Peter J. Wallison (born June 6, 1941, in New York City) is a lawyer and the Arthur F. Burns Fellow in Financial Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. He specializes in financial markets deregulation. He was White House Counsel during the Tower Commission's inquiry into the Iran Contra Affair. He was a frequent commentator in the mass media on the Federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Financial crisis of 2007—2008, and related matters.
Wallison was born in New York City, and educated at the Capitol Page School and Harvard University (A.B. 1963, LL.B. 1966), where he was President of the Young Republicans.
He was admitted to the bar of New York state in 1967.
Emanuel Celler appointed him a United States House of Representatives Page when he was about 14, and he served for most of his high school years. The Democrats controlled the patronage, but assigned some pages, such as Wallison, to the minority party. This experience helped him become a Republican.
He was a Rockefeller Republican before becoming a Reagan Republican.
On November 24, 1966, he married the former Frieda Koslow (born in New York January 15, 1943, A.B. Smith College 1963, LL.B. Harvard Law School 1966 admitted to New York bar in 1967, D.C. bar 1982). They have three children, Ethan S., Jeremy L. (born not later than 1972), Rebecca K. Mrs. Wallison develops real estate in Snowmass, Colorado.
They split their time between homes in Colorado and in Washington, D.C.
1966-1971 Associate, Rogers and Wells, New York, NY
1971-???? special assistant, Governor of New York Nelson A. Rockefeller
1971-1981 Partner, Rogers and Wells, New York, NY
1972-1976 Special assistant to Nelson Rockefeller
1973-1974 Counsel to the Commission on Critical Choices for Americans
1975-1976 Counsel to Vice President of the United States Nelson Rockefeller. Dick Parsons was his deputy.
1976 Campaign staff, Bob Dole's vice-presidential campaign
1981-1985 General Counsel for the Department of the Treasury, under Don Regan. Early in his tenure he supervised the preparation of the report on the Secret Service and the Reagan assassination attempt in 1981. He was important in developing Reagan administration proposals to deregulate financial services that, with some changes, became law in 1999. Wallison recounts that he counseled against the Reagan administration's decision to oppose the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the Carter administration's Internal Revenue Service revocation of Bob Jones University's tax exempt status because its prohibition against inter-racial dating by students violated public policy. Even if the IRS had determined policy, beyond its authority in deciding, opposing this case would be politically foolish. In the event he was recalled to the United States from a banking conference to be present for the Treasury's announcement; when he arrived he found that his seniors were all absent and he was required to announce this choice. Treasury and Department of Justice had worked this out between themselves, and White House staff were furious. A political firestorm followed, and efforts to mitigate it were unsuccessful. (The Supreme Court of the United States subsequently held, in Bob Jones University v. United States, that the IRS did have this power even though petitioner had complied with the language of the statute.
1985-1986 partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
1986-1987 White House Counsel to President of the United States Ronald Reagan. In the aftermath of the Iran Contra affair he came under investigation by Lawrence E. Walsh but was not indicted. (He believes his diary persuaded the independent counsel that he had not manipulated the President's testimony.)
1987-1998 partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
1999—present American Enterprise Institute, codirector of AEI's financial markets deregulation project.
(With John D. Hawke, Jr.) The State Banking Revolution and the Federal Response: New Frontiers of Financial Service Expansion, Law and Business/Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (Clifton, NJ), 1984.
State Banking Regulation and Deregulation, Law and Business/Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (New York, NY), 1985.
Back from the Brink: A Practical Plan for Privatizing Deposit Insurance and Strengthening Our Banks and Thrifts, AEI Press (Washington, DC), 1990.
(With Bert Ely) Nationalizing Mortgage Risk: The Growth of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, AEI Press (Washington, DC), 2000.
(With Robert E. Litan) The GAAP Gap, AEI Press (Washington, DC), 2000.
(Editor) Optional Federal Chartering and Regulation of Insurance Companies, AEI Press (Washington, DC), 2000.
(Editor) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Public Purposes and Private Interests, Volume 1: Government Subsidy and Conflicting Missions, Volume 2: Prospects for Controlling Growth and Expansion, AEI Press (Washington, DC), 2000, ISBN 0844771376 (alk. paper), ISBN 0844771384
(Editor) Serving Two Masters, Yet out of Control: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, AEI Press (Washington, DC), 2001, ISBN 0844741663 (pbk.)
2 volumes of papers delivered at a conference on March 24, 1999 at the American Enterprise Institute, Washington, D.C.
Competitive Equity: A Better Way to Organize Mutual Funds (AEI Press, 2007).
Contributor to periodicals, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Washington Post.
