Capture lane

Digital and Tech Capture

The Digital and Tech Capture capture lane traces 589 verified events documenting this mechanism of institutional capture.

589 events From Jan 1, 1970 To May 28, 2026 Open in filter view →
Top 10 actors in this lane 10 actors · 1836–2026
Top actors in Digital and Tech Capture18401845185018551860186518701875188018851890189519001905191019151920192519301935194019451950195519601965197019751980198519901995200020052010201520202025WatergateReaganIran-Contra9/11Citizens UnitedTrump 1.0Trump 2.0Donald Trump1403 eventsElon Musk186 eventsAmazonJeff BezosxAICondoleezza RiceDepartment of Justice330 eventsFacebookWhite House Iraq GroupKarl Rove
Capture lanecorruptiondemocraticexecutivefinancialintelligencejudiciallaborlegislativemediamilitaryotherregulatory Status confirmed alleged disputed
DateEventLanesStatus
2009-12-01Arizona SB 1070 Immigration Law Drafted at ALEC Meeting with CCA Executives - Direct Quid Pro Quo for Immigrant Detention Profits 4 src
American Legislative Exchange Council · Corrections Corporation of America · Jan Brewer · GEO Group
confirmed
2009-07-01In-Q-Tel and Google Ventures Co-Invest in Social Media Surveillance Firm Recorded Future 3 src
In-Q-Tel
confirmed
2009-04-02Northrop Grumman Pays $325 Million for Decade of Defective Spy Satellite Parts 3 src
Northrop Grumman · Department of Justice · National Reconnaissance Office
confirmed
2009-02-17Trump Entertainment Resorts Files Bankruptcy, Trump Resigns from Board 3 src
Donald Trump
confirmed
2009-01-01Dataminr Founded to Provide Real-Time Social Media Surveillance, Later Backed by CIA Venture Capital 3 src
In-Q-Tel · Twitter
confirmed
2009-01-01Energy and Commerce Committee Members Receive $45M From Pharma During ACA Debate 3 src
House Energy and Commerce Committee · PhRMA · Pfizer · Merck
confirmed
2009-01-01LAPD's Joint Regional Intelligence Center Begins Using Palantir for Surveillance 2 src
Palantir Technologies · U.S. Department of Homeland Security
confirmed
2008-10-29Delta-Northwest Merger Approved: Beginning of Airline Industry Consolidation Wave 3 src
Department of Justice · Antitrust Division
confirmed
2008-10-03Mental Health Parity Act Signed into Law with No Enforcement Mechanism, Enabling Systematic Insurer Non-Compliance 4 src
George W. Bush · U.S. Department of Labor · Health insurance industry
confirmed
2008-09-19Paulson Authorizes AIG Bailout Benefiting Goldman Sachs 5 src
Henry Paulson
confirmed
2008-09-15Lehman Brothers Files Largest Bankruptcy in U.S. History with $639 Billion in Assets After Government Refuses Bailout, Creating Arbitrary 'Too Big to Fail' Enforcement Where Bear Stearns and AIG Were Rescued But Lehman Was Allowed to Collapse, Triggering Global Financial Panic 2 src
Lehman Brothers · Henry Paulson · Ben Bernanke · Timothy Geithner · +2
confirmed
2008-03-16Bear Stearns Collapse and Federal Reserve-Facilitated Fire Sale to JPMorgan with $29 Billion Taxpayer Guarantee Establishes 'Too Big to Fail' Precedent with Zero Criminal Prosecutions Despite Fraud-Driven Collapse 3 src
Bear Stearns · JPMorgan Chase · Federal Reserve Bank of New York · Ben Bernanke · +3
confirmed
2008-01-15Project Chanology: Anonymous Mobilizes Against Scientology, Proving Chan Culture Can Produce Real-World Action 3 src
Anonymous
confirmed
2008-01-01Palantir Gotham Platform Released for Intelligence and Defense Applications 3 src
Palantir Technologies · Central Intelligence Agency · Intelligence Community
confirmed
2007-11-02CIA Detainee Gul Rahman Froze to Death at Black Site - No One Prosecuted for Homicide 4 src
Gul Rahman · Central Intelligence Agency
confirmed
2007-09-15Honest Leadership Act Takes Effect But Fails to Slow Congressional Revolving Door 3 src
U.S. Congress · Public Citizen
confirmed
2007-05-10Purdue Pharma Pleads Guilty to Criminal Misbranding, $600M Fine, Zero Executives Jailed 3 src
Purdue Pharma · U.S. Department of Justice
confirmed
2007-01-01Cellebrite Launches Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED) for Law Enforcement 3 src
Cellebrite
confirmed
2006-12-29AT&T Completes $86 Billion BellSouth Acquisition: Bell System Reassembled After 1984 Breakup 3 src
Federal Communications Commission
confirmed
2005-11-08Dick Cheney Lobbies Congress for CIA Exemption from McCain Torture Ban 4 src
Dick Cheney · John McCain · Porter Goss · Central Intelligence Agency · +1
confirmed
2005-09-28House Majority Leader Tom DeLay Indicted for Money Laundering and Conspiracy 3 src
Tom DeLay
confirmed
2004-11-21Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Files Bankruptcy, Trump Removed as CEO 3 src
Donald Trump
confirmed
2004-10-27Google Acquires CIA-Backed Keyhole, Foundation for Google Earth 3 src
Google · In-Q-Tel · Central Intelligence Agency
confirmed
2004-02-26Department of Justice Files Antitrust Lawsuit to Block Oracle-PeopleSoft Merger 3 src
Department of Justice · Oracle · PeopleSoft · Larry Ellison
confirmed
2004-02-01Accenture Awarded Competitive DHS US-VISIT Contract 4 src
Accenture · U.S. Department of Homeland Security
confirmed
2003-10-01Christopher Poole Founds 4chan: Anonymous Imageboard Becomes Radicalization Infrastructure 2 src confirmed
2003-08-29John Poindexter Resigns from DARPA After TIA Scandal, Surveillance Architect Exits to Private Sector 3 src
John Poindexter · DARPA · Information Awareness Office · SAIC
confirmed
2003-03-01Abu Zubaydah - Waterboarded 83 Times, Tortured for Years, Never Charged with Any Crime 4 src
Abu Zubaydah · Central Intelligence Agency · James Mitchell · Bruce Jessen · +1
confirmed
2003-02-01In-Q-Tel Invests in Keyhole's EarthViewer During Iraq War Buildup 3 src
In-Q-Tel · National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency · CNN
confirmed
2002-12-01CIA Begins Systematic Use of Enhanced Interrogation Techniques on Detainees 4 src
Central Intelligence Agency · Abu Zubaydah · Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri · James Mitchell · +2
confirmed
2002-11-09New York Times Exposes Total Information Awareness Surveillance Program, Sparking Public Outcry 3 src
New York Times · DARPA · John Poindexter · Information Awareness Office
confirmed
2002-08-02Poindexter Announces DARPA Total Information Awareness Program 3 src
John Poindexter · DARPA · Information Awareness Office
confirmed
2001-09-21AT&T Establishes Mass Internet Surveillance Infrastructure for NSA 3 src
National Security Agency · Bush Administration
confirmed
2001-09-04Oracle Hires CIA Executive Director David Carney, Establishes Information Assurance Center 3 src
Oracle · Central Intelligence Agency · Larry Ellison
confirmed
2001-01-20Clinton Pardons Fugitive Marc Rich Amid Corruption Allegations 4 src
Bill Clinton · Hillary Clinton
confirmed
2001-01-01Bush and Obama Administrations Cement Bipartisan Chicago School Antitrust Consensus, Approve Historic Consolidation 4 src
George W. Bush · Barack Obama · Department of Justice · Federal Trade Commission
confirmed
2000-01-01Opioid Epidemic Death Toll Reaches 500,000 Americans Between 2000-2020 3 src
Purdue Pharma · Sackler Family · Food and Drug Administration · Drug Enforcement Administration · +1
confirmed
1999-11-20Wassenaar Arrangement Cryptography Provisions Liberalized, US Export Controls Follow 3 src
Department of Commerce · Electronic Frontier Foundation
confirmed
1999-04-27DARPA's Brian Sharkey Coins "Total Information Awareness" at DARPATech Conference 3 src
John Poindexter
confirmed
1999-01-01Cellebrite Founded in Israel to Develop Mobile Phone Data Transfer Technology 3 src
Cellebrite
reported
1998-10-28Digital Millennium Copyright Act Section 512: Safe Harbor Provisions Create Dual System of Corporate Protection and Individual Vulnerability 4 src
Bill Clinton · Google · YouTube
confirmed
1998-10-27Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act: Disney Lobbying Creates 'Mickey Mouse Protection Act,' Extending Corporate Rent Extraction by 20 Years 4 src
Bill Clinton · Viacom
confirmed
1998-09-23Federal Reserve Orchestrates $3.6 Billion Bailout of Long-Term Capital Management to Prevent Systemic Collapse 3 src
Alan Greenspan · Federal Reserve Bank of New York
confirmed
1998-09-01Narus Founded, Israeli-Origin Deep-Packet-Inspection Firm Becomes NSA Infrastructure Supplier 3 src
National Security Agency · AT&T
confirmed
1998-05-01ALEC Adopts Paycheck Protection Act to Defund Democratic Party by Restricting Union Political Activity 3 src
American Legislative Exchange Council · Scott Walker
confirmed
1997-10-01FBI Begins Development of Carnivore/DCS1000 Internet Surveillance System 4 src
Louis Freeh · Federal Bureau of Investigation · Electronic Frontier Foundation
confirmed
1997-08-01Northrop Grumman B-2 Bomber Program Reaches $44 Billion Total Cost 3 src
Northrop Grumman · U.S. Air Force · U.S. Department of Defense · U.S. Congress · +1
confirmed
1997-01-01First Complaints Against Larry Nassar Dismissed by Michigan State Coach Kathie Klages 3 src
Larry Nassar · Michigan State University
confirmed
1997-01-01SEC Fort Worth Examiners Identify Allen Stanford Ponzi Scheme, Enforcement Division Ignores Warnings for 12 Years 3 src
Securities and Exchange Commission
confirmed
1996-08-21HIPAA Passes with Limited Portability Protections While Granting Healthcare Industry Control Over Patient Data 3 src
Bill Clinton · Edward Kennedy · Health Insurance Association of America · American Hospital Association
confirmed
1996-06-18Chinese Military Intelligence Funnels Campaign Donations Through Johnny Chung 4 src
Bill Clinton · Democratic National Committee
confirmed
1996-04-29Buddhist Temple Fundraising Event Generates Illegal Campaign Contributions 4 src
Al Gore · Democratic National Committee
confirmed
1996-02-26Lincoln Bedroom Fundraising Scandal Reveals White House Donor Access Program 3 src
Bill Clinton · Democratic National Committee
confirmed
1996-01-11DOJ Drops Zimmermann PGP Investigation, Marks Crypto Wars Policy Inflection 2 src
Department of Justice · Electronic Frontier Foundation
confirmed
1995-01-01K Street Project Systematically Transforms Washington Lobbying Infrastructure 3 src
Tom DeLay · Grover Norquist
confirmed
1994-10-25Clinton Signs CALEA Requiring Telecom Networks to Be Wiretap-Ready By Design 4 src
Bill Clinton · Louis Freeh · Federal Bureau of Investigation · Patrick Leahy
confirmed
1994-09-26Clinton Healthcare Reform Dies After Insurance Industry Lobbying Campaign 4 src
Bill Clinton · Hillary Clinton · Health insurance industry · Health Insurance Association of America · +1
confirmed
1994-06-02Matt Blaze Publishes Clipper Chip Security Flaw, Demonstrates Key-Escrow Bypassability 3 src
National Security Agency · National Institute of Standards and Technology
confirmed
1993-04-16Clinton White House Announces Clipper Chip, NSA-Designed Backdoor Encryption with Government Key Escrow 3 src
Bill Clinton · Al Gore · National Security Agency · National Institute of Standards and Technology · +1
confirmed
1993-02-01US Customs Opens Criminal Investigation of Phil Zimmermann Over PGP Encryption Export 3 src
Department of Justice · Electronic Frontier Foundation
confirmed
1992-11-01Trump Plaza Hotel in Manhattan Files for Bankruptcy Protection 3 src
Donald Trump
reported
1992-03-09Trump Castle and Trump Plaza File Simultaneous Bankruptcies 3 src
Donald Trump
reported
1992-03-01FBI Launches Digital Telephony Initiative Demanding Wiretap-Ready Design in New Networks 3 src
Federal Bureau of Investigation · Louis Freeh · Electronic Frontier Foundation
confirmed
1992-01-01SEC Investigates Madoff Feeder Fund Avellino & Bienes, Misses $65 Billion Ponzi Scheme in First Regulatory Failure 3 src
Securities and Exchange Commission · Bernie Madoff
confirmed
1991-11-20Keating Five Ethics Findings: Cranston Reprimanded, Systemic Corruption Exposed 3 src
Alan Cranston · Dennis DeConcini · Donald Riegle · John Glenn · +2
confirmed
1991-07-01Trump Taj Mahal Files First Bankruptcy After Junk Bond Collapse 3 src
Donald Trump
confirmed
1991-07-01Trump's Six Bankruptcies: Pattern of Borrowing Heavily and Walking Away 3 src
Donald Trump
confirmed
1989-08-09FIRREA Signed: $160 Billion Taxpayer Bailout of S&L Industry Fraud 4 src
George H.W. Bush · U.S. Congress · Resolution Trust Corporation · Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
confirmed
1989-04-14Senate Ethics Committee Opens Keating Five Investigation 3 src
John McCain · John Glenn · Alan Cranston · Donald Riegle · +2
confirmed
1989-01-20Reagan Leaves Office: Domestic Corruption and Policy Failure Legacy 3 src
Ronald Reagan · George H.W. Bush
confirmed
1989-01-01S&L Industry Collapse: Over 1,000 Institutions Failed by 1989 3 src
Federal Home Loan Bank Board · Resolution Trust Corporation
confirmed
1988-12-01Silverado S&L Collapses: Neil Bush Conflict of Interest Costs Taxpayers $1 Billion 4 src
George H.W. Bush · Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
confirmed
1988-08-01Rush Limbaugh National Syndication Begins - Conservative Talk Radio Ecosystem Created 3 src
Rush Limbaugh
confirmed
1987-01-01AIDS Death Toll Reaches 25,000: Reagan Administration Inaction Continues 3 src
Ronald Reagan
confirmed
1986-10-22Koop Releases AIDS Report After Five-Year Delay: Public Health vs Politics 3 src
C. Everett Koop · Ronald Reagan · U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
confirmed
1986-10-21Congress Passes Electronic Communications Privacy Act, Codifies Third-Party Doctrine for Digital Communications 3 src
Patrick Leahy · Ronald Reagan
confirmed
1985-10-02Rock Hudson Dies of AIDS: Reagan Forced to Finally Acknowledge Crisis 4 src
Ronald Reagan · Nancy Reagan · C. Everett Koop
confirmed
1984-09-24Hatch-Waxman Act Grants Pharma Patent Extensions While Creating Loopholes to Block Generics 3 src
Orrin Hatch · Henry Waxman · Ronald Reagan · PhRMA
confirmed
1983-12-20Donald Rumsfeld Meets Saddam Hussein as Reagan Special Envoy to Iraq 3 src
Donald Rumsfeld · Ronald Reagan
confirmed
1983-01-01Heritage Foundation Expands to 100+ Staff with $10 Million Budget During Reagan Administration Peak Influence 3 src
Heritage Foundation · Edwin Feulner · Ronald Reagan · Richard Scaife · +2
confirmed
1982-06-14DOJ Issues Baxter's 1982 Merger Guidelines, Revolutionizing Antitrust Enforcement Toward Corporate Permissiveness 4 src
William F. Baxter · Department of Justice · Federal Trade Commission · Ronald Reagan
confirmed
1982-01-08AT&T Breakup Settlement Finalized, Becoming Last Major Antitrust Action for Decades 3 src
AT&T · Department of Justice · Ronald Reagan · Robert Bork
confirmed
1981-06-05AIDS Epidemic Begins: Reagan Administration Maintains Years of Deadly Silence 4 src
Ronald Reagan · C. Everett Koop
confirmed
1981-01-01Reagan Administration Muzzles Surgeon General Koop on AIDS for Five Years 4 src
C. Everett Koop · Ronald Reagan · U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
confirmed
1980-01-01NLRB Systemic Underfunding and Weak Enforcement Enables Corporate Union-Busting 3 src
National Labor Relations Board · U.S. Congress · Reagan Administration
confirmed
1978-03-06DOJ Returns to Court: Trump Violated 1975 Discrimination Settlement 3 src
Donald Trump · Fred Trump · Roy Cohn
confirmed
1975-06-10Trump Settles Housing Discrimination Case Without Admitting Guilt 3 src
Donald Trump · Fred Trump · Roy Cohn
confirmed
1975-01-01Richard Viguerie Perfects Direct Mail Fundraising - Conservative Grassroots Infrastructure 3 src
Richard Viguerie · Paul Weyrich · Howard Phillips · Terry Dolan · +1
confirmed
1970-01-01Richard Scaife Acquires Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Building Conservative Media Infrastructure 3 src
Richard Scaife
confirmed