‘Red Handed’ tells a chilling tale | Bill Cotterell
Bill CotterellCapital Curmudgeon
The author of a best-selling new book about American corporations and government officials’ dealings with China would like to start a conversation about the ruling elite of Wall Street, Washington, big tech, major media and academia.
But even in the hyper-partisan climate of an evenly divided Congress, even if the Republicans win control of both the House and Senate next fall, it’s not likely we’ll see startling revelations about Beijing’s intricate financial involvement in American affairs. That’s because too many powerful people across the political spectrum have too big a stake in the way things are.
Peter Schweizer, a Tallahassee resident who heads the Government Accountability Institute, recently published “Red Handed,” subtitled “How American elites get rich helping China win.” The bright red cover features a picture of President Biden shaking hands with Chinese Xi Jinping.
It’s not exactly new territory for Schweizer, whose previous books include “Clinton Cash,” purporting to expose how foreign governments “helped make Bill and Hillary rich,” and “Profiles in Corruption,” tales of abuses of power “by America’s progressive elite.”
You might call him a conservative muckraker. But there’s plenty of muck to be raked, from left to right and back again.
Much of the early buzz around “Red Handed” has focused on Hunter Biden, the president’s son. Schweizer’s two years of research calculates that the Biden family reaped some $31 million from Chinese business executives with ties to the upper ranks of Chinese intelligence.
Schweizer also packs some other startling revelations into fewer than 250 pages. The “elite” whom he says are profiting enormously from America’s decline include big names of Silicone Valley, banking and investment firms, colleges and universities and — of course — government.
And neither party has clean hands, Schweizer says.
He credits former President Donald Trump with being tough on China, but also mentions that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., stood by the Republican president when needed.
“There are others in the United States — from both political parties — who have been solid on China,” he writes. “Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio have been consistently tough, as have Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, Chris Coons and Joe Manchin.”
Schweizer had fortunate timing with Red Handed, which hit bookstores in late January. China was much in the news with the Winter Olympics, and most news networks interspersed sports reports with stories about human-rights abuses.
And FBI Director Christopher Wray last week made some headlines when he said the scoop of Chinese espionage in this country “blew me away.”
“I wish I could say I timed it so perfectly,” Schweizer said in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat.
Red Handed swiftly climbed to the top spot in both hardback and audiobook categories of the New York Times best seller list.
Mid-term elections of a first presidential term usually mean the party in the White House loses seats in Congress, so the Democrats are likely to lose control of both chambers in November. So, will Republicans on Capitol Hill start a major inquiry into Hunter Biden’s overseas dealings and China’s influence in business boardrooms and faculty lounges across the country?
Schweizer doesn’t think so. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican expected to return as majority leader in a GOP Senate, has his own family ties to businesses that have become Washington advocates for Beijing.
Schweizer said “there’s kind of a non-verbal non-aggression pact” among political insiders of both parties to avoid such unpleasantries.
“We have to have an honest conversation in the country about the political class,” said Schweizer. “If Mitch McConnell takes a firm stand against China in the Senate, they could destroy the family business overnight. That’s the kind of leverage I think Beijing wants.”
Schweizer is a bit more optimistic about a Republican-led House digging into Chinese influence-purchasing. If the GOP goes after it with the zeal Democrats have shown for pursuing the Jan. 6 insurrection, the second half of Biden’s term will be entertaining.
Schweizer begins and ends his book with a couple of quotes from the far left of the spectrum.
“The capitalists will sell us the rope with which to hang them,” he says, in an inexact but oft-quoted line from Vladimir Lenin.
And he closes with an aphorism that explains why the situation won’t be improved by the powerful people profiting from it.
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something,” Upton Sinclair wrote, “when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
Bill Cotterell is a retired Tallahassee Democrat capitol reporter who writes a twice-weekly column. He can be reached at bcotterell@tallahassee.com
