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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April 27, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement on the latest developments on the Korean peninsula:

“President Trump promised to change the geo-political world in which we live and the current rapprochement between South Korea and North Korea is evidence that his re-think everything approach is working.  In the past, China was seen as the key broker with the North Koreans, and while they have had a role in this process, the pictures of just confirmed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jung Un demonstrates that President Trump, unlike his predecessors, recognized that on the U.S. can represent U.S. interests.  By creating direct communications, President Trump opened the door for the historic meeting of the leaders of the North Korean and South Korean governments.

“Of course, this is just a first, but very important step toward ending this forgotten war that began in 1950 when North Korea first invaded South Korea. After the hot war ended, a Cold War has existed on the border between the two Koreas with 35,000 U.S. troops currently stationed there in constant harm’s way.  In order to show that they are sincere in their desire for peace, the North Koreans need to release the three Americans still being held hostage by the regime, followed closely by providing a full accounting of the North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile programs and U.S. inspectors must be part of the inspection teams throughout the denuclearization process. Once the peninsula is nuclear free, the U.S. can begin the process of bringing our troops home from South Korea.

“Most Americans only remember the Korean War through old MASH episodes.  The truth of that war is that it was bloody and brutal with battles like Chosin Reservoir, Inchon and Pork Chop Hill being etched in a generation’s memories from a time when instant gratification communications did not exist and the true perils and horrors of the war were largely unknown to the public.  President Donald Trump has been determined to change the status quo and end this stand-off from the outset of his administration as evidenced by his sending Vice President Pence to the DMZ early in his presidency and by ratcheting up pressure on North Korea as they expanded their nuclear program, have created a pathway to peace, if the North Koreans will take 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 26, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement blasting the Senate Judiciary Committee proposal to shield Special Counsel Robert Mueller or any future special counsel from firing:

“Americans for Limited Government has always been a leading group in support of Congress reaffirming its constitutional Article I powers. Senator Mike Lee is the leader of the Senate’s Article I project and has correctly noted that today’s Senate Judiciary Committee action is an unconstitutional attempt to protect a Justice Department at-will, political appointee from firing, effectively stripping the President of his constitutional, Article II power to execute the laws. He is not a civil servant and can be removed at any time.

“Even you disagree with Sen. Lee on the constitutionality of the Judiciary Committee’s proposal, this is still a disastrous idea. By taking away the Executive Branch’s ability to remove a Special Counsel without judicial approval, the Judiciary Committee is effectively creating a permanent position. Once appointed, the Attorney General or Acting Attorney General will be stripped of any meaningful oversight of the actions of the Special Counsel. In effect, the Judiciary Committee proposal would make this and any future Special Counsel one of the most powerful people in the world, able to engage in unending investigations of the President or anyone else without meaningful oversight or worse, with blind eye turned on his misconduct.

“In the case of Robert Mueller, his appointment itself is illegitimate because it does not comport with the regulatory requirement that a specific crime be cited by the Acting Attorney General to be investigated. This failure was used by Mueller to cast and recast wider and wider nets desperately seeking crimes that are far afield from the initial allegations. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has made a mistake in even considering this ill-conceived legislation, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is 100 percent correct in not wasting any floor time on 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 24, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in support of the confirmation of CIA Director Mike Pompeo to be the next Secretary of State:

“The world is too dangerous a place to not have the President’s choice for Secretary of State in place. Current CIA Director Mike Pompeo has already proven his mettle in helping America navigate the treacherous waters of North Korean nuclear disarmament through the opening of backchannels to the regime. There is simply no excuse to continue to play partisan games with America’s foreign policy and the security of the world. The Senate should confirm Mike Pompeo now.”

Attachments:

“Mike Pompeo is already a successful peacemaker. Democrats ought to support him.” By Rick Manning, April 24, 2018 at https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/04/24/mike-pompeo-democrats-elections-donald-trump-column/544145002/

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 24, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued he following statement calling attention to the DNC civil suit filing stating that “the DNC was required to decommission more than 140 servers, remove and reinstall all software, including the operating systems, for more than 180 computers, and rebuild at least 11 servers”:

“DNC leadership in apparent collusion with the Obama FBI was given custodianship over key evidence related to whether or not Russia attempted to hack the DNC’s computers. At some point since that allegation was initially made in 2016, James Comey’s FBI should have taken possession of those computers and servers, but failed. Now, more than 180 of the affected computers were erased according to the DNC’s own court filing, software removed and operating systems reinstalled, most probably resulting in the destruction of key evidence of what the DNC alleges was a crime. Often, these subsequent actions become the only knowable facts surrounding a criminal activity and if as the DNC alleged in their lawsuit that their computers were hacked by Russian sources, the destruction of that evidence could in itself be a criminal act.

“Given the admitted destruction of evidence by the DNC to support their civil suit that absolutely alleges crimes were committed, it is incumbent on the court to ensure that all forensic data, correspondence and all other communications related to the hack be protected and preserved not only at the DNC but at Crowdstrike, the DNC-paid for IT firm that did the only analysis of the DNC systems, and Perkins Coie, the law firm that hired them.

“One key consideration for the court might be driven by the raid of Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen’s legal offices and residence, which is that if attorney-client privilege is void when there’s an allegation of potential criminal activity, then the DNC law firm Perkins Coie should subjected to the same standard, or else all evidence obtained in the Cohen raid should be determined to be off limits as a violation of the President’s Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights. There have been obvious violations of federal law by failed Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton and her campaign that have been consistently ignored by federal investigators, while the President has been exposed to microscopic scrutiny of every aspect of his campaign. This is partisan double standard threatens the Constitution and the rule of law and must not be allowed to stand.”

Attachments:

“Did the DNC destroy the evidence of the ‘hack’ on their servers? Court filing says 140 servers decommissioned, 180 computers erased and 11 servers ‘rebuilt.’” By Robert Romano, April 20, 2018 http://dailytorch.com/2018/04/did-the-dnc-destroy-the-evidence-of-the-hack-on-their-servers-court-filing-says-140-servers-decommissioned-180-computers-erased-and-11-servers-rebuilt/

“Cartoon: A ‘mountain’ of evidence” By A.F. Branco, April 24, 2018 at http://dailytorch.com/2018/04/cartoon-a-mountain-of-evidence/

“The boy who cried bear,” By Robert Romano, April 3, 2017 at http://dailytorch.com/2017/04/boy-cried-bear/

“Why was the FBI so sure that Russia hacked the DNC without looking at the server?” By Robert Romano, Aug. 16, 2017 at http://dailytorch.com/2017/08/fbi-sure-russia-hacked-dnc-without-looking-server/

“‘Lone DNC hacker’ theory by Daily Beast contradicts multiple hacker report by Crowdstrike in 2016 that cited both Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear,” By Robert Romano, March 26, 2018 at http://dailytorch.com/2018/03/lone-dnc-hacker-theory-by-daily-beast-contradicts-multiple-hacker-report-by-crowdstrike-in-2016-that-cited-both-cozy-bear-and-fancy-bear/

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 20, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to a new lawsuit filed by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) alleging an international conspiracy between the 2016 Trump campaign, Wikileaks and Russia to “interfere” with the 2016 elections:

“The DNC has finally gone over the edge, alleging in a federal court a tin foil hat conspiracy theory that the Trump campaign, Wikileaks and Russia in 2016 worked together behind the scenes to hack the DNC and put the emails on Wikileaks. The DNC must not have a lot of confidence that such a case will ever be brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and so DNC Chairman Tom Perez is pursuing this as a civil matter. It’s a crackpot move, politically designed for their most radical supporters, to deflect attention from the fact, verified by the House Intelligence Committee, that there was no such collusion. They’re grasping. It reeks of desperation.

“The President should immediately demand the DNC servers be turned over to his legal team’s own forensic analysis team in order to determine the origins any hack. Given that the DNC failed to provide this basic piece of evidence to the FBI in the past, it will provide the people of the United States the first independent look at what really happened with their servers.”

Attachments:

“The boy who cried bear,” By Robert Romano, April 3, 2017 at http://dailytorch.com/2017/04/boy-cried-bear/

“Why was the FBI so sure that Russia hacked the DNC without looking at the server?” By Robert Romano, Aug. 16, 2017 at http://dailytorch.com/2017/08/fbi-sure-russia-hacked-dnc-without-looking-server/

“‘Lone DNC hacker’ theory by Daily Beast contradicts multiple hacker report by Crowdstrike in 2016 that cited both Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear,” By Robert Romano, March 26, 2018 at http://dailytorch.com/2018/03/lone-dnc-hacker-theory-by-daily-beast-contradicts-multiple-hacker-report-by-crowdstrike-in-2016-that-cited-both-cozy-bear-and-fancy-bear/

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 19, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising Senate confirmation of U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) to be the new NASA Administrator:

“President Donald Trump’s nominee for NASA Administrator, James Bridenstine, was finally confirmed, providing the Trump administration the top-level guidance of NASA that is needed as our space program launches the Orion program* and contemplates a manned flight back to the moon and eventually to Mars. Bridenstine’s experience as an aviator and intense interest in the future of our nation’s commitment to space makes his confirmation long overdue and much awaited. He will do a great job in spite of continued Senate Democrat obstruction of every Trump nominee. Congratulations, Rep. Bridenstine.”

Correction: The next generation of NASA spacecraft, the Orion, is technically a capsule, not a shuttle.

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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