[vannrox]

Follow the Money

When it comes to investigating the finances of politicians, there's no such thing as one-stop shopping. While the Federal Election Commission maintains a variety of campaign-finance reports, including details of federal candidates' spending and campaign contributions received, it is the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House that keep record of such things as Members of Congress's assets and sources of income. If you want the lowdown on a state elected official, in most instances the documents reside with the appropriate secretary of state's office. County and local government offices are other stops on the campaign-finance itinerary. Here are some Web sites you'll want to keep in mind during your search:

•  The Federal Election Commission maintains records on candidates, political action committees, party and other committees, and individual contributors to campaigns (since 1989, those who gave $200 or more in a calendar year). All of these documents are also publicly available for inspection and copying at the FEC's Washington, D.C., headquarters. Computerized search indexes make the location of documents fairly effortless.
  • The FEC's Image/Query System allows you to see photographic images of the reports filed with the Commission - down to the candidate or treasurer's signature.
  • A Directory of Federal Offices gives links to other federal agencies and national associations that deal with election issues, as well as their telephone numbers and mailing addresses.
• In most states, election-related records are scattered among a number of agencies under the umbrella of the secretary of state's office. Typically, a state board of elections will house state campaign-finance reports, while a board of ethics often has responsibility for keeping state personal financial reports and lobbying reports. An up-to-date list of these offices is the Federal Election Commission's Combined Federal/State Disclosure Directory. Secretaries of state often maintain information not only about public officials, but also about corporations that do business in the state. They are increasingly mounting such information on their Web sites, offering on-line searches of everything from campaign-finance reports to details on limited partnerships, fictitious names, and Uniform Commercial Code filings.
• County record-keeping systems often mirror those of the state. In addition to administering elections, a supervisor of elections may also oversee candidates' campaign-finance reports and financial-disclosure reports. Meanwhile, a county board of ethics often handles the collection of annual financial-disclosure forms filed by elected county officials, county-council employees, board and commission members, and those officials who participate in the awarding of contracts.

There are also many nongovernment sources that can help you track down and analyze campaign-related documents:

• The Center for Responsive Politics is a Washington-based nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that specializes in the role of money in federal elections. CRP has a variety of useful databases, including some that allow you to search by donor as well as by candidate.
• The Campaign Finance Information Center is a program of Investigative Reporters and Editors. This site has information from various state election campaigns, as well as "tipsheets" from reporters on investigating and reporting campaign finance issues.

 

[vannrox]

Freedom Trail

The federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was signed into law on Independence Day 1966. The nation's media provided the lobbying impetus for passage of the legislation, which armed reporters with the means to ferret out important stories. At the same time, the law provided the average citizen better access to government information. Since then, countless FOIA requests have yielded documents on matters ranging from the mundane to the momentous. It has become a favored tool of muckrakers, although it is by and large still an underutilized investigative device.

The fundamental feature of the Act is that it created a general rule, subject to certain exceptions, that any person has a right, enforceable in court, of access to federal agency records. Before 1966, the burden was on the individual to show a particular legal right to receive any information. FOIA has replaced a "need to know" standard with a presumption of a "right to know."

But that doesn't mean that it's always easy to get the information you're looking for. You may have to fight for your right to know. Fortunately, there's no shortage of good information on using the federal Freedom of Information Act. Here are a few of the best, most comprehensive resources:

A Citizen's Guide on Using the Freedom of Information Act
1993 report published by the House of Representatives.

The Freedom of Information Act: A User's Guide
By the Freedom of Information Clearinghouse, a nonprofit project of Ralph Nader's Public Citizen Litigation Group.

Society of Professional Journalists' FOIA Resources
Includes lists of contacts at federal agencies and in every state.

 

[Donald Stone]

BUMP !!!!!

I prefer to use the federal racketeering statutes (civil RICO)as an investigative tool against corrupt politicians, law enforcement officials and alleged members of organizied crime.