Tag: Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan Travels to Minnesota to Reward Paulsen and Lewis for Their Unabashed Support of His Radical Agenda

Paulsen and Lewis have voted for the Ryan-Trump agenda more than 95% of the time, despite representing politically moderate districts

Speaker Paul Ryan traveled to Minnesota yesterday to boost the flailing campaigns of Republican Congressmen Jason Lewis (MN-02) and Erik Paulsen (MN-03). Ryan’s visit is a reward for the duo’s unabashed support of harmful GOP priorities, like trying to gut health care for millions of Americans and voting for huge tax cuts to billionaires and wealthy special interests that have caused a massive national deficit.

“It’s no surprise Paul Ryan is in Minnesota campaigning with his friends Erik Paulsen and Jason Lewis,” said DFL Chair Ken Martin. “Lewis helped Ryan pass a trillion dollar tax giveaway to the billionaires and special interests who fund their political operation, and Paulsen has been a proud rubber stamp for the Ryan-Trump agenda, voting in lockstep with Republican leadership more than 96% of the time. Continue reading “Paul Ryan Travels to Minnesota to Reward Paulsen and Lewis for Their Unabashed Support of His Radical Agenda”

Paulsen, NRCC, CLF Ignore Public Shaming, Double Down on Lies

Paulsen’s coordinated smear campaign reaches an unprecedented low as he ignores requests from survivors to stop who demand better

Excelsior, MN – Erik Paulsen’s desperate and disgraceful coordinated smear campaign against Dean Phillips reached new lows this week when the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), Paulsen for Congress and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) released new coordinated ads featuring claims that have drawn extraordinary blowback from one of the Twin Cities’ most important health providers, prominent Republicans, community and business leaders, and the sexual assault and harassment survivors Paulsen is using as political pawns.

The women, represented by attorney Lori Peterson, recently called on Paulsen to take down his ad and apologize for exploiting their trauma and drawing them into a political attack based on a lie. Instead, Paulsen and his special interests patrons are doubling down.

“This is the most vile, offensive and objectively untruthful campaign ever conducted in Minnesota, and Erik Paulsen is to blame,” said Zach Rodvold, campaign manager for Phillips for Congress. “In Congressman Paulsen’s desperation to hold onto power, he’s shown that he is willing to do and say anything to win, even forcing survivors of sexual assault and harassment to relive their trauma for his own personal gain. Those women have joined with Republicans, business and community leaders and people across the district in calling on Paulsen to take his ads down and apologize. That’s exactly what he should do.” Continue reading “Paulsen, NRCC, CLF Ignore Public Shaming, Double Down on Lies”

Retiring Speaker Ryan in campaign push for imperiled Republicans

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Retiring U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan on Monday launched a whirlwind tour of a dozen states, where he aims to pump up the campaigns of 25 embattled Republican members of Congress as the party fights to keep control of Congress.

With three weeks until the Nov. 6 congressional elections, most projections show Democrats holding a strong chance of gaining the 23 seats they would need to take a majority of that chamber and more effectively counter President Donald Trump.

Ryan will begin campaigning in the northeast, where he will appear with Representatives John Faso in New York and Leonard Lance in New Jersey, then go on to the Midwest next week to back Erik Paulsen in Minnesota and Rod Blum of Iowa and later return to the East Coast to campaign with Dave Brat of Virginia and Ted Budd of North Carolina.

View the complete article on the KFGO website here.

Postal Service Investigating Release of Brat Challenger’s Security Clearance Form

The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Roll Call website September 10, 2018:

Virginia’s 7th District seat is expected to be a close contest between Brat and Democrat Abigail Spanberger

Former CIA officer and Virginia Democrat Abigail Spanberger accused Congressional Leadership Fund, the super PAC linked to Speaker Paul D. Ryan, of “trafficking in possibly illegally obtained documents” after it obtained her security clearance application through a Freedom of Information Act request. Credit: Steve Helber, AP file photo

The U.S. Postal Service inspector general has launched an investigation into the improper release of U.S. congressional candidate Abigail Spanberger’s full, unredacted official personnel file, including a highly confidential national security form known as Standard Form 86.

USPS public relations manager David Partenheimer previously said the USPS was looking into how America Rising, a conservative opposition research group, had obtained the Democratic candidate and former CIA officer’s SF-86, and was still conducting a review, but that the lapse occurred “because of human error” at the postal service.

But the OIG’s Office of Investigations has launched an official investigation into the USPS’ release of Spanberger’s full file, along with the release of at least three other current or former employees’ full files, Roll Call has learned.

View the complete article here.

Erik Paulsen and Paul Ryan are on the Attack — Share the Facts

In Coordinated Attack, Erik Paulsen and His Special Interest Friends Go Negative

“These absurd attacks represent exactly what’s wrong with Washington – and Erik Paulsen”

House Speaker Paul Ryan campaigns for GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen on Nov. 2, 2016, in Minnesota. Credit: Brian Bakst, MPR News

Excelsior, MN – In a seemingly coordinated effort, Erik Paulsen and the Congressional Leadership Fund, Paul Ryan’s special interest-funded Super PAC, today launched misleading attacks on small-business owner Dean Phillips over healthcare and taxes – proving they’ll say, spend and do anything to re-elect Erik Paulsen.

Zach Rodvold, campaign manager for Dean Phillips for Congress, released the following statement in response:

“These absurd attacks represent exactly what’s wrong with Washington – and with Erik Paulsen.

Continue reading “In Coordinated Attack, Erik Paulsen and His Special Interest Friends Go Negative”

Postal Service Improperly Divulged Spanberger’s Sensitive National Security File, and Asks for It Back

NOTE:  The PAC that received this information and has been offering it to Ms. Spanberger’s opponent, the Congressional Leadership PAC, is affiliated with Speaker Paul Ryan.  It is also the PAC running pro-Paulsen television ads in our area.

Abigail Spanberger spoke with voters at a campaign event in June in Midlothian, VA. Credit: Erin Schaff, The New York Times

The following article by Michael Tackett was posted on the New York Times website August 30, 2018:

WASHINGTON — The Postal Service said on Thursday that it “deeply regrets our mistake in inappropriately releasing” the official personnel file of Abigail Spanberger, a former C.I.A. operative now running as a Democratic candidate for Congress, and requested that a Republican-aligned super PAC return the documents.

“We take full responsibility for this unfortunate error, and we have taken immediate steps to ensure this will not happen again,” David Partenheimer, a Postal Service spokesman, said in a statement. He added, “The privacy and security of personal information is of utmost importance to the Postal Service. The Postal Service offers our sincere apology to Ms. Spanberger, and we will request the return of the information which we mistakenly disclosed.”

The Postal Service also acknowledged the possibility of additional inappropriate disclosures, but when asked, would not provide details like whether those disclosures involved other candidates for office.

View the complete article here.

Oversight Democrats Want Probe Into Postal Service’s Release of Candidate’s Records

The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Roll Call website August 29, 2018:

Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-VA,, above, and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-MD, want the acting US Postal Service inspector general to investigate the improper release of information on a Democratic congressional candidate in Virginia. Credit: Tom Williams, CQ Roll Call file photo

The top Democrats on the House Oversight Committee want the U.S. Postal Service to investigate how a Paul Ryan-aligned super PAC obtained a Virginia Democratic congressional candidate’s unredacted federal security clearance application.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, which is closely affiliated with House GOP leadership and Speaker Paul D. Ryan, and America Rising, a conservative opposition research group, have said the copy of the form was obtained through a standard Freedom of Information Act request to the National Personnel Records Center, which then kicked it over to the USPS to process and respond.

Roll Call has reviewed and verified the documents related to America Rising’s FOIA request initially filed on July 9 and the shipment of the materials from the USPS human resources department on July 30. America Rising then turned those documents over to CLF.

View the complete article here.

Ex-CIA Officer Turned Democratic Candidate Has Her Security Clearance Forms Leaked By GOP PAC.

The following post from Seashells was posted on the DailyKos website August 28, 2018:

Former CIA officer Abigail Spanberger

Abigail Spanberger is a former CIA officer running for Congress as the Democrat challenging Dave Brat in Virginia. Somehow Paul Ryan’s PAC got hold of her security clearance application forms and used it to create an attack ad. There is no way for anyone to have gotten the forms involved unless there’s a mole leaking in the CIA or foreign intelligence stole it. There is no way to get the info involved via FOIA.

C.I.A. Officer-Turned-Candidate Says PAC Obtained Her Security Application

WASHINGTON — A former C.I.A. officer running for Congress accused a super PAC aligned with Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Tuesday of improperly obtaining her entire federal security clearance application — a highly sensitive document containing extensive personal information — and then using it for political purposes.

Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic candidate challenging Representative Dave Brat of Virginia, sent a cease-and-desist letter to Corry Bliss, the executive director of the Congressional Leadership Fund, which has raised more than $100 million to help Republicans in the midterm elections. She demanded that the super PAC destroy all copies of the form and agree to not use the information in any fashion.

View the complete post here.

NOTE:  The Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) is the same PAC that has been running skewed pro-Erik Paulsen television ads.