Thread by @ProPublica

1/ We want your help digging into who exactly is working in the admin & what their conflicts are.

Lobbying & financial info on political appointees must be released by law but fed agencies don’t make this info searchable. So we did.

propub.li/2IuI0sj

2/ We have a searchable database of 2,684 Trump admin political appointees—including their jobs and offices, employment history, lobbying records, government ethics documents and financial disclosures.

propub.li/2q9mpyF

3/ We know there are important stories in there for you to find. And here’s a little guidance on some things you can look for:

4/ Explore the path from conservative think tanks to the federal government.

5/ Dig into officials who are working for the government and private industry *at the same time.* They are called “special government employees” and there are dozens of them.

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6/ Here’s a special government employee we wrote about: propub.li/2IudAGo

7/ Feeling ambitious? You could also background individual employees to estimate ages, using LinkedIn, resumes and other biographical information. Just start searching.

8/ You can dig into shell companies—all of those obscure or generically named LLCs—and see who actually owns them and what they do.

9/ You a contract person? You can check if political appointees’ former employers have received federal contracts. Or flip the equation: If you’re looking into a contractor and wondering about crossover, run the name in Trump Town and see what turns up.

propub.li/2qcmJwL

10/ Here’s a good one: New executive branch appointees are made to sign ethics pledges meant to limit their involvement in issues they’ve lobbied on. But special waivers can help staffers get around those pledges. For example:

11/ Comb through all the waivers here: propub.li/2q8sgVg

12/ What do a Chick-fil-A cashier, a freelance baseball trainer and an animal hospital receptionist have in common? They all work for the Trump admin. (Trump Town put all this data in one place and made this possible.)

cheatsheet.com/money-career/n…

13/ The Atlantic used the database to show us that the Trump admin is VERY VERY male: theatlantic.com/politics/archi…

14/ You can also find potential conflicts of interest. Here’s one involving “chemically castrated” frogs: wnycstudios.org/story/trump-in…

15/ Digging into the documents can be fun. Seriously. That’s what Esquire called it.

“Spelunking through this database is going to be fun, and ProPublica is promising regular updates.”

esquire.com/news-politics/…

16/ So, go have some fun. We’re asking people—reporters, civically engaged citizens, political nerds, anyone interestested in figuring out what’s going on in the Trump admin—to take a trip through Trump Town.

propub.li/2qavIyF

17/ Oh, and by the way, here’s another huge list of stories that other orgs have used this data to do journalism:

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18/ If you have any questions on how to use Trump Town or if you get stuck in your digging, or want us to take a closer look at something, email us at [e-mail] or send a Signal message to 347-244-2134. We’re all ears.

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19/ And don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter: propub.li/2q9AD2N