REPORT: Obama Used Executive Powers To Benefit Close Friends' Private Investment Firms

A new book released on Tuesday by Peter Schweizer, the author of "Clinton Cash," claims that former President Barack Obama used his executive powers to financially benefit his close friends.

Schweizer's new book, "Secret Empires: How Our Politicians Hide Corruption and Enrich Their Families and Friends," claims that Obama would attack certain industries, which decimated the value of certain companies that his friends would then swoop in and buy. The Washington Examiner reports:

...Obama and his administration would deem industries either destructive to the environment or exploitative for the financial and professional gain of his friends, including industries such as coal mining, offshore drilling, cash advance companies, and for-profit colleges.

The book highlighted Marty Nesbitt and Harreld Kirkpatrick III, both former basketball players and close friends of the Obamas, who launched their private equity investment firm Vistria in sync with Obama’s re-election in 2012.

Unlike other investment funds that avoid highly regulated industries, Vistria was specifically focused on the fields that Obama was busy regulating.
In the book, Schweizer writes, “A curious pattern began to emerge. Obama and his administration would attack industries with government power, which led to substantially lower valuations for these companies. Nesbitt and Vistria, or others close to Obama, could then acquire those assets for pennies on the dollar.”

Schweizer goes on to write that the most obvious target for this alleged scheme was the for-profit higher education industry, noting that in 2013 Obama targeted institutions like the University of Phoenix, ITT Technical Institute, and DeVry University. The book also notes the close relationship that Vistria had with the Department of Education, saying that some of the department's officials later left to work for the private firm.

REPORT: Obama Used Executive Powers To Benefit Close Friends' Private Investment Firms