ABOUT THIS PROJECT

Hard to find documents all in one place about Charles Koch, his empire, and his agenda

KOCH DOCS is a searchable database of documents and analysis about the billionaire Charles Koch and his empire, agenda, networks, and impact on you.

At launch in August 2019, this new project brings into one searchable site a selection of widely dispersed authoritative materials about Koch.

The site begins by curating more than 100 documents about Koch—including numerous archival documents signed by Charles or David Koch— from different time periods and document sets to illustrate the reach of the project.

Some examples include:

Complete letters written by and to David Koch, some of which have been referenced in books and articles but which have never been reprinted in full;

Key essays and letters by Charles Koch consolidated in one searchable site; and

Illuminating information, all in one place, about Charles Koch’s gathering of billionaires, which has operated under the brands Stand Together, Freedom Partners, and the Seminar Network.

This new resource also includes more than 850 searchable tax submissions by non-profit groups either controlled by Charles Koch or funded by his fortune, including Americans for Prosperity, Stand Together, Freedom Partners, Koch foundations, and more.

These materials were gathered by the award-winning team at DeSmog, which is also launching a new database in support of Koch Docs, called the “Koch Network Database.” It has more than 100 new or updated profiles published or in the queue about Koch operatives and organizations that help advance his agenda. For other profiles, Koch Docs also relies on SourceWatch.

The initial set of documents unveiled with the launch of Koch Docs were prepared by researchers with the Climate Investigations Center who have expertise in document collection and curation about climate deniers. The research on this site draws on nearly a decade of research into the Kochs by Greenpeace. 

As we note in our opening story about the Koch Empire, none of the resources we’ve cultivated here would be possible without Jane Mayer’s breakthrough investigation of the Kochs for The New Yorker in 2010. You can find her book and key investigations since then building on that seminal work of transformative investigative journalism in the Resources section of our site.

We are also indebted to the ongoing efforts to expose the Kochs other journalists noted in our Resources section and by public interest groups, such as UnKoch My Campus, the Center for Media and Democracy, the Republic Report, Documented, the Undercurrent, Public Citizen, Common Cause, People for the American Way, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the Bridge Project, and so many others (you can also click here for more links to websites with great advocacy on the Kochs).

Please check out our Resources tab to learn more from featured books, films, reports, and major articles about the Koch Empire.

We also recognize the many years insightful analysis by great thinkers like Mayer, as well as Nancy MacLean, Lee Fang, Ken Vogel, Alex Kotch, Bill Moyers, Naomi Klein, Ralph Nader, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Duncan Campbell, Jim Hightower, John Nichols, plus the work of independent researchers of the Kochs such as Lee Kokorinos, R.J. Eskow, David Cay Johnston, Donald Cohen, Bill Fletcher, Jr., Dave Johnson, Ian Masters, Ernie Lazar, Frank Smith, Beau Hodai, and Chip Berlet among others.

Over the coming weeks and months, Koch Docs will be adding hundreds of new documents and other resources to help people understand the depth and breadth of Koch’s agenda to change the laws that govern us all and limit the power of ordinary people in our democracy.

To contact us, please click here.

To read the privacy policy for this website, click here.