About the project
Public Records, Connected and Explained.
The Paper Trail Project is an independent public-interest research website built to help ordinary people understand how public money, institutions, corporations, and political influence connect.
What We Do
We organize official records into plain-English profiles, preserve links to original sources, label federal data separately from editorial research, and connect related entities where the evidence supports the relationship.
How We Source It
Every profile links back to its underlying public records and displays source coverage and update information wherever available.
Independent by Design
The project is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or speaking for any government agency, company, campaign, political committee, or source database it covers. Its goal is transparent, reproducible public research.