April 13, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising President Donald Trump for pardoning Scooter Libby:

“Scooter Libby is the exact example of why nobody should ever speak to federal investigators pretty much about anything. Libby never leaked Valerie Plame’s name, Richard Armitage did, but he was still prosecuted by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald in 2005 and convicted in 2007. The only crime he committed was speaking on the record. The Special Counsel was appointed to find out who leaked Plame’s name but instead went on a fishing expedition to take out the Vice President by targeting his chief of staff. This miscarriage of justice being remedied is long overdue.

“This pattern has been repeated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who has guilty pleas on lying to federal investigators — or is it for not remembering? — from Michael Flynn, George Papadopoulos and Richard Gates.He forgets one thing and it becomes the crime of the century even if it really was a faulty recollection.”

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 12, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging President Donald Trump not to reenter the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement:

“President Donald Trump made it clear well before his candidacy in 2015 that he opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, calling it a bad, bad deal. One of his first acts as President was to withdraw from the TPP to the applause of the American people because it did not put America first. The White House’s reported reconsideration of this withdrawal would be a disaster both for our nation and for President Trump, who won the election promising to get out of this deal. This sovereignty-killing globalist dream pact embodies everything that the President has opposed throughout his political life, and there is simply no margin to reenter it.

“Bilateral trade deals make sense. But multilateral deals that includes larger economies like Japan and third world nations like Malaysia are absurd on their face. It’s easier to negotiate these one by one. President Trump is right when he says that trade deals need to be fair and reciprocal. He is also right when he points to currency manipulation as a tool used by advanced economies as another non-tariff barrier and trade imbalance. Reentering TPP today addresses neither of these concerns and is still a bad, bad deal, and the President must just say no.”

Attachments:

Trump anti-TPP radio spot, May 6, 2015 at https://getliberty.org/2015/05/donald-j-trump-joins-americans-for-limited-government-in-fight-against-trade-promotion-authority-trans-pacific-partnership-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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April 10, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement warning that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe has become a threat to national security:

“Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s desperate FBI raid on the home and office of President Donald Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, is a trivial distraction in dangerous times. The simple fact that Mueller’s investigation has devolved into chasing decade-old allegations of an aging porn star points to the end of Mueller’s relevance. The Attorney General should immediately fire Rod Rosenstein and Special Counsel Mueller for abusing President Trump’s constitutional rights.

“Today, the President is dealing with talks to denuclearize North Korea, the Syrian chemical weapons attack, trade issues with China and potential Russian encroachments into Ukraine. The distraction that Mueller’s headline-seeking antics create over trivial matters are no longer in U.S. national security interests. We need President Trump fully focused on the real problems facing our nation. It’s time for Jeff Sessions to swat the gnat that is Mueller and put the Special Counsel investigation to rest. Our nation’s security demands it.”

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 9, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement calling for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to be fired after the FBI raided President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen:

“It is inexcusable that Special Counsel Robert Mueller would recommend that President Donald Trump’s attorney-client privilege be violated in one more example of the win-at-any-cost attitude by this rogue prosecutor. It is beyond comprehension how Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein would have allowed the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan and the FBI based in Manhattan to become pawns in Mueller’s Constitution-destroying game. Rod Rosenstein should not still have a job by the end of this week. This prosecutorial insanity has to end.”

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 9, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging members of the House to cosponsor H.R. 559, the Modern Employment Reform, Improvement, and Transformation Act of 2017 or the MERIT Act of 2017 offered by U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) and the House to pass it:

“Every House Member should support the MERIT Act, which would expedite the removal of federal employees who have engaged in misconduct or are simply not performing, while limiting appeals to 30 days. Under current law it can take multiple years to remove an employee. A system that was initially designed to stop political manipulation of the civil service has become an unhealthy protection of bad behavior. Many Americans wonder how civil servants at the Justice Department who abused their power still have their jobs. The reason is because of antiquated civil service protections. Congress has already managed to reform this problem at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and it’s working, now it needs to be allowed to work for all the other departments and agencies to hold federal employees accountable for their actions. This is a bill whose time has come.”

Attachments:

“Inside the uncivil service,” By Don Todd, July 28, 2014 at http://dailytorch.com/2014/07/inside-uncivil-service/

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 6, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today blasted Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) for joking about killing President Donald Trump and members of his administration on the Ellen Degeneres show:

“It is reprehensible that Democrats who are vying for the right to run for the presidency of the United States continue to call for violence against President Donald Trump. Kamala Harris’ latest ‘joke’ on the Ellen Degeneres show is just one more pathetic example of Democrats pandering to the Antifa wing of their party. Apparently, political violence sells among the Democrat base. They are a long way from Woodstock.”

Attachments:

“Dehumanizing Trump and his supporters is dangerous — and is becoming normalized,” By Robert Romano, April 6, 2018 at http://dailytorch.com/2018/04/dehumanizing-trump-and-his-supporters-is-dangerous-and-is-becoming-normalized/

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 6, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to a piece by Jeff Spross at The Week suggesting China could “win” a trade war by “clamp[ing] down on these exports”:

“With the U.S. increasingly vulnerable to Chinese stranglehold on the rare earth marketplace, it is time for President Trump and Interior Secretary Zinke to do whatever is necessary to open up rare earth mining facilities. The U.S. has an abundance of rare earth minerals in the west on federal lands which could be rapidly developed but extraordinary measures would need to be taken to overcome national security threatening regulations.

“Additionally, rare earth metals are being developed in Afghanistan where the United States has poured 17 years of blood and treasure incredibly the Chinese are being allowed to develop those rare earth metals. It might be worthwhile for President Trump to talk to Afghani President Ashraf Ghani about redirecting that development to be exported to the United States.

“In the meantime, America has a great abundance with incredible mineral reserves that have been put under regulatory lock and key, it is time for us to get back in the domestic mining business so that we are no longer fully dependent on foreign powers for the critical materials necessary for a modern economy and military.”

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 5, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today called for the National Republican Congressional Committee to repudiate U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) for calling for EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to step down after President Donald Trump expressed continued confidence in Pruitt:

“It’s almost as if the GOP is trying to lose the House majority in November. After passing a disastrous omnibus bill, U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik added to House Republican woes by calling for the firing of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. Pruitt’s accomplishments in ending the war on coal are one of the many highlights of the Trump administration and Stefanik’s absurd media pandering is a gut shot to those conservatives still seeking to support the House majority. What’s particularly galling is that Stefanik’s statement comes hard on the heels of the President’s expression of confidence with Pruitt, deliberately reigniting a story that should have been put to rest. NRCC Chairman Steve Stivers has a particularly difficult problem in that Stefanik has been tasked as a candidate recruiter for Republicans in the 2018 midterms.

“If Republicans are serious about consolidating their base in the 2018 general election, Stefanik needs to be repudiated immediately.”

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 5, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising President Donald Trump for standing by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt:

“Donald Trump’s choice of Scott Pruitt to head the EPA has turned out to be out to be one of the wisest decisions of his administration. Not only has Trump and Pruitt ended the war on coal, Pruitt has made draining the swamp his top priority from the day he was confirmed and continues to be one of the most important assets for the President in his administration. Today the President voiced his confidence in Pruitt’s leadership at the EPA, once again demonstrating that he values results over fake news and partisan political attacks.”

Attachments:

Trump says he has confidence in Pruitt, The Hill, April 5 at http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/381805-trump-says-he-has-confidence-in-pruitt

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 4, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to dismiss to Robert Mueller as Special Counsel for withholding exculpatory evidence from Paul Manafort including the Aug. 2, 2017 order only authorizing the investigation into Manafort a week after his home was raided by Mueller:

“The revelation that once again Special Counsel Robert Mueller failed in his basic constitutional responsibility to turn over all exculpatory evidence to Paul Manafort, including the Aug. 2 memo, is inexcusable and yet another fireable offense. Mueller himself knows the importance of following the law as it relates to evidence, as in the 2008 Ted Stevens case that was eventually dismissed due to prosecutorial misconduct and withholding evidence, he had to testify before Congress about the actions of FBI agents under his control involved in the case.

“Mueller’s failure to follow basic evidentiary principles is dwarfed by the revelation that his legal invasion into Paul Manafort’s home complete with groping Manafort’s wife in bed was not originally authorized by Rosenstein, with the authorization to investigate Manafort only coming a week later in a post hoc legal rationalization of the raid.

“The likelihood that Michael Flynn pled guilty prior to learning that the FBI agents who interviewed him recommended against charges being filed is another example of Mueller’s gross misconduct. There is no place for Mueller’s bullying tactics designed to get guilty pleas from defendants in clear violation of Fifth Amendment due process requirements to have all evidence presented affirmed in Brady v. Maryland in 1963.

“Mueller’s actions are a stain on the American system of jurisprudence. While they may make for good television show script fodder, they are anything but in the best interests of justice being served.

“Once again, it is befuddling how Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein can continue to allow this high-profile destruction of the public confidence in our prosecutorial system to continue. It is time for civil liberties advocates on the left to wake up to the importance of maintaining constitutional rights even for your political opponents. Mueller’s conduct has become grotesque in its abuse of the Bill of Rights and in the least he should be dismissed if not also held legally accountable by those he’s abused.”

Attachments:

“Rosenstein memo to Mueller proves special counsel probe into Manafort far beyond scope of Sessions’ original recusal,” By Robert Romano, April 4, 2018 at http://dailytorch.com/2018/04/rosenstein-memo-to-mueller-proves-special-counsel-probe-into-manafort-far-beyond-scope-of-sessions-original-recusal/

“Robert Mueller’s Michael Flynn misconduct may be the key to his dismissal,” By Robert Romano, March 20, 2018 at http://dailytorch.com/2018/03/robert-muellers-michael-flynn-misconduct-may-be-the-key-to-his-dismissal/

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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