Peter Schweizer, author of Clinton Cash, joins Lou Dobbs to discuss the contents of his book, Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends.
Secret Empire Discussion Transcript:
Lou Dobbs: The investigative journalist behind “Clinton Cash” is now on the Obama money trail. Peter Schweizer has uncovered evidence that President Obama used his executive powers to regulate industry. We knew that part, but also then, to lower the value of certain companies as a result, than a firm owned by two close family friends, swooping in and buying stakes at a discount. The book about a pattern of investments in coal, offshore mining, for-profit universities that closely tracked the Obama Administration regulatory policy changes. And among the beneficiaries, billionaire activist Tom Steyer and George Soros. Now those are names we have all heard of.
Peter Schweizer joins us tonight and again, Peter it is great to see you. Congratulations on the book. The new book is out and it is called Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends, and it is, my friend, good to see you.
Peter Schweizer: It’s great see you, Lou.
Lou Dobbs: It‘s an exciting book it’s exciting to see the revelations that fall out of the book, page by page the secret empires smash and grab, the people who were benefiting from under the Obama passivity, some eight years in duration. Amazing stories.
Peter Schweizer: Yay, it is. It’s the new wave of corruption in Washington DC. We all remember Congressman Jefferson who had the $90,000 cash stashed in his freezer. That’s old school. That’s old school. That’s chump change. We’re talking about, in some cases, billion dollar deals involving close friends of politicians like Barack Obama or family members like Joe Biden’s son, who are getting these major deals. Smash and grab, a perfect example. Barack Obama’s best friend, a guy named Marty Nesbith, a lot of people haven’t heard of him, sets up a private equity fund while his friend is the regulator and chief, and what he does is he invests in what he calls quote ‘highly regulated industries’.
Lou Dobbs: Which is counter intuitive. Who invests in highly regulated industries?
Peter Schweizer: Unless your best friend happens to be the regulator and chief, and so to give you one brief example, University of Phoenix, the for-profit school, Barack Obama’s administration says we think the school is bad, we’re going to suspend the Pentagon from using GI bill money for soldiers to go to school there. So stock price goes from $100 a share to about $3 a share. Guess who steps into buy it? Barack Obama’s best friend Marty Nesbitt and his company Vistria Investors. They come in and buy it for pennies on the dollar and then, lo and behold, the Obama Administration says you know what we think we’re going to let GI money flow again back to the University of Phoenix. And that pattern is repeated over and over again in other sectors of the economy. It was rampant.
Lou Dobbs: And that’s one form, smash-and-grab.
Peter Schweizer: Right
Lou Dobbs: And to see that pattern emerge here. I think many people were averting their eyes in the national left wing media, imagine that. But the idea that the Biden and Kerry sons and stepson could come together to make money off of the dad’s, what would we call it, his business.
Peter Schweizer: Think about this, Lou, for a second. You’ve got Vice President Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry from 2013 to 2016 negotiating with China on the South China Sea, on trade issues, on National Security, on North Korea and at this time the son’s, or in one case of John carries close aide, are involved in businesses that involve multibillion-dollar deals with the Chinese government, not Chinese companies, the Chinese government. One very extreme example. 2013 Joe Biden flies over on air force Two to to Beijing China. Who’s on the plane with him, his son, Hunter Biden. By the way, who has no background in private Equity. Joe Biden goes there negotiates with a Chinese, widespread criticism, he’s soft on Beijing. 10 days later his son Hunter scores a 1.5 billion with a B private Equity deal from the Chinese government. This is American princelings and there are multiple examples in the book.
Lou Dobbs: And the idea that the south China Sea, as China is building out all of those artificial Islands, they continue unconstrained, uninterrupted by the Obama Administration, It’s not until President Trump takes office, that suddenly our destroyers, and we’re doing over flights, to stop, try to stop, other further construction of those Island. It’s appalling. It’s selling out the national [interest]. That is what they’re doing.
Peter Schweizer: It’s shocking and specifically to that point, Lou, there’s a major real estate transaction involving a company called Rosemont Realty that involves Chris Heinz, that is John Kerry’s steps son, Hunter Biden, and a close Kerry aide name Devon Archer. Rosemont Realty does a major deal with a Chinese government company that is controlled by what is called 5th arm of the Chinese Navy. So you have a military related company buying into a company that is owned by these decision-makers in Washington DC. I mean, it’s just outrageous.
Lou Dobbs: And of course we’re watching the Chinese try to buy up what they can of Silicon Valley, wherever you were going to Valley extends. The level of corruption is horrific. It’s outlined in the new book sweet Secret Empires. Peter Schweizer, we highly recommend the book, Secret Empires and, and thank you for doing everything you do.
Peter Schweizer: I appreciate it. Thank you.
Lou Dobbs: I don’t know where we’d be without your investigations and your and your terrific writing, so thank you, sir.
Peter Schweizer: Well, thank you for your support over the years, Lou, thank you very much.
