Alabama GOP stands behind Roy Moore amid assault allegations
The Alabama Republican Party (ALGOP) Thursday evening said it is standing behind the party’s Senate nominee Roy Moore as they offered their continued support ahead of the Dec. 12 general election. Moore has been under fire since The Washington Post published an explosive report last Thursday afternoon with the accounts of four women who claim he sexually pursued them when he was in his 30s and they were in their teens. As of Thursday evening, a total of nine women have levied accusations against Moore. The news has caused rapid fallout from dozens within the Republican Party who have called on him to withdraw his name from next month’s special election if the allegations are true, but the ALGOP is breaking rank with the national party standing behind the former Alabama Chief Justice. “The ALGOP Steering Committee supports Judge Roy Moore as our nominee and trusts the voters as they make the ultimate decision in this crucial race,” said Chair of the Alabama Republican Party, Terry Lathan, in a statement. “Judge Moore has vehemently denied the allegations made against him. He deserves to be presumed innocent of the accusations unless proven otherwise. He will continue to take his case straight to the people of Alabama.” According to Lathan, ALGOP Steering Committee, comprised of 21 members, met Wednesday evening to discuss the situation surrounding Moore. “We are very grateful for the multitudes that have reached out to us with support and prayers. We ask God to guide us, politically and personally, with His mighty strength and wisdom. In turn, we also pray that justice and truth will prevail for all involved in this situation,” Lathan concluded. Moore’s campaign Chairman Bill Armistead responded to the ALGOP’s statement of support on behalf of the campaign. “I appreciate Chairman Terry Lathan and the Alabama Republican Party standing strong behind Judge Moore,” said Armistead. “As Chairman Lathan alluded, there are sharp policy differences between Judge Moore and the Democratic nominee. Judge Moore will work closely with President Trump to rebuild a strong military, confirm strict constitutionalists to the courts, and reform and simplify the tax code, while the Democratic nominee supports Obamacare, partial-birth abortion and far-left liberals on the Supreme Court.” “The political establishment and the national media have put a bullseye on Judge Moore because he’s a conservative outsider who will go to Washington to fight for our values, but the voters of Alabama – the people who know him best – aren’t fooled by these tricks and lies. Judge Moore will spend the next three weeks traveling the state and speaking directly to the voters about job growth, tax reform, rebuilding the military, and stopping the overreach of liberal judges. ”
Boeing scorns Airbus, Bombardier plan for Alabama facility
Boeing Co. isn’t buying Bombardier Inc.’s assurances that it will build an assembly line in Alabama under a partnership with Airbus SE on the Canadian plane-maker’s marquee jetliner. “Bombardier and Airbus are extremely unlikely ever to actually establish a C Series assembly line in Alabama,” Boeing said in a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Plans for the new facility, which would probably be located next to an existing Airbus plant in Mobile, “would make no economic sense,” the Chicago-based company said. The letter, dated Nov. 13, is part of Boeing’s case before U.S. authorities, which are investigating whether duties should be imposed on U.S. sales of the C Series. Boeing accused Bombardier of selling the jet to Delta Air Lines Inc. at “absurdly low prices.” The Commerce Department so far has sided with Boeing, recommending preliminary tariffs of about 300 percent on the narrow-body plane. Airbus agreed last month to take a majority stake in the C Series project, offering the European plane-maker’s marketing and manufacturing expertise in exchange. Executives of both companies have argued that the C Series shouldn’t face duties if it’s assembled in Alabama. U.S.-made parts and components on the C Series already exceed 50 percent, Bombardier Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare said Tuesday at an investor conference. Going Mobile Building the C Series facility in Mobile could cost more than $300 million, Bombardier said in a Commerce Department filing dated Nov. 6. Bombardier doesn’t “have enough orders for the C Series to sustain full production” at the company’s existing C Series assembly line in Mirabel, Quebec, “for any appreciable period of time,” Boeing said in its letter. “The only reason to conduct any C Series assembly activities in the United States would be to attempt to circumvent the antidumping and countervailing duties.” Penalties should apply to C Series jets even if a second assembly line is established in the U.S., Boeing said. “Boeing is wrong,” Bombardier spokesman Mike Nadolski said Wednesday by email. “The partnership was motivated by the economic opportunities of collaborating on the C Series. An added benefit of the U.S. assembly facility is that, to the extent U.S trade laws were intended to promote U.S. manufacturing, it achieves that goal and means that U.S. airlines will get a U.S.-made C Series.” U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne urged the Commerce secretary to support the Airbus-Bombardier venture. The new assembly line in Mobile “will result in hundreds more high-paying, high-skill American jobs,” the Alabama Republican said in a Nov. 13 letter addressed to Ross. The U.S. International Trade Commission is expected to deliver a final ruling early next year on whether Boeing was harmed by the C Series program. If the Washington-based tribunal sides with Boeing, the duties will stay in place for imports of the jets. That would set up the next battle: Whether Airbus-built C Series in Alabama are “made in America.” Republished with permission from the Alabama NewsCenter.
‘Women for Moore’ to hold press conference at Alabama State Capitol on Friday
While women continue to come out of the woodwork alleging Roy Moore‘s sexual misconduct with them as teenagers when he was in the 30s, one group of women are taking a stand in support of him. “Women for Moore” will hold a press conference Friday morning on the steps of the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery, where they will defend the former Alabama Chief Justice who they claim “has faithfully served in public office for forty years.” Wetumpka Tea Party founder Becky Gerritson made the announcement Thursday morning. “He ran for Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court twice and won and he ran Governor in 2010. Yet, not once, during all that time were there any allegations of sexual misconduct,” Gerritson wrote in a news release announcing the event. “During the fight over the removal of the Ten Commandments monument in 2003 and again last year he was put through the fire with the Judicial Inquiry Commission there were no allegations of sexual impropriety. But now, one month before the election, a volunteer of his opponent, Doug Jones, who also worked as an interpreter for Democrat Joe Biden comes forward. The second accuser is also looking very suspicious. It appears that the evidence that she has against Moore has been fabricated.” “We know Judge Moore and we aren’t buying it,” Gerritson concluded. Gerritson will be among the speakers at the event that will attest to Moore’s character. She will be joined by Ann Eubank, the statewide co-chair of Rainy Day Patriots, and the legislative chair of the Alabama Legislative Watchdogs, and Moore’s wife Kayla. Moore has been under fire since The Washington Post published an explosive report Thursday afternoon with the accounts of four women who claim he sexually pursued them when he was in his 30s and they were in their teens. As of Thursday evening, a total of nine women have levied accusations against Moore. The news has caused rapid fallout from dozens within the Republican Party who have called on him to withdraw his name from next month’s special election if the allegations are true.
Mum’s the word as Donald Trump remains silent on Roy Moore allegations
He’s arguably the most vocal president America has ever seen, and yet President Donald Trump has remained uncharacteristically quiet on the allegations surrounding Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore. Nearly a week after multiple women accused the former Alabama Chief Justice of sexual misconduct when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s, the POTUS has kept his lips sealed, twice dodging questions from reporters on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Trump, who has previously stopped his duties as Commander-in-Chief to weigh-in on just about everything — from the NFL, to “fake news,” to Tweeting insults to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un — is seemingly at a loss for words as allegations of sexual misconduct against Moore continue to grow and GOP lawmakers from across the country call on him to withdraw from the race. The White House, however, has not completely ignored the allegations. Last Friday, less than 24 hours, after the bombshell report against Moore was published, Trump’s Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders touched on them briefly. “Like most Americans, the president believes we cannot allow a mere allegation, in this case, one from many years ago, to destroy a person’s life,” said Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. “However, the president also believes that if these allegations are true, Judge Moore will do the right thing and step aside.” Moore faces Democratic opponent Doug Jones on Dec. 12. Should the allegations ultimately sink him, Republicans in the U.S. Senate would see their majority fall to 51-49.
Jeff Sessions vows ‘proper’ action on possible Hillary Clinton investigation
Attorney General Jeff Sessions offered testimony to lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday, where he pushed back on requests to immediately appoint a special counsel to investigate Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation, saying said the Department of Justice (DOJ) still needs to “study what the facts are” before taking action. “I would say ‘looks like’ is not enough basis to appoint a special counsel,” Sessions told Ohio-Republican Rep. Jim Jordan at the House Judiciary Committee when he was asked why the DOJ has yet to appoint special counsel when it “looks like” wrongdoing took place. Sessions, however, did not, rule out that a special counsel could be appointed should the proper standards were met. Jordan’s questions came in the wake of a Monday night response to an inquiry made by Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert Goodlatte. In a letter, the department revealed it was weighing proposals to name an special independent counsel to investigate the FBI’s handling of the probe into Hillary Clinton‘s use of a personal email server for official and classified business. The DOJ also confirmed it was contemplating a probe into the foundation of former president Bill Clinton and its ties to companies involved selling US uranium rights to a Russian state company. While he did not have an immediate decision, Sessions promised the committee he would decide quickly whether or not to take account. “Do I have your assurance that these matters will proceed fairly and expeditiously?” Goodlatte inquired. “Yes, you can, Mr. Chairman, and you can be sure that they will be done without political influence and they will be done correctly and properly,” Sessions answered. “We will make only decisions that are right and just and not going to use the department to unlawfully advance political agenda.” Trump has repeatedly criticized his Justice Department for not aggressively investigating Clinton. He said recently officials there “should be looking at the Democrats and that it was “very discouraging” they were not “going after Hillary Clinton.” He also went on record saying the “saddest thing is that because I’m the president of the United States, I am not supposed to be involved with the Justice Department. I am not supposed to be involved with the FBI.”
Airbus $50 billion Dubai jet deal will be boost to Mobile assembly line
Airbus SE announced the biggest commercial-plane transaction in its history, securing an order for single-aisle aircraft valued at nearly $50 billion at the Dubai Air Show, outdoing Boeing Co.’s own $20 billion mega-deal. Wednesday’s pact for 430 A320neo planes with U.S. investor Indigo Partners marked a turnaround for Airbus at the Gulf expo, where it had been trailing its rival. It’s also a crowning achievement for sales chief John Leahy, who is set to retire after a career in which he has struck deals for more than 16,000 jets and lifted the European plane-maker into a duopoly position with Boeing. For Indigo Partners, led by Bill Franke, the Airbus accord provides upgraded narrow-body aircraft to boost the fleets of low-cost carriers from Denver to Budapest. The planes will go to four companies in Indigo’s investment portfolio: Frontier Airlines, Mexico’s Volaris, East European operator Wizz Air Holdings Plc and Chile’s JetSmart, which began operating this year. The deal features 273 A320neo jets together with 157 of the larger A321neo variant and is worth $49.5 billion before customary discounts, Airbus said. Leahy, 67, called the transaction “remarkable,” while Franke, 80, who co-founded Indigo in 2002, said it underscores his confidence in the A320 and the bargain fares, no-frills travel model he helped develop. Airbus makes the A320 family at different sites around the world, including its main factory in Toulouse, France, as well as in Hamburg, Germany. The company also builds the plane at an assembly line in China, and has recently pushed into the U.S. with a plant in Mobile. Boeing retort Boeing recovered some ground with the sale of 175 737 Max planes, the A320’s main competitor, to FlyDubai, a deal big enough to have dominated most air shows. While that order will come as an irritation for Airbus, with the airline having been expected to split it between the two manufacturers, the Toulouse, France-based company wasn’t done at the Dubai event. It went on to announce EgyptAir Airlines Co. as the operator of 15 A320neos previously ordered by leasing firm AerCap Holdings NV. The Indigo deal more than doubles Airbus’s previous order book for the year, which stood at about 290 aircraft as of Oct. 31, pushes the plane-maker’s backlog above 7,000 jets and reverses expectations that orders will trail deliveries in 2017. The haul will help Airbus catch up to Boeing in the order tally this year, with the European plane-maker having chalked up 343 contracts at the end of October, compared with 690 for its Chicago-based rival as of Nov. 7. The order also trumps a 2015 deal for 250 single-aisle jets worth $27 billion by Indian budget carrier IndiGo. The two companies aren’t related. Click here to read more. Republished with permission from the Alabama NewsCenter.
