Trireme Partners LLP was a US limited partnership

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

company that invested in technology, goods, and services related to

Homeland Security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...

. The name "

Trireme A trireme ( ; ; cf. ) was an ancient navies and vessels, ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean Sea, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greece, ancient Greeks and ancient R ...

" was taken from a Greek warship designed with three banks of rowers. Established by

Richard Perle Richard Norman Perle (born September 16, 1941) is an American political advisor who served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs under President Ronald Reagan. He began his political career as a senior staff member to ...

, Gerald Hillman and Christopher Harriman, Trireme Partners was a

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

entity registered in November 2001. One of the firm's major investors was

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

, which invested

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

20 million. Perle became the subject of controversy in 2003 following a ''

New Yorker New Yorker may refer to: * A resident of New York: ** A resident of New York City and its suburbs *** List of people from New York City ** A resident of the New York (state), State of New York *** Demographics of New York (state) * ''The New Yor ...

'' article that alleged that Perle had offered to influence American foreign policy in Saudi Arabia in exchange for investment in Trireme. Trireme Partners completed its business and dissolved in 2005.

History and investors

Perle set up Trireme Partners in 2001. Trireme Partners first sought an investment from Boeing in February 2002. Boeing committed to invest $20 million two months later. The company received a $2.5 million investment from Hollinger International Inc. in 2003 which was reportedly never reported to the audit committee.

Criticism

In March 2003, Perle became embroiled in controversy after ''The New Yorker'' published an article by

Seymour Hersh Seymour Myron Hersh (born April 8, 1937) is an American investigative journalist and political writer. He gained recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War, for which he received the 1970 Pulitzer ...

describing a meeting between Perle, the arms dealer

Adnan Khashoggi Adnan Khashoggi (; 25 July 1935 – 6 June 2017) was a Saudi businessman and arms dealer known for his business dealings, extensive geopolitical influence, and opulent lifestyle, which earned him the moniker "''The Jay Gatsby, Great Gatsby ...

, and Saudi businessman Harb Zuhair, in which Perle allegedly offered to influence American foreign policy in Saudi Arabia in exchange for investment in Trireme. The

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, t ...

Inspector General investigated the

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...

and determined that Perle did not violate the conflict of interest provision because he was only working eight days per annum at the Defense Department at the time, which was less than the 60 days of service requirement.

History and investors

Criticism

References

Further reading