Following Joseph Wilson’s July 6, 2003 New York Times op-ed ‘What I Didn’t Find in Africa’ exposing the false Niger uranium claims, the White House Iraq Group immediately mobilizes to discredit Wilson and his findings. WHIG members Karl Rove and Scooter Libby, both regular …
White House Iraq GroupKarl RoveScooter LibbyColin PowellCondoleezza Rice+3 morewhigplame-affairjoseph-wilsonintelligence-retaliationpowell-memo+3 more
Ronald Reagan wins the presidency in a 44-state Electoral College landslide, marking the triumph of the conservative infrastructure deliberately built over nine years in response to the Powell Memo blueprint. Reagan’s victory demonstrates the effectiveness of coordinated institutional power …
Ronald ReaganHeritage FoundationPaul WeyrichEdwin FeulnerEdwin Meese III+2 morereagan-presidencyconservative-movementheritage-foundationpowell-memoelectoral-victory+1 more
By the end of the 1970s, corporate public affairs offices in Washington dramatically expanded from 100 in 1968 to over 500, with registered corporate lobbyists increasing from 175 in 1971 to nearly 2,500. This unprecedented mobilization, influenced by the Powell Memo, represented a systematic …
U.S. Chamber of CommerceCorporate Lobbying IndustryLewis PowellFortune 500 Leadershipcapture-cascadecorporate-lobbyingwashington-dcinstitutional-capturepolitical-infrastructure+1 more
Congress enacts amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), legitimizing the role of corporations and business-related groups in federal elections and inadvertently triggering explosive growth in corporate political action committees that fundamentally shifts campaign finance in favor of …
U.S. CongressFederal Election Commission (FEC)campaign-financecorporate-pacsfecapowell-memopolitical-money
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors formally adopts recommendations from a 40-member task force of business executives convened to review and implement Lewis Powell’s 1971 memo. The task force, comprised of executives from U.S. Steel, General Electric, ABC, General Motors, CBS, 3M, …
U.S. Chamber of CommerceEugene B. Sydnor Jr.Lewis F. Powell Jr.powell-memocorporate-strategyinstitutional-capturebusiness-coordination
The Business Roundtable is formally established through merger of three CEO organizations (the March Group, Construction Users Anti-Inflation Roundtable, and Labor Law Study Committee), creating a unique corporate coordination infrastructure where CEOs directly collaborate with government officials …
John ConnallyArthur BurnsReginald JonesJohn HarperU.S. Treasury+1 morebusiness-roundtablecorporate-coordinationpowell-memoceo-activismstate-corporate-coordination
Syndicated columnist Jack Anderson publishes the confidential Powell Memo in his “Washington Merry Go Round” column, exposing Lewis Powell’s August 1971 corporate blueprint for institutional capture to public scrutiny. The leak occurs over a year after Powell wrote the memo and …
Jack AndersonLewis F. Powell Jr.U.S. Chamber of Commercepowell-memocorporate-strategyinstitutional-capturemedia-exposure
President Richard Nixon nominates Lewis F. Powell Jr. to the Supreme Court just two months after Powell authored his secret corporate blueprint memo to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on August 23, 1971. Amidst a rare opportunity to reshape the Supreme Court, Nixon nominates Powell alongside William …
Richard NixonLewis F. Powell Jr.John MitchellU.S. Chamber of CommerceSupreme Courtpowell-memosupreme-court-nominationjudicial-capturecorporate-blueprintnixon-administration+1 more
Corporate lawyer Lewis Powell drafts a confidential 34-page memorandum to Eugene B. Sydnor Jr., Chair of Education Committee of U.S. Chamber of Commerce, titled “Attack On American Free Enterprise System.” This document provides a comprehensive, systematic blueprint for corporate capture …
Lewis F. Powell Jr.Eugene B. Sydnor Jr.U.S. Chamber of CommerceNixon Administrationpowell-memocorporate-strategyjudicial-capturebusiness-blueprintdemocracy-capture