Peter Schweizer - Throw Them All Out

6 Bud Jerke, "Cashing In on Capitol Hill: Insider Trading and the Use of Political Intelligence for Profit," University of Pennsylvania Law Review, vol. 158, no. 5.

7 Jerke, "Cashing In on Capitol Hill."

8 United States v. Mississippi Valley Generating Co., 364 U.S. 520, 549 (1960).

9 David G. Savage, "Supreme Court Upholds Conflict-of-Interest Laws," Los Angeles Times, June 14, 2011.

10 State of Florida Case No. SC 09-1910, Nineteenth Statewide Grand Jury, First Interim Report, "A Study in Public Corruption in Florida and Recommended Solutions," December 17, 2010, p. 43.

The adventure that became this book started a couple of years ago when I first became enthralled with a simple but puzzling question: how is it that politicians enter office with relatively modest means and leave rich? Although I am responsible for the content of this book, I am thankful to the many colleagues and friends who offered guidance, assistance, and help along the way.

Let me say thanks to my good friend Stephen K. Bannon, who not only engaged intellectually with this project, but also challenged me to push further in explaining the deeper and broader problems of crony capitalism. Marc Thiessen, a good friend and partner in Oval Office Writers, offered helpful advice and moral support. Thanks is also due to Eric Singer of the Congressional Effect Fund in New York, who helped me refine my views and research concerning the interplay between congressional actions and American finance. Wynton Hall, as always, provided solid advice and sound input. I also greatly benefited from friends and colleagues who offered thoughts and comments, including Andrew Breitbart, Larry Solov, Brian Baugus, Amy Ridenour, and Ron Robinson.

Bernadette and Owen Smith have been great friends and supporters going back more than a decade. I'm very thankful for their encouragement of this project, and I'm glad we are back in regular contact. I'm honored to be the William J. Casey Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and very grateful for it.

At the Hoover Institution, I appreciate the support and friendship of John Raisian, and of my colleagues, whom I see all too rarely. Bruce Nichols, my publisher, took a chance on this project, and I'm grateful that he saw the vision even more clearly than I did at the beginning. He not only kept me on schedule and corrected my errors, he offered tremendous advice on how to make the manuscript better. Bruce, it's an honor to work with you. My agents, Glen Hartley and Lynn Chu, are simply the best in the business. Period.

A project like this is, by its nature, a team effort. I was blessed to have the assistance of the following individuals who helped me enormously: Rhonda Adair for her editorial and intellectual input in shaping and completing the project; Tori Brooks for her research assistance; Seamus Bruner for his research work; Josh Eller for his research, input, and advice; David Healy Jr. for his research work and fact-checking; Tim Ward for his research work and fact-checking; Rick White, who provided expert advice and wisdom and consulted on this project in almost every aspect—conception, research, and writing; and Casey Wood, who provided research assistance and fact-checking support.

A special thanks goes to my assistant, Sally Jo Roorda, who put up with a horribly disorganized and messy office, a crowded schedule, and a neurotic boss, but still held everything together and did so with a smile.

Mom, you are the best. Maria, to whom this book is dedicated, your "little brother" appreciates you much more than he lets on. That needs to change.

My family—including my wife, Rochelle, and our children, Jack and Hannah (a.k.a. Sweet Pea)—has put up with a distracted man wandering around the house looking for books or documents for far too long. Thanks for being so patient ... yet again.