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: SOURCE-PRESERVED RECOVERY ADDENDUM. Exact URLs and evidentiary firewall retained; saving is not publication or proof of coordination.
Transparency USA shows Magic Valley Voter Action with a $10,000 contribution from Hometown Heroes. FCC public-file indexes show Magic Valley Voter Action political-file entries in Twin Falls-area media during May 2026.
Evidence firewall: Transfer and ad-file presence are documented; content, targeting, and coordination require the underlying ad/contract records.
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.
IMC reports $42,931 to Arena Mail and Digital on the captured current-cycle finance page. Arena's Idaho payee record shows multiple large Idaho Liberty PAC payments, including $201,279 on May 18, 2026, plus other 2025–26 payments. Arena publicly markets services to Republican campaigns and independent expenditures.
Evidence firewall: Shared vendor is an operational crossline; it does not prove PAC-to-PAC coordination.
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: verified institutional and personnel connection; personal-direction and LLC-ownership questions unresolved
The Idaho Esto Perpetua political committee is administered through Risch Pisca personnel and the firm's office address. Idaho Sunshine identifies Maggie Mallea as both treasurer and chairperson of Esto Perpetua, Filing Entity ID 199, registered 2023-12-27, mailing address 407 West Jefferson St., Boise, ID 83702. Risch Pisca's own staff biography identifies Mallea as its Legal Services Director and Office Manager and says she manages firm operations includ…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified primary-record pattern; interpretation bounded
Two separate Idaho PACs reported same-day payments to Esto Perpetua Group for the same service category. On August 2, 2024, Defend and Protect Idaho paid Esto $25,000 for preparation and production of advertising, and Hometown Heroes paid Esto $22,396.57 for preparation and production of advertising. The Hometown Heroes entry was filed as an original transaction on September 5, 2024. This same-day/same-purpose pattern is consistent with centralized invoici…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified paid vendor relationship; scope of work, shared data, and any cross-committee coordination unresolved
FEC-derived 2025–2026 operating-expenditure data identifies Right Insight LLC as a paid vendor of the authorized Jim Risch for U.S. Senate Committee (FEC committee C00440362). The amendment-normalized dataset reports 11 non-memo payments totaling $38,173.22 through June 4, 2026. A filing-period reconstruction for April 1–29, 2026 independently shows three Right Insight payments totaling $18,173. This resolves the prior ambiguity surrounding Right Insight’s…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: SOURCE-PRESERVED RECOVERY ADDENDUM. Exact URLs and evidentiary firewall retained; saving is not publication or proof of coordination.
Wyoming's corporate list shows Make Highways Great Again LLC filed 03/06/2025 at 1908 Thomas Ave, Cheyenne. Transparency USA shows $85,000 from the LLC to IMC. BoiseDev reported IMC spending more than $18,000 supporting Matt Newton and Justin Bollinger in Canyon County Highway District 4 races, with the LLC's beneficial owner not publicly identified from Wyoming disclosure. IMC lists Newton and Bollinger as endorsed candidates.
Evidence firewall: Opaque b…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Partly verified identity clue; same-entity match UNRESOLVED. Do not attribute Idaho Redbird to Cothren.
A September 17, 2024 DOJ Rule 404(b) notice states that Cade Cothren created Redbird Strategies and describes it as based in West Palm Beach, Florida. The same notice alleges a broader pattern of concealing his identity in political entities. However, this was an evidentiary notice describing evidence the government might introduce—not by itself a verdict finding. In April 2025, reporting states Cothren’s personal bank records were excluded from trial. The…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified officer and transaction map; custody inference only
Payer-side custody map for three Esto Perpetua Group transactions: (1) Hometown Heroes paid Esto $22,396.57 on August 2, 2024 for preparation/production of advertising; the original entry was filed September 5, 2024. Idaho Sunshine identifies Lara Herway as both treasurer and chairperson, making her the primary custody lead for that payment packet. (2) Right 2 Learn paid Esto $15,000 on May 20, 2024; the committee’s own website identifies Teresa Fabricius …
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified Idaho institutional/advocacy hub and national funding; connection to Republican-primary expenditures or Open Primaries control unproven
Votes Idaho Company (EIN 46-5415188) is an Idaho 501(c)(4) whose FY2024 records report $295,353 in revenue, $458,433 in expenses, three employees, and Colin Nash as executive director. Its filed program description says it facilitated coordination among issue-advocacy groups, provided a platform for sharing resources, best practices and strategic insights, and organized regular meetings, conferences and webinars. Its reported FY2024 funders include Sixteen…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified vendor relationship; operational inference only; no earmarking or ownership finding
TransparencyUSA's Hometown Heroes committee page lists Redbird Strategies as the committee's top payee at $17,700. This adds a direct vendor relationship between Redbird Strategies and Hometown Heroes, separate from Defend and Protect Idaho's $208,725 in May 2026 Redbird independent expenditures. Because Hometown Heroes also transferred $65,000 to Defend and Protect Idaho on the same two dates as Defend's May 13 and May 15 Redbird spending, Redbird appears…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: PRIMARY VERIFIED payments and archive aggregate from Idaho Sunshine; founder/governance roles verified by first-party biography and current Sunshine profile. No campaign-to-PAC coordination established.
Idaho Sunshine’s archived free-text vendor search for “Sunnybrook Strategies” reports that 17 candidates and three PACs spent $150,653 across three Sunnybrook name variants. The disclosed clients include Brad Little, Chenele Dixon, Jim Woodward, Julie Yamamoto, Jeff Agenbroad, Jack Nelsen, Stephanie Mickelsen, Gregory Lanting, Mark Sauter, Treg Bernt, Lori Bishop, Rodney Furniss, Joshua Wheeler, Jerald Raymond, Van Burtenshaw, Michael Pohanka and others, p…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified former Idaho GOP leadership role; no evidence yet of party-directed client work or cross-client data sharing
Daniel Silver, the publicly identified CEO/founder of Right Insight LLC, was elected first vice chair of the Idaho Republican Party in July 2022 and was still publicly identified in that office in May 2024. Contemporary reporting also identifies him as a former chair of the Idaho Young Republicans and Western U.S. regional director for the Young Republican National Federation. The Idaho GOP’s current executive-committee page lists different officers, so Si…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: MULTIPLE REPORTING SOURCES BASED ON IDAHO FILINGS VERIFIED: common chair, internal $56.5K transfer, PP Idaho contribution and 2024 candidate-direction spending. Direct amended C-1 and transaction PDFs remain a worthwhile primary-record follow-up.
Arlethea “A.K.” Lienhart-Minnick is not merely a compliance name. Contemporary and historical reporting identifies her as a former chair of the Idaho Democratic Party, a longtime campaign operative, and the wife of former Democratic U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick. Idaho Education News reported that she chaired Stronger Idaho, Accountable Idaho and Idaho Liberty Defense in the 2024 election. The three groups collectively spent more than $55,500 supporting Democrats…
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.
IMC lists $5,250 to Right Insight LLC. Right Insight describes itself as an all-in-one political campaign platform for voter data, targeting, CRM, communications, fundraising, analytics, and AI tools. Leading Idaho PAC also lists a payment to Right Insight and direct payments to Brent Reinke and Cherie Vollmer.
Evidence firewall: Shared campaign-tech vendor does not establish common strategy or coordination.
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: PRIMARY VERIFIED contribution and governance. July 27 timing establishes post-primary support only; no direct Anthon↔Hometown Heroes control or primary-spending role established.
Idaho Sunshine’s official Brent Reinke contribution ledger records a $1,000 contribution from Gem State Legacy Political Action Committee on July 27, 2026, designated for the general election. Idaho Sunshine separately identifies Senate President Pro Tempore Kelly Arthur Anthon as Gem State Legacy PAC’s chairperson and Joelle Anthon as treasurer. Reinke defeated incumbent Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld in the May 19, 2026 Republican primary. Supported conclusion…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified common-vendor network and timing pattern; earmarking, coordination, and ownership unproven
The complete Idaho Sunshine expenditure search for payee text 'Redbird' returns 18 transactions totaling $627,302 across exactly four committees: Defend and Protect Idaho $587,852; Hometown Heroes $17,700; Idaho First $14,000; and Magic Valley Voter Action $7,750. Those are Hometown Heroes itself plus all three committees that received Hometown's May 2026 redistribution: Magic Valley Voter Action ($102,000 from Hometown), Idaho First ($45,000), and Defend …
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: PRIMARY/ORGANIZATIONAL VERIFIED: Sunshine establishes PAC governance; first-party biographies establish professional roles. Direction by clients, IGWA, or donors is not established.
Idaho Sunshine’s official profile identifies Hometown Heroes, filing entity ID 1077, as registered April 17, 2024 and last amended January 21, 2026, with Lara Herway serving simultaneously as treasurer and chairperson. Risch Pisca’s official biography identifies Herway as founder of Sunnybrook Strategies, a political consultant who has managed or advised more than 50 campaigns, and a lobbyist for Risch Pisca Law and Policy. Idaho Ground Water Appropriators…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: PRIMARY VERIFIED transactions from Idaho Sunshine; professional bridge organizationally verified. Exact legal identity of Esto Perpetua Group remains unresolved; no improper coordination established.
Idaho Sunshine’s Hometown Heroes profile reports $222,000 categorized as contributions to candidates and PACs and identifies top vendors/payees including Magic Valley Voter Action ($112,000), Defend and Protect Idaho ($65,000), Idaho First ($45,000), and Esto Perpetua Group ($22,396.57). The same profile’s contribution side lists Esto Perpetua as a $35,000 contributor to Hometown Heroes. Thus the disclosed profile shows money moving both from Esto Perpetua…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified common upstream operator and formal grantee-monitoring structure; Idaho candidate selection and expenditure control unproven
Western Futures Fund’s FY2024 Form 990 Schedule O states that, as management consultant, Blue Moon Strategies is responsible for Western Futures’ day-to-day operations. The filing also says Western Futures had no employees in 2024 and reports $675,134 in project-management expenses. Its Schedule I describes a grant-monitoring system using written and verbal reports, ongoing monitoring and interaction with grantees, and regular updates depending on grant si…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified primary-record connection; name variation and ownership inference bounded
Idaho Sunshine’s active Accountable Idaho committee record (filing entity ID 94) identifies Elle Casner as both treasurer and chairperson and lists PO Box 2093, Boise, ID 83701. Its expenditure ledger shows three same-day payments to Hulsen Media Services, LLC on October 16, 2024—$25,500, $22,750, and $22,250, totaling $70,500—for broadcast advertising. It then paid Esto Perpetua Group $15,000 on January 2, 2025 for general operational expenses. The transa…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: PRIMARY VERIFIED candidate-specific independent-expenditure ledger and arithmetic. Multi-PAC convergence established; coordination, earmarking, and common control not established.
Idaho Sunshine’s candidate-specific independent-expenditure table for Brent Reinke lists 35 supportive transactions. Summed by filer, the major disclosed totals are Idaho Liberty PAC $66,077.24; Idaho Prosperity Fund $16,426.03; Defend and Protect Idaho $12,443.38; Magic Valley Voter Action $4,772.69; Hometown Heroes $3,052.68; Idaho Majority Club $2,398.28; Idaho Dairy Industry PAC $1,308.44; and WinAg PAC $559.51. Two small Concerned Citizens of the Magi…
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.
Early-cycle Hometown Heroes records show Way Back PAC and Richard Larsen as major contributors; later reporting adds Idaho PACs and legislators around the same Hometown Heroes/Defend & Protect/Idaho First ecosystem. This supports a hybrid national-plus-Idaho funding model.
Evidence firewall: Hybrid funding is documented; common control is not.
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.
Primary Idaho filings show recurring Esto Perpetua → Idaho Prosperity Fund contributions: $3,500 on 03/10/2017; $3,500 on 04/05/2018; and in 2019, $3,500 on 03/04 plus $1,000 on 11/26. The original emergency snapshot understated 2019 by listing only the $1,000 payment. The same 2019 Esto Perpetua filing also shows a separate $1,000 contribution to Idaho Victory Fund on 12/09/2019.
Evidence firewall: Historical PAC-to-PAC transactions are factual; they do …
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified overlapping vendor-executed slates; coordination, control, and earmarking unproven
Idaho Sunshine's Independent Expenditure search returns 150 candidate-level allocations naming Redbird Strategies. The four Hometown-network committees used Redbird for substantially overlapping slates. Hometown Heroes' May 5 Redbird buy supported Jim Guthrie ($6,600), Jim Woodward, Mark Sauter, Julie Van Orden, Ben Fuhriman, Mark Harris, and Michael Veile ($1,850 each). Defend and Protect Idaho's Redbird allocations also supported Guthrie, Woodward, Saute…
Read note and sources →