Browse sourced findings, connection research, and open questions. Each entry retains the status and qualifications recorded with the research. A connection research note is not automatically a verified network-map relationship.
Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: PRIMARY IDAHO SUNSHINE VERIFIED for 2022 donors, payments and listed chair/treasurer; 2024 common-chair reporting corroborated but amendment chronology needs direct filing verification.
Official Idaho Sunshine records show the terminated Stronger Idaho PAC raised $91,000 from only six donors in 2022: Idaho Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee ($25,000), Political Action Committee for Education / Idaho Education Association PAC ($25,000), Accountable Idaho ($12,000), Not Another Penny–Labor First ($10,000), Conservation Voters for Idaho Action Fund ($10,000), and Keep Ada Home ($9,000). Stronger Idaho then reported at least $59,803.75…
Read note and sources →Open question · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: open identity-resolution question; no attribution yet
A March 28, 2025 federal prosecution filing in United States v. Casada et al. states that bank records for Cade Cothren's other business entities included 'Redbird Strategies' and says prosecutors intended to show that Cothren concealed his identity when conducting political business. DOJ later reported that Cothren and former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada were convicted and sentenced in the Phoenix Solutions bribery/fraud case. Separately, Idaho fil…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified shared filing and brand lineage; formal ownership, merger and continuing legal status unresolved
Federal trademark records show two distinct limited-liability-company applicants—Right Insight LLC and Right Impact LLC—filed related marks on the same day, November 2, 2022, through the same attorney, Alexandra Hodson, and each claimed first commercial use on May 1, 2022. Right Insight’s marks cover business messaging, advertising, market research and data analysis; Right Impact’s mark covers political strategy, voter analysis, campaign planning/staffing,…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified committee-officer finding; records-custody inference
Idaho Sunshine identifies Judith Ellis as treasurer and Gary Raney as chairperson of Defend and Protect Idaho, filing entity ID 661, registered January 24, 2024, with mailing address PO Box 162, Boise, ID 83701. The committee’s own website repeats Judith Ellis as treasurer and the same mailing address. This does not connect Ellis or Raney to ownership of Esto Perpetua Group. It does identify the committee officers most likely to have custody of the 2024 Es…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified non-exhaustive vendor-client footprint; reporting-cycle reconciliation and scopes of work still needed
Right Insight/Right Impact’s Idaho client footprint is broader than Defend and Protect Idaho and Jim Risch’s campaign. Public campaign-finance profiles and indexed Idaho Sunshine records identify payments from Idaho Majority Club ($14,826.57 shown on the current profile), Bedke for Idaho ($15,000), the Senate Republican PAC of Idaho ($2,500 to the earlier Right Impact name), the House Republican Caucus ($2,000), Todd Lakey’s 2022 state-senate campaign ($1,…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: historical continuity verified; earlier personnel identity and control questions remain
Historical Idaho campaign-finance records show Esto Perpetua PAC predates the current portal's 2023 registration field by more than a decade. An archived 2012 record identifies Esto Perpetua PAC at PO Box 1304, Boise, with political treasurer Amber Herriot. A 2016 archived filing snippet identifies Amber Hauge at the same PO Box and phone 208-345-9929. A 2018 official pre-general report identifies Maggie Mallea, PO Box 1304, and the same phone. Risch Pisca…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified common funding/vendor pattern; exact-address identity bridge disproved; source-of-funds and control remain unresolved.
Defend and Protect Idaho’s profile lists Way Back PAC as its largest contributor at $400,000 and Redbird Strategies as a major broadcast-advertising vendor. Contemporary reporting says Way Back PAC also sent large sums to Hometown Heroes and Idaho First—two other committees that paid Redbird. This creates a common upstream-funder/common-vendor pattern worth tracing. However, the precise Wyoming addresses do not match: Way Back PAC’s official FEC address is…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: verified client-list overlap; certain affiliate identities require confirmation
Esto Perpetua PAC's transaction ledger substantially overlaps Risch Pisca's own published sample client list. Recorded contributions associated by exact or closely corresponding names are: Hagadone Hospitality $17,500; IBWDA/Idaho Beer and Wine Distributors PAC $15,500; Jackson's/Jacksons $12,000; PNW PhRMA PAC/PhRMA $11,000; M3/M3 Companies LLC $10,000; Tamarack Food and Beverage LLC/Tamarack $10,000; DaVita $6,750; and Clearwater Paper $6,000. These tota…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Vendor identity and national profile substantially verified; strategic control of Idaho PACs unproven
Targeted Platform Media is not an Idaho-local vendor. Public campaign and broadcast records consistently identify it at P.O. Box 237, Crownsville, Maryland 21032-0237, with contacts including Danny Neckel and Katie Wildman. Current reporting describes Targeted Platform Media as an arm of Buying Time LLC, a Democratic media-buying company founded and run by Cathie Herrick. A 2020 Campaign Legal Center FEC complaint alleged Targeted Platform was Buying Time'…
Read note and sources →Open question · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Open investigative hypothesis; no direct Jim Risch–LLC connection established
Investigative hypothesis only: Esto Perpetua PAC records point to Jeremy Pisca and the 407 W. Jefferson address associated with Risch Pisca. Risch Pisca is the firm name of partners Jeremy Pisca and Jason Risch; Jason Risch is reported to be Senator Jim Risch's son and has served in political roles for Risch campaigns. This creates a meaningful proximity and network question requiring investigation. It does not establish that Jim Risch knew of, directed, f…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified from official ledger and FCC form; invoice-to-placement matching unresolved
The official 2026 expenditure ledger shows six distinct Defend and Protect Idaho transactions to Redbird Strategies on 05/08/2026: $60,000 broadcast advertising (ID 391411); $18,000 production (391413); $12,000 production (391414); $5,000 production (391415); $69,000 production (391424); and $110,000 broadcast advertising (397047). Total: $274,000, or about 46.6% of Defend and Protect's $587,852 in unique Redbird payments and 43.7% of all $627,302 paid to …
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: OFFICIAL FEC + IDAHO SUNSHINE / ORGANIZATIONAL ROLE VERIFIED. Durable funding/personnel relationship established; direction, earmarking, and unlawful coordination not established.
A newly resolved personnel-to-money edge tightens the Western Futures/Way Back/Votes Idaho topology. Official Idaho Sunshine search results report that Way Back PAC gave $1,000 to Colin Nash's Boise City Council campaign on September 15, 2023. Way Back's federal filing independently reports another $1,000 to COLIN NASH FOR BOISE on September 30, 2025, identified in the memo as “ID - COLIN NASH (BOISE CITY COUNCIL).” Votes Idaho Company's current site and I…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified in original Idaho campaign-finance filing; ownership/operator unresolved
Take Back Idaho PAC's original January 2022 C-2 (report 46280) lists two same-day payments to Esto Perpetua Group LLC on January 31, 2022: $790 under purpose code B (broadcast advertising) and $1,507.90 under purpose code P (postage), total $2,297.90. The recipient address is the Wyoming registered-agent address, 30 N Gould St., Ste R, Sheridan, WY 82801. The report identifies Jennifer Ellis as committee chair and David High as treasurer; High signed it Fe…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified vendor overlap; evidentiary significance limited
A compiled Idaho campaign-finance payee index reports $39,935.12 from Idaho Liberty Defense and $12,124.43 from Defend and Protect Idaho to Autosort Commercial Mailing Services. This is a verified vendor overlap between the A.K. Lienhart-Minnick-controlled 2024 operation and one of the 2026 Republican-primary PACs. The overlap is low-probative by itself: Autosort is a general Boise commercial mailing/printing house, and the same payee index shows clients a…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified public executive/founder identification and company contact details; equity ownership and other members unresolved
Right Insight LLC’s public app-store developer disclosure identifies a direct company contact at daniel@rightinsight.org, telephone 479-220-8676, and 5762 N Rosa Springs Ave, Meridian, Idaho 83646. The same app states it was formerly known as Right Impact and provides voter-file data, canvassing, phone banking and CRM tools. Daniel Silver’s public professional profile identifies him as Right Insight’s CEO/founder, while Right Insight’s own site publishes c…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified common-vendor continuity and same-day timing; dollar-level earmarking and coordination unproven
A second national media vendor links Idahoans for Open Primaries to the Hometown Heroes redistribution network. Idaho Sunshine records show Idahoans for Open Primaries paid Targeted Platform Media, LLC $1,683,351.30 in October 2024 ($599,596.30 on Oct. 11; $648,755 on Oct. 18; $435,000 on Oct. 28) for broadcast advertising supporting Proposition 1. In May 2026, Magic Valley Voter Action paid the same vendor $80,919 on May 7 for a 23-candidate supportive sl…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified official federal payment timeline and broad temporal overlap; state-side transaction dates and scopes of work unresolved
The official OpenFEC Schedule B API returns 11 itemized payments from the Jim Risch for U.S. Senate Committee to Right Insight LLC totaling $38,173.22 from October 14, 2025 through June 4, 2026. Every transaction is categorized and described as advertising. The dates and amounts are: Oct. 14, 2025 $1,500; Dec. 19 $1,500; Jan. 14, 2026 two separate $1,500 payments; Mar. 11 $3,500; Apr. 3 $3,500 and $11,173.22; Apr. 10 $3,500; May 1 $3,500; May 26 $3,500; an…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified ledger pattern; ownership still unresolved
Defend and Protect Idaho's 2024 expenditure ledger shows Esto Perpetua Group paid $50,000 and $15,427 on May 20 for management services, while distinct vendors handled production, media buying, digital ads, and printing. Peppershock Media received $3,736.97 for ad preparation/production on May 20; Hulsen Media Services LLC received $68,900 on May 3 and $10,250 on May 6 for broadcast advertising; separate payments went to Meta, Google, ESP Print and Mail, a…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: verified with role/time limitations
Idaho Secretary of State business record 4665889 shows Right Insight LLC active since March 21, 2022. Its expanded filing history identifies Daniel Silver as the original governor, later manager, and current member. The March 4, 2024 annual-report history also identifies S. Max Brown of Eagle as a manager. The February 3, 2025 report changed Silver from manager to member, and the February 3, 2026 report again lists Silver as member; Brown is not shown in t…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified multi-stage funding chain; dollar-level tracing, earmarking, and coordination unproven
Western Futures Fund’s IRS-derived FY2024 record identifies $5.5 million in grants from five organizations, led by Sixteen Thirty Fund ($2.8 million) and New Venture Fund ($1.8 million), followed by Guardian of Rights Fund ($500,000), Civic Truth Coalition ($450,000), and Sheriff Accountability Action ($30,000). The same return identifies Western Futures’ officers as Michael Hennesy (president), Jeremy Krones (treasurer), and Christopher Hirsch (secretary)…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: PRIMARY VERIFIED transaction series and vendor address from Idaho Sunshine; Idaho registry exact-name negative check completed. Beneficial ownership and legal relationship to Esto Perpetua PAC remain unresolved.
Idaho Sunshine’s vendor-specific record shows Take Back Idaho PAC made six payments to “Esto Perpetua Group LLC” in 2022: $1,507.90 for postage and $790 for broadcast advertising on January 31; $5,500 on February 28; $5,500 on April 28; and $18,500 plus $3,041 on June 1. The six payments total $34,838.90. The vendor profile classifies the payee as a company and gives only a mailing address at 30 N. Gould St., Suite R, Sheridan, Wyoming. An exact-name searc…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: SOURCE-RESTORED RECOVERY ITEM. URLs and source-specific support statements restored from corrected v2 snapshot. Evidentiary firewall preserved; dynamic aggregates and secondary reports still require ordinary publication-stage verification.
Archived Idaho records show Esto Perpetua PAC active since at least 2011 with Jeremy Pisca and Maggie Mallea in formal roles. Jeremy Pisca is a longtime Idaho lobbyist; current and historical sources show representation of clients including DaVita, Idaho REALTORS, Micron, PhRMA, Idaho Ground Water Appropriators and others. Corporate disclosures and PAC records show some represented companies also contributed to Esto Perpetua.
Evidence firewall: Representa…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified as two transactions; underlying invoices and media placements unresolved
The official Idaho Sunshine 2026 Expenditures CSV resolves the apparent date discrepancy. These are two separate Defend and Protect Idaho transactions, not alternate dates for one payment. Transaction 397047: $110,000 to Redbird Strategies, transaction date 05/08/2026, public distribution 05/12–05/19, Independent Expenditure Report dated 05/12, May Monthly Report filed 06/10. Transaction 397860: $110,000 to Redbird Strategies, transaction date 05/13/2026, …
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified common upstream funding and direct funder-recipient contact; expenditure coordination unproven
Federal and Idaho records identify Way Back PAC as a common upstream funder of three Hometown-network committees: $350,000 to Defend and Protect Idaho, $100,000 to Hometown Heroes PAC, and $100,000 to Idaho First during the April 1–June 3, 2026 federal reporting period. Thus Way Back did not merely fund Hometown before Hometown redistributed money; it separately capitalized Hometown and two of Hometown’s recipient PACs. Idaho Education News reported that W…
Read note and sources →