News Updates from CLG
18 March 2016
Secretive cabal of GOP operatives, conservative leaders meet to deny Trump presidential nomination –Koch-owned Republican Sen. Ben Sasse named as possible ‘late entry’ nominee| 17 March 2016 | A secretive group of Republican operatives and conservative leaders convened Thursday morning for more than three hours to discuss ways to unite the right against Donald Trump, with a presentation about the feasibility of mounting a third-party challenge as well as extensive deliberations about whether a coalition of anti-Trump forces could prevent the businessman from securing the party’s presidential nomination at the July convention in Cleveland…A bloc of participants argued that the best option may be working in upcoming primaries to boost Cruz and prevent Trump from securing a majority of delegates. A convention standoff would be the culmination of those efforts, the people said.
RNC member: ‘Political parties choose their nominee, not the general public’ | 16 March 2016 | Curly Haugland, a Republican National Committee member, says the nomination process is pretty straightforward: The party, not the voters, chooses the nominee. In an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday morning, Haugland, a North Dakotan and current member of the RNC’s Rules Committee, said that any assumption otherwise is misguided. “That’s the problem: The media has created the perception that the voters will decide the nomination,” he said. He went on: “Political parties choose their nominee, not the general public, contrary to popular belief.”
Suspicious Letter Containing White Powder Sent to Donald Trump’s Son | 18 March 2016 | A suspicious piece of mail containing white powder was sent to Eric Trump’s New York City apartment Thursday, a Trump Organization source tells ABC News. The NYPD confirmed to ABC News it responded to a call at Trump Parc East, a high-end residential building on Central Park South — but it did not identify the recipient of the mail as Donald Trump’s 32-year-old son, who has an apartment in the building. The Trump Organization source, however, confirmed the letter was indeed sent to the Trump offspring’s 14th floor apartment.
Trump warns of riots if he is denied Republican presidential nomination | 16 March 2016 | U.S. Republican front-runner Donald Trump warned on Wednesday of riots if he is denied the party’s presidential nomination after a string of primary election victories, raising the temperature even more in a heated White House race…Trump might fall short of the majority [of 1,237 convention delegates] required, enabling the party’s establishment to put forward another name at the July convention in Cleveland to formally pick its candidate. In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Trump said the party could not deny him the nomination should he fail to win enough delegates. “I don’t think you can say that we don’t get it automatically. I think you’d have riots. I think you’d have riots. I’m representing many, many millions of people.”
Paris arrests: Four held amid France attack plot fears | 16 March 2016 | Four people have been arrested in the Paris area as part of a wider investigation into a possible plot to attack France, officials say. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said police had information to suggest one of those arrested “could undertake violent actions in France”. The arrests come a day after French police officers, alongside Belgian officers, were involved in a raid on a house in Brussels, that ended in a shoot-out with at least two suspects.
Putin orders start of Russian military withdrawal from Syria, says ‘objectives achieved’ | 14 March 2016 | Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu to start the withdrawal of forces from Syria starting Tuesday. Russia will however keep a military presence at the port of Tartus and at the Khmeimim airbase to observe ceasefire agreements. “I consider the objectives that have been set for the Defense Ministry to be generally accomplished. That is why I order to start withdrawal of the main part of our military group from the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic starting from tomorrow,” Putin said on Monday during a meeting with Shoigu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Marco Rubio Suspends His Presidential Campaign | 15 March 2016 | Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who ran for president offering his youthful optimism and Cuban-American heritage as the embodiment of a new and more diverse generation of Republican leadership, but ultimately failed to galvanize voters in a much darker mood, said on Tuesday that he was suspending his presidential campaign. Mr. Rubio made the announcement during a speech at his campaign headquarters in Miami after losing his home state by a large margin to Donald J. Trump. Mr. Rubio, 44, was felled by many of the same forces that drove other contenders from the race: a deep anger at the Republican leadership, a level of mistrust among the party’s most motivated voters, a field of candidates splitting up the vote, and an inability to stop Mr. Trump from exploiting all those factors.
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