Pete Brewton teaches journalism and law at

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

. Brewton is best known for an investigative journalism series he wrote for the ''

Houston Post The ''Houston Post'' was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper shut down, and its assets were purchased by the ''Houston Chronicle''. History Gail Borden Johnson founded the ''Houston P ...

'' that were the basis of a book, ''The Mafia, CIA and George Bush.'' He is a journalist with 15 years reporting experience at the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

'' and the ''

''. He practiced law in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

for five years. Pete Brewton holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

, a master's degree in astronomy from

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...

, a master's degree from the American Graduate School of International Management, and a law degree from the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

. He travels frequently to help with his mother's working cattle ranch in

Lampasas County Lampasas County ( ) is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 21,627. Its county seat is Lampasas. The county is named for the Lampasas River. Lampasas County is part of t ...

.back cover of Lone Star Law (Paperback) by Pete Brewton (Author) He is author of a 2006 novel, ''Lone Star Law.'' In 1986 he co-won 2 Matrix Awards for his story on "Hermann Hospital Estate" with Mary Flood, and for his story with John Mecklin on County Commissioner Bob Eckels, both in the investigative/interpretive category.

''The Mafia, CIA and George Bush''

He is the author of the book ''The Mafia, CIA and George Bush'', which is based on his investigations of powerful

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

businessmen, politicians, and their connections to the savings and loans scandals of the 1980s. The book grew out of an 8-part investigative reporting series that ran in the

, a series that the

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

columnist John Hinterberger described as "a bombshell series backed up by eight months of investigation." The series won the Galvaston Press Club award for best investigative series. In 1991 PEN awarded the Journalism prize to Brewton, "Awarded for his series on the Savings & Loan scandal," in the Houston Post.

Andrew Ferguson Andrew Ferguson (born June 28, 1956) is an American journalist and author. Career Ferguson is currently a staff writer at ''The Atlantic''. Previously, he was senior editor of ''The Weekly Standard'' (defunct since December 2018), and a columni ...

of the

Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis, and commentary that was published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' was described as a ...

characterized Brewton's book as one of a series of anti-Bush books "written in Texas by veteran Texas activists who have grown bitter from the endless frustration and resentment that is their unhappy lot." Andrew Ferguson was a speech writer for George H. W. Bush in 1992. Brewton promoted the book on

Alternative Views ''Alternative Views'' was one of the longest running public-access television cable TV programs in the United States. Produced in Austin, Texas in 1978, it produced 563 hour-long programs featuring news, interviews and opinion pieces from a progre ...

. Texas politician Jon Lindsay took out a newspaper advertisement to discredit Brewton's book.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brewton, Pete Living people Texas Tech University faculty Thunderbird School of Global Management alumni New Mexico State University alumni Rice University alumni University of Texas School of Law alumni People from Lubbock, Texas Year of birth missing (living people)