Are conspiracies real?
Without a doubt.
But those are CRIMINAL conspiracies, usually by people in trusted positions.
Think organized crime.
In public office it starts from the top and percolates down and involve political parties of EVERY stipe.
See the Montral investigation of news media surveillance and the Thunder Bay investigation in the news right now.
The right wing deep staters go for front line public servants because they hate the public service.
The left wingers go after bankers like Goldman Sachs who collude to fix things like the Libor interest rates.
OPEC was an open conspiracy to fix prices.
Right now, I'm counting on those loyal to the Constitution to stay loyal when given orders that are illegal.
I think it was the Nuremberg concentration camp trials where following illegal orders was discarded as a defence strategy.
I think America is safe for now but keep an eye on the Republican Party.
Parties are private corporations subject to hostile takeover from within.