How can I search FEC and IRS databases for transactions between a named individual and blexit?
Executive summary
To find transactions between a named individual and “Blexit” you must search two different public systems: FEC records for federal campaign/committee activity and IRS Form 990 filings for tax‑exempt organizations. Use the FEC’s searchable data and legal search tools and third‑party viewers like ProPublica/Itemizer for filings [1] [2] [3], and use the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search / ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer to pull Blexit Foundation 990s and inspect contributors, grants and payments [4] [5] [6].
1. Where to start: FEC vs. IRS — two different paper trails
The campaign finance trail and the nonprofit tax trail are separate. Federal election donors, receipts and disbursements are posted on FEC.gov and in the FEC’s open data API; those records list individuals, committees and committee-to-committee transactions and can be searched by name, committee, amount and date [1] [7]. Nonprofit activity—grants, major contributors, contracts and some vendor payments—appears on IRS Form 990s and is accessible through the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search and third‑party mirrors like ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer that provide the 990 PDFs and reconstructed data [4] [5] [6].
2. How to search the FEC for an individual–Blexit link
Begin on FEC.gov’s “Browse data” or search page; look up committees named “Blexit,” known committee IDs (for example a Blexit Fund committee appears in outside‑spending lists), or the individual’s name in the contributor or disbursement tables [1] [8]. Use the FEC’s legal search proximity filter if you need to find two terms close together in enforcement documents [2]. ProPublica’s Itemizer also lets you open FEC electronic filings quickly and scan schedules for payees or contributors [3].
3. How to search IRS records for Blexit Foundation payments or donors
Look up “Blexit Foundation Inc” in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search to retrieve status and filings, then pull Form 990s to inspect Schedule B (contributors), Schedule A (public charity tests), and Schedule R or Schedule O for related organizations and transactions [4] [5]. ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer has the Blexit Foundation’s filings and reconstructed Form 990 pages ready for review [5] [6]. Third‑party services like Instrumentl or TaxExemptWorld repackage 990 data but are secondary to the primary IRS/ProPublica files [9] [10].
4. What document lines matter — where transactions show up
On FEC filings, look at committee receipts (who gave money), disbursements (where money went) and itemized contributions of $200+; leadership PAC and outside‑spending committee fields can identify sponsorship relationships [1] [11]. On 990s, examine Part I summary, Part III program service revenue/expenses, Schedule B for large donors (note: some public redactions apply), and the full PDF for explanatory footnotes and vendor payments [6] [12].
5. Practical search tips and tools to save time
Use exact name strings and alternative spellings; the FEC open data API supports full‑text and field‑specific queries if you want batch analysis [7]. For enforcement or advisory contexts, use the FEC legal search proximity filter to find documents that mention both the person and “Blexit” near each other [2]. For nonprofits, use ProPublica’s “Full Filing” pages which reconstruct 990s and often include downloadable PDFs and machine‑readable fields [6].
6. Limits, redactions and what reporting won’t show
Available sources note that FEC records only itemize individual contributions of $200 or more and that some nonprofit donor details can be redacted or obscured; donor‑advised funds and intermediaries can hide ultimate funders [1] [5]. ProPublica and other mirrors report IRS‑processed 990s but may not include amended returns or unprocessed filings [5]. If a transaction was off‑record (private contract, informal support, or payments below disclosure thresholds) available sources do not mention such items.
7. Context on “Blexit” entities you’ll encounter
“Blexit” appears as multiple, differently structured organizations: a Blexit Fund/committee visible in campaign/outside‑spending records (tracked by OpenSecrets using FEC data) and a Blexit Foundation organized as a 501(c) with IRS filings on ProPublica [8] [5]. Reporting also links some Blexit activity to Turning Point USA in public coverage, a detail to check in 990s and FEC filings for related organizations or shared vendors [13] [14].
8. If you find a hit: verify, document and follow the money
When you locate a name match, download the source filing (FEC report PDF or 990) and note form, line numbers and filing date; trace whether a payment is contribution, vendor payment, grant or reimbursement. Cross‑check with OpenSecrets or ProPublica pages that aggregate committee and nonprofit histories for additional context [15] [5].
Final note: start with FEC’s Browse Data and the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search, then use ProPublica/Itemizer/OpenSecrets to accelerate document access and interpretation [1] [4] [3] [15].