Judicial Capture
The Judicial Capture capture lane traces 645 verified events documenting this mechanism of institutional capture.
| Date | Event | Lanes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-12-10 | New York Loses ExxonMobil Climate Fraud Lawsuit in Major Accountability Failure Barry Ostrager · Letitia James · ExxonMobil · New York Supreme Court · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2019-11-07 | Judge Orders Trump to Pay $2 Million for Misusing Trump Foundation Charity Funds Saliann Scarpulla · Donald Trump · Letitia James · Trump Foundation | confirmed | |
| 2019-10-24 | Federal Judge Holds DeVos in Contempt for Illegally Collecting on Corinthian Loans - $100K Fine Betsy DeVos · Sallie Kim · U.S. Department of Education | confirmed | |
| 2019-10-07 | Sutter Health Settles Antitrust Case for $575 Million, Admits to All-or-Nothing Contracting and Price Concealment Sutter Health · Xavier Becerra · California Attorney General | confirmed | |
| 2019-10-01 | Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Big Four Meatpackers Conspired to Fix Beef Prices and Manipulate Markets Tyson Foods · JBS · Cargill · National Beef · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2019-09-17 | Edward Snowden Publishes Memoir "Permanent Record"; DOJ Immediately Sues for Proceeds Edward Snowden · Department of Justice · American Civil Liberties Union | confirmed | |
| 2019-09-15 | Purdue Pharma Files Bankruptcy to Shield Sackler Family from Civil Lawsuits Purdue Pharma · Sackler Family · Richard Sackler · David Sackler · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2019-09-12 | France Orders Google to Pay €1B for Tax Fraud, Settles for €945M Google · French tax authority · French government · Bruno Le Maire (Finance Minister) · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2019-08-26 | Oklahoma Wins $572 Million Verdict Against Johnson & Johnson for Opioid Public Nuisance Thad Balkman · Johnson & Johnson · State of Oklahoma | confirmed | |
| 2019-08-10 | Epstein found dead in cell at 6:30 AM - cameras malfunctioned, guards slept, ruled suicide Jeffrey Epstein · MCC prison staff · FBI investigators · Medical examiner · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2019-07-01 | Clarence Thomas Takes 8-Day Indonesia Yacht Trip with Harlan Crow Clarence Thomas · Virginia Thomas · Harlan Crow | confirmed | |
| 2019-06-28 | James Alex Fields Sentenced to Life Plus 419 Years for Charlottesville Murder James Alex Fields Jr. · Heather Heyer · Susan Bro | confirmed | |
| 2019-06-27 | Supreme Court Rules Partisan Gerrymandering Beyond Federal Court Jurisdiction U.S. Supreme Court · John Roberts · Robert Rucho · Common Cause | confirmed | |
| 2019-06-21 | E. Jean Carroll Publicly Accuses Trump of Sexual Assault in New York Magazine E. Jean Carroll · Donald Trump | confirmed | |
| 2019-06-04 | Claims from Michael Wolff ('Siege') and later commentary; no public evidence of 'Trump money laundering' via Epstein Jeffrey Epstein · Michael Wolff · Donald Trump | disputed | |
| 2019-05-21 | FTC v. Qualcomm: Judge Lucy Koh Finds Antitrust Violations in Standard Essential Patent Licensing, Later Reversed on Appeal Federal Trade Commission · Lucy Koh · Qualcomm · Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2019-05-21 | McGahn Defies Scheduled Congressional Testimony Despite House Subpoena Donald McGahn · House Judiciary Committee · Jerry Nadler · William Burck · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2019-04-09 | Trump Claims Absolute Immunity from Congressional Oversight Donald Trump · Pat Cipollone · Don McGahn · John Bolton · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2019-03-07 | Paul Manafort Sentenced to Combined 7.5 Years in Federal Prison, Longest Mueller Investigation Sentence Paul Manafort · Donald Trump · Judge T.S. Ellis III · Judge Amy Berman Jackson · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2019-02-21 | Federal Judge Rules Epstein Plea Deal Violated Crime Victims' Rights Act Kenneth Marra · Bradley Edwards · Paul Cassell · Alexander Acosta · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2019-01-17 | HHS Inspector General Reveals Thousands More Children Separated Than Disclosed HHS Office of Inspector General · Donald Trump · Kirstjen Nielsen · Jeff Sessions · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2019-01-01 | Ginni Thomas Joins CNP Action Board - Supreme Court Spouse in Conservative Coordination Hub Ginni Thomas · Clarence Thomas · Council for National Policy · CNP Action | confirmed | |
| 2018-12-18 | New York Judge Orders Trump Foundation Dissolved, Assets Distributed to Charities Saliann Scarpulla · Donald Trump · Trump Foundation · Barbara Underwood | confirmed | |
| 2018-12-18 | Trump Foundation Admits to Misusing Charity Funds, Agrees to Dissolve Under Court Supervision Donald Trump · Trump Foundation · Barbara Underwood · New York Attorney General | confirmed | |
| 2018-11-06 | Michigan Voters Approve Independent Redistricting Commission, Ending Partisan Gerrymandering Voters Not Politicians · Michigan voters | confirmed | |
| 2018-10-16 | AbbVie Humira Patent Thicket Delays US Biosimilars Until 2023 Despite 2016 Patent Expiration and European Competition AbbVie · Amgen · Samsung Bioepis · Mylan · +4 | confirmed | |
| 2018-10-06 | Senate Confirms Kavanaugh 50-48 Despite Sexual Assault Allegations and Severely Limited FBI Investigation Brett Kavanaugh · Susan Collins · Joe Manchin · Lisa Murkowski · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2018-09-27 | Christine Blasey Ford Delivers Credible, Emotional Testimony Alleging Kavanaugh Sexual Assault, He Responds with Partisan Rant Christine Blasey Ford · Brett Kavanaugh · Lindsey Graham · Chuck Grassley · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2018-06-27 | Janus v. AFSCME - Supreme Court Strikes Down Public Sector Union Fees, Targeting Teachers' Unions Justice Samuel Alito · Justice Neil Gorsuch · National Right to Work Foundation · State Policy Network · +4 | confirmed | |
| 2018-06-20 | Trump Signs Executive Order "Ending" Family Separation After International Outcry Donald Trump · Kirstjen Nielsen · Jeff Sessions · Stephen Miller | confirmed | |
| 2018-06-11 | Supreme Court Upholds Ohio's Aggressive "Use It Or Lose It" Voter Purge System U.S. Supreme Court · Samuel Alito · Sonia Sotomayor · Jon Husted | confirmed | |
| 2018-06-01 | Trump Family Separation Policy Detains 5,500 Children in Cages Donald Trump · Stephen Miller · Jeff Sessions · DHS (Department of Homeland Security) · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2018-05-31 | European Court Finds Romania and Lithuania Hosted CIA Torture Sites, Orders Damages European Court of Human Rights · Romania · Lithuania · Central Intelligence Agency · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2018-05-21 | Epic Systems v. Lewis: Supreme Court Allows Mandatory Arbitration Blocking Class Action Labor Claims U.S. Supreme Court · Neil Gorsuch · Federalist Society · Corporate employers · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2018-05-16 | Michigan State University Agrees to $500 Million Settlement with 332 Nassar Survivors—Largest University Sexual Abuse Settlement in History Michigan State University · Lou Anna Simon · John Engler · Larry Nassar · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2018-05-10 | Kirstjen Nielsen Defends Family Separation as Deterrent, Later Denies Policy Exists Kirstjen Nielsen · Jeff Sessions · Stephen Miller · Donald Trump · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2018-05-08 | Armenian Velvet Revolution Succeeds: Anti-Corruption Movement Achieves Peaceful Transition Nikol Pashinyan · Serzh Sargsyan · Armenian Civil Society · Civil Contract Party · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2018-04-10 | Judge Finalizes Trump University Settlement After Appeal Resolved, Victims Receive Payments Gonzalo Curiel · Donald Trump | confirmed | |
| 2018-04-06 | Jeff Sessions Announces "Zero Tolerance" Policy Designed to Separate Families Jeff Sessions · Donald Trump · Stephen Miller · DHS (Department of Homeland Security) · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2018-03-13 | Trump Nominates Gina Haspel as CIA Director Despite Role in Torture Program and Evidence Destruction Gina Haspel · Donald Trump · Mike Pompeo · Central Intelligence Agency · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2018-02-26 | Texas Leads 20 Republican States in Lawsuit Seeking to Eliminate Entire ACA Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton · Judge Reed O'Connor · 20 Republican State Attorneys General · California Attorney General Xavier Becerra · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2018-01-24 | Larry Nassar Sentenced to 40-175 Years After 156 Victim Impact Statements; Rachael Denhollander's Powerful Testimony Larry Nassar · Rosemarie Aquilina · Rachael Denhollander · Aly Raisman · +5 | confirmed | |
| 2018-01-22 | Pennsylvania Supreme Court Strikes Down Congressional Map as Unconstitutional Partisan Gerrymander Pennsylvania Supreme Court · League of Women Voters · Pennsylvania General Assembly | confirmed | |
| 2018-01-01 | Clarence Thomas Attends Koch Network Donor Summit - Supreme Court Ethics Violations Clarence Thomas · Koch Network · Council for National Policy | confirmed | |
| 2017-12-21 | DeVos Replaces Full Debt Relief With Earnings-Based Formula - Corinthian Victims Get Pennies on Dollar Betsy DeVos · U.S. Department of Education | confirmed | |
| 2017-08-15 | Trump Defends White Nationalists with "Very Fine People On Both Sides" Remarks Donald Trump · Heather Heyer · James Alex Fields Jr. | confirmed | |
| 2017-08-12 | White Supremacist Rally in Charlottesville Ends with Heather Heyer Murdered by Neo-Nazi James Alex Fields Jr. · Heather Heyer · Donald Trump | confirmed | |
| 2017-06-01 | Project Blitz Launches Christian Nationalist Legislative Playbook: Model Bills for All 50 States Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation · David Barton · WallBuilders · Lea Carawan | confirmed | |
| 2017-05-22 | TC Heartland v. Kraft: Supreme Court Limits Patent Forum Shopping, Curbing Eastern District of Texas Troll Haven U.S. Supreme Court · Clarence Thomas · TC Heartland · Kraft Foods · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2017-04-16 | Neil Gorsuch Sells Property to Law Firm CEO Days After Supreme Court Confirmation Neil Gorsuch · Brian Duffy · Greenberg Traurig | confirmed | |
| 2017-04-07 | McConnell Invokes Nuclear Option, Eliminates Filibuster for Supreme Court Nominees, Gorsuch Confirmed 54-45 Mitch McConnell · Neil Gorsuch · Chuck Schumer · Harry Reid · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2017-03-31 | Judge Curiel Approves $25 Million Trump University Settlement, Victims to Receive 90% Refunds Gonzalo Curiel · Donald Trump | confirmed | |
| 2017-03-06 | Trump Signs Travel Ban 2.0 (Executive Order 13780) - Revised Muslim Ban After Courts Block Original Donald Trump · Derrick Watson · Doug Chin · Rudy Giuliani | confirmed | |
| 2017-01-31 | Federalist Society Captures Federal Judiciary with $250M Dark Money Federalist Society · Leonard Leo · Donald Trump · Judicial Crisis Network · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2017-01-27 | Stephen Miller's Muslim Ban Creates Chaos at Airports Nationwide, Detains Legal Residents Stephen Miller · Donald Trump · Steve Bannon | confirmed | |
| 2017-01-27 | Trump Signs Muslim Ban (Executive Order 13769) Causing Airport Chaos and Mass Visa Revocations Donald Trump · Rudy Giuliani · Jim Mattis · State Department | confirmed | |
| 2017-01-20 | Trump Organization Receives 3.6M from Foreign Governments Donald Trump · Trump Organization · Saudi Arabia · China · +4 | confirmed | |
| 2016-10-27 | Federal Jury Acquits Bundy Brothers and Five Others for Armed Occupation of Malheur Wildlife Refuge Ammon Bundy · Ryan Bundy · Jeff Banta · Shawna Cox · +5 | confirmed | |
| 2016-10-10 | Anheuser-Busch InBev Completes $107 Billion SABMiller Acquisition: Beer Industry Consolidates Into Duopoly Anheuser-Busch InBev · SABMiller · Molson Coors · Department of Justice · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2016-07-29 | North Carolina Voter ID Law Struck Down for Targeting African Americans North Carolina General Assembly · Governor Pat McCrory · Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals · NAACP Legal Defense Fund · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2016-06-02 | Trump Attacks Federal Judge Curiel as "Mexican" Despite Indiana Birth, Paul Ryan Calls It "Textbook Racism" Donald Trump · Gonzalo Curiel · Paul Ryan | confirmed | |
| 2016-06-01 | Trump University Victims Testify to Losing Retirement Savings, Disability Income to Fraudulent Scheme Donald Trump · Ronald Schnackenberg · George Hanus | confirmed | |
| 2016-05-31 | Judge Unseals Trump University Documents Revealing Predatory Sales Playbook Targeting Vulnerable Consumers Gonzalo Curiel · Donald Trump · Ronald Schnackenberg | confirmed | |
| 2016-05-18 | Trump Promises All Supreme Court Picks Will Come From Federalist Society Donald Trump · Leonard Leo · Don McGahn · Neil Gorsuch · +4 | confirmed | |
| 2016-04-27 | Dennis Hastert Sentenced to 15 Months, Judge Calls Him 'Serial Child Molester' Dennis Hastert · Thomas Durkin · Scott Cross | confirmed | |
| 2016-03-16 | Obama Nominates Merrick Garland to Supreme Court, McConnell and Senate Republicans Refuse to Hold Hearings or Vote Barack Obama · Merrick Garland · Mitch McConnell · Chuck Grassley | confirmed | |
| 2016-03-01 | Trump Model Management Lawsuit Dismissed on Technicality Despite Evidence Alexia Palmer · Trump Model Management · Donald Trump · Federal Courts · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2016-02-13 | Justice Antonin Scalia Dies, McConnell Immediately Vows to Block Any Obama Nominee Antonin Scalia · Mitch McConnell · Barack Obama | confirmed | |
| 2015-06-25 | Supreme Court Rejects King v. Burwell Challenge to ACA Subsidies in Federal Exchanges U.S. Supreme Court · Chief Justice John Roberts · Justice Antonin Scalia · King (Plaintiff) · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2015-02-26 | FCC Votes 3-2 for Strong Net Neutrality Protections Through Title II Reclassification After Record Public Engagement Tom Wheeler · Federal Communications Commission · Ajit Pai · Michael O'Rielly · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2015-01-01 | Eastern District of Texas Patent Troll Haven: Judge Rodney Gilstrap Handles 25% of All U.S. Patent Cases, Forum Shopping Peak Rodney Gilstrap · Eastern District of Texas · John Roberts · Lex Machina | confirmed | |
| 2014-12-09 | Senate Report Documents CIA Torture Worse Than Disclosed - Rectal Feeding, Mock Executions, Deaths Central Intelligence Agency · Gul Rahman · Senate Select Committee on Intelligence · James Mitchell · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2014-10-20 | Harlan Crow Purchases Clarence Thomas's Mother's House in Undisclosed Deal Clarence Thomas · Harlan Crow · Leola Williams (Thomas's mother) · Crow Holdings | confirmed | |
| 2014-10-01 | Model Files Federal Lawsuit Against Trump Model Management for Wage Theft Alexia Palmer · Trump Model Management · Donald Trump | confirmed | |
| 2014-07-24 | European Court Rules Poland Violated Human Rights by Hosting CIA Torture Black Site European Court of Human Rights · Poland · Central Intelligence Agency · Abu Zubaydah · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2014-06-25 | Supreme Court Rules Warrantless Cell Phone Searches Unconstitutional in Riley v. California U.S. Supreme Court · John Roberts | confirmed | |
| 2014-06-19 | Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank: Supreme Court Restricts Software Patents, Reducing Patent Troll Leverage Over Abstract Business Methods U.S. Supreme Court · Clarence Thomas · Alice Corp · CLS Bank International · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2014-06-16 | Supreme Court backs broad discovery in Argentina debt case (Alito joined majority); Singer's fund later benefited Samuel Alito · Paul Singer · Elliott Management · Republic of Argentina · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2014-06-04 | Germany Opens Criminal Investigation Into NSA Tapping of Merkel's Phone Angela Merkel · Harald Range · National Security Agency · Edward Snowden · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2014-05-15 | FCC Approves Paid Prioritization "Fast Lanes" Proposal Despite Massive Public Backlash Tom Wheeler · Federal Communications Commission · Google · Microsoft · +4 | confirmed | |
| 2014-04-02 | Supreme Court Strikes Down Aggregate Campaign Contribution Limits in McCutcheon v. FEC U.S. Supreme Court · Chief Justice John Roberts · Shaun McCutcheon · Republican National Committee · +6 | confirmed | |
| 2014-01-17 | Obama Announces Limited NSA Reforms While Preserving Core Surveillance Programs Barack Obama · National Security Agency · FISA Court · Edward Snowden | confirmed | |
| 2014-01-14 | Verizon Lawsuit Successfully Overturns FCC Net Neutrality Rules, Court Demands Title II Reclassification Verizon Communications · DC Circuit Court of Appeals · Federal Communications Commission · Julius Genachowski | confirmed | |
| 2014-01-01 | Tony Perkins Serves as CNP Vice President - Family Research Council Integration Tony Perkins · Family Research Council · Council for National Policy | confirmed | |
| 2013-12-16 | Federal Judge Rules NSA Bulk Phone Data Collection Likely Unconstitutional Richard Leon · National Security Agency · Larry Klayman | confirmed | |
| 2013-10-21 | Microsoft and Google Challenge NSA Gag Orders in Federal Court Microsoft · Google · Brad Smith · Department of Justice · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2013-09-17 | Trump Foundation Donates $25,000 to Bondi PAC After Florida Considers Joining Trump University Lawsuit Pam Bondi · Donald Trump | confirmed | |
| 2013-06-25 | ALEC States Immediately Implement Voter Restrictions After Shelby County Decision Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott · North Carolina Legislature · American Legislative Exchange Council · U.S. Supreme Court | confirmed | |
| 2013-06-25 | Shelby County Decision Guts Voting Rights Act Preclearance Clarence Thomas · Samuel Alito · John Roberts · Shelby County Alabama | confirmed | |
| 2013-06-21 | Obama Prosecutes 8 Whistleblowers Under Espionage Act, More Than All Presidents Barack Obama · Eric Holder · Edward Snowden · Chelsea Manning · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2013-06-17 | Supreme Court Allows Antitrust Challenge to Pay-for-Delay Drug Settlements Costing Consumers $3.5 Billion Annually Supreme Court of the United States · Federal Trade Commission · Solvay Pharmaceuticals · Actavis · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2013-06-05 | Guardian Publishes First Snowden Leak on NSA Verizon Phone Records Collection Edward Snowden · Glenn Greenwald · National Security Agency · Verizon | confirmed | |
| 2013-06-01 | Justice O'Connor Expresses Regret Over Bush v. Gore Damage to Court Reputation Sandra Day O'Connor · U.S. Supreme Court · Bush v. Gore majority | confirmed | |
| 2012-06-28 | Supreme Court Makes ACA Medicaid Expansion Optional, Enabling State Obstruction U.S. Supreme Court · Chief Justice John Roberts · National Federation of Independent Business · Republican Governors · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2012-06-04 | Bureau Investigation Exposes CIA Double-Tap Drone Strikes Killing Rescuers and Mourners Central Intelligence Agency · Barack Obama · Pakistani civilians | confirmed | |
| 2012-05-29 | New York Times Exposes Obama's Kill List and Terror Tuesday Assassination Meetings Barack Obama · John Brennan · Central Intelligence Agency · JSOC · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2012-03-01 | Trump Foundation Illegally Used $158,000 in Charity Funds to Settle Mar-a-Lago Legal Dispute Donald Trump · Trump Foundation · Town of Palm Beach | confirmed | |
| 2012-02-09 | 25 Billion Mortgage Settlement Provides Banks Immunity for Minimal Payments Eric Holder · Bank of America · JPMorgan Chase · Wells Fargo · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2012-01-01 | Leonard Leo Directs Hidden Payments to Ginni Thomas Through Kellyanne Conway, Instructs "No Mention of Ginni" Leonard Leo · Ginni Thomas · Clarence Thomas · Kellyanne Conway · +4 | confirmed | |
| 2011-07-01 | Wisconsin Republicans Pass Act 43 Gerrymandering Plan in Secret Process Wisconsin Legislature · Republican Party · Michael Best & Friedrich | confirmed |