Jan. 27, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement regarding the arguments of Pam Bondi, the former Florida Attorney General, before the US Senate today:

“The entirety of the House impeachment case rests on the presumption that there was nothing to be concerned about relating to former Vice President Joe Biden’s son’s Board membership with the Ukraine natural gas firm Burisma.  Bondi’s meticulous outlining of the Burisma corruption case and the public reporting of it, makes it unambiguously clear that the President not only was correct to ask for the Ukrainians to get to the bottom of the allegations, but would have been derelict in his duties and responsibilities if he had not done so.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org.

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Jan. 27, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement regarding the leak of portions of John Bolton’s book:

“The leak of parts of John Bolton’s book out of the National Security Council is clearly designed to impact the impeachment trial. No matter what the book claims, the facts remain the same. The Ukrainian government had zero knowledge that the funds were being held until a story ran on August 28.  Senator Ron Johnson, who was meeting with the Ukrainians on September 1 along with Vice President Pence, called President Trump about what they should ask for in exchange for the aid being released, to which the President replied, ‘No way. I would never do that. Who told you that?’ And, that he would likely be happy with the decision that was made: ‘We’re reviewing it now, and you’ll probably like my final decision.’

“No matter what any witnesses say about the President’s internal thoughts or even complaints about the unfairness of a system that spent three years investigating him when he did nothing and closes its eyes to obvious abuses of power and corruption by the Clintons and Bidens, the bottom line fact is that the Ukrainians were never told by U.S. officials that aid was being withheld prior to the Politico story, and that the aid was released two weeks after the hold was reported, three weeks prior to the deadline.

“Facts matter.  The actions taken were perfectly legal and the impeachment continues to be nothing more than a continuation of the three-year coup against the duly-elected President of the United States.  And given the persistent leaks from the National Security Council staff, it is clear that the only people seeking to have an undue influence on the 2020 U.S. election are the Obama holdovers in the White House and their ongoing efforts to knee-cap President Trump.  The Senate needs to take the evidence that is being laid before them and acquit the President, rather than being buffeted by the same kind of campaign of disinformation that the nation endured throughout the Mueller investigation.  Dragging out this trial for any longer does a grievous disservice to our nation, as fairness would dictate that if witnesses are allowed to be called, then any and every witness the President wishes to bring forward should be allowed including the so-called whistleblower, Adam Schiff, the Schiff staff that colluded with the ‘whistleblower’, Clinton operatives who worked the Ukraine for cash, the Ukrainian prosecutors who investigated Biden corruption and the New York Times reporters who received the selective leaks of the Bolton book.  Let’s hear the NY Times reporters claim source protection privilege when the President is not afforded the basic Executive Privileges that every Chief Executive has had and defended since George Washington.”

“The Senate has a choice.  Either end this fraudulent impeachment, or open it up into a free for all.  After three years of being ‘prosecuted’ in the press and three months of the House ‘impeachment’ hearings, mostly held in secret, the President deserves to be able to completely and fully make his case if additional House witnesses are allowed to be called.  If the Senate doesn’t have the stomach for opening the door to a full inquiry into the corruption of the Ukrainian involvement on behalf of Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, the Bidens money grab and the shady Schiff House process, then they should not open the door to any additional witnesses.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org.

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Jan. 17, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s new Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing regulation that removes requirements to make changes to local zoning to qualify for federal funds:

“Since 2015, Americans for Limited Government has led the charge to reform the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing regulation to remove any requirements for localities that take community development block grants to make changes to local zoning. We are pleased that HUD Secretary Ben Carson produced a final rule that protects local zoning prerogatives while encouraging evaluation as to whether regulations have an adverse impact on housing affordability. This rightly stops the nationalization of zoning while still encouraging fair housing, once again placing primacy on cities and counties to make the best decisions for their communities. The last thing Americans needed was Washington, D.C. bureaucrats dictating zoning requirements based on Census maps, and Secretary Carson successfully ended this overreach.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org.

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Jan. 16, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement blasting a Bernie Sanders Iowa field coordinator for calling for Trump supporters to be put into gulags and said cities would burn if Sanders was denied the Democratic nomination again:

“The Project Veritas release of video featuring the Bernie Sanders Iowa field coordinator advocating throwing Trump supporters into re-education gulags is a startling reminder of the violence of the left.  The fact that Bernie Sanders and every Democrat candidate for President has not condemned the violence advocated by the Sanders staffer is chilling.  Chilling because America has already suffered political violence at the hands of a radicalized Sanders supporter when then House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was shot and nearly killed by a Sanders supporter who intended to kill every GOP House member practicing on that Alexandria, Va. diamond for the annual Congressional Baseball game.  The admissions by the Sanders staffer of desired violence and incarceration based upon political differences should Bernie not win is not particularly surprising.

“What is surprising is that a search of Google does not demonstrate any contrition offered by the Sanders campaign.  Instead, they are locking down their operation to insulate the staff from unapproved media. What is stunning is that none of the Democratic party contenders for the White House have condemned Sanders for not immediately firing this staffer and his calls for violence against Trump supporters.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org.

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Jan. 16, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising Senate passage of the USMCA:

“President Donald Trump kept his promise and ended the giant sucking sound that was NAFTA. The overwhelming Senate passage of Trump’s signature trade deal is an affirmation that a President who is determined to put America’s interests first can rewrite the rules for international trade. The immediate impact will be auto manufacturers who desire zero tariffs on their vehicles will have to significantly increase the content of those vehicles in order to qualify. This should mean more U.S. auto manufacturing jobs, as well as a bump to domestic production, good news for American workers as auto manufacturing jobs come with higher wages.

“2020 is shaping up to be the year of the trade deals with the phase one China deal in the can and prospective deals with likely deals with the UK, the EU, India and phase two Japan in the offing.

“While Democrats in Congress have attempted to undermine President Trump at every turn, the passage of USMCA demonstrates that they failed and tariffs properly applied work. While the nation’s focus has been China, the truth is more than one-third of U.S. exports go to Canada and Mexico, compared to 7 percent to China, making USMCA even more important than the first phase China deal in the immediate future.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org.

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Jan. 15, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising President Donald Trump’s concluded phase one trade agreement with China:

“President Trump may have achieved what almost every American including me viewed as impossible through the signature of the fair and reciprocal phase one U.S.-China trade deal. While much of the economic focus will be on $50 billion of Chinese purchases of U.S. agriculture, it must be recognized those are of necessity as China’s food supplies remain dangerously low. The real test of this deal whether China will change its economic DNA to keep its word and respect intellectual property and ending competitive currency devaluations, as well as to purchase U.S. manufacturing. With the increased oppression of the freedom lovers in Hong Kong, it is hard to put much credence in the Chinese signature on the documents. However, the fact they’ve signed them at all is directly attributable to President Trump’s imposition of tariffs which forced Beijing to make written accommodations to fundamental American economic concerns, and which will remain in place as an enforcement mechanism.

“It is my sincere hope that this deal leads to an open, economically free China that doesn’t kill its own citizens who engage in legitimate political dissent, and we encourage President Trump to hold the Chinese government strictly accountable for any failure to comply with this deal. As for tariff skeptics, perhaps they will learn the basic lesson that tariffs can work when thoughtfully and appropriately applied.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org.

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Jan. 15, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) appointment of U.S. Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) to head the House impeachment managers:

“Speaker Pelosi’s decision to appoint Reps. Adam Schiff and Jerrold Nadler to head the House impeachment management team demonstrates clearly that the Senate will hear nothing more than hearsay and presumptions against President Donald Trump. Schiff’s history of lying throughout the entirety of the Russiagate investigation, combined with his unscrupulous handling of the impeachment inquiry, should solidify resolve in the Senate to bend over backwards to allow President Trump to present his case. Nadler pronounced before Nancy Pelosi even became Speaker that Democrats were going to impeach President Trump, showing clearly that this fraudulent impeachment was a foregone conclusion with the House merely filling in the blanks for the Articles of Impeachment.

“With a Senate trial likely to start next week the pubic needs to let their Senators know that they expect President Trump to be treated fairly and that any attempts by the House Democrats to expand their inquiry should be rejected. A quick, fair trial and exoneration will allow the Senate to get back to important work on behalf of the American people. The House failed in its duty to take impeachment seriously, and the Senate should dispose of this sham political maneuver fairly and rapidly.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org.

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Jan. 10, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising the Trump economy’s record low unemployment:

“2019 marked a year of remarkable employment growth with the number of unemployed Americans dropping to a low of 5.753 million with 533,000 fewer unemployed than at the beginning of the year.  December, 2019 marked the fewest number of people unemployed since December, 2000 when there were more than 24 million fewer people in the civilian workforce. This is remarkable.

“Not to be outdone, nearly 2 million more people had jobs at the end of 2019 than at the beginning.  Since President Trump took office in January of 2017 about 6.7 million more people are employed with real wages increasing disproportionately for those at the bottom of the wage scale.

“The unemployment rate remains at 3.5%, a level not seen since Neil Armstrong walked on the moon in 1969.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org.

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Jan. 9, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in support of action by the White House Council of Environmental Quality to streamline environmental approvals for infrastructure and other projects:

“The Trump administration’s proposed rule to modernize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations is timely and important.  America cannot compete in the 21st century digital age when common sense infrastructure needs are effectively derailed by a regulatory regime which often takes the better part of a decade to satisfy.  The streamlined system outlined by the proposed rule protects the environment while taking away barriers which are more about stopping needed growth than protecting the environment.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org.

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Correction: The proposal is by the White House Council of Environmental Quality, not the Interior Department.

Jan. 9, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement commenting on a resolution by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) on war powers:

“Here are facts everyone can agree on. Congress in 2002 authorized the use of military force in Iraq and to secure Iraq internally. And President Trump, like Obama and Bush before him, used force in Iraq against an enemy combatant on Iraqi soil who was fomenting war against the U.S. through the attack on our embassy and other attacks on U.S.  and Iraqi forces. The President’s decision to target the terrorist general Soleimani is authorized under current law, and would remain so authorized even under the resolution being proposed by Sen. Tim Kaine, which allows for force otherwise authorized by Congress.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org.

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