Capture lane

Regulatory Capture

The Regulatory Capture capture lane traces 1551 verified events documenting this mechanism of institutional capture.

1551 events From Jan 1, 1819 To May 26, 2026 Open in filter view →
Top 10 actors in this lane 10 actors · 1819–2026
Top actors in Regulatory Capture182018251830183518401845185018551860186518701875188018851890189519001905191019151920192519301935194019451950195519601965197019751980198519901995200020052010201520202025WatergateReaganIran-Contra9/11Citizens UnitedTrump 1.0Trump 2.0Donald Trump1373 eventsTrump Administration360 eventsSecurities and Exchange Commission77 eventsFederal Trade Commission66 eventsDepartment of Justice321 eventsElon Musk185 eventsU.S. Congress221 eventsGeorge W. Bush67 eventsFood and Drug AdministrationFederal Reserve
Capture lanecorruptiondemocraticexecutivefinancialintelligencejudiciallaborlegislativemediamilitaryotherregulatory Status confirmed alleged disputed
DateEventLanesStatus
2020-09-16House Committee Report Documents Boeing-FAA Regulatory Capture That Killed 346 People 4 src
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee · Representative Peter DeFazio · Representative Rick Larsen · Federal Aviation Administration · +2
confirmed
2020-09-14Oracle Becomes TikTok's "Trusted Technology Provider" Under Trump Administration Pressure 3 src
Oracle · TikTok · ByteDance · Donald Trump · +1
confirmed
2020-09-08Northrop Grumman Wins $13.3 Billion Contract for Ground Based Strategic Deterrent Nuclear ICBMs 3 src
Northrop Grumman · U.S. Air Force · U.S. Department of Defense · Boeing · +1
confirmed
2020-09-01CNP September 2020 Membership Directory Leaked - Current Network Exposed 2 src
Council for National Policy · Documented
confirmed
2020-08-21Trump Speaks at CNP Meeting - President Addresses Conservative Coordination Hub 2 src
Donald Trump · Council for National Policy · Bob McEwen · Kelly Shackelford · +3
confirmed
2020-08-13Epic Games Sues Apple Over App Store Monopoly and 30% Commission Tax on Developers 2 src
Epic Games · Tim Sweeney · Apple · Tim Cook
confirmed
2020-08-05State Department Report Reveals Trump Administration Ignored Civilian Casualty Risks in Raytheon Saudi Arms Sales 3 src
Donald Trump · Mike Pompeo · Raytheon · Saudi Arabia · +2
confirmed
2020-07-10Trump Commutes Roger Stone Sentence Days Before Prison 3 src
Donald Trump · Roger Stone · William Barr · Randy Credico · +1
confirmed
2020-07-07Deutsche Bank fined $150 million for processing Epstein transactions including payments to co-conspirators 3 src
Deutsche Bank · Jeffrey Epstein · New York Department of Financial Services · Federal Reserve · +2
confirmed
2020-07-01During Title 42, unaccompanied children were held in hotels by contractors (e.g., Hampton Inn) before expulsion attempts 6 src
Texas Civil Rights Project · MVM Inc. · ICE contractors · Detained families
confirmed
2020-06-25Wirecard Files for Insolvency After €1.9 Billion Goes Missing, Exposing Decade of EY Audit Failure and German Regulatory Capture 3 src
Wirecard · Markus Braun · Jan Marsalek · EY · +4
confirmed
2020-06-19Oracle BlueKai Exposes Billions of Web Tracking Records in Unsecured Database 3 src
Oracle · BlueKai
confirmed
2020-06-09Federal Government Awards Billions in No-Bid COVID PPE Contracts, Often to Politically Connected Companies 3 src
Trump Administration · Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) · U.S. Department of Justice · Congressional Oversight
confirmed
2020-05-15Trump Fires 5 Inspectors General in 6 Weeks to Block Investigations 3 src
Donald Trump · Steve Linick · Michael Atkinson · Glenn Fine · +2
confirmed
2020-05-08AbbVie Completes $63 Billion Allergan Acquisition: Pharmaceutical Industry Consolidates Into Oligopoly 3 src
AbbVie · Allergan · Federal Trade Commission
confirmed
2020-04-28Meatpacking Industry Drafts Its Own DPA Executive Order Forcing Plants Open Despite Worker Deaths 3 src
Donald Trump · Tyson Foods · JBS USA · Smithfield Foods · +2
confirmed
2020-04-03Raytheon-United Technologies Merge Creates $135 Billion Defense Giant, Consolidating Industry Power 4 src
Raytheon · United Technologies Corporation · Greg Hayes · Department of Justice · +1
confirmed
2020-04-03Trump Inspector General Friday Night Massacre Systematically Accelerates WHIG Oversight Destruction Precedent for Constitutional Crisis Operations 3 src
Donald Trump · Michael Atkinson · Glenn Fine · Mitch Behm · +5
confirmed
2020-04-03Trump Uses DPA for PPE Export Ban While Allowing Domestic Profiteering and FEMA Supply Seizures 3 src
Donald Trump · Peter Navarro · Jared Kushner · 3M · +1
confirmed
2020-04-01MVM Inc operates shadow detention network using hotels and unmarked buildings for children 4 src
MVM Inc. · Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) · Hampton Inn & Suites · Sonesta Hotels · +1
confirmed
2020-04-01Trump Awards $812M No-Bid COVID Contract to Newly Formed Phlow Corporation 3 src
Phlow Corporation · Peter Navarro · Kodak · Donald Trump · +1
confirmed
2020-03-18Trump Invokes Defense Production Act but Refuses to Compel PPE Production as Corporate Lobbying Blocks Emergency Powers 3 src
Donald Trump · Peter Navarro · Jared Kushner · U.S. Chamber of Commerce
confirmed
2020-03-13COVID-19 Emergency Triggers Student Loan Payment Pause - 44 Million Borrowers Get Relief 3 src
Donald Trump · Joe Biden · U.S. Department of Education
confirmed
2020-03-13Trump Declares National Emergency for COVID-19 After Weeks of Denialism and Delay 3 src
Donald Trump · Alex Azar · Mike Pence
confirmed
2020-02-21DOJ Declines Criminal Prosecution of Wells Fargo Executives 3 src
Department of Justice · William Barr · Wells Fargo
confirmed
2020-02-21Wells Fargo Pays $3 Billion, Admits Fraud, No Executives Charged 3 src
Wells Fargo · Department of Justice · Securities and Exchange Commission
confirmed
2020-02-20DOJ Overrules Prosecutors' Roger Stone Sentencing Recommendation After Trump Tweet 4 src
Roger Stone · Donald Trump · William Barr · Aaron Zelinsky · +4
confirmed
2020-02-20Trump Fires Acting DNI Joseph Maguire After Intelligence Briefing That Russia Prefers Trump in 2020 4 src
Joseph Maguire · Donald Trump · Shelby Pierson · Richard Grenell · +1
confirmed
2020-02-11Bill Barr Intervenes to Reduce Sentences for Trump Allies Stone and Flynn 3 src
Bill Barr · Roger Stone · Michael Flynn · Donald Trump · +1
confirmed
2020-01-18New York Times Exposé Reveals Clearview AI's 3 Billion Photo Surveillance Database 3 src
Kashmir Hill · Clearview AI · Hoan Ton-That · New York Times
confirmed
2020-01-09Boeing Internal Messages Released - "Designed by Clowns, Supervised by Monkeys" 3 src
Boeing employees · Federal Aviation Administration · Department of Justice · House Transportation Committee · +1
confirmed
2020-01-01ALEC's Education Privatization Campaign Achieves Dominance - Model Legislation Controls Voucher Landscape Nationwide 5 src
American Legislative Exchange Council · ALEC Education and Workforce Development Task Force · K12 Inc. · Koch Industries · +6
confirmed
2020-01-01Dialysis Industry Systematically Steers Patients Away from Home Dialysis and Toward High-Profit Commercial Insurance 4 src
DaVita · Fresenius · American Kidney Fund · Richard Blumenthal · +1
confirmed
2020-01-01McKinsey Advised Purdue on "Turbocharging" OxyContin Sales, Targeting High-Volume Prescribers 3 src
McKinsey & Company · Purdue Pharma · Sackler Family
confirmed
2020-01-01OECD Estimates Google Avoids $7B+ Annually Through Tax Havens 4 src
OECD · Google · Alphabet · Tax Justice Network · +1
confirmed
2019-11-15Bristol-Myers Squibb Completes $74 Billion Celgene Acquisition Despite FTC Concerns 3 src
Bristol-Myers Squibb · Celgene · Federal Trade Commission · Amgen · +1
confirmed
2019-10-24Federal Judge Holds DeVos in Contempt for Illegally Collecting on Corinthian Loans - $100K Fine 3 src
Betsy DeVos · Sallie Kim · U.S. Department of Education
confirmed
2019-10-07Sutter Health Settles Antitrust Case for $575 Million, Admits to All-or-Nothing Contracting and Price Concealment 3 src
Sutter Health · Xavier Becerra · California Attorney General
confirmed
2019-10-01Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Big Four Meatpackers Conspired to Fix Beef Prices and Manipulate Markets 3 src
Tyson Foods · JBS · Cargill · National Beef · +1
confirmed
2019-10-01Zuckerberg Holds Secret White House Dinners with Trump, Kushner, and Thiel to Negotiate Content Moderation 4 src
Mark Zuckerberg · Donald Trump · Jared Kushner · Peter Thiel · +2
confirmed
2019-09-30WeWork Withdraws IPO After Valuation Collapses from $47 Billion to $10 Billion, Exposing Massive Corporate Governance Failure 3 src
Adam Neumann · WeWork · Securities and Exchange Commission · SoftBank · +2
confirmed
2019-09-27Senate Finance Committee Report Reveals NRA Misled Public About Russia Connections and 2015 Moscow Trip 3 src
U.S. Senate Finance Committee · Ron Wyden · National Rifle Association · Maria Butina · +1
confirmed
2019-09-24Trump Freezes Ukraine Military Aid Demanding Biden Investigation 5 src
Donald Trump · Volodymyr Zelenskyy · Rudy Giuliani · William Barr · +4
confirmed
2019-08-10Jeffrey Epstein Dies by Suicide in Federal Custody 3 src
Jeffrey Epstein · William Barr · Bureau of Prisons · Federal Bureau of Investigation · +1
confirmed
2019-07-24FTC Fines Facebook Record $5 Billion But Grants Zuckerberg Immunity from Personal Liability 4 src
Facebook · Mark Zuckerberg · Federal Trade Commission · Rohit Chopra · +2
confirmed
2019-07-23Mark Esper Confirmed as Defense Secretary Despite Raytheon Lobbying Career and Refusal to Recuse 4 src
Mark Esper · Raytheon · Donald Trump · Elizabeth Warren · +1
confirmed
2019-07-06Jeffrey Epstein Arrested on Federal Sex Trafficking Charges 3 src
Jeffrey Epstein · Geoffrey Berman · Federal Bureau of Investigation · NYPD · +1
confirmed
2019-07-01Betsy DeVos Repeals Gainful Employment Rule, Eliminating All Accountability for For-Profit College Job Outcomes Despite $1.3 Billion Projected Cost to Taxpayers 7 src
Betsy DeVos · U.S. Department of Education · Robert Eitel · Julian Schmoke Jr. · +2
confirmed
2019-06-27Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb Joins Pfizer Board After 3-Month Gap 3 src
Dr. Scott Gottlieb · Food and Drug Administration · Pfizer · Senator Elizabeth Warren
confirmed
2019-06-19EPA Finalizes Affordable Clean Energy Rule Replacing Clean Power Plan With Weaker Standards 4 src
Andrew Wheeler · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Donald Trump · Coal Industry · +1
confirmed
2019-06-13Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao Used Office to Benefit Family Shipping Business 3 src
Elaine Chao · Mitch McConnell · Department of Transportation · Foremost Group · +1
confirmed
2019-05-29Mueller Warns Charging a Sitting President is Constitutionally Prohibited 4 src
Robert Mueller · William Barr
confirmed
2019-05-21FTC v. Qualcomm: Judge Lucy Koh Finds Antitrust Violations in Standard Essential Patent Licensing, Later Reversed on Appeal 4 src
Federal Trade Commission · Lucy Koh · Qualcomm · Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals · +2
confirmed
2019-05-21McGahn Defies Scheduled Congressional Testimony Despite House Subpoena 3 src
Donald McGahn · House Judiciary Committee · Jerry Nadler · William Burck · +2
confirmed
2019-05-15Utah adopts ALEC model legislation requiring legislative approval for "major" agency rules 3 src
Ryan Wilcox · Daniel McCay · American Legislative Exchange Council · Utah State Legislature
confirmed
2019-05-07Don McGahn Defies Congressional Subpoena for Mueller-Related Documents 3 src
Donald McGahn · White House · House Judiciary Committee · William Burck · +3
confirmed
2019-05-01Fisher Sand & Gravel Wins $2B Border Wall Contracts After Fox News Lobbying 3 src
Fisher Sand & Gravel · Tommy Fisher · Donald Trump · Kevin Cramer · +2
confirmed
2019-04-24Trump Declares Total War on Congressional Oversight: "We're Fighting All the Subpoenas" 3 src
Donald Trump · White House · House Democrats · Congressional Investigators · +3
confirmed
2019-04-22Trump Files Lawsuit to Block House Subpoena of Financial Records from Mazars USA 3 src
Donald Trump · Mazars USA · U.S. House Oversight Committee · Elijah Cummings · +2
confirmed
2019-04-18Mueller Report Released - 448 Pages Documenting Russian Interference and Obstruction Episodes 3 src
Robert Mueller · Donald Trump · William Barr · Russian Government
confirmed
2019-04-18Trump Administration Claims Absolute Immunity from Congressional Oversight, Systematically Accelerating WHIG Constitutional Crisis Precedent 8 src
Donald Trump · Pat Cipollone · Don McGahn · White House Counsel Office · +1
confirmed
2019-04-16Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Refuses Congressional Demand for Trump Tax Returns 3 src
Steven Mnuchin · U.S. Treasury Department · Richard Neal · House Ways and Means Committee · +2
confirmed
2019-04-11Interior Secretary David Bernhardt Confirmed Despite Extensive Conflicts from Oil and Gas Lobbying Career 3 src
David Bernhardt · Donald Trump
confirmed
2019-04-09HUD Inspector General Finds Ben Carson Violated Ethics Rules by Involving Son in Official Business 3 src
Ben Carson · Ben Carson Jr.
confirmed
2019-04-09Trump Claims Absolute Immunity from Congressional Oversight 3 src
Donald Trump · Pat Cipollone · Don McGahn · John Bolton · +2
confirmed
2019-03-24Attorney General Barr Releases Misleading 4-Page Summary of Mueller Report 3 src
William Barr · Robert Mueller · Donald Trump · Rod Rosenstein
confirmed
2019-03-13FAA Finally Grounds 737 MAX After 51 Other Countries Act First, Exposing Regulatory Capture 3 src
Federal Aviation Administration · Boeing · Acting FAA Administrator Dan Elwell · European Union Aviation Safety Agency · +3
confirmed
2019-03-10Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 Crashes Due to MCAS Malfunction, Killing All 157 Aboard 4 src
Ethiopian Airlines · Boeing · Federal Aviation Administration · MCAS system · +2
confirmed
2019-03-05During Sprint merger review, T-Mobile executives spent ~$195,000 at Trump's D.C. hotel 3 src
T-Mobile US · Sprint · Trump International Hotel Washington · Federal Communications Commission · +3
confirmed
2019-02-21Federal Judge Rules Epstein Plea Deal Violated Crime Victims' Rights Act 3 src
Kenneth Marra · Bradley Edwards · Paul Cassell · Alexander Acosta · +1
confirmed
2019-02-14William Barr Confirmation as Attorney General Enables Systematic DOJ Politicization Using WHIG Template for Crisis-Accelerated Institutional Capture 5 src
William Barr · Donald Trump · Senate Judiciary Committee · Department of Justice · +6
confirmed
2019-02-05Trump Overrides 25+ Security Clearance Denials for Family and Allies 3 src
Donald Trump · Jared Kushner · Ivanka Trump · John Kelly · +2
confirmed
2019-01-18Dream Center Education Holdings Enters Receivership, Art Institutes Collapse Leaves Thousands Stranded, $16 Million in Student Aid Disappeared 3 src
Dream Center Education Holdings · Art Institutes · Argosy University · South University · +5
confirmed
2019-01-17HHS Inspector General Reveals Thousands More Children Separated Than Disclosed 4 src
HHS Office of Inspector General · Donald Trump · Kirstjen Nielsen · Jeff Sessions · +2
confirmed
2019-01-10The Intercept reveals Ring employees in Ukraine had unfettered access to customer video feeds 4 src
Ring · Amazon · Jeff Bezos
confirmed
2019-01-01Vance Returns to Ohio, Launches Narya Capital 3 src
J.D. Vance · Peter Thiel · Eric Schmidt · Marc Andreessen · +2
confirmed
2018-12-18Judge Sullivan's Harsh Questioning of Flynn at Sentencing - "Arguably You Sold Your Country Out" 4 src
Michael Flynn · Judge Emmet Sullivan · Robert Mueller · Donald Trump
confirmed
2018-12-15Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke Resigns Facing 18 Federal Investigations 3 src
Ryan Zinke · Donald Trump · Department of Interior · David Bernhardt
confirmed
2018-12-10University of Phoenix Enrollment Collapses 80% After Fraud Investigations - $191M FTC Settlement 3 src
University of Phoenix · Apollo Education Group · Federal Trade Commission
confirmed
2018-11-27Georgia Purges 1.4 Million Voters Under Exact Match System 3 src
Brian Kemp · Stacey Abrams · Georgia Secretary of State Office · Common Cause Georgia · +2
confirmed
2018-10-29Lion Air Flight 610 Crashes Due to Boeing 737 MAX MCAS System Malfunction 4 src
Lion Air · Boeing · MCAS system · 189 victims · +2
confirmed
2018-10-16AbbVie Humira Patent Thicket Delays US Biosimilars Until 2023 Despite 2016 Patent Expiration and European Competition 4 src
AbbVie · Amgen · Samsung Bioepis · Mylan · +4
confirmed
2018-09-17Cigna-Express Scripts $52 Billion Merger Approved: DOJ Greenlights PBM Oligopoly 2 src
Cigna · Express Scripts · Department of Justice · Makan Delrahim · +1
confirmed
2018-08-08Rep. Chris Collins Indicted for Insider Trading 4 src
Chris Collins · Cameron Collins · Stephen Zarsky · Innate Immunotherapeutics
confirmed
2018-08-03Qatar-Linked Brookfield Bails Out Kushner's 666 Fifth Avenue for $1.28 Billion 3 src
Jared Kushner · Kushner Companies · Brookfield Asset Management · Qatar Investment Authority · +1
confirmed
2018-08-02SEC Drops ExxonMobil Climate Investigation Under Trump Administration 4 src
Securities and Exchange Commission · ExxonMobil · Donald Trump · Rex Tillerson
confirmed
2018-08-01Trump Administration Expands 'Junk Insurance' Short-Term Plans to Undermine ACA 7 src
Trump Administration · U.S. Department of Health and Human Services · U.S. Department of Labor · Department of the Treasury · +3
confirmed
2018-07-18EU Fines Google Record €4.34B for Android Monopoly Abuse Through Bundling 4 src
Google · European Commission · Margrethe Vestager · Sundar Pichai · +3
confirmed
2018-07-16FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Refers Sinclair-Tribune Merger to Hearing Over "Serious Concerns" About Sham Divestitures and Misrepresentation 5 src
Federal Communications Commission · Ajit Pai · Sinclair Broadcast Group · Tribune Media · +2
confirmed
2018-07-13HHS Inspector General Finds Tom Price Violated Federal Travel Rules, Wasted $341,000 on Private Jets 4 src
Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General · Tom Price · U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
confirmed
2018-07-12Tech Workers Coalition: Establishing Digital Resistance Infrastructure 3 src
Tech Workers Coalition · Silicon Valley Employees · Digital Rights Advocates · Rachel Melendes · +2
confirmed
2018-07-09Coal Lobbyist Andrew Wheeler Becomes Acting EPA Administrator After Pruitt Resignation 4 src
Andrew Wheeler · Donald Trump · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Faegre Baker Daniels · +2
confirmed
2018-07-05EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Resigns Amid 14 Federal Investigations 3 src
Scott Pruitt · Donald Trump · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Andrew Wheeler
confirmed
2018-06-20Trump Signs Executive Order "Ending" Family Separation After International Outcry 4 src
Donald Trump · Kirstjen Nielsen · Jeff Sessions · Stephen Miller
confirmed
2018-06-11Net Neutrality Repeal Officially Takes Effect, Permitting ISPs to Throttle, Block, and Prioritize Content for Payment 3 src
Federal Communications Commission · Ajit Pai · Comcast Corporation · Verizon Communications · +1
confirmed
2018-06-07Bayer Completes $63 Billion Monsanto Acquisition: Agricultural Seeds and Chemicals Consolidate Into Big Four Oligopoly 3 src
Bayer AG · Monsanto · Department of Justice · Antitrust Division · +2
confirmed
2018-06-06Northrop Grumman Acquires Orbital ATK for $9.2 Billion, Creating Solid Rocket Motor Monopoly 3 src
Northrop Grumman · Orbital ATK · Federal Trade Commission · U.S. Department of Defense · +1
confirmed
2018-06-01Trump Family Separation Policy Detains 5,500 Children in Cages 3 src
Donald Trump · Stephen Miller · Jeff Sessions · DHS (Department of Homeland Security) · +3
confirmed
2018-05-24Trump Signs Dodd-Frank Rollback Raising 'Systemically Important' Bank Threshold from $50B to $250B After Industry Lobbying Blitz 3 src
Donald Trump · Greg Becker · Silicon Valley Bank · Mike Crapo · +4
confirmed
2018-05-15Kansas City Fed Approves Reserve Trust Master Account After Alleged Intervention 3 src
Sarah Bloom Raskin · Reserve Trust Company · Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City · Esther George · +2
confirmed