Research
The American Kleptocracy Clearinghouse is built on data.
Beyond our searchable database, we synthesize reporting from newsrooms and researchers around the globe to identify, monitor, and analyze the kleptocratic actions of the Trump administration and its allies. We also work to bring to the light the human cost of corruption, measured in lives and livelihoods.
Finally, we aim to document how lawyers, judges, civil servants, and everyday people are standing up to the administration’s abuses of power—and winning. These wins against kleptocracy matter, because they help us bring into focus the future we’re fighting for.
Explore our work below.
Patterns of Kleptocracy
The Trump administration is converting the US political system into a kleptocracy. A kleptocracy is a “government for thieves, by thieves,” instead of a “government for the people, by the people.” What was once unthinkable in the US at the start of Trump’s second term is getting more real every day.
Explore the key elements of a kleptocracy and how the Trump administration’s actions follow these patterns.
Case Studies
Our case studies go beyond the 24-hour news cycle to track the patterns that are at work within the Trump administration. Through our Substack, we aim to tell the story of American Kleptocracy and help stop it before it’s too late.
Costs of Corruption
When we talk about the cost of corruption, we tend to focus on the hard numbers: the billions of dollars the administration is wasting on cruel causes and redirecting to Trump and his family, friends, and allies. But there’s also a clear human cost to the kleptocracy Trump is building.
In this series, we document it all.
Dispatches from the Resistance
Every day, concerned citizens are standing up for integrity and democracy and making a difference. We identify and spotlight these wins to help you understand where pressure matters and how collective action can alter the trajectory of American democracy.
Other Resources
Fighting a kleptocratic system and imagining a different future is a collective effort.
Thankfully, we’re not the only ones doing this work. Check out the excellent work by other concerned citizens holding the administration to account.
Authoritarian Action Watch (Protect Democracy)
Resources Tracking Executive Orders and Other Administration Actions (Society of American Law Teachers)
U.S. Government Information: Trump Trackers (UC San Diego)
Explore Financial Disclosures From President Trump and 1,500 of His Appointees (ProPublica)