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Opposition Research DIGGING UP THE DIRT

Opposition Research DIGGING UP THE DIRT. BlogConCLT 2012 Mandy Nagy Investigative Writer & Researcher Breitbart News. LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick. ABOUT ME.

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Opposition Research DIGGING UP THE DIRT

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  1. Opposition Research DIGGING UP THE DIRT BlogConCLT 2012 Mandy NagyInvestigative Writer & ResearcherBreitbart News LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick

  2. ABOUT ME “The hardest thing of all is to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if there is no cat.” ― Confucius • 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 LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick

  3. SOURCE AREAS List of resources is located on my “Research” page at: libertychick.com/research LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick

  4. PUBLIC RECORDS 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.) LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick

  5. NON-PROFIT SEARCHES SOURCES: GuideStar (free & premium), IRS website, Secretary of State websites, OpenSecrets.org • 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 LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick

  6. NON-PROFIT SEARCHES Form 990-PF filing Sample free report from Guidestar LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick

  7. LABOR UNIONS 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 LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick

  8. LABOR UNIONS LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick

  9. COMPANY SEARCHES SOURCES: EDGAR, Hoovers, Dun & Bradstreet, Better Business Bureau, many of the same sources as non-profits & public records • 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 LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick

  10. GOVERNMENT RECORDS SOURCES: • 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 LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick

  11. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 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 LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick

  12. PEOPLE - SOCIAL MEDIA SOURCES: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Spokeo, Intelius, Blogs, Public Records, Targeted Google Searches,Websites • 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 LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick

  13. REFERENCES LexisNexis http://www.lexisnexis.com (unfortunately, LexisNexis by Credit Card/Pay As You Go no longer available) PACER http://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 Reports http://www.dol.gov/olms/regs/compliance/rrlo/lmrda.htm FOIA Requests – Office of Special Counsel http://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 CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick

  14. REFERENCES FedSpending http://www.fedspending.org USASpending http://www.usaspending.gov FollowTheMoney http://www.followthemoney.org Muckety http://www.muckety.com Legistorm http://www.legistorm.com Sunlight Foundation http://www.sunlightfoundation.com/resources Guidestar http://www2.guidestar.org/Home.aspx OpenSecrets.org http://www.opensecrets.org Hoovers http://www.hoovers.com EDGAR http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml Dun & Bradstreet http://www.dnb.com IRS Charities http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=249767,00.html LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick

  15. 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 + Traceroute http://www.dnsstuff.com LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick

  16. THANK YOU! This presentation will be posted at http://libertychick.com/research LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick

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