1. 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

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

3. 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 CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick

4. 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 CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick

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

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

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

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

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

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

11. LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick SOURCES: Dept of Justice, US Office of Special Counsel http://www.osc.gov/foia.htm http://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

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

13. LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick REFERENCES LexisNexis http://www.lexisnexis.comhttp://www.lexisnexis.com (unfortunately, LexisNexis by Credit Card/Pay As You Go no longer available) PACER http://www.pacer.gov National Center for State Courts http://www.ncsc.org/topics/access-and-fairness/privacy-public-access-to-court-records/state-links.aspx http://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”

14. LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @Liberty_Chick REFERENCES 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 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

15. LIBERTY CHICK Writer. Researcher. Activist. www.libertychick.com libertychickblog@gmail.com @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 http://archive.org/web/web.php DNS Lookup + IP Lookup + Traceroute http://www.dnsstuff.com

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