Oct. 4, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement blasting the International Trade Commission for failing to punish Apple after it ruled it had stolen Qualcomm’s intellectual property:

“The protection of intellectual property is one of the most critical components of encouraging innovation and creativity in our nation.  It is essential that we as a nation protect the IP rights of inventors – small and large – and that we enforce the laws to deter the theft of that property.  For that reason, it was extremely disappointing to see last week’s ruling by a judge of U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in the case brought by Qualcomm against Apple.  An ITC judge ruled in favor of Qualcomm and held that Apple has infringed their intellectual property, yet refused to impose the one penalty available to the ITC – an exclusion order against the infringing technology.

“At the heart of this case is a fundamental question that could define the next century of technological advancement in this country.  If we still believe in innovation in America, then we need to aggressively enforce our IP laws and force companies like Apple to live by those laws.  The failure to do so will lead us to become a nation where patented technology can be stolen whenever a corporation decides it doesn’t want to pay for it anymore.

“The reasoning behind this decision is not yet public, but it’s hard to see how there is any sensible reason behind this ruling.  It seems outrageous for a judge to rule that a company has stolen another company’s property but refuse to make them pay a price for it.  It sends a message that anyone can get away with patent theft.

“We can only hope that when the full commission looks at this ruling, they use the power of the ITC to seriously protect property rights and impose real penalties on a company they have found infringes IP rights.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1003 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Oct. 3, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement blasting Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D) for their silence in the wake of the mob that has coalesced against the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court:

“These red state Democrats pretend to be bipartisans who reach across the aisle, but the last few weeks have proven that nothing could be further from the truth. Their silence in the midst of an angry mob encouraged by Senate Democrat leadership is unforgivable. The failure of these senators to even recognize the inherent unfairness of Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein’s deliberate mishandling of the uncorroborated charges of Christine Blasey Ford clearly shows that partisanship trumps the common sense the American people expect from their senators. With the vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh pending, the people of West Virginia, Indiana, Florida, Montana, Pennsylvania, Missouri and North Dakota need to contact their senators and tell them to take a break from D.C. power games and vote for the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. It is time for them to actually represent their constituents and the interests of our great country.”

Attachments:

“A vote against Kavanaugh is a vote for mob rule,” By Rick Manning, Oct. 3, 2018 at http://dailytorch.com/2018/10/a-vote-against-kavanaugh-is-a-vote-for-mob-rule/

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1003 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Oct. 2, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging the Senate not to cave into mob rule and to instead support confirming Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court:

“If the Senate votes against Judge Kavanaugh it will be assenting to mob rule to take down President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, not because of veracity of the allegations made against him or whether they could ever be proven beyond a reasonable doubt but because of the politics of the moment. In the past, judges and justices were examined by the Senate on the basis of qualifications. Unfortunately the current process has become purely political, with a ratcheting up of the politics of personal destruction to defeat nominees as seen in the cases of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas.

“Because of these unsubstantiated allegations, Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation has become one of the most divisive in our nation’s history as a fervent mob is demanding that we destroy Kavanaugh and his entire life without any proof, beyond a single person’s statement, to say he committed the actions he is accused of. It is alarming that Senate Democrats have not already rejected the mob rule that is at the heart of the Kavanaugh opposition, and a vote against Kavanaugh would be a complete capitulation to the demand that a baseless charge with zero corroboration be considered disqualifying when weighed against a lifetime of honorable and excellent achievement.

“Failure to provide Judge Kavanaugh the presumption of innocence makes every future nominee subject to the same criteria where an impossible to corroborate claim from decades before is sufficient to defeat any nominee. Any thinking person knows the danger this new standard would create in attracting future leaders to serve in our government, and the Senate needs to definitively end this absurd version of Twelve Angry Men by standing up to the mob that demands Kavanaugh scalp for political purposes.”

Attachments:

RE: Analysis of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s Allegations, By Rachel Mitchell, Nominations Investigative Counsel, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Sept. 30, 2018 at https://legalinsurrection.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Analysis-of-Christine-Ford-Allegations-and-Timeline-Rachel-Mitchell-Nominations-Investigative-Counsel.pdf

“In the legal context, here is my bottom line: A ‘he said, she said’ case is incredibly difficult to prove. But this case is even weaker than that. Dr. Ford identified other witnesses to the event, and those witnesses either refuted her allegations or failed to corroborate them. For the reasons discussed below, I do not think that a reasonable prosecutor would bring this case based on the evidence before the Committee. Nor do I believe that this evidence is sufficient to satisfy the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1003 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Oct. 1, 2018, Fairfax, Va.–Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for scheduling a final vote on the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court:

“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is right to bring the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme Court Associate Justice to the Senate floor later this week. While the left will scream, ‘Unfair!’ the only thing unfair in this proceeding has been the deliberate and calculated abuse of the privacy of both Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and the Kavanaugh family. The sideshow of malcontents and miscreants who have invaded Washington, D.C. demonstrate that this is not about facts but instead nothing more than a raw power play orchestrated by the Senate minority and the mob they lead. Thank you, Leader McConnell, for moving forward and allowing the Senate to vote.”

Attachments:

Speech announcing Kavanaugh vote, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Oct. 1, 2018

“The confirmation process for Judge Brett Kavanaugh, one of the most qualified and most impressive Supreme Court nominees in our nation’s history, is moving forward. On Friday, the Judiciary Committee reported his nomination favorably. Then, here on the floor, we officially moved to take up the nomination. Every Republican member of the Committee agreed that Judge Kavanaugh should be reported out with a favorable recommendation. And every Democrat voted in opposition.

“Now, that last part shouldn’t really surprise anyone. Democrats have made no real attempt to disguise that this was a pure partisan calculation for them from the very beginning. Several of them had announced their opposition to Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination long before his original hearings even began. Before they had questioned him on his judicial record they deem so problematic. And in some cases, before he—or anyone–had even been nominated. And they didn’t mince words: The way one Democratic member of the Judiciary Committee put it, supporters of Judge Kavanaugh are — quote – ‘complicit in the evil.’ That’s a Democratic member of the Judiciary Committee.

“Another Democrat on the Committee, before Judge Kavanaugh was even named, described in almost apocalyptic terms the consequences of whomever the president might nominate. Here is the quote: ‘We are looking at a destruction of the Constitution of the United States as far as I can tell.’ And here was the Democratic Leader, just hours after Judge Kavanaugh was nominated: ‘I will oppose him with everything I’ve got.’ Well, they’ve certainly done just that.

“The ranking Democrat on the Committee first heard from Dr. Ford on July 30th. Did our colleague alert the Chairman, so the Committee could do due diligence in a confidential way, consistent with Dr. Ford’s wishes? No, she did not. Did she discreetly raise the issue with Judge Kavanaugh during her private meeting with him on August 20th? No, she didn’t do that either. As best we can tell, the Democrats chose to keep this allegation secret, rather than investigating in a bipartisan and timely way. In fact, they held it in reserve.

“But meanwhile, the senior Senator from California — or her office — were already in communication with Dr. Ford. In fact, her office had already recommended that Dr. Ford retain a particular Washington D.C. law firm. Now, this firm in question is not exactly foreign to Democrat politics. Two of its founding partners — including one of the attorneys who personally appeared at the hearing to represent Dr. Ford — had until recently been scheduled to host a fundraiser for one of our Senate Democratic colleagues tonight.

“By the way, the firm had also represented, in another matter, the person who has made the most salacious and disgusting accusations against Judge Kavanaugh as a high school student. This is the firm which Judiciary Committee Democrats recommended to Dr. Ford. Not long thereafter, of course, Dr. Ford’s letter to the senior Senator from California wound up in the hands of the press. The same letter in which she’d asked for confidentiality — leaked.

“By whom? As best I can tell, nobody had possession of this letter except for Dr. Ford’s Democrat congresswoman, the Democrat side of the Judiciary Committee and, presumably, the politically-connected lawyers they recommended to Dr. Ford. And somehow — somehow — it ended up in the press. Dr. Ford’s plea for privacy was brushed aside. A predictable media circus was launched. Of course, the questionable and concerning handling of this matter didn’t stop there.

“In her testimony, Dr. Ford seemed surprised that Chairman Grassley had offered her legal team a number of more discreet and less burdensome ways to share her story if she preferred. The Chairman had offered to fly investigators to California, or anywhere else, for a private interview at a time and place of Dr. Ford’s choosing. But apparently, neither our Democratic colleagues nor the lawyers they recommended felt it was necessary to make these options clear to Dr. Ford. She told the committee last week, quote, ‘I wasn’t clear on what the offer was…[I would have] been happy to speak with you out there…it wasn’t clear to me that was the case.’

“So, let’s take stock of all this. The ranking member withheld serious allegations from Committee colleagues, precluding any chance that they be handled with sensitivity and discretion. Meanwhile, her staff made recommendations that the accuser retain specific, politically-connected counsel. Then, her confidential account reached the media faster than it reached either the chairman of the Committee or the FBI, which our colleagues have been insisting must look into it

“And finally, we have reason to believe that Dr. Ford was not even apprised of the Chairman’s offers to collect her testimony in ways that might have been less likely to create a media circus and less burdensome on her. It’s almost as if Dr. Ford didn’t want a Washington D.C.-based media circus — but others with whom she was in contact, and on whom she was relying, wanted exactly that.

“So we have learned that, if you confide in Senate Democrats on a highly sensitive personal matter, no request for confidentiality will keep you from becoming a household name. And if you’re a nominee whose judicial philosophy Senate Democrats deem to be objectionable, no centuries-old standard of presumed innocence will protect your name, your family, or your reputation from irreparable damage.

“Fortunately, Chairman Grassley has taken action to clean up this mess. Last Thursday, he supervised a professional and respectful hearing. He retained an experienced sex crimes prosecutor to methodically collect the details of Dr. Ford’s recollections. This is a professional who was recognized as ‘Outstanding Arizona Sexual Assault Prosecutor of the Year’ by former Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano — a former cabinet secretary of President Obama, and herself a member of Anita Hill’s legal team in 1991.

“Here’s what she wrote in her memo to members following the hearing:

“Quote: ‘A “he said, she said” case is incredibly difficult to prove. But this case is even weaker than that…’

“Quote: ‘Dr. Ford identified other witnesses to the event, and those witnesses either refuted her allegation or failed to corroborate them…’

“Quote: ‘I do not think that a reasonable prosecutor would bring this case based on the evidence before the Committee. Nor do I think that this evidence is sufficient to satisfy the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard.’ That is a lower standard.

“Will our Democratic colleagues listen to this expert opinion, although it conflicts with their political mission? Don’t hold your breath. Nor am I optimistic they will stay consistent and accept the conclusions of the supplemental background investigation the FBI is now conducting, on top of its six prior investigations of Judge Kavanaugh. Democrats demanded this supplemental investigation. They proclaimed it would be a game-changer.

“The Democratic Leader and the ranking Democrat on the Committee both said recently that an FBI investigation can be completed in less than a week. But I’d bet almost anything that — after it runs its course in the next few days — we will then be treated to a lecture that anything short of a totally unbounded fishing expedition of indefinite duration is too limited, or too arbitrary, or somehow insufficient. We all know that’s coming.

“If you listen carefully, you can practically hear the sounds of the Democrats moving the goalposts. Remember back in the summer? Democrats said there weren’t enough documents to get a good sense of Judge Kavanaugh’s career. Then we heard there were too many documents. Then, once Dr. Ford’s private allegation was mysteriously made public, we couldn’t possibly move forward until we heard from them both.

“Then, after neither the hearing nor the statements of supposed witnesses yielded any corroborating evidence — and, in fact, produced evidence that supported Judge Kavanaugh — we were told only an FBI investigation would resolve this, and that it could be done promptly. Well, let me go way out on a limb. Let me make a small prediction. Soon enough, the goalposts will be on the move once again. I would respectfully say to my colleagues: Do these actions suggest this has ever been about finding the truth? Does anybody believe that? Do these actions suggest this has ever been about giving Judge Kavanaugh a fair hearing?

“This institution has seen before episodes somewhat like what we’re now seeing from some of our colleagues across the aisle. Back during the McCarthy Era in 1950, character assassination and uncorroborated allegations were being utilized in a very different debate in that era. That’s when a distinguished Senator from Maine named Margaret Chase Smith — an icon from the great state of our colleague Senator Collins — took to the Senate floor to say enough was enough.

“She gave a speech that guaranteed she’d be in the history of the Senate. She titled it her ‘Declaration of Conscience.’ Here’s what she said: ‘I do not like the way in which the Senate has been made a rendezvous for vilification, for selfish political gain at the sacrifice of individual reputations and national unity.’ Margaret Chase Smith went on: ‘Whether it be a criminal prosecution in court or a character prosecution in the Senate, there is little practical distinction when the life of a person has been ruined.’ We should listen to these words. They speak as loudly today as they did 68 years ago.

“In my judgment, the pattern of behavior we have seen confirms what Democrats’ own public statements have told us: They are committed to delaying, obstructing, and resisting this nomination with everything they’ve got. They just want to delay this matter past the election. That’s not my supposition. That’s their plan, according to another Democratic Member of the Judiciary Committee, the junior Senator from Hawaii.

“So soon, I expect, we’ll hear that the conclusions of the expert prosecutor who questioned both witnesses at last week’s hearing aren’t reliable. Or that the FBI’s investigation was not infinite or endless enough for their liking. Maybe we’ll hear that the real issue is not these uncorroborated allegations of misconduct, after all. But rather the fact that Judge Kavanaugh – now listen to this – drank beer in high school and college. Or the fact that he was rightfully angry – who wouldn’t be – that his good name and his family have been dragged through the mud with a campaign of character assassination based on allegations that lack any corroboration. Who wouldn’t be angry about that?

“Their goalposts keep shifting — but their goal has not moved an inch. The goal’s been the same all along. And so the time for endless delay and obstruction has come to a close. Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination is out of Committee. We are considering it here on the floor. And we’ll be voting this week.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1003 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Oct. 1, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement affirming President Donald Trump’s authority under Article II of the Constitution to order FBI investigations including into Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh:

“We are happy that the media and Senate Democrats are finally acknowledging the fact that the President of the United States has the constitutional authority to open and close investigations. They may not like it, but the President gets to make that call under the Constitution. But it is surprising that the same Democrats who spent the last year and a half excoriating Republicans for questioning FBI investigations are now trying to tell the FBI that what they’ve been doing as routine practice in conducting background checks of judicial nominees, which are always limited in time and scope and a part of the process, is not good enough. They’re the ones who called for another background check and now it’s not good enough. This is not about getting to truth but to create a never-ending Kavanaugh witch hunt.

“The truth is, Senate Democrats never intended to vote for Kavanaugh and the call for extended investigations are merely a political ploy to ensure that vulnerable red state Democrats don’t have to vote prior to the election. The Senate should vote on the Kavanaugh nomination within the next week, for better or for worse.”

Attachments:

“Senate Democrats inadvertently admit President Trump can order and conclude FBI investigations,” By Robert Romano, Oct. 1, 2018 at http://dailytorch.com/2018/10/senate-democrats-inadvertently-admit-president-trump-can-order-and-conclude-fbi-investigations/

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1003 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Oct. 1, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising President Donald Trump for concluding the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement:

“It has been clear for a number of years that NAFTA was outdated and in need of modernization. President Trump’s U.S-Mexico-Canada Agreement, while hardly acronym friendly, reflects the three nations’ needs moving forward in the 21st Century. One critical component is the increase in country of origin requirements to 75 percent, which will ensure that automobiles which purport to be made in the U.S., Canada and Mexico will have at least three-quarters of their parts made in North America. Additional concessions on agriculture, intellectual property, manufacturing, currency and labor put America first.

“President Trump continues to keep his promises and on first blush, the USMCA looks like a better deal. However, the devil is always in the details, which deserve full scrutiny during the Congressional approval process.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1003 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Sept. 28, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to the call for President Donald Trump to order the FBI to conduct another investigative background check on Judge Brett Kavanaugh:

“So, the Democrats now agree that the President of the United States has the authority to tell the FBI to open or presumably close any investigation. President Trump’s asking the FBI to re-open the Brett Kavanaugh investigation for the next few days to accommodate Senate Democrats and Sen. Jeff Flake’s demands is a glaring demonstration for the whole country to see that the President does indeed control the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation with the power to tell them to open or close investigations.

“Remember, the FBI announced that they were not going to investigate the unsubstantiated and uncorroborated claims of Christine Blasey Ford beyond including them in the briefing file. The potential re-opening of the investigation for a short time period by order of the President of the United States shows everyone that Donald Trump has the power to open and determine the length of any investigation by the DOJ, FBI or any of their designees.  Today’s Pyrrhic win for the Democrats ends, once and for all, any discussion of whether the President had the authority to fire James Comey and whether his alleged comments on the Mike Flynn investigation were legal — the new Christine Ford standard shows that they were.

“Given this exercise of his authority at the behest of the Democrats and Flake, the last shred of rationale behind the Mueller investigation is shattered. Somehow, I don’t think this was the result that the Democrat Character Assassination team had in mind – because in their primal scream, they legitimized and acknowledged President Trump’s constitutional authority and have effectively ended Mueller.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1003 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Sept. 28, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) for pledging to vote yes on the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court:

“Senator Flake’s statement in support of the Kavanaugh nomination to the Supreme Court demonstrates that for some senators the presumption of innocence and the rule of law matters. Senator Flake knows that nothing would be gained through a continuation of this already prolonged and extensive process. His refusal to cave into the childish temper tantrum of the left should be praised by all. Thank you, Senator Flake, for demonstrating that he has the capacity and willingness to be an adult are acting like spoiled children.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1003 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Sept. 28, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement thanking Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) for his handling of the confirmation hearing of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court:

“Against all odds, the Article II advice and consent process outlined in the U.S. Constitution is working in the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. It has afforded a thorough and fair evaluation of the nominee’s qualifications. Chairman Grassley deserves the thanks of the American people for the outstanding job he has done in leading the Senate Judiciary Committee through these dangerous waters for our republic.  The unusual allegations raised and outright duplicity by the minority in the handling of the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court required the exact combination of fairness, yet firmness which Grassley displayed throughout the proceedings.

“I know that the entire staff of the Judiciary Committee has worked tirelessly over the past few months to ensure that the Senate’s role in the advice and consent process was handled as the Constitution demands and each of them deserve praise for their respective roles. Thank you for standing up for the rule of law against the mob which you faced.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1003 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Sept. 27, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning sent a letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Sept. 24 to investigate Comcast to review the outcomes that have followed the Comcast-NBC merger. Here follows some excerpts:

“Comcast/NBCU merger remains far more dangerous to Comcast’s distribution rivals than the AT&T/Time Warner combination is to AT&T’s distribution… Comcast/NBCU programming is significantly more important to consumers than is Time Warner’s programming. While the national programming of both cable distributors may be similar, Comcast/NBCU owns many widely considered “must-have” television broadcast stations and regional sports networks (RSNs). Time Warner, by contrast, owns no broadcast stations or RSNs. In the markets where Comcast owns these local stations and RSNs, Comcast’s market share is on average greater than 50%, compared to AT&T/Time Warner national market share which is about 25%. Comcast would profit much more from acquiring a rival’s subscriber than AT&T/Time Warner because Comcast can sell all new customers video and wireline broadband. AT&T/Time Warner only has that capability in limited areas…

“[I]t is imperative these issues are not only raised at your upcoming hearing, but discussed at length in order to open an investigation into the past practices and future operation of Comcast/NBCU. Then, upon reviewing the findings of such an investigation, conditions should be put in place that will enforce anti-competitive rules and regulations. At the very least, to protect consumers and rivals, Comcast/NBCU should be subjected to the same arbitration commitment as AT&T/Time Warner.”

Attachments:

Full Letter to House Energy and Commerce Committee, Sept. 27, 2018 at https://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/HouseEnergyAndCommerceLetter-Comcast-9-24-18.pdf

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1003 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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