In the past year, US public records have played a role in two high-profile foreign political dramas. Most recently, Vladimir Pekhtin, a founder of the United Russia party and chair of the ethics commission in the lower house of the Russian Parliament (the Duma) resigned following reports that he owned property in Miami Beach that was unreported on required statements of financial interests.
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The United States Supreme Court heard arguments in a case challenging Virginia's "citizens only" Freedom of Information provision yesterday. According to news accounts (including this one from The New York Times), Justices were skeptical of petitioner arguments that the clause -- which limits the disclosure of Virginia public records to "citizens of the Commonwealth" only -- was unconstitutional. No matter what the Court decides, "citizens only" provisions are few and far between and seldom enforced.
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Searching for and verifying military awards for valor has always been a labor intensive process requiring requestors to submit a Standard Form 180 request to the National Personnel Records Center. While this remains the best way to verify awards, a couple of other options are available for researchers.
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The STOCK (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge) Act was signed into law on April 4, 2012 and many of its key provisions are now starting to take effect. Most recently, a provision requiring federal personal financial disclosure report filers to make so called periodic reports of transactions went into effect on July 3rd.
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Former Arkansas football coach Petrino found out today that the cell phone records of public employees are public records.
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Spike Lee Twitter mistake raises issue of "subject confusion," i.e. just because someone has the same name as your research subject doesn't mean they are your research subject
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Steve Jobs FBI file --The FBI uses public records too
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Use government guides to find the person with the answer you need and to learn how the government is organized
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Demi Moore's recent medical emergency could create a change in California Public Records Law
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