nationbooksprojectofnation

Dick Cheney's Dangerous Son-in-Law: Philip Perry and the Politics of Chemical Security

Art Levine
In February 2007, The Washington Monthly ran a cover story titled Dick Cheney's Dangerous Son-in-Law: Philip Perry and the Politics of Chemical Security. Written by veteran reporter Art Levine, this path-breaking feature revealed the depths of the White House's cronyism--and nepotism--and the devastating reach of its anti-regulatory ideology.
To understand the workings of Philip Perry is to get a sense of the true lines of power in the executive branch. "Perry is an eminence grise," says one congressional staffer. "He's been pretty good at getting his fingerprints off of anything, but everyone in this field knows he's the one directing it. He is very good at the stealth move." And, as it turns out, Perry's stealth moves have often benefited opponents of chemical regulation. One of his final pieces of handiwork included coming up with what critics have called an "industry wish list" on chemical security that ultimately became law last fall. "Every time the industry has gotten in trouble," says the staffer, "they've gone running to Phil Perry."

The result has been that our chemical sites remain, even five years after 9/11, stubbornly vulnerable to attack. Philip Perry has hardly been alone in tolerating this. Others in the White House and Congress have been equally solicitous toward the chemical industry. But as part of a network of Cheney loyalists in the executive branch, Perry has been a key player in the struggle to prevent the federal government from assuming any serious regulatory role in business, no matter what the cost.
Read the full article here.
signup

The Nation Institute's Investigative Fund provides support for the research costs associated with investigative journalism. The Fund emphasizes reporting on subjects often ignored by the mainstream media, and seeks to improve the scope and overall quality of investigative reporting in the independent press. Above all, we want to support reporting with the potential to have a social impact. The Fund encourages its grant recipients to publish their findings in a variety of print, broadcast and electronic outlets.

Director Joe Conason and investigative editor Esther Kaplan initiate and oversee Investigative Fund projects. Joe is an award-winning investigative reporter and a national correspondent for The New York Observer and a columnist for Salon.com. Esther is a longtime reporter and editor and author of the investigative book With God on Their Side: George W. Bush and the Christian Right.

The first step in applying is to email us a story query and a budget request. It's useful to include information about what's new and enterprising about the research, your reporting approach, the story's potential impact, and what publication or broadcast outlet is interested in the piece.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.

Investigative Archives


More