About

About This Project

Mission: This site is a working reference for documented conduct that weakens the American system of self-government. It organizes concrete events—policy moves, executive actions, litigation strategies, regulatory pressure, and campaign tactics—into a searchable ledger with direct links to the underlying evidence.

What’s here: Event-level entries. Each row captures a specific act (or attempted act): who did it, where it occurred, what mechanism was used, and what happened next.

Primary sources first: Court filings and orders, statutes, agency documents, hearing transcripts, dockets, and official data are preferred. Reputable reporting (AP, Reuters, major papers of record) is used to contextualize and point to originals.

Outcome tracking: Entries record whether a measure was blocked, narrowed, upheld, or later reversed—so readers can see not just claims, but results.

Long horizon: Coverage reaches back to the 1980s and runs through the present, with attention to precursor episodes that established today’s playbook.

Inclusion criteria: An item is added when all of the following are true:

It concerns elections, separation of powers, independent oversight, the judiciary, civil liberties, or an independent press.

There is public, citable documentation (e.g., a docket, order, bill text, agency notice, transcript, or rigorously edited news report).

The conduct plausibly narrows participation, evades accountability, politicizes nonpartisan functions, or chills oversight/speech—even if technically lawful.

What this is not Not a rumor mill or clip compilation.

Not a running commentary or opinion blog.

Not a list of grievances divorced from evidence. When analysis is offered, it is brief and tied to the cited material.

How to use the data: Browse the timeline to see patterns across states, branches, and years.

Open the evidence table to filter by category (e.g., election administration, media pressure, civil-service politicization), jurisdiction, or status.

Follow the links in each row to read the source yourself.

Research standards: We prefer the original document over secondary summaries and note when facts are disputed and surface both the claim and the ruling or disposition.

Anonymous or single-source allegations are excluded unless later confirmed by official records.

Update & correction policy: Democratic backsliding is incremental and ongoing. New entries are added as credible documentation appears; existing entries are amended when courts rule, rules change, or better sources become available. Corrections are welcomed—please provide a pointer to the controlling document (case number, agency docket, statute citation, or official release).

Scope note: While the site focuses on actions by Donald Trump and Republican officials or appointees, it also records institutional responses—judicial checks, legislative pushback, watchdog findings—so readers can see both the pressure and the guardrails.

Attribution & use: You’re encouraged to reuse the dataset with citation to this project and to the original sources linked in each row. If you publish analyses or visualizations using the data, a link back helps others verify and build on your work.

Contact: Robert Townsend - Email: pabos1@gmail.com