Political-Manipulation

Trump Campaign Staff Hired by Sanctioned Albanian Opposition Leader for Election Campaign

| Importance: 7/10

In a strategic move, Sali Berisha, an indicted Albanian opposition leader, hired Continental Strategy, a Trump-linked lobbying firm led by Chris LaCivita, to advise his party’s 2025 parliamentary election campaign. Berisha hopes to leverage these connections to potentially overturn US …

Donald Trump Trump Administration Sali Berisha Chris LaCivita Katie Wiles corruption international-consulting political-manipulation
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Trump Appointee Sought IRS Audit Review for MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell

| Importance: 8/10

Trump Treasury appointee David Eisner attempted to intervene in an IRS audit of MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a known Trump ally. The incident suggests potential misuse of government resources to assist a political supporter, raising concerns about tax enforcement impartiality.

Donald Trump Trump Administration Mike Lindell David Eisner kleptocracy trump-administration tax-interference political-manipulation
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Federal Prosecutors Withdraw from Andy Ogles Criminal Investigation

| Importance: 7/10

Federal prosecutors in the Middle District of Tennessee withdrew from a criminal investigation into U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, with a Department of Justice attorney from Washington’s Public Integrity Section set to continue the case. The investigation originated from an FBI seizure of Ogles’ …

Andy Ogles U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee Department of Justice John P. Taddei Rob McGuire +4 more regulatory-capture campaign-finance congressional-investigation trump-administration political-manipulation
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Vance Spreads Debunked Anti-Haitian Immigrant Hoax in Springfield, Ohio

| Importance: 8/10

VP nominee J.D. Vance amplified a baseless conspiracy theory claiming Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were ‘abducting and eating’ pets. Despite being informed by city manager Bryan Heck that the claims were unfounded, Vance continued to spread misinformation, leading to community …

J.D. Vance Haitian immigrants Springfield Police Bryan Heck Anna Kilgore anti-immigrant disinformation racism conspiracy-theory political-manipulation
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Tax Day Tea Party Protests Organized by Koch Network Groups

| Importance: 8/10

The first coordinated nationwide Tax Day Tea Party protests take place across the United States, organized primarily by Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks. These protests, while presented as grassroots citizen uprisings, were strategically orchestrated by well-funded corporate advocacy groups …

Americans for Prosperity FreedomWorks David Koch Charles Koch Brendan Steinhauser +2 more astroturf-organizing corporate-influence koch-network tax-protests political-theater +2 more
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Koch Network Prepares Tea Party Mobilization After Santelli Rant

| Importance: 9/10

Following Rick Santelli’s CNBC rant criticizing Obama’s mortgage bailout, the Koch brothers’ network immediately mobilized to create the Tea Party movement. Within hours, Americans for Prosperity registered TaxDayTeaParty.com, while other conservative organizations quickly …

Rick Santelli David Koch Charles Koch Eric Odom Americans for Prosperity +1 more koch-network astroturf tea-party political-manipulation americans-for-prosperity +1 more
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Roy Cohn Establishes Blackmail and Intimidation Network

| Importance: 8/10

In early 1953, Roy Cohn begins developing a systematic blackmail infrastructure during the McCarthy Senate hearings, leveraging anti-communist hysteria and homophobic tactics to gather compromising information on political and cultural figures. As 24-year-old chief counsel to Senator Joseph …

Roy Cohn Joseph McCarthy J. Edgar Hoover FBI Genovese Crime Family blackmail political-manipulation mccarthy-era intelligence-operations organized-crime +2 more
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