disinfozone/The_Info_Web
1
0
Fork 0
Code Issues Pull requests Projects Releases Packages Wiki Activity Actions

vault backup: 2026-10-12 19:02:30

Browse source
This commit is contained in:
disinfo.zone 2026-10-12 19:02:30 -04:00
parent b7b79f64a5
commit 029ce5a98a
No known key found for this signature in database
31 changed files with 2303 additions and 484 deletions
Download patch file Download diff file Expand all files Collapse all files

21
10 - PEOPLE/(T-Z)/Charles Tart.md
View file

@ -13,7 +13,12 @@ born: 1937-04-29
died: 2025-03-05
location: "Davis, California"
created: 2026-09-22
updated: 2026-10-09
updated: 2026-10-12
relations:
- type: director_of
with: "[[Monroe Institute]]"
role: Board of Advisors (emeritus)
fn: 8
---
Charles T. Tart was born in Morrisville, [[Pennsylvania]], on April 29, 1937, "but grew up mostly in [[New Jersey]]," a teenage radio engineer who entered the engineering program at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] and, "after several personal experiences" of drugs "that produced altered states of consciousness" and after reading [[J. B. Rhine]], "transferred from MIT to [[Duke University]] in order to meet and be mentored by Rhine." He took his doctorate in psychology at the University of North Carolina in 1963 on "post-hypnotic suggestions to influence dreaming," did post-doctoral work with [[Ernest Hilgard]] at [[Stanford University]], and served 28 years on the psychology faculty of the [[University of California, Davis]], holding concurrently a senior research fellowship at the [[Institute of Noetic Sciences]], the Bigelow Chair of Consciousness Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a visiting professorship at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and a post as "a consultant on government funded parapsychological research at the [[Stanford Research Institute]]." His *Altered States of Consciousness* appeared in 1969 and *Transpersonal Psychologies* in 1975; he was president of the Parapsychological Association. He died on March 5, 2025.[^1]
@ -24,8 +29,22 @@ A report entered as Plaintiff's Exhibit 7 in Puharich v. Brenner lists a Charles
With Whitson, Bogart and [[John Palmer]] he published "Preliminary experiments in group 'remote viewing'" in the Proceedings of the IEEE in 1976. When [[David Marks]] and [[Richard Kammann]] argued in Nature in 1978 that cues in the transcripts explained the [[Pat Price]] series, [[Hal Puthoff]] and [[Russell Targ]] turned the nine transcripts over to "an independent research psychologist," Tart, "for rejudging on the basis of the criteria implied by the Marks-Kammann criticism." By his own account he first tested two candidate judges on transcripts from "another successful remote-viewing series," disqualifying the one who scored at chance, "edited them to delete all references that could conceivably give any indication as to the order of the experiments," and had the judge, [[Phyllis Matson]], rate each transcript at each site; "for seven of the nine target sites the highest correspondence rating was given to the correct transcript." "I would hypothesize that Marks and Kammann were unable to obtain significant results in their reanalysis of the subset of the Price series because their judges either lacked the necessary discriminative skills and/or were not sufficiently motivated to use them effectively." The Army's [[Grill Flame Scientific Evaluation Committee]] met "Mr. Targ/Dr. Puthoff/Dr. Tart" at SRI on July 24 and 25, 1979.[^3]
### Out-of-Body Studies with Robert Monroe
Tart met [[Robert Monroe]] in the fall of 1965, when he took a research position at the [[University of Virginia]] Medical School. He wrote that Monroe came in for eight late-night sessions at the hospital's EEG laboratory from December 1965 to August 1966; the introduction Tart wrote for Monroe's *Journeys Out of the Body* dates the series to September 1965 through August 1966. In a session in which Monroe reported leaving his body, the technician's location in the corridor with a man later identified as her husband matched his account; Tart wrote in 1998 that this left "only weak evidence that Monroe was actually 'out'." After moving to the University of California, Davis, Tart and his wife concentrated one evening on guiding Monroe to their home at a random time, 11 P.M. Pacific, and Monroe reported being pulled from his body within a minute of the start; Tart wrote that the timing matched and the description of the home was poor. On a visit in 1968 Monroe had two brief experiences in Tart's sleep laboratory, monitored by EEG, eye movements and plethysmograph.[^4][^5] Tart's introduction to the book is dated Davis, California, January 10, 1971.[^5]
An Army assessment of August 25, 1978 recorded that Tart "has conducted investigations of Monroe under laboratory conditions and is convinced of the validity of Monroe's experience" and "recently recommended that anyone wanting to learn about OOBE should contact MIAS."[^6] [[Frederick Atwater]], then project officer for [[Gondola Wish]], attended Tart's seminar on July 29, 1978, held while Tart was on leave from Davis as a consultant to Stanford Research Institute; Atwater's memorandum records that Tart told attendees the Soviets were far ahead in parapsychology, that US Government sponsored research was almost zero, that he had approached US Government officials on several occasions "but was discouraged," and that he referred them to the [[Monroe Institute]] of Applied Sciences.[^7]
A biographical note to a December 16, 2009 interview calls Tart an emeritus member of the Monroe Institute's board of advisors, and the Institute's 2015 Professional Seminar carried a Skype question-and-answer with Tart on his friendship and collaboration with Monroe.[^8][^9]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Schwartz, Stephan A. "Charles T. Tart Obituary, 29 April 1937 - 5 March 2025." Institut Metapsychique International, April 2025. https://www.metapsychique.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Tart-VO.pdf The obituary gives his age at death as 86, which its own dates do not support.
[^2]: Plaintiff's Exhibit 7, Transcript of Record, Appendix, Puharich v. Brenner, No. 22286 (D.C. Cir.), section 8.80. https://archive.org/details/dc_circ_1968_22286_henry_k_puharich_v_edward_j_brenner
[^3]: Puthoff, H. E., and Russell Targ, "Information Transmission in Remote Viewing Experiments: II," and Tart, Charles T., "Reanalysis of SRI Remote Viewing Experiments," January 1979, CIA-RDP96-00787R000200090017-5. *Report by the Grill Flame Scientific Evaluation Committee,* December 1979, CIA-RDP96-00788R001300120001-5; Stoner, William L., memorandum of conversation, January 14, 1980, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230017-7; Jachim, Robert J., "Information Briefing for Senator Clairborne Pell," October 6, 1982, CIA-RDP96-00788R001100320001-5. Snyder, Harry L., and Arlene G. Snyder. *Summary and Critical Evaluation of Research in Remote Viewing,* Report RV-79-1, June 1, 1979, part 2, CIA-RDP96-00787R000100260003-2.
[^4]: Tart, Charles T., "Six Studies of Out-of-Body Experiences," *Journal of Near-Death Studies* 17, no. 2 (1998): 73-99, pp. 83-90. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc799368/
[^5]: Monroe, Robert A., *Journeys Out of the Body*, updated edition (Doubleday), Tart introduction dated January 10, 1971. https://archive.org/details/journeys_out_body
[^6]: 902d Military Intelligence Group, GONDOLA WISH assessment report, August 25, 1978. CIA-RDP96-00788R002000160001-3, CIA reading room, STARGATE collection.
[^7]: 902d Military Intelligence Group, memorandum of July 31, 1978. CIA-RDP96-00788R002000160013-0, CIA reading room, STARGATE collection.
[^8]: Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, "Exploring the Near-Death Experience: An Interview with Charles Tart, Ph.D." https://maps.org/news/bulletin/exploring-the-near-death-experience-an-interview-with-charles-tart-ph-d/
[^9]: The Monroe Institute, "2015 Professional Seminar: Charles Tart Remembers Robert Monroe." https://archive.org/details/2015-charles-tart

249
10 - PEOPLE/(T-Z)/Donald Trump.md
View file

@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
---
aliases:
- Donald John Trump
- Donald J. Trump
- Trump
category: "Political Figure"
tags:
- KeyFigure
@ -14,71 +16,250 @@ tags:
- LeonardLeo
- DarkMoney
- FederalistSociety
summary: "Donald Trump is the 45th and 47th President of the United States, whose administrations placed figures from the Peter Thiel, Leonard Leo and Jared Kushner networks in federal power and oversaw the Epstein file releases."
- JeffreyEpstein
- EpsteinFilesTransparencyAct
- SupremeCourt
- RussiaInvestigation
- UAP
- RoyCohn
- CambridgeAnalytica
summary: "45th and 47th President of the United States, defended by Roy Cohn in the 1973 housing suit, whose administrations appointed Thiel, Leo and Kushner network figures and who signed the Epstein Files Act."
born: 1946-06-14
location: "Queens, New York City (born)"
relations:
- type: appointed
with: "[[Neil Gorsuch]]"
start: 2017-04-10
fn: 1
- type: appointed
with: "[[Brett Kavanaugh]]"
start: 2018-10-06
fn: 1
- type: appointed
with: "[[Amy Coney Barrett]]"
start: 2020-10-26
fn: 1
- type: appointed
with: "[[Alexander Acosta]]"
start: 2017-04-27
fn: 1
- type: appointed
with: "[[Pam Bondi]]"
start: 2025-02-04
end: 2026-04-02
fn: 34
- type: appointed
with: "[[Todd Blanche]]"
start: 2026-04-02
role: acting Attorney General
fn: 34
- type: appointed
with: "[[Howard Lutnick]]"
start: 2025-02
fn: 34
- type: appointed
with: "[[David Sacks]]"
start: 2024-12
fn: 33
- type: appointed
with: "[[Jay Clayton]]"
start: 2026-10-04
role: White House AI czar
fn: 33
- type: represented
with: "[[Todd Blanche]]"
reverse: true
start: 2023
fn: 34
- type: represented
with: "[[Roy Cohn]]"
reverse: true
start: 1973
role: defense counsel in United States v. Fred C. Trump, et al., No. 73 C 1529 (E.D.N.Y.)
fn: 6
- type: investigated
with: "[[Robert Mueller]]"
reverse: true
start: 2017-05-17
end: 2019-03-22
fn: 21
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Steve Bannon]]"
reverse: true
start: 2016-08
role: campaign chief executive
fn: 14
- type: relative_of
with: "[[Jared Kushner]]"
role: son-in-law
fn: 28
- type: spouse_of
with: "[[Melania Trump]]"
fn: 36
created: 2026-06-18
updated: 2026-10-12
---
Donald Trump (born June 14, 1946) is the 45th and 47th [[President of the United States]], serving 2017-2021 and 2025-present. His two administrations functioned as the political vehicle through which the [[Peter Thiel|Peter Thiel]] commercial network ([[Palantir Technologies|Palantir]] contracting expansion, [[Clearview AI]] seed funding, [[Founders Fund]] defense portfolio), the [[Leonard Leo|Leonard Leo]] judicial-selection network (the [[Neil Gorsuch|Gorsuch]], [[Brett Kavanaugh|Kavanaugh]], [[Amy Coney Barrett|Barrett]] Supreme Court confirmations), and the [[Jared Kushner|Jared Kushner]] [[Middle East]] network ([[Abraham Accords|Abraham Accords]], U.S.-[[Saudi Arabia|Saudi Arabia]] arms sales, the documented [[Mohammed bin Salman|MBS]] WhatsApp channel) exercised documented federal power. Thiel spoke at the 2016 [[Republican National Convention|Republican National Convention]] endorsing Trump, served on the transition executive committee, and placed associates including [[Kevin Harrington|Kevin Harrington]] on the [[National Security Council|National Security Council]].[^1][^2][^3]
Donald Trump (born June 14, 1946) is the 45th and 47th [[President of the United States]], serving from 2017 to 2021 and from 2025. His administrations appointed figures from the [[Peter Thiel|Peter Thiel]] commercial network, the [[Leonard Leo|Leonard Leo]] judicial-selection network and the [[Jared Kushner|Jared Kushner]] [[Middle East|Middle East]] network to federal office and contracts, and the second administration signed the [[Epstein Files Transparency Act|Epstein Files Transparency Act]] into law on November 19, 2025.[^1][^2]
### The 2016 Thiel Endorsement and the Transition
### New York and the Trump Organization
Thiel endorsed Trump at the July 2016 Republican National Convention in [[Cleveland|Cleveland]], the first openly gay speaker at a Republican convention in sixteen years, and donated over one million dollars to Trump-supporting super PACs alongside the [[Mercer family|Mercer family]], the Republican donors who funded [[Breitbart|Breitbart]] and the [[Cambridge Analytica|Cambridge Analytica]] data operation. After the November 2016 election, Trump placed Thiel on the transition team's executive committee. Thiel used the position to place Harrington as Senior Director for Strategic Planning on the National Security Council and a Thiel aide as White House Deputy Chief Technology Officer. *Politico* reported that companies Thiel backed, especially Palantir, stood to benefit from the transition role.[^1][^2][^4]
Trump was born in [[Queens, New York|Queens]], the son of the real estate developer [[Fred Trump|Fred C. Trump]], and became the chief executive of the [[Trump Organization|Trump Organization]] in New York. He later held casino and resort interests in [[Atlantic City, New Jersey|Atlantic City]]. He bought the [[Mar-a-Lago|Mar-a-Lago]] estate in [[Palm Beach, Florida|Palm Beach]] in 1985.[^3]
The Mercer family connection was the other documented channel of the 2016 operation. [[Robert Mercer|Robert Mercer]] and his daughter [[Rebekah Mercer|Rebekah Mercer]] funded Breitbart News (where [[Steve Bannon|Steve Bannon]] served as executive chairman before becoming the Trump campaign CEO in August 2016), Cambridge Analytica (the data-targeting firm that deployed psychographic profiling of voters using Facebook data acquired through the [[ Aleksandr Kogan | Aleksandr Kogan / Joseph Chancellor ]] academic-researcher channel), and the [[Government Accountability Institute|Government Accountability Institute]] (the research nonprofit that produced *Clinton Cash*). The Mercer-Breitbart-Cambridge Analytica infrastructure was the documented digital-and-media backbone of the 2016 campaign, and the convergence with the Thiel commercial network (Palantir, Founders Fund) through the shared Trump support produced the documented 2016 alignment of the [[Silicon Valley]] billionaire network with the Republican political operation.[^4][^5]
In the 1980s [[Alan Greenberg|Alan Greenberg]] of [[Bear Stearns|Bear Stearns]] was among the advisers who helped Trump accumulate 9.6 percent of [[Bally Entertainment|Bally Entertainment]] in an unsuccessful 1986 takeover attempt. Trump said in 2006 that he had placed his children's accounts with Greenberg.[^4]
### The Palantir Contracting Expansion
### The Housing Suit and Roy Cohn
The first Trump administration produced the documented expansion of Palantir's government contracting. The [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement|ICE]] contracts (FALCON, ICM, ImmigrationOS, ELITE) expanded through the administration's immigration-enforcement escalation. The [[Customs and Border Protection|CBP]] and [[Department of Defense|DoD]] contracts grew alongside the border-enforcement and defense-spending increases. The [[In-Q-Tel|In-Q-Tel]]-seeded relationship between Palantir and the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] deepened as Palantir's Gotham platform became the standard data-fusion tool across multiple agencies. Thiel chaired Palantir throughout, while simultaneously placing associates in the NSC and running the [[Dialog]] convening network whose government-side attendees included the congressional oversight and military-command principals responsible for the agencies Palantir serves.[^3][^6]
On October 15, 1973 the United States sued Fred C. Trump, Donald Trump and Trump Management, Inc. in the [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York|Eastern District of New York]] under the Fair Housing Act of 1968, Civil Action No. 73 C 1529, before Judge [[Edward R. Neaher|Edward R. Neaher]].[^5][^6] The complaint covered 39 buildings with more than 14,000 apartments and drew on reports from black and white testers sent by the Open Housing Center of the [[New York Urban League|New York Urban League]]; the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] interviewed company employees, former employees and applicants in the investigation that preceded the suit.[^7]
The second administration (2025-present) has extended the contracting expansion. ICE awarded Palantir the 30 million dollar [[ImmigrationOS|ImmigrationOS]] contract for the administration's mass-deportation operations. Palantir signed the January 2024 strategic partnership with the [[Israeli Ministry of Defense|Israeli Ministry of Defense]] for "war-related missions" in the [[Gaza war|Gaza war]], placing the [[Palantir Gotham|Gotham]] "AI-powered kill chain" platform in an active combat zone. The [[Anduril Industries|Anduril]] [[Sentry Tower|Sentry Tower]] deployment expanded to over 350 towers covering 30 percent of the southern border under a 363 million dollar CBP contract. The documented combination of Palantir (case management and targeting), Anduril (autonomous detection), and Clearview (facial identification) across the deportation and border-enforcement pipelines constitutes the commercial operation of the [[Thiel Influence Network|Thiel network]] against the documented target populations.[^3][^6][^7]
The defendants retained [[Roy Cohn|Roy M. Cohn]] of the firm Saxe, Bacon, Bolan & Manley. Cohn had been admitted to the New York bar in 1948 and in 1952 appeared among the counsel for the United States on the Second Circuit appeal in [[United States v. Rosenberg|United States v. Rosenberg]]; the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse summary of the Trump case describes him as a former aide to Senator [[Joseph McCarthy|Joseph McCarthy]].[^7][^8] The docket shows that on December 12, 1973 the defendants moved to dismiss the complaint and filed a counterclaim, that the government moved on January 8, 1974 to dismiss the counterclaim, and that both motions were argued before Neaher on January 25, 1974. The docket records the government's response to affidavits of Donald Trump and Roy Cohn, a government motion for sanctions returnable in May 1974, and a notice to take Donald Trump's deposition.[^5] The counterclaim sought 100 million dollars from the government for defamation, and it failed.[^7][^9]
[[David Marcus|David Marcus]], identified as Cohn's cousin, said in the 2024 [[PBS Frontline|FRONTLINE]] film The Choice 2024 that when Cohn met Trump he told him, "You might be guilty; it doesn't matter. Go after the Justice Department. Don't ever admit guilt." Ken Auletta of The New Yorker said in the same film that Trump was "totally taken" by Cohn's advice to "fight it" and "just deny everything and fight."[^9]
The case ended in a consent order entered June 10, 1975. It recites that the order was entered "without adjudication of the merit and without any admission as to the existence or absence of liability," that "Defendants vigorously deny said allegations," and that Trump Management's execution of it was "in no way an admission" of a violation. It dismissed the complaint against Fred Trump and Donald Trump personally, with prejudice. It permanently enjoined the company from refusing to rent or sell, discriminating in terms, and representing that a dwelling was unavailable when it was available, directed the principal officers to "thoroughly acquaint themselves personally on a detailed basis" with the Fair Housing Act, and required a two-year affirmative program that began with written notice to the Open Housing Center of the New York Urban League. Cohn signed for the defendants and Frank E. Schwelb, Chief of the Housing Section of the Civil Rights Division, for the United States.[^6]
On June 23, 1986 the Appellate Division, First Department, in Matter of Cohn, 118 A.D.2d 15, sustained four charges brought by the Departmental Disciplinary Committee in the fall of 1982 and disbarred Cohn effective immediately, in a per curiam opinion joined by Justices Sandler, Fein, Lynch, Rosenberger and Ellerin. Cohn's counsel were [[Michael Mukasey|Michael B. Mukasey]] and [[Harold R. Tyler Jr.|Harold R. Tyler, Jr.]] The charges concerned a 100,000-dollar loan from a client in 1966 that remained unpaid until 1984; the violation of an escrow order in a Securities and Exchange Commission fraud action involving two yachts; a December 6, 1975 codicil to the will of [[Lewis Rosenstiel|Lewis S. Rosenstiel]], signed in a Miami hospital room weeks before his death and naming Cohn as an additional executor and trustee; and a false answer on Cohn's July 28, 1982 application to the District of Columbia Bar. The court wrote that "for an attorney practicing for nearly 40 years in this State, such misconduct is inexcusable" and that the evidence on each charge left "no recourse but to order disbarment."[^10] The FBI's online Vault carries a 748-page file titled Roy Cohn, Part 01 of 01.[^11]
### The 2016 Campaign and the Thiel Network
Peter Thiel, a [[Silicon Valley|Silicon Valley]] investor, endorsed Trump at the July 2016 [[Republican National Convention|Republican National Convention]] in [[Cleveland|Cleveland]], as the first openly gay speaker at a Republican convention in sixteen years. Federal Election Commission schedule A records list Thiel's itemized individual contributions for the 2015 to 2016 cycle, including two contributions of 1,000,000 dollars each to committees named Fighting for Ohio Fund (August 10, 2016) and Make America Number 1 (October 26, 2016), a 250,000-dollar contribution to Trump Victory (October 6, 2016), and a 2,700-dollar contribution to Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. (October 6, 2016). A 2,000,000-dollar contribution dated August 25, 2015 went to a committee named Conservative, Authentic, Responsive Leadership for You and for America.[^12]
After the November 2016 election Trump placed Thiel on the transition team's executive committee. Thiel used the position to place [[Kevin Harrington|Kevin Harrington]] as Senior Director for Strategic Planning on the [[National Security Council|National Security Council]] and a Thiel aide as White House Deputy Chief Technology Officer. The [[The Guardian|Guardian]] and [[Politico|Politico]] reported in November and December 2016 that companies Thiel backed, especially [[Palantir Technologies|Palantir]], stood to benefit from the transition role.[^13]
The [[Robert Mercer|Robert Mercer]] and [[Rebekah Mercer|Rebekah Mercer]] family funded [[Breitbart News|Breitbart News]], where [[Steve Bannon|Steve Bannon]] served as executive chairman before becoming Trump's campaign chief executive in August 2016. The Mercer Family Foundation also gave 7,460,000 dollars to the [[Government Accountability Institute|Government Accountability Institute]] in tax years 2013 to 2017; Bannon was the institute's chairman and Rebekah Mercer a director in its 2012 return, and the institute produced the book [[Clinton Cash|Clinton Cash]]. The family also funded [[Cambridge Analytica|Cambridge Analytica]], which obtained Facebook user data through an academic researcher, [[Aleksandr Kogan|Aleksandr Kogan]], and used psychographic profiling in the campaign.[^14]
The [[Federal Trade Commission|Federal Trade Commission]] issued an administrative complaint against Cambridge Analytica on July 24, 2019. The Commission's opinion and final order of November 25, 2019 (Docket No. 9383) granted complaint counsel's unopposed motion for summary decision, found that the company harvested profile data from approximately 250,000 to 270,000 U.S. app users and from 50 to 65 million of their Facebook friends, and ordered it to delete or destroy the covered information and to stop misrepresenting its privacy practices and its Privacy Shield participation; the company had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in May 2018.[^15] The United Kingdom Information Commissioner's final letter to Parliament, dated October 2, 2020, stated that the Commissioner "did not find any additional evidence of Russian involvement" in the material on the SCL Elections and Cambridge Analytica servers, and that earlier details of reported Russia-located activity had been referred to the National Crime Agency.[^16] The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence reported that Cambridge Analytica developers helped ingest the campaign's polling data into a visualization tool that [[Brad Parscale|Brad Parscale]] carried on an iPad.[^17]
### The Russia Investigation
The Special Counsel's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, Volume I, stated that candidate Trump signed a letter of intent for [[Trump Tower Moscow|Trump Tower Moscow]] by November 2015, and that Trump Organization executive [[Michael Cohen|Michael Cohen]] pursued the project through at least June 2016, including by considering travel to Russia by Cohen and candidate Trump. The report places the letter of intent between approximately October 13 and November 2, 2015, signed by Trump for the Trump Organization.[^18][^19]
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, in Volume 5 of its report on Russian active measures (2020), stated that Trump authorized Cohen in September 2015 to pursue the deal through [[Felix Sater|Felix Sater]], a longtime business associate of Trump. The committee found that Sater had senior-level ties to Russian businessmen and former officials, though it stated that he almost certainly inflated some of his claims.[^20]
The Special Counsel's Volume II addressed obstruction. Its introduction, its executive summary and its conclusion each state: "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him." The report adds that "if we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state," and that "we are unable to reach that judgment."[^21]
### The Supreme Court and the Leo Network
Trump's three Supreme Court appointments (Gorsuch 2017, Kavanaugh 2018, Barrett 2020) were selected and shepherded through the Leonard Leo / [[Federalist Society|Federalist Society]] pipeline. Leo advised Trump on all three selections and the [[Judicial Crisis Network|Judicial Crisis Network]] (now the [[Concord Fund|Concord Fund]]) dark-money operation funded the confirmation campaigns. The conservative supermajority produced by the confirmations has been the structural outcome that shapes U.S. law on reproductive rights, gun regulation, campaign finance, and executive power. The Leo operation and the Thiel operation overlap through the shared [[Teneo Network|Teneo Network]] institutional terrain and the shared 501(c)(4) dark-money infrastructure.[^8]
Trump nominated [[Neil Gorsuch|Neil Gorsuch]], [[Brett Kavanaugh|Brett Kavanaugh]] and [[Amy Coney Barrett|Amy Coney Barrett]] to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]]. The Senate confirmed Gorsuch on April 7, 2017 by 54 to 45, Kavanaugh on October 6, 2018 by 50 to 48, and Barrett on October 26, 2020 by 52 to 48.[^1]
The Kavanaugh confirmation (2018) was the most contested of the three and drew the documented engagement of the Thiel-aligned political infrastructure. The confirmation followed a sexual-assault allegation against Kavanaugh and the [[Senate Judiciary Committee]] hearings, and the conservative dark-money operation that funded the confirmation campaign (the JCN / Concord Fund network) spent millions on advertising and grassroots mobilization. Leo personally managed the confirmation strategy. The Kavanaugh confirmation solidified the conservative supermajority that produced the 2022 [[Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization|Dobbs]] decision overturning [[Roe v. Wade|Roe v. Wade]].[^8]
Leonard Leo, the longtime executive vice president of the [[Federalist Society|Federalist Society]], advised Trump on all three selections, according to [[ProPublica|ProPublica]], which reported on Leo's role in March 2023.[^22] The [[Judicial Crisis Network|Judicial Crisis Network]], later renamed the [[Concord Fund|Concord Fund]], funded campaigns for the confirmations. Leo managed the Kavanaugh confirmation strategy, and the Judicial Crisis Network and Concord Fund network spent millions of dollars on advertising and grassroots mobilization.[^22] The Kavanaugh confirmation followed a sexual assault allegation against Kavanaugh, and the [[Senate Judiciary Committee|Senate Judiciary Committee]] held hearings on it. The Court's 2022 decision in [[Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization|Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization]] overturned [[Roe v. Wade|Roe v. Wade]]. The conservative majority that followed the three confirmations has decided cases on abortion, gun regulation, campaign finance and executive power.
The Leo and Thiel operations share the [[Teneo Network|Teneo Network]] institutional terrain and the 501(c)(4) dark-money structure described on the Leo page.[^22]
### Palantir and the Immigration Contracts
Palantir expanded its federal contracting during the first administration. Thiel chaired Palantir throughout, placed associates on the National Security Council, and ran the [[Dialog|Dialog]] convening network, a membership list of which was reported by WIRED in June 2026.[^23] The cluster is known as the [[Thiel Influence Network|Thiel network]]. Its [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement|ICE]] contracts include the FALCON database, awarded under contract HSCETC15C00001 (May 28, 2015 to May 27, 2018, about 39.3 million dollars) and continued under contract 70CTD019C00000001 (November 28, 2018 to May 27, 2022, about 37.8 million dollars), and the Investigative Case Management system, awarded as order 70CTD022FR0000170 (September 26, 2022 to September 25, 2027, about 170.8 million dollars). Palantir's ICE work also included a contract known as ELITE. [[In-Q-Tel|In-Q-Tel]] had seeded Palantir's relationship with the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], and Palantir's Gotham platform became a standard data-fusion tool across multiple agencies.[^24]
On April 11, 2025 ICE modified order 70CTD022FR0000170 by about 29.9 million dollars; the USAspending record describes the modification as adding licenses, configuration and engineering services to deploy "new targeting and enforcement prioritization, self-deportation tracking, and immigration lifecycle process capabilities." ICE described a system called [[ImmigrationOS|ImmigrationOS]] in connection with this work, to track immigrants for deportation. In May and June 2026 ICE placed two further Palantir orders, 70CTD026FC0000012 (about 86.3 million dollars, enforcement removal operations modernization for the Enforcement Case Management System) and 70CTD026FC0000018 (about 45.8 million dollars, Homeland Security Investigations system modernization).[^25]
[[Anduril Industries|Anduril]] holds contracts from [[Customs and Border Protection|CBP]] for [[Sentry Tower|Sentry Tower]] surveillance towers along the southern border, including a 363 million dollar award for extended-range towers; the deployment expanded to over 350 towers covering 30 percent of the southern border. [[Clearview AI|Clearview AI]], seeded by [[Founders Fund|Founders Fund]], supplies facial identification to CBP.[^26] The Palantir partnership with the [[Israeli Ministry of Defense|Israeli Ministry of Defense]] for "war-related missions" during the [[Gaza war|Gaza war]] was announced in January 2024, during the Biden administration, and is not an action of the second Trump administration. Palantir markets its [[Palantir Gotham|Gotham]] platform as an "AI-powered kill chain."[^27]
### The Kushner Middle East Policy
Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor, handled the Middle East portfolio that produced the Abraham Accords (2020 normalization agreements between [[Israel|Israel]] and the [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]], [[Bahrain|Bahrain]], [[Sudan|Sudan]], and [[Morocco|Morocco]]). The accords broke with the prior U.S. framework that had conditioned normalization on Israeli-Palestinian progress, and Kushner led the negotiation alongside the administration's recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the [[Golan Heights|Golan Heights]] and the relocation of the U.S. embassy to [[Jerusalem|Jerusalem]].[^9]
Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, led Middle East policy in the first administration. It produced the 2020 [[Abraham Accords|Abraham Accords]] normalization agreements between [[Israel|Israel]] and the [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]], [[Bahrain|Bahrain]], [[Sudan|Sudan]] and [[Morocco|Morocco]]. The administration recognized Israeli sovereignty over the [[Golan Heights|Golan Heights]] and moved the U.S. embassy to [[Jerusalem|Jerusalem]]. The accords departed from the earlier U.S. framework that had conditioned normalization on Israeli-Palestinian progress.[^28]
The U.S.-Saudi Arabia arms sales proceeded over congressional opposition, with the administration invoking emergency authority to bypass the congressional review process. The arms sales ran through the period of the [[Jamal Khashoggi|Khashoggi]] murder (October 2018), after which the CIA assessed with high confidence that MBS had ordered the assassination. Kushner maintained his relationship with MBS after the murder and maintained the WhatsApp channel the CIA assessed as compromised.[^9]
The administration approved U.S.-[[Saudi Arabia|Saudi Arabia]] arms sales over congressional opposition, using emergency authority to bypass congressional review. The sales went forward after the October 2018 murder of [[Jamal Khashoggi|Jamal Khashoggi]]. The CIA was reported to have assessed with high confidence that [[Mohammed bin Salman|Mohammed bin Salman]] had ordered the killing, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's assessment dated February 11, 2021, declassified on February 25 and released on February 26, 2021, stated: "We assess that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi."[^29] Kushner maintained his relationship with the crown prince after the murder and kept up the WhatsApp channel that the CIA assessed as compromised; he used WhatsApp to communicate with the crown prince during his government service.[^28] The Guardian reported in January 2020 that [[Jeff Bezos|Jeff Bezos]]'s phone had been hacked in May 2018 through a file sent from the crown prince's WhatsApp account.[^28]
After the administration ended, the [[Public Investment Fund|Saudi sovereign wealth fund]] committed 2 billion dollars to Kushner's [[Affinity Partners|Affinity Partners]] fund despite the fund's own due-diligence panel rejecting the deal as "unsatisfactory in all aspects." The Kushner-MBS channel, the [[NSO Group|NSO Group]] Pegasus surveillance of Khashoggi's associates, and the Abraham Accords together constitute the documented Middle East policy outcome.[^9]
After the first administration ended, the [[Public Investment Fund|Saudi sovereign wealth fund]] committed 2 billion dollars to Kushner's [[Affinity Partners|Affinity Partners]]. The [[NSO Group|NSO Group]] Pegasus spyware was used against associates of Khashoggi, according to leaked data reported in July 2021. The House Committee on Oversight opened a probe of the investment in June 2022. Its letter stated that the fund's screening panel had rated the firm's due diligence unsatisfactory before the fund's board approved the investment.[^30]
### The 2024 Campaign and the Second Administration
### DOGE and the Second Administration
Thiel funded the 2022 [[JD Vance|JD Vance]] Senate campaign (approximately fifteen million dollars) and the [[Blake Masters|Blake Masters]] campaign (approximately fifteen million dollars), and brokered Vance's selection as Trump's 2024 vice-presidential running mate. The Vance selection compressed a three-and-a-half-year path from private citizen to Vice President on a single-donor financial base.[^1][^3]
Executive Order 14158 established the [[Department of Government Efficiency|Department of Government Efficiency]] (DOGE), led by [[Elon Musk|Elon Musk]], on January 20, 2025.[^31] An April 2025 whistleblower disclosure stated that DOGE personnel had taken sensitive data from the [[National Labor Relations Board|National Labor Relations Board]] in what the whistleblower described as an [[NLRB Data Exfiltration|NLRB data exfiltration]] and that a login attempt to NLRB systems came from a Russian IP address, as reported by [[NPR|NPR]] and [[Nextgov|Nextgov/FCW]].[^32]
The [[Heritage Foundation|Heritage Foundation]]'s [[Project 2025|Project 2025]] produced the personnel pipeline for the second administration. [[ProPublica|ProPublica]] reported that [[Paul Dans|Paul Dans]], the Project 2025 director, created a personnel database of over 10,000 vetted candidates ("a conservative LinkedIn") to staff a second Trump term. [[NBC News|NBC News]] reported that several prominent Project 2025 authors secured executive-branch roles. [[Center for American Progress|CAP]] documented that 80 percent of Project 2025's authors were former Trump administration officials or close advisors, and 140 people who worked for Trump contributed to the project. Trump publicly disavowed Project 2025 during the campaign but the personnel overlap is documented.[^1][^5]
Thiel funded the 2022 Senate campaigns of [[JD Vance|JD Vance]] in Ohio and [[Blake Masters|Blake Masters]] in Arizona, at approximately fifteen million dollars each, and brokered Vance's selection as Trump's 2024 vice-presidential running mate.[^13]
The second Trump administration (2025-present) has produced the documented expansion of Palantir's ICE contracting (the 30 million dollar ImmigrationOS contract), the Palantir-Israel strategic partnership for "war-related missions" in the Gaza war, and the [[Department of Government Efficiency|DOGE]] access to federal systems. [[David Sacks|David Sacks]], the PayPal Mafia COO, received the White House AI and cryptocurrency czar appointment. The DOGE, led by [[Elon Musk|Musk]], produced the documented [[NLRB Data Exfiltration|NLRB data exfiltration]] with Russian IP login attempts and the documented exfiltration of union-organizing records.[^1][^3][^10]
[[David Sacks|David Sacks]], a former chief operating officer of [[PayPal|PayPal]] and a member of the [[PayPal Mafia|PayPal Mafia]], was named in December 2024 as White House AI and cryptocurrency czar. NPR reported in October 2026 that Sacks had stepped down from the role earlier that year and become co-chair of the [[President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology|President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology]], and that on October 4, 2026 Trump named Director of National Intelligence [[Jay Clayton|Jay Clayton]] as AI czar to lead a White House "Super Intelligence Force."[^33] [[Project 2025|Project 2025]], the [[Heritage Foundation|Heritage Foundation]] policy project, was run by [[Paul Dans|Paul Dans]], who according to ProPublica built a personnel database of more than 10,000 vetted candidates for a second Trump term. [[NBC News|NBC News]] reported that several prominent Project 2025 authors secured executive-branch roles. The [[Center for American Progress|Center for American Progress]] reported that 80 percent of the project's authors had been former Trump administration officials or close advisers, and that 140 people who worked for Trump contributed to the project. Trump publicly disavowed Project 2025 during the 2024 campaign.[^33]
[[Howard Lutnick|Howard Lutnick]], the [[Cantor Fitzgerald|Cantor Fitzgerald]] CEO whose Epstein emails are documented in the 2026 file releases, received the [[Secretary of Commerce|Secretary of Commerce]] appointment. [[Pam Bondi|Pam Bondi]] received the [[Attorney General|Attorney General]] appointment and was confirmed on February 4, 2025; a year later she co-signed the February 2026 report to Congress under the [[Epstein Files Transparency Act]] that listed some 300 names of officials and public figures referenced in the [[Jeffrey Epstein|Epstein]] files, among them [[Elvis Presley|Elvis]], [[Princess Diana|Princess Diana]], and [[Kurt Cobain|Kurt Cobain]]. [[Todd Blanche|Todd Blanche]], the deputy attorney general who announced the 3.5 million page Epstein-files publication, was previously Trump's personal defense attorney in the Manhattan criminal case. The second-administration personnel pattern places documented Epstein-network contacts (Lutnick) and Epstein-files oversight figures (Bondi, Blanche) in the executive branch.[^1]
[[Howard Lutnick|Howard Lutnick]], chief executive of [[Cantor Fitzgerald|Cantor Fitzgerald]], became [[Secretary of Commerce|Secretary of Commerce]] in February 2025. Lutnick's emails with Epstein appear in the 2026 file releases. [[Pam Bondi|Pam Bondi]] was confirmed as [[Attorney General|Attorney General]] on February 4, 2025, and Trump announced her departure on April 2, 2026, naming [[Todd Blanche|Todd Blanche]] acting attorney general. Blanche, whose office announced on January 30, 2026 the publication of more than 3 million additional pages and a total of nearly 3.5 million, had been Trump's personal criminal defense lawyer in the Manhattan case, and the Senate confirmed him as Attorney General on August 8, 2026 by 50 to 49.[^34][^35]
### The Epstein Relationship
Trump and Epstein socialized from the late 1980s through 2004, mostly in [[Palm Beach, Florida|Palm Beach]] and New York. Archival [[NBC]] footage from 1992 shows the two men together at [[Mar-a-Lago]] watching dancers, with [[Ghislaine Maxwell]] present, and photographs place Trump, [[Melania Trump]], Epstein, and Maxwell together in the period. In a 2002 [[New York Magazine]] profile Trump said of Epstein, "I've known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy," adding that "he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side." Epstein's address books listed multiple Trump telephone numbers, and Trump's name appears roughly seven times in the flight logs of Epstein's aircraft (the [[Lolita Express]]) on domestic legs, with no log entry placing Trump on [[Little St. James]].[^11]
Trump and [[Jeffrey Epstein|Jeffrey Epstein]] socialized from the late 1980s through 2004, mostly in Palm Beach and New York. Archival [[NBC|NBC]] footage from 1992 shows the two men together at Mar-a-Lago watching dancers, with [[Ghislaine Maxwell|Ghislaine Maxwell]] present. A photograph taken at Mar-a-Lago on February 12, 2000 shows Trump, [[Melania Trump|Melania Knauss]], Epstein and Maxwell together.[^36]
The relationship broke in 2004 over a Palm Beach property. In November 2004 Trump outbid Epstein for the oceanfront mansion [[Maison de l'Amitie]], paying 41.35 million dollars, and the bankruptcy trustee for the estate described the two men lobbying him and disparaging each other's finances. Trump later said he had a falling out with Epstein "a long time ago" and had thrown him out of Mar-a-Lago as "persona non grata" for poaching club staff. Little public record of contact survives after 2004. [[Maria Farmer]], who reported Epstein to the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] in 1996, said she had also flagged a 1990s encounter involving Trump, an account that remains an uncorroborated allegation. No allegation of criminal wrongdoing by Trump in connection with Epstein has been established in any court or official finding.[^12]
In an October 28, 2002 profile by Landon Thomas Jr. in New York magazine, Trump, speaking by speakerphone, said: "I've known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy. He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side."[^37] On July 9, 2019, asked about Epstein at the White House, Trump said: "I had a falling out with him a long time ago. I don't think I've spoken to him for 15 years." He added: "I was not a fan of his. That I can tell you."[^38]
The relationship returned as a political liability across 2025. As president, Trump presided over the Justice Department that handled the file releases; he denied authoring the 2003 "birthday book" letter that the [[Wall Street Journal]] reported bore his signature and a drawing of a nude woman, dismissed the report as fake, and filed a multibillion-dollar defamation suit against the paper. After months of pressure from members of his own coalition demanding disclosure, Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November 2025. The staged releases, the missing "client list" that Bondi had promised, and the unexplained redactions kept the Trump-Epstein history in continuous national coverage through the end of 2025.[^13]
Epstein's address books listed multiple Trump telephone numbers. Former Epstein pilot [[Larry Visoski|Larry Visoski]] testified on November 29 and 30, 2021 that he had flown Trump on Epstein's aircraft, the [[Lolita Express|Lolita Express]], "more than once, I believe." Trump's name appears in the flight logs of the aircraft on domestic legs, roughly seven times by one count. No flight log entry places Trump on [[Little St. James|Little St. James]].[^39]
The relationship broke in 2004 over a Palm Beach property. In November 2004 Trump bought the oceanfront mansion [[Maison de l'Amitie|Maison de l'Amitie]] for 41.35 million dollars. The bankruptcy trustee, Joseph Luzinski, described the two men bidding as "two very large Palm Beach egos going at it."[^40] Speaking at his Turnberry course in Scotland on July 28, 2025, Trump said of Epstein: "He stole people that worked for me. I said, 'Don't ever do that again.' He did it again, and I threw him out of the place, persona non grata."[^41]
[[Maria Farmer]], who reported Epstein to the FBI in 1996, later said that she had also flagged a 1990s encounter involving Trump; the account remains an uncorroborated allegation. Trump has denied wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.[^42]
Trump's name also appears in the 2003 "birthday book" assembled for Epstein's fiftieth birthday. The [[Wall Street Journal|Wall Street Journal]] reported in July 2025 that a letter in the book bore Trump's signature and a drawing of a nude woman. Trump denied authoring the letter, called the report fake, and filed a multibillion-dollar defamation suit against the paper.[^43] The staged releases, the missing "client list" that Bondi had promised, and the redactions kept the Trump-Epstein history in national coverage through the end of 2025.
### The Epstein Files Transparency Act
The House passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act (H.R. 4405) on November 18, 2025, and Trump signed it on November 19, 2025 as Public Law 119-38. The statute required the Attorney General to release the unclassified records of the [[Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] and the FBI within thirty days, and allowed withholding of material that would jeopardize an active federal investigation.[^2]
On November 14, 2025 Trump asked the Justice Department to investigate Epstein's dealings with [[Bill Clinton|Bill Clinton]], [[Larry Summers|Larry Summers]], [[Reid Hoffman|Reid Hoffman]] and [[JPMorgan Chase|JPMorgan Chase]]. Attorney General Bondi assigned the investigation to Jay Clayton that day.[^44]
On February 14, 2026 the Justice Department sent the Senate and House Judiciary Committees a letter under section 3 of the Act, on the letterhead of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General and signed by Attorney General Pamela J. Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. It listed all categories of records released and withheld, a summary of redactions, and a list of "all government officials and politically exposed persons" named or referenced in the released materials. The letter states that the term "politically exposed persons" was not defined in the Act, that names appear in the files "in a wide variety of contexts," and that "some individuals had extensive direct email contact with Epstein or Maxwell while other individuals are mentioned only in a portion of a document (including press reporting) that on its face is unrelated to the Epstein and Maxwell matters." The alphabetical list runs to about 300 names, from Alexander Acosta to Mark Zuckerberg, and includes Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, Melania Trump, JD Vance, Jared Kushner, Howard Lutnick, Steve Bannon, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Leonard Leo, Elvis Presley, Princess Diana and Kurt Cobain.[^45] [[Ro Khanna|Ro Khanna]] described the list as "purposefully muddying the waters on who was a predator and who was mentioned in an email."[^45]
### The January 2026 Release Allegations
The Justice Department's January 30, 2026 release of [[Epstein Files|Epstein files]] included FBI interview memoranda from 2019 in which a woman told investigators that she had been sexually assaulted by Epstein and by Trump in the 1980s, when she said she was a teenager. The Justice Department stated that the files contain false and unverified claims. Trump has denied the allegations.[^35]
### Unidentified Aerial Phenomena
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, Public Law 116-260, which Trump signed on December 27, 2020, contained the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 as Division W. Division W has no provision in its text on unidentified aerial phenomena. Its section 3 provides that the explanatory statement printed in the Congressional Record by the chairmen of the House and Senate intelligence committees "shall have the same effect with respect to the implementation of this division as if it were a joint explanatory statement of a committee of conference."[^46] That explanatory statement, Part II, "incorporates by reference, and the Executive Branch shall comply with, all direction contained in the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Report to accompany the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (S. Rept. 116-233)."[^47] Senate Report 116-233, filed June 17, 2020 by [[Marco Rubio|Marco Rubio]] for the committee, contains a section titled "Advanced Aerial Threats." It states the committee's concern that "there is no unified, comprehensive process within the Federal Government for collecting and analyzing intelligence on unidentified aerial phenomena" and directs the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, to submit within 180 days of enactment an unclassified report, with a classified annex permitted, that includes an analysis of data held by the [[Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force|Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force]] at the [[Office of Naval Intelligence|Office of Naval Intelligence]] and by the FBI, an interagency collection process with a named accountable official, an assessment of foreign-adversary attribution, and recommendations.[^48]
The statute that created the permanent office is a different law. The James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, Public Law 117-81, approved December 27, 2021 by President [[Joe Biden|Joe Biden]], contains section 1683, which directed the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence, to establish an office to address unidentified aerial phenomena within 180 days of enactment.[^49]
On February 19, 2026 Trump wrote on Truth Social that, "based on the tremendous interest shown," he would be directing Defense Secretary [[Pete Hegseth|Pete Hegseth]] and other agencies "to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters." The post followed his statement to a reporter that [[Barack Obama|Barack Obama]] had given classified information when Obama said in a podcast interview that aliens were "real."[^50] On May 8, 2026 the Department of Defense began posting the files at war.gov/UFO, with more than 160 files covering more than 400 incidents, and said additional files would follow "on a rolling basis."[^51]
On July 11, 2026 [[The Harvard Crimson|The Harvard Crimson]] reported that [[Avi Loeb|Avi Loeb]] said he had served on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology under Trump. The paper also reported that a representative of the [[Office of the Director of National Intelligence|Office of the Director of National Intelligence]] visited Loeb to request a group that Loeb formed as the [[UAP Science Advisory Council|UAP Science Advisory Council]], "in support of President Trump's directive on UAP transparency."[^52] In August 2026 [[Ross Coulthart|Ross Coulthart]] wrote on NewsNation that unnamed White House sources told him Trump "has personally authorized" a government program using the methods of the [[Sky Watcher|Skywatcher]] organization. Coulthart attributed each statement to unnamed sources.[^53]
### Footnotes
[^1]: For Thiel's 2016 endorsement, the RNC speech, and the transition team role, see the contemporaneous press (*Guardian*, *Politico*, *ABC News*) and the Peter Thiel page.
[^2]: "Peter Thiel goes 'big league', joining Trump's presidential transition team." *The Guardian,* November 11, 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/11/peter-thiel-joins-donald-trump-transition-team ; "Thiel could gain from Trump transition." *Politico,* December 2016. https://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/peter-thiel-trump-transition-benefits-232233
[^3]: Cameron, Dell, and Yulia Almazova. "Leak Exposes Members of Peter Thiel's Secretive 'Dialog' Society." *WIRED,* June 16, 2026. https://www.wired.com/story/leak-exposes-members-of-peter-thiels-secretive-dialog-society/
[^4]: "Who Is Kevin Harrington, the Peter Thiel Associate Who Just Joined the National Security Council Staff?" *Gizmodo,* February 2017. https://gizmodo.com/who-is-kevin-harrington-the-peter-thiel-associate-who-1791925769 ; "Disrupting the White House: Peter Thiel's Influence is Shaping the National Security Council." *Just Security,* 2017. https://www.justsecurity.org/37466/disrupting-white-house-peter-thiels-influence-shaping-national-security-council/
[^5]: For the Mercer-Breitbart-Cambridge Analytica infrastructure, see the contemporaneous press coverage of the 2016 campaign digital operation and the Cambridge Analytica documentation. For the Government Accountability Institute and *Clinton Cash*, see the published record. For Project 2025: "Paul Dans, the Man Behind Project 2025's Most Radical Plans." *ProPublica.* https://www.propublica.org/article/project-2025-trump-campaign-heritage-foundation-paul-dans ; "The key Project 2025 authors now staffing the Trump administration." *NBC News.* https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/key-project-2025-authors-now-staffing-trump-administration-rcna195107
[^6]: "ICE to Use ImmigrationOS by Palantir, a New AI System, to Track Immigrants' Movements." *American Immigration Council,* April 2025. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/ice-immigrationos-palantir-ai-track-immigrants/ ; "ICE enlists Palantir to develop all-seeing 'ImmigrationOS' eye to speed up deportations." *The Register,* April 21, 2025. https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/21/ice_enlists_palantir_to_develop/
[^7]: "Anduril Wins $363 Million CBP Contract to Deploy Over 200 Extended Range AI Surveillance Towers." *The Defense News,* 2025. https://www.thedefensenews.com/Anduril-Wins-363-Million-CBP-Contract-to-Deploy-Over-200-Extended-Range-AI-Surveillance-Towers/ ; "CBP to strengthen 'tactical targeting,' 'counter-network analysis' with Clearview AI." *FedScoop,* 2026. https://fedscoop.com/dhs-cbp-contract-biometric-facial-recognition-ai/
[^8]: "We Don't Talk About Leonard: The Man Behind the Right's Supreme Court Supermajority." *ProPublica,* March 2023. https://www.propublica.org/article/we-dont-talk-about-leonard-leo-supreme-court-supermajority
[^9]: "Chairwoman Maloney Launches Probe of Saudi Government's $2 Billion Investment in Affinity Partners." House Committee on Oversight, June 2, 2022, citing the PIF screening panel that rated the firm's due diligence "unsatisfactory in all aspects" before MBS overruled it. https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/news/press-releases/chairwoman-maloney-launches-probe-of-saudi-government-s-2-billion-investment-in
[^10]: "Whistleblower details how DOGE may have taken sensitive NLRB data." *NPR,* April 15, 2025. https://www.npr.org/2025/04/15/nx-s1-5355896/doge-nlrb-elon-musk-spacex-security ; "User with Russian IP address tried to log into NLRB systems following DOGE access, whistleblower says." *Nextgov/FCW,* April 2025. https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2025/04/user-russian-ip-address-tried-log-nlrb-systems-following-doge-access-whistleblower-says/404574/
[^11]: "Trump called Epstein a 'terrific guy' who enjoyed 'younger' women before denying relationship with him." *Washington Post,* July 8, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-called-epstein-a-terrific-guy-before-denying-relationship-with-him/2019/07/08/a01e0f00-a1be-11e9-bd56-eac6bb02d01d_story.html ; "Trump and Epstein: A Timeline of Their Relationship." *Time,* 2025. https://time.com/7333365/trump-epstein-relationship-timeline/
[^12]: "What we know about the Trump-Epstein falling out." *PolitiFact,* July 31, 2025. https://www.politifact.com/article/2025/jul/31/what-we-know-about-the-trump-epstein-falling-out/ ; "President Donald Trump explains why he kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago." *Fox News,* 2025. https://www.foxnews.com/us/jeffrey-epstein-thrown-out-mar-a-lago-hiring-help-trump
[^13]: "Birthday letter to Epstein bore Trump's signature, drawing of naked woman, Wall Street Journal reports." *CNN,* July 17, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/17/politics/epstein-birthday-letter-trump ; U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Files Transparency Act disclosures. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/doj-disclosures
[^1]: Senate roll call votes. 115th Congress, 1st Session, vote 111 (Nomination of Neil M. Gorsuch, April 7, 2017, 54 to 45). https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1151/vote_115_1_00111.xml ; vote 116 (Nomination of R. Alexander Acosta as Secretary of Labor, April 27, 2017, 60 to 38). https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1151/vote_115_1_00116.xml ; 115th Congress, 2nd Session, vote 223 (Nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh, October 6, 2018, 50 to 48). https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1152/vote_115_2_00223.xml ; 116th Congress, 2nd Session, vote 224 (Nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, October 26, 2020, 52 to 48). https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1162/vote_116_2_00224.xml
[^2]: Epstein Files Transparency Act, Pub. L. No. 119-38, sections 1 to 3, 139 Stat. 656 to 658 (approved November 19, 2025; House passage November 18, Senate passage November 19). https://www.congress.gov/119/plaws/publ38/PLAW-119publ38.pdf
[^3]: "Trump did open Mar-a-Lago to blacks and Jews, but in a business move, not a crusade." *PolitiFact,* February 11, 2020 (purchase in 1985). https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/feb/11/viral-image/trump-did-open-mar-lago-blacks-and-jews-business-m/ ; "President Donald J. Trump," The White House (Wharton School; real estate development in New York City). https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/donald-j-trump/
[^4]: "Alan 'Ace' Greenberg, who remade Bear Stearns, dies at 86." *Bloomberg News,* via *Portland Press Herald,* July 25, 2014. https://www.pressherald.com/2014/07/25/alan-ace-greenberg-who-remade-bear-stearns-dies-at-86/
[^5]: United States v. Fred C. Trump, Donald Trump and Trump Management, Inc., No. 73 C 1529 (E.D.N.Y.), civil docket (complaint filed October 15, 1973; motion to dismiss and counterclaim filed December 12, 1973; motion to dismiss counterclaim January 8, 1974; argument January 25, 1974; entries on affidavits of Donald Trump and Roy Cohn, plaintiff's motion for sanctions and notice of deposition of Donald Trump). Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, document 82945. https://clearinghouse-umich-production.s3.amazonaws.com/media/doc/82945.pdf
[^6]: United States v. Fred C. Trump, Donald Trump and Trump Management, Inc., Consent Order, No. 73 C 1529 (E.D.N.Y. June 10, 1975) (Neaher, J.), parts I to IV and signature page (Roy M. Cohn, Saxe, Bacon, Bolan & Manley, for defendants; Frank E. Schwelb, Chief, Housing Section, Civil Rights Division, for plaintiff). Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, document 83283. https://clearinghouse-umich-production.s3.amazonaws.com/media/doc/83283.pdf ; Order to Show Cause, June 10, 1975, document 83277. https://clearinghouse-umich-production.s3.amazonaws.com/media/doc/83277.pdf
[^7]: "United States v. Fred C. Trump, Donald Trump, and Trump Management, Inc.," case summary, Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, University of Michigan Law School (39 buildings, more than 14,000 apartments; tester evidence; retention of Roy Cohn; counterclaim of 100 million dollars for defamation dismissed by Judge Neaher; FBI investigation records released in 2017). https://clearinghouse.net/case/15342/
[^8]: United States v. Rosenberg, 195 F.2d 583 (2d Cir. Feb. 25, 1952) (counsel: Myles J. Lane, with Roy M. Cohn of counsel, for the United States). https://static.case.law/f2d/195/cases/0583-01.json
[^9]: "How Donald Trump and Roy Cohn fought the race discrimination lawsuit," excerpt from *The Choice 2024: Harris vs. Trump,* PBS FRONTLINE, September 24, 2024 (David Marcus; Ken Auletta). https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/donald-trump-roy-cohn-race-discrimination-lawsuit-fight-documentary-excerpt
[^10]: Matter of Cohn, 118 A.D.2d 15, 503 N.Y.S.2d 759 (1st Dep't June 23, 1986) (per curiam) (charges I to IV; disbarment). https://static.case.law/ad2d/118/cases/0015-01.json ; https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/6021889/in-re-cohn/
[^11]: "Roy Cohn," Part 01 of 01, FBI Records: The Vault, 748 pages. https://vault.fbi.gov/roy-cohn (archived January 18, 2021: https://web.archive.org/web/20210118074105/https://vault.fbi.gov/roy-cohn)
[^12]: Federal Election Commission, Schedule A itemized individual contributions, contributor name THIEL, PETER, two-year transaction period 2016 (retrieved October 12, 2026 through the FEC API). Entries cited: Fighting for Ohio Fund, August 10, 2016, 1,000,000; Make America Number 1, October 26, 2016, 1,000,000; Trump Victory, October 6, 2016, 250,000; Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., October 6, 2016, 2,700; Conservative, Authentic, Responsive Leadership for You and for America, August 25, 2015, 2,000,000. https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/schedules/schedule_a/
[^13]: "Peter Thiel goes 'big league', joining Trump's presidential transition team." *The Guardian,* November 11, 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/11/peter-thiel-joins-donald-trump-transition-team ; "Thiel could gain from Trump transition." *Politico,* December 2016. https://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/peter-thiel-trump-transition-benefits-232233 ; "Who Is Kevin Harrington, the Peter Thiel Associate Who Just Joined the National Security Council Staff?" *Gizmodo,* February 2017. https://gizmodo.com/who-is-kevin-harrington-the-peter-thiel-associate-who-1791925769
[^14]: Jim Zarroli, "Billionaire Investor Robert Mercer To Step Down From Firm, Selling Stake In Breitbart." *NPR,* November 2, 2017. https://www.kpbs.org/news/2017/nov/02/billionaire-investor-robert-mercer-steps-down ; Government Accountability Institute (EIN 45-4681912), Form 990 for 2012, Part VII (Bannon, chairman; Rebekah Mercer, director). https://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/454/454681912/454681912_201212_990.pdf ; Mercer Family Foundation (EIN 20-1982204), grants to the Government Accountability Institute, tax years 2013 to 2017, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/201982204 ; Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Volume 5, pp. 664 to 667 (SCL, Cambridge Analytica and the Mercer family). https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/report_volume5.pdf
[^15]: Federal Trade Commission, In the Matter of Cambridge Analytica, LLC, Docket No. 9383: Complaint (July 24, 2019), https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/182_3107_cambridge_analytica_administrative_complaint_7-24-19.pdf ; Opinion of the Commission and Final Order (issued November 25, 2019; announced December 6, 2019), https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/d09389_comm_final_opinionpublic.pdf and https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/d09389_comm_final_orderpublic.pdf ; press release, https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2019/12/ftc-issues-opinion-order-against-cambridge-analytica-deceiving-consumers-about-collection-facebook
[^16]: Information Commissioner's Office, letter from Elizabeth Denham to Julian Knight MP, Chair, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, "ICO investigation into use of personal information and political influence," October 2, 2020 (ref. ICO/O/ED/L/RTL/0181), paragraph 9. https://ico.org.uk/media2/migrated/2618383/20201002_ico-o-ed-l-rtl-0181_to-julian-knight-mp.pdf
[^17]: Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election, Volume 5: Counterintelligence Threats and Vulnerabilities, notes 447 and 448 (Parscale testimony on the polling data visualization tool and Cambridge Analytica developers). https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/report_volume5.pdf
[^18]: Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III, Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election, Volume I, Executive Summary, p. 5 (March 2019). https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco/file/1373816/dl
[^19]: Mueller Report, Volume I, section IV.A.1.c.i, "Trump Signs the Letter of Intent on behalf of the Trump Organization," p. 70 (letter of intent completed between approximately October 13 and November 2, 2015). https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco/file/1373816/dl
[^20]: Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election, Volume 5: Counterintelligence Threats and Vulnerabilities, Executive Summary, "Trump Tower Moscow," p. ix (116th Congress). https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/report_volume5.pdf
[^21]: Mueller Report, Volume II, Introduction, p. 2; Executive Summary, p. 8; and section IV, Conclusion, p. 182 (the same two sentences appear in each). https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco/file/1373816/dl
[^22]: "We Don't Talk About Leonard: The Man Behind the Right's Supreme Court Supermajority." *ProPublica,* March 2023. https://www.propublica.org/article/we-dont-talk-about-leonard-leo-supreme-court-supermajority
[^23]: "Leak exposes members of Peter Thiel's secretive Dialog society." *WIRED,* June 16, 2026. https://www.wired.com/story/leak-exposes-members-of-peter-thiels-secretive-dialog-society/ ; "CBP to strengthen 'tactical targeting,' 'counter-network analysis' with Clearview AI." *FedScoop,* 2026. https://fedscoop.com/dhs-cbp-contract-biometric-facial-recognition-ai/
[^24]: USAspending.gov award records, recipient Palantir Technologies Inc., awarding sub-agency U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (retrieved October 12, 2026 through the USAspending API): HSCETC15C00001, "FALCON operations and maintenance (O&M), system enhancement," 39,340,900.82 dollars, May 28, 2015 to May 27, 2018 (CONT_AWD_HSCETC15C00001_7012_-NONE-_-NONE-); 70CTD019C00000001, "FALCON O&M support services," 37,839,725.17 dollars, November 28, 2018 to May 27, 2022 (CONT_AWD_70CTD019C00000001_7012_-NONE-_-NONE-); 70CTD022FR0000170, "Investigative Case Management (ICM) operations and maintenance support services and custom enhancements," 170,765,322.37 dollars, September 26, 2022 to September 25, 2027 (CONT_AWD_70CTD022FR0000170_7012_GS35F0086U_4730). https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_70CTD022FR0000170_7012_GS35F0086U_4730 ; EPIC v. ICE FOIA litigation on ICE-Palantir databases. https://epic.org/documents/epic-v-ice-palantir-databases/
[^25]: USAspending.gov transaction record, award 70CTD022FR0000170, action date April 11, 2025, 29,898,236 dollars (retrieved through the USAspending API); awards 70CTD026FC0000012 (start May 5, 2026, 86,271,599.30 dollars; CONT_AWD_70CTD026FC0000012_7012_70RTAC26A00000001_7001) and 70CTD026FC0000018 (start June 26, 2026, 45,848,616.80 dollars; CONT_AWD_70CTD026FC0000018_7012_70RTAC26A00000001_7001). https://api.usaspending.gov/api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ ; "ICE to Use ImmigrationOS by Palantir, a New AI System, to Track Immigrants' Movements." *American Immigration Council,* April 2025. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/ice-immigrationos-palantir-ai-track-immigrants/
[^26]: "Anduril Wins $363M CBP Contract for XR Sentry Towers." *Tectonic Defense.* https://www.tectonic-defense.com/anduril-wins-363m-cbp-contract-for-xr-sentry-towers/ ; "Anduril Surveillance Towers," U.S. Customs and Border Protection FOIA record. https://www.cbp.gov/document/foia-record/anduril-surveillance-towers ; "CBP to strengthen 'tactical targeting,' 'counter-network analysis' with Clearview AI." *FedScoop,* 2026. https://fedscoop.com/dhs-cbp-contract-biometric-facial-recognition-ai/
[^27]: "Palantir, Israel Agree Strategic Partnership for Battle Tech." *Bloomberg,* January 12, 2024. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-12/palantir-israel-agree-to-strategic-partnership
[^28]: "Jared Kushner, Mohammed bin Salman, and the Making of the Trump-Saudi Alliance." *The Intercept,* March 21, 2018. https://theintercept.com/2018/03/21/jared-kushner-saudi-crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salman/ ; "Jared Kushner used WhatsApp to message foreign contacts in White House." *ABC News.* https://abcnews.com/Politics/jared-kushner-whatsapp-foreign-contacts-lawyer-tells-congress/story?id=61843329 ; "Amazon boss Jeff Bezos's phone 'hacked by Saudi crown prince.'" *The Guardian,* January 21, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jan/21/amazon-boss-jeff-bezoss-phone-hacked-by-saudi-crown-prince
[^29]: Office of the Director of National Intelligence, *Assessing the Saudi Government's Role in the Killing of Jamal Khashoggi,* February 11, 2021 (declassified by the Director of National Intelligence on February 25, 2021 and released February 26, 2021), Executive Summary. https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Assessment-Saudi-Gov-Role-in-JK-Death-20210226v2.pdf
[^30]: "Chairwoman Maloney Launches Probe of Saudi Government's $2 Billion Investment in Affinity Partners." House Committee on Oversight, June 2, 2022. https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/news/press-releases/chairwoman-maloney-launches-probe-of-saudi-government-s-2-billion-investment-in ; Wyden investigation of Affinity Partners, U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/wyden-investigation-of-kushner-firm-continues-new-letter-outlines-affinity-partners-fee-structure-lack-of-return-to-investors-ques ; "NSO spyware used to target family of Jamal Khashoggi, leaked data shows." *The Guardian,* July 18, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/18/nso-spyware-used-to-target-family-of-jamal-khashoggi-leaked-data-shows-saudis-pegasus
[^31]: Executive Order 14158, "Establishing and Implementing the President's 'Department of Government Efficiency'" (signed January 20, 2025). *Federal Register.* https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/29/2025-02005/establishing-and-implementing-the-presidents-department-of-government-efficiency
[^32]: "Whistleblower details how DOGE may have taken sensitive NLRB data." *NPR,* April 15, 2025. https://www.npr.org/2025/04/15/nx-s1-5355896/doge-nlrb-elon-musk-spacex-security ; "User with Russian IP address tried to log into NLRB systems following DOGE access, whistleblower says." *Nextgov/FCW,* April 2025. https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2025/04/user-russian-ip-address-tried-log-nlrb-systems-following-doge-access-whistleblower-says/404574/
[^33]: Statement by President-elect Donald J. Trump Announcing the Appointment of David O. Sacks as "White House A.I. & Crypto Czar," December 5, 2024, The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-president-elect-donald-j-trump-announcing-the-appointment-david-o-sacks-white ; Chandelis Duster, "Trump names national intelligence chief Jay Clayton as new AI czar." *NPR,* October 4, 2026. https://www.npr.org/2026/10/04/nx-s1-5990781/jay-clayton-ai-czar-trump ; "Paul Dans, the Man Behind Project 2025's Most Radical Plans." *ProPublica.* https://www.propublica.org/article/project-2025-trump-campaign-heritage-foundation-paul-dans ; "The key Project 2025 authors now staffing the Trump administration." *NBC News.* https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/key-project-2025-authors-now-staffing-trump-administration-rcna195107
[^34]: "Trump fires Pam Bondi as attorney general, installs Todd Blanche as acting AG." *CBS News,* April 2, 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pam-bondi-attorney-general/ ; U.S. Senate, Roll Call Votes 119th Congress, 2nd Session, Nos. 229 (cloture) and 230 (confirmation), Todd Blanche to be Attorney General, August 8, 2026. https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1192/vote_119_2_00230.htm ; "Senate votes to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general." *NPR,* August 8, 2026. https://www.npr.org/2026/08/08/g-s1-137631/senate-confirms-todd-blanche-attorney-general ; Ruetenik, Daniel, and Graham Kates. "Lutnick and Epstein were in business together, Epstein files show." *CBS News,* updated February 7, 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/howard-lutnick-jeffrey-epstein-in-business-together/ ; "Howard Lutnick," U.S. Department of Commerce. https://www.commerce.gov/about/leadership/howard-lutnick
[^35]: "Epstein files live updates: Trump DOJ releases millions more pages of records." *NBC News,* January 30, 2026. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/live-blog/epstein-files-trump-doj-release-live-updates-rcna256639 ; "DOJ releases FBI memos detailing woman's allegation against Trump in Epstein probe." *The Wire,* 2026. https://ticklethewire.com/doj-releases-fbi-memos-detailing-womans-allegation-against-trump-in-epstein-probe/
[^36]: "Trump and Epstein: A Timeline of Their Relationship." *Time,* 2025 (1992 NBC footage; photograph of February 12, 2000). https://time.com/7333365/trump-epstein-relationship-timeline/
[^37]: Landon Thomas Jr., "Jeffrey Epstein: International Moneyman of Mystery." *New York,* October 28, 2002. https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/n_7912/ (archived May 21, 2011: https://web.archive.org/web/20110521191003/http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/n_7912/)
[^38]: "Trump defends embattled Acosta, says he had a 'falling out' with Jeffrey Epstein 'a long time ago.'" *NBC News,* July 9, 2019. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-defends-embattled-acosta-says-he-had-falling-out-jeffrey-n1027861
[^39]: Lauren del Valle and Eric Levenson, "Jeffrey Epstein's former pilot testifies Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Prince Andrew flew aboard Epstein's private plane," *CNN,* November 30, 2021. https://abc17news.com/news/national-world/cnn-national/2021/11/30/prosecution-links-ghislaine-maxwell-to-jeffrey-epstein-while-defense-says-she-is-being-blamed-for-his-actions/ ; "Trump called Epstein a 'terrific guy' who enjoyed 'younger' women before denying relationship with him." *Washington Post,* July 8, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-called-epstein-a-terrific-guy-before-denying-relationship-with-him/2019/07/08/a01e0f00-a1be-11e9-bd56-eac6bb02d01d_story.html
[^40]: "Trump and Epstein: A Timeline of Their Relationship." *Time,* 2025 (2004 Maison de l'Amitie bidding; trustee Joseph Luzinski quoted by the Washington Post). https://time.com/7333365/trump-epstein-relationship-timeline/
[^41]: "What we know about the Trump-Epstein falling out." *PolitiFact,* July 31, 2025. https://www.politifact.com/article/2025/jul/31/what-we-know-about-the-trump-epstein-falling-out/ ; "President Donald Trump explains why he kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago." *Fox News,* 2025. https://www.foxnews.com/us/jeffrey-epstein-thrown-out-mar-a-lago-hiring-help-trump
[^42]: "Maria Farmer and Marsh Law Firm's Persistent Advocacy Vindicated as FBI Releases Farmer's 1996 Report on Jeffrey Epstein." *Marsh Law Firm,* December 23, 2025 (the 1996 FBI report). https://www.jamesmarshlaw.com/persistent-advocacy-vindicated/ ; Trump's denial: "What we know about the Trump-Epstein falling out." *PolitiFact,* July 31, 2025. https://www.politifact.com/article/2025/jul/31/what-we-know-about-the-trump-epstein-falling-out/
[^43]: "Birthday letter to Epstein bore Trump's signature, drawing of naked woman, Wall Street Journal reports." *CNN,* July 17, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/17/politics/epstein-birthday-letter-trump
[^44]: "Bondi taps acting U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton to probe Democrats' ties to Epstein." *The Washington Times,* November 14, 2025. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/nov/14/bondi-taps-acting-us-attorney-jay-clayton-probe-democrats-ties/ ; Epstein Files Transparency Act, Pub. L. No. 119-38.
[^45]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Deputy Attorney General, letter to Chairman Grassley, Ranking Member Durbin, Chairman Jordan and Ranking Member Raskin, "Re: Epstein Files Transparency Act, Section 3 Report to Congress," February 14, 2026, pages 1 to 6 (signed Pamela J. Bondi, United States Attorney General, and Todd Blanche, Deputy United States Attorney General). https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1434856/dl ; coverage in "Justice Department lists hundreds of prominent people named in Epstein files in letter to Congress." *CNN,* February 15, 2026. https://kvia.com/politics/cnn-us-politics/2026/02/15/justice-department-lists-hundreds-of-prominent-people-named-in-epstein-files-in-letter-to-congress/
[^46]: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, Pub. L. No. 116-260, approved December 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 1182; Division W, Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, section 3 ("Explanatory statement"), 134 Stat. 2362 to 2363. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-116publ260/pdf/PLAW-116publ260.pdf
[^47]: Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Explanation of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Division W, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021), Part II, Select Unclassified Congressional Direction, December 21, 2020. https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/sites-default-filesations-iaa-fy21-jes-final-2-12-15-20.pdf
[^48]: Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, S. Rept. 116-233 (to accompany S. 3905), June 17, 2020, "Advanced Aerial Threats," pp. 11 to 12. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRPT-116srpt233/pdf/CRPT-116srpt233.pdf
[^49]: James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, Pub. L. No. 117-81, section 1683, "Establishment of office, organizational structure, and authorities to address unidentified aerial phenomena" (approved December 27, 2021). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-117publ81/pdf/PLAW-117publ81.pdf
[^50]: "Trump says he's directing the Pentagon to release files related to UFOs and aliens." *NBC News,* February 19, 2026 (quoting Trump's Truth Social post). https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-says-directing-pentagon-release-files-related-ufos-aliens-rcna259833
[^51]: "Pentagon releases declassified UFO files including videos and photos held by the government for decades." *NBC News,* May 8, 2026. https://www.nbcnews.com/science/ufos-and-anomalous-phenomena/ufo-uap-files-pentagon-release-trump-rcna344204
[^52]: Neil H. Shah, Theresa F. Bartelme and Risha Sinha, "Inside Avi Loeb's New UAP Council, Built From His Harvard Orbit." *The Harvard Crimson,* July 11, 2026. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/7/11/avi-loeb-uap-council/
[^53]: Ross Coulthart, "Is the Trump administration running a covert UFO program?," NewsNation Reality Check, about August 2026. https://www.newsnationnow.com/podcasts-newsnation/reality-check/trump-administration-covert-ufo-program/amp/

41
10 - PEOPLE/(T-Z)/Vernon Walters.md
View file

@ -53,31 +53,31 @@ After the coup succeeded on April 1, 1964, Walters helped facilitate the early U
### CIA Deputy Director and Watergate
President Nixon appointed Walters Deputy Director of Central Intelligence on May 2, 1972, promoting him to Lieutenant General at the same time. Walters served as Acting Director of Central Intelligence from July 2 to September 4, 1973, during [[James Schlesinger]]'s transition period.
President Nixon appointed Walters Deputy Director of Central Intelligence on May 2, 1972, promoting him to Lieutenant General at the same time. Walters served as Acting Director of Central Intelligence from July 2 to September 4, 1973, between [[James Schlesinger]]'s departure for the Department of Defense and [[William Colby]]'s appointment as director.[^14]
Walters's appointment placed him at the CIA at the precise moment the [[Watergate]] scandal was breaking. On June 23, 1972, six days after the Watergate break-in, Nixon directed chief of staff [[H.R. Haldeman]] to instruct CIA Director [[Richard Helms]] and Walters to tell acting FBI Director [[L. Patrick Gray]] to stay out of the Watergate investigation on grounds of national security. Helms and Walters were called to a White House meeting with Haldeman and [[John Ehrlichman]] on June 23, where Haldeman relayed the instruction: "Stay the hell out of this." This conversation, captured on White House audio tape, became the "smoking gun" tape that destroyed Nixon's presidency when it became public on August 5, 1974.[^14]
Walters's appointment placed him at the CIA at the precise moment the [[Watergate]] scandal was breaking. On June 23, 1972, six days after the Watergate break-in, Nixon directed chief of staff [[H.R. Haldeman]] to instruct CIA Director [[Richard Helms]] and Walters to tell acting FBI Director [[L. Patrick Gray]] to stay out of the Watergate investigation on grounds of national security. Helms and Walters were called to a White House meeting with Haldeman and [[John Ehrlichman]] on June 23, where Haldeman relayed the instruction: "Stay the hell out of this." This conversation, captured on White House audio tape, became the "smoking gun" tape that destroyed Nixon's presidency when it became public on August 5, 1974.[^15]
Walters did meet with Gray and initially asked him to go slow on the Mexican money-laundering connection, but when Gray demanded a written declaration that a CIA operation in Mexico could be compromised by further investigation, Walters replied that he could not supply this "because it would not be true." He delivered a three-page memo, marked Secret, that did not in fact ask the FBI to halt its interviews.[^15]
Walters did meet with Gray and initially asked him to go slow on the Mexican money-laundering connection, but when Gray demanded a written declaration that a CIA operation in Mexico could be compromised by further investigation, Walters replied that he could not supply this "because it would not be true." He delivered a three-page memo, marked Secret, that did not in fact ask the FBI to halt its interviews.[^16]
Subsequently, counsel [[John Dean]] approached Walters asking the CIA to provide funds as hush money for the Watergate burglars. Walters refused. A memorandum from Director Helms to Walters, dated June 28, 1972, addressed the Watergate affair and became significant in later congressional investigations. Walters met again with Gray on July 12, 1972, to discuss CIA assistance previously provided to retired CIA officer [[E. Howard Hunt]] of the White House "Plumbers" unit. Walters documented the approaches made to him in a series of memoranda that were subsequently presented as evidence before the [[Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities]].[^16]
Subsequently, counsel [[John Dean]] approached Walters asking the CIA to provide funds as hush money for the Watergate burglars. Walters refused. A memorandum from Director Helms to Walters, dated June 28, 1972, addressed the Watergate affair and became significant in later congressional investigations. Walters met again with Gray on July 12, 1972, to discuss CIA assistance previously provided to retired CIA officer [[E. Howard Hunt]] of the White House "Plumbers" unit. Walters documented the approaches made to him in a series of memoranda that were subsequently presented as evidence before the [[Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities]].[^17]
Walters later stated he had "flatly refused" to involve the CIA and had informed "the highest levels of the executive branch" that further pressure would result in his immediate resignation.
### Chile and the DINA Connection
As DDCI, Walters was not limited to the Watergate crisis. In mid-February 1974, he secretly traveled to [[Santiago]], [[Chile]] to meet with [[General Augusto Pinochet]] following the September 1973 coup. In a cable classified Secret and addressed personally to [[Henry Kissinger]], dated February 14, 1974, Walters reported conveying "greetings from the President and Secretary" and "friendship and support and our wish to be helpful in a discreet way." Pinochet accepted the CIA's offer of assistance and specifically requested support for his newly established secret police service, [[DINA]], and its director, [[Colonel Manuel Contreras]], described as "his key man." Walters reported telling Pinochet: "I told him we would be glad to have Contreras or anyone else come up to see us to see what we could do to be of assistance to them."[^17]
As DDCI, Walters was not limited to the Watergate crisis. In mid-February 1974, he secretly traveled to [[Santiago]], [[Chile]] to meet with [[General Augusto Pinochet]] following the September 1973 coup. In a cable classified Secret and addressed personally to [[Henry Kissinger]], dated February 14, 1974, Walters reported conveying "greetings from the President and Secretary" and "friendship and support and our wish to be helpful in a discreet way." Pinochet accepted the CIA's offer of assistance and specifically requested support for his newly established secret police service, [[DINA]], and its director, [[Colonel Manuel Contreras]], described as "his key man." Walters reported telling Pinochet: "I told him we would be glad to have Contreras or anyone else come up to see us to see what we could do to be of assistance to them."[^18]
Three weeks after the Walters-Pinochet meeting, Contreras traveled to [[CIA]] headquarters at [[Langley]] for briefings on intelligence service organization. Contreras met with Walters twice in Washington, in 1974 and 1975, during the period when Walters was second-in-command at the Agency. In mid-1975, the CIA briefly placed Contreras on its payroll as a paid asset. DINA subsequently became the primary instrument of the Pinochet regime's repression, responsible for torture centers, extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, and international terrorism including the [[Letelier assassination]] in Washington in 1976.[^18]
Three weeks after the Walters-Pinochet meeting, Contreras traveled to [[CIA]] headquarters at [[Langley]] for briefings on intelligence service organization. Contreras met with Walters twice in Washington, in 1974 and 1975, during the period when Walters was second-in-command at the Agency. In mid-1975, the CIA briefly placed Contreras on its payroll as a paid asset. DINA subsequently became the primary instrument of the Pinochet regime's repression, responsible for torture centers, extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, and international terrorism including the [[Letelier assassination]] in Washington in 1976.[^19]
On Saturday, July 5, 1975, Walters met Contreras secretly at a CIA office at [[Fort Myer]]. He reported that Contreras asked how Chile might obtain American arms despite the congressional ban: "Wonder if there is any way they could get it indirectly via [[Spain]], [[Brazil]], or the Republic of Korea." They lunched at Langley on August 25. Ambassador [[David Popper]] had advised that publicity "could be counterproductive" but that "it would be worthwhile if General Walters could give Contreras a little time." Walters told the FBI in 1979 that "part of his function as deputy director of the CIA was to coordinate and conduct foreign liaison," and that he had received Contreras in that capacity. Contreras said from prison in 1999 that Walters had proposed placing CIA officers inside DINA and hiring five retired senators as lobbyists for Chile at two million dollars a year.[^19]
On Saturday, July 5, 1975, Walters met Contreras secretly at a CIA office at [[Fort Myer]]. He reported that Contreras asked how Chile might obtain American arms despite the congressional ban: "Wonder if there is any way they could get it indirectly via [[Spain]], [[Brazil]], or the Republic of Korea." They lunched at Langley on August 25. Ambassador [[David Popper]] had advised that publicity "could be counterproductive" but that "it would be worthwhile if General Walters could give Contreras a little time." Walters told the FBI in 1979 that "part of his function as deputy director of the CIA was to coordinate and conduct foreign liaison," and that he had received Contreras in that capacity. Contreras said from prison in 1999 that Walters had proposed placing CIA officers inside DINA and hiring five retired senators as lobbyists for Chile at two million dollars a year.[^20]
In June 1976 Walters went to [[Paraguay]] to remove the CIA station chief, who had deceived Ambassador [[George Landau]], and to ask the government of General [[Alfredo Stroessner]] not to kill a Paraguayan agent of the CIA who had been arrested and tortured. He was received by Stroessner's aide [[Conrado Pappalardo]] and left in the last week of June with the agent still in prison. In July Pappalardo asked Landau for American visas in false Paraguayan passports for two Chilean officers, saying that they were to contact Walters in Washington. Landau told Walters that the request appeared to be "the quid pro quo that Paraguay was demanding in exchange for sparing the CIA agent's life," issued the visas, and sent photographs of the passports to Walters through the State Department's "Roger Channel" on July 28. Walters was on leave in [[Florida]] before retirement, and the cable went to Director [[George H.W. Bush|George Bush]]. On August 4 Walters replied that he had made no arrangement with Pappalardo, that he and Bush "had agreed that the agency wanted nothing to do with the DINA matter," and that the request was "highly irregular" and "a strange way of doing business." Two DINA captains using the same false names reached Washington on August 22 and had the Chilean embassy telephone Walters's office at Langley. The CIA did not tell the prosecutor of the [[Orlando Letelier|Letelier]] murder, [[Eugene Propper]], of any of this when it began sending him files that fall.[^20]
In June 1976 Walters went to [[Paraguay]] to remove the CIA station chief, who had deceived Ambassador [[George Landau]], and to ask the government of General [[Alfredo Stroessner]] not to kill a Paraguayan agent of the CIA who had been arrested and tortured. He was received by Stroessner's aide [[Conrado Pappalardo]] and left in the last week of June with the agent still in prison. In July Pappalardo asked Landau for American visas in false Paraguayan passports for two Chilean officers, saying that they were to contact Walters in Washington. Landau told Walters that the request appeared to be "the quid pro quo that Paraguay was demanding in exchange for sparing the CIA agent's life," issued the visas, and sent photographs of the passports to Walters through the State Department's "Roger Channel" on July 28. Walters was on leave in [[Florida]] before retirement, and the cable went to Director [[George H.W. Bush|George Bush]]. On August 4 Walters replied that he had made no arrangement with Pappalardo, that he and Bush "had agreed that the agency wanted nothing to do with the DINA matter," and that the request was "highly irregular" and "a strange way of doing business." Two DINA captains using the same false names reached Washington on August 22 and had the Chilean embassy telephone Walters's office at Langley. The CIA did not tell the prosecutor of the [[Orlando Letelier|Letelier]] murder, [[Eugene Propper]], of any of this when it began sending him files that fall.[^21]
One of the two, Captain René Riveros Valderrama, gave a sworn statement in Santiago on March 22, 1978, to the Chilean court investigating Contreras and Espinoza. He and Captain Rolando Mosqueira Jarpa had left for Washington on August 21, 1976, on official passports in the names Juan Williams Rose and Alejandro Romeral Jara, prepared by DINA's passport section, on a mission given them by Contreras "to make contact with the North American General Don Vernon Walters in order to receive certain information relating to the names of certain persons." They could not reach him: he was handing over his post and on leave, and "finally a CIA secretary whom we could not identify told us that General Walters no longer worked at that intelligence agency." They then called on a Chilean general Mosqueira knew, giving their real names and ranks but not their errand, and when every approach failed telephoned Espinoza, DINA's chief of operations, who authorized them to return.[^21]
One of the two, Captain René Riveros Valderrama, gave a sworn statement in Santiago on March 22, 1978, to the Chilean court investigating Contreras and Espinoza. He and Captain Rolando Mosqueira Jarpa had left for Washington on August 21, 1976, on official passports in the names Juan Williams Rose and Alejandro Romeral Jara, prepared by DINA's passport section, on a mission given them by Contreras "to make contact with the North American General Don Vernon Walters in order to receive certain information relating to the names of certain persons." They could not reach him: he was handing over his post and on leave, and "finally a CIA secretary whom we could not identify told us that General Walters no longer worked at that intelligence agency." They then called on a Chilean general Mosqueira knew, giving their real names and ranks but not their errand, and when every approach failed telephoned Espinoza, DINA's chief of operations, who authorized them to return.[^22]
Contreras told the Chilean military prosecutor on March 22, 1978, that "around June or early July 1976, CIA Chile informed me that the Deputy Director of the CIA, General Vernon Walters, needed a contact in the US to give us a list of lobbyists and people who could cooperate with Chile before the US Senate and also for the UN's forthcoming session that year." Espinoza testified on April 24 that Contreras ordered him to designate an agent for the mission with a companion fluent in English; he chose Fernández Larios, and "the name of the second man was suggested by then-Major [[Raúl Iturriaga Neumann|Iturriaga]], under the name Andrés Wilson," who "turned out to be the same person I had known since November or December 1974 as [[Michael Townley]]." Fernández Larios said he was told "once in the US I had to speak with a CIA chief named Vernon Walters, because he was going to give me a list of people sympathetic to Chile for purposes of presenting the Chilean position before the United Nations." The second pair, Captains [[René Riveros]] and [[Rolando Mosqueira]], could not find him; General [[Nilo Floody]] of the Chilean military mission, who had known Walters since 1974, had his secretary telephone Walters's office and was told "that he was out of town, that he no longer belonged to the CIA, and that upon his return he would presumably rejoin the Army." The FBI interviewed Walters on June 14, 1978, at the Chilean prosecutor's request. "When told that several DINA officials were claiming that their trip to the US in August of 1976 was to see him, the General laughed and dismissed the idea as being ludicrous on its face, saying it was impossible since he had retired during the previous month." He said his trip to Paraguay "had been completely unrelated to the Letelier assassination," that "at no time had he discussed with any Paraguayan officials the issuance of false passports," that his only contact with Contreras had been the 1975 visit, and he "offered to take a polygraph examination." Propper added: "I have been advised by the CIA that General Vernon Walters retired from the CIA on July 2, 1976. He was no longer there at the time either mission to the United States by DINA personnel took place."[^22]
Contreras told the Chilean military prosecutor on March 22, 1978, that "around June or early July 1976, CIA Chile informed me that the Deputy Director of the CIA, General Vernon Walters, needed a contact in the US to give us a list of lobbyists and people who could cooperate with Chile before the US Senate and also for the UN's forthcoming session that year." Espinoza testified on April 24 that Contreras ordered him to designate an agent for the mission with a companion fluent in English; he chose Fernández Larios, and "the name of the second man was suggested by then-Major [[Raúl Iturriaga Neumann|Iturriaga]], under the name Andrés Wilson," who "turned out to be the same person I had known since November or December 1974 as [[Michael Townley]]." Fernández Larios said he was told "once in the US I had to speak with a CIA chief named Vernon Walters, because he was going to give me a list of people sympathetic to Chile for purposes of presenting the Chilean position before the United Nations." The second pair, Captains [[René Riveros]] and [[Rolando Mosqueira]], could not find him; General [[Nilo Floody]] of the Chilean military mission, who had known Walters since 1974, had his secretary telephone Walters's office and was told "that he was out of town, that he no longer belonged to the CIA, and that upon his return he would presumably rejoin the Army." The FBI interviewed Walters on June 14, 1978, at the Chilean prosecutor's request. "When told that several DINA officials were claiming that their trip to the US in August of 1976 was to see him, the General laughed and dismissed the idea as being ludicrous on its face, saying it was impossible since he had retired during the previous month." He said his trip to Paraguay "had been completely unrelated to the Letelier assassination," that "at no time had he discussed with any Paraguayan officials the issuance of false passports," that his only contact with Contreras had been the 1975 visit, and he "offered to take a polygraph examination." Propper added: "I have been advised by the CIA that General Vernon Walters retired from the CIA on July 2, 1976. He was no longer there at the time either mission to the United States by DINA personnel took place."[^23]
As ambassador at large for President [[Ronald Reagan]], Walters visited Pinochet in February 1981. "We spoke as old friends," he reported. "He offered full support and said he would do anything we wanted to help us in the Salvadoran situation." He told a congressional committee that the Letelier bombing had been "a mistake," like [[Napoleon]]'s execution of the Duke of Enghien: "You can't rub their noses in it forever."[^19]
As ambassador at large for President [[Ronald Reagan]], Walters visited Pinochet in February 1981. "We spoke as old friends," he reported. "He offered full support and said he would do anything we wanted to help us in the Salvadoran situation." He told a congressional committee that the Letelier bombing had been "a mistake," like [[Napoleon]]'s execution of the Duke of Enghien: "You can't rub their noses in it forever."[^20]
### Later Career
@ -100,12 +100,13 @@ Under President Ronald Reagan, Walters served as Ambassador-at-Large from 1981 t
[^11]: FRUS 1964-68, Vol. XXXI, Document 198: Telegram from the Department of State to the Embassy in Brazil, March 31, 1964, formally assigning the code name "Brother Sam."
[^12]: Colby and Dennett, Ch. 29.
[^13]: De Oliveira, *Attaché Extraordinaire*; State Department Biographic Register, 1965-1967 Brazil posting.
[^14]: White House audio tape, June 23, 1972 (Nixon Presidential Library, Conversation No. 741-002), published as the "smoking gun" tape August 5, 1974. Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, Final Report, June 1974.
[^15]: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, Final Report, June 1974; Walters, *Silent Missions*, pp. 603-606.
[^16]: CIA FOIA, Memorandum for Deputy Director Walters from Richard Helms, June 28, 1972, Watergate Affair (CIA-RDP75B00380R000100110051-7); Judicial Watch, "CIA Inspector General's Watergate History Report" (declassified 2014), citing Walters-Gray meeting of July 12, 1972.
[^17]: National Security Archive, CIA Cable, "Personal to Dr. Henry A. Kissinger [from CIA Deputy Director Vernon Walters on Secret Meeting with Pinochet]," Secret, February 14, 1974 (Document 5 in NSAEBB series on DINA).
[^18]: National Security Archive, "The Pinochet Regime Declassified: DINA," June 2024; Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, "Staff Report on Covert Action in Chile, 1963-1973," December 18, 1975 (released by Church Committee); Contreras CIA payroll: CIA Inspector General report on DINA relationship, released 2023.
[^19]: Kornbluh, Peter. *The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability*. New Press, 2003, pp. 213-215, 409-410, and note 34 at p. 522.
[^20]: Dinges, John, and Saul Landau. *Assassination on Embassy Row*. McGraw-Hill, 1980, pp. 200-201, 242-243, 309-311, 383-384.
[^21]: Corte Suprema de Justicia de Chile, proceso contra Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda y Pedro Espinoza Bravo, ministro instructor Adolfo Bañados, tomo 1, declaración de René Miguel Riveros Valderrama, Santiago, March 22, 1978, scan at latinamericanstudies.org, Causa-Contreras-Espinoza-1991.pdf. Quotations translated from the Spanish
[^22]: Fiscalía Militar Ad-Hoc, Santiago, causa 192-78 (fiscal Héctor Orozco), as reproduced in *Proceso contra Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda y Pedro Espinoza Bravo,* ministro instructor Adolfo Bañados, tomo 1, scan at https://www.latinamericanstudies.org/MNC/Causa-Contreras-Espinoza-1991.pdf. Quotations translated from the Spanish, declaraciones of Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda (March 22, 1978), Armando Fernández Larios (March 22, 1978), and Pedro Espinoza Bravo (April 24, 1978); Fiscalía Militar Ad-Hoc, Santiago, causa 192-78, as reproduced in *Proceso contra Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda y Pedro Espinoza Bravo,* tomo 2, scan at https://www.latinamericanstudies.org/MNC/Causa-Contreras-Espinoza-1991-2.pdf. Quotations translated from the Spanish, memorandum of Eugene M. Propper and E. Lawrence Barcella, June 22, 1978, with the FBI report of the interview of June 14, 1978, and addendum of June 9, 1978.
[^14]: U.S. Department of State, *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976*, vol. XXXVIII, part 2, front matter, "Persons" (Walters: "Acting Director of Central Intelligence, July 2, 1973-September 4, 1973"; Colby: "Director of Central Intelligence, September 4, 1973-January 30, 1976"; Schlesinger: "Director of Central Intelligence, February 2-July 2, 1973"). https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v38p2/persons
[^15]: White House audio tape, June 23, 1972 (Nixon Presidential Library, Conversation No. 741-002), published as the "smoking gun" tape August 5, 1974. Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, Final Report, June 1974.
[^16]: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, Final Report, June 1974; Walters, *Silent Missions*, pp. 603-606.
[^17]: CIA FOIA, Memorandum for Deputy Director Walters from Richard Helms, June 28, 1972, Watergate Affair (CIA-RDP75B00380R000100110051-7); Judicial Watch, "CIA Inspector General's Watergate History Report" (declassified 2014), citing Walters-Gray meeting of July 12, 1972.
[^18]: National Security Archive, CIA Cable, "Personal to Dr. Henry A. Kissinger [from CIA Deputy Director Vernon Walters on Secret Meeting with Pinochet]," Secret, February 14, 1974 (Document 5 in NSAEBB series on DINA).
[^19]: National Security Archive, "The Pinochet Regime Declassified: DINA," June 2024; Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, "Staff Report on Covert Action in Chile, 1963-1973," December 18, 1975 (released by Church Committee); Contreras CIA payroll: CIA Inspector General report on DINA relationship, released 2023.
[^20]: Kornbluh, Peter. *The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability*. New Press, 2003, pp. 213-215, 409-410, and note 34 at p. 522.
[^21]: Dinges, John, and Saul Landau. *Assassination on Embassy Row*. McGraw-Hill, 1980, pp. 200-201, 242-243, 309-311, 383-384.
[^22]: Corte Suprema de Justicia de Chile, proceso contra Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda y Pedro Espinoza Bravo, ministro instructor Adolfo Bañados, tomo 1, declaración de René Miguel Riveros Valderrama, Santiago, March 22, 1978, scan at latinamericanstudies.org, Causa-Contreras-Espinoza-1991.pdf. Quotations translated from the Spanish
[^23]: Fiscalía Militar Ad-Hoc, Santiago, causa 192-78 (fiscal Héctor Orozco), as reproduced in *Proceso contra Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda y Pedro Espinoza Bravo,* ministro instructor Adolfo Bañados, tomo 1, scan at https://www.latinamericanstudies.org/MNC/Causa-Contreras-Espinoza-1991.pdf. Quotations translated from the Spanish, declaraciones of Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda (March 22, 1978), Armando Fernández Larios (March 22, 1978), and Pedro Espinoza Bravo (April 24, 1978); Fiscalía Militar Ad-Hoc, Santiago, causa 192-78, as reproduced in *Proceso contra Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda y Pedro Espinoza Bravo,* tomo 2, scan at https://www.latinamericanstudies.org/MNC/Causa-Contreras-Espinoza-1991-2.pdf. Quotations translated from the Spanish, memorandum of Eugene M. Propper and E. Lawrence Barcella, June 22, 1978, with the FBI report of the interview of June 14, 1978, and addendum of June 9, 1978.