Tag: Speaker Ryan

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.

Paul Ryan splits with Trump, says ‘no evidence’ FBI spied on president’s campaign

The following article by Karoun Demirjian and Mike DeBonis was posted on the Washington Post website June 6, 2018:

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan has joined those disputing President Trump’s assertion that federal law enforcement planted a spy inside his campaign, telling reporters Wednesday that he has seen “no evidence” to support such claims.

Ryan (R-Wis.) described as “accurate” an initial assessment offered last week by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, who told Fox News that “the FBI did exactly what my fellow citizens would want them to do” in investigating information alleging certain Trump campaign advisers had suspicious ties to Russia. Continue reading “Paul Ryan splits with Trump, says ‘no evidence’ FBI spied on president’s campaign”

Dissecting House Speaker Ryan’s remarks on deficits and spending

The following article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website April 18, 2018:

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) made a name for himself as a deficit hawk, but backed a tax plan and a spending bill that are ballooning the national debt. (Video: Jenny Starrs/Photo: Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

“That was going to happen — the baby boomers retiring was going do that. These deficit — trillion-dollar projections have been out there for a long, long time. Why? Because of mandatory spending, which we call entitlements. Discretionary spending under the CBO baseline is going about $300 billion over the next 10 years. Tax revenues are still rising, income tax revenues are still rising, corporate income tax revenues — corporate rate got dropped 30 percent, still rising. Mandatory spending, which is entitlements, that grows $2 trillion over the next decade. Why does it grow $2 trillion? Because the boomer generation is retiring and we have not prepared these programs.”
— House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), in remarks on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” April 15, 2018

Speaker Paul D. Ryan, who has announced his retirement, made these comments in response to a jab by host Chuck Todd at the longtime fiscal hawk: “You walk away with trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see.” Continue reading “Dissecting House Speaker Ryan’s remarks on deficits and spending”

As He Departs, Paul Ryan Will Leave A Residue Of Failure And Fraud

The following article by Joe Conason was posted on the National Memo website April 11, 2018:

Evidently realizing that he might drown in the blue wave that is inundating Wisconsin, Paul Ryan announced his retirement today.

He has suggested that he might quit before, but now the Speaker faces the real prospect of involuntary ejection from Congress. He is showing the white feather, running from a midterm fight that his party appears increasingly likely to lose. Continue reading “As He Departs, Paul Ryan Will Leave A Residue Of Failure And Fraud”

Fiscal hawk Ryan leaves behind growing deficits and a changed GOP

The following article by Erica Warner was posted on the Washington Post website April 11, 2018:

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) made a name for himself as a deficit hawk, but backed a tax plan and a spending bill that are ballooning the national debt. (Video: Jenny Starrs/Photo: Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

Mitt Romney was all smiles as he introduced an ebullient Rep. Paul D. Ryan to the nation as his Republican vice presidential choice on a sunny Saturday in Norfolk in the summer of 2012.

“I did not make a mistake with this guy,” Romney boasted, as Ryan proclaimed himself “deeply honored and excited.” The crowd cheered. Continue reading “Fiscal hawk Ryan leaves behind growing deficits and a changed GOP”

House Republicans Are Realizing Premature End to Russia Probe Made Them Look Ridiculous: Report

The following article by Cody Fenwick was posted on the AlterNet website March 15, 2018:

By contradicting the CIA and FBI, the House Intelligence Committee damaged its credibility.

House Republicans appear to be realizing that they undermined their credibility when they reported their conclusions about the Russia investigation this week.

According to a report from Politico, aides to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) had to corral the communications staffers of House Republicans after Intelligence Committee members discussed their widely criticized conclusions on the investigation into 2016 election meddling. Continue reading “House Republicans Are Realizing Premature End to Russia Probe Made Them Look Ridiculous: Report”

Paul Ryan’s 3 Years Of Arguing Against ‘Knee-Jerk’ Reactions To Shootings

The following article by Mary Papenfuss was posted on the Huffington Post website February 15, 2018:

His biggest fear: taking away gun rights.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has been arguing against what he calls a “knee-jerk” political response to mass shootings for years.

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes presented a video mashup Thursday of the times Ryan has argued against “taking away” America’s gun rights. Continue reading “Paul Ryan’s 3 Years Of Arguing Against ‘Knee-Jerk’ Reactions To Shootings”

Paul Ryan was asked to defend his comments about the Nunes memo. It was a disaster.

The following article by Aaron Rupar was posted on the ThinkProgress website February 6, 2018:

Ryan ended the news conference within 20 seconds.

During a news conference on Tuesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) was asked to defend his own comments from last week about how he doesn’t think the Nunes memo has anything to do with President Trump’s efforts to undermine the Mueller investigation.

Ryan, however, wasn’t interested in talking about it. Continue reading “Paul Ryan was asked to defend his comments about the Nunes memo. It was a disaster.”

Paul Ryan celebrated the tax cut with a tweet about a secretary saving $1.50 a week

The following article by Avi Selk was posted on the Washington Post website February 4, 2018:

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) touted the new GOP tax reform law and outlined his party’s agenda ahead of the new year. (Reuters)

Never mind all the Democrats who call the GOP’s tax bill a deficit-busting giveaway to the rich; House Speaker Paul D. Ryan has been enthusiastically promoting it as a middle-class tax windfall.

He’s been coaching other Republican lawmakers to sell the $1.5 trillion tax cut to voters, and telling people on Twitter to check their paychecks for wage hikes. The bill — which was deeply unpopular when it passed along party lines in December — is now breaking even in a new opinion poll. Continue reading “Paul Ryan celebrated the tax cut with a tweet about a secretary saving $1.50 a week”

This is the week that the GOP truly became the party of Trump

The following article by Dan Balz was posted on the Washington Post website February 3, 2018:

President Trump appears to have won over the Republican establishment, as shown in its blessing of the release of a House Intelligence Committee memo alleging wrongdoing by the FBI and the Justice Dpt. Credit: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post

This was the week when the Republican Party finally went all in with President Trump. What once seemed unlikely is now reality. The Republican establishment — there are a few dissenting voices, of course — has succumbed to the power of the presidency, and this president in particular.

This coming together has taken place gradually. The path has been rocky at times. But the embrace of the president by elected Republicans could not have been warmer or fuller than shown in the past week. Continue reading “This is the week that the GOP truly became the party of Trump”