Foundation Director and Alumnus Uncovers Insider Trading on Capitol Hill
Students and supporters at the 2011 West Coast Leadership Conference and President’s Club weekend at the Reagan Ranch enjoyed a sneak-preview of a new book that is currently shaking up Washington, D.C.
Foundation Director and alumnus Peter Schweizer discussed his ground-breaking new book, Throw Them All Out, which uncovers insider trading on Capitol Hill—practices which Peter says would “send the rest of us to prison” but are legal for those who serve in Congress.
Watch Peter on C-SPAN BookTV, Saturday, December 17, at 8:45 p.m. ET and Sunday, December 18, at 8:00 p.m. ET
As noted in Throw Them All Out, “Politicians often come into office with relatively modest assets. Then, as investors, they regularly beat the market and sometimes beat the most rapacious hedge funds. Even without trading stocks, they often get rich.”
Peter’s research unveils just how certain members of Congress make their money. As he writes, “Cronyism exists, not so much as outright bribery, using suitcases full of cash, but rather in accepted insider routes to wealth: Members of Congress trade stocks based on privileged information.”
Members highlighted in Peter’s book include Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator John Kerry, and Congressman , Senator , and Congressman Spencer Bachus, among others. , among others.
Since the launching of his now New York Times bestselling book, Peter and his research has been featured by national and international media including CBS, Newsweek, Fox News, BBC, the Washington Post, the New York Times, MSNBC, the Wall Street Journal, and , MSNBC, the and dozens of other television, print, and online outlets.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee as well as the House Financial Services Committee are now holding hearings on the topic of congressional insider trading.
As Peter noted in a recent op-ed on FoxNews.com, “Members of Congress have a unique opportunity to respond directly to the will of the people by making it clear that the insider trading laws that apply to us also extend to members of Congress.”
Peter is a leading example of how Young America’s Foundation inspires and grows the future leaders of the Conservative Movement. Peter is not only an author and frequent speaker at Foundation events, but he is also an alumnus of our programs, has served as a member of Young America’s Foundation’s staff, and is currently a Foundation director. He is also the William J. Casey Fellow at the Hoover Institution.
Peter first came to our attention when he was a high school student. Young America’s Foundation helped him attend The George Washington University, and he later joined our team at our national headquarters and edited our magazine, Libertas, in the early 1990s. Peter’s other best-selling books include Makers and Takers; Do as I Say, Not as I Do: Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy; The Bushes: Portrait of a Dynasty; Reagan’s War: The Epic Story of His Forty-Year Struggle and Final Triumph Over Communism; and Architects of Ruin, among others.
In addition, he is executive producer of In the Face of Evil, the award-winning documentary based on his book Reagan’s War. Young America’s Foundation congratulates Peter on the success of his latest book, which is available for purchase on amazon.com.
