CPAC aims to turn tables on Democrats after impeachment saga
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EXCLUSIVE: CPAC, the premier conservative conference set to kick off outside Washington next week, will aim to turn the tables on Democrats in the wake of both the Russia collusion investigation and impeachment of President Trump.
The Conservative Political Action Conference will consist of a five-part program highlighting what conservatives have called a “tragic narrative” since Trump launched his presidential campaign in 2015, Fox News has learned.
Part one of the program, according to conference organizers, will focus specifically on Trump’s 2016 campaign and on how former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s campaign allegedly leveraged its connections in the Obama administration to go after Trump. Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., is the lawmaker who will present on this topic.
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Part two of the program is expected to focus on “Spygate” and how the intelligence community pursued surveillance warrants against former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Devin Nunes, R-Calif., is expected to present on this topic.
The program will then shift into a deep dive into the initial Russia investigation at the FBI and the appointment of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller, as well as his nearly two-year investigation that followed. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., now a GOP Senate hopeful, is slated to speak on this topic.
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Next, Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, will lead the conversation on part four of the program, which is focused on Ukraine and the impeachment of the president — specifically on “the Biden Influence Operation.”
Trump was acquitted earlier this month on both impeachement charges — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — related to the Ukraine controversy. At the center of the inquiry was Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other efforts to pressure him to launch an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son’s dealings in Kiev. Trump allies have sought to return focus on what Trump wanted investigated in the first place -- Hunter Biden's lucrative role on the board of a Ukrainian natural gas firm and his dad's involvement in removing a prosecutor who had been looking into the firm's founder.
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In part five, Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union who presides over the event each year, will join Reps. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to discuss how these investigations will impact the 2020 election and the future of the country and the presidency.
“The point of framing it this way is to cut through the noise and confusion that happened when all of this is going on,” CPAC Communications Director Ian Walters told Fox News. “And to try to give Americans a sense of what really happened.”
CPAC will take place from Feb. 26 to 29 at the Gaylord National Resort & Conference Center at National Harbor outside Washington, D.C.
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The event will feature Republican politicians, White House officials, officials from President Trump’s reelection campaign, and members of the conservative media. Organizers are hopeful that Trump and Vice President Pence will show up, as they have in prior years, but their speeches are not yet confirmed.