Peter Schweizer, author of Profiles in Corruption: Abuse of Power by America’s Progressive Elite, president of the Government Accountability Institute, and senior contributor at Breitbart News, told Mark Levin that this latest book is about whether Joe Biden and the Biden family are “above the law.”
Schweizer joined Levin on Tuesday’s edition of the latter’s eponymous radio program to discuss the findings of his latest book.
“We cover the progressive leaders,” said Schweizer of Profiles in Corruption, listing Joe Biden; Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Kamala Harris (D-CA); and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti as the subjects of his research team’s 18-month investigation.
LISTEN:
Schweizer added, “The common theme [of Profiles in Corruption] is to really investigate them from the standpoint: What have they done with the power they have had?”
Schweizer continued, “These progressives are saying, ‘Give us more power. We will take care of you,’ and what I think the book demonstrates clearly is the power that they have already now, they have abused it. They’ve used it for their own self interest, for the profit of their family, to advance their political careers, and it’s really abuse of power in the true sense of the word, not what’s being discussed on Capitol Hill — but real abuse of power.”
Schweizer shared some of his findings about Klobuchar.
“Before [Amy Klobuchar] was a U.S. senator, she was a prosecutor in Hennepin County in [the] Minneapolis area, and she was highly selective in who she chose to prosecute,” Schweizer explained. “She went after people who she said had engaged in financial fraud, so she went after airline pilots who claimed they were living out of state but were living in Minnesota. She said they were avoiding paying Minnesota income taxes. She went after small operators who she said engaged in financial fraud.”
Schweizer continued, “Who did [Amy Klobuchar] not go after? She did not go after some very big hedge fund operators who were involved in the biggest Ponzi scheme other than the famous one we all know about in New York. This guy’s name was Thomas Petters, and she had all these warning signs. She arrested people around him, but she never went after him. Why? Because he was her largest campaign contributor, and she knew something was wrong, and she did not prosecute it.”
“When you get to [Amy Klobuchar’s] tenure in the U.S. Senate, the pattern is very, very clear,” added Schweizer. “She shakes down industries and companies for donations, so she’ll get, say, 25 executives from a company to give her money over a three- or four-day period, and then within two weeks she will introduce legislation that is beneficial to them.”
Schweizer determined, “[Amy Klobuchar] abuses her power, and uses her power to basically extract donations in exchange for favors from large corporations.”
Levin estimated Democrats’ impeachment push against President Donald Trump as an effort to shield Joe Biden from criticism and investigation related to Schweizer’s research.
“One of the reasons for this impeachment on this issue of the Bidens is to try to immunize [the Biden family] from political attack and investigation should [Joe Biden] be the nominee,” said Levin. “They would make it like kryptonite. That would be the bubble family, ‘You can’t mention them, because then you’re interfering with an election. You can do whatever you want to Trump, of course.’ Does that sound like a potentiality to you?”
Schweizer agreed, “That’s exactly right. … We were told in 2016, ‘You cannot investigate Hillary Clinton after the election because she’s no longer going to be in office.’ Now we’re being told, ‘You cannot investigate Joe Biden because he’s running for office.’ So the question becomes, when are you supposed to investigate people who are engaged in corrupt behavior? And in the case of the Bidens, it’s not even a question.”
“Hunter Biden is the tip of the iceberg,” added Schweizer. “We call them the Biden Five. … I have never in my professional career encountered a family where five members are engaged in behavior where they are using and abusing the powers that Joe Biden has for their financial benefit. Hunter Biden is just the first part of the pattern. … They see this as a vulnerability. It’s been exposed, and now they basically want Joe Biden to have a get-out-of-jail-free card.”
Schweizer continued, “[The Biden Five] are all linked to corrupt deals and self-enrichment when Joe Biden was vice president of the United States. … This has been a corrupt family enterprise when Joe Biden was vice president of the United States.”
Levin observed, “It’s an amazing thing how the media protect Biden.”
Schweizer said, “A complete lack of curiosity about this. … I got no contacts. No interest whatsoever from journalists. … If this were the Trump family, if Don Jr. had flown on Air Force One with his dad to China and signed a $1.5 billion private equity deal with the Chinese government, the media would be going ballistic. I would be going ballistic. But of course that hasn’t happened. The Bidens did it. And for some reason — I think we all know the reason — they have a complete lack of interest in reporting on this stuff.”
Levin remarked, “Let me ask Chuck Todd … where the hell are you? Jake Tapper? Where are they? Are they not curious about this, at all? You’ve done all the legwork here. They can challenge your investigations. They can bring you on, but they don’t. They pretend you don’t exist.”
The rule of law is undermined when political leaders escape legal liability for corrupt behavior, warned Schweizer.
“I really do believe that this is sort of a touchstone,” stated Schweizer. “Are our political leaders — meaning the Bidens — are they essentially above the law? Are they essentially in a position, have they reached a position in life where they can no longer be investigated? They can no longer be looked at, they can no longer be held into account as to how they are profiting and manipulating government power to benefit their family? That is ultimately what this is about.”
Follow Robert Kraychik on Twitter.