About This Project

We follow the money. Then we show you where it went.

A politician takes money. Later, something happens — a contract gets signed, a vote flips, a pardon comes through, a rule quietly changes. The Shell Game lays those two facts side by side and lets you see the shape of it for yourself.

What this is

Most political coverage tells you who to be angry at. We're not interested in that. We're interested in the paper trail — who gave, who received, and what happened next. We put it in order, we cite where every piece came from, and then we get out of your way.

We don't say "in exchange for." We don't say "because of." We say this happened, and then this happened, and we hand you the documents. Sometimes the gap between those two facts is a coincidence. Sometimes it isn't. You're an adult — you can tell the difference without us nudging your elbow.

Why it's built this way

Here's the uncomfortable part, and we'd rather say it out loud than pretend it isn't true: people are pretty good at spotting corruption on the other team and pretty terrible at spotting it on their own. It feels like betrayal to admit your side does it too. So most people just don't look.

We get that. It's the same reason people stay in relationships they know are bad for them — pride, the cost of admitting it, the sheer exhaustion of having to rethink things. We're not here to yell at you about it. Think of us less like a prosecutor and more like the friend who slides the bank statement across the table and says, quietly, "I think you should see this."

We're not here to tell you who to vote for. We're here to show you where the ball went.

That's why every case here is built the same way no matter whose name is on it. A donor is a donor. A no-bid contract is a no-bid contract. The party in the headline doesn't change how we document it, and it never will.

The rules we hold ourselves to

A project like this only works if you can check it. So we tie our own hands on purpose. These aren't suggestions — they're the standard every case has to clear before it goes up.

01

Every claim is sourced to the original

Government records, court filings, FEC data, contract databases, or reporting from established outlets. If we can't point you to where it came from, it doesn't go up. Where a source might disappear, we keep an archived copy too.

02

We describe what happened, not why

We document the sequence — the donation, then the action — without claiming one caused the other. That connection is yours to weigh. We won't put words in the documents' mouth.

03

Party doesn't get a discount

We don't go easier on one side or harder on the other. Corruption is the thing we're against — not a team. If your side shows up here, that's not bias. That's the rule working.

04

We strip the spin

No loaded language, no outrage cues, no telling you how to feel. Just the facts in plain order. The story is in the sequence, not in our adjectives.

05

We'll fix what we get wrong

We're careful, but nobody's perfect. If something here is inaccurate and you can show us, we'll correct it. Getting it right matters more than being right.

That's the whole idea. Pull up a case and see for yourself.

See the Cases