth Warrencryptogovernment-contractsforeign-influencecampaign-financeconstitutional-violation
The Trump Administration officially accepted a Boeing 747-8 luxury jetliner valued at approximately $400-500 million from the government of Qatar on May 21, 2025, to serve as a new Air Force One presidential aircraft. The acceptance of what Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer characterized as …
Donald TrumpQatarSheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al ThaniChuck SchumerPam Bondi+9 moreemolumentsbriberycorruptionforeign-influencenational-security+9 more
Associated Press reporting in July and August 2020, along with litigation by the Texas Civil Rights Project, revealed DHS contractors held migrant children, some as young as 1, in hotels (including Hampton Inns) without standard child‑welfare protections under the Title 42 expulsion policy. …
Texas Civil Rights ProjectMVM Inc.ICE contractorsDetained familiessecret-detentionchild-detentionconstitutional-violationprivate-contractors
The Washington Post and The Guardian simultaneously published explosive revelations about PRISM, a classified program allowing the National Security Agency and FBI to tap directly into the central servers of nine major U.S. internet companies to extract audio, video, photographs, emails, documents, …
Edward SnowdenGlenn GreenwaldBart GellmanNSAMicrosoft+4 morensa-surveillanceprismedward-snowdenmass-surveillancetech-surveillance+1 more
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court issues classified ruling finding NSA’s warrantless surveillance programs violated the Fourth Amendment and FISA statute on a systematic basis. The court documented that intelligence agencies had misled judges about the scope and nature of surveillance …
FISA CourtNSADepartment of JusticeMichael HaydenKeith Alexander+1 morefisa-court-rulingconstitutional-violationnsa-surveillancewarrantless-surveillancefourth-amendment
Congress passed the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, fundamentally expanding the president’s warrantless surveillance authority while granting retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that participated in the NSA’s illegal domestic wiretapping program since 2001. The Senate voted …
U.S. CongressGeorge W. BushSenateHouse of RepresentativesTelecommunications Companies+2 morefisa-amendmentstelecom-immunitywarrantless-surveillancecongressional-legislationsection-702+2 more
NSA senior executive Thomas Drake reports to DOD Inspector General massive waste in the $1.2 billion Trailblazer surveillance program and systematic constitutional violations. Drake documented how NSA chose expensive, ineffective contractor solutions over proven internal alternatives while expanding …
Thomas DrakeNSADOD Inspector GeneralTrailblazer ProgramSAIC+2 morensa-whistleblowingtrailblazer-scandalcontractor-corruptionsurveillance-wasteconstitutional-violation
Department of Justice Inspector General Glenn Fine releases comprehensive report documenting widespread FBI abuse of National Security Letters (NSLs) and surveillance authorities. The investigation found FBI systematically circumvented legal requirements, collected intelligence on Americans without …
Glenn FineFBIDepartment of JusticeCongressNational Security Division+1 morefbi-surveillance-abuseinspector-general-reportconstitutional-violationnational-security-letterscongressional-oversight
President Bush nominates Air Force General Michael Hayden as CIA Director despite his role in implementing illegal NSA warrantless surveillance programs. Hayden’s appointment represented unprecedented militarization of CIA leadership and sparked Senate concerns about further politicization of …
Michael HaydenGeorge W. BushSenate Intelligence CommitteeNSACIA+1 morecia-militarizationhayden-appointmentsurveillance-expansionintelligence-politicizationconstitutional-violation
James Risen and Eric Lichtblau published a groundbreaking front-page New York Times article revealing the NSA had been conducting warrantless surveillance of Americans since 2001 under President Bush’s secret authorization. The story exposed that the NSA, traditionally focused on foreign …
James RisenEric LichtblauNew York TimesGeorge W. BushNSApulitzer-prizewhistleblowingfisa-bypassjournalismstellarwind+8 more
NSA intelligence analyst Russell Tice contacts the Senate Intelligence Committee and journalists to report illegal domestic surveillance programs targeting American citizens without warrants. Tice revealed that NSA was conducting mass surveillance of Americans’ communications under programs …
Russell TiceNSASenate Intelligence CommitteeJames RisenNew York Times+1 morensa-whistleblowingillegal-surveillanceconstitutional-violationwarrantless-surveillancemass-surveillance
The Justice Department’s torture authorization memo represents the institutional culmination of WHIG’s constitutional crisis precedent establishment, demonstrating how systematic executive deception creates legal frameworks enabling executive immunity from constitutional constraints and …
John YooJay BybeeAlberto GonzalesWhite House Iraq GroupDepartment of Justice+5 morewhigconstitutional-crisis-precedentsexecutive-immunity-precedenttorture-authorizationrule-of-law-suspension+4 more
Air Force Lt. Colonel and NSA intelligence officer Karen Kwiatkowski, assigned to the Pentagon’s Office of Special Plans, documents systematic intelligence corruption coordinated between OSP and the White House Iraq Group before retiring to become a whistleblower. Kwiatkowski testified to …
Karen KwiatkowskiOffice of Special PlansWhite House Iraq GroupDouglas FeithMichael Maloof+5 morewhistleblowerospwhigkwiatkowskiintelligence-corruption+3 more
Pentagon’s Office of Special Plans under Douglas Feith institutionalizes the systematic bypassing of CIA intelligence vetting processes to provide fabricated intelligence directly to the White House Iraq Group for propaganda dissemination. The Pentagon Inspector General documented that OSP …
Office of Special PlansWhite House Iraq GroupDouglas FeithHarold RhodeKarl Rove+3 moreospwhigcia-bypassintelligence-manipulationfeith+3 more
President Bush signs the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution, marking the successful culmination of WHIG’s systematic campaign to bypass constitutional separation of powers through coordinated congressional deception. The signed authorization represents not …
George W. BushWhite House Iraq GroupU.S. CongressConstitutional FrameworkAndrew Card+4 morewhigconstitutional-crisisseparation-of-powersexecutive-powercongressional-manipulation+4 more
The White House Iraq Group implements a systematic campaign to withhold contradictory intelligence assessments from congressional committees, ensuring legislators vote for war based on incomplete and misleading information. WHIG coordinates with intelligence agencies to suppress dissenting analysis, …
White House Iraq GroupStephen HadleyScooter LibbyGeorge TenetDepartment of Energy+5 morewhigintelligence-suppressioncongressional-deceptioninformation-controlconstitutional-violation+3 more
The White House Iraq Group coordinates the delivery of systematically fabricated intelligence briefings to congressional intelligence committees, setting the foundation for legislative manipulation. Working through CIA Director George Tenet and National Security Council staff, WHIG ensures that key …
White House Iraq GroupGeorge TenetStephen HadleyScooter LibbyCongressional Intelligence Committee+2 morewhigcongressional-deceptionintelligence-manipulationseparation-of-powersconstitutional-violation+2 more
Vice President Dick Cheney systematically orchestrated the creation and authorization of the CIA’s ’enhanced interrogation’ torture program through National Security Council Principals Committee meetings and legal manipulation. Working closely with legal counsel David Addington and …
Dick CheneyGeorge W. BushDavid AddingtonJohn YooCIA+3 moretorturewar-crimesciaenhanced-interrogationblack-sites+5 more
The U.S. Senate voted 82-to-4 on January 27, 1975 to form the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, chaired by Senator Frank Church of Idaho. Created after Seymour Hersh’s December 1974 NYT revelations about CIA assassination attempts, the …
Senator Frank ChurchChurch CommitteeMike MansfieldSeymour HershCIA+3 moreintelligence-privatizationchurch-committeesurveillance-abuseconstitutional-violationproject-shamrock+3 more
The Supreme Court rules 6-3 in Korematsu v. United States on December 18, 1944, upholding the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066 and the exclusion of Japanese Americans from the West Coast. Justice Hugo Black writes for the majority that military necessity during wartime justifies the mass …
Supreme CourtFred KorematsuHugo BlackRobert JacksonFrank Murphy+2 morecivil-libertiesracial-discriminationsupreme-courtconstitutional-violationjudicial-capture+1 more
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, authorizing the Secretary of War and military commanders to designate “military areas” from which “any or all persons may be excluded.” Though the order never mentions Japanese Americans by name, …
Franklin D. RooseveltWar Relocation AuthorityU.S. Army Western Defense CommandJohn L. DeWittMilton Eisenhower+1 morecivil-libertiesracial-discriminationexecutive-overreachconstitutional-violationproperty-seizure+1 more
Congress passes the Alien Registration Act, commonly known as the Smith Act after its sponsor Representative Howard W. Smith of Virginia, on June 28, 1940. The law makes it a criminal offense to “knowingly or willfully advocate, abet, advise, or teach the duty, necessity, desirability, or …
Howard W. SmithCongressDepartment of JusticeFranklin D. Rooseveltcivil-libertiesfirst-amendmentpolitical-persecutionred-scarelabor-suppression+1 more