Judicial Capture
The Judicial Capture capture lane traces 667 verified events documenting this mechanism of institutional capture.
Top 10 actors in this lane
10 actors · 1787–2026
Capture lanecorruptiondemocraticexecutivefinancialintelligencejudiciallaborlegislativemediamilitaryotherregulatory
Status
confirmed
alleged
disputed
| Date | Event | Lanes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-06-04 | Germany Opens Criminal Investigation Into NSA Tapping of Merkel's Phone
4 src 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
3 src Tom Wheeler · Federal Communications Commission · Google · Microsoft · +4 | confirmed | |
| 2014-04-02 | Supreme Court Strikes Down Aggregate Campaign Contribution Limits in McCutcheon v. FEC
5 src 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
4 src 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
3 src 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
2 src Tony Perkins · Family Research Council · Council for National Policy | confirmed | |
| 2013-12-16 | Federal Judge Rules NSA Bulk Phone Data Collection Likely Unconstitutional
3 src Richard Leon · National Security Agency · Larry Klayman | confirmed | |
| 2013-10-21 | Microsoft and Google Challenge NSA Gag Orders in Federal Court
4 src 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
3 src Pam Bondi · Donald Trump | confirmed | |
| 2013-06-25 | ALEC States Immediately Implement Voter Restrictions After Shelby County Decision
3 src 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
5 src Clarence Thomas · Samuel Alito · John Roberts · Shelby County Alabama | confirmed | |
| 2013-06-21 | Obama Prosecutes 8 Whistleblowers Under Espionage Act, More Than All Presidents
3 src 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
4 src 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
3 src 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
4 src 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
5 src 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
4 src Central Intelligence Agency · Barack Obama · Pakistani civilians | confirmed | |
| 2012-05-29 | New York Times Exposes Obama's Kill List and Terror Tuesday Assassination Meetings
4 src 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
3 src Donald Trump · Trump Foundation · Town of Palm Beach | confirmed | |
| 2012-02-09 | 25 Billion Mortgage Settlement Provides Banks Immunity for Minimal Payments
3 src 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"
4 src Leonard Leo · Ginni Thomas · Clarence Thomas · Kellyanne Conway · +4 | confirmed | |
| 2011-07-01 | Wisconsin Republicans Pass Act 43 Gerrymandering Plan in Secret Process
4 src Wisconsin Legislature · Republican Party · Michael Best & Friedrich | confirmed | |
| 2011-05-01 | Pam Bondi Fires Foreclosure Fraud Investigators After Campaign Donations from Lender Processing Services
3 src Pam Bondi | confirmed | |
| 2011-03-17 | CIA Drone Strike Massacres 42 Civilians at Pakistani Tribal Council Meeting
4 src Central Intelligence Agency · Barack Obama · Pakistani civilians | confirmed | |
| 2010-12-21 | FCC Passes First Net Neutrality Rules with Major Wireless Exemption in 3-2 Party-Line Vote
3 src Federal Communications Commission · Julius Genachowski · Comcast Corporation · Verizon Communications · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2010-08-13 | Oracle Sues Google for Copyright Infringement Over Java APIs in Android
3 src Oracle · Google · Larry Ellison · Sun Microsystems | confirmed | |
| 2010-05-01 | Better Business Bureau Drops Trump University Rating to D- After Flood of Consumer Complaints
3 src Donald Trump · Michael Sexton | confirmed | |
| 2010-01-27 | Obama Criticizes Citizens United at State of Union, Alito Responds 'Not True'
4 src Barack Obama · Samuel Alito · John Roberts · Ruth Bader Ginsburg · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2010-01-21 | Supreme Court Citizens United Decision Unleashes Unlimited Corporate Spending
7 src U.S. Supreme Court · Citizens United · Federal Election Commission · Justice Anthony Kennedy · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2010-01-01 | DonorsTrust Organizational Profile: Dark Money ATM Enabling Anonymous Billionaire Political Spending
4 src DonorsTrust · Donors Capital Fund · Whitney Lynn Ball · Kimberly Dennis · +6 | confirmed | |
| 2009-05-20 | Newburgh Four Arrested in FBI Entrapment Sting - "Buffoonery" Made Into Terrorism
3 src Federal Bureau of Investigation · Shahed Hussain · James Cromitie · Department of Justice | confirmed | |
| 2009-01-23 | Obama Dramatically Expands CIA Drone Strike Program - Ten Times More Strikes Than Bush
4 src Barack Obama · Central Intelligence Agency · John Brennan · Leon Panetta | confirmed | |
| 2009-01-01 | Carl Icahn Partners with Andrew Beal in Trump Entertainment Resorts Bankruptcy Restructuring
3 src Carl Icahn · Andrew Beal · Donald Trump · Trump Entertainment Resorts · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2009-01-01 | Harlan Crow Begins Paying Private School Tuition for Thomas's Grandnephew
4 src Clarence Thomas · Harlan Crow · Mark Martin · Hidden Lake Academy · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2008-10-03 | Bush Signs 00B Bank Bailout with Minimal Oversight
3 src George W. Bush · Henry Paulson · Goldman Sachs · Citigroup · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2008-09-11 | Kids for Cash Scandal Exposed: Pennsylvania Judges Accepted $2.8 Million in Kickbacks to Fill Private Juvenile Detention Centers
4 src Mark Ciavarella · Michael Conahan · PA Child Care · Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2008-09-09 | Iowa Attorney General Files Criminal Complaint Against Agriprocessors for 9,311 Child Labor Violations, Revealing Systematic Use of Minors as Young as 14 in Dangerous Meatpacking Operations with Harsh Chemicals and Power Equipment
4 src Agriprocessors Inc. · Abraham Aaron Rubashkin · Sholom Rubashkin · Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2008-08-01 | FCC Orders Comcast to Stop Throttling BitTorrent Traffic in Historic 3-2 Vote on Net Neutrality
3 src Federal Communications Commission · Comcast Corporation · Electronic Frontier Foundation · Kevin Martin | confirmed | |
| 2008-07-31 | FISA Court Finds NSA Surveillance Programs Systematically Unconstitutional
3 src FISA Court · National Security Agency · Department of Justice · Michael Hayden · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2008-07-09 | FISA Amendments Act of 2008 Passes, Granting Telecom Immunity
3 src U.S. Congress · George W. Bush · United States Senate · U.S. House of Representatives · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2008-07-01 | Samuel Alito Takes Undisclosed Alaska Fishing Trip with Billionaire Paul Singer
4 src Samuel Alito · Paul Singer · Leonard Leo · Robin Arkley II | confirmed | |
| 2008-05-12 | ICE Conducts Largest Immigration Raid in U.S. History at Postville, Iowa Agriprocessors Plant, Arresting 389 Workers While Management Faces No Criminal Charges Despite Systematic Labor Law Violations and Exploitation
4 src Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) · U.S. Department of Homeland Security · Agriprocessors Inc. · Sholom Rubashkin · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2008-04-28 | Crawford v. Marion County: Supreme Court Upholds Strict Voter ID Laws Despite No Evidence of In-Person Fraud
3 src U.S. Supreme Court · John Paul Stevens · Indiana Legislature · American Civil Liberties Union · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2008-01-02 | KBR's Faulty Electrical Work Kills Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, Part of Systematic Negligence Causing 18 Electrocution Deaths in Iraq with No Criminal Charges Despite Army Negligent Homicide Finding
3 src Ryan Maseth · Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) · Halliburton · U.S. Department of Defense · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2007-10-01 | Trump Foundation Pays $258,000 for Six-Foot Portrait of Trump at Charity Auction
3 src Donald Trump · Trump Foundation | confirmed | |
| 2007-09-16 | Blackwater Nisour Square Massacre Exposes Systematic Private Military Corporate-State Fusion Accountability Crisis and Constitutional Violation
6 src Blackwater Worldwide · Erik Prince · State Department · Central Intelligence Agency · +4 | confirmed | |
| 2007-09-01 | FBI Inspector General Reports 35% Error Rate on Terror Watchlist
3 src Federal Bureau of Investigation · Department of Justice Inspector General · Terrorist Screening Center | confirmed | |
| 2007-05-23 | Monica Goodling Admits Political Screening of DOJ Lawyers
3 src Monica Goodling · Alberto Gonzales · Regent University · U.S. Department of Justice · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2007-04-01 | FISA Court Judge Rejects NSA Warrantless Surveillance Expansion
3 src Roger Vinson · FISA Court · National Security Agency · Bush Administration · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2006-09-06 | Bush Publicly Acknowledges CIA Secret Prisons for First Time, Transfers Detainees to Guantanamo
4 src George W. Bush · Central Intelligence Agency · Khalid Sheikh Mohammed · Abu Zubaydah · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2006-05-15 | eBay v. MercExchange: Supreme Court Limits Automatic Patent Injunctions, Enabling Patent Troll Business Model to Flourish
3 src U.S. Supreme Court · Clarence Thomas · Anthony Kennedy · eBay · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2006-03-01 | FBI Infiltrates Orange County Mosques with Informant in Dragnet Surveillance
3 src Federal Bureau of Investigation · Craig Monteilh · Muslim community · Department of Justice | confirmed | |
| 2005-12-16 | New York Times Exposes NSA Warrantless Surveillance Program
5 src James Risen · Eric Lichtblau · New York Times · George W. Bush · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2005-11-09 | CIA Destroys 92 Torture Interrogation Videotapes to Conceal Evidence
4 src Jose Rodriguez · Central Intelligence Agency · Gina Haspel · Abu Zubaydah · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2005-11-02 | Washington Post Reveals CIA's Secret Prison Network in Eastern Europe
4 src Central Intelligence Agency · Dana Priest · Washington Post · Poland · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2005-10-28 | Karl Rove Orchestrates Political Prosecution of Don Siegelman
3 src Don Siegelman · Karl Rove · Jill Simpson · Leura Canary · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2005-08-25 | Hans von Spakovsky Overrules DOJ Career Staff to Approve Georgia Voter ID Law Targeting Black Voters
3 src Hans von Spakovsky · Department of Justice Civil Rights Division · Georgia Legislature · Harold Murphy · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2005-01-01 | ALEC Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Models Achieve Nationwide Adoption, Guaranteeing Private Prison Profits
4 src American Legislative Exchange Council · Corrections Corporation of America · GEO Group · State Legislators · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2004-12-13 | Oracle Completes PeopleSoft Acquisition for $10.3 Billion After Defeating Antitrust Challenge
3 src Oracle · Larry Ellison · PeopleSoft · JD Edwards | confirmed | |
| 2004-11-02 | Massey Energy CEO Spends $3 Million to Elect Judge in Case Against His Company
11 src Don Blankenship · Brent Benjamin · Hugh Caperton · Massey Energy Company · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2004-06-24 | Supreme Court Protects Cheney Energy Task Force Secrecy
3 src Dick Cheney · U.S. Supreme Court · Anthony Kennedy · Antonin Scalia · +4 | confirmed | |
| 2004-06-04 | Stewart v. Blackwell Applies Bush v. Gore Equal Protection Precedent to Ohio Voting Disparities
4 src Sixth Circuit Court · Ohio Secretary of State · Ken Blackwell · Stewart v. Blackwell plaintiffs · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2004-06-01 | The Apprentice Serves as 14-Season Promotional Vehicle for Trump Properties and Brand
3 src Donald Trump · Mark Burnett · NBC | reported | |
| 2004-05-10 | Canada Concludes Maher Arar Wrongly Rendered to Syria for Torture Based on False Intelligence
4 src Maher Arar · Central Intelligence Agency · Royal Canadian Mounted Police · Syria · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2004-04-28 | Abu Ghraib Photos Reveal Private Contractors Conducted Interrogations at Military Prison
4 src CACI International · Titan Corporation · U.S. Army · Steven Stephanowicz · +6 | confirmed | |
| 2004-02-26 | Department of Justice Files Antitrust Lawsuit to Block Oracle-PeopleSoft Merger
3 src Department of Justice · Oracle · PeopleSoft · Larry Ellison | confirmed | |
| 2004-01-08 | The Apprentice Premieres on NBC, Rehabilitating Trump's Image After Bankruptcies
3 src Donald Trump · Mark Burnett · NBC | confirmed | |
| 2003-06-23 | Grutter v. Bollinger - Supreme Court Upholds Affirmative Action but Sets 25-Year Limit
3 src Justice Sandra Day O'Connor · Justice Clarence Thomas · University of Michigan Law School · Lee Bollinger · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2003-06-02 | FCC Attempts Massive Media Deregulation Under Michael Powell Despite 97% Public Opposition
3 src Michael K. Powell · Colin Powell · George W. Bush · Trent Lott · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2003-03-01 | Abu 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 | |
| 2003-01-01 | Clarence Thomas Begins Undisclosed Luxury Trips on Harlan Crow's Yacht and Private Jets
4 src Clarence Thomas · Harlan Crow · Rochelle Charter (Crow's yacht company) | confirmed | |
| 2002-12-19 | Central Park Five Exonerated: DNA Proves Innocence After 13 Years
3 src Yusef Salaam · Korey Wise · Antron McCray · Kevin Richardson · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2002-11-15 | Federalist Society Provides WHIG with Crisis-Accelerated Legal Justification Infrastructure for Powell Memorandum Implementation
3 src Federalist Society · John Yoo · Jay Bybee · Steven Calabresi · +6 | confirmed | |
| 2002-06-27 | Zelman v. Simmons-Harris - Supreme Court Upholds School Vouchers for Religious Schools
3 src Chief Justice William Rehnquist · Justice Sandra Day O'Connor · Justice Clarence Thomas · Institute for Justice · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2002-06-15 | Arthur Andersen Convicted, Destroying 85,000 Jobs Worldwide
3 src Arthur Andersen · Department of Justice | confirmed | |
| 2001-11-01 | Microsoft Antitrust Settlement Establishes Weak Precedent for Tech Monopolies
4 src U.S. Department of Justice · Microsoft Corporation · George W. Bush · John Ashcroft · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2001-11-01 | NSA Launches MAINWAY Database for Mass Metadata Collection
3 src National Security Agency · AT&T · Verizon · T-Mobile · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2001-10-04 | Bush Authorizes NSA Stellar Wind Program Bypassing FISA Court
4 src George W. Bush · Michael Hayden · National Security Agency · Dick Cheney · +4 | confirmed | |
| 2001-09-17 | CIA Authorized to Conduct Extraordinary Rendition - Kidnapping Suspects for Torture Abroad
4 src Central Intelligence Agency · George W. Bush · George Tenet · Cofer Black | confirmed | |
| 2001-01-29 | Bush Administration Establishes Faith-Based Initiative Infrastructure for Systematic Constitutional Transformation
3 src George W. Bush · Pat Robertson · Faith-Based Organizations · U.S. Supreme Court | confirmed | |
| 2001-01-29 | Cheney Creates Secret Energy Task Force with Oil Executives
3 src Dick Cheney · ExxonMobil · Shell Oil · BP America · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2001-01-20 | Bush Administration Hires 150 Regent University Graduates
3 src Pat Robertson · Monica Goodling · Kay Coles James · Regent University · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2000-12-12 | Supreme Court Delivers Partisan Bush v. Gore Decision with Corporate Legal Team Involvement
4 src George W. Bush · Al Gore · William Rehnquist · Sandra Day O'Connor · +5 | confirmed | |
| 2000-12-09 | Supreme Court Grants Bush Emergency Stay with Scalia's "Irreparable Harm" Logic
6 src Antonin Scalia · Supreme Court Conservative Majority · William Rehnquist · Clarence Thomas · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2000-11-22 | Brooks Brothers Riot: Republican Operatives Physically Stop Miami-Dade Recount
4 src Roger Stone · John Sweeney · John Roberts · Brett Kavanaugh · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2000-11-08 | James Baker Coordinates Bush Supreme Court Election Strategy from Day One
4 src James Baker III · Katherine Harris · George W. Bush · Mac Stipanovich · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2000-01-01 | CNP and Federalist Society Coordination - Leonard Leo Links Judicial and Political Networks
2 src Council for National Policy · Federalist Society · Leonard Leo · Clarence Thomas | confirmed | |
| 2000-01-01 | Systematic Coordination Emerges in Corporate PAC Explosion Post-Buckley
5 src Corporate PAC Strategists · Campaign Finance Lawyers · Political Fundraising Experts · Supreme Court Justices | confirmed | |
| 1998-05-18 | DOJ Files Microsoft Antitrust Suit, Establishes Tech Monopoly Precedent
4 src U.S. Department of Justice · Microsoft Corporation · Bill Gates · Joel Klein · +2 | confirmed | |
| 1997-01-01 | Felon Disenfranchisement Expansion: States Tighten Voting Bans as Prison Population Explodes
16 src State Legislatures · American Legislative Exchange Council · The Sentencing Project · Republican Governors | confirmed | |
| 1997-01-01 | First Complaints Against Larry Nassar Dismissed by Michigan State Coach Kathie Klages
3 src Larry Nassar · Kathie Klages · Michigan State University · MSU Gymnastics Program | confirmed | |
| 1996-06-20 | Trump Acquires Miss Universe Organization from ITT Corp
4 src Donald Trump · ITT Corporation · Madison Square Garden | confirmed | |
| 1996-04-24 | Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act Expands Deportation, Strips Judicial Review
3 src Bill Clinton · U.S. Congress · Department of Justice · Immigration and Naturalization Service | confirmed | |
| 1995-01-01 | ALEC Criminal Justice Task Force Promotes Truth-in-Sentencing Model Legislation Written by Private Prison Industry
4 src American Legislative Exchange Council · Corrections Corporation of America · GEO Group · State Legislators | confirmed | |
| 1994-09-13 | Federal Three Strikes Law Mandates Life Imprisonment for Third Violent Felony
3 src Bill Clinton · Joe Biden · U.S. Congress | confirmed | |
| 1994-08-05 | Kenneth Starr Replaces Robert Fiske as Whitewater Independent Counsel
4 src Kenneth Starr · Robert Fiske · Special Division Court · Bill Clinton | confirmed | |
| 1994-01-12 | Whitewater Investigation Launches Under Special Counsel Robert Fiske
3 src Bill Clinton · Hillary Clinton · Robert Fiske · Janet Reno | confirmed | |
| 1992-12-24 | Bush Pardons Six Iran-Contra Officials on Christmas Eve, Completing Cover-Up
3 src George H.W. Bush · Caspar Weinberger · Robert McFarlane · Elliott Abrams · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1992-06-16 | Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger Indicted on Five Iran-Contra Felonies
3 src Caspar Weinberger · Lawrence Walsh · Ronald Reagan · George H.W. Bush | confirmed | |
| 1991-01-01 | Leonard Leo Joins Federalist Society, Begins Strategic Judicial Talent Pipeline
3 src Leonard Leo · Federalist Society | confirmed |