Dec. 19, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General to investigate allegations that Special Counsel Robert Mueller, without a warrant, seized Trump transition emails from the General Services Administration:

“The Department of Justice Inspector General is engaged in an investigation of misconduct by department officials who attempted to impact the 2016 election with a politically motivated counterintelligence probe into the Trump campaign and then transition. Special Counsel Robert Mueller falls under the purview of the department, and he reportedly engaged in a warrantless all-encompassing collection of communications within the Trump transition team in clear violation of the Fourth Amendment and the 1987 O’Connor v. Ortega Supreme Court decision. Therefore, the Inspector General should immediately incorporate this abuse of power by the Special Counsel into its investigation. This is misconduct at the highest levels of the Justice Department, and a gross violation of the constitutional rights of everyone who participated in the transition, and the perpetrators must be held accountable.”

To view online: https://getliberty.org/2017/12/doj-inspector-general-should-investigate-mueller-warrantless-seizure-of-trump-transition-emails/

Attachments:

“[W]e reject the contention made by the Solicitor General and petitioners that public employees can never have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their place of work. Individuals do not lose Fourth Amendment rights merely because they work for the government instead of a private employer.”  O’Connor v. Ortega (1987) at http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/480/709.html

Warrantless searches by Mueller of Trump transition emails ‘stain on American jurisprudence’, Statement by Rick Manning, Dec. 18, 2017, at https://getliberty.org/2017/12/warrantless-searches-by-mueller-of-trump-transition-emails-stain-on-american-jurisprudence/

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 100 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Senate committee should reconsider Garrett to head bank

Dec. 19, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today in a statement called on President Donald Trump to withdraw board nominees to the Ex-Im Bank in response to the Senate Banking Committee holding up the nomination of former U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) to head the bank:

“The Senate Banking Committee’s decision to not move forward former Rep. Scott Garrett’s nomination to head the Ex-Im Bank is a major disappointment. The ultimate corporate cronyism is when big corporations like Boeing succeed in defeating the President’s choice to run a bank that they are the major beneficiary of. The truth is the Ex-Im Bank has not been fully functional due to a lack of quorum on their governing board for two years and in response President Trump should immediately withdraw the other Ex-Im Bank board nominations that would provide a quorum in the absence of someone to lead the bank. The U.S. economy has been thriving this year without the Ex-Im Bank’s ability to make large loans, including X trillion of exports despite little money from the bank.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 100 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Dec. 19, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement blasting media sources false reports that a provision was added at the last minute to the tax cut conference report to personally benefit the finances of Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.):

“Can the left-wing media get anything right? The so-called Corker kickback, allegations by the International Business Times that the pundits and reporters at the New York Times, New York Magazine, MSNBC, Huffington Post, Politico and virtually every left-wing media outlet repeated, is patently false. Again. When the ready-shoot-aim left-wing hate media ever learn to check their sources? A simple call to the Senate Finance Committee would have revealed that the provision was already a part of the House tax bill, which was debated on the floor of the House, of which Bob Corker is not a member. Anyone who took basic high school civics knows that a conference report incorporates ideas from both the House and the Senate, along with some other provisions that are mutually agreed upon. To claim in a last-ditch effort to submarine passage of the tax cut bill that something nefarious had occurred makes me question their intelligence, integrity or their ability to tell the truth. This is fake news.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 100 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Dec. 18, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement expressing concern about reports that the Special Counsel obtained Trump transition emails from the General Services Administration, for which “This wasn’t a subpoena pursuant to a grand jury. GSA just turned them over” according to a White House adviser:

“As a member of the Trump transition team, I am deeply offended that Robert Mueller thinks that he can get away with snooping through confidential policy conversations without obtaining a warrant. What’s more, the General Services Administration’s choice to give away transition team documents without forcing a legal warrant to be issued effectively ends future transitions’ ability to consider policy in an open manner utilizing official resources. Mueller’s shotgun investigative approach which apparently assumes everyone is guilty until proven innocent will leave a permanent stain on American jurisprudence and end the illusion of a non-partisan justice system.

“Nothing less than the normal peaceful transition of power is at stake as a result of Mueller’s abuses, as future presidents-elect will be forced to assume that every internal consideration will be subject to public scrutiny. No incoming administration can ever again engage in the type of policy what-ifs necessary to assume the executive branch responsibilities now that the wall of confidentiality has been breached.”

Attachments:

“Any disruption occasioned by the transfer of the executive power could produce results detrimental to the safety and well-being of the United States and its people.” Presidential Transition Act of 1963, Section 2 at https://www.gsa.gov/governmentwide-initiatives/presidential-transition/legislative-overview/presidential-transition-act-of-1963

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 100 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Dec. 18, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement naming U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) Congressman of the Year:

“Devin Nunes has shown unique courage in exercising Congress’ Article I oversight responsibilities of the executive branch. His willingness to ask the tough questions and challenge assumptions about the politicization of the intelligence community by the Obama administration in 2016 has opened the door to honest discussions about the abuse of power by these agencies.  Nunes’ willingness to be subjected to fake ethics charges as payback for exposing the unmasking of Trump campaign and transition officials in 2016 by the Obama administration for political purposes ended the charade of a blindfolded justice system and highlighted the need for reform. Nunes’ leadership stands in sharp contrast to his Senate counterpart who has appeared to be more interested in friendly New York Times and MSNBC headlines than in getting to the truth.

“For exhibiting the courage and toughness to fight to uncover the truth against the lethal combination of the administrative state and the dominant media culture, Americans for Limited Government is proud to name Devin Nunes Congressman of the Year. Nunes exposed the deep state.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 100 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Dec. 15, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement noting a Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll finding that 63 percent of the American people believe the Justice Department investigation into suppose Trump-Russia collusion on the 2016 election is harming the country, including 78 percent of Republicans, 60 percent of Independents and 52 percent of Democrats:

“A Harvard University study finds that 63 percent of the American people believe that the Trump-Russia collusion investigation by the Justice Department is hurting the country. Our nation has spent almost a year and a half on a political witch hunt designed to take out President Donald Trump, and the Harvard poll shows that almost two-thirds of the public have had enough, believing that it is harming the nation. They are right. Significantly, this poll was taken prior to mass dissemination of news that a high-ranking Obama Justice Department official was married to a Fusion GPS contractor, the company was paid by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the DNC to produce the Christopher Steele dossier that the FBI relied on to pursue the investigation. The poll was also taken prior to revelations that the lead FBI investigator and his mistress who also worked for the FBI were describing the investigation as an ‘insurance policy’ against Trump winning the election from a meeting with Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe.

“Given this corruption and the revelation that the entire investigation may have been based on a lie, a plot hatched by Clinton partisans and intelligence officials in the Obama administration, the entire basis for this harmful investigation has collapsed. The abject failure of the partisan Mueller team to find, after over one year of investigation, evidence of collusion between Trump and Russia to hack the DNC or influence the election discredits the entire probe. It is time for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to end the Mueller investigation as it has evolved into nothing more than a partisan attempt to overturn the outcome of the 2016 election.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 100 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Dec. 14, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today praised the efforts of the Trump administration to roll back onerous regulations and get the economy moving again:

“President Trump is right. Many of the most onerous regulations in place today are because Congress decades ago delegated its lawmaking powers to unelected bureaucrats. President Trump and his administration’s actions to roll back job-killing regulations like the Clean Power Plan saving job creators billions of dollars a year are one of the reasons the economy is turning around. Perhaps most significantly, Trump’s recognition that Congress has for too long abdicated its Article I responsibilities to the executive branch should signal a new responsibility in lawmaking. The framers wisely invested legislative authority into Congress. Over the years there has been almost complete delegation of the hard decisions to the administrative state. Out of all the politicians who have come to Washington, D.C., President Trump seems to be one of the few who understands the dangerous slope of allowing unelected bureaucrats to make legislative policy. Trump’s efforts to roll back regulations and restore the intent of Congress is one of many bright spots of this first year of his administration.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 100 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Dec. 13, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement on the latest reported compromise on tax cuts by Congress:

“Reports on the House-Senate tax cut bill agreement are extremely positive. The lowering of rates, repeal of the Obamacare individual mandate, inclusion of at least partial state and local and property tax deductions, plus the allowance of medical expense deductions are important to ensuring tax relief for the vast majority of Americans. The disposition of many provisions however remains unreported. It is our hope that the Senate prevailed in closing the foreign reinsurance inversion loophole, which encouraged insurers to send their profits overseas to avoid taxation. Additionally, that the conference legislation will continue to allow for full same-year expensing of advertising costs, and that repatriation was incentivized to year one to provide maximum, immediate benefit to the U.S. economy. Finally, it is our hope that none of the tax cuts will be sunsetted, creating another unnecessary, unwanted tax hike cliff for a future Congress to deal with.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 100 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Dec. 13, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging the Senate to confirm former U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) to be the head of the Export-Import Bank of the United States:

“It is incredible that Boeing is about to negotiate to provide aircraft to Iran while at the same time engaging in a smear campaign against President Trump’s nominee to head the Export-Import Bank, former U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett. One of the primary rationales for the Ex-Im Bank is to provide U.S. corporations like Boeing an offset to foreign government subsidization of their competitors’ products. It is almost unbelievable that one of our nation’s top military contractors would to sell their products to a government that trails only North Korea in being a threat to world peace. President Trump has submitted a package of nominees headed by Garrett to make the Ex-Im Bank fully functional. Boeing’s complaint is that he has a long history of skepticism about the need for the bank itself. Given Boeing’s seeming willingness to provide highly technologically advanced aircraft to the nation’s sworn enemies, any concern they have about the Garrett nomination should be discounted and the Senate should move immediately to confirm the Trump nominee as a sign of displeasure for Boeing’s action.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 100 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Dec. 12, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging Congress to accept no immigration deal that does not first address ending chain migration and the visa lottery system as well as building the wall and securing the border:

“Yesterday’s horrific attempt at mass murder by a person who came from Bangladesh via chain migration underscores the importance of ending both the visa lottery system and chain migration. It is absurd that when one member of a family wins the lottery to be able to legally come to the U.S. that every extended relative is put to the front of the line for future immigration. It is in both U.S. national security and economic interests to have an immigration system that prioritizes those with needed skills and experience. Any discussion of immigration law changes must begin with ending chain migration, building the wall and securing the border before any other considerations.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 100 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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