A complete explanation of every data source, score, signal, and model on the platform. We believe in radical transparency about how we turn public congressional disclosures into intelligence.
All trade data on Project Blackbook comes directly from mandatory public disclosures filed under the STOCK Act of 2012. This federal law requires every member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to disclose personal securities transactions within 45 days of the trade date.
We sync new disclosures every 15 minutes from both the House Clerk and Senate Electronic Filing System. Our database currently contains 38,000+ trade disclosures spanning 285+ members of Congress dating back to 2012.
⚠ Important disclosure: Congressional trades can be reported up to 45 days after they occur. Dollar values are disclosed as ranges (e.g. $100K–$250K) — we use the midpoint as our estimate. Actual amounts may differ. This data is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
Every active congressional trader on Project Blackbook receives a Confidence Grade from A to F — our proprietary assessment of how meaningful their trading activity is likely to be. Grades are recalculated nightly.
The grade is derived from a proprietary model that evaluates six factors:
Total number of disclosed trades. More trades = more signal data.
Average estimated dollar value per trade. Larger trades indicate higher personal conviction.
How recently the politician has been active. Recent traders score higher.
Balance of buys vs sells. Heavy one-sided activity can indicate conviction.
Whether trades align with the politician's committee assignments.
Timely STOCK Act filings. Late filers score lower.
The Operator is Project Blackbook's proprietary signal detection engine. It runs automatically on every new trade disclosure and evaluates eight distinct signal types — scoring each from 0–100 based on how significant the pattern is.
Signals are scored continuously and ranked by strength. Higher-scoring signals trigger premium alerts for Deep State subscribers. Signals strengthen as more politicians pile in and weaken as sells accumulate.
3 or more members of Congress independently buy the same stock within 30 days. The most powerful congressional trading signal — when multiple politicians with no known coordination all buy the same ticker, it suggests shared access to non-public information.
A politician trades a stock in a sector directly overseen by their committee assignment. Example: a member of the Senate Banking Committee buying JPMorgan. This is the highest-risk conflict of interest pattern in congressional trading.
A politician makes a trade that is 3x or more larger than their own historical average. Unusually large position sizes relative to a politician's personal baseline indicate unusually high personal conviction.
A politician who has been consistently buying a stock suddenly sells — or vice versa. Pattern breaks in a politician's own trading history often precede significant price moves.
5 or more politicians from both parties begin buying into the same sector within 30 days. Bipartisan sector surges historically precede major policy or regulatory changes that benefit that industry.
A politician's trading rate spikes 3x or more above their personal historical baseline. Sudden increases in trading frequency — especially in specific sectors — can indicate receipt of significant new information.
The first time a politician has ever disclosed a trade in a specific ticker. New positions are notable because they represent a deliberate decision to initiate exposure to a company a politician has never publicly traded before.
A trade disclosure filed significantly after the 45-day STOCK Act deadline. While the $200 fine is minimal, consistently late filers are worth tracking — delays can indicate trades the politician was reluctant to disclose.
CONVERGENCE SCORING: When multiple signal types fire simultaneously on the same ticker, the scores combine using our proprietary convergence model. Multi-signal convergence events represent the highest-conviction alerts on the platform.
TheOracle is Project Blackbook's autonomous tracking system. These are real trades by real lawmakers with real money at stake — not simulations. For every member of Congress who actively trades, TheOracle monitors their disclosed positions from the moment they become public record.
We use filing-date pricing rather than trade-date pricing for two reasons: (1) the filing date is the first moment the public could act on the information, and (2) it produces a more conservative, accurate simulation of what a real investor following congressional disclosures could achieve.
TheOracle leaderboard ranks all 285+ congressional traders by tracked performance. The best performers — those generating consistent alpha vs the S&P 500 — receive higher Confidence Grades and their disclosures generate stronger signal scores in The Operator. Real people. Real money. Real accountability.Explore TheOracle →
Project Blackbook maintains a comprehensive mapping of every committee assignment in the House and Senate alongside the industries each committee oversees. When a politician trades a stock in a sector their committee controls, we flag it as a potential conflict.
This is not an accusation of wrongdoing — committee members are legally permitted to trade in sectors they oversee as long as they don't use material non-public information. But the pattern is worth tracking. Academic research has found that trades by committee members in their oversight sectors consistently outperform other congressional trades.
Committee mappings are sourced from official House and Senate records via the Congress.gov API and updated with each new session of Congress. We track 23 major committees across both chambers.
The STOCK Act requires disclosure within 45 days of the trade date. Project Blackbook calculates the exact disclosure delay for every trade and flags violations — trades disclosed after the deadline.
While the fine for a late filing is just $200 — a trivial amount for most members of Congress — the pattern of late filings is informative. Consistently late filers receive lower Confidence Grades. Trades filed 10 or more days past the 45-day deadline trigger a Late Filing signal. Trades filed 30+ days past the deadline receive maximum signal score.
When both Democrats and Republicans are independently buying the same stock or sector, Project Blackbook flags it as bipartisan activity. In a deeply divided Congress, cross-party agreement on a stock trade is statistically significant.
Bipartisan clusters are tracked at both the ticker level (multiple politicians buying the same stock) and the sector level (multiple politicians rotating into the same industry). Bipartisan Cluster signals receive a scoring multiplier in The Operator.
Project Blackbook is an informational platform only. Nothing on this platform constitutes investment advice, financial advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
All data is sourced from mandatory public disclosures under the STOCK Act of 2012. We do not have access to non-public information. Dollar values are estimated from disclosed ranges and may differ from actual amounts.
Signal scores, confidence grades, and TheOracle performance data are proprietary analytical tools for informational purposes. Past signal performance does not guarantee future results. Always conduct your own research and consult a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.
"I don't trust any company that doesn't ask for feedback."
— Stephen, Founder of Project Blackbook