May 15, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in opposition to the nominee to head up the $1.9 trillion Ginnie Mae, Michael Bright:

“The announcement that Michael Bright will be nominated to lead Ginnie Mae is a slap in the face to veterans with lower credit scores who have seen their access to VA home loans attacked through his agency policies appeasing China. Bright stated in an industry publication after speaking with foreign investors, ‘The Chinese were very upset with our prepayment speeds.’ America does not need Michael Bright squeezing veterans to make his Chinese banking friends happy. Bright’s nomination to Ginnie Mae is a bad, bad choice and should be withdrawn.”

Attachments:

“China is flexing its economic muscle against a U.S. government housing agency, and veterans are paying the price,” By Printus LeBlanc, May 15, 2018 at http://dailytorch.com/2018/05/china-is-flexing-its-economic-muscle-against-a-u-s-government-housing-agency-and-veterans-are-paying-the-price/

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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May 9, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging President Donald Trump to withdraw the nomination of Gina Haspel for CIA Director after she testified that “I support the higher moral standard this country has decided to hold itself to. I would never, ever take CIA back to an interrogation program. First of all, CIA follows the law… My moral compass is strong, I would not allow CIA to undertake activity that I thought was immoral, even if it was technically legal. I absolutely would not permit it”:

“The CIA Director has the right to resign, when given a direct, lawful order by the elected President of the United States that she morally disagrees with, but she doesn’t have the right to disobey said order. This new concept that the FBI and intelligence community somehow has a higher moral compass than the elected President is proven wrong every day as we continue to learn more and more about their domestic spying and attempts to influence the U.S. presidential election.  Now, nominee Haspel has testified under oath that she will disobey lawful orders.

“While she may have honorably served under now Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Haspel’s testimony putting her judgment about legal orders above that of the Commander and Chief makes her unfit to serve as CIA Director, and President Trump should do the nation a service and withdraw her, already controversial nomination from further consideration.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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May 8, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to a lawsuit filed against the Department of Housing and Urban Development for suspending the 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing regulation until 2024:

“The lawsuit against the Department of Housing and Urban Development for suspending the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule until 2024 is irrelevant. Under the omnibus spending bill, currently HUD is prohibited from ordering any changes to zoning under the 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing regulation. HUD Secretary Ben Carson’s suspension of the rule until 2024 may have taken place prior to this Congressional prohibition, but the lawsuit is practically moot since it would be now be illegal for Carson to implement AFFH as currently written. In its present iteration, the HUD rule is illegal, since it still calls for changes to zoning. HUD should move for immediate dismissal, as it is clear that Congress has preempted whatever vision of AFFH the Obama administration implemented.”

Attachments:

“Congress succeeds in gutting Obama HUD racial and income zoning rule in omnibus,” By Robert Romano, March 27, 2018 at http://dailytorch.com/2018/03/congress-succeeds-in-gutting-obama-hud-racial-and-income-zoning-rule-in-omnibus/

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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May 8, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising President Donald Trump for leaving the Iran nuclear deal:

“Under the Constitution and federal law, President Donald Trump can leave bad foreign agreements at his discretion and institute sanctions against countries hostile to U.S. interests, including Iran. Today, President Trump has put America first by ending the Iran nuclear deal and reinstituting sanctions on Tehran after it was revealed that Iran lied when it entered into the deal in the first place about the extent of its nuclear weapons program.

“In order for the U.S. to be taken seriously elsewhere including on the Korean peninsula, there has to be penalties for not dealing honestly with the U.S. To have stayed in the Iran nuclear deal would have told North Korea that it is okay to lie to the U.S. about the extent of its own program putting regional and international security at risk.

“The Iran nuclear deal was always a fiction, and now President Trump is protecting U.S. national security interests and holding Iran accountable for its Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty obligations.

“For those who now complain about the President’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, it should be noted that the previous administration failed to put the deal before the Senate for treaty ratification. The reason the Obama team made this choice is because the deal would have never passed public scrutiny and President Trump’s withdrawal is an affirmation that constitutional processes should be followed to ensure U.S. interests are upheld.”

Attachments:

“Netanyahu briefing proving Iran nuke program exists leaves Trump little choice but to leave Iran nuke deal,” By Robert Romano, May 8, 2018 at http://dailytorch.com/2018/05/netanyahu-briefing-proving-iran-nuke-program-exists-leaves-trump-little-choice-but-to-leave-iran-nuke-deal/

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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May 7, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to revelations by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence including testimony by former FBI Director James Comey and former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe that the FBI agents who interviewed former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn in Jan. 2017 did not think he had lied about his conversation with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kisylak in Dec. 2016:

“The prosecution of former National Security Advisor reflects the Orwellian justice of the Mueller investigation where both James Comey and Andrew McCabe testified to Congress that Flynn did not lie to the FBI, and yet Flynn was forced to plead guilty to lying to investigators because he could no longer afford to defend himself financially.

“Two immediate actions should occur: First, Flynn should withdraw his coerced guilty plea and all charges against him should be dropped. Second, Congress is responsible for Mueller’s unending taxpayer-funded pocketbook used to overwhelm even well-heeled individuals and members can and should immediately vote to cut that funding from the Mueller probe and demand a final report be submitted to the Department of Justice. Failure by Congress to act would be a surrender of their duty to ensure the basic American principle of every deserving equal justice under the law. Mueller and the FBI’s rogue prosecutions will either go down as a stain on nation’s judicial system or it could very well be the end of the concept of innocent until proven guilty.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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May 4, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis in the Eastern District of Virginia’s statement on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment of one-time Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, “I don’t see what relationship this indictment has with anything the special counsel is authorized to investigate”:

“It has been clear from the onset of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation that it has gone beyond its original mandate to investigate Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 election. One-time Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was charged with activities predating the election, not to do with Russia, but related to Ukraine and lobbying. The federal judge overseeing the Manafort case is absolutely right. Particularly, since the charges originate from an investigation that predated the appointment of Mueller, clearly they did not arise in the course of Mueller’s investigation. There’s no reason another U.S. Attorney could not have been assigned to this case.

“Similarly, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was charged with activities alleged to have occurred after the election, related not to the campaign or Russian interference, but a conversation he had with the Russian ambassador in 2016 to do with sanctions and specifically, his recollection of the legal conversation in Jan. 2017.

“Judge Ellis was right when he shockingly said, ‘You don’t really care about Mr. Manafort,’ he continued, ‘You really care about what information Mr. Manafort can give you to lead you to Mr. Trump and an impeachment, or whatever.’

“Everyone outside the Department of Justice seems to be able to see that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s only objective is to create grounds for the Democrats to impeach the president. That isn’t his job; his job is to investigate Russian collusion if there was Russian collusion in the election. The Manafort case clearly demonstrates the special counsel is well beyond his legal mandate, and Judge Ellis should throw the charges out immediately on this basis.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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April 30, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging the EPA to fix the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) or end it in light of a recent waiver issued to CVR Energy, Inc. by the agency:

“Granting CVR Energy, Inc. a waiver from the Renewable Fuel Standard is a good first step in implementing overall RFS reforms. As company owner Carl Icahn noted in a 2016 oped with the Wall Street Journal, his company ‘is losing hundreds of millions of dollars because of the Renewable Fuel Standard.’ While individual waivers are good to meet this and other companies’ needs, they point to an overall need for RFS reform. Just this year, Philadelphia Energy Solutions reached a bankruptcy settlement with the EPA because the RFS caused so many losses at the company. The EPA needs to fix the system so that waivers are no longer needed to simply survive. The RFS is an unacceptable example of the government picking winners and losers and it needs to be fixed now or ended once and for all.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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