Roy Moore celebrates runoff victory with supporters
After a heated battle to the finish line, Alabama’s former Chief Justice Roy Moore is celebrating victory Tuesday night as he officially became the Republican nominee in the special election for Alabama’s U.S. Senate seat. Riding a wave of rural, conservative support Moore defeated incumbent Sen. Luther Strange by 9.2 points. The Moore campaign took to Facebook following the results to thank the judge’s supporters. “Because of you, tonight, the establishment has been defeated in Alabama! We still have a ways to go before December 12th’s general election, and the road certainly doesn’t get easier, but with YOU, the best grassroots army of supporters around, I know we can take on anything together!” the post read. Moore now advances to the Dec. 12 general election where he will face Democratic nominee Doug Jones. The winner of the race will take over the seat that previously belonged to Attorney General Jeff Sessions for the remainder of his term. Watch Moore’s victory celebration below:
It’s a wrap, firebrand jurist Roy Moore wins GOP primary runoff in Alabama
Firebrand jurist Roy Moore won the Alabama Republican primary runoff for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, defeating an appointed incumbent backed by President Donald Trump and allies of Sen. Mitch McConnell. In an upset likely to rock the GOP establishment, Moore clinched victory over Sen. Luther Strange to take the GOP nomination for the seat previously held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Moore will face Democrat Doug Jones in a Dec. 12 special election. Throughout the campaign, Moore argued the election was an opportunity to send a message to the “elite Washington establishment” that he said was trying to influence the race. The Senate Leadership Fund, a group with ties to McConnell, had spent an estimated $9 million trying to secure the nomination for Strange. Moore was twice elected chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and twice removed from those duties. In 2003, he was removed from office for disobeying a federal judge’s order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state courthouse lobby. Last year, he was permanently suspended after a disciplinary panel ruled he had urged probate judges to defy federal court decisions on gay marriage and deny wedding licenses to same-sex couples. Trump endorsed Strange in the race and tweeted support for him on multiple occasions. As polls showed Strange in danger of losing, Trump visited Alabama to campaign at a rally attended by more than 7,000 people. Moore, propelled by evangelical voters, consolidated support from a number of anti-establishment forces, including the pro-Trump Great America Alliance and former White House strategist Steve Bannon, who spoke at a Monday rally. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, in a rally for Moore last week, said the judge was a better match for Trump’s “movement.” Trump said at the Alabama rally that he would campaign for Moore in the general election if he secured the nomination but he believed Moore would have a tougher time against the Democrat in the race. Moore led Strange by about 25,000 votes in the crowded August primary, which went to a runoff between the two because neither topped 50 percent in the voting. Strange, the state’s former attorney general, was appointed to Sessions’ seat in February by then-Gov. Robert Bentley, who resigned two months later as lawmakers opened impeachment hearings against him. Throughout the Senate race, Strange had been dogged by criticisms of accepting the appointment from a scandal-battered governor when his office was in charge of corruption investigations. On the outskirts of Montgomery, 76-year-old Air Force retiree John Lauer said Trump’s endorsement swayed him to vote for Strange on Tuesday. “I voted for Strange. I’m a Trump voter. Either one is going to basically do the Trump agenda, but since Trump came out for Luther, I voted for Luther,” said Lauer said. Poll workers in the heavily Republican Birmingham suburbs of Helena and Pelham said voter turnout was steady, with short lines at two places when doors opened Tuesday. Merlene Bohannon, a widow with three grown children, said she had planned to vote for Strange until seeing Bannon stump for Moore on Fox News on Monday night. “Steve Bannon and God spoke to me, and this morning when I went in I voted for Moore,” said Bohannon, 74. Bannon told the crowd that Alabama can show the world “that this populist, nationalist, conservative movement is on the rise.” Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Election Day for Republican nominee for U.S. Senate is here as are many predictions
Alabama voters will decide on today, Tuesday Sept. 26, 2017, who will be the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate
Secretary of State John Merrill says Dems who illegally vote Tuesday could face jail time
Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said he’s received reports from several voting locations where Alabamians who voted in the Aug. 15 Democratic primary were attempting to cast ballots in Tuesday’s GOP runoff. According to Alabama state law, that’s considered voter fraud and is illegal. State residents are prohibited to vote in one party’s primary and later voting in the other party’s runoff election. The process, deemed “crossover voting,” was made illegal earlier this year in an attempt to limit cross-party candidate selection as Alabamians are not required to register to a specific party to vote, but may only vote in one party’s primary. According to Merrill, any person who votes, or knowingly attempts to vote, or assists another person in voting when they when not entitled to do so shall be guilty upon conviction of a Class C felony, and could face up to a year and a day in prison, which may include a fine not to exceed $15,000. “When I campaigned for Office I made a promise to the people of this state to ensure that any instance in which someone was reported as having violated the law that they would be investigated, prosecuted, and indicted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Merrill . “We will continue that practice with this election and all reported incidents will be investigated. No charges have been filed at this time. “The integrity of the elections process is at stake today and we will not allow nor will we tolerate efforts to assist people who behave with such reckless disregard for the process and are willing to lie their way to a felony conviction,” Merrill continued. If you observe this activity or any other form of voter fraud please do not hesitate to call (334) 242-7210 or go online to stopvoterfraudnow.com.
State Rep. Micky Hammon pleads guilty to mail fraud involving campaign funds
Longtime Alabama lawmaker, Decatur-Republican State Rep. Micky Ray Hammon, pleaded guilty on felony charges Monday to devising a scheme to commit mail fraud involving his campaign funds. United States Attorney Louis V. Franklin Sr. confirmed the news Tuesday morning. As a result of pleading guilty to a felony, Hammon was automatically removed from his House seat. Governor Kay Ivey has yet to set a date for a special election to replace him. According to court documents, Hammon, who has represented the 4th district in the Alabama House since 2002 and served as the House of Representative’s majority leader until earlier this year, used campaign money to pay his own personal expenses as part of the scheme. In 2013, he created a principal campaign committee through the Secretary of States Office allowing him to raise funds for his reelection campaign. He was writing checks from his campaign committee account and then depositing them into his personal account. He later used the funds to pay for personal expenses, which is strictly prohibited by Alabama campaign finance rules. “Self-dealing by elected officials erodes society’s confidence in its governmental institutions,” said Franklin Sr. “Self-dealing is precisely what occurred here. Those who donated to Representative Hammon’s campaign expected that the campaign would use those resources lawfully and to foster an informative public debate. Instead, Representative Hammon placed those funds into his own personal piggy bank. “I am proud of my office’s efforts to root out this corruption and I am most grateful for the tireless work of the United States Postal Inspection Service, which investigated this case. I hope that this prosecution will, in some small way, restore Alabamians’ trust in their state legislature.” United States District Attorney Myron H. Thompson will sentence Hammon in the months ahead. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Ivanka Trump’s business ties shrouded in secrecy in China
It is no secret that the bulk of Ivanka Trump’s merchandise comes from China. But just which Chinese companies manufacture and export her handbags, shoes and clothes is more secret than ever, an Associated Press investigation has found. In the months since she took her White House role, public information about the companies importing Ivanka Trump goods to the U.S. has become harder to find. Information that once routinely appeared in private trade tracking data has vanished, leaving the identities of companies involved in 90 percent of shipments unknown. Even less is known about her manufacturers. Trump’s brand, which is still owned by the first daughter and presidential adviser, declined to disclose the information. The deepening secrecy means it’s unclear who Ivanka Trump’s company is doing business with in China, even as she and her husband, Jared Kushner, have emerged as important conduits for top Chinese officials in Washington. The lack of disclosure makes it difficult to understand whether foreign governments could use business ties with her brand to try to influence the White House — and whether her company stands to profit from foreign government subsidies that can destroy American jobs. Such questions are especially pronounced in China, where state-owned and state-subsidized companies dominate large swaths of commercial activity. “There should be more transparency, but right now we do not have the legal mechanism to enforce transparency unless Congress requests information through a subpoena,” said Richard Painter, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer for George W. Bush, and is part of a lawsuit against President Donald Trump for alleged constitutional violations. “I don’t know how much money she’s making on this and why it’s worth it. I think it’s putting our trade policy in a very awkward situation.” An AP review of the records that are available about Ivanka Trump’s supply chain found two potential red flags. In one case, a province in eastern China announced the award of export subsidies to a company that shipped thousands of Ivanka Trump handbags between March 2016 and February of this year, Chinese public records show — a possible violation by China of global fair trade rules, trade experts said. The AP also found that tons of Ivanka Trump clothing were exported from 2013 to 2015 by a company owned by the Chinese government, according to public records and trade data. It is unclear whether the brand is still working with that company, or other state-owned entities. Her brand has pledged to avoid business with state-owned companies now that she’s a White House adviser, but contends that its supply chains are not its direct responsibility. Ivanka Trump’s brand doesn’t actually make its products directly. Instead, it contracts with licensees who oversee production of her merchandise. In exchange, those licensees pay the brand royalties. The AP asked Ivanka Trump’s brand for a list of its suppliers. The company declined to disclose them. The clothing, footwear and handbag licensees contacted by AP also declined to reveal source factories. Abigail Klem, president of IT Operations LLC, which manages Ivanka Trump’s brand, said the company does not contract with foreign state-owned companies or benefit from Chinese government subsidies. However, she acknowledged that its licensees might. “We license the rights to our brand name to licensing companies that have their own supply chains and distribution networks,” Klem said in an email. “The brand receives royalties on sales to wholesalers and would not benefit if a licensee increased its profit margin by obtaining goods at a lower cost,” she added. But Michael Stone, chairman of Beanstalk, a global brand licensing agency, said lower production costs for licensees would ultimately benefit Ivanka Trump by freeing up money for marketing or lower retail prices, both of which drive sales. “It gives her a competitive advantage and an indirect benefit to her financially,” Stone said. “The more successful the licensee is the more successful Ivanka Trump is going to be.” The AP identified companies that sent Ivanka Trump products to the United States by looking at shipment data maintained by ImportGenius and Panjiva Inc., private companies that independently track global trade. Panjiva’s records show that 85 percent of shipments of her goods to the U.S. this year originated in China and Hong Kong, but beyond that, it’s becoming more difficult to map the brand’s global footprint. The companies that shipped Ivanka Trump merchandise to the U.S. are listed for just five of 57 shipments logged by Panjiva from the end of March, when she officially became a presidential adviser, through mid-September. Panjiva collects data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which did not immediately release the missing data to AP. While in many cases the manufacturer ships goods directly, merchandise can also be made by one company and shipped by another trading or consolidation company. There used to be more visibility. Last year, 27 percent of the companies that exported Ivanka Trump merchandise to the U.S. were identified in Panjiva’s records, and back in 2014 a full 95 percent were named. For two of Ivanka Trump’s licensees — G-III Apparel Group Ltd. and Marc Fisher Footwear — the number of shipments appears to plunge in 2015, likely because they “requested to hide” their shipment activity, according to Panjiva records. Neither company responded to AP’s questions. The brand declined to comment on the growing murkiness of its supply chain. Chris Rogers, an analyst at Panjiva, said any company can ask customs authorities to redact its information for any reason. About a quarter of companies request anonymity, he said, but the majority don’t mind disclosing who they’re doing business with. “A lot of companies have said, ‘yes there might be a commercial disadvantage, but we want to be transparent about our supply chain,’” he explained. “‘Why would we want to cover up the fact that we’re working with this particular company?’” While ethics lawyers may see disclosure as the best antidote to conflict of interest, many brands see it as a tool to keep supply chains scandal-free. Public outcry over
House investigators demand details on private emails
A top House Republican has demanded details on the use of private emails by some of President Donald Trump‘s closest advisers. Rep. Trey Gowdy, a South Carolina conservative who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and the top Democrat on that panel, Rep. Elijah Cummings, cite a recent Politico report that Jared Kushner set up a private email account after the election to conduct work-related business. The New York Times reports that at least six of Trump’s closest advisers, including Kushner, Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus, used private email to discuss White House matters. Bannon and Priebus no longer work at the White House. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly attacked Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton for setting up a private email server as secretary of state, a decision that prompted an FBI investigation that shadowed her for much of the campaign. Gowdy is best known for his two-year investigation into the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, in which he focused heavily on Clinton’s role as secretary of state. In letters Monday to White House general counsel and State Department, Gowdy and Cummings said they want details on all employees. “With numerous public revelations of senior executive branch employees deliberately trying to circumvent these laws by using personal, private, or alias email addresses to conduct official government business, the committee has aimed to use its oversight and investigative resources to prevent and deter misuse of private forms of written communication,” the lawmakers wrote. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders had no immediate comment Tuesday on the request by Gowdy and Cummings. “All White House personnel have been instructed to use official email to conduct all government-related work,” she said. “They are further instructed that if they receive work-related communication on personal accounts, they should be forwarded to official email accounts.” Sanders told reporters Monday that the use of private email accounts by staff was “to my knowledge, very limited.” “White House counsel has instructed all White House staff to use their government email for official business, and only use that email,” she said, adding that “we get instructed on this one pretty regularly.” Kushner’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, on Sunday confirmed Kushner’s use of a personal email in his first few months of the administration. He said the emails usually involved news articles and political commentary. Lowell also said any non-personal emails were forwarded to Kushner’s official account and “all have been preserved in any event.” Sanders would not say whether the White House would release Kushner’s private emails that dealt with government business. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
