Start with the federal disclosure system
The Senate’s Lobbying Disclosure Act database publishes registrations and reports filed under the LDA. Those records can identify a registrant, client, reporting period and listed issue areas or institutions.
They do not establish that a specific official adopted a requested position, that a contact produced a vote or that any illegal conduct occurred.
Build a reporting chain, not a guilt-by-association chart
Useful influence reporting can pair lobbying records with bill history, public hearing records, campaign-finance data and a member’s own disclosure record. Each item should be presented as what it proves, with timing and source links visible.
An overlap between a lobbyist, an issuer and a policy debate may warrant scrutiny. It is not proof of a quid pro quo.
How JAT uses the records
Money & Power stories keep lobbying, campaign finance and personal exposure in separate fields. The aim is to make the evidence inspectable, not to convert a database association into an accusation.