President Donald Trump issues a Presidential Memorandum ordering the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct a comprehensive review of the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule and align it with “best practices from …
Donald TrumpRobert F. Kennedy Jr.Department of Health and Human ServicesCenters for Disease Control and PreventionAmerican Academy of Pediatrics+2 morepublic-healthvaccinesrfk-jrcdchhs+5 more
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 OglesU.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of TennesseeDepartment of JusticeJohn P. TaddeiRob McGuire+4 moreregulatory-capturecampaign-financecongressional-investigationtrump-administrationpolitical-manipulation
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 …
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 ProsperityFreedomWorksDavid KochCharles KochBrendan Steinhauser+2 moreastroturf-organizingcorporate-influencekoch-networktax-protestspolitical-theater+2 more
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 SantelliDavid KochCharles KochEric OdomAmericans for Prosperity+1 morekoch-networkastroturftea-partypolitical-manipulationamericans-for-prosperity+1 more
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 CohnJoseph McCarthyJ. Edgar HooverFBIGenovese Crime Familyblackmailpolitical-manipulationmccarthy-eraintelligence-operationsorganized-crime+2 more
The Democratic National Convention in Chicago replaces Vice President Henry Wallace with Senator Harry Truman on July 21, 1944, in a backroom deal orchestrated by conservative party bosses and corporate interests despite Wallace’s overwhelming popularity with convention delegates. The …
Henry WallaceHarry TrumanFranklin D. RooseveltRobert HanneganEdwin Pauley+2 moreparty-capturecorporate-influencelabor-politicselite-networkspolitical-manipulation
The Democratic National Convention convenes in Charleston, South Carolina, with Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois as the front-runner for presidential nomination. Before the convention begins, delegations from seven Deep South states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, …
Stephen A. DouglasWilliam YanceyJohn C. BreckinridgeDemocratic PartySouthern Democrats+1 moredemocratic-partyslaverypolitical-manipulationelection-1860sectional-crisis+1 more
American diplomatic envoys Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry arrive in Paris for peace negotiations but are approached by three French agents (later designated X, Y, and Z in diplomatic correspondence) who demand a $250,000 bribe to Foreign Minister Talleyrand and a $10 …
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-PérigordCharles Cotesworth PinckneyJohn MarshallElbridge GerryPresident John Adamsdiplomatic-corruptionforeign-influencebriberypolitical-manipulation