Capture lane

Executive Power Expansion

The Executive Power Expansion capture lane traces 819 verified events documenting this mechanism of institutional capture.

819 events From Nov 29, 1864 To May 16, 2026 Open in filter view →
Top 10 actors in this lane 10 actors · 1864–2026
Top actors in Executive Power Expansion186518701875188018851890189519001905191019151920192519301935194019451950195519601965197019751980198519901995200020052010201520202025WatergateReaganIran-Contra9/11Citizens UnitedTrump 1.0Trump 2.0Donald Trump1415 eventsTrump Administration363 eventsWhite House Iraq GroupPete Hegseth103 eventsWhite House71 eventsDick Cheney59 eventsKarl RoveGeorge W. Bush72 eventsU.S. Department of Defense93 eventsAndrew Card
Capture lanecorruptiondemocraticexecutivefinancialintelligencejudiciallaborlegislativemediamilitaryotherregulatory Status confirmed alleged disputed
DateEventLanesStatus
2017-06-15Kansas City Fed Denies Reserve Trust Master Account Amid Potential Regulatory Capture 3 src
Pat Toomey · Cynthia Lummis
confirmed
2017-06-09Office of Special Counsel Finds White House Social Media Director Dan Scavino Violated Hatch Act with Political Tweet Attacking Congressman 4 src
Dan Scavino · Donald Trump · Office of Special Counsel
confirmed
2017-06-01Trump Withdraws from Paris Climate Agreement Isolating America 3 src
Donald Trump · Fossil Fuel Industry · United States · Scott Pruitt
confirmed
2017-05-11Trump Admits to Lester Holt He Fired Comey Because of This Russia Thing - Obstruction Confession on National TV 3 src
Donald Trump · James Comey · Rod Rosenstein
confirmed
2017-04-17Boris Epshteyn Leaves Trump White House, Immediately Joins Sinclair Broadcasting as Chief Political Analyst - Direct Trump Propaganda Pipeline 5 src
Sinclair Broadcast Group · Donald Trump · Trump Administration
confirmed
2017-04-06Ivanka Trump Receives Chinese Trademarks During Xi Jinping Dinner 3 src
Ivanka Trump · China · Xi Jinping · Donald Trump
confirmed
2017-04-05Steve Bannon Removed from National Security Council After Unprecedented Political Appointment Sparked Bipartisan Outrage 3 src
Steve Bannon · Donald Trump · Michael Flynn · Dan Coats
confirmed
2017-03-28Trump Signs Executive Order Dismantling Obama-Era Climate Regulations 3 src
Donald Trump · Scott Pruitt · Lee Zeldin
confirmed
2017-03-22Trump Asks Intelligence Chiefs Coats and Rogers to Publicly Deny Russia Collusion Evidence - Obstruction of Investigation 3 src
Donald Trump · Dan Coats · Mike Rogers · James Comey · +1
confirmed
2017-03-20FBI Director Comey Publicly Confirms Russia Investigation into Trump Campaign in Historic House Testimony 3 src
James Comey · Donald Trump · Mike Rogers · Devin Nunes · +1
confirmed
2017-03-06Trump Signs Travel Ban 2.0 (Executive Order 13780) - Revised Muslim Ban After Courts Block Original 2 src
Donald Trump · Rudy Giuliani
confirmed
2017-03-04Trump Falsely Accuses Obama of Wiretapping Trump Tower Based on "A Little Bit of a Hunch" 2 src
Donald Trump · Barack Obama · James Clapper · James Comey
confirmed
2017-03-02Ryan Zinke Opens Public Lands to Extraction While Profiting 3 src
Ryan Zinke · David Bernhardt · Department of Interior · Halliburton
confirmed
2017-02-23Private Prison Stocks Soar as CoreCivic, GEO Donate $2.8M to Trump 3 src
CoreCivic · GEO Group · Jeff Sessions · Donald Trump · +2
confirmed
2017-02-14Trump Asks Comey to "Let Flynn Go" in Private Oval Office Meeting 3 src
Donald Trump · James Comey · Michael Flynn · Jared Kushner · +1
confirmed
2017-02-13Michael Flynn Resigns After 24 Days as National Security Advisor - Shortest Tenure Ever - Following Russia Lies to Pence and FBI 2 src
Michael Flynn · Donald Trump · Mike Pence · Sally Yates · +2
confirmed
2017-02-11Trump Handles North Korea Missile Crisis at Mar-a-Lago in Front of Paying Club Members - Unprecedented Security Breach 4 src
Donald Trump
confirmed
2017-02-08Kellyanne Conway Commits 50+ Hatch Act Violations, No Consequences 3 src
Kellyanne Conway · Donald Trump · Office of Special Counsel · White House · +2
confirmed
2017-02-08Trump Attacks Nordstrom Using Presidential Office to Promote Daughter Ivanka's Business After Brand Dropped 2 src
Donald Trump · Ivanka Trump · Richard Painter
confirmed
2017-01-30Deutsche Bank fined $630 million for $10 billion Russian money laundering scheme 3 src
Deutsche Bank · Donald Trump · Jared Kushner
confirmed
2017-01-30Executive Order 13771: Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs 3 src
Donald Trump · Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs · Public Citizen · Joe Biden
confirmed
2017-01-30Trump Fires Acting Attorney General Sally Yates for Refusing to Defend Muslim Ban 2 src
Donald Trump · Sally Yates · Jeff Sessions · Rudy Giuliani
confirmed
2017-01-29Trump Approves Botched Yemen Raid Killing Navy SEAL Owens and 23+ Civilians Including 8-Year-Old American Girl 2 src
Donald Trump
confirmed
2017-01-27Stephen Miller's Muslim Ban Creates Chaos at Airports Nationwide, Detains Legal Residents 3 src
Stephen Miller · Donald Trump · Steve Bannon
confirmed
2017-01-27Trump Demands Loyalty from FBI Director Comey at Private White House Dinner 2 src
Donald Trump · James Comey · Michael Flynn · Sally Yates · +1
confirmed
2017-01-27Trump Signs Muslim Ban (Executive Order 13769) Causing Airport Chaos and Mass Visa Revocations 3 src
Donald Trump · Rudy Giuliani · State Department
confirmed
2017-01-21Mar-a-Lago Membership Fee Doubles to $400K for Presidential Access 3 src
Donald Trump · U.S. Secret Service
confirmed
2017-01-20Goldman Sachs Alumni Take Control of Trump Economic Policy 3 src
Steven Mnuchin · Goldman Sachs · Jay Clayton · Donald Trump
confirmed
2017-01-20Heritage Foundation Staffs Trump Admin, Implements 64% of Agenda 3 src
Heritage Foundation · Donald Trump · Mick Mulvaney · Scott Pruitt · +3
confirmed
2017-01-20Trump Organization Receives 3.6M from Foreign Governments 3 src
Donald Trump · Trump Organization · Saudi Arabia · China · +4
confirmed
2017-01-01ICE hiring collapses despite 10,000 agent expansion order 4 src
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) · Trump Administration
confirmed
2016-11-18Trump Settles Trump University Fraud Cases for $25 Million, 10 Days After Election Victory 3 src
Donald Trump · Gonzalo Curiel · Eric Schneiderman
confirmed
2016-03-01Trump Model Management Lawsuit Dismissed on Technicality Despite Evidence 4 src
Alexia Palmer · Trump Model Management · Donald Trump · Federal Courts
confirmed
2016-01-01Cambridge Analytica Deploys Harvested Facebook Data for Trump Campaign Electoral Manipulation 6 src
Cambridge Analytica · Trump Campaign · Alexander Nix · Steve Bannon · +2
confirmed
2015-12-01Guardian Exposes Cambridge Analytica's Unauthorized Facebook Data Use for Ted Cruz Campaign 3 src
The Guardian · Cambridge Analytica · Ted Cruz · Facebook · +1
confirmed
2015-12-01McKinsey Develops Saudi Vision 2030 Economic Blueprint for Crown Prince MBS 7 src
McKinsey & Company · Mohammed bin Salman · Saudi Arabia
confirmed
2015-01-01ABC News kills Amy Robach interview with Virginia Giuffre about Epstein network 3 src
Virginia Giuffre · ABC News · Prince Andrew · Jeffrey Epstein
confirmed
2014-12-09Senate Intelligence Committee Releases Torture Report - CIA Program Was Brutal and Ineffective 4 src
Dianne Feinstein · Senate Select Committee on Intelligence · Central Intelligence Agency · John Brennan · +1
confirmed
2014-05-12Hunter Biden Joins Burisma Board While Father Leads Ukraine Policy 3 src
Hunter Biden · Joe Biden · Devon Archer
confirmed
2014-03-18Putin Formally Signs Treaty Annexing Crimea, Escalating International Conflict 3 src
Vladimir Putin · Joe Biden · Angela Merkel
confirmed
2013-10-24NSA Monitored Angela Merkel's Phone and 35 Other World Leaders 3 src
National Security Agency · Angela Merkel · Barack Obama · Edward Snowden
confirmed
2013-08-01Russia Grants Snowden Temporary Asylum After 39 Days in Moscow Airport 3 src
Edward Snowden · Russia · Vladimir Putin
confirmed
2013-06-21Obama Prosecutes 8 Whistleblowers Under Espionage Act, More Than All Presidents 3 src
Barack Obama · Eric Holder · Edward Snowden · Chelsea Manning · +3
confirmed
2013-01-03Google's Political Influence Derails FTC Antitrust Investigation 3 src
Federal Trade Commission · Larry Page · Eric Schmidt · Obama Administration
confirmed
2012-12-11HSBC Pays $1.9B for Money Laundering, No Executives Jailed 3 src
Lanny Breuer · Department of Justice · Eric Holder · Covington & Burling
confirmed
2012-11-15BP Pleads Guilty to Felony Charges and Agrees to Record $4.5 Billion Criminal Settlement 3 src
BP (British Petroleum) · Department of Justice · Securities and Exchange Commission · Eric Holder · +1
confirmed
2012-08-30Holder Closes Durham CIA Torture Investigations With No Charges — Completing the Obama-Era Ratchet Click on Torture Non-Prosecution 4 src
Eric Holder · Barack Obama · Central Intelligence Agency · Gul Rahman
confirmed
2012-05-01Obama Administration Counts All Military-Age Males Killed by Drones as Combatants 4 src
Barack Obama · John Brennan · Central Intelligence Agency
confirmed
2011-03-23Trump Launches Political Career with Racist Birther Conspiracy 3 src
Donald Trump · Barack Obama
confirmed
2010-04-20Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Begins - Environmental Disaster and Corporate Negligence 3 src
BP (British Petroleum) · Halliburton · Barack Obama
confirmed
2010-01-27Obama Criticizes Citizens United at State of Union, Alito Responds 'Not True' 4 src
Barack Obama · Samuel Alito · John Roberts · Ruth Bader Ginsburg · +3
confirmed
2009-12-21Former CDC Director Julie Gerberding Joins Merck as Vaccine Division President 3 src
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · Merck
confirmed
2009-06-01Obama Cuts $80B PhRMA Deal Abandoning Medicare Negotiation Promise 3 src
Barack Obama · PhRMA · Billy Tauzin
confirmed
2009-01-20Obama Admin Prosecutes Zero Wall Street Executives Despite Crisis Fraud 3 src
Eric Holder · Department of Justice · Lanny Breuer · Covington & Burling
confirmed
2008-10-03Bush Signs 00B Bank Bailout with Minimal Oversight 3 src
George W. Bush · Henry Paulson · Goldman Sachs · Citigroup · +2
confirmed
2008-10-03Congress Passes $700 Billion TARP Bailout Without Criminal Accountability Provisions 3 src
Henry Paulson · Goldman Sachs · JPMorgan Chase · Bank of America · +4
confirmed
2008-09-07Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Placed in Federal Conservatorship, $187 Billion Taxpayer Bailout 3 src
U.S. Treasury Department · Henry Paulson · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Fannie Mae · +1
confirmed
2008-09-04Jack Abramoff Sentenced to 48 Months Prison and $23 Million Restitution 3 src
Jack Abramoff · Michael Scanlon · Native American Tribes · U.S. District Court · +3
confirmed
2008-07-09FISA Amendments Act of 2008 Passes, Granting Telecom Immunity 3 src
U.S. Congress · George W. Bush · United States Senate · U.S. House of Representatives · +2
confirmed
2007-11-15Thomas Drake Reports NSA Trailblazer Program Waste and Constitutional Violations 3 src
Thomas Drake · National Security Agency · SAIC · Michael Hayden
confirmed
2007-06-25DOJ Voting Section Politicization: Bush Administration Weaponizes Civil Rights Division for Voter Suppression 3 src
Alberto Gonzales · Hans von Spakovsky · Monica Goodling
confirmed
2007-05-23Monica Goodling Admits Political Screening of DOJ Lawyers 3 src
Monica Goodling · Alberto Gonzales · U.S. Department of Justice · U.S. Congress
confirmed
2007-03-06Scooter Libby Convicted on Four Counts in CIA Leak Case 3 src
Lewis 'Scooter' Libby · Patrick Fitzgerald · Dick Cheney · George W. Bush · +2
confirmed
2006-09-06Bush Publicly Acknowledges CIA Secret Prisons for First Time, Transfers Detainees to Guantanamo 4 src
George W. Bush · Central Intelligence Agency · Abu Zubaydah · Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri
confirmed
2006-07-24ABA Condemns Bush 800+ Signing Statements Nullifying Oversight 3 src
George W. Bush · American Bar Association · Dick Cheney · David Addington · +1
confirmed
2006-05-08Michael Hayden Nominated as CIA Director Despite NSA Surveillance Controversy 3 src
Michael Hayden · George W. Bush · Senate Intelligence Committee · National Security Agency · +2
confirmed
2006-02-22Bush Threatens First Presidential Veto Over Dubai Ports Deal 3 src
George W. Bush · Dubai Ports World · UAE · Republican Congress · +1
confirmed
2006-01-24KBR (Halliburton Subsidiary) Awarded $385M DHS/ICE Contingency Contract for Emergency Immigrant Detention Facilities 6 src
Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) · Halliburton · Dick Cheney · U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) · +2
confirmed
2005-12-16New York Times Exposes NSA Warrantless Surveillance Program 5 src
James Risen · New York Times · George W. Bush · National Security Agency
confirmed
2005-11-16Oil Executives Deny Task Force Participation Despite Documentary Evidence 3 src
ExxonMobil · Chevron · ConocoPhillips · Shell Oil · +1
confirmed
2005-11-09CIA Destroys 92 Torture Interrogation Videotapes to Conceal Evidence 4 src
Central Intelligence Agency · Gina Haspel · Abu Zubaydah · Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri · +1
confirmed
2005-08-08Energy Task Force Recommendations Become EPA Policy Without Review 3 src
Dick Cheney · Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · ExxonMobil · Chevron · +1
confirmed
2005-06-08Phil Cooney Climate Science Censorship Exposed by Whistleblower 3 src
ExxonMobil · American Petroleum Institute
confirmed
2005-05-10Bradbury OLC Memos Reconstruct CIA Interrogation Authorization Post-Goldsmith Withdrawal — Three May 2005 Memos Re-authorize Waterboarding 6 src
Alberto Gonzales · David Addington · Dick Cheney · George W. Bush · +2
confirmed
2005-01-15John Negroponte Becomes First Director of National Intelligence 3 src
George W. Bush · Senate Intelligence Committee · Intelligence Community
confirmed
2004-12-17Intelligence Reform Act Creates DNI, Accelerates Contractor Dependence 3 src
George W. Bush · U.S. Congress · Office of the Director of National Intelligence
confirmed
2004-08-24CIA Awards Blackwater Classified Intelligence Contracts, Creating Private Paramilitary-Intelligence Capability 3 src
Blackwater · Erik Prince · Central Intelligence Agency
confirmed
2004-06-28WHIG-Enabled Torture Authorization Establishes Executive Immunity Precedent for Constitutional Crisis Governance 3 src
John Yoo · Jay Bybee · Alberto Gonzales · White House Iraq Group · +5
confirmed
2004-06-24Supreme Court Protects Cheney Energy Task Force Secrecy 3 src
Dick Cheney · U.S. Supreme Court · Anthony Kennedy · Antonin Scalia · +2
confirmed
2004-06-04Stewart v. Blackwell Applies Bush v. Gore Equal Protection Precedent to Ohio Voting Disparities 4 src confirmed
2004-03-10Hospital Confrontation Over NSA Surveillance Program 6 src
John Ashcroft · James Comey · Alberto Gonzales · Robert Mueller
confirmed
2004-01-05Scott Bloch Dismisses 1,000+ Whistleblower Cases at OSC 3 src
Office of Special Counsel · U.S. Congress · Federal Bureau of Investigation
confirmed
2003-07-14Valerie Plame's CIA Identity Leaked in Retaliation for Wilson's Iraq WMD Criticism 6 src
Valerie Plame · Joseph Wilson · Dick Cheney · Scooter Libby · +2
confirmed
2003-07-07WHIG Coordinates Campaign to Discredit Joseph Wilson, Leading to Plame Leak 3 src
White House Iraq Group · Karl Rove · Scooter Libby · Colin Powell · +4
confirmed
2003-05-01Powell-WHIG Template Establishes Crisis-Accelerated Institutional Capture Blueprint for Ongoing Democratic Transformation 3 src
George W. Bush · White House Iraq Group · Heritage Foundation · Federalist Society
confirmed
2003-03-14Yoo OLC Memo Exempts 'Wartime' Domestic Surveillance from Fourth Amendment — Stealth Authorization of NSA Warrantless Wiretap Program 5 src
John C. Yoo · Jay Bybee · Michael Hayden · George Tenet · +4
confirmed
2003-03-08Halliburton Gets 9.5B Iraq Contracts with Cheney Ties 4 src
Dick Cheney · Halliburton · Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers · +1
confirmed
2003-03-08Halliburton KBR Receives $7 Billion No-Bid Iraq Contract Through Systematic Corporate-State Fusion Infrastructure Coordination 3 src
Dick Cheney · Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers · Douglas Feith · +3
confirmed
2003-02-28NSA Officer Kwiatkowski Documents OSP-WHIG Intelligence Corruption as Whistleblower 3 src
Office of Special Plans · White House Iraq Group · Douglas Feith · Michael Maloof · +5
confirmed
2003-01-21OGC Formalizes Systematic Network Coordination Infrastructure Through Executive Order 3 src
George W. Bush · White House Iraq Group · Television Network Executives
confirmed
2003-01-15WHIG Establishes Systematic Opposition Research and Critic Monitoring Apparatus 3 src
Karl Rove · Karen Hughes · Mary Matalin · Condoleezza Rice · +2
confirmed
2002-12-18OSP Fabricates Iraq-al Qaeda Intelligence for WHIG Propaganda Campaign 3 src
Office of Special Plans · White House Iraq Group · Douglas Feith · Michael Maloof · +5
confirmed
2002-11-25WHIG Establishes Executive Deception Infrastructure as Constitutional Precedent for Crisis Governance 3 src
White House Iraq Group · Andrew Card · Karl Rove · Dick Cheney · +4
confirmed
2002-11-20OSP Systematically Bypasses CIA Vetting to Feed Fabricated Intelligence to WHIG 3 src
Office of Special Plans · White House Iraq Group · Douglas Feith · Karl Rove · +3
confirmed
2002-11-15Federalist Society Provides WHIG with Crisis-Accelerated Legal Justification Infrastructure for Powell Memorandum Implementation 3 src
Federalist Society · John Yoo · Jay Bybee · Steven Calabresi · +1
confirmed
2002-10-16WHIG Achieves Systematic Bypass of Constitutional Separation of Powers Through Congressional Deception 3 src
George W. Bush · White House Iraq Group · U.S. Congress · Constitutional Framework · +4
confirmed
2002-10-15OSP-WHIG Coordination Establishes Systematic Intelligence Manipulation Pipeline 3 src
Office of Special Plans · White House Iraq Group · Douglas Feith · Karl Rove · +3
confirmed
2002-10-12OSP and WHIG Establish Daily Intelligence-Propaganda Coordination Meetings 3 src
Douglas Feith · Paul Wolfowitz · Andrew Card · Dick Cheney · +3
confirmed
2002-10-11Iraq War Authorization Vote Succeeds Through WHIG's Systematic Congressional Deception 3 src
White House Iraq Group · U.S. House of Representatives · U.S. Senate · Hillary Clinton · +5
confirmed
2002-10-05WHIG Systematically Withholds Contradictory Intelligence from Congress 3 src
White House Iraq Group · Stephen Hadley · Scooter Libby · George Tenet · +4
confirmed