July 30, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to follow up on its investigation of alleged Justice Department corruption under former Attorney General Eric Holder during the Obama administration:

“More than seven years ago, the Department of Justice responded to a letter authored by then-Ranking Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley related to government corruption in the Virgin Islands with a denial of knowledge of any malfeasance.  Given the history of the DOJ between 2009 and 2017 of being less than forthcoming with information that would reflect badly on the Agency, Americans for Limited Government has filed a FOIA request asking for documents related to the underlying corruption case involving the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation.

“The Senate Judiciary Committee should circle back with DOJ with a renewed effort to determine whether there was, as is alleged, a major corruption investigation over actions taken for a 10-year period which was undermined, as alleged, through the bribing of key U.S. DOJ prosecutors. Given the recent re-emergence of the U.S. Virgin Islands in the news, it is important to determine if DOJ prosecutors on the Island were compromised.”

Attachments:

Senator Chuck Grassley letter to the Justice Department, Feb. 10, 2012 at
https://www.scribd.com/doc/83019343/2012-02-10-CEG-to-DOJ-Virgin-Islands-Bribery

DOJ’s response to Senator Grassley, Feb. 24, 2012 at https://www.scribd.com/doc/83019345/2012-02-24-Response-to-Sen-Grassley

Americans for Limited Government FOIA Request, July 23, 2019 at https://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/FOIA-Related-To-Public-Corruption-In-Holder-DOJ.pdf

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

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June 27, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement praising House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.) for subpoenaing the missing IRS emails to other federal offices, including the White House:

“We are pleased that the House Ways and Means Committee is stepping up its game, and searching for the missing Lerner and other IRS emails on the servers of other federal departments, agencies and offices, including the White House, Department of Justice, Department of Treasury, the Federal Election Commission, and others. Unless there was a massive cover up, the missing emails should still be on those servers.

“When the administration again stonewalls these requests, Chairman Camp needs to be prepared to enforce these subpoenas in federal court. Waiting for Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor or the U.S. Attorney’s Office to enforce contempt citations is no longer a valid course of action.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (703) 383-0880 ext. 103 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Nathan Mehrens.

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May 14, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Attorney General Eric Holder says the Department of Justice has launched a criminal probe into whether tea party and other groups were improperly targeted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens earlier today in a letter urged Senate leaders to demand Holder appoint a special counsel to investigate the matter, noting that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus in Sept. 2010 had called for the IRS to investigate 501(c) non-profit political organizations.

“Just as the Senate majority cannot be trusted to investigate its own complicity in this affair, neither can the Obama Administration,” Mehrens wrote.

“The only role the scandal-plagued Justice Department should play in investigating the IRS abuse case is by Attorney General Holder appointing a special counsel to ensure that politics do not obscure the facts, and that investigators can follow those facts wherever they may lead,” ALG vice president of public policy and communications Rick Manning stated.

Under current law, only the Attorney General can appoint a special counsel.

Attachments:

“Senate Democrats ordered IRS in 2010 to investigate 501(c) groups, letter shows,” Americans for Limited Government, May 14, 2013 at http://getliberty.org/senate-democrats-ordered-irs-in-2010-to-investigate-501c-groups-letter-shows/

Americans for Limited Government letter to Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, May 14, 2013 at http://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/IRSScandalLetter-5-14-13.pdf

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (703) 383-0880 ext. 103 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Nathan Mehrens.

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Oct. 16, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson and Communications Director Rick Manning respond to tonight’s presidential debate:

Bill Wilson:

“Governor Romney did exceedingly well considering he had to debate two people at once.  Candy Crowley is a disgrace.  But even with her doing everything in her power to help Obama, he has failed as miserably tonight as has his Administration.  He doesn’t know the facts, mouths liberal platitudes, outright refuses to address the disaster in Libya and the illegal activity surrounding the failed ‘Fast & Furious’ scheme of Eric Holder, and fails to provide an honest answer on how gas prices have more than doubled during his time in office.  This was a pathetic effort by the nation’s chief executive.  Obama, frankly, was an empty suit.”

Rick Manning:

“Mitt Romney showed himself to be the alpha male when compared to Obama.   Obama’s lead-from-behind approach is almost embarrassing when compared face to face with a strong alternative who is unafraid to challenge his rhetoric with the facts of his record.  While Romney showed himself to be a leader compared to Obama, the big loser of the debate was CNN and Candy Crowley.  Crowley’s injecting herself into the debate as Obama’s third person in the ring was embarrassing for anyone who remembers what journalism used to be.  Mitt Romney’s toughness in facing down both Obama and the campaign operative who pretended to moderate the debate showed that Romney has what it takes to lead this country.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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June 28, 2012, Fairfax, VA— Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson issued today the following statement in response to the U.S. House of Representatives vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder of the U.S. Justice Department in contempt for stonewalling on subpoenaed information on the Fast and Furious debacle:

“The House has taken the right step in holding Eric Holder in contempt.  Holder is a self-proclaimed liar and has obstructed justice by refusing to comply with the legitimate requests of Congress. Executive privilege is not a shield against criminal activity. His actions deserve much more than a mild vote of contempt.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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June 25, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement noting the rough week ahead for the Obama Administration:

“Obama is already having a really bad week. With the Supreme Court upholding the key provision in Arizona’s immigration law, reaffirming the Citizens United ruling protecting free speech this time at the state level, and with the ruling on Obamacare imminent, the judiciary is striking mortal blows to the Obama agenda. This is an important reminder that elections do matter, and that whoever occupies the White House and fills the federal bench is critical.

“But that’s not all. The House will likely hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt later this week, leading to a case in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia to obtain the hidden Fast and Furious documents. This, after the White House has astoundingly claimed executive privilege over documents involving low-level Justice Department officials that had nothing to do with Oval Office deliberations.

“Finally, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejecting Eurobonds to prop up socialist governments in Europe and the banks that lent to them, now markets are tanking once again. Merkel’s restraint is a direct challenge to Obama’s attempts to impose his vision of unending deficits and debts on the peoples of Europe. Obama is powerless to prevent global financial shocks from jeopardizing the U.S. economy because he refuses to lead the fight for fiscal sanity here in America.

“All in all, this is shaping up to be another very bad week politically for Obama.  Sadly, his economic failings are costing every American, making it a very bad week for all of us.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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June 22, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement urging the House to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for withholding documents in the Fast and Furious scandal, and then sue in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia to test Obama’s citing of executive privilege:

“Obama’s citing of executive privilege to conceal documents in the Fast and Furious scandal is an egregious expansion of the doctrine, which is only supposed to extend to the President’s top advisors — not low-level Justice Department officials whose actions got a Border Patrol agent and hundreds of Mexicans killed. No court with any sense would allow executive privilege to be used as a shield to cover up potential criminal acts, especially those that may have been committed by the executive.

“This is a case where the rule of law hangs in the balance.  If Obama is allowed to claim executive privilege in this manner, it may as well be for the entire executive branch. For what is the limiting principle here? If applied to its logical extreme, where the President can pick and choose what documents to seal under the guise of executive privilege, no matter how low in the bureaucracy they originate, then he can rob Congress of its constitutional oversight role of the executive branch. If this stands, the separation of powers is dead.

“The House, once it votes to hold Eric Holder in contempt, the next step will be to sue in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia to get the documents. This was the same process Pelosi used in the U.S. Attorneys’ firing controversy. Obama’s claims of executive privilege must be tested in a court, for they are far too sweeping to be allowed to stand.”

Attachments:

“Shielding privileged executives from consequences of their actions,” by Hans A. von Spakovsky, The Hill, June 20, 2012 at http://thehill.com/component/content/article/73-columnists/233979-shielding-privileged-executives-from-the-consequences-

“Executive Privilege & Congress,” Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, June 20, 2012 at http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/303523/executive-privilege-congress-andrew-c-mccarthy#

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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