President Trump pardoned former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his chief of staff Cade Cothren just weeks after they were sentenced to federal prison for public corruption charges. Casada received a three-year sentence in September 2025 for orchestrating a 2020 scheme to receive over …
Donald TrumpGlen CasadaCade Cothrenpardonssystematic-corruptionstate-captureabuse-of-powerkleptocracy
Trump officials negotiated with quantum computing firms (IonQ, Rigetti, D-Wave) to trade federal funding for government ownership stakes, mirroring state control models used by authoritarian regimes. Commerce official Paul Dabbar and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick led negotiations to embed …
Paul DabbarHoward LutnickTrump Administrationquantum computing companiescorruptionstate-captureconflicts-of-interestinstitutional-captureauthoritarian-economics
Governor Brian Kemp signed Georgia’s SB 202, the “Election Integrity Act of 2021,” implementing a sweeping 98-page voter suppression law that became the first major state enactment of Trump’s “Big Lie” and ALEC’s post-2020 model legislation. Passed on strict …
Governor Brian KempGeorgia Republican LegislatureSecretary of State Brad RaffenspergerAmerican Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)ALECvoter-suppressionelectoral-manipulationGeorgiabig-lie+2 more
Following Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss and false claims of widespread fraud, ALEC developed new model election legislation to give Trump’s “Big Lie” systematic legislative form across states. The organization partnered with Heritage Action and the State Policy Network to …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Heritage FoundationHeritage ActionState Policy NetworkRepublican state legislatorsALECvoter-suppressionelectoral-manipulationbig-lieTrump+3 more
Throughout 2021, at least 440 bills containing voter restriction provisions were introduced across 49 states, representing the largest coordinated assault on voting rights since Jim Crow and demonstrating ALEC’s systematic model legislation deployment at unprecedented scale. The Brennan Center …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Heritage FoundationHeritage ActionRepublican state legislatorsState Policy NetworkALECvoter-suppressionelectoral-manipulationbig-lievoting-rights+3 more
Rex Tillerson, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State, faced aggressive Senate questioning about massive conflicts of interest stemming from his 41-year career at ExxonMobil, particularly the company’s extensive Russia dealings and opposition to sanctions. Tillerson had served as …
Rex TillersonDonald TrumpIgor SechinVladimir PutinExxonMobil+1 moreconflicts-of-interestrussia-connectionssanctions-violationsstate-capturefossil-fuel-industry
Within hours of the Supreme Court’s 5-4 Shelby County v. Holder decision striking down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, ALEC-affiliated states began implementing voter suppression laws that had been previously blocked by federal preclearance requirements. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott …
Texas Attorney General Greg AbbottNorth Carolina LegislatureAmerican Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Supreme CourtALECvoter-suppressionelectoral-manipulationvoting-rightsShelby-County+2 more
Following the 2010 Republican wave that gave the GOP control of both legislative chambers in twenty-six states, at least 34 states introduced nearly identical voter ID bills in the 2011 legislative session. The bills used ALEC’s 2009 model “Voter ID Act” template language, …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Republican state legislatorsHeritage FoundationState Policy NetworkALECvoter-suppressionelectoral-manipulationcorporate-influencestate-capture+3 more
ALEC’s Public Safety and Elections Task Force approved the “Voter ID Act” model legislation at its July 2009 Atlanta meeting, with final Board of Directors approval on August 27, 2009. The model bill was created in direct response to Barack Obama’s 2008 election victory and …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Hans von SpakovskyHeritage FoundationALEC Public Safety and Elections Task ForceALECvoter-suppressionelectoral-manipulationcorporate-influencestate-capture+2 more
In 1986, the Madison Group was established as an informal confederation of state-level think tanks and their supporters, named after the Madison Hotel in Washington, DC where they first met. This network, which would be formalized as the State Policy Network (SPN) in 1992, represented the extension …
Thomas A. RoeAmerican Legislative Exchange CouncilHeritage FoundationSouth Carolina Policy CouncilHeartland Institutethink-tank-infrastructurestate-capturealec-coordinationpowell-memo-implementationcoordinated-networks
On June 6, 1978, California voters approved Proposition 13 with nearly 65% support, fundamentally reshaping American tax policy and creating a template for the nationwide anti-tax movement. The ballot measure capped local property taxes at 1% of assessed property value (down from an average of …
Howard JarvisPaul GannCalifornia votersJoseph CoorsRichard Viguerietax-revoltanti-governmentstate-capturefiscal-austeritycorporate-agenda+1 more