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.
Research finding · 2026-09-18
Recorded status: Primary platform identity and creative index verified; exact production/agency/broadcast linkage unresolved
Google Ads Transparency Center identifies verified advertiser AR12070793104785932289, legal name Defend and Protect Idaho, EIN 88-1622628, United States. All-topics view showed 25 unique creative URLs; the political view listed 24 records: 19 with May 2026 flights and five with 2022 flights. Initial DOM duplicated the 25 links as 50 entries; deduplication by creative URL prevents double counting. Political Insights, Any time, displayed $45,100 across 24 ad…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-18
Recorded status: Primary creative identity and platform-reported delivery verified; production vendor, bank payer and KREM ad-ID linkage unproven
Ten Google political-ad records resolve through visible embedded players to Public Safety First videos on Defend and Protect Idaho's YouTube channel. This records platform titles, identifiers, flights, spending ranges and times shown, not independent validation of campaign claims or a production-cost ledger. Each row is one Google creative, irrespective of displayed format variations. Dates below are 2026.
Candidate/title suffix | Google creative | YouTub…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-18
Recorded status: primary order/invoice reconciliation verified; NAB contents unverified due retrieval failure
KXLY's four posted contract PDFs were retrieved and visually inspected (eight pages). Contract24615 v1 May8 totals20spots/$3,880gross/$582commission/$3,298net,matching invoice24615-1. Contract24964 v1 May14 totals13spots/$2,260gross/$339commission/$1,921net,matching invoice24964-1. Contract24618 v1 May8 totals17spots/$3,120gross/$468commission/$2,652net; v2 May26 credits the May16 UFL Late spot, resulting16spots/$3,020gross/$453commission/$2,567net,matchin…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-18
Recorded status: Primary self-description verified as published; election-year context inferred; campaign claims and producer attribution unverified
The PAC's own website links Facebook page IdahoansAgainstExtremism. The public page displayed a post dated May 21 headed as a message from chair Gary Raney. After expanding See more, the post described the PAC's campaign work: highlighting support for law enforcement and the rule of law, candidates' associations with Ammon Bundy, votes on Benji's Law, and Idaho State Police staffing/pay concerns. It claimed successes involving Reinke, Requa, Swensen, Vollm…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-18
Recorded status: arithmetic verified; budget-reallocation explanation is inference, not bank-transfer proof
Additional primary-document reconciliation after inspecting KHQ's original248931 (May8) and revised248931 (May13). Original248931 totals18spots/$16,775gross/$2,516.25commission/$14,258.75net; revised totals29spots/$23,275gross/$3,491.25commission/$19,783.75net. The gross increase is exactly$6,500. Over the same May8-revised to May13-revised comparison,248930 decreases exactly$6,500 ($20,325 to$13,825). Their combined gross remains$37,100 before and after. …
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-18
Recorded status: Distinct creative IDs, linked videos and platform-reported delivery verified; campaign claims, production payee and broadcast equivalence unverified
Eight Google political-ad records resolve to distinct issue-based videos on the same Defend and Protect Idaho YouTube channel. Visible ad copy tells viewers to reject the named candidates. The following is a primary platform index, not endorsement or verification of the advertisements' claims; all flight dates are 2026.
Title | Google creative | YouTube video ID | Flight | Spend range USD | Times shown
Idaho Immigration: Zuiderveld & Hostetler | CR0051011…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-18
Recorded status: primary forms visually verified; no violation or producer identity inferred
KHQ contract248930/estimate4265 has three posted versions with the same contract and alternate-order numbers. All six pages visually inspected: May8 original totals18spots/$18,325gross/$2,748.75commission/$15,576.25net; May8 Revised totals22spots/$20,325gross/$3,048.75commission/$17,276.25net; May13 Revised(2) totals16spots/$13,825gross/$2,073.75commission/$11,751.25net. Do not add those gross amounts or count them as three separate purchases.
The latest v…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-18
Recorded status: Historical error/correction attributed to contemporary reporting; present Wyoming address and 2026 totals verified in official UI; intent unresolved
Newly retrieved historical reporting identifies a concrete geographic-disclosure correction. Sean Dolan's May 18, 2026 EdNews report says five timed contribution reports signed by Gary Raney since February 2024 placed Way Back PAC in Sheridan, Idaho rather than Wyoming. EdNews reports that the PAC acknowledged an error and that Secretary of State staff corrected Sunshine within about two hours of notification. The displayed in-state share reportedly change…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified arithmetic from preserved official CSV; reported allocations are not audited bank payments or ad-content verification
Scope: only Defend and Protect Idaho's transactions to Redbird Strategies and Hulsen Media Services LLC in the official 2026 Expenditures CSV downloaded September 17. Source snapshot SHA256 b06d0cfbf358b6463309b015c35a65cdf106ff142a118591d438bf5b05fee9c1 was rechecked unchanged. Treat the repeated Transaction Amount on candidate rows as non-additive; vendor totals deduplicate by Transaction Id, while candidate totals sum populated Amount Applied rows. Redb…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: verified portal discrepancy; cause and legal significance unresolved
Idaho Sunshine currently displays a one-sided $23,000 inter-PAC transaction. Esto Perpetua's expenditure ledger reports a $23,000 contribution to Hometown Heroes on 2026-05-21, and links the recipient to Hometown Heroes GUID fa1d6e18-bc17-4805-be74-987ce8c71ed0. That same Hometown Heroes entity's contribution ledger displays the $35,000 Esto receipt of 2026-05-12 but does not display the $23,000 receipt of 2026-05-21; its profile likewise totals Esto Perpe…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: PRIMARY VERIFIED filing ID, formation date, address, and 53-day formation-to-first-payment interval. Organizer and beneficial owner remain unresolved pending the Wyoming filed-document PDFs.
Wyoming Secretary of State’s official 2021 domestic-charter archive identifies Esto Perpetua Group LLC as filing ID 2021-001059065, formed December 9, 2021, with the address 30 N. Gould St., Suite R, Sheridan, Wyoming 82801. Idaho Sunshine then records the company’s first presently reproduced Take Back Idaho transactions on January 31, 2022: $1,507.90 for postage and $790 for broadcast advertising. The LLC was therefore formed 53 days before the first repr…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: verified
A 13-page City of Nampa document says Right Insight LLC analyzed results and key themes from 2,414 responses to the city's 2023 citizen survey. Every substantive page is marked 'Confidential. All rights reserved by Right Impact LLC.' The report segmented responses by council district and demographics and recommended targeted follow-up for underrepresented groups. This is first-party evidence that the linked Right Insight/Right Impact entities performed loc…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 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.
SCR 118's recorded 2026 roll calls show Kohl and Zuiderveld among three Senate no votes and Leavitt/Hostetler among House no votes. HB 445 provided ongoing water-project funding and passed in 2025; roll-call records document the relevant no votes. IDA's advocacy framing should be separated from legislators' stated fiscal/oversight rationales.
Evidence firewall: Vote alignment is factual; advocacy claims about motive or being 'against water infrastructure'…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified from supplied FCC PDFs; transaction-role interpretation unresolved
Verification: the user-provided KIVI Political File Disclosure Form is dated May 8, 2026 and identifies Commercial Space Experts, 2400 Laramie Trail, Austin, TX 78745, phone 512-297-7349, contact Kristin Black, as the agency. The sponsor is Defend and Protect Idaho, PO Box 162, Boise; Gary Raney is listed as chair and Judith Ellis as treasurer. The form does not name Redbird Strategies. This date matches the $110,000 Defend-and-Protect payment to Redbird r…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified from federal post-trial filing and DOJ sentencing release; later pardon/vacatur does not change what evidence was presented, but current legal disposition must be stated separately.
A post-trial federal filing, expressly citing government exhibits admitted at trial and witness testimony, reconstructs the Tennessee scheme. Cade Cothren created Phoenix Solutions and operated through the fabricated identity “Matthew Phoenix,” including a fraudulent W-9. His girlfriend posed in email as another invented employee. Glen Casada and Robin Smith used their positions and access to recruit legislators and pressure legislative fiscal officials wh…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 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.
Idaho Dairymen's Association's Spring 2026 publication ties its political concerns to workforce/E-Verify and water funding and criticizes specific Magic Valley legislators over water votes. Public reporting also identifies Brent Reinke as the dairy industry's preferred challenger and records his stated concerns about state-level E-Verify burdens.
Evidence firewall: Industry policy interest and candidate preference are documented; direction of other PACs i…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: verified from transaction-level state records
Idaho Sunshine's transaction-level expenditure ledger shows the Idaho Esto Perpetua political committee made 23 contributions totaling $37,000 on 2024-04-23. The batch consisted of $15,000 to North Idaho Republicans PAC plus $1,000 each to 22 candidates: Sean Coletti, Todd Lakey, Lance Clow, Jim Guthrie, Josh Wheeler, Mark Harris, Benjamin Adams, Marco Erickson, Gregory Lanting, Ilana Rubel, Janie Ward-Engelking, Chris Mathias, James Ruchti/Just (listed se…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 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 publicly describes a vetting/endorsement process and says endorsed candidates may receive campaign strategy/planning, fundraising coordination, grassroots organization, media/communications support, and post-election governance guidance. Its candidate form says submissions are shared with an 'endorsement committee.' Membership applications require sponsorship by two current members and ask about elected office, campaign roles, and party affiliation. Th…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Routing structure verified at source-index level; direct primary-row reconciliation and legal significance unresolved.
A sourced Wyoming campaign-finance registry built from FEC Schedule A/B, Wyoming reports, and IRS Forms 990 identifies an upstream routing structure relevant to the Idaho Redbird inquiry. Way Back PAC’s amended 2026 Wyoming report lists organizational receipts including Western Futures Fund ($2.075M reported to Wyoming), Civitech ($1M), Toolbox ($850k), North Fund ($300k), Global Impact Social Welfare Fund ($25k), and Durst Organization ($10k). The same re…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Friedopfer testimony verified through contemporaneous reporting; January 2026 administrative finding and $80,000 penalty verified through multiple reports. Legal challenge/appeal status unresolved. No Idaho identity bridge.
The clearest documented example of Cothren’s concealment method involves Faith Family Freedom Fund, not Redbird Strategies. Sydney Friedopfer testified to Tennessee election-finance regulators that Cothren asked her to create the PAC because his name could not appear on the filings or be associated with it; she would sign the registration and he would run it. She said she did not operate the PAC, did not know it had an email address, and was told not to re…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified reconciliation of official total against stale third-party aggregate
TransparencyUSA's Idaho payee aggregate of $597,302 for Redbird Strategies is $30,000 below the current Idaho Sunshine total of $627,302. The exact difference is Defend and Protect Idaho's July 8, 2026 $30,000 Redbird payment for management services. Therefore the TransparencyUSA figure appears to omit that later transaction and should not be used as the current statewide total.
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified as to what prosecutors asserted in filed motion and DOJ’s conviction summary; reported trial-exclusion limitation preserved. Not proof that Idaho Redbird is connected or that every Tennessee entity was independently illegal.
In a March 28, 2025 pretrial response, federal prosecutors said bank records for Cade Cothren’s other entities—including Faith Family Freedom Fund PAC, Redbird Strategies, Dixieland Strategies, and Bulletproof Research—were relevant to show intentional concealment of his identity in political business. The filing said records revealed transfers among those entities, Phoenix Solutions, and Cothren’s personal accounts, and separately described state-payment …
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: PRIMARY VERIFIED public-record opacity through the 2025 annual-report cycle. Beneficial owner and actual operator remain unresolved; Registered Agents Inc. is not treated as the owner.
Wyoming’s current Filing Information report for Esto Perpetua Group LLC confirms that the company’s public record remains fully shielded behind Registered Agents Inc. The principal address, mailing address, registered-agent address, and organizer address are all 30 N. Gould St., Suite R, Sheridan, Wyoming. The Officers/Directors section is blank. Four annual reports—filed November 16, 2022; September 17, 2023; September 16, 2024; and January 11, 2026—prese…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified official filing and domain metadata. Beneficial owner remains undisclosed/unresolved.
Official Idaho Secretary of State records identify Redbird Strategies LLC, file no. 6512063, as an active Idaho domestic LLC formed November 5, 2025. The filing lists principal and mailing addresses at 1309 Coffeen Avenue, Suite 1200, Sheridan, Wyoming; Registered Agents Inc. in Post Falls is the commercial registered agent. The original Certificate of Organization lists Andrew Pierce as governor and organizer. Follow-up establishes that Pierce founded Wyo…
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