Severity

Significant Democratic Concern

Actions that weaken democratic institutions, suppress political participation, or restrict fundamental freedoms without reaching the threshold of a rights violation attributable to a specific victim class. Includes attacks on press freedom, interference with electoral processes, erosion of legislative oversight capacity, and rhetoric that normalizes political violence.

7 incidents

Updated November 22, 2020 Foreign Policy & War
Significant Democratic Concern

Open Skies Treaty Withdrawal: Unilateral Exit from 35-Nation Arms Control Agreement

The Open Skies Treaty allows its 35 signatories — including the United States, Russia, and most NATO and former Warsaw Pact nations — to conduct scheduled unarmed reconnaissance flights over each other's territory. The flights collect imagery that member states share, building collective military transparency. Trump administration officials argued Russia had violated the treaty by restricting U.S. flight paths over certain territories. European allies agreed Russia had compliance issues but argued the U.S. should address them within the treaty framework rather than withdraw, and warned that U.S. withdrawal would give Russia an excuse to exit entirely. Russia did subsequently withdraw from the treaty in January 2021, after Trump's withdrawal had set the precedent. The Biden administration reviewed but did not rejoin the treaty due to concerns about congressional opposition.

Sources
4
arms-controlOpen-Skiesfirst-termforeign-policyRussia
Updated December 11, 2019 Rule of Law
Significant Democratic Concern

Federal Reserve Independence Attacks: Unprecedented Presidential Pressure on Fed Chair Powell

Trump nominated Powell to chair the Federal Reserve in November 2017 and he was confirmed in February 2018. By July 2018, Trump was publicly criticizing Powell's interest rate decisions — the first time in decades a sitting president had publicly pressured the Fed chair in this manner. Over the following 18 months, Trump made more than 100 public statements criticizing the Fed's rate decisions. He called the Fed 'the biggest risk to the economy,' said the Fed had gone 'crazy' with rate increases, asked why he should have a Fed that was tightening while Europe was loosening, and repeatedly compared Powell unfavorably to Chinese central bank policy. Trump also inquired about whether he could demote or fire Powell, which advisers told him he could not legally do under the Federal Reserve Act.

Sources
4
Federal-ReservePowellfirst-termrule-of-lawmonetary-policy
Updated September 3, 2020 Corruption & Self-Dealing
Significant Democratic Concern

Mike Pompeo: State Department Staff Used for Personal Errands, Spouse Events Charged to Taxpayers

The State Department IG's report, released in September 2020, found that Pompeo had used department staff and resources for personal and political purposes in violation of federal regulations. Staff described being directed to walk Pompeo's dog, pick up his dry cleaning, make restaurant reservations, and run other personal errands. Susan Pompeo, who had an official role as diplomatic spouse, used State Department resources for what the IG characterized as non-official events. At least 17 dinners charged to the State Department were found to include politically-oriented guests or personal guests rather than serving diplomatic purposes. Pompeo had fired IG Steve Linick in May 2020; Linick said the firing was retaliation for the investigation. Pompeo denied wrongdoing.

Sources
4
PompeoState-Departmentfirst-termcorruptioninspector-general
Updated January 14, 2019 Corruption & Self-Dealing
Significant Democratic Concern

Ben Carson HUD Furniture: $31,000 Dining Set Purchased in Violation of Federal Spending Limits

The $31,561 dining set — table, chairs, and hutch — was ordered in September 2017 for Carson's HUD suite. A career HUD employee, Helen Foster, filed a complaint alleging she was reassigned after she raised concerns about the legality of the purchase. Foster said she was told by HUD leadership that the order would go forward and that 'someone' had ordered it who outranked her. After the purchase became public in February 2018, Carson and his wife initially disputed involvement; subsequent reporting found text messages showing his wife Candy Carson personally directed the purchase and selected items. Carson reimbursed HUD and the set was canceled. The HUD inspector general investigated.

Sources
3
CarsonHUDfirst-termcorruptionspending-violation
Updated November 29, 2017 Corruption & Self-Dealing
Significant Democratic Concern

Steve Mnuchin: Requested Government Jet for Honeymoon, Used Military Plane for Solar Eclipse Viewing

The government plane honeymoon request was denied after it became public in August 2017. Mnuchin said he had made the request for security reasons and had not been aware of the cost. The Kentucky solar eclipse trip drew IG scrutiny when reports emerged that Linton had asked whether she could accompany Mnuchin on the official trip specifically to watch the eclipse. The IG found the trip had a legitimate official purpose — Mnuchin was scheduled to attend meetings at the Fort Knox federal reserve — but noted concerns about the process and the optics of combining official travel with personal viewing of the solar eclipse. Linton's Instagram post — she tagged designer brands she was wearing and responded hostilely to a commenter — became a symbol of administration attitudes toward wealth and public service.

Sources
3
Mnuchinfirst-termcorruptiongovernment-aircraftLinton
Updated September 29, 2017 Corruption & Self-Dealing
Significant Democratic Concern

Tom Price: $1 Million in Private Jet Travel as HHS Secretary, Resigned After Public Disclosure

Price's private jet use was revealed by Politico, which reported in September 2017 that he had taken multiple private charter flights at costs far exceeding commercial alternatives — including a $25,000 flight from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia, a route served by Amtrak trains for under $80 and commercial flights for under $200. After the initial Politico report, additional flights were disclosed including trips to Europe, Africa, and Asia on military aircraft. Trump initially said he was 'not happy' about the reports while keeping Price in office, then accepted Price's resignation on September 29, 2017. Price offered to reimburse approximately $52,000 — the cost of his seat only on the flights — but not the full charter costs.

Sources
3
PriceHHSfirst-termcorruptionprivate-jets
Updated June 14, 2019 Rule of Law
Significant Democratic Concern

White House Press Briefings: Documented Lies to Press and Public Under Oath Admission

Sanders told reporters in May 2017 that the reason Trump fired Comey was that FBI rank-and-file agents had lost confidence in him — a claim supported by the White House's stated justification for the firing. When Mueller's investigators interviewed Sanders, she acknowledged that statement had not been based on anything, that she had made it up in the moment, and that it was a 'slip of the tongue.' The Mueller Report quoted her directly: the claim was not based on 'any of the things you heard.' Other documented false claims from the briefing room included statements about the Trump Tower meeting, Trump's involvement in drafting a misleading statement about the meeting, and numerous false claims about immigration, trade, and policy matters that fact-checkers documented.

Sources
3
SandersSpicerpress-briefingfirst-termrule-of-law