Vindman, of Dale City, ran a campaign solely to oppose Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for President. He and his twin brother Alexander Vindman were key figures in Trump's first impeachment in 2020.
“The stakes of this election couldn’t be higher; the passion behind my campaign comes from voters wanting integrity, moderation, and professionalism in a government that works for them; and our grass-roots movement is coming for the extreme MAGA agenda," Vindman wrote in a prepared statement sent to the press after declaring victory about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 18.
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The Independent: "A law firm representing the Vindman campaign then contacted The Independent threatening litigation. The letter insisted that Vindman “is a Colonel and correctly identifies himself as such” and that “Pursuant to Army Custom and Regulation 25-50, the proper mode to address Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels is Colonel.” The letter also claimed that reporting Bedell’s statement would be defamatory.
The attorney for Vindman further stated that he “does not dispute that he retired at the grade of O5 [Lieutenant Colonel]. However, his pay grade at retirement has no impact on either pay or entitlements and on whether he is in fact a retired Colonel.”
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(The Center Square) – Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office issued an announcement Wednesday morning that as of next year, Virginia will no longer follow California’s electric vehicle mandates.
“Once again, Virginia is declaring independence – this time from a misguided electric vehicle mandate imposed by unelected leaders nearly 3,000 miles away from the Commonwealth,” Youngkin said in a statement.
Though Youngkin has fought green energy mandates established by the prior administration – most notably, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative – the announcement comes as a surprise, as it was believed that the decision was in the hands of the General Assembly.
Youngkin encouraged state lawmakers at the start of this year’s legislative session to repeal the 2021 law tying Virginia’s vehicle emissions policies to California’s, but the bill never made it out of committee due to the Assembly’s Democratic majority.
But state Attorney General Jason Miyares has issued what is sure to be a highly contested official opinion “confirm[ing] that Virginia is not required to comply with expansive new mandates adopted by the unelected California Air Resources Board (CARB) set to take effect January 1, 2025.”
The governor held a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, proudly declaring Virginia’s emancipation from California policy.
“I have the privilege of announcing once and for all the California electric vehicle mandate in Virginia. The idea that governments should be telling Virginians what kind of car they must drive is just simply wrong,” Youngkin said.
Federal law limits state autonomy regarding vehicle emissions: States must adhere to federal vehicle emissions standards, or they can choose to adopt California’s more stringent standards.
In 2021, under a Democratic governor and a Democratic majority in the General Assembly, Virginia passed several bills that dramatically changed the state’s energy and environmental landscape. One was the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which committed to transitioning Virginia’s electric grid entirely to green energy by 2050, and another hitched Virginia’s electric vehicle policies to California’s.
California requires 100% of new car sales to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035 and can fine automakers that fail to comply.
Republicans have bucked against the mandates since they came to Virginia but have been unable to reverse them through the legislative process. But Miyares seems confident that he has found a legal loophole.
In 2012, California adopted its Advanced Clean Car Program I, regulating vehicle emissions standards from 2015 to 2025. In 2022, California adopted the Advanced Clean Cars II.
“Virginia’s air pollution control board has never approved, never adopted these ACCII (Advanced Clean Car Program II) regulations and because there was an explicit sunset provision placed on ACCI, it expires on December 31 of this year,” Miyares said.
Miyares also pointed to “permissive” language in the Virginia law referring to the first program, ACCI, which allowed the commonwealth to abandon California’s clean cars policies in 2025.
“I can reach no other conclusion as the attorney general of Virginia that the provisions tying us to California ACCII are no longer operable and yes, Virginians, yet again, have consumer freedom,” Miyares said.
Republicans are voicing their support for the move, grateful the commonwealth’s environmental policies will no longer be tied to California’s.
“Virginians, not unelected bureaucrats in California, should be able to choose the cars that fit their families needs,” Republican Senate Majority Leader Michael McDougle posted on X.
“Outstanding!! This had to be one of the most ridiculous policy decisions forced on Virginians when the Democrats took complete control of government in 2020/2021,” Del. Nick Freitas, R-Culpeper, posted on X.
Virginia Democrats have yet to issue an official response to the news.
By Morgan Sweeney
(The Center Square) — The jury announced its verdict in former President Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial Thursday evening, and social media was set ablaze.
Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records that could have been harmful to his 2016 presidential campaign.
Many of the commonwealth’s prominent government officials and elected representatives took to X, formerly Twitter, joining the chorus of voices weighing in on the verdict.
Most Republicans expressed distrust of the trial and its outcome, including Attorney General Jason Miyares.
Miyares blasted the trial as an illegitimate attempt at eliminating a powerful political opponent, reminding spectators of the case’s beginnings – when formidable American institutions declined to bring charges against Trump.
“In America, we don’t seek to jail political opponents – we seek to defeat them at the ballot box,” Miyares wrote. “To be clear, the FEC declined to prosecute this case. The US Attorneys Office declined to prosecute this case.”
He went on to take shots at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, lead attorney for the prosecution.
“This case was moved forward by a far-left prosecutor who regularly refuses to prosecute violent criminals but chose to move forward because the defendant was named Donald Trump.”
Despite his criticisms, Miyares still conveyed faith in the American justice system and the possibility of another outcome.
“America has the greatest justice system in the world – and that is partly because it has a robust appeals process. There is broad consensus that this case is riddled with potential reversible errors and should be appealed in an expedited manner and resolved as quickly as possible,” Miyares said.
Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears echoed Miyares’ sentiments while questioning why Hillary Clinton and President Joe Biden haven’t been subject to similar legal battles.
“We know that the case was brought by a man bent on destroying another. This was not about justice – this was a mockery of justice,” Sears wrote.
“Where was the case against Hilary for ‘wiping’ her server? Where is the case against Pres Biden to determine his involvement in Hunter Biden’s business dealing with China and Russia?”
But Sears ultimately took the same hopeful note that Miyares did, turning to the appeals process.
“So the president will appeal and we will pray that righteousness and justice will prevail,” Sears said.
Though Gov. Glenn Youngkin did not comment on X by the time of publication, the Democratic candidate for governor for 2025, Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7, did.
“We are a country of laws. Today, our justice system held someone accountable for his crimes,” Spanberger said, challenging her peers to trust the legal process and accept the verdict.
“In the wake of this verdict, responsible lawmakers must lead by example and not deny the truth or stoke anger. We must demonstrate principled leadership and uphold the rule of law,” she wrote.
Rep. Don Beyer, D-8, delivered a slightly more measured response.
“It is tragic that an American president has been convicted of crimes, but Donald Trump is responsible for his own actions. If a jury finds those actions were criminal after due process in a court of law, he must be held accountable. In the United States no one is above the law,” Beyer wrote.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are tied at 42% each in a head-to-head matchup in Virginia. According to a Roanoke College Poll, Biden holds a slight lead (40%-38%) when other candidates are included. The survey of 711 likely voters conducted by the Institute for Policy and Opinion Research between May 12 and May 21, 2024, shows that the economy is the top issue for 44% of respondents, followed by immigration (14%) and abortion (13%).
The latest poll shows Virginia voters could choose Trump, a state Biden won by 10 points in 2020. The tide has been turning for Trump in Virginia, as he won the state’s March 5 Republican Presidential Primary by nearly 30 points, a victory that many would go to then-challenger Nikki Hayley, the former South Carolina governor.
Locally, Haley won over Republican voters in deep blue Northern Virignia. However, for the first time since Trump began running for president in 2015, Trump posted a win in traditionally-blue Prince William County.
More from Roanoke College:
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are tied (42%-42%) in a head-to-head matchup in Virginia, while Biden holds a two-point lead (40%-38%) when other candidates are included, according to the Roanoke College Poll. The Institute for Policy and Opinion Research (IPOR) at Roanoke College interviewed 711 likely voters in Virginia between May 12 and May 21, 2024. The survey has a weighted margin of error of 4.24%.
Two weeks before the June 18 Primary Election, U.S. Senator Rand Paul will headline a rally supporting Cameron Hamilton’s campaign for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District. The event is set to take place at Gourmeltz restaurant, at 10013 Patriot Highway, on Monday, June 3.
Hamilton is running in a Republican Primary, hoping to become the party nominee to replace incumbent Abigail Spanberger (D), who will not seek reelection. Doors for the event will open at 3 p.m., with the rally scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
Senator Rand Paul, known for his libertarian-leaning views and advocacy for limited government, individual liberties, and fiscal conservatism, will be the keynote speaker at the rally. Paul’s endorsement is expected to bolster Hamilton’s campaign, drawing attention to his platform and energizing voters in the final stretch before the primary.
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It’s obvious where Democratic U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine stands on abortion access. And that’s not just for the fact that his party has been outspoken in support of access and other reproductive rights. Kaine has also co-sponsored the bipartisan Reproductive Freedom For All Act — an attempt to codify abortion protections into federal law.
By Morgan Sweeney
(The Center Square) — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive directive Thursday to assemble a task force to help address some controversial changes in the state’s latest budget to a decades-old educational assistance program for qualifying military families.
The task force would include veterans, families of service members killed in the line of duty, General Assembly members, and state public colleges and universities, who help fund the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program and approached the General Assembly due to rising program costs.
The program was established in 1996 to make higher education more accessible to spouses and dependents of those killed in military service, missing in action, prisoners of war, or who had sustained service-related injuries that left them 90% or more disabled by waiving tuition and mandatory fees. However, program participation has skyrocketed in recent years after eligibility was broadened, according to Youngkin, to a degree that may be unsustainable.
The just-passed budget narrows eligibility for the waiver component of the program to undergraduate programs, and people domiciled in Virginia, taking advantage of other benefits they might be eligible for and reaching specific academic benchmarks, jilting some military families and resulting in pushback from some lawmakers “on both sides of the aisle,” according to Youngkin.
“I am issuing this executive directive because it is vital that we study this issue and address it in a future budget to avoid any unintended consequences,” Youngkin said in a statement. “It is important that lawmakers review this issue so that we can provide a better path forward.”
The task force is to issue guidance on the changes to the program and make recommendations to the General Assembly on how it might be able to change eligibility language in the future while “balanc[ing] the need for long-term program sustainability with eliminating unreasonable barriers to the VMSDEP waiver or a survivor of dependents’ educational goals.”
Editors note: We blurred the faces of Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney's Office employees. We obtained and published the non-blurred image from a social media account maintained by a Commonwealth Attorney's Office employee. After publication, that employee asked us to remove the photo, citing the need to protect the employees' identities.
County records show that nine days before Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth threatened to stop prosecuting a wide-ranging number of cases due to what she called a funding shortage, Ashworth’s office spent nearly $3,500 in taxpayer funds to bring a local chef to perform a cooking demonstration for her staff at the Old Manassas Courthouse.
