Peter Schweizer

Peter Schweizer
Born Peter Franz Schweizer
(1964-11-24) November 24, 1964
Occupation Author, political advisor
Education Oxford University (M.Phil.)
George Washington University (B.A.)
Genre Politics
Notable works Do as I Say (Not as I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy
Clinton Cash
Website
peterschweizer.com

Peter Franz Schweizer (born November 24, 1964) is an American investigative journalist, novelist, author, and political consultant. He is the president of the Government Accountability Institute (GAI) and a former William J. Casey Research Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.[1]

Schweizer wrote Clinton Cash, a 2015 book that discusses donations made to the Clinton Foundation by foreign entities, paid speeches made by Bill and Hillary Clinton, and the Clintons' income since they left the White House, in 2001.

While in high school he attended the National Conservative Students Conference at George Washington University and was a member of Young Americans for Freedom (YAF). He was a YAF alumnus speaker at the 34th annual National Conservative Student Conference. He attended George Washington University and graduate school on YAF scholarships. He was on YAF staff starting 1993 and edited its magazine Libertas. He worked with Steve Bannon on a documentary about former Hollywood movie star and president Ronald Reagan. He donated money to the campaigns of Republicans Adam Hasner in 2011 and Ken Sukhia in 2016.

Investigative projects

Schweizer's early work at Senator Jeremiah Denton's National Forum Foundation (NFF) focused on the Cold War. He co-authored a National Review article with Denton's son, James (often cited as Jim), "Murdering SDI", about the suspicious deaths of several European officials who supported the Strategic Defense Initiative.[2] While at the NFF, Schweizer also published a report titled "The Meaning and Destiny of the Sandinista Revolution".[3]

In 2012, journalist Steve Kroft used Schweizer's work as the basis for a report on CBS's 60 Minutes about Congressional insider trading. Titled "Insiders: The road to the STOCK act", Kroft relied heavily on Schweizer's reporting in his 2011 book Throw Them All Out, which CBS independently verified, to demonstrate how members of Congress trade stocks unethically.[4] The book demonstrates how politicians like Nancy Pelosi and Spencer Bachus have inoculated themselves against criminal charges for insider trading.[5] The following year, Kroft revisited Schweizer's work to create another 60 Minutes report on how members of Congress use the funds of their political action committees for private inurement.[6]

A year later, Schweizer authored another GAI report about the Obama administration, which said that Obama failed to meet often enough with Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius during the roll out of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).[7] He publicized the report with a story for Politico titled "When Barry Met Kathy: Almost never, it turns out."[8] Schweizer's report relied on publicly available information about Obama's schedule. Three months later, after making FOIA requests of non-public documents, The Hill found evidence of multiple meetings which both scheduled to attend, including seven specifically about the ACA.They were scheduled but it is not known if any were attended to by both Sebelius or Obama.[9]

Books

The 2004 film In the Face of Evil: Reagan's War in Words and Deed is based on Schweizer's book Reagan's War (2003);[10] Schweizer is credited as Executive Producer.[11]

In addition to his nonfiction writing, Schweizer has co-authored two novels with former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, who was indicted after the Iran-Contra affair.

Schweizer contributed to Glenn Beck's book Broke: The Plan to Restore Our Trust, Truth and Treasure.[12]

Clinton Cash

In 2015, Harper Collins published Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich, a 256-page book discussing the donations made to the Clinton Foundation by foreign entities.[13] Several media outlets received advance copies, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Fox News, all of whom agreed to pursue stories found in the book.[13] Time wrote that "allegations are presented as questions rather than proof" but that "the book's dark suggestions reflect the growing problem Clinton faces in her run for the White House in 2016 as more and more details of the foundation's fundraising activities present the appearance of impropriety and lack of transparency during her time as Secretary of State."[14] The book was found to contain several factual errors, including that then-Secretary of State Clinton had veto power to stop the sale of Uranium One to a Russian state-owned company.[15][16] Several journalists have criticized the book as containing "leaps of logic,"[17]"draws some conclusions that go beyond the available evidence,"[18] "[p]arts of Schweitzer's reporting fell apart under scrutiny,"[19] and "Schweizer is trafficking in speculation."[20]

Several weeks after the book's initial publication, Harper Collins and the author made several corrections to the Kindle edition of the book. Schweizer corrected "seven or eight" passages that were revealed to be inaccurate after the book was released.[21]

In the wake of the book's publication, the Clinton Foundation admitted that it made mistakes in disclosing some of its contributions and that it implemented new rules increasing financial reporting and limiting foreign donations.[22]

Activities

During 2008 and 2009, Schweizer served as a consultant to the Office of Presidential Speechwriting in the White House.[23] In March 2009, Schweizer parlayed that experience into a new venture with fellow White House speechwriter Marc Thiessen. Together, Schweizer and Thiessen opened Oval Office Writers LLC. The firm specializes in preparation for congressional testimony as well as pitching opinion editorials and book proposals.[24] As a political communications expert, Schweizer's notable clients have included Sarah Palin, and he advised her on foreign policy.[25] Schweizer is a member of the Research Advisory Council of the James Madison Institute, a free-market think tank headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida.[26]

Schweizer serves as Chairman of the Board of Advisors of Single Subject Amendment, a non-profit organization headquartered in Tallahassee, which seeks to amend the United States Constitution to provide that every law enacted by Congress must address only one subject, which must be clearly expressed in the bill's title.[27]

Criticisms and errors

Schweizer has been criticized for 'incorrect reporting' and 'conclusions not supported by facts', including in his second book Friendly Spies. Two Sunday Times reporters trying to follow-up on his reporting discovered that meetings described by Schweizer did not check out, that named sources did not exist or could not be found, and that there was no Paris Sheraton Hotel during the time period when the meetings allegedly took place.[28][29][30] Schweizer admitted he overreached in attacking Hillary Clinton's purported role in approving a Russian uranium deal and falsely claimed that then-Secretary of State Clinton "had veto power" to stop the Russian State Atomic Nuclear Agency (Rosatom) from purchasing Uranium One. During a May 5, 2015, Politico podcast interview, Schweizer admitted that "veto is probably not the best word" and "what I meant by veto power was as we explain the process, you know, if somebody objects it kicks in the special investigation."[31] In a 2015 NBC interview Schweizer said that Hillary Clinton did not support a nuclear deal with India in 2006 and that she voted for it in 2008, after donations to the Clinton Foundation. PolitiFact rated Schweizer's claim "False."[32]

Personal life

Schweizer lives in Tallahassee, Florida with his wife, Rhonda, and step-children.[33][34] He and his first wife, Rochelle Schweizer, co-authored books about Disney and the Bush family. They met when she was working with the National Forum Foundation (NFF), which in 1997 merged with Freedom House. Schweizer graduated from Kentridge High School in Kent, Washington in 1983.

Bibliography

  • Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends, 2018 ( ISBN 978-0062569363)
  • Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich, 2015 ( ISBN 978-0062369284)
  • Bush Bucks: How Public Service and Corporations Helped Make Jeb Rich, 2015 (ASIN B016YYJM36)
  • Extortion: How Politicians Extract Your Money, Buy Votes, and Line Their Own Pockets, 2013 ( ISBN 978-0544103344)
  • Throw Them All Out: How Politicians and Their Friends Get Rich off Insider Stock Tips, Land Deals, and Cronyism That Would Send the Rest of Us to Prison, 2011 ( ISBN 978-0547573144)
  • Architects of Ruin: How a Gang of Radical Activists and Liberal Politicians Destroyed Trillions of Dollars in Wealth in the Pursuit of Social Justice, 2009 ( ISBN 0-061-95334-2)
  • Makers and Takers: Why conservatives work harder, feel happier, have closer families, take fewer drugs, give more generously, value honesty more, are less materialistic and envious, whine less … and even hug their children more than liberals, 2008 ( ISBN 0-385-51350-X)
  • Chain of Command, with Caspar Weinberger, 2006 ( ISBN 0-74343-774-8)
  • Do as I Say (Not as I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy, 2005 ( ISBN 0-385-51349-6)
  • The Bushes: portrait of a dynasty, 2004, co-authored with Rochelle Schweizer ( ISBN 0-385-49863-2)
  • Reagan's War: The Epic Story of His Forty Year Struggle and Final Triumph Over Communism, 2002 ( ISBN 0-385-50471-3)
  • Disney: The Mouse Betrayed: Greed, Corruption and Children at Risk, 1998 ( ISBN 0-89526-387-4)
  • The Next War, with Caspar Weinberger, 1998 ( ISBN 0-89526-447-1)
  • Victory: The Reagan Administration's Secret Strategy That Hastened the Collapse of the Soviet Union, 1994 ( ISBN 0-87113-567-1)
  • Friendly Spies: How America's Allies Are Using Economic Espionage to Steal Our Secrets, 1992 ( ISBN 0-87113-497-7)
  • Grinning with the Gipper: Wit, Wisdom and Wisecracks of Ronald Reagan, 1988 ( ISBN 0-87113-272-9)

References

  1. ↑ "Peter Schweizer Expertise: International Relations National Security U.S. Presidency Peter Schweizer". Hoover Institution. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  2. ↑ Hey, Nigel. The Star Wars Enigma: Behind the Scenes of the Cold War Race for Missile Defense, Potomac Books, 2006.
  3. ↑ Schweizer, Peter. "The Meaning and Destiny of the Sandinista Revolution", National Forum Foundation, 1987.
  4. ↑ Kroft, Steve. "Insiders: The road to the STOCK act. 60 Minutes, June 17, 2012. Accessed: April 24, 2015.
  5. ↑ Boyer, Peter J. "Peter Schweizer's New Book Blasts Congressional Corruption. Newsweek, November 13, 2011. Accessed: April 24, 2015.
  6. ↑ Kroft, Steve. "Washington's open secret: Profitable PACs. 60 Minutes, October 21, 2013. Accessed: April 24, 2015.
  7. ↑ Schweizer, Peter. "GAI Report: "Presidential Meetings With Cabinet Secretaries", Government Accountability Institute, December 10, 2013. Accessed: April 24, 2015.
  8. ↑ Schweizer, Peter."When Barry Met Kathy: Almost never, it turns out", Politico. December 5, 2013. Accessed: April 24, 2015.
  9. ↑ Bogardus, Kevin, and Jonathan Easley. "Before O-Care debacle, Sebelius made many trips to White House", The Hill, February 13, 2014. Accessed April 24, 2015.
  10. ↑ Gilly-13 (1 October 2004). "In the Face of Evil: Reagan's War in Word and Deed (Video 2004)". IMDb.
  11. ↑ "The Film Makers". Reagan's War in Word and Deed. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Broke: The Plan to Restore Our Trust, Truth and Treasure". Amazon.com. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  13. 1 2 "New Book, 'Clinton Cash,' Questions Foreign Donations to Foundation". nytimes.com. April 20, 2015.
  14. ↑ Frizell, Sam, and Zeke J. Miller, Massimo Calabresi. "Clinton Allies Knock Down Donor Allegations, New Questions Pop Up," Time, April 22, 2015. Accessed, April 24, 2015.
  15. ↑ "'Clinton Cash' publisher corrects '7 or 8' inaccurate passages". Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  16. ↑ Barbash, Fred (15 November 2017). "Fox News's Shepard Smith debunks his network's favorite Hillary Clinton 'scandal,' infuriates viewers". Retrieved 30 March 2018 – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  17. ↑ "Trump Accuses Clinton of Corruption". Time. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  18. ↑ Bierman, Noah. "Donald Trump delivers broadside against Hillary Clinton: 'She gets rich making you poor'". latimes.com. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  19. ↑ "Trump Tries to Reset Race With Clinton Onslaught". Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  20. ↑ "No 'Veto Power' for Clinton on Uranium Deal - FactCheck.org". 28 April 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  21. ↑ Karnie, Annie. "'Clinton Cash' publisher corrects '7 or 8' inaccurate passages, Politico, May 14, 2015. Accessed: May 14, 2015.
  22. ↑ Pilkington, Ed (May 5, 2015). "Clinton Cash: errors dog Bill and Hillary exposé – but is there any 'there' there?". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  23. ↑ The Federalist Society, "Peter Schweizer. Accessed: April 24, 2015.
  24. ↑ Alexovich, Ariel; Klingebiel, Jacqueline (March 25, 2009). "Suite Talk March 25, 2009: Speechwriters Open New Outlet". The Politico.
  25. ↑ Pitcher, Whitney. "SarahPAC Hires a New Foreign Policy Adviser?; Updated: SarahPAC Confirms", Conservatives4Palin.com, May 3, 2011. Accessed: May 3, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Research Advisory Council". James Madison Institute. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  27. ↑ "Board of Advisors". Single Subject amendment.
  28. ↑ Watts, David; Rufford, Nick (April 11, 1993). "The Spy Who Wasn't There". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  29. ↑ Hananokil, Eric (April 20, 2015). "'Clinton Cash' Author Peter Schweizer's Long History of Errors, Retractions, And Questionable Sourcing". MediaMatters. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  30. ↑ The Editors, National Review (September 5, 2006). "Franken Writes Back". MediaMatters. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  31. ↑ https://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/clinton-cash-author-i-like-marco-rubio-117630
  32. ↑ Carroll, Lauren (May 6, 2015). "'Clinton Cash' author: Hillary Clinton changed positions on India nuclear deal". PolitiFact. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  33. ↑ Boyer, Peter (2011-11-13). "Peter Schweizer's New Book Blasts Congressional Corruption". Newsweek. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  34. ↑ "Biography". peterschweizer.com.
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