opposition research digging up the dirt
DESCRIPTION
Opposition Research DIGGING UP THE DIRT. BlogConCLT 2012 Mandy Nagy Investigative Writer & Researcher Breitbart News. LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com [email protected] @Liberty_Chick. ABOUT ME. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Opposition ResearchDIGGING UP THE DIRT
BlogConCLT 2012
Mandy NagyInvestigative Writer & Researcher
Breitbart News
LIBERTY CHICKWriter. Researcher. Activist.
@Liberty_Chick
“The hardest thing of all is to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if there is no cat.”
― Confucius
LIBERTY CHICKWriter. Researcher. Activist.
@Liberty_Chick
ABOUT ME
• Investigative writer & researcher at Breitbart.com• Several years at LexisNexis• Many years in internet technology & marketing,
including market research• Began doing research consulting on the side• Specialty areas grew out of my time as a compulsory
union member and independent research work
SOURCE AREAS
Internet Search
Non-Profits
Companies
Donors
Govt Records &
FOIA
Social Media
Public Records
List of resources is located on my “Research” page at: libertychick.com/research
LIBERTY CHICKWriter. Researcher. Activist.
@Liberty_Chick
SOURCES: LexisNexis, PACER, National Center for State Courts, Secretary of State websites, Hoovers, EDGAR
• Real estate records• Court records & bankruptcies• Liens and judgments• Professional licenses• Intellectual property filings• Business records, such as business filings,
public company filings • Uniform Commercial Code (UCC ) –
sales, leases, financial assets, etc.)
PUBLIC RECORDS
LIBERTY CHICKWriter. Researcher. Activist.
@Liberty_Chick
• Types of formations (501c3, 501c4, 527, PAC, etc.)• IRS Form 990, Form 990-PF, Schedule A, etc. reveal key
people, salaries, donors• Lobbying activity & FEC filings• State/Local influence on campaigns and ballot measures
– FollowTheMoney.org• Connections to other organizations & people
– Muckety, SourceWatch & Discover the Networks
NON-PROFIT SEARCHESSOURCES: GuideStar (free & premium), IRS website, Secretary of State websites, OpenSecrets.org
LIBERTY CHICKWriter. Researcher. Activist.
@Liberty_Chick
NON-PROFIT SEARCHES
Sample free report from Guidestar Form 990-PF filing
LIBERTY CHICKWriter. Researcher. Activist.
@Liberty_Chick
LIBERTY CHICKWriter. Researcher. Activist.
@Liberty_Chick
SOURCES: Dept of Labor Website, UnionReports.gov, OpenSecrets.org
• LM filings• Financial reports• Paid vendors• Contributions• Officer/employee reports
• Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs)
• Lobbying activity
LABOR UNIONS
LIBERTY CHICKWriter. Researcher. Activist.
@Liberty_Chick
LABOR UNIONS
LIBERTY CHICKWriter. Researcher. Activist.
@Liberty_Chick
• Shareholder reports & disclosure filings,EDGAR provides free public access to corporate info
• News articles and press releases• BBB comments• PTO filings• Court records• Board members & key execs
⁻ Muckety
COMPANY SEARCHESSOURCES: EDGAR, Hoovers, Dun & Bradstreet, Better Business Bureau, many of the same sources as non-profits & public records
LIBERTY CHICKWriter. Researcher. Activist.
@Liberty_Chick
• USASpending.gov & FedSpending.gov contain info on govt grants, contractors, etc.
• Recovery.gov allows you to download raw data on stimulus funds
• GovTrack.org, bills in Congress• FollowTheMoney.org, influence of campaign money at
state & local levels• Legistorm has info on congressional staff & salaries• USA.gov• Google, with syntax
GOVERNMENT RECORDSSOURCES:
LIBERTY CHICKWriter. Researcher. Activist.
@Liberty_Chick
SOURCES: Dept of Justice, US Office of Special Counselhttp://www.osc.gov/foia.htm
• “A Citizen’s Guide on Using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act of 1974 to Request Government Records” [U.S. House of Representative Committee on Govt Reform]
• Includes:⁻ Information on the law⁻ Qualifications for FOIA requests⁻ Limitations/exclusions⁻ Guidelines & sample request letter
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
LIBERTY CHICKWriter. Researcher. Activist.
@Liberty_Chick
• People search & public records (be mindful of T&C’s, laws)• Social media provides info on connections/relationships;
also reveals who can communicate privately• Resumes, work history provide jumping off points for
additional research• Searching connections can yield new clues (Classmates.com)• Search cache (Google cache, WayBackMachine)• Don’t forget blog comments & forum postings• Cautious notes on Social Engineering
PEOPLE - SOCIAL MEDIASOURCES: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Spokeo, Intelius, Blogs, Public Records, Targeted Google Searches,Websites
LIBERTY CHICKWriter. Researcher. Activist.
@Liberty_Chick
REFERENCESLexisNexishttp://www.lexisnexis.com (unfortunately, LexisNexis by Credit Card/Pay As You Go no longer available)
PACERhttp://www.pacer.gov
National Center for State Courtshttp://www.ncsc.org/topics/access-and-fairness/privacy-public-access-to-court-records/state-links.aspx
Labor Union Reportshttp://www.dol.gov/olms/regs/compliance/rrlo/lmrda.htm
FOIA Requests – Office of Special Counselhttp://www.osc.gov/foia.htm
FOIA Requests - Handbook“A Citizen’s Guide on Using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act of 1974 to Request Government Records”
LIBERTY CHICKWriter. Researcher. Activist.
@Liberty_Chick
REFERENCESGuidestarhttp://www2.guidestar.org/Home.aspx
OpenSecrets.orghttp://www.opensecrets.org
Hoovershttp://www.hoovers.com
EDGARhttp://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml
Dun & Bradstreethttp://www.dnb.com
IRS Charitieshttp://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=249767,00.html
FedSpendinghttp://www.fedspending.org
USASpendinghttp://www.usaspending.gov
FollowTheMoneyhttp://www.followthemoney.org
Mucketyhttp://www.muckety.com
Legistormhttp://www.legistorm.com
Sunlight Foundationhttp://www.sunlightfoundation.com/resources
LIBERTY CHICKWriter. Researcher. Activist.
@Liberty_Chick
ADDITIONAL TOOLS
Using Advanced Search Syntax (Google)http://support.google.com/websearch/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=136861
Screen Capture Software: Hypersnap DX (from Hyperionics)http://www.hyperionics.com/hsdx
Internet Archive [WayBackMachine]http://archive.org/web/web.php
DNS Lookup + IP Lookup + Traceroutehttp://www.dnsstuff.com
LIBERTY CHICKWriter. Researcher. Activist.
@Liberty_Chick
THANK YOU!This presentation will be posted at http://libertychick.com/research