Kash Patel, a prominent Trump administration figure, disclosed holding between $1 million and $5 million in stock from Elite Depot Limited, the parent company of Shein, a Chinese corporation facing bipartisan criticism for alleged use of forced labor. Senator Adam Schiff demanded a comprehensive …
A French Senate inquiry committee releases a 400-page report revealing that the French government has spent almost €1 billion in consulting fees since 2017, with very little to show for it. The scandal, dubbed ‘McKinsey Gate,’ centers on the deep ties between McKinsey & Company and …
McKinsey & CompanyEmmanuel MacronKarim TadjeddineFrench SenateJean Castexmckinseyfranceconsulting-scandaltax-evasionconflicts-of-interest+4 more
Facebook employees stage an unprecedented virtual walkout protesting Mark Zuckerberg’s refusal to take action against Trump’s post threatening violence against protesters, stating “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” The employee revolt exposes Facebook’s …
Mark ZuckerbergDonald TrumpFacebookFacebook EmployeesSheryl Sandbergfacebooktrumpincitementemployee-protestcontent-moderation+3 more
In April 2017, McKinsey partners send a confidential final report to the New York City corrections commissioner after spending almost three years leading their project at Rikers Island. The contract, which ultimately cost $27.5 million, ends with violence at the jail complex having increased by …
McKinsey & CompanyNew York City Department of CorrectionBill de Blasiomckinseyprison-industrial-complexrikers-islandconsulting-scandalgovernment-waste+3 more
Just days after Trump takes office in January 2017, he issues executive orders directing ‘all legally available resources’ to be shifted to border detention facilities and calls for hiring 10,000 new immigration officers. ICE quickly redirects McKinsey’s existing organizational …
McKinsey & CompanyImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)Donald TrumpEnforcement and Removal Operations (ERO)mckinseyimmigration-enforcementconsulting-scandalcorporate-captureice-contracts+4 more
McKinsey tests its new anti-violence strategy in what the firm calls ‘Restart’ housing units at Rikers Island, implementing its centerpiece algorithm called the Housing Unit Balancer (HUB) designed to predict each inmate’s propensity for violence. By July 2015, eight Restart units …
McKinsey & CompanyNew York City Department of CorrectionGeorge Motchan Detention Centermckinseyprison-industrial-complexrikers-islandconsulting-scandaldata-manipulation+3 more
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signs Senate Bill 1070, the broadest and strictest anti-illegal immigration law in the United States, making it a state misdemeanor for immigrants to be in Arizona without carrying required documents and requiring law enforcement officers to determine immigration status …
Russell PearceJan BrewerCorrections Corporation of AmericaAmerican Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)GEO Group+1 moreimmigration-policyalecprivate-prisonscorporate-captureracial-profiling+1 more
In Cheney v. United States District Court, the Supreme Court rules 7-2 to protect the secrecy of Vice President Cheney’s Energy Task Force meetings with oil executives. The Court vacates a lower court order requiring disclosure of task force participants and documents, ruling that federal …
Dick CheneySupreme CourtAnthony KennedyAntonin ScaliaRuth Bader Ginsburg+3 moresupreme-courtexecutive-privilegecheneyenergy-task-forcesecrecy+2 more
The White House Iraq Group (WHIG) coordinated an unprecedented media manipulation campaign in September 2002 to build public support for the Iraq War. On September 7-8, 2002, top administration officials including Cheney, Rice, and Rumsfeld appeared on all five major Sunday news programs, delivering …
Dick CheneyCondoleezza RiceDonald RumsfeldRichard MyersRichard Armitage+5 morepropagandawhigcorporate-contractor-relationshipspermanent-capture-infrastructurerevolving-door-institutionalization+11 more
On January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) into law at Hamilton High School in Hamilton, Ohio, with bipartisan fanfare that masked the legislation’s deeply destructive effects on public education. Co-sponsored by Senator Ted Kennedy and …
President George W. BushSenator Ted KennedyRepresentative John BoehnerPearson EducationETS+1 moreeducationtestingprivatizationcorporate-capturebipartisan-consensus+1 more
The Bush administration releases the National Energy Policy, revealing extensive incorporation of Enron’s recommendations. Analysis shows the task force adopted “all or significant portions” of Enron’s recommendations in seven of eight policy areas, with at least 17 policies …
Dick CheneyGeorge W. BushEnronKenneth LayNational Energy Policy Development Group+1 moreenronenergy-policycorporate-captureregulatory-capturecorruption+1 more
The Bush administration releases the National Energy Policy report developed by Cheney’s Energy Task Force, containing 105 recommendations that overwhelmingly favor fossil fuel industries while giving minimal attention to renewable energy. The report recommends opening the Arctic National …
George W. BushDick CheneyNational Energy Policy Development GroupExxonMobilShell Oil+6 moreenergy-policycorporate-captureoil-industrycheney-task-forceregulatory-capture+3 more
On April 17, 2001, Enron CEO Kenneth Lay met with Vice President Dick Cheney and his National Energy Policy Development Group (Energy Task Force), presenting a three-page “wish list” of corporate energy policy recommendations. This meeting was one of at least six interactions between …
Kenneth LayDick CheneyEnronNational Energy Policy Development GroupGeorge W. Bush+1 moreenroncheneyenergy-task-forcecorporate-capturecorruption+2 more
Vice President Dick Cheney initiated secret meetings of the National Energy Policy Development Group, systematically involving Enron executives like Kenneth Lay while excluding environmental groups. Between late January and April 2001, the task force held at least 40 meetings with energy industry …
Dick CheneyKenneth LayGeorge W. Bushenergy-policycorporate-capturecheneyenronregulatory-capture+1 more
Vice President Dick Cheney established the National Energy Policy Development Group conducting secret meetings with oil industry executives while excluding environmental groups. Between late January and April 2001, Cheney’s task force held at least 40 meetings with energy interests versus just …
Dick CheneyExxonMobilShell OilBP AmericaConoco+2 moreenergy-policycorporate-capturecheneyoil-industrysecrecy+1 more
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 …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)State Legislatorscorporate-capturelegislative-capturealecstate-legislaturespolitical-penetration+1 more
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 …
International Monetary FundWorld BankMcKinsey & CompanyMultinational CorporationsFederal Reserveasian-financial-crisisstructural-adjustmentimfeconomic-shock-therapycorporate-capture+1 more
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, …
Goldman SachsCitigroupMcKinsey & CompanyIMFWorld Bank+2 morecorporate-captureeconomic-interventionasset-strippingglobalizationimf-intervention+1 more
The IMF mandates comprehensive structural adjustment policies for affected Asian countries, including Indonesia, South Korea, and Thailand. These policies involve privatization, trade liberalization, and financial deregulation, fundamentally transforming local economic structures to benefit …
In 1996, ALEC adopted an internal business plan that explicitly redefined the organization’s purpose in commercial terms, cementing its pay-to-play structure for moving pro-corporate legislation through state legislatures. The plan stated: “ALEC must begin to function more like a …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)corporate-capturelegislative-capturealecpay-to-playcorporate-lobbying+1 more
By 1984, ALEC’s corporate membership had grown so rapidly that Executive Director Kathleen Teague reported corporations were overwhelming the organization’s capacity. Major corporations supporting ALEC that year included Edison Electric Institute, Procter & Gamble Co., Mary Kay …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Kathleen TeagueEdison Electric InstituteProcter & GambleEli Lilly+5 morecorporate-capturelegislative-capturealeccorporate-membershiplobbying+1 more
In 1981, ALEC formalized its systematic corporate legislative capture mechanism by establishing seven Cabinet Task Forces that worked directly with the Reagan administration on policy development. President Ronald Reagan formed a national Task Force on Federalism headed by U.S. Senator Paul Laxalt …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Ronald ReaganPaul LaxaltTom StiversJohn Kasichcorporate-capturelegislative-capturealecreagan-administrationstate-level-politics+2 more
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
The United States and Mexico sign the Mexican Farm Labor Program agreement, launching the Bracero Program to import temporary agricultural workers during World War II labor shortages. The program, which operates from 1942 to 1964, becomes the largest guest worker program in U.S. history with 4.6 …
U.S. Department of LaborMexican governmentAgricultural employersRailroad companiesimmigration-policylabor-exploitationwage-suppressioncorporate-capturehuman-rights
President Roosevelt signs the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) on June 16, 1933, creating the National Recovery Administration (NRA) to oversee the development of industry-wide “codes of fair competition” establishing minimum wages, maximum hours, collective bargaining rights, and …
Franklin D. RooseveltHugh JohnsonU.S. CongressNational Recovery AdministrationU.S. Chamber of Commerce+2 morenew-dealcorporate-captureregulatory-capturelabor-rightsindustrial-policy
Major American corporations deployed company-sponsored unions, benefits programs, and internal grievance systems as sophisticated anti-union strategies during the peak of 1920s welfare capitalism. Rather than negotiating with outside union representatives, companies like Goodyear Tire and U.S. Steel …
Goodyear TireU.S. SteelNational Association of ManufacturersSamuel Gomperslabor-suppressioncorporate-captureanti-unioninstitutional-capture
Radio Corporation of America created the National Broadcasting Company through acquisition and merger of the WEAF and WJZ station chains, establishing the first major commercial radio broadcasting network in the United States. RCA owned 50 percent of NBC, with General Electric holding 30 percent and …
David SarnoffRadio Corporation of AmericaGeneral ElectricWestinghouseAT&Tmedia-consolidationmonopoly-powerinstitutional-capturecorporate-capture
Business leaders including Henry Clay Frick, Judge Elbert Gary, and John D. Rockefeller Jr. launched a coordinated campaign to roll back labor gains by promoting the “open shop” as patriotic while branding union membership as “un-American.” Meeting in Chicago in 1921, …
National Association of ManufacturersChamber of CommerceU.S. SteelHenry Clay FrickElbert Gary+1 morelabor-suppressioncorporate-captureanti-unionsystematic-corruption