Glossary
How to read Officium — official records vs automated research hints, in plain English.
How to read this site
- Official records — STOCK Act trades, financial disclosures, FEC filings, lobbying, FARA, ethics cases, and sponsored travel come from government sources (sometimes via public bulk reprocessors).
- Automated flags — Conflict patterns and research badges are computer-generated leads. They are not convictions or proof of wrongdoing.
- Coverage gaps — Thin dossiers often mean we have not ingested a source for that member yet. Explore gaps.
Core terms
- STOCK Act / PTR
- Periodic Transaction Report — the official stock trade disclosure members of Congress file under the STOCK Act.
- PFD
- Personal Financial Disclosure — annual report of assets, liabilities, gifts, and outside positions.
- LDA
- Lobbying Disclosure Act filings — who lobbies Congress and on which issues (domestic clients).
- FARA
- Foreign Agents Registration Act — people and firms paid to influence U.S. policy for foreign principals.
- FEC
- Federal Election Commission campaign-finance data — contributions, committees, independent expenditures.
- IE / Schedule E
- Independent expenditures — outside spending for or against a candidate that is not coordinated with the campaign.
- Conflict flag / pattern
- An automated timing signal (e.g. trade near a bill introduction). A research lead, not a legal finding.
- Risk score (smoking gun)
- A precomputed 0–100 score stacking several automated detectors for a member. Higher means more flags, not guilt.
- Coverage / gaps
- Whether Officium has ingested a given data source for a member. Missing often means “not in our files yet,” not “never happened.”
- Free account / freemium
- Current Congress data is open without sign-in. A free email account unlocks pre-2023 history and departed-official dossiers in the UI. Public /data JSON remains downloadable for research — freemium is not security.
Research signals
Badges on Officials, Trades, and dossiers. Hover any badge on those pages for the same text.
- Wealth + market gains
- High reported wealth on financial disclosures and trades with unusually positive market returns (automated hint).
- Wealth jump + trading
- Large year-over-year wealth change on disclosures coinciding with more trading activity (automated hint).
- Opaque finances
- Sparse disclosure combined with high liabilities, gifts, or travel (automated hint).
- Committee + holdings
- Committee topics may overlap with disclosed assets or recent trades (keyword match — verify manually).
- Donor timing
- PAC or committee contribution dates within ~45 days of a stock trade (FEC data — not proof of coordination).
- Committee + donors
- Committee overlap plus significant PAC or committee giving (automated hint).
- High disclosed wealth
- Financial disclosure net-worth proxy above our high threshold (from official PFD data).
- Jobs + lobbying
- Outside jobs or board roles listed on disclosures overlap with lobbying client names (text match).
- Lobbying + assets
- Lobbying issue keywords may overlap with asset types on disclosures (text match).
- FARA + donors
- A foreign-agent or principal name from FARA may match a PAC or committee donor name on this member's FEC filings (text match — not proof of foreign money).
- Travel + sponsors
- Privately sponsored travel filer matches a lobbying client or FEC committee name for this member (text match).
- IE + trades
- Independent-expenditure committee names share sector keywords with this member's reported stock trades (automated hint).
- Sector bill + holding/trade
- Member sponsored or cosponsored a bill in a sector where they hold or traded assets (text/sector match on PFD or trades vs. bill subjects).
- Donor sector + trade
- Top FEC donors from a sector overlap with member's recent trades or PFD holdings in same sector (timing not required).
- PFD growth + sector activity
- Significant year-over-year increase in PFD net worth or specific holdings in a sector with legislative activity (bills, committees, LDA) by the member.
Risk report signatures
- insider trader
- Elevated trading activity near legislative or disclosure events.
- pfd opacity
- Sparse or hard-to-read financial disclosure relative to activity.
- revolving door
- Lobbying or related roles after or around public service.
- sector capture
- Committee or legislative focus overlapping with personal financial sector.
- family business
- Family or vendor ties that may intersect with official work.
- money pipeline
- Donor or PAC money flows aligned with committee jurisdiction.
- captured chair
- Leadership or chair roles with concentrated sector money.
- foreign influence
- Foreign-agent or related influence indicators near the member.
- apex target
- Multiple high-weight signals stacked for the same member.
Pattern types
Showing 188 of 188 detectors. Browse live flags →
- PFD Spouse Income FinanceP100_PFD_SPOUSE_INCOME_FINANCEAutomated research flag: PFD Spouse Income Finance. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Family & vendor
- PFD Book Royalty IncomeP101_PFD_BOOK_ROYALTY_INCOMEAutomated research flag: PFD Book Royalty Income. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD Nonprofit Board RoleP102_PFD_NONPROFIT_BOARD_ROLEAutomated research flag: PFD Nonprofit Board Role. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD for Profit DirectorP103_PFD_FOR_PROFIT_DIRECTORAutomated research flag: PFD for Profit Director. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD Family Business EntityP104_PFD_FAMILY_BUSINESS_ENTITYMarkwayne Mullin's 2025 PFD lists 4 entities bearing the surname "Mullin" — top: The Christie Renee Mullin InsuranceFamily & vendor
- SEC 13dg InsiderP105_SEC_13DG_INSIDERAutomated research flag: SEC 13dg Insider. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Insider & enforcement
- PFD Holding Heavy Lobbying CoP106_PFD_HOLDING_HEAVY_LOBBYING_COMarkwayne Mullin holds 49 tickers on 2025 PFD with ≥$1M federal lobbying spend each — META ($35.2M), AMZN ($24.9M), LLY ($21.0M)Lobbying
- PFD Holding Patent HeavyP107_PFD_HOLDING_PATENT_HEAVYAutomated research flag: PFD Holding Patent Heavy. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Committee & sector
- PFD Holding Fed ContractorP108_PFD_HOLDING_FED_CONTRACTORAutomated research flag: PFD Holding Fed Contractor. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Committee & sector
- JFC Channeled MemberP109_JFC_CHANNELED_MEMBERGeorge Whitesides named on 1 Joint Fundraising Committee ($1.2M total receipts) — top: WHITESIDES VICTORY FUNDMoney pipeline
- Leadership PAC money flowP10_LEADERSHIP_PAC_FLOWAutomated research flag: Leadership PAC money flow. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD Networth GrowthP110_PFD_NETWORTH_GROWTHAutomated research flag: PFD Networth Growth. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Committee & sector
- Sponsored Sector Bill HoldingP111_SPONSORED_SECTOR_BILL_HOLDINGAutomated research flag: Sponsored Sector Bill Holding. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Legislative timing
- PFD Sin Industry HoldingP112_PFD_SIN_INDUSTRY_HOLDINGAutomated research flag: PFD Sin Industry Holding. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Committee & sector
- PFD Health Insurer HoldingP113_PFD_HEALTH_INSURER_HOLDINGAutomated research flag: PFD Health Insurer Holding. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Committee & sector
- PFD Big Tech Holding AntitrustP114_PFD_BIG_TECH_HOLDING_ANTITRUSTAutomated research flag: PFD Big Tech Holding Antitrust. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Committee & sector
- PFD Defense Holding Armed ServicesP115_PFD_DEFENSE_HOLDING_ARMED_SERVICESMarkwayne Mullin holds 1 defense-contractor ticker on 2025 PFD — RTXCommittee & sector
- PFD Semiconductor Holding CHIPS ACTP116_PFD_SEMICONDUCTOR_HOLDING_CHIPS_ACTMarkwayne Mullin holds 6 semiconductor tickers on 2025 PFD — AMAT, KLAC, NVDA, TXN, LRCXCommittee & sector
- PFD Agribusiness Holding AgricultureP117_PFD_AGRIBUSINESS_HOLDING_AGRICULTUREMarkwayne Mullin holds 3 agribusiness tickers on 2025 PFD — CAT, DE, CTVACommittee & sector
- PFD Insurance Holding BankingP118_PFD_INSURANCE_HOLDING_BANKINGTommy Tuberville holds 1 insurance ticker on 2025 PFD — TRVCommittee & sector
- PFD Telecom Holding FCCP119_PFD_TELECOM_HOLDING_FCCMarkwayne Mullin holds 2 telecom/cable tickers on 2025 PFD — CMCSA, TMUSCommittee & sector
- Heavy reliance on mega-donorsP11_MEGA_DONOR_DEPENDENCY68% of individual contributions from $2,000+ donors (small-donor share only -4%)Money pipeline
- PFD Bank Holding Banking CmtP120_PFD_BANK_HOLDING_BANKING_CMTMarkwayne Mullin holds 3 major US bank tickers on 2025 PFD — AXP, GS, JPMCommittee & sector
- PFD Auto Holding NHTSAP121_PFD_AUTO_HOLDING_NHTSARon Wyden holds 1 auto-industry ticker on 2025 PFD — FCommittee & sector
- PFD Airlines Holding AviationP122_PFD_AIRLINES_HOLDING_AVIATIONSheldon Whitehouse holds 1 airline / aerospace ticker on 2025 PFD — DALCommittee & sector
- PFD Oil Gas Holding EnergyP123_PFD_OIL_GAS_HOLDING_ENERGYMarkwayne Mullin holds 3 oil/gas tickers on 2025 PFD — CVX, COP, VLOCommittee & sector
- PFD Pharma Holding HelpP124_PFD_PHARMA_HOLDING_HELPMarkwayne Mullin holds 2 pharma/biotech tickers on 2025 PFD — LLY, ZTSCommittee & sector
- PFD Clean Energy HoldingP125_PFD_CLEAN_ENERGY_HOLDINGAutomated research flag: PFD Clean Energy Holding. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Committee & sector
- PFD REIT Holding BankingP126_PFD_REIT_HOLDING_BANKINGAutomated research flag: PFD REIT Holding Banking. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Committee & sector
- PFD Asset Manager Holding BankingP127_PFD_ASSET_MANAGER_HOLDING_BANKINGAutomated research flag: PFD Asset Manager Holding Banking. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Committee & sector
- PFD Mining Metals HoldingP129_PFD_MINING_METALS_HOLDINGAutomated research flag: PFD Mining Metals Holding. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Committee & sector
- Out-of-state donor concentrationP12_OUT_OF_STATE_CONCENTRATIONAutomated research flag: Out-of-state donor concentration. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD Sector ConcentrationP130_PFD_SECTOR_CONCENTRATIONRon Wyden's 2025 PFD: 48% of 27 classified ticker holdings in Technology (13/27)Committee & sector
- PFD High Holding CountP131_PFD_HIGH_HOLDING_COUNTAutomated research flag: PFD High Holding Count. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Committee & sector
- PFD Partnership Holding HeavyP132_PFD_PARTNERSHIP_HOLDING_HEAVYAutomated research flag: PFD Partnership Holding Heavy. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Committee & sector
- PFD High Net Worth Top DecileP133_PFD_HIGH_NET_WORTH_TOP_DECILEAutomated research flag: PFD High Net Worth Top Decile. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD Networth Growth Beats MarketP134_PFD_NETWORTH_GROWTH_BEATS_MARKETAutomated research flag: PFD Networth Growth Beats Market. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD Newly Elected High AssetsP135_PFD_NEWLY_ELECTED_HIGH_ASSETSAutomated research flag: PFD Newly Elected High Assets. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- Lifetime PAC contributions in top decileP136_LIFETIME_PAC_CONTRIBS_TOP_DECILEAutomated research flag: Lifetime PAC contributions in top decile. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- Lifetime receipts in top decileP137_LIFETIME_RECEIPTS_TOP_DECILEAutomated research flag: Lifetime receipts in top decile. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- High PAC funding dependencyP138_PAC_DEPENDENCY_HIGHMichael McCaul draws 30% of lifetime campaign receipts from PACs ($14.9M PAC / $49.1M total)Money pipeline
- Active Trader RecentP139_ACTIVE_TRADER_RECENTAutomated research flag: Active Trader Recent. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Coordinated / systemic
- Fraud Filer ExposureP13_FRAUD_FILER_EXPOSUREAutomated research flag: Fraud Filer Exposure. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- Large Trade High BracketP140_LARGE_TRADE_HIGH_BRACKETAutomated research flag: Large Trade High Bracket. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- Rapid Buy Sell Same TickerP141_RAPID_BUY_SELL_SAME_TICKERAutomated research flag: Rapid Buy Sell Same Ticker. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Coordinated / systemic
- PFD Cash Heavy HoldingP145_PFD_CASH_HEAVY_HOLDINGAutomated research flag: PFD Cash Heavy Holding. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD Treasury Heavy HoldingP146_PFD_TREASURY_HEAVY_HOLDINGAutomated research flag: PFD Treasury Heavy Holding. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD High Outside IncomeP147_PFD_HIGH_OUTSIDE_INCOMEAutomated research flag: PFD High Outside Income. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PAC Industry DominantP148_PAC_INDUSTRY_DOMINANTGeorge Whitesides's PAC funding concentrates 40% in Labor ($0.06M / $0.14M classified)Money pipeline
- Meta High Severity DensityP149_META_HIGH_SEVERITY_DENSITYAutomated research flag: Meta High Severity Density. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Coordinated / systemic
- Employer-linked donor bundlingP14_EMPLOYER_BUNDLING8550 employees of NOT EMPLOYED gave $3,012,924 — possible employer-bundled donationsMoney pipeline
- Meta Top Investigation TargetP150_META_TOP_INVESTIGATION_TARGETAutomated research flag: Meta Top Investigation Target. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Coordinated / systemic
- Leadership PAC Heavy ReceiptsP151_LEADERSHIP_PAC_HEAVY_RECEIPTSRon Wyden operates leadership PAC with $6.3M lifetime receipts (9 cycles) — top: HOOPS PACMoney pipeline
- Leadership PAC MultipleP152_LEADERSHIP_PAC_MULTIPLEAutomated research flag: Leadership PAC Multiple. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- Leadership PAC Disbursement HeavyP153_LEADERSHIP_PAC_DISBURSEMENT_HEAVYAutomated research flag: Leadership PAC Disbursement Heavy. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD Large Gift RecentP154_PFD_LARGE_GIFT_RECENTAutomated research flag: PFD Large Gift Recent. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Family & vendor
- PFD Large Reimbursed TravelP155_PFD_LARGE_REIMBURSED_TRAVELAutomated research flag: PFD Large Reimbursed Travel. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD Income Growth YOYP156_PFD_INCOME_GROWTH_YOYAutomated research flag: PFD Income Growth YOY. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- Sponsored Bills Top DecileP157_SPONSORED_BILLS_TOP_DECILEAutomated research flag: Sponsored Bills Top Decile. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Legislative timing
- Cosponsored Bills Top DecileP158_COSPONSORED_BILLS_TOP_DECILEAutomated research flag: Cosponsored Bills Top Decile. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Legislative timing
- PFD Foreign Domiciled TickersP159_PFD_FOREIGN_DOMICILED_TICKERSAutomated research flag: PFD Foreign Domiciled Tickers. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Foreign influence
- Unusual daily donation spikeP15_DAILY_DONATION_SPIKEUnusually large single-day contribution total relative to the member's baseline.Money pipeline
- PFD Broad Index Fund HeavyP160_PFD_BROAD_INDEX_FUND_HEAVYAutomated research flag: PFD Broad Index Fund Heavy. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD Target Date Retirement FundP161_PFD_TARGET_DATE_RETIREMENT_FUNDAutomated research flag: PFD Target Date Retirement Fund. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD No Individual StocksP162_PFD_NO_INDIVIDUAL_STOCKSAutomated research flag: PFD No Individual Stocks. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD Multiple Family TrustsP163_PFD_MULTIPLE_FAMILY_TRUSTSDave McCormick's 2025 PFD lists 2 distinct trust entities — sophisticated estate-planning architectureFamily & vendor
- PFD Inherited Wealth IndicatorP164_PFD_INHERITED_WEALTH_INDICATORAutomated research flag: PFD Inherited Wealth Indicator. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD Professional Licensure IncomeP165_PFD_PROFESSIONAL_LICENSURE_INCOMEAutomated research flag: PFD Professional Licensure Income. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD Networth Decline YOYP166_PFD_NETWORTH_DECLINE_YOYAutomated research flag: PFD Networth Decline YOY. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD Zero LiabilitiesP167_PFD_ZERO_LIABILITIESAutomated research flag: PFD Zero Liabilities. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD High Leverage RatioP168_PFD_HIGH_LEVERAGE_RATIOAutomated research flag: PFD High Leverage Ratio. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD Large New Holding InitiatedP169_PFD_LARGE_NEW_HOLDING_INITIATEDAutomated research flag: PFD Large New Holding Initiated. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Committee & sector
- Lobbyist Donor ShareP16_LOBBYIST_DONOR_SHAREAutomated research flag: Lobbyist Donor Share. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Lobbying
- PFD New Income SourceP170_PFD_NEW_INCOME_SOURCEAutomated research flag: PFD New Income Source. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD New Liability RecentP171_PFD_NEW_LIABILITY_RECENTAutomated research flag: PFD New Liability Recent. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- State Delegation Dual FlagP172_STATE_DELEGATION_DUAL_FLAGAutomated research flag: State Delegation Dual Flag. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Legislative timing
- PFD Gifts and Travel BothP173_PFD_GIFTS_AND_TRAVEL_BOTHAutomated research flag: PFD Gifts and Travel Both. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Family & vendor
- Low-signal / clean baseline meta flagP174_META_CLEAN_BASELINEMeta flag used as a low-signal baseline in the detector suite — not an accusation.Coordinated / systemic
- PFD Liabilities Top DecileP175_PFD_LIABILITIES_TOP_DECILEAutomated research flag: PFD Liabilities Top Decile. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD Homebuilder HoldingP176_PFD_HOMEBUILDER_HOLDINGAutomated research flag: PFD Homebuilder Holding. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Committee & sector
- Trade Burst DayP178_TRADE_BURST_DAYGeorge Whitesides — 32 trades on 2025-03-24Coordinated / systemic
- Round Bracket TraderP179_ROUND_BRACKET_TRADERMichael McCaul — 98% of trades at standard PTR bracket boundaries (15945/16271)Coordinated / systemic
- Multiple members trading same ticker in a windowP17_COORDINATED_TRADE_CLUSTERSeveral members trade the same ticker in a short window (research lead only).Coordinated / systemic
- High Ticker DiversityP180_HIGH_TICKER_DIVERSITYAutomated research flag: High Ticker Diversity. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- High bill sponsorship volumeP181_HIGH_SPONSOR_VOLUMEAutomated research flag: High bill sponsorship volume. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Legislative timing
- Repeated similar bill titlesP182_REPEAT_BILL_TITLEAutomated research flag: Repeated similar bill titles. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Legislative timing
- Multi-decade congressional careerP185_MULTI_DECADE_CAREERAutomated research flag: Multi-decade congressional career. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Legislative timing
- Private Asset TraderP188_PRIVATE_ASSET_TRADERAutomated research flag: Private Asset Trader. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Coordinated / systemic
- Trade near a regulatory rule actionP18_REG_RULE_TRADE_PROXIMITYAutomated research flag: Trade near a regulatory rule action. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- Repeat Ticker ActiveP191_REPEAT_TICKER_ACTIVEAutomated research flag: Repeat Ticker Active. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Coordinated / systemic
- PFD Very High PositionsP192_PFD_VERY_HIGH_POSITIONSAutomated research flag: PFD Very High Positions. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- PFD Passive HolderP193_PFD_PASSIVE_HOLDERAutomated research flag: PFD Passive Holder. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
- Ideology outlier within state delegationP195_DELEGATION_IDEOLOGY_OUTLIERAutomated research flag: Ideology outlier within state delegation. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Legislative timing
- Recent IPO HoldingsP197_RECENT_IPO_HOLDINGSAutomated research flag: Recent IPO Holdings. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Insider & enforcement
- Long-tenure veteran memberP198_LONG_TENURE_VETERANAutomated research flag: Long-tenure veteran member. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Legislative timing
- Freshman Top Decile FundraiserP199_FRESHMAN_TOP_DECILE_FUNDRAISERAutomated research flag: Freshman Top Decile Fundraiser. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Legislative timing
- Family or vendor payment signalP19_FAMILY_VENDORTommy Tuberville campaign paid $65,414,738 to 19 surname-matched vendors, top: JONES DAYFamily & vendor
- Trade near Own BillP1_TRADE_NEAR_OWN_BILLAutomated research flag: Trade near Own Bill. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Legislative timing
- Trade near bill introduction (not roll-call date)P1_TRADE_NEAR_VOTEFlags a disclosed stock trade close in time to a bill introduction on Congress.gov. Uses introduction date, not roll-call day.Legislative timing
- Pre-modern FEC era legacy recordP200_PRE_FEC_ERA_LEGACYAutomated research flag: Pre-modern FEC era legacy record. Verify against primary federal sources — not a legal finding.Money pipeline
Showing first 100 matches — refine search to narrow.