Who Is Peter Schweizer, 'Clinton Cash' Author? 5 Things To Know About Hillary Clinton Book Writer

He’s behind the book that Republicans claim will doom Hillary Clinton’s chance at the presidency and that her supporters say is a compilation of “absurd conspiracy theories.” Either way, Peter Schweizer, author of “Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich” has the political world buzzing two weeks before the book’s release date.

Schweizer is the founder and president of the Government Accountability Institute, a Florida group of researchers and reporters who “investigate and expose crony capitalism, misuse of taxpayer monies and other governmental corruption or malfeasance,” the GAI website says. Below are four more things to know about the “Clinton Cash” book and its author:

Conservative Connections

Both the GAI and the Hoover Institute, a think tank where Schweizer was a research fellow, have conservative leanings. He has also contributed to the conservative website Breitbart.com and once advised 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin on foreign policy. Schweizer’s critics, including the left-leaning Media Matters, have used his biography to claim he is biased against the Clintons.

Unflattering Pieces About Both Parties

Schweizer’s books have taken on both Democratic and GOP figures. His last book, 2013’s “Extortion: How Politicians Extract Your Money, Buy Votes and Line Their Pockets,” took aim at House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. It accused the speaker of taking political stances based on how much cash he could raise before a crucial vote. It also stated that then-Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., had a political action committee that spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at resorts in Florida and California and at steakhouses, a 2013 review in the New York Times said.

Claims Made In 'Clinton Cash'

Schweizer writes that the Clintons’ personal wealth reached eight figures -- not mainly through book deals and speeches, but through donations to the Clinton Foundation from “close personal friends” and influential people across the globe. The book goes on to claim that the foundation took money from countries that were lobbying the State Department while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state. One accusation is that the foundation took cash from a donor that benefited from a free-trade agreement with Colombia, reported the New York Times, which received an advance copy of “Clinton Cash.” International Business Times first reported Hillary Clinton’s changing position on the trade deal last week.

Release Date

“Clinton Cash” is being released May 5, the same day Bill and Chelsea Clinton are scheduled to be in Marrakech, Morocco, for the Clinton Global Initiative’s Middle East and Africa meeting, the foundation’s website says. The meeting “will convene regional and global leaders across sectors to take action on pressing social, economic and environmental challenges,” the website says.