Justice Department whistleblower Erez Reuveni, a 15-year DOJ attorney, revealed in October 2025 testimony that senior officials ordered him to fabricate terrorist claims in court briefs to justify the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador. Reuveni was told to argue in legal …
Erez ReuveniEmil BoveKilmar Abrego GarciaDepartment of JusticeTrump+1 moreobstruction-of-justicefalse-evidenceinstitutional-corruptionabuse-of-power
Robert Kaplan (Dallas Fed) and Eric Rosengren (Boston Fed) announce simultaneous resignations following massive public backlash over their 2020 trading activities. The scandal revealed deep ethical vulnerabilities in the Federal Reserve, where senior officials traded stocks during critical market …
Robert KaplanEric RosengrenFederal Reserve Bank of DallasFederal Reserve Bank of BostonElizabeth Warrenfederal-reserveresignationtrading-scandalrobert-kaplaneric-rosengren+4 more
On October 26, 2020, the Senate confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court by a vote of 52-48, installing her on the bench just eight days before the November 3 presidential election and while millions of Americans had already cast their ballots. Barrett’s confirmation created a 6-3 …
On September 18, 2020, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at age 87 from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer, creating a Supreme Court vacancy just 46 days before the November 3 presidential election and while early voting was already underway in some states. In her final days, …
The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure released its final 238-page report on the Boeing 737 MAX disasters, concluding that the crashes “were the horrific culmination of a series of faulty technical assumptions by Boeing’s engineers, a lack of transparency on the part of …
House Transportation and Infrastructure CommitteeRepresentative Peter DeFazioRepresentative Rick LarsenFederal Aviation AdministrationBoeing+1 moreboeingfaaregulatory-capture737-maxcongressional-investigation+1 more
Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida rotated between $1-5 million from Pimco bond funds into stock funds on February 27, 2020, just one day before Fed Chair Powell’s emergency statement about coronavirus risks. Clarida sold multiple ETFs during the market’s COVID-19 downturn and …
Richard ClaridaFederal Reserve BoardJerome PowellElizabeth Warrenfederal-reservetrading-scandalconflict-of-interestrichard-claridainsider-trading+2 more
Centro de Periodismo Investigativo revealed that McKinsey’s conflict of interest in Puerto Rico extended beyond its own bond holdings to include connections with major creditors through hedge fund Whitebox Advisors, which held over $140 million in Puerto Rico bonds through various investment …
McKinsey & CompanyMIO PartnersWhitebox AdvisorsFinancial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto RicoCentro de Periodismo Investigativomckinseypuerto-ricoconflict-of-interesthedge-fundsconsulting-scandal+4 more
Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin announces that Braidy Industries, a new venture led by metals industry veteran Craig Bouchard, will build what is described as “the most sophisticated aluminum mill in the world” in Greenup County near Ashland, promising 600 well-paying jobs. One week later, …
Matt BevinCraig BouchardBraidy IndustriesKentucky LegislatureMitch McConnell+1 morecrony-capitalismkentuckycorporate-welfarestate-capturekleptocracy+2 more
On April 6, 2017, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell invoked the “nuclear option”—a parliamentary procedure to change Senate rules by simple majority vote—to eliminate the 60-vote filibuster requirement for Supreme Court nominations, lowering the threshold to a simple 51-vote …
The Financial Oversight and Management Board unanimously approved a brutal 10-year fiscal austerity plan (2017-2026) developed with McKinsey’s strategic consulting, imposing severe cuts to pensions, education, and healthcare to prioritize debt repayment to bondholders. The plan’s key …
McKinsey & CompanyFinancial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto RicoPuerto Rico GovernmentRafael Torregrosamckinseypuerto-ricoausterityshock-doctrinepension-theft+5 more
On March 16, 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Merrick B. Garland, the widely respected Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by Justice Antonin Scalia’s death one month earlier. Garland was considered a …
On February 13, 2016, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died of apparent natural causes at a luxury resort in West Texas, creating a vacancy on the Court with nearly 11 months remaining in President Obama’s term. Within hours of Scalia’s death being announced, Senate Majority Leader …
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) canceled most of its funding for Harvard’s Russia economic reform project after investigations revealed that top Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID) officials Andrei Shleifer and Jonathan Hay had used their …
Andrei ShleiferJonathan HayHarvard Institute for International DevelopmentUnited States Agency for International DevelopmentLawrence Summers+2 moreharvardrussiausaidcorruptionconflict-of-interest+4 more
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 …
Former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamaraBrian VanDeMark (co-author)government-deceptionwar-profiteeringinstitutional-corruptionaccountability-failure
On February 21, 1975, former Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman were sentenced to 2.5 to 8 years in prison for their roles in the Watergate cover-up. All three men had been convicted of every count against them—a total of 14 felonies …
H.R. HaldemanJohn EhrlichmanJohn N. MitchellJohn Siricawatergateobstruction-of-justiceaccountabilityinstitutional-corruptionabuse-of-power
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 …
On the evening of August 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon addressed the nation and announced his intention to resign, effective at noon the following day. At noon on August 9, 1974, Nixon officially ended his term, departing with his family in a helicopter from the White House lawn. Minutes later, …
Richard NixonGerald FordSpiro Agnewwatergatepresidential-accountabilityconstitutional-crisisinstitutional-corruption
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 …
Richard NixonH.R. HaldemanHouse Judiciary CommitteeRepublican Partywatergateobstruction-of-justiceabuse-of-powerinstitutional-corruptionaccountability-failure
On November 1, 1973, just twelve days after the Saturday Night Massacre, Solicitor General Robert Bork announced he had selected, and President Nixon approved, Leonidas “Leon” Jaworski to serve as the second special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal. Jaworski, a prominent Texas …
Leon JaworskiRobert BorkRichard NixonArchibald Coxwatergatecongressional-oversightinstitutional-corruptionrule-of-law
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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 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
Richard Nixon’s campaign secretly communicates with the South Vietnamese government to sabotage President Johnson’s Paris peace talks, with H.R. Haldeman’s notes documenting Nixon’s direct instruction to “keep Anna Chennault working on SVN [South Vietnam].” Nixon …
Richard NixonAnna ChennaultH.R. HaldemanJohn MitchellSouth Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu+2 moreelection-interferencegovernment-deceptioncorruptionwar-profiteeringinstitutional-corruption
U.S. Army soldiers from Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment massacre between 347 and 504 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians—mostly women, children, elderly men, and infants—in the village of My Lai during a search-and-destroy mission. Led by Lieutenant William Calley, …
Lieutenant William CalleyCaptain Ernest MedinaCharlie Company 1st Battalion 20th Infantry RegimentHugh Thompson Jr. (helicopter pilot who intervened)U.S. Armywar-crimesmilitary-corruptiongovernment-deceptioninstitutional-corruptioncover-up
On August 25, 1967, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover authorized the expansion of the Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) to create a new initiative targeting “Black Nationalist–Hate Groups.” This program represented a systematic effort by the nation’s premier law enforcement …
J. Edgar HooverFBIMartin Luther King Jr.Black Panther PartyWilliam C. Sullivansurveillancecivil-rightsfbi-abuseinstitutional-corruptiondemocratic-erosion
The term “credibility gap” enters widespread use to describe the growing disconnect between the Johnson administration’s optimistic public statements about Vietnam War progress and the grim reality experienced by soldiers and reporters in the field. The New York Herald Tribune …
Secretary of Defense Robert McNamaraPresident Lyndon B. JohnsonSenator J. William FulbrightDepartment of Defensegovernment-deceptionmilitary-industrial-complexinstitutional-corruptionpropagandasystematic-corruption
On October 10, 1963, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy signed an authorization permitting the FBI to wiretap the telephones of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference offices in New York and Atlanta. The authorization, requested by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, …
J. Edgar HooverRobert F. KennedyMartin Luther King Jr.FBIStanley Levisonsurveillancecivil-rightsfbi-abuseinstitutional-corruptiondemocratic-erosion
On August 28, 1956, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover formally established COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program), a covert and illegal program designed to surveil, infiltrate, discredit, and disrupt domestic political organizations. Initially targeting the Communist Party USA, the program would …
J. Edgar HooverFBICommunist Party USAsurveillancefbi-abuseinstitutional-corruptiondemocratic-erosionintelligence-manipulation
On April 12, 1954, the Atomic Energy Commission’s Personnel Security Board commenced hearings against J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American scientist who had directed the Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb. The hearing resulted …
J. Robert OppenheimerLewis StraussGordon GrayJ. Edgar HooverWilliam L. Bordenred-scarepolitical-persecutionsurveillance-statescientific-communityinstitutional-corruption
On March 29, 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage after a three-week trial that began on March 6, 1951. The couple had been charged with providing top-secret information about American radar, sonar, jet propulsion engines, and nuclear weapon designs to …
Julius RosenbergEthel RosenbergDavid GreenglassRuth GreenglassRoy Cohn+1 morered-scarepolitical-persecutionsurveillance-statedeath-penaltyinstitutional-corruption
On June 1, 1950, less than four months after McCarthy’s Wheeling speech, Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith delivered a fifteen-minute speech on the Senate floor known as the “Declaration of Conscience.” As a freshman senator, a fellow Republican who considered herself a friend of …
Margaret Chase SmithJoseph McCarthyWayne MorseGeorge AikenEdward J. Thye+3 morered-scarepolitical-resistanceinstitutional-corruptioncivil-liberties
On February 9, 1950, junior senator Joseph McCarthy from Wisconsin delivered a Lincoln’s birthday address to the Women’s Republican Club of Wheeling, West Virginia, claiming he possessed a list of communists working in the State Department. McCarthy declared: “While I cannot take …
Joseph McCarthyHarry S. Trumanred-scarepolitical-persecutiondisinformationinstitutional-corruptionauthoritarian-tactics
On August 3, 1948, Whittaker Chambers, a former Communist Party USA member, testified under subpoena before the House Un-American Activities Committee that Alger Hiss—a former State Department official who had accompanied FDR to Yalta—had secretly been a communist while in federal service. Hiss …
The Joint Chiefs of Staff authorize Operation Paperclip on September 3, 1945, establishing a secret program to recruit German scientists, engineers, and technicians for American military and intelligence agencies. The program ultimately brings over 1,600 German scientists and their families to the …
Joint Intelligence Objectives AgencyWar DepartmentWernher von BraunState DepartmentOffice of Strategic Services+1 moreintelligence-apparatusnational-security-stateinstitutional-corruptionwar-crimescold-war+1 more
The Office of Alien Property Custodian seizes the assets of Union Banking Corporation (UBC) in New York on October 20, 1942, under the Trading with the Enemy Act. Among the bank’s directors is Prescott Bush, father and grandfather of two future presidents, whose firm Brown Brothers Harriman …
Between 1942 and 1949, U.S. employers withhold 10% of bracero workers’ wages—totaling at least $32 million—depositing the funds with Wells Fargo Bank and Union Trust Company of San Francisco for transfer to Mexican savings accounts through the Bank of Mexico and Banco de Credito Agricola. The …
Wells Fargo BankBank of MexicoBanco de Credito AgricolaMexican governmentU.S. agricultural employerswage-theftfinancial-fraudlabor-exploitationcorporate-complicityinstitutional-corruption