David Norman Bossie (born November 1, 1965) is an American

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

. Since 2000, he has been president and chairman of conservative

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

Citizens United and in 2016, Bossie was the deputy campaign manager to the Donald Trump presidential campaign. Subsequently, Bossie had a falling-out with the Trump campaign and administration in May 2019 after

Axios Axios commonly refers to: * Axios (river), a river that runs through Greece and North Macedonia * ''Axios'' (website), an American news and information website Axios may also refer to: Brands and enterprises * Axios, a brand of suspension produ ...

reported that Bossie had been accused by the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

of defrauding political donors by funneling their donations to himself through consultants and book sales. In January 2020 he returned to prominent association with the Trump administration as a strategic ally to help contest the

impeachment of Donald Trump The impeachment of Donald Trump may refer to: * First impeachment of Donald Trump, the 2019 impeachment on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress ** Impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump ** First impeachment trial of Donald Trump * S ...

based on his past familiarity with impeachment battles. In 1992, Bossie joined Citizens United as a researcher, during which time Citizens United produced many films promoting Republican perspectives and talking points. Later in the 1990s, Bossie had a troubled turn as congressional investigator. Bossie was hired by the chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform and new Oversight in 1997 as chief investigator to look into possible campaign finance abuses by U.S. President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

. In May 1998, bipartisan concern mounted over inappropriate redaction of tapes and transcripts of former U.S. Associate AG

Webster Hubbell Webster Lee "Webb" Hubbell (born January 18, 1948) is a former United States Associate Attorney General from 1993 to 1994 who as part of the Whitewater controversy pled guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of failing to disclose a con ...

's prison telephone calls omitting some exculpatory passages.

Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...

pressed for Bossie's resignation, which followed shortly thereafter. In 2010, Bossie produced the American documentary film ''Generation Zero'' for

Citizens United Productions Citizens United is a conservative 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization in the United States founded in 1988. In 2010, the organization won a U.S. Supreme Court case known as '' Citizens United v. FEC''. The Court ruled that corporations and unions ...

, written and directed by

Steve Bannon Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist for the first seven months of president Donald Trump's first ...

, which attributes in some measure the origins of the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

to moral failings of the

Baby Boom generation Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the demographic cohort preceded by the Silent Generation and followed by Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964 during the mid-20th century baby boom that ...

, in particular their turning away from parental values during the

countercultural A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

1960s. Bossie has written several books attacking Democratic rivals, including

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

, and

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

, as well as a political memoir co-authored with

Corey Lewandowski Corey R. Lewandowski (; born September 18, 1973) is an American political operative, lobbyist, political commentator and author who is politically associated with Donald Trump. He was the first campaign manager of Trump's 2016 presidential ca ...

concerning

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's successful

2016 presidential campaign This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kiri ...

. In June 2018, Bossie, a regular guest on

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

programs, made a statement to a fellow guest which was an insult to African-Americans; he later apologized. Fox News suspended him for two weeks, calling the remarks "deeply offensive and wholly inappropriate".

Early life

Bossie grew up in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. He attended

Towson State University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, ...

and the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, but dropped out before graduation. When he was 18 years old, he volunteered in

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

's reelection campaign.

Career

A volunteer firefighter in his youth, Bossie dropped out of university to pursue politics. Bossie was the youth director of Senator

Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Party leaders of the United States Senate, Republican Leader of th ...

's 1988 presidential campaign.

Congressional investigator

After the Republicans won control of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in the

1994 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1994. Africa * 1994 Botswana general election * 1994 Guinea-Bissau general election * 1994 Malawian general election * 1994 Mozambican general election * 1994 Namibian general election * 1994 South Afr ...

Dan Burton Danny Lee Burton (born June 21, 1938) is an American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for , and previously the , serving from 1983 until 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party (United Stat ...

(R-IN) became

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the House Committee on Government Reform and new Oversight. In 1997, he hired Bossie as chief investigator to look into possible campaign finance abuses by U.S. President

. By May 1998, Burton came under intense partisan pressure; even fellow Republicans complained that committee staff had published redacted tapes and transcripts of former

United States Associate Attorney General The United States associate attorney general is the third-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). The associate attorney general advises and assists the attorney general and the deputy attorney general in poli ...

's prison telephone calls omitting some

exculpatory Exculpatory evidence is evidence (law), evidence favorable to the defendant in a criminal law, criminal trial that exonerates or tends to exonerate the defendant of guilt (law), guilt. It is the opposite of inculpatory evidence, which tends to pr ...

passages.

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

pressed Burton to seek Bossie's resignation. Shortly thereafter, Burton accepted Bossie's resignation.

Citizens United

During his tenure at Citizens United, which he had joined as a researcher after

was elected in 1992, the organization focused increasingly on producing

film documentaries A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill Nic ...

through its

division. Their films have included: *'' Border War: The Battle Over Illegal Immigration'' *'' Celsius 41.11'' *'' Rediscovering God in America'', hosted by Newt and

Callista Gingrich Callista Louise Gingrich (Birth name, née Bisek; born March 4, 1966) is an American diplomat, businesswoman, author, and documentary film producer who served as List of ambassadors of the United States to the Holy See, United States ambassador t ...

*'' Hillary: The Movie'' *'' Occupy Unmasked'' Citizens United hoped to begin distribution of the feature film '' Hillary: The Movie'' in January or February 2008. The

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (, ), commonly known as the McCain–Feingold Act or BCRA ( ), is a United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which regulates the financing of political campaign ...

of 2002 made that an unlawful electioneering communication. They sued, unsuccessfully, for an

injunction An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable rem ...

to prohibit the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government that enforces U.S. campaign finance laws and oversees U.S. federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign ...

from enforcement of those provisions of BCRA on

First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

grounds. In a 2010

landmark decision Landmark court decisions, in present-day common law legal systems, establish precedents that determine a significant new legal principle or concept, or otherwise substantially affect the interpretation of existing law. "Leading case" is commonly ...

, the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

decided ''

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ''Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission'', 558 U.S. 310 (2010), is a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court regarding Campaign fin ...

'' for Citizens United.

For-profit corporation A for-profit corporation is an organization which aims to earn profit through its operations and is concerned with its own interests, rather than the interests of the public (nonprofit corporation). Structure A for-profit corporation is usually an ...

s and

not-for-profit corporation A nonprofit corporation is any legal entity which has been incorporated under the law of its jurisdiction for purposes other than making profits for its owners or shareholders. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, a nonprofit corporation m ...

s may now advertise and broadcast messages of a political nature without limits on how much they can spend and with few limits on the timing and nature of the messages.

Trump presidential campaigns

In September 2016,

presidential candidate A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

hired Bossie to be his new deputy campaign manager. In November 2020, following the conclusion of the 2020 presidential election, Trump recruited Bossie again to challenge ballot counting in states with tight margins. On November 9, it was reported that Bossie had tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. He had attended Trump's Election Night party, as had others who tested positive around the same time, such as

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development The United States secretary of housing and urban development is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and thirteenth in the presidential line of succession. The ...

Ben Carson Ben Solomon Carson Sr. (born September 18, 1951) is an American retired neurosurgery, neurosurgeon, academic, author, and government official who served as the 17th United States secretary of housing and urban development from 2017 to 2021. A pio ...

and

White House Chief of Staff The White House chief of staff is the head of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, a position in the federal government of the United States. The chief of staff is a Political appointments in the United States, politi ...

Mark Meadows Mark Randall Meadows (born July 28, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 29th White House chief of staff from 2020 to 2021 under the Trump administration. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as the U.S. representat ...

. At this point, Bossie dropped out of the recount effort. In February 2022, Bossie "spearheaded" a Republican National Committee resolution to formally censure

Liz Cheney Elizabeth Lynne Cheney (; born July 28, 1966) is an American attorney and politician. She represented in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2017 to 2023, and served as chair of the House Republican Conference from 2019 to 2021. Cheney i ...

and

Adam Kinzinger Adam Daniel Kinzinger (; born February 27, 1978) is an American politician, senior political commentator for CNN, and former lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard. He served as a United States representative from Illinois from 2011 to 20 ...

for their perceived disloyalty to Trump.

Publications

Bossie is the author of ''The Many Faces of John Kerry'' (Thomas Nelson, 2004), a hostile look at the Democratic nominee in the

2004 United States presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 2, 2004. Incumbent Republican President George W. Bush and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Dick Cheney, were re-elected to a second term. They narrowly defeated ...

, then-

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

. He also wrote ''Intelligence Failure'' (Thomas Nelson, 2004), a book alleging that failings on the part of the national security apparatus during the

Clinton administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following his victory over Republican in ...

led to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Bossie authored the "highly partisan" 2008 publication ''Hillary: the Politics of Personal Destruction'', which is credited with delivering, in 2016, an insistent, long-term campaign theme to Trump of "LOCK HER UP!" At the 2010

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2007, catapulted into the mainstream by Congressman Ron Paul's presidential campaign. The movement expanded in resp ...

Convention, Bossie debuted the documentary ''

Generation Zero Generation Zero may refer to : * ''Generation Zero'' (film), a 2010 American documentary film * Generation Zero (organisation), a New-Zealand youth-led environmental organisation * ''Generation Zero'' (video game), a first person shooter vid ...

'', focusing on the

and insinuating that it was caused by the supposed selfishness of the entire

Baby Boomer Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the demographic cohort preceded by the Silent Generation and followed by Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964 during the mid-20th century baby boom that ...

generation. The documentary, produced by Bossie for

, had been written and directed by

, and was poorly reviewed by historians as "conceit", "fiction" and "pseudoscience". In December 2017, '' Let Trump Be Trump'', a memoir co-authored by Bossie and

, was published by Center Street. The book chronicles their experiences working on

's successful 2016 presidential campaign.

Personal

David and his wife Susan reside in

Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Montg ...

, Maryland with their four children. He has been a volunteer firefighter there since 1998. Bossie received the

Award from the

Conservative Political Action Conference The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC ) is an annual political conference attended by Conservatism in the United States, conservative Activism, activists and officials from across the United States. CPAC is hosted by the American ...

in 1999. He also was ranked number two in ''Politico'''s top 50 most influential people in American politics in 2015, tied with Charlie Spies.

References

External links

* *
C-SPAN ''Q&A'' interview with Bossie, February 14, 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bossie, David 1965 births American male non-fiction writers American political writers Employees of the United States House of Representatives Employees of the United States Senate Living people Maryland Republicans Massachusetts Republicans New Right (United States) Republican National Committee members