President Trump stated he would ’love’ a third presidential term and suggested running as vice president in 2028 as a workaround to the 22nd Amendment’s two-term limit. Trump refused to clearly disavow the unconstitutional idea when pressed by reporters. The comments follow Steve …
Donald TrumpSteve Bannonauthoritarianismconstitutional-violationinstitutional-capturepower-consolidation
Reclusive billionaire Timothy Mellon donated $130 million to the Pentagon to help pay military salaries during the Trump administration’s government shutdown. The donation, accepted under the Pentagon’s gift authority, raises serious legal concerns about violating the Antideficiency Act, …
Trump signs executive order establishing specialized National Guard units trained for “public order issues,” expanding military role in domestic la…
Donald Trumpnational-guardmilitary-deploymentdomestic-militarizationauthoritarian-tacticsdemocratic-erosionlaw-enforcement+3 more
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg found probable cause that the Trump administration showed “willful disregard” for his order to halt deportation flights of Venezuelan migrants. The administration flew planes with hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador despite the judge’s order to …
U.S. District Judge James BoasbergTrump AdministrationEmil Bove (DOJ official)Venezuelan deporteesEl Salvador governmentcourt-defianceconstitutional-violationwillful-disregarddeportation-abuse
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 FrimpongICEDHSU.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 Court (N.D. Cal.)State 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
Paul Weiss, facing what its chair called an “existential threat” that could “destroy our firm,” became the first prestigious law firm to settle for $40 million after losing business “within hours” of being targeted by Trump’s intimidation campaign.
Paul Weiss Law FirmTrump AdministrationLaw firm chaireconomic-coercionprofessional-intimidationlegal-extortionconstitutional-violation
Nine prestigious law firms capitulated to Trump’s intimidation campaign, agreeing to provide $940 million in pro bono legal services for Trump-approved causes through what legal experts call “legalized extortion.”
Paul WeissKirkland & EllisLatham & WatkinsTrump Administrationeconomic-coercionconstitutional-violationprofessional-intimidationextortion
House Oversight Committee analysis of Mazars USA documents reveals at least $7.8 million from 20 foreign governments flowed to Trump properties between 2017-2019, representing only four properties out of 500+ Trump entities. China led with $5,572,548 primarily through $5.4 million Trump Tower lease. …
House Oversight CommitteeDonald TrumpTrump OrganizationChina (ICBC)Saudi Arabia+2 moreemolumentsforeign-paymentsconstitutional-violationcongressional-investigationfinancial-corruption
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
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 …
Donald TrumpTrump National DoralG-7 leadersMick Mulvaneyemolumentsself-dealingdoralg7-summitconflict-of-interest+2 more
The Trump Organization received at least 3.6 million from foreign governments including China, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, and Qatar during Trump’s presidency, violating the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause. Saudi officials alone paid at least 15,000 to Trump properties. T-Mobile …
Donald TrumpTrump OrganizationSaudi ArabiaChinaT-Mobile+3 moreemoluments-clauseforeign-influenceconstitutional-violationconflict-of-interestcorruption
Within weeks of the 2016 election, Saudi-funded lobbyists booked about 500 nights at Trump’s Washington, D.C., hotel as part of a campaign flying U.S. veterans to lobby against JASTA (the 9/11 victims’ law). This booking was part of a broader pattern of foreign government spending at the …
Saudi Arabia governmentTrump International Hotel WashingtonQorvis/MSLGroup (Saudi lobbyists)Donald Trumpforeign-paymentsemolumentssaudi-arabiatrump-hotelconstitutional-violation+2 more
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
Edward Snowden leaked classified NSA documents to The Guardian and Washington Post, exposing the massive PRISM surveillance program that collected electronic communications from major internet companies without warrants. The revelations showed the NSA was systematically collecting phone and internet …
Edward SnowdenGlenn GreenwaldLaura PoitrasBart GellmanJulian Assangensa-surveillancewhistleblowingprivacy-rightsconstitutional-violationedward-snowden+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
In the critical lead-up to the Iraq authorization vote, the White House Iraq Group (WHIG) systematically withholds intelligence reports that contradict administration claims about Iraqi WMD programs and terrorist connections. Congressional intelligence committees receive only carefully cherry-picked …
White House Iraq GroupDick CheneyKarl RoveCondoleezza RiceKaren Hugheswhigintelligence-withholdingcongressional-deceptionwar-authorizationconstitutional-violation+2 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