Judicial Capture
The Judicial Capture capture lane traces 645 verified events documenting this mechanism of institutional capture.
| Date | Event | Lanes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-05-01 | Pam Bondi Fires Foreclosure Fraud Investigators After Campaign Donations from Lender Processing Services Pam Bondi | confirmed | |
| 2011-03-17 | CIA Drone Strike Massacres 42 Civilians at Pakistani Tribal Council Meeting 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 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 Oracle · Google · Larry Ellison · Sun Microsystems | confirmed | |
| 2010-05-01 | Better Business Bureau Drops Trump University Rating to D- After Flood of Consumer Complaints Donald Trump · Michael Sexton | confirmed | |
| 2010-01-27 | Obama Criticizes Citizens United at State of Union, Alito Responds 'Not True' Barack Obama · Samuel Alito · John Roberts · Ruth Bader Ginsburg · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2010-01-21 | Supreme Court Citizens United Decision Unleashes Unlimited Corporate Spending 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 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 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 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 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 Clarence Thomas · Harlan Crow · Mark Martin · Hidden Lake Academy · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2008-10-03 | Bush Signs 00B Bank Bailout with Minimal Oversight 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 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 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 Federal Communications Commission · Comcast Corporation · Electronic Frontier Foundation · Kevin Martin | confirmed | |
| 2008-07-31 | FISA Court Finds NSA Surveillance Programs Systematically Unconstitutional FISA Court · National Security Agency · Department of Justice · Michael Hayden · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2008-07-09 | FISA Amendments Act of 2008 Passes, Granting Telecom Immunity 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 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 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 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 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 Donald Trump · Trump Foundation | confirmed | |
| 2007-09-16 | Blackwater Nisour Square Massacre Exposes Systematic Private Military Corporate-State Fusion Accountability Crisis and Constitutional Violation Blackwater Worldwide · Erik Prince · State Department · Central Intelligence Agency · +4 | confirmed | |
| 2007-09-01 | FBI Inspector General Reports 35% Error Rate on Terror Watchlist Federal Bureau of Investigation · Department of Justice Inspector General · Terrorist Screening Center | confirmed | |
| 2007-05-23 | Monica Goodling Admits Political Screening of DOJ Lawyers Monica Goodling · Alberto Gonzales · Regent University · U.S. Department of Justice · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2007-04-01 | FISA Court Judge Rejects NSA Warrantless Surveillance Expansion 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 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 U.S. Supreme Court · Clarence Thomas · Anthony Kennedy · eBay · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2006-03-01 | FBI Infiltrates Orange County Mosques with Informant in Dragnet Surveillance Federal Bureau of Investigation · Craig Monteilh · Muslim community · Department of Justice | confirmed | |
| 2005-12-16 | New York Times Exposes NSA Warrantless Surveillance Program James Risen · Eric Lichtblau · New York Times · George W. Bush · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2005-11-09 | CIA Destroys 92 Torture Interrogation Videotapes to Conceal Evidence 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 Central Intelligence Agency · Dana Priest · Washington Post · Poland · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2005-10-28 | Karl Rove Orchestrates Political Prosecution of Don Siegelman 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 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 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 Oracle · Larry Ellison · PeopleSoft · JD Edwards | confirmed | |
| 2004-11-02 | Massey Energy CEO Spends $3 Million to Elect Judge in Case Against His Company Don Blankenship · Brent Benjamin · Hugh Caperton · Massey Energy Company · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2004-06-24 | Supreme Court Protects Cheney Energy Task Force Secrecy 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 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 Donald Trump · Mark Burnett · NBC | reported | |
| 2004-05-10 | Canada Concludes Maher Arar Wrongly Rendered to Syria for Torture Based on False Intelligence 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 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 Department of Justice · Oracle · PeopleSoft · Larry Ellison | confirmed | |
| 2004-01-08 | The Apprentice Premieres on NBC, Rehabilitating Trump's Image After Bankruptcies Donald Trump · Mark Burnett · NBC | confirmed | |
| 2003-06-23 | Grutter v. Bollinger - Supreme Court Upholds Affirmative Action but Sets 25-Year Limit 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 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 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 Clarence Thomas · Harlan Crow · Rochelle Charter (Crow's yacht company) | confirmed | |
| 2002-12-19 | Central Park Five Exonerated: DNA Proves Innocence After 13 Years 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 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 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 Arthur Andersen · Department of Justice | confirmed | |
| 2001-11-01 | Microsoft Antitrust Settlement Establishes Weak Precedent for Tech Monopolies 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 National Security Agency · AT&T · Verizon · T-Mobile · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2001-10-04 | Bush Authorizes NSA Stellar Wind Program Bypassing FISA Court 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 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 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 Dick Cheney · ExxonMobil · Shell Oil · BP America · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2001-01-20 | Bush Administration Hires 150 Regent University Graduates 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 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 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 Roger Stone · John Sweeney · John Roberts · Brett Kavanaugh · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2000-11-08 | James Baker Coordinates Bush Supreme Court Election Strategy from Day One 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 Council for National Policy · Federalist Society · Leonard Leo · Clarence Thomas | confirmed | |
| 2000-01-01 | Systematic Coordination Emerges in Corporate PAC Explosion Post-Buckley 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 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 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 Larry Nassar · Kathie Klages · Michigan State University · MSU Gymnastics Program | confirmed | |
| 1996-06-20 | Trump Acquires Miss Universe Organization from ITT Corp Donald Trump · ITT Corporation · Madison Square Garden | confirmed | |
| 1996-04-24 | Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act Expands Deportation, Strips Judicial Review 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 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 Bill Clinton · Joe Biden · U.S. Congress | confirmed | |
| 1994-08-05 | Kenneth Starr Replaces Robert Fiske as Whitewater Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr · Robert Fiske · Special Division Court · Bill Clinton | confirmed | |
| 1994-01-12 | Whitewater Investigation Launches Under Special Counsel Robert Fiske Bill Clinton · Hillary Clinton · Robert Fiske · Janet Reno | confirmed | |
| 1992-12-24 | Bush Pardons Six Iran-Contra Officials on Christmas Eve, Completing Cover-Up 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 Caspar Weinberger · Lawrence Walsh · Ronald Reagan · George H.W. Bush | confirmed | |
| 1991-01-01 | Leonard Leo Joins Federalist Society, Begins Strategic Judicial Talent Pipeline Leonard Leo · Federalist Society | confirmed | |
| 1990-01-01 | CNP Membership Includes Reagan Cabinet Officials - Meese and North Join Elite Network Council for National Policy · Edwin Meese · Oliver North · Donald Hodel | confirmed | |
| 1989-05-04 | Oliver North Convicted of Iran-Contra Felonies, Later Overturned on Immunity Oliver North · Gerhard Gesell · Lawrence Walsh | confirmed | |
| 1989-03-24 | Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Triggers Corporate Campaign to Limit Pollution Liability Exxon Corporation · American Petroleum Institute · U.S. Supreme Court · Alaska Native communities · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1988-06-29 | Beck Decision Enables Workers to Withhold Union Dues for Political Activity, Weakening Labor Resources U.S. Supreme Court · Communications Workers of America · Harry Beck · National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation | confirmed | |
| 1988-06-29 | Morrison v. Olson: Scalia's Lone Dissent Articulates Unitary-Executive Theory That Becomes Movement Doctrine U.S. Supreme Court · William Rehnquist · Antonin Scalia · Theodore Olson · +2 | confirmed | |
| 1987-10-23 | Senate Rejects Robert Bork Supreme Court Nomination 42-58, First Ideological Rejection in Nearly a Century Robert Bork · Ronald Reagan · Edward Kennedy · Lewis Powell · +5 | confirmed | |
| 1987-01-01 | Olin Foundation Law and Economics Programs Expand to Elite Law Schools John M. Olin Foundation · William E. Simon · Stanford Law School · Harvard Law School · +2 | confirmed | |
| 1987-01-01 | Philanthropy Roundtable Founded - Conservative Donor Coordination Infrastructure Philanthropy Roundtable · Institute for Educational Affairs · Koch Network · Conservative foundations | confirmed | |
| 1986-02-25 | Meese Announces West Publishing Deal: Presidential Signing Statements Enter U.S. Code Legislative History Edwin Meese · Ronald Reagan · Samuel Alito · West Publishing Company · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1986-01-01 | State Policy Network (Madison Group) Founded - State-Level Think Tank Coordination Thomas A. Roe · American Legislative Exchange Council · Heritage Foundation · South Carolina Policy Council · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1985-03-15 | Opus Dei Members Enter Reagan Administration Ronald Reagan · Opus Dei Members · Republican Party | confirmed | |
| 1985-01-01 | Bradley Foundation Transformation - Coordinated Conservative Infrastructure Funding Michael S. Joyce · Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation · Heritage Foundation · Federalist Society · +3 | confirmed | |
| 1985-01-01 | CNP Establishes Three-Times-Yearly Meeting Schedule at Secret Locations Council for National Policy | confirmed | |
| 1983-06-23 | INS v. Chadha: Supreme Court Invalidates Legislative Veto in 200+ Statutes, Structural Shift Toward Executive Power U.S. Supreme Court · Warren Burger · Byron White · William Rehnquist · +2 | confirmed | |
| 1982-06-29 | Voting Rights Act Extension of 1982: Results Test Adopted, Section 2 Strengthened After Reagan Opposition Ronald Reagan · U.S. Congress · Bob Dole · Edward Kennedy · +2 | confirmed | |
| 1982-04-25 | Federalist Society Established: Conservative Judicial Pipeline Inception Steven Calabresi · David McIntosh · Lee Liberman Otis · Robert Bork · +2 | confirmed | |
| 1982-04-25 | Federalist Society Organizational Profile: Judicial Pipeline and Conservative Legal Movement Infrastructure Federalist Society · Leonard Leo · Steven Calabresi · David McIntosh · +10 | confirmed | |
| 1982-03-23 | Guatemala Military Coup Brings Ríos Montt to Power with Reagan Support Ronald Reagan · Efraín Ríos Montt | confirmed | |
| 1982-02-09 | Reagan Appoints Robert Bork to DC Circuit Court of Appeals, Positioning Antitrust Revolution Author for Supreme Court Robert Bork · Ronald Reagan · DC Circuit Court of Appeals · Federalist Society · +2 | confirmed | |
| 1982-01-08 | AT&T Breakup Settlement Finalized, Becoming Last Major Antitrust Action for Decades AT&T · Department of Justice · Ronald Reagan · Robert Bork | confirmed | |
| 1982-01-01 | Federalist Society Founded to Capture Conservative Legal Pipeline Steven Calabresi · David McIntosh · Lee Liberman Otis · Spencer Abraham · +2 | confirmed | |
| 1981-12-01 | CNP Completes "Three-Legged Stool" with Heritage and ALEC - Coordination Infrastructure Operational Council for National Policy · Heritage Foundation · American Legislative Exchange Council · Paul Weyrich | confirmed |